Mayor calls on state to institute lasting eviction moratorium

Mayor Bill de Blasio called on the state court system to impose a lasting eviction moratorium Friday. Photo by Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office

By David Brand

Mayor Bill de Blasio on Friday urged the state to institute a long-term eviction moratorium for tenants who may lose their homes as a result of the COVID-19 economic crisis.

A new state law halts evictions for tenants who prove they have not paid rent as a result of COVID-19, but not for roughly 14,000 households whose cases were adjudicated before March 16.

An executive order signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo Wednesday allows the state court system to continue halting evictions, but does not outright stop landlords from jettisoning tenants whose cases were settled prior to the pandemic. A spokesperson for the Office of Court Administration said the statewide stay on eviction remains in effect, but did not provide a timeline for when tenants may be evicted once again.

“I'm calling on the state court system, please, aggressively follow up on this executive order to protect tenants who simply can't pay the rent because they lost their income due to the greatest crisis in generations,” de Blasio said Friday. “We need the court system to come in and then we need the state in general to address the bigger questions here.”

De Blasio criticized piecemeal measures to prevent evictions, including a series of executive orders and court directives that have expired. 

“It should not be something that just has to be renewed all the time,” de Blasio said. “This needs to be ongoing for the extent of this crisis, and then for several months thereafter, as people hopefully consistently get back on their feet and have the money to pay the rent.”

He also urged the state and federal government to increase rental assistance for tenants impacted by the economic fallout of the pandemic.