Public housing officials, residents and advocates were in Albany Tuesday calling for lawmakers to fund rental assistance for tenants.

"This morning was magical. We had 300 of our tenants there," Lisa Bova-Hiatt, the interim CEO of the New York Public Housing Authority, told Errol Louis on "Inside City Hall" Tuesday night. "We had great presentations by both the Senate and the Assembly, really saying that they are going to make sure that our voices are heard and the needs of NYCHA are put first."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many New Yorkers were able to pay their rent with the help of the federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program, but state lawmakers opted to limit that funding to those with private landlords.

"Our state legislature de-prioritized subsidized housing. We were the only state in the country that did that. So now we have a very serious problem," Bova-Hiatt said.

NYCHA officials say they desperately needed that aid, as the collection of rent has dropped from 90% before the pandemic to now just 65%.

And although legislators have designated some funds for public housing tenants left out of the federal program, advocates say it is not nearly enough to cover the $466 million deficit the authority is facing.

"We're almost out of savings. A public housing authority of our size should have three to four months of reserves. We have less than a month. And so what that means is we need the state Legislature and the governor to step in and provide the money that should have gone to our tenants — not only NYCHA residents, but public housing tenants across the state," Bova-Hiatt said.

Bova-Hiatt says NYCHA is not evicting anyone who is filing for Emergency Rental Assistance Program funds because NYCHA's goal is "to keep people housed."

"I want all of our tenants to stay in NYCHA. We have one in 16 New Yorkers. Twenty percent of NYCHA's employees are also NYCHA residents, MTA workers, people who work for the city of New York. So we're such a part of the fabric of New York City. We want to make sure that they stay housed," Bova-Hiatt said.

When asked during Tuesday's interview if it is problematic that NYCHA is not insisting tenants pay rent, Bova-Hiatt noted that the average income of one of her residents is $24,000.

"If I know that I'm eventually going to be evicted, why would I ever start paying rent?" Bova-Hiatt said. "I'm hopeful that if we are afforded the [Emergency Rental Assistance Program] money that we believe that our tenants are entitled to, we're basically resetting the clock."

The state Constitution mandates the approval of a state budget by April 1, the start of New York's new fiscal year.