Advocates urge city to use stimulus money to prevent wave of evictions after moratorium expires
Utica, NY– Tenants, property owners and advocates, including Citizen Action of New York and Utica Common Council members Celeste Friend and Delvin Moody, are urging the city to use federal stimulus relief funding to provide rental assistance to tenants who are experiencing a loss of income due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Council members Friend and Moody have introduced a resolution to do just that, and are urging the rest of the council members and the Mayor Robert Palmieri to support their efforts.
“My tenant was one of those unfortunate people who lost her job when the bars and restaurants closed,” said Senada Kadic, a local property owner. “Instead of adding to her stress and expecting the rent from her during a really hard time, I decided to forgive it and work with her moving forward. While I knew this would make it harder on me to pay my bills, the most important thing to me right now is people’s health and safety.”
Utica is slated to receive $1.48 million in federal stimulus money to prevent an increase in the homeless population. Half of Utica’s residents were one emergency away from homelessness before this pandemic. With so many experiencing lay-offs and loss of income, many are out of options. Friend and Delvin’s legislation would create an emergency rental voucher program. Citizen Action of New York’s Central New York chapter launched a petition a few days ago.
“Rent relief is good for everyone. Obviously, it most directly benefits people who might be at risk of being evicted once this crisis has passed. But it is also good for landlords who don’t want to have to evict their tenants, or who depend on the rental income to pay their bills. And it is good for all of us, who don’t want to see a spike in the homeless population in this city,” said Utica Common Councilmember Celeste Friend, D-Ward 3.
“In a time of so much anxiety and uncertainty, providing rent relief is a basic protection that our government should be providing,” said Shana Dahlin, Citizen Action State Board member. “Too many New Yorkers are already rent-burdened spending too much of their income to just have a roof over their heads.”