De Blasio considers NYC rent freeze, calls coronavirus greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression
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New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said on Monday he’s considering implementing a rent freeze for some of the city's tenants, deeming the coronavirus the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression.
Given the severity of the crisis, the mayor said he called on the Rent Guidelines Board to enact a freeze on rent payments for the more than two million New Yorkers who live in rent-stabilized housing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“People are hurting like never before. They deserve a rent freeze. I want to see that happen quickly,” he said. “It’s also the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. That’s what we’re seeing unfold right now and for a lot of us, we used to hear those stories from our parents and grandparents and never thought we’d live through anything slightly like it."
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“The number of people who have become unemployed just in the last few weeks is staggering, unbelievable. We’re just beginning to understand the magnitude of it,” de Blasio continued during his virtual press conference Monday. “The only parallel is the Great Depression with the suddenness in which this happened in some ways is even worse than what happened 80 years ago.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The mayor said he wanted the state of New York to allow tenants who can prove they lost their jobs amid the coronavirus public health crisis to defer their rent, paying it back to landlords over a 12-month period.
Given the number of people displaced by the outbreak, de Blasio added that he wants the state of New York to allow renters to use their security deposits for payments, adding that such a measure would also allow landlords to cover necessary expenses.
"There's no reason at this point given how much dislocation has occurred that a security deposit that's sitting in a bank account not helping anyone when it could be used to help pay the rent," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New York state had already enacted a moratorium on evictions, but de Blasio said the state must extend the measure for at least 60 days after the crisis ends to ensure New York City doesn’t face a sudden wave in evictions once the coronavirus subsides.
The mayor said he is launching a citywide tenant hotline through 311 that will help provide renters information about their rights, including how they can apply for unemployment insurance and food stamps.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}De Blasio has repeatedly clashed with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his response to the crisis.
Most recently, Cuomo said in Albany on Sunday that a decision had not been made to close all public schools in the state for the rest of the school year, despite de Blasio announcing hours earlier that he closed all schools in the city for summer break.
New York has recorded at least 190,288 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with at least 9,835 deaths as of Monday morning. At least 104,410 of those cases and 6,898 of those deaths were recorded in New York City, according to Johns Hopkins University.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In his press conference Monday, de Blasio highlighted that New York City recorded a slight decline in those who tested positive, those who were checked into hospitals with COVID-19 symptoms and those who were transferred to intensive care units over the past few days. He urged residents to uphold social distancing to continue to flatten the curve.
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“I want everyone to take it personally,” de Blasio said. “Numbers are abstractions but they represent human beings and they represent the future of this city and what our lives are going to be like.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“God forbid this disease surges, we’re going to have to potentially tighten restrictions,” he continued. “Best way to do that is to keep our discipline and New Yorkers have been absolutely outstanding.”