WCBS Newsradio 880: Over 200 NY Politicians Request $10B Bailout For Renters

On April 18, 2020, Steve Burns of WCBS Newsradio 880 interviewed Senator Kavanagh and covered Kavanagh's call--along with Assemblymember Andrew Hevesi and over 200 other elected officials and advocates--for $10 billion in federal funding to assist tenants in New York during the COVID-19 public health and economic crisis. The full text of this story is below; the original version, including audio, is available via the link above.
_______________

Over 200 NY Politicians Request $10B Bailout For Renters
By Steve Burns
April 18, 2020

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) – Over 200 politicians across New York state are signing on to a letter requesting billions of dollars in rent assistance from Washington.

The letter co-signed by lawmakers and politicians from across the city and the state asks for $100 billion nationally and $10 billion for New York renters.

"The goal is to make sure there's big public money to prevent what really could be an enormous crisis of many, many thousands of people under threat of losing their lives,” New York state Sen. Brian Kavanagh said.

Kavanagh is spearheading an effort to bring billions in rent subsidies to New York in the next stimulus bill.

“We know there are thousands and thousands across the state who have lost their jobs and their going to have difficulty paying their rent,” Kavanagh said.

He said it would cover the difference between what tenants can afford and their rent

There is an eviction moratorium in New York state through mid-June, but Kavanagh said, “that is only a temporary solution; it doesn't address the question of how people are going to pay the rent when it eventually becomes due.”

Kavanagh said it may need to be extended if the crisis hasn’t slowed down by the summer.

###