Letter to Hon. Kathy Hochul, Governor of New York, Hon. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Temporary President of the Senate and Hon. Carl Heastie, Speaker of the Assembly - Congresswoman Clarke and New York Delegation Call on Governor Hochul and State Elected officials to Extend Eviction and Foreclosure Moratorium

Letter

Dear Governor Hochul, Senate President Stewart-Cousin, and Speaker Heastie,

On behalf of the New York City Congressional Delegation, we respectfully urge New York State, under your leadership, to extend the eviction and foreclosure moratorium set to expire on January 15, 2022. Exacerbated by the pandemic, New York has been facing a housing instability crisis. Now, without another extension, hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers are at risk of losing their homes. We are deeply concerned not only with the massive disruptive impact this will have on so many people's lives, but also with the public safety implications given the recent sharp rise in COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant.

Currently, New York State has the highest share of renter households in the U.S. (46%), with 63 percent of those households located in New York City. According to the National Equity Atlas, as of October 2021, approximately 591,000 households across New York State are behind on rent. Of that total number, 79 percent are from low-income households and 72 percent are people of color. The protections provided by the eviction moratorium are extremely necessary to New Yorkers, particularly to low-income and minority communities who would be disproportionately affected by the end of the moratorium.

Furthermore, stable and affordable housing is necessary for families and communities to succeed. In a recently published study, higher rates of eviction were found to correspond with higher incidences of homicides, robberies, and burglaries -- an association even more prevalent in poorer neighborhoods. Other studies have shown that women are at higher risk of eviction than men, often causing children to experience the destabilizing effects homelessness. With the added difficulty of holding down a full-time job due to the pandemic, an end to the eviction and foreclose moratorium at this moment in time would cause many New Yorkers, particularly mothers, to struggle to provide for their families.

We believe an extension of the eviction moratorium -- while seeking to expeditiously reallocate federal Emergency Rental Assistance dollars to high-need states -- is the best solution to ensure the safety and well-being of all New Yorkers, especially as we continue through the challenges the COVID-19 pandemic brings forth. We share your commitment to deliver housing stability for New Yorkers, and therefore we urge you to take the necessary actions within your power to extend the eviction and foreclosure moratorium. Thank you for your full and fair consideration.

Sincerely,