Seamus Lyman is reporting for State of Politics the state Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance has announced it is starting to make payments to applicants in the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. The state began accepting applications on June 1 for the $2.7 billion that is available. OTDA began processing test payments this week. Roughly $117,000 has been paid out and additional payments will go out on July 23. Democratic Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz issued a statement July 22, criticizing the delay in payments. “...New Yorkers may soon be faced with an avalanche of eviction filings such as we have never seen before. OTDA needs to get their contractors together and figure out how to fix this huge mess before people start needlessly losing their homes.” Dinowitz was behind the bill extending the eviction moratorium through August 31. OTDA said roughly 160,000 applications have been submitted for the program as of July 16 and more than 100,000 were submitted during the priority period. The office adds that processing times vary based on how complete the applications are and if the correct documents are submitted. State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie has scheduled a hearing to examine the rental assistance program. The August 10 hearing will look at the application process, program implementation and how quickly assistance is being distributed. Landlords statewide have complained about delays in payments. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.