Tenant advocates celebrate temporary eviction moratorium

Tenants’ rights advocates said the state court system made the right decision by halting evictions temporarily. Photo via Housing Justice For All

By Rachel Vick

Tenants’ rights advocates are celebrating the state court system’s unprecedented decision to halt evictions as the COVID-19 shutdown prevents potentially hundreds of thousands  of New Yorkers at dire risk of becoming homeless from earning their usual incomes.

New York State Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks issued the eviction moratorium in a memo to court personnel Sunday following the efforts of two tenants’ rights coalitions, Housing Justice for All and Right to Counsel NYC.

“The eviction moratorium and court closure means that now our clients don't have to choose between defending their homes and protecting their health,” said Marika Dias, the director of the Tenants Rights Coalition at Legal Services NYC, one of the coalition members.

The state order also prevents people from traveling to the court and potentially spreading or contracting the illness, Dias added..

“During the current public health it is imperative that New York families are not facing the additional threat of eviction and homelessness,” she said. “So many of the tenants we represent are seniors, immune-compromised individuals, low-wage earners who would lose vital income if major illness strikes, and families with little access to healthcare.”

The coalition circulated a petition that received more than 15,000 tenant signatures. They also sent a letter signed by more than 100 organizations urging Mayor Bill de Blasio to issue a moratorium on evictions.

“What we won, we’ve never won before, and we won it because thousands of tenants organized,” said Right to Counsel NYC Coalition coordinator Susanna Blankley.