PEEKSKILL, N.Y. City officials are considering ways to make it easier for seniors eligible for Section 8 vouchers to be admitted to the Peekskill Plaza housing complex.
During a Monday discussion to schedule a public hearing for the citys Section 8 housing plan, Mayor Mary Foster requested acting city manager Brian Havranek look into possible options for making the building more Section 8 friendly for seniors.
Currently, the 168-unit apartment building at 901 Main St. is not project-based, which makes it more difficult for eligible seniors to get residency since they compete with other possible tenants on a waiting list, Havranek said.
Right now, Peekskill Plaza is like any other privately run organization, Havranek said. "If people do not have vouchers, they can rent there and pay their rent and if someone is on our Section 8 waiting list they have an opportunity to go but they have to be at the top of the list.
Some other senior housing in the city, such as Wesley Hall, 801 South St., is project-based, meaning the number of section 8 units available stays fixed as tenants come and go. Each section 8 tenant pays a different amount based on their financial situation.
There is no income limit for residents at Peekskill Plaza, unlike the partially state-funded Drum Hill 2 complex, Foster said.
Its hard when you know you have vacancies across the street in senior-only housing and you have seniors trying to get into senior-only housing yet they cant get the Section 8 voucher nor can they afford to pay eighteen hundred dollars or whatever the going rate for the apartments are, Foster said.
Click here to follow Daily Voice and receive free news updates.
