[ad_1]
Mayor Eric Adams demanded Thursday that the federal government distribute an “immediate” infusion of additional funds to New Yorkers struggling to pay their rent, ahead of the coming expiration of the state’s eviction moratorium.
“I want to echo the call by Gov. Hochul and the New York congressional delegation urging the federal Treasury Department to make an immediate increase in federal rent relief program,” he said during a press conference outside the Manhattan Civil Courthouse. “New Yorkers need relief, and we can get that relief.
“The federal government must help working people in this state,” Adams added. “We want the federal government to ensure they bring that relief.”
The mayor’s ask comes as the Empire State’s eviction moratorium — first implemented in Spring 2020 to help tenants and landlords with COVID-19 pandemic-induced financial hardship — is set to expire on Saturday.
In September, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that extended the state’s eviction moratorium through Jan. 15 after the state legislature the greenlit the measure during a special session following the expiration of the federal moratorium in July.
The plea also follows Hochul announcing Tuesday that she’s requesting more federal aid from President Biden for the state’s dried-up rental relief program with the aim of clearing the roughly $1 billion backlog in its Emergency Rental Assistance Program.
Specifically, Hochul revealed that she along with governors of California and New Jersey sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen asking for more cash to states that have depleted their initial federal rent relief funds.
[ad_2]