Mayor can order marshals to halt evictions amid coronavirus emergency: Oversight committee
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Mayor Bill de Blasio discussed the response the coronavirus Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office
By David Brand
Only state legislative action can officially halt evictions in New York City, but members of a committee that oversees city marshals say Mayor Bill de Blasio can keep people in their homes by simply ordering the marshals to stand down.
State lawmakers are now considering a bill that would establish a moratorium on evictions as major coronavirus-related work slowdowns lead to lost wages for low- and middle- income workers. Though de Blasio has discussed indirect methods for preventing eviction, members of the Mayor’s Committee on City Marshals say he can effectively stop evictions in New York City by directing city marshals not to eject people from their homes. The 14-member committee develops qualifying criteria for appointees and makes nominations to the marshal service, which is regulated by the Department of Investigation.
“It’s such an easy fix,” said Legal Aid Staff Attorney Sateesh Nori, a committee member who leads a team of lawyers in Queens Housing Court. “The Department of Investigation is under the mayor, the Department of Investigation oversees the appointment and maintaining good standing of marshals, so why can’t they say, ‘Everyone stop for two weeks, three weeks or a month.’”
The Mayor’s Office did not respond to direct questions about whether de Blasio would order marshals to halt evictions. A spokesperson pointed to comments de Blasio and Deputy Mayor Vicki Been made at a press conference Thursday.
“We want to do everything we can do, but we have to make sure we're on firm legal ground,” said de Blasio, shortly after announcing a state of emergency.
The city has halted evictions for most NYCHA public housing tenants, but de Blasio and Been hedged on what the city could do to help people who are getting kicked out of private-sector housing. They said the city will continue providing legal assistance — a resource that is already available to certain low-income tenants through the right-to-counsel program.
“We are clearly, for anyone that needs the legal help, we're going to do that for some people — we can't necessarily do it for everyone,” de Blasio said.
“For some people who need the financial help, we can help,” he added. The city currently provides emergency cash assistance for people at risk of becoming homeless through the One-Shot Deal grant program, which can help cover back rent or unforeseen expenses that could jeopardize an individual’s ability to pay rent. Those grants can take 30-45 days to come through, however.
Nori, from Legal Aid, said he was aware of two people who had already received eviction judgements in Queens Housing Court Friday morning. “What will they do? Do they go to a crowded shelter?” he said.
Another member of the Mayor’s Committee on City Marshals, Celina Cabán Gandhi, said she, too, supports the idea of ordering marshals to halt evictions. Cabán Gandhi is a staff attorney at a New York-based legal service organization.
She told the Eagle that halting evictions would also benefit “the employees of the Marshals' offices who may be putting themselves at risk to virus exposure with their field work.”
“It’s a public health issue. The marshals are at risk,” Nori added. “They’re going from house to house evicting people.”
Committee Chair Charles DeStefano did not respond to an email seeking comment for this story. In an email exchange shared with the Eagle, DeStefano suggested that such a recommendation seemed to be outside the purview of the committee.
DOI, which oversees the marshals, did not respond to an email seeking comment.
State lawmakers introduced legislation to halt evictions on Thursday, following advocacy by the Housing Justice for All coalition, a statewide network of tenants’ rights groups. The legislation was introduced by State Sens. Brad Hoylman and Brian Kavanagh.
Hoylman said he also supports the effort to order marshals to halt evictions.
“We need to take every step possible to keep New Yorkers in their homes,” he told the Eagle. “Evictions and foreclosures aren’t just cruel — during this emergency they are a threat to public health.”
State Sen. Julia Salazar and 23 other senators sent a letter Thursday to Chief Judge Janet DiFiore urging the state court system to “issue a moratorium on evictions immediately.”
She said she supports the proposal for the mayor to order marshals to stop evicting tenants.
“Housing security is a public health issue, and one that will be exacerbated during this crisis if we don’t take necessary steps to mitigate it,” she said.
The head of a major landlord group said he supports the moratorium, as well. Community Housing Improvement Program President Jay Martin told THE CITY that “members are willing to do whatever is asked of them by the government.”
Martin said members of CHIP, which primarily represents landlords of rent-stabilized apartments, are “extremely sympathetic to the health concerns” of coronavirus. He also urged state lawmakers to include landlords in eviction moratorium discussions.
