Senior Spotlight
Vallone To Seniors: Be Sure To Get HEAP Heating $ Aid

Noting that the price of natural gas and other heating fuels continues to rise, and that some experts predict the hike could be 50 percent this winter, City Councilmember Peter Vallone Jr. is urging seniors in his Astoria/Long Island City district and others to take advantage of the HEAP plan.

The plan is essential to seniors in low-income households because it helps to defray winter heating costs, Vallone noted.

Vallone reminds seniors that in order to be eligible for the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), they must meet at least one of the following qualifications: •Meet income guidelines.

•Be 60 years of age or older.

•Are the head of a household and receive Social Security disability

•Live alone or with a spouse only and receive Supplementary Security Income (SSI) Code A.

Grants are based on household size and income, Vallone explained, and residents who pay for utilities will receive a line of credit with their suppliers or vendors. Also, if utility costs are included in a senior’s rent, applicants will receive a direct payment.

Emergency heat-related assistance is also available, providing between $100 to $435 once per year to buy a minimum of a prospective 30 days of services. He explained that each household can receive only one HEAP grant each year.

The lawmaker said that applications to receive HEAP assistance are available at his office at 22-45 31st St., Astoria, between 23rd Avenue and Ditmars Boulevard, or by calling HRA HEAP at 1-800-692- 0557 or the city Department for the Aging at 311. Interested parties should apply immediately, because funds are limited.

COUNCIL TO VOTE TO AID DISABLED: The City Council has announced that it expects to vote soon on a package of legislation which it hopes will encourage the city’s use of wheelchair-accessible taxicabs for disabled citizens and seniors who need them.

The proposed legislation would require the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) to develop and implement a plan to promote the use and purchase of wheelchair-accessible hybrid electric taxi cabs.

The wheelchair-accessible taxicabs and for-hire vehicles would be required to display insignia in at least two prominent locations on the cab’s exterior identifying the vehicle as wheelchair-accessible.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn, in announcing the coming vote, stated: “We have a responsibility to make sure that New Yorkers are breathing fresher air and getting around town more easily.” Quinn said the bill was developed in cooperation with the Bloomberg administration and advocates for the disabled and the environment.

Quinn said the bills were a continuation of the council’s ongoing effort to increase the number of wheelchair-accessible and clean-air taxicabs. Last May, she noted, the council and mayor agreed to sell 254 alternative fuel and 54 wheelchair-accessible taxicab medallions in order for there to be more such cabs in service on city streets.

Councilmember John Liu (D–Flushing), chair of the Transportation Committee, explained that by giving economic incentives to taxi owners, the bills will provide a fresh overhaul of taxicabs to make them more user-friendly for people with disabilities without imposing a burden on the cab owners.

Councilmember James Gennaro (D–Fresh Meadows), chair of the Environmental Protection Committee, said that the wheelchair-accessible and clean energy hybrid-electric taxicabs will make future transportation cleaner and healthier as well as more comfortable for the disabled.