News Summary

• New York’s Cooling Assistance Benefit opened April 15, offering qualifying households a free air conditioner or fan, plus installation.
• To qualify, households must meet income requirements or already receive benefits like SNAP, Temporary Assistance or certain Social Security Income (SSI) benefits.
• Applicants also need to have someone in the household who's especially vulnerable to extreme heat — including seniors 60 and older, children under 6, or someone with a medical condition worsened by high temperatures.
• The program is first-come, first-served, meaning procrastinators could be left sweating it out with a sad box fan they bought 1997.