ALBANY — A judge has ruled that financially-strapped New Yorkers will have the chance to apply for pandemic rental assistance and be protected against evictions.
State Supreme Court Judge Lynn Kotler issued a preliminary injunction ordering the state to reopen its application portal for rent relief within three business days even though there are no new funds to back up the program.
“We laud this decision, which acknowledges the Legislature’s clearly expressed intent to protect families from being evicted while they are waiting for federal funds to be fully distributed,” said Ed Josephson, supervising attorney in the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society, which spearheaded the suit.
While New York has already distributed billions in federal funds to cover rent for struggling residents, the state could be eligible for additional money in the coming months.
In total, the state has doled out about half of the $2.4 billion in federal funds earmarked for rental relief. The remainder is being held as thousands of earlier applications are reviewed by the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, which is running the program.
“I am grateful for the Legal Aid Society’s tireless advocacy on behalf of New York’s tenants. Instead of appealing this decision, I encourage OTDA to instead devote its resources toward securing additional federal funding or identify an alternative state source of funding,” Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) said in a statement.
Hochul and state lawmakers have called on Washington to approve another $1 billion in rental aid. Treasury officials alerted the state that only $27 million has so far been approved in additional funds.
In the meantime, the Hochul administration chose to stopped accepting rental assistance applications in November. By reopening the portal, anyone who applies and claims financial hardship due to the pandemic may be protected from eviction while their case is reviewed despite the statewide moratorium expiring on Jan. 15.
Landlord groups slammed the decision to reopen the portal.
“This dangerous and unbalanced decision highlights how the federal government has failed New York by not providing enough money to address still unpaid rent arrears,” said Joseph Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which represents landlords in the city. “Reopening the (program) portal without sufficient funds, or the possibility of obtaining a sufficient allocation, provides tenant protections without rent payments for building owners who, as always, have enormous costs that remain in place.”
With News Wire Services
