State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33) is visiting tenant associations across District 33 in the Northwest Bronx in efforts to ensure eligible tenants apply to the New York State Emergency Rent Assistance Program (ERAP). ERAP was enacted as part of the 2021-2022 State budget which allocated $2.35 billion in federal funds to provide New Yorkers with relief to avoid evictions due to COVID-19.

 

As previously reported, through ERAP, households affected by COVID-19 can qualify for up to 12 months of past due rent, three months of future rent and up to 12 months of overdue utility bills. Individuals do not need to have a lawful immigration status to qualify for the program. Digital inequities, language barriers, and technical difficulties on the website are challenges for many community members in the Bronx. Rivera’s office and other elected officials are helping tenants overcome these barriers to prevent evictions and deliver rent relief to neighborhoods by offering appointments to complete ERAP applications and assistance in both English and Spanish.

 

Rivera’s office said that according to the New York Right to Counsel Coalition and CASA Bronx, one in four eviction cases across New York State were filed against Bronxites in the last year. They examined housing court data from June 2020 to date, and saw that over 79,000 eviction cases were filed despite the state eviction moratorium and other eviction prevention measures. Eight of the ten ZIP codes with the highest rates of eviction were found to be in Bronx neighborhoods made up of a majority of communities of color, and large immigrant populations who were severely impacted by the pandemic. In neighborhoods that Rivera represents, namely Fordham, Kingsbridge, and University Heights, his office said landlords have sued over 50 families per 1,000 units.

“My district was the eviction epicenter before the pandemic. In the last year, 26 percent of eviction cases that were filed across the state were filed against Bronxites,” the senator said. “I fought for a state rent relief program that would help my neighbors in the Bronx who are on the brink of displacement and homelessness. My team and I are committed to ensuring that my constituents get every dollar in rent relief that they are eligible for, which is why we are engaging directly with tenant associations across the district to help Bronxites through the application process.”

 

The statewide moratorium for most housing court cases ends on Aug. 31. As reported, The Legal Aid Society and others have called on State lawmakers to extend New York’s eviction moratorium beyond this date. Tenants who have submitted hardship declaration forms are protected from eviction, as reported, but may be facing a monetary judgment that could result in eviction when the stay ends. Tenants can pause eviction cases against them once they confirm their ERAP application has been submitted and tenants who receive rent relief funds to pay back rent arrears are protected from eviction through the next year.

 

The NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA), which operates the ERAP program, is only accepting applications online, and the website has been prone to technical difficulties, which have created barriers for constituents applying for rent relief. Rivera said U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote to OTDA’s commissioner, urging the State to release rent relief funds, because it was the only state that had not yet done so. OTDA announced that they had distributed just $117,000 in funds as of mid July. Rivera said the State is at risk of losing the federal funding that it hasn’t yet spent by September.

 

The senator added that the successful rollout of ERAP is critical to ensuring that a devastating eviction crisis is prevented across New York State. “I strongly believe that we need to extend the eviction moratorium beyond August 31 to allow time to resolve technical issues on OTDA’s application website, ensure New Yorkers in the communities most at risk are successfully applying for the program, and distribute rent relief funds to prevent non-payment eviction cases against tenants, particularly in the hardest hit communities where priorities in the law apply,” he said.

 

Bronx constituents who are interested in inviting Rivera to their tenant association meetings or other community events to learn about ERAP and eviction prevention measures can contact his office at grivera@nysenate.gov or by calling 718-933-2034.

 

Meanwhile, the CDC announced on Aug. 3 a new temporary halt in residential evictions in communities with substantial or high levels of community transmission of COVID-19 to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.

 

More information about the ERAP program is available at https://otda.ny.gov/programs/emergency-rental-assistance/.