NYS Initial Plan for American 

Rescue Plan State and Local 

Fiscal Recovery Funds 

August 31, 2021 
Recovery Plan 

Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds 1 

Contents 

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................. 1 

Use of Funds ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 

Promoting Equitable Outcomes ...................................................................................................................... 4 

Community Engagement .................................................................................................................................. 4 

Use of Evidence .................................................................................................................................................. 5 

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category .............................................................................................. 5 

Project Inventory ................................................................................................................................................. 6 

Ineligible Activities: Tax Offset Provision ...................................................................................................... 6 

Executive Summary 

With $12.75 billion in aid provided to the State of New York (the “State”) through the State and 

Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, New York 

State will continue its critical response and recovery efforts related to the ongoing COVID-19 

pandemic. These important Federal dollars provide the State with the ability to continue to meet 

New Yorker’s most urgent needs, providing a broad variety of government services, including 

those in areas of housing and economic assistance. 

In her first address as New York State’s Chief Executive, Governor Kathy Hochul expressed her 

commitment to aid New Yorkers in need. Governor Hochul’s plans to provide recovery assistance 

include partnerships with cities and counties, as well as the use of targeted outreach to New 

Yorkers on rental relief. This commitment, along with spending authority provided in the State’s FY 

2022 Enacted Budget will ensure the State’s use of Federal dollars meets the needs of the most 

vulnerable communities. Under the leadership of Governor Hochul, the New York State Division of 

the Budget (Division or DOB) will centrally manage New York’s use of SLFRF funds and work with 

State agencies to develop projects that focus on renters and homeowners in the lowest income 

brackets, assist small businesses, and provide relief to the hardest hit sectors of the economy, 

including the restaurant and tourism industry. 

Use of Funds 

New York State’s COVID-19 response and recovery efforts rely on the use of Federal relief funding. 

In addition to SLFRF, the State is utilizing other sources of ARP aid for education, Medicaid, 

emergency rental assistance, home energy assistance, child care relief and other services. The 

main source of funds allocated to the State’s public schools by the ARP Act is through the 

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund, which is available for use over 

multiple years, and is intended to help schools safely reopen for in-person instruction, address 

learning loss, and respond to students’ academic, social, and emotional needs due to the 

disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. ARP provides enhanced Federal funding for the State’s 

Medicaid spending on certain Home and Community Based Services (HCBS), pursuant to a plan 
Recovery Plan 

2 August 31, 2021 

submitted by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and approved the United States 

Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The 

ARP provides additional funding for the State’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which 

assists households that are unable to pay rent and utilities due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 

State is utilizing ARP to provide supplemental funding to the State’s existing Home Energy 

Assistance program that helps low-income households pay the cost of heating, cooling, and 

weatherizing their homes. The ARP also provides the State with dedicated child care relief funding 

to assist with stabilizing providers and expanding access to care. 

The interim final rule to implement the Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund and the Coronavirus 

Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF), as issued by Secretary of the Treasury effective May 17, 2021 

provides recipients with the flexibility to address their unique budget challenges associated with 

the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In New York State, the nature of COVID-19 recovery requires the 

ability to align funding with the diverse and evolving needs of New York’s citizens and ensure 

continuity in the provision of essential government services. 

New York State provides more than 3,500 government services to more than 20 million New 

Yorkers through the work of its state agencies (including authorities, departments, divisions, 

offices, public benefit corporations and other governmental entities). Service areas include, but are 

not limited to, public health and safety; education; environmental protection; business, employment 

and economic development, and many other important social programs; as well as the arts, culture, 

and recreation. 

Through the FY 2022 Enacted Budget Financial Plan, the State is positioned to utilize SLFRF to 

continue to deliver these important services, as well as to support a strong and equitable recovery 

for its population, particularly those communities that have been historically disadvantaged, by 

developing projects aimed at small business recovery and housing and community safety. New 

York State uses a performance-informed approach for the development of the State budget, and 

considers program data, including metrics related to program outputs, outcomes, populations, and 

financing to inform budget recommendations. 

New York focuses on performance management and drives State agencies to maximize 

programmatic impact and effective, efficient, and equitable outcomes. Performance management 

activities include the use of strategic planning and program inventory efforts designed using best 

practices identified by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). New York State is in the 

process of reviewing the FY 2022 Enacted Budget to select the most appropriate projects for 

development using SLFRF to best support its communities, populations, and individuals and help 

State residents and businesses recover as quickly as possible from the economic dislocation 

caused by COVID-19. The program areas below represent a sample of recovery opportunities 

under consideration for SLFRF project development. 

As New York continues to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on both its people and economy, 

programmatic needs will be identified and this Recovery Plan will be updated to include projects 

developed to meet those needs, promote equitable outcomes, and measure performance. In 

addition, New York will begin to expend revenue replacement dollars to fund critical government 

services. 
Recovery Plan 

Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds 3 

Small Business Recovery 

Small businesses are one of the most critical components of the State of New York’s economy and 

were disproportionately impacted by the economic devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 

intent of this area of funding is to provide flexible grant assistance to currently viable small 

businesses, micro-businesses and for-profit independent arts and cultural organizations in the 

State that have experienced economic hardships due to the pandemic. The State is also funding 

small business grants to assist in recovery and reopening efforts. Grants will be provided to small 

businesses, for-profit independent and not-for-profit arts and cultural organizations disrupted by 

the pandemic, including restaurants to cover the costs of food, preparation, and delivery of meals 

to vulnerable populations. 

State funding will compliment Federal funding through the State Small Business Credit Incentive. 

The New York Forward Loan Fund was developed in partnership with the private sector to support 

New York State small businesses impacted by the pandemic. The fund provides businesses with 

low-interest loans to help them adapt to the pandemic and retain employees, while the New York 

Forward Small Business Lease Assistance Partnership (LAP) will provide commercial tenants and 

small business landlords with pro bono legal services and information needed to renegotiate 

leases. 

Housing and Community Safety 

 The pandemic has worsened pre-existing needs for the expansion of affordable housing and the 

SLFRF can be leveraged to support the effort to keep New Yorkers housed as the state continues 

to navigate the pandemic and its economic fallout. This effort will build on the State’s ongoing 

delivery of a $20 billion affordable housing plan that’s creating or preserving 100,000 affordable 

homes and 20,000 with supportive services. These housing solutions are intended to provide 

stability for the state’s most vulnerable populations, including veterans, victims of domestic 

violence, frail or disabled senior citizens, young adults aging out of foster care, and New Yorkers 

identified as homeless with special needs, conditions, or other life challenges. Additional 

strategies include the provision of support to low and moderate-income households at risk of 

experiencing homelessness or housing instability by providing rental arrears, temporary rental 

assistance and utility arrears assistance. 

 

New York State is also treating gun violence as a public health crisis and is developing short-term 

solutions and long-term strategies that focus on community-based intervention and prevention 

outcomes. The State will continue to collect and analyze data from local law enforcement agencies 

to help inform services needed to reduce gun violence and save lives in communities with high 

rates of gun-related violence. These areas of support include workforce training and job placement 

programs in 20 cities most impacted by gun violence across the state. Areas of support will also 

include first responder training to reduce instances of bias through cultural humility, investment in 

educational programs, and the provision of more greenspace to foster community engagement 

and activity. 
Recovery Plan 

4 August 31, 2021 

Promoting Equitable Outcomes 

The SLFRF provides New York State with the opportunity to effectively respond to disparities 

highlighted during this public health crisis, and rebuild a stronger, more robust, and 

equitable environment that allows all New Yorkers to successfully participant in the economy. 

Disparities were uncovered in risk of exposure, risk of severe illness and hospitalizations, risk of 

death as racial and ethnic minority groups were disproportionally impacted by COVID19. Additionally, the economic well-being of women was also greatly impacted during the 

pandemic. This impact is attributed to both the overrepresentation of women in certain impacted 

industries including food service, education, and retail and a finding that women left the workforce 

at higher rates due to the unique pandemic-related childcare needs. In addition, the financial 

hardships arising from business closures and the resulting unemployment impacted every aspect 

of life, including the risk of losing homes and businesses, food insecurity and inequities in access 

to broadband and education. 

Through its partnership with Lendistry, a minority-led Community Development Financial 

Institution, the State is expanding outreach targeted towards minority and women-owned business 

entities (MWBE). The outreach is intended to inform business owners of available resources The 

State also intends to launch an "Entrepreneurship Navigator" that will help minority and women 

entrepreneurs access services and programs to incubate start-ups in the technology and 

innovation sector. 

Efforts like this one, along with New York State’s central management of SLFRF funding, as well its 

use of performance-informed budget making encourages the alignment of funding with service 

outcomes. Strategic planning and program inventory efforts work to ensure agency budgets are 

aligned with the needs of program beneficiaries and populations. Agencies identify those 

population needs which are addressed through specific program eligibility, appropriate 

expenditure of funding, and performance of program activities. 

Community Engagement 

On April 6, 2021, New York State lawmakers passed the FY 2022 Enacted Budget and the 

associated FY 2022 Enacted Budget Financial Plan included appropriations to allow the State to 

utilize funds provided in the ARP as signed into law by President Biden just weeks earlier on March 

11, 2021. The State ensured the FY 2022 Enacted Budget provided the ability to begin using this 

important funding to continue to provide important government services and provide New Yorkers 

with much needed relief. 

The spending plan went through the Budget process, which encourages and provides opportunity 

for public participation and engagement. Before any future spending is authorized, the Legislature 

holds public hearings on major programs, and seeks further information from constituencies and 

advocacy groups. Moreover, it is important to note that this is an initial plan for the use of these 

funds, and New York State is continuing to engage with local partners and community stakeholders 

to further refine and develop it. 
Recovery Plan 

Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds 5 

Use of Evidence 

COVID-19 response and recovery is only possible when administered equitably to all New Yorkers. 

In New York State, agencies and the Division routinely use statistical data generated both internally 

and supplied externally by reliable sources like the U.S. Census Bureau. Data sets like the 

American Community Survey - what provides information on social, economic, housing, and 

demographic characteristics - have long been supporting policy analysis and decision-making. The 

challenges associated with COVID-19 require the state to rely on other data sets as well, including 

those related to mobility and vulnerability. 

New York uses the Centers for Disease Control/ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry 

Social Vulnerability Index (CDC/ATSDR SVI) when determining need and assessing current efforts 

to ensure equitable distribution to vulnerable populations. According to the CDC, this index is 

developed using Census data to assess the vulnerability of communities throughout United States. 

Using census tracts, defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as “small, relatively permanent statistical 

subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity that are updated by local participants,” the 

CDC/ATSDR SVI ranks each tract on 15 social factors including poverty, lack of vehicle access, and 

crowded housing. CDC/ATSDR SVI is grouped into databases by four themes – socioeconomic 

status; household composition; race, ethnicity and language; and housing and transportation. 

In addition to relying on these important publicly available data sources, New York is also using 

critical public health data collected by its agencies. The increased demand for this data has 

revealed gaps in the State’s data environment. The State is currently engaged in the development 

of a statewide data strategy that will improve access to data by: 

• completing a living comprehensive repository of data sets; 

• determining the usefulness and utilization of datasets for sharing between agencies; and 

• developing mechanisms by which data can be accessed by agencies and the public as 

appropriate. 

 

In addition to enhancing the State’s ability to better respond to future emergencies, the 

improvements to the data environment will enhance performance management efforts by 

standardizing and expediting access to data sets that contain important output and outcome 

metrics. With improved access to data the State will also increase its capacity to conduct formal 

program evaluations and increase the State’s use of evidence-based programs to deliver critical 

services to New Yorkers. 

Table of Expenses by Expenditure Category 

Category Cumulative 

expenditures to 

date ($)

Amount spent 

since last 

Recovery Plan

7.4 Transfers to Non-entitlement Units $378,757,207.40 $378,757,207.40
Recovery Plan 

6 August 31, 2021 

Project Inventory 

While New York’s FY 2022 Enacted Budget Financial Plan included appropriations to allow the 

State to utilize funds provided in the ARP, ensuring that the FY 2022 Enacted Budget provided the 

ability to begin using this important funding, it does not specify the use of funds at the project-level. 

This flexibility is allowing New York to continue to respond to the changing social and economic 

impacts of the pandemic. 

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, New York has worked to prioritize the use of State 

and Federal funding to align expenditures with the most appropriate Federal funding sources, 

including the Treasury administered Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) and Federal Emergency 

Management Agency (FEMA) administered Disaster Relief Funds (DRF). The State is currently 

working to develop SLFRF projects using this process that ensures Federal funding is maximized 

and establishes internal controls to minimize the risk for potential duplication of claims. The State’s 

Recovery Plan will be revised and resubmitted in accordance with forthcoming funding decisions. 

Ineligible Activities: Tax Offset Provision 

As shown below, for Fiscal Year 2022 the State of New York made no Revenue-reducing 

Covered Changes that had the effect of reducing tax revenue as defined in the Tax Offset 

Provision 31 CFR 35.8. 

Item Amount 

a. Revenue-reducing Covered Changes $0