Opinion: New York must create safeguards for landlords hurt by COVID crisis

Tom Grech is the president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce. Photo courtesy of Queens Chamber of Commerce

By Tom Grech

This past year has been difficult for everyone. A global pandemic, the likes of which we haven’t seen in 100 years, has had a devastating personal and economic impact on the entire world, and at its height Queens was the epicenter of the epicenter. We lost thousands of our neighbors, unemployment reached levels not seen since the great depression, and many beloved small businesses have closed their doors to customers for good. 

Thankfully, the State took action so that no one lost their home due to the economic crisis. However, the recent extension of the moratorium on evictions passed by the legislature will have unintended consequences that will hurt small business owners and our ability to mount a robust economic recovery.

Here in Queens, the vast majority of landlords aren’t major international corporations, but working families and small businesses. Their resources have been limited by the pandemic too, and they still have to pay for basic upkeep of their property, utility bills, and property taxes. 

The burden on these building owners is already showing, as nearly half a billion dollars in property taxes for 2020 are yet to be paid. Come Jan. 4, building owners citywide will owe $13.7 billion in property taxes.

If the city cannot collect property taxes, the economic impact will be catastrophic. This money goes to fund basic government services, including public safety, sanitation, schools and more, that are essential to supporting local businesses. 

While we are hopeful that a Biden Administration will provide some relief to state and local governments that have lost revenue due to the pandemic, it won’t come close to covering the entirety of the revenue lost. Drastic service cuts will make mounting an economic recovery even more difficult. 

Without tenants paying rent, building owners will also have to cut back on upkeep of their buildings, leading to a dilapidated and unsafe building stock. It will also mean less work for plumbers, electricians, carpenters and other building trade workers who are struggling to make ends meet right now too.

Throughout the pandemic, landlords have worked with their tenants to allow New Yorkers to stay in their homes and businesses to keep serving their communities. The Real Estate Board of New York supported the moratorium on evictions and called for it to be extended, and building owners supported philanthropic efforts like Project Parachute that have helped keep renters in their homes.

But the extension recently passed by the legislature doesn’t include any safeguards to ensure that tenants who haven’t been strained financially by the pandemic are still required to pay rent. The bill does not ask tenants to support their claim of hardship with evidence or proof, or give landlords an avenue to dispute their tenant’s claim. Those who can afford to pay rent shouldn’t be exploiting the moratorium. 

No one wants to see a family lose the roof over their head or another small business shutter for good. But we need to understand that we’re all in this together. I have no doubt that there were good intentions behind the extension of the moratorium, but this legislation will have catastrophic unintended consequences. It will hurt small businesses, and our ability to mount any sort of economic recovery. 

Tom Grech is the president and CEO of the Queens Chamber of Commerce.