NY Rent Relief Program Could Reopen If Legal Aid Lawsuit Succeeds

NEW YORK CITY — New York's billion-dollar rent relief program may reopen if a new lawsuit from the Legal Aid Society succeeds in the state’s supreme civil court.

The public defenders filed Monday a class action against the state’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance to demand it reopen the Emergency Rental Assistance Program and accept applications from New Yorkers in debt to their landlords, court records show.

“Denying New Yorkers the ability to apply for desperately needed rent relief during the ongoing pandemic is cruel and will only exacerbate the public health and economic crisis we are facing,” said Ed Josephson of the Legal Aid Society.

“OTDA’s closure of that platform is unlawful and in direct violation of the ERAP statute.”

The New York State press office declined to comment on pending litigation.

Legal Aid argues the state shut down the program prematurely on Nov. 15 and denied needed aid to 591,000 families at risk of losing their homes on Jan. 15, when New York’s eviction moratorium expires, the complaint shows.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised in May that $2.7 billion in Emergency Rental Assistance Program funding would be made available to about 200,000 families, Patch reported at the time.

The state has since allocated $2.2 billion to approximately 164,000 families, with about $924 million pending as more than 73,000 families wait on landlords to complete paperwork, according to numbers provided by the Legal Aid Society.

New York State may also receive an additional $960 million in federal funding after filing an application in November, according to the complaint.

Legal Aid argued the state did not have authority to close the application portal under the program's statute and called the decision "arbitrary" and "capricious," the complaint shows.

The rental assistance website shows tenants in seven counties in upstate New York and Long Island may still apply for rent relief funds that have not yet been claimed.

New York tenants facing eviction in January may also submit hardship declarations to their landlords, the state website notes.

Legal Aid filed suit on behalf of four New Yorkers from The Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn who face eviction and were denied access to the program, as well as advocacy groups Coalition for the Homeless and Housing Court Answers.

Upper West Side Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, Chair of the Committee on Social Services, threw her support behind the class action suit.

"ERAP has proven a vital lifeline for tenants and landlords who have suffered financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 crisis,” Rosenthal said.

“I am grateful to the Legal Aid Society for taking this bold and necessary step to compel the State to do the right thing.”

This article was updated at 2:35 p.m. to reflect a response from the New York State press office.