New York governor calling special legislative session to extend eviction moratorium

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is calling a special legislative session to extend the eviction moratorium in the state after the Supreme Court blocked the federal eviction freeze put in place by the Biden administration.

The special session is set to begin on Wednesday at noon. Hochul had for days been mulling calling legislators back to Albany to address the moratorium, but officially made the announcement on Tuesday.

Hochul said her goal is to extend the eviction moratorium until Jan. 15.

“It is my goal to extend the eviction moratorium to expand rental assistance programs from today to Jan. 15. We also know that landlords are struggling and we need to make sure that small businesses are protected as well, and that’s why I will be starting today, and I’ll be signing the proclamation momentarily,” Hochul said.

I am convening an Extraordinary Session of the Legislature to begin tomorrow. We will:

☑️ Extend the eviction moratorium to January 15 and provide relief for tenants & landlords

☑️ Make open meetings safer & more accessible

☑️ Confirm nominees to the State’s cannabis program

— Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) August 31, 2021

The Supreme Court last week rejected President Biden’s ban on evictions, contending that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s eviction moratorium was unlawful.

The decision came after the Biden administration implemented an eviction freeze earlier this month targeting areas with high coronavirus infection rates as the U.S. continues to grapple with the spread of the highly infectious delta variant.

Hochul called the Supreme Court’s decision “heartless.”

“We are not going to abandon our neighbors in need, especially since the State of New York failed in its responsibility to get the money that was allocated by Congress out to the people in need earlier this summer,” she said. “Therefore, we want to expand the safety net for people who qualify for rental and landlord assistance, and we can no longer wait nor can they.”

The Supreme Court overturned a New York state eviction moratorium last month, with the justices breaking along ideological lines.

Hochul was sworn in as governor of New York last week after former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) resigned in the wake of a report from the state attorney general that said he sexually harassed 11 women.