Ted Remsnyder is reporting for Columbia-Greene Media that a group of Hudson residents will soon receive a $500 payment every month as the newest participants in the Hudson UP program. The universal basic income lottery to constitute the newest program cohort opened June 22, and when it closes on September 22, 53 city residents will be randomly selected to receive $500 per month for the next five years. The program started in 2020 with 25 residents and expanded to 50 recipients in 2021. After the third group is complete, the number of participants will reach 128. The program is funded by The Spark of Hudson Foundation. Hudson Mayor Kamal Johnson is a supporter of the initiative and also serves with the Mayors for a Guaranteed Income network, a group of 30 mayors nationwide studying data and initiatives on universal basic income programs. Johnson said Spark of Hudson first reached out to him two and a half years ago. “... The first cohort was a joint initiative between the city and Spark. So myself and [former presidential primary and gubernatorial candidate] Andrew Yang got on a call and did a town hall for the residents about the educational component of the program. So now we’re here two and half years later in our third cohort. So we’re pushing to get as many residents as we can get registered,” the mayor said. Greater Hudson Promise Neighborhood administers the Hudson UP program. Greater Hudson Executive Director Joan Hunt said people can enter as long as they meet three criteria — they live in the city of Hudson, they are over the age of 18 by September 30, and make under the median annual income of $39,346 per year. Johnson is encouraging all eligible city residents to sign up for the lottery as there’s no downside to entering. “It’s like literally winning the lottery,” he said. The lottery application is available at HudsonUP [dot] org. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.