Hochul calling pols back for special session to renew eviction ban

Gov. Hochul announced late Tuesday that she’s summoning legislators for a rare special session to extend New York’s expiring eviction moratorium and allocate more financial relief for renters in a bid to stave off an avalanche of evictions at a time when the coronavirus is resurging in the state.

The special session, set for noon Wednesday in both the state Senate and Assembly, will feature two legislative items to counteract the feared “eviction crisis,” Hochul said from the Capitol in Albany.

First, Hochul said she has reached a deal with Democratic leaders to renew the eviction moratorium — which was set to expire at midnight Tuesday — through Jan. 15, 2022, protecting hundreds of thousands of struggling renters from the possibility of being kicked out of their homes.

Baked into the bill that is expected to extend the moratorium, Hochul said, will be a one-time appropriation for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which issues payments to landlords whose tenants can prove they’re unable to make rent because of financial hardship caused by the pandemic. Hochul did not say how large the appropriation will be, but a legislative source briefed on the matter told the Daily News it will be in the range of $300 million.

“We’re not going to exacerbate what is already a crisis in terms of the homelessness problem,” Hochul said. “We are not going to allow people who through no fault of their own lost income.”

Momentum for renewing the moratorium hit a fever pitch when the Supreme Court’s conservative majority last week rescinded the Biden administration’s federal version of the freeze, which provided protections through October for most parts of the country, including New York.

In her Tuesday remarks, Hochul called the top court ruling “heartless” and said New York taking matter into its own hands is crucial because “the pandemic is not over.”

“We have to take this action,” she said. But the forthcoming moratorium extension is expected to draw legal challenges from landlord groups who say Hochul and the legislature should instead focus on fixing the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, which has been marred by delays, with only a fraction of the allocated $2.7 billion distributed so far.

“Their efforts should focus on helping their most vulnerable constituents apply,” said Joseph Strasburg, president of the Rent Stabilization Association, which earlier this week threatened to challenge any moratorium renewals in court.

Hochul countered that legislators will address such concerns by allowing landlords to challenge financial hardship declarations in court if they believe their tenants aren’t being truthful.

“We will make it as air-tight as we can,” Hochul said.

In addition to the tenant-related actions, Hochul said she’s also asking state lawmakers to use Wednesday’s special session to confirm her appointments to the Cannabis Control Board, the entity that will oversee the sale of recreational marijuana in the state.

Gov. Cuomo was accused of slow-walking the Cannabis Control Board process while still in office, and Hochul said it’s high time to get legal weed rolling in the Empire State.

The last item on the agenda for Wednesday’s session is to adjust the state’s open meetings law in order to allow for community boards and other local entities to continue to hold virtual gatherings as COVID-19 infections continue to tick up statewide.

“It’s a narrow scope of work,” Hochul said.