Cuomo extends New York eviction moratorium through August, announces agricultural buyback program

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Thursday that a statewide moratorium on evictions would be extended through Aug. 20 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The state on March 20 temporarily prohibited residential or commercial evictions through June. In addition to extending the moratorium through Aug. 20, the state will bar fees for late or missed payments during that period and allow renters who have lost money due to the pandemic to use their security deposit as payment, Cuomo said Thursday during his daily press briefing.

Cuomo added that he hoped the extension “gives families a deep breath” but did not rule out a further extension.

“Nothing can happen until Aug. 20 and then we’ll figure out on Aug. 20 what the situation is,” he said.

Today we are banning late fees and missed payments fees during the eviction moratorium period.

We are also allowing renters facing COVID-related hardship to use their security deposit as payment and repay the deposit over time.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 7, 2020

“The majority of people in this state live paycheck to paycheck, all of a sudden the paycheck stops,” Cuomo said, adding that federal stimulus and unemployment benefits are “not making up the gap for many families” and that the problem had been particularly pronounced among farmers upstate who are unable to sell their products.

At a time when people are hungry, it makes no sense for food or milk to go to waste.

We launched a program to buy excess agricultural products and donate them to food banks.

We will bring products from 2,100 Upstate farms to 50 food banks, providing 20,000 households with food.

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 7, 2020