As New York braces for another sweaty, subway-platform-melting summer, the state is once again handing out free air conditioners to eligible residents — because surviving July without one is basically an Olympic sport.
Applications for New York’s Cooling Assistance Benefit opened April 15, offering qualifying households a free air conditioner or fan, plus installation, just in time for the season when apartment living starts to feel like slow-roasting in a brick oven.
The state-funded program, part of the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), covers the purchase of one cooling unit per household — and yes, they’ll even haul away your old clunker if needed.
For window, portable A/C units or fans, the benefit covers up to $800, including installation.
Existing wall sleeve units can be covered up to $1,000.
Minor repairs needed to safely install the unit are also included, sparing New Yorkers from yet another wallet-draining summer expense.
And if your building setup makes installing an air conditioner impossible? The state says you’ll still get a fan to help beat the heat.
The catch — because there’s always a catch — is that the program is first-come, first-served, meaning procrastinators could be left sweating it out with a sad box fan they bought 1997.
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 also limited to households that either don’t currently have a working air conditioner or are limping along with one that’s at least five years old.
Anyone who already received a HEAP-funded air conditioner within the last five years is out of luck.
Single-person households can qualify with a gross monthly income of up to $3,473, while a family of four can earn up to $6,680 per month and still be eligible.
New Yorkers will also need to provide proof of residence, income, identity, Social Security information and — if applicable — documentation of a medical condition from a healthcare provider.
New York City residents can apply online through Access NYC, while others can apply through their local HEAP office by phone or in person.
For New Yorkers already dreading the annual ritual of sleeping directly in front of a fan while praying Con Edison doesn’t implode during the next heat wave, the state’s free A/C giveaway could be the coolest deal of the summer.
As previously reported by The Post, New Yorkers got a sweaty preview of summer on April 15, when temperatures in Central Park skyrocketed to a sizzling 90 degrees around 2:15 p.m. — smashing the previous record of 87 degrees set in 1941 and marking the hottest April 15 the city has seen in 85 years.
Meteorologists said the sunny, beach-worthy weather made the Big Apple feel more like mid-July than mid-spring.
Because when the next heat wave hits, the difference between “summer in New York” and “surviving summer in New York” might just be a free air conditioner.
