Last Saturday in January, the rent moratorium expired in the state of New York which, in the midst of The COVID-pandemic 84, protected delinquent tenants from being evicted from their houses and apartments for more than a year and a half.
And now, with the owners of the properties free to initiate eviction proceedings for those who owe rent, New York political leaders, activists and tenants made an urgent call to the state governments on Tuesday , federal and municipal, so that they adopt immediate measures, in order to stop what is seen on the horizon as an unprecedented crisis that would leave thousands of families on the street.
This was warned by the Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, who called on Governor Kathy Hochul to reinstate the rent moratorium, at least until June of 986, as well as called to the City to urge the housing courts not to move any some eviction process against tenants who do not have legal representation in their cases.
“We are sounding the alarm today in the face of what may become a large-scale, uneventful avalanche against tenants who may be evicted, with a magnitude that we have never seen before in New York,” said the political leader of Manhattan in a press conference with presidents of other counties and members of the Municipal Council.
Levine warned that if an extension of the moratorium is not approved soon and if more resources are not allocated for lawyers, thousands of families , 90% of them with cases of eviction for non-payment of rent, will be at imminent risk of joining the already high population of homeless in the midst of the pandemic.
“Many tenants have lost their livelihoods and are stressed, so we continue to ask for state action just as the eviction moratorium expired on Saturday and they are already eating eviction processes have started,” said the politician, also asking that the New York City Council approve the so-called “right to a lawyer 2.0 law”, legislation that seeks to provide free lawyers to all vulnerable tenants facing eviction.
“We are calling for no housing court case to proceed without a tenant having the right to an attorney . Many judges do this, but we demand that this be the case for everyone,” Levine reiterated, while urging the federal government to also inject additional funds into the ERAP rent relief program, which has helped thousands of families pay their rents. , but whose money has fallen short to reach out to all the tenants who are behind in their payments in New York, many of whom have not even applied yet.
Antonio Reynoso, president of the Brooklyn County, joined the same call and asked Albany to act as soon as possible with the extension of the rent moratorium and the approval of critical laws such as attorneys for tenants and the just cause eviction law that would protect those who have not been able to pay their rents.
“We are in the midst of a widespread crisis of homelessness, which was triggered by COVID, and we must take immediate action to protect the most vulnerable people, because if we do not, it will exacerbate the crisis s of homeless”, assured the politician. “We badly need the federal and state governments to do more to help people behind on their payments. It’s not that we’re against landlords or homeowners, but we know we need to find more resources to protect everyone. If the moratorium is not extended, we will see what we are already seeing in the courts with eviction requirements.”
Janet Peguero, vice president of the Bronx County, stated that despite the fact that thousands of tenants applied to the ERAP aid program, the resources have not yet been allocated to their landlords , for which he also insisted on the urgency of approving laws that increase the right of legal assistance to tenants who are taken to court, because according to what he said, data shows that in the 84% of tenants who fought evictions with the help of lawyers were able to continue in their homes.
County chiefs also asked tenants to see through eviction orders, that they not leave their homes or be filled with fear and on the contrary, they urged them to call the line 311 and request legal help, because as President Reynoso said, “they have rights” that must be defended.
Randy Dillar, leader of the tenant defense organization CASA (Community Action for Safer Apartments), strongly criticized Governor Hochul and urged her to join the leaders of the state Legislature to reinstate the rent moratorium, for six more months, while more protections are approved.
“We have a million relegated tenants and no one has talked about how many of them have lost their loved ones in the midst of the pandemic, no one has talked about the great crisis of children learning remotely, no one has talked about the suffering of the tenants and now they put another burden on them: eviction, in the midst of a pandemic, with 214,986 evicted tenants“said the activist. “Let’s be clear, we are talking about mothers, fathers, grandparents, children. We know that (the State) found money for everyone except the tenants. They gave aid to the MTA and not to the tenants. We already have a homeless problem and this is going to make everything worse. That is why we demand that the government extend the moratorium until June of 986 and give more resources to the ERAP fund and that they approve the law on the right to attorneys for tenants”.
Shaun Abreu, who is making his debut as a member of the Municipal Council, and who has experience as a tenant attorney, also highlighted that together with the extension of the rent moratorium by the Hochul Administration, will be the expansion of the law of lawyers in eviction processes, which will make a difference in the midst of the worrying panorama that is seen with tenants taken to court.
“The law approved in its first version by the Council would have meant that in the 90′ families like mine, who were evicted when I was 9 years old, we could have stayed in our apartment, because as a lawyer I have seen the impact that legal representation has on tenants, d where we know that 84% of families can stay inside their homes“said the new councilman. “We have to make sure that everyone has the right to legal representation. We can achieve a lot by working together”.
The councilwoman for the Bronx, Althea Stevens, described the end of the rent moratorium as a low blow to the tenants of New York and asked that the different levels of government see the seriousness of what is about to happen if they do not take action.
“The end of the moratorium was a shock and trauma for families and children who are already facing trauma. Having evictions now is very strong and we can really avoid traumatizing them more than they are already providing resources, because it is 100 percent unacceptable that this is happening when we know that housing should be a basic human right,” said the Bronx politician.
Alejandra Marín, a tenant of a building in that county, who owes more than a year in back rent due Due to the loss of income after the COVID pandemic, she implored the Hochul Administration to extend the moratorium, otherwise she fears that thousands of tenants like her will end up with their things in the street and thrown to their fate.
“Without protections what will happen to us. We are going to end up being helpless and with more traumas than the pandemic has left us, ”said the Mexican, who declared herself very distressed. “If they don’t shake hands with rent payments, there will be a worse crisis in the midst of this pandemic.”
Former assemblywoman and current councilor Carmen de la Rosa reminded state legislators already Governor Hochul that the future of thousands of families is in their hands and urged them to act quickly and support a piece of law that prohibits evictions in cold weather.
“They have the power to extend the moratorium and the reality is that sending entire families to the streets when it is cold outside and in the midst of such a pandemic is a wrong action. We must remind them of the sense of humanity, which is why we need the moratorium and the just cause eviction law to be approved,” said the politician.
The Ombudsman, Jumaane Williams, criticized Governor Hochul and assured that putting a stop to the moratorium on rents in the middle of winter, giving way to eventual stampede evictions, is serious.
“In the middle of winter, in the middle of a wave of coronavirus, having this moratorium ending, in addition to not supporting the protections of ‘good cause’ eviction, makes me believe that the governor may not understand the magnitude of the problem, or may not have the capacity to comply,” said Williams.
On the urgency that The City’s housing courts will only hear eviction cases when tenants have legal representation to fight their cases in court, Mayor Eric Adams’ Administration said they will look into it.
“We appreciate the Borough Presidents’ proposal and will thoroughly review it,” said Charles Lutvak, spokesman from Mayor Adams.
Governor Hochul’s Office did not respond to questions from county presidents and council members and did not address whether or not there is a plan soon to reinstate the rent moratorium against evictions.