New York becomes the first in the country to be given the green light by the federal government to run the program, which is part of a $10 million program funded through the American Rescue Plan Act. There are 20 states running a pilot program, according to the National Council of State Housing Agencies.

“Help is on its way for literally thousands of families who have been hurt so hard by the pandemic,” Hochul said Monday at a news conference in Manhattan.

New York lawmakers urged the federal government to act on the state’s plans in a letter they sent in mid-November. A few weeks later, the program was authorized.

In some ways, it will mirror New York’s emergency rental assistance program, which has paid $1 billion to cover rent. An additional $1 billion has been approved by the state, but first needs the agreements of the respective landlords for it to go out. Landlords have various reasons for not agreeing to the state’s terms and in other cases there may be clerical or administrative issues.

If every homeowner was to become eligible for the full $50,000, it would cover nearly 11,000 homeowners in New York.

The homeowners assistance program is meant to help in a range of circumstances for homeowners:  Mortgages that are in forbearance; delinquency on first or second mortgage payments; past due property taxes, water bills or sewage bills; co-op or condominium owners behind on monthly fees like maintenance or homeowners association payments, and those living in manufactured homes who are behind on loans, retail installment contracts or monthly lot rent payments.

Homeowners who are eligible are to have household income no greater than 100 percent of the area median income and are at risk of foreclosure or displacement because of financial hardship that is related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The home also must be the owner’s primary residence.

Only homeowners who are at least 30 days behind on their monthly housing payments are eligible to apply, except if the person is unemployed, and then they are allowed to apply for up to six months in future housing payments, according to the state.

The state plans to put homeowners who are in court over their home at the front of the line for financial relief.

“We know that this crisis has been long and has been brutal for many of us,” state Sen. Brian P. Kavanagh said at the news conference. Kavanagh is viewed as a state leader and expert on housing policy and was the lead architect of the state’s eviction moratorium extension.

Hochul unrolled the plan in a bill major announcement, which came from her offices in New York City. The governor, up for reelection in June, appeared on stage with Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler and was joined virtually by state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and state Assembly Speaker Carl. E. Heastie.

The intent, similar to rental relief, is to ensure people remain in their homes and “bounce back economically from this terrible scourge of COVID,” Stewart-Cousins said.