Fire-displaced tenants in Nyack seek financial help, as community relief fund runs out
Unsure of who to turn to next, the families are now digging themselves deeper into a financial hole while they try to find new apartments in a tight rental market.
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Families displaced by a fire at their Nyack apartment complex earlier this summer are wondering what their next steps are, now that a community fund to help them has run out.
The families say they are unsure of who to turn to next and are now digging themselves deeper into a financial hole while they try to find new apartments in a tight rental market.
Anastasia Amella and 10 other tenants are still in limbo following a June 2 fire that wrecked their units at Nyack Plaza Apartments.
They are looking for temporary places to live until their Nyack Plaza units are repaired.
Amella, who has an 18-month-old son, is trying to secure a temporary unit for Sept. 1.
"Stability, you know?" she began. "I just want to get a taste of that life back because for the past three months, it's just been uncertainty every single day. Stress. Fear."
Village leaders said the company who runs Nyack Plaza, Community Housing Management, will pay the rents for those temporary units and will be reimbursed through a federal housing program.
Tenants say they are having difficulty finding homes and staying financially afloat during their searches.
A local church, the NAACP and some local businesses raised $96,000 over a two-week period to help pay for hotel rooms through the summer.
Those funds were used up earlier this month.
The Village of Nyack government has also chipped in to help tenants with their move-in costs once they find a new place.
Tenants wanting to know Community Housing Management's plans to help the tenants and a timeline for the repair of their fire-damaged apartments, said their calls to the company have not been returned.
The company did not respond Tuesday to multiple requests from News 12 seeking comment.
The tenants' support group said the management company should be helping tenants with their apartment searches and paying for some of the hotel accommodations.
"The management company has done absolutely nothing to support these families," said Bishop Ron Stringfield, of St. John's Deliverance Tabernacle. "It was not the families' fault at all."
Village Mayor Joe Rand and a local realtor are also helping the families with their searches.
Once the families find those temporary units, it is unclear how long they will be staying in them.
Since the June 2 fire at Nyack Plaza, no work has been done on the damaged apartments.
