By JEREMY TANNER wpix.com

12:35 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2010
UPPER EAST SIDE, N.Y. (WPIX)—
The Metropolitan Transit Authority may be strapped for cash, but they were able to find the funds to house displaced Upper East Side residents while the MTA builds the Second Avenue Subway.

The MTA took care of moving bills, rent at the residents' current locations and even included a stipend of $40 per day for food.

Upper East Side residents were also given the choice of moving into a fully furnished hotel room or receiving a stipend of $5,010 to $9,000, based on the size of the home they were forced to vacate.

People are set to vacate their apartments on Saturday, and officials announced they should plan on finding a new residence for four to eight weeks.

The cost of providing temporary housing and shoring up the houses affected by the construction project is estimated to be at least $6 million.

The project may expand as the MTA as 20 other buildings that have already been surveyed will need to be repaired, according to MTA officials, and there are over 100 properties along the subway route that still need to be surveyed.