September 1, 2021
The Bronx Times reports that Governor Kathy Hochul and the top legislative leaders in the state senate and assembly, agreed to extend the eviction moratorium in New York State, until January 15, 2022. “Under my watch, here in the State of New York, you’re not going to exacerbate what is already a crisis in terms of the homelessness problem, the Bronx Times quoted Hochul as saying. “We are not going to allow people who — through no fault of their own — lost income, not able to pay, and facing eviction.”
Response From State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats): “Today’s action is taking no action at all. The New York State Democrats are just kicking the can down the road. The answer and the solution to this housing crisis is not to keep extending an eviction moratorium and canceling rent. The focus and the priority must be on getting vital federal assistance out of the state’s hands and into the hands of those who desperately need it, which means struggling tenants and property owners throughout the Southern Tier, Finger Lakes, and statewide. The former administration’s management of this vital federal aid was abysmal and it’s unfortunate that the new Hochul administration, with the full and ongoing consent of the Legislature’s Democrat majorities, isn’t turning the page. They are taking no meaningful steps to fix it now. This so-called ‘extraordinary session’ of the Legislature was just more business-as-usual out of Albany, negotiated behind closed doors, out of the public’s view, and rushed through.”
