Soon after an eviction moratorium ends, 14,000 downstate families could find themselves homeless.

These are the families whose housing cases were in the system prior to the pandemic. The Legal Aid Society wants the governor to extend his moratorium indefinitely so that the families can either find new housing or work out deals with their landlords. 

While Legal Aid is pushing for the governor to act, at the same time, the organization has been lobbying for a statutory fix. According to Judith Goldiner, the attorney in charge of the Legal Aid Society’s Civil Law Reform Unit on Evictions, a statutory moratorium with no end date would work just as well.  

On Thursday, Governor Cuomo, for a second time, signed an executive order extending the state's moratorium on COVID-related commercial evictions and foreclosures for an additional month, until September 20. The order extends to offices, retail stores, and restaurants.

The Tenant Safe Harbor Act prohibits courts from evicting residential tenants who experienced financial hardship for not paying rent that accrues during New York’s state of emergency, but when the emergency is over, the tenants will owe back rent.