Press Release
Statement on Eviction Moratorium Extension and Strengthening ERAP
The Community Service Society of New York commends Governor Hochul, Senate Leader Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Leader Heastie, and the New York State legislature for extending New York’s eviction moratorium and providing new funding to speed up rent relief. The state’s political leadership heeded the demands of tenants, who have been decrying the injustice of ending the state’s eviction moratorium before its promised rent relief has been delivered, and who face the very real threat of homelessness without it. These actions provide a measure of fairness that will allow our state to proceed on a true path to recovery.
Today’s vote – which extends the moratorium into 2022 and brings it in line with the Supreme Court’s recent judgment – keeps over 800,000 tenants at risk of eviction housed, while also increasing resources for the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) to speed up the distribution of all $2.7 billion in rent relief. This is an important victory for New York tenants and for the state as a whole.
The work, however, cannot stop here. The legislature must also pass the Clean Slate legislation it failed to move at the end of the last session. This important bill is directly related to the urgent task of preventing homelessness. People with conviction histories, the majority of whom are Black and brown, were heavily impacted by the pandemic. Many lost jobs when businesses that employed them shed workers or went under; they now face records-based discrimination that keeps them from rejoining the workforce. Without an income, they cannot afford rent, and if they lose their homes, it will be doubly hard for them to find new housing because of rampant discrimination against individuals with conviction histories. Clean Slate goes hand in hand with rent relief and eviction prevention in the push toward housing, racial and social justice.