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I'm going to clear something up: there is not an eviction moratorium in NY. That ended in October. Cuomo announced an extension of the moratorium that month, but it was really an extension of the Tenant Safe Harbor Act, which gives you a defense in court if you were hurt by covid
Many media outlets picked up on Cuomo's claimed extension until January and ran with it. It wasn't true, or at the very least, extremely misleading. Tenant Safe Harbor is not an eviction moratorium. Cases can still be filed, courts can proceed, people can ultimately be removed.
Now, there is federal eviction moratorium until Dec. 31 through a CDC order. But it is toothless, and judges can, and have been, ruling against tenants, sometimes deeming the order unconstitutional.
Reporters have played a part in the spread of misinformation. There are few housing beat reporters, which results in many relying on public figures words. But this is complex stuff. You need a law degree, or at least someone trustworthy with one, to understand these things.
After what happened Friday here, the flood of comments I saw of people not knowing what the situation is in New York was disheartening to say the least. But I also understand it. Our leadership simply hasn't been clear about what's going on in many cases.
Below you'll find a few stories I wrote this fall attempting to detail the issues. I hope they're helpful. https://m.rochestercitynewspaper.com/rochester/officials-launch-county-wide-covid-19-eviction-prevention-program/Content?oid=12259192
The last one is from spring, but I'm including it to show this has been a very anticipated issue through the pandemic
I actually got a text from a friend earlier who is worried about being evicted, and he was convinced there was a moratorium. Its quite scary to me people staring down the barrel of the gun don't even have a full understanding of whether or not the trigger can be pulled
A final thing: I don't mean to attack any singular reporter or outlet. I'm simply just a bit bummed that such a critical, and simple, piece of information has not been made clear to the public.
