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NYC Public Housing Tenants Impacted By Sandy To Get Break In Rent

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Tenants in public housing in New York City who were affected by Superstorm Sandy will get some help with their rent.

New York City Housing Authority Vice Chair Emily Youssouf told 1010 WINS tenants will receive information about the rent adjustments for January 2013 in their December bills.

"As any landlord would do, if you cannot provide elevators, heat and water to tenants, your obligation is to really give them credit," Youssouf said. "We're trying to do everything we can, obviously, to help our tenants."

But it will take as long as January to distribute the rent credits because there are a lot of people to factor into the equation, Youssouf said.

"We have a lot of tenants who were impacted in certain developments, and just getting all that data into the computer system and getting the rent bills out, we don't have enough time before the December rent bills to get out," she said.

About half of the New York City residents who lost electricity as a result of Superstorm Sandy live in public housing, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said last week. The mayor said most public housing residents would have their power back by this past Friday night or Saturday.

Youssouf said residents were appreciative of the break in rent.

"We were out at a number of developments yesterday. I was in Coney Island, Red Hook and the Rockaways, and I can tell you I was telling people about this, and everyone was very, very relieved," she said.

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