Slightly over 8,300 households have received money from New York State’s rent relief program launched more than two months ago. The initial rollout was the slowest in the nation, according to a report by the state watchdog. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) is supposed to help low- and mid-income New Yorkers pay rent they missed because of financial strain during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns that have strangled the economy. The state opened up the program on June 1 and by July 30 received over 168,000 applications. By Aug. 9, only 7,072 households were paid any money, according to the report released on Aug. 16 by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. By Aug. 16, total of 8,305 payments were made, an official with the responsible state agency, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), told The Epoch Times via email. The state has more than $2.3 billion in federal funds …