Statement by Senator Kavanagh on Announcement that CDC Will Limit Evictions
September 1, 2020
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Statement by Senate Housing Chair Brian Kavanagh on Announcement that the Centers for Disease Control Will Limit Evictions
NEW YORK, NY – New York State Senator Brian Kavanagh, Chair of the Senate Committee on Housing, Construction, and Community Development issued the following statement in response to the announcement today that the Centers for Disease Control will limit evictions throughout the United States using quarantine rules:
“Today’s announcement that the Centers for Disease Control will limit evictions for many individuals earning up to $99,000 (and couples earning up to $198,000) until December 31st is an important step that will help protect people in states and localities that do not have a comprehensive eviction moratorium in place like the one that applies throughout New York State.
“It is also potentially beneficial in New York, especially in that it extends beyond September 30th, the current expiration date of New York’s moratorium.
“While we welcome any assistance from the federal government to help mitigate the public health and economic crises we face due to COVID-19, this step by the CDC will leave a lot of people unprotected, and absent further action, many evictions would be permitted to proceed in spite of the CDC’s action. For that reason, I will continue to work towards a comprehensive eviction moratorium in New York, like the bill that I am currently sponsoring with Assemblymember Jeff Dinowitz (S8788B) or Senator Zellnor Myrie and Assemblymember Karines Reyes’s bill (S8667), which I co-sponsor.
“I am pleased that the federal government is beginning to realize what I and many New Yorkers have advocated since March: the simple truth that residential evictions are not safe or appropriate in the midst of this pandemic. COVID-19 has made it more important than ever that people have a secure place to live and that they do not endure the wrenching process of being displaced from their homes.
“I will continue to advocate for additional measures through legislation and executive orders, as needed, to ensure that we do everything in our power to keep New Yorkers safe and secure in their homes, now and through the end of this crisis.”
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