Thousands of Americans to get $5,000 stimulus checks in weeks – are you due the cash?

THOUSANDS of Americans in New York will receive a stimulus check worth up to $5,000 in just weeks.

Around $6billion worth of funding was allocated to state lawmakers as part of Joe Biden's American Rescue Plan.

The New York City Artist Corps (CAC) program will hand out one-time grants to 1,800 artists, with the payments to go out by the end of October.

This is an aim to help artists sustain their practice and engage the public in what's said to be thousands of cultural programs.

The cash is given out to New York City-based artists who have suffered financially during the coronavirus crisis.

At the same time, New York City also plans to offer more than $60million in financial relief to the city’s taxicab industry.

It comes as the industry has faced relentless competition from rivals such as Lyft and Uber.

Lastly, more than $125million has been allocated to support the city’s homeless population.

A report outlining New York City's recovery plan stated the measures are “only the beginning”.

It said: "The City’s decisions to invest these funds now will help keep New Yorkers safe, restart the economy, rebuild the tax base, increase equity, and enable greater economic growth in future years."

The extra cash comes just months after lawmakers in New York State approved a single $15,600 grant in benefits.

This money is for New Yorkers who lost income during the COVID-19 pandemic, but who are excluded from other support.

New York is not the only state providing relief to cash-strapped Americans.

Millions of residents in California have already received two state stimulus payments worth up to $600.

The first round of the stimulus program’s expansion, which was sent out on August 27, included 600,000 payments worth an estimated $354million.

The next round of checks, which is being distributed today, September 17, will go out to about two million Californians.

A fourth federal stimulus check currently looks unlikely but it’s reported that a payment could arrive in the future.

It comes after August’s labor report only saw 235,000 jobs created.