Stop All Evictions in New York — It’s a Matter of Life and Death
New York must immediately reinstate a complete eviction moratorium, incoming New York state legislators and socialists Jabari Brisport and Marcela Mitaynes argue. You can't stay at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19 if you're forced out of your home.
Many New Yorkers are suffering right now, unable to afford food or rent, and New York’s patchwork moratorium cannot solve the problem. (Pixabay)
Two weeks ago, in the overlap of our two districts, a family was legally evicted for the first time in New York City since the beginning of the pandemic. The tenant of record was evicted along with her elderly father, her daughter and her one-year-old grandchild. This multigenerational family is now without a home in the middle of a deadly, resurging pandemic. And many more families are about to face the same fate; there are currently 1.4 million households struggling to pay their rent.
Evictions are always devastating; this year, they’re deadly. Evictions directly correlate with COVID-19 cases and deaths, and have already led to more than 10,000 COVID-19–related deaths nationwide. Health care workers recognize this, and in August a coalition of doctors, nurses and frontline providers signed a letter calling for a comprehensive eviction moratorium.
Acting on that sound medical guidance, New York state did the right thing and enacted a complete eviction shutdown for seven months.
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