August 2021

Weekly Report for August 27, 2021

Governor Hochul chooses Senator Benjamin to be Lieutenant Governor
On Thursday, Governor Kathy Hochul announced State Senator Brian Benjamin of Harlem will be the state’s next Lieutenant Governor. Benjamin was first elected to the Senate in a 2017 special election for the seat once held by former Governor David Paterson. Before taking office, Benjamin worked for Genesis Companies, a minority-owned business that builds and manages affordable housing in Harlem and was an investment adviser for Morgan Stanley. Read more here.

Governor Hochul extends Cuomo’s Executive Orders
On Tuesday, Governor Kathy Hochul issued her first Executive Order extending the deadline to October 8 any Executive Order previously issued which was currently in effect. This includes New York’s gun violence state of emergency order. Governor Hochul stated that all prior Executive Orders will be reviewed to determine whether any should be revoked, superseded or modified over the next 45 days.

Westchester County to consider right-to-counsel policy for tenants
Westchester County is considering the idea of a right-to-counsel policy for tenants facing eviction. The country has budgeted $45,000 to study the policy at a local level, however there is no timeline for the study. New York’s eviction moratorium is set to expire on Aug. 31, however state lawmakers are considering proposals to extend the deadline. The federal eviction moratorium expires on Oct. 3. Read more here.

Weekly Report for August 20, 2021

NYSAR meets with Senator Thomas; continues to call on lawmakers to end cold call ban
As a result of an ongoing state of emergency due to gun violence, licensees are still prohibited from making any cold calls until at least September 4. NYSAR sees no connection between acting to curb gun violence and the legitimate business practice of cold calling. You can help by urging state lawmakers to lift the ban on cold calling now and decouple the statutory restrictions on cold calling as it relates to states of emergency. Take Action here. NYSAR, along with a coalition of business groups, met this week with Senator Kevin Thomas (D-Long Island) to express our concerns with the ban. Senator Thomas was the author of the bill restricting telemarketing calls during states of emergency, which became law in 2019.

State starts to distribute rental assistance funding; eviction moratorium set to expire Aug. 31
On Thursday, the commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) testified at a State Senate hearing saying that New York State has met the federal deadline of spending at least 65 percent of the $2.6 billion allocated to the state in federal rental assistance funding. The commissioner reported, however that only $156 million has been sent out so far to 12,000 households, but that more funding has been provisionally approved to go out. Now that rental assistance is being disbursed, NYSAR is urging state lawmakers to resist calls to extend the state’s eviction moratorium, which is set to expire August 31, 2021. The federal eviction moratorium was extended until October 3, 2021. Read more here.

Save the Date: NYSAR Lobby Day will be May 10, 2022
NYSAR’s annual Lobby Day in Albany is scheduled for May 10, 2022. The event is currently planned to be in-person, pending any future health guidelines or restrictions. Additional details, including itinerary will be released at a future date. Attendance to NYSAR’s annual Lobby Day is open to all REALTOR® members. We will continue to provide you with updates on this event as they arise.

Weekly Report for August 13, 2021

NYSAR and business coalition to meet with Senator Thomas regarding telemarketing ban
NYSAR staff is scheduled to meet with Senator Kevin Thomas’ office next week to address concerns with the state’s ban on telemarketing during states of emergency, following Realtor® advocacy efforts on the issue. Senator Thomas was the author of the bill restricting telemarketing calls during states of emergency, which became law in 2019. NYSAR is leading this effort along with other business groups who are affected by the telemarketing ban, including telecommunication, insurance, and financial companies. REALTORS® are encouraged to urge their state lawmakers to end the ban on telemarketing by taking action here.

NYSAR welcomes incoming Governor Kathy Hochul
NYSAR is looking forward to partnering with Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul on fair housing efforts, curtailing eviction moratoriums, first-time home buyer assistance, and telemarketing restrictions, among other issues when she assumes office as Governor in the coming days following the resignation of Andrew Cuomo. NYSAR has a built a strong relationship with Lieutenant Governor Hochul, who most recently was the keynote speaker at last year’s NYSAR Mid-Winter Business meetings.

State Senate introduces bill to extend eviction moratorium
State Senators have introduced a bill to extend New York’s eviction moratorium until October 31, 2021. NYSAR is strongly opposed to the bill and will continue to engage state lawmakers on the issue. This follows the CDC’s announcement last week issuing a new federal eviction ban until October 3, 2021, applying to any “county experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels” of COVID-19. The State Senate is also scheduled to hold a public hearing in New York City on August 19 at 10 a.m. to examine the implementation of the state’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program. You can watch the public hearing here.

Weekly Report for August 6, 2021

NYSAR continues to call on Governor Cuomo to end cold call ban
As a result of an ongoing state of emergency due to gun violence, licensees are again prohibited from making any cold calls. NYSAR sees no connection between acting to curb gun violence and the legitimate business practice of cold calling. NYSAR has launched a Call for Action urging the Governor and State Legislature to lift the ban on cold calling now and decouple the statutory restrictions on cold calling as it relates to states of emergency. Take Action here.

Dutchess County Realtors® help pass local co-op fair housing law
Following advocacy efforts by the Dutchess County Association of REALTORS®, the Dutchess County Legislature unanimously approved a new local fair housing law to increase transparency in the cooperative housing purchase process. The new law requires cooperative housing corporations to provide acknowledgment of the receipt of an application within 15 days, or inform the applicant of any deficiencies, and to provide an applicant written notice of approval or denial within 45 days of acknowledgement of a completed application. County Executive Marc Molinaro signed the bill into law with an effective date of January 1, 2022. A copy of the law can be read here.

New CDC eviction moratorium extended to Oct. 3
On August 3, President Biden’s administration announced that the CDC is issuing a new, targeted federal eviction ban replacing the one that expired July 31. The new ban will apply to “counties experiencing substantial and high levels of community transmission levels” of COVID-19 and will last until Oct. 3. Estimates show this would apply to 80-90 percent of the U.S. population. NAR is supporting an emergency motion asking a federal judge to enforce the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent order stating that the CDC lacked authority to extend an eviction moratorium without Congressional authorization. Read more here.