Gov. Hochul was entirely right to let the eviction moratorium end

Kathy Hochul
John Lamparski/Sipa USA

Kudos to Gov. Kathy Hochul for letting New York’s eviction ban expire eventually. It’s an important step towards returning to normalcy — and avoiding huge injury to the inventory of housing statewide.

Then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo first imposed the moratorium again in March 2020. He after which Hochul have saved extending it — pushing numerous small landlords towards destroy.

Lefties insist that Hochul’s refusal to increase it'll imply mass evictions. That’s unlikely: Most landlords wish to maintain good tenants, even when they fall behind on hire, and particularly if the trigger is an extreme-but-temporary state of affairs just like the pandemic.

But the moratorium didn’t give property homeowners any slack: They needed to maintain paying for utilities, repairs and taxes (plus supers’ salaries), even with some tenants who saved their jobs refusing to pay.

Because it stands, mom-and-pop landlords have been pushed to promote to the massive guys — together with ones who’ll be far much less forgiving of tenants in arrears. (You suppose Blackstone might be merciful?)

Higher to get extra federal funding for the state’s Emergency Rental Help Program to assist those that really can’t pay, as Hochul is requesting. Merely declaring an countless hire vacation is only a recipe for catastrophe.