Since the beginning of the pandemic and the associated lockdowns, thousands of New York residents have been unable to pay their rent. One New York Democrat, State Senator Michael Gianaris, urged Andrew Cuomo to pick up the bill.
You knew this was coming, didn’t you?
Gianaris recently appeared on the FOX Business Network:
New York lawmaker urges Cuomo to provide tenant, landlord relief in state budgetOne of the New York State Senate’s most powerful Democrats has called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to pay landlords and provide tenants with rent relief as part of a $2 billion state budget proposal in an effort to stem the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.Deputy Majority Leader Sen. Michael Gianaris, a Democrat, told FOX Business Network’s “CAVUTO: Coast to Coast” Thursday that canceling rent without helping property owners only “pushes the problem” onto another class of people…MICHAEL GIANARIS: Tenants are certainly in need. They have been unable to pay their rent, largely through no fault of their own. We’ve restricted the economy, we’ve, in fact, taken away their jobs for the time being, and yet we’re still expecting them to pay rent … One of the ways to deal with this is to just help them pay their rent, because canceling without helping out these smaller homeowners just pushes the problem onto another class of people. They still have to pay mortgages, they still have to pay utilities and what have you.
Watch the segment below:
So now the obvious question. Where is the money going to come from for this? New York is waiting to find out exactly how much more they’re going to get in COVID relief from the federal government. If it’s not enough, the next step is pretty obvious.
Denis Slattery reports at the New York Daily News:
The $2 billion-plus price tag for what’s being called a Housing Stability Relief Fund is based on an analysis by research firm Stout and could be covered by federal funds, advocates argue.Cuomo has presented a pair of budget proposals, one based on the state receiving $15 billion in money from Washington and another, dubbed a “worst-case scenario,” in which New York only gets $6 billion in COVID aid from the feds.The Legislature must approve a state budget by April 1.Should the Biden administration and Congress fail to come through on much-needed federal dollars, the state should consider increasing taxes on the wealthy to cover the cost of the rent relief fund, Gianaris said.
Tax the rich, which is the old Bernie Sanders special.
How many rich people are even left in New York City?
Featured image via YouTube.
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