Brooklyn Sen. Zellnor Myrie pushes bill to end winter evictions

ALBANY — A Brooklyn lawmaker wants to put an end to winter evictions in New York.

Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn) and backers rallied Thursday in support of a bill that would prohibit sheriffs and marshals from executing eviction warrants statewide during the coldest part of the year.

Tenant advocates joined Myrie outside of Brooklyn Housing Court to bring attention to the measure, which they say would prevent inhumane evictions during the winter and help reduce the ongoing homelessness crisis in the city.

“If it’s too cold to cut the heat, it’s too cold to be out on the street,” Myrie said. “We’ve seen over the past few years how preventing evictions is not simply a matter of tenants rights, it’s integral to public health and safety.”

The bill, known as the Winter Moratorium on Evictions Act, is also sponsored by Assemblywoman Anna Kelles (D-Ithaca) and would block evictions between Nov. 1 and April 15 of each year.

Myrie said the measure is modeled on eviction moratoriums instituted during the height of the COVID-19 crisis that prevented thousands of families from facing homelessness.

Evictions continue to rise across the five boroughs after the pandemic ban expired early last year.

According to city data, marshals removed nearly 4,400 families or individuals from apartments between January 2022, when the COVID restrictions lapsed, and last month.

That number is still a fraction of the annual evictions recorded pre-pandemic. In 2019, nearly 17,000 evictions were carried out by marshals in the city, per the Department of Investigation.

“We’ve seen over the past few years how preventing evictions is not simply a matter of tenants’ rights, it’s integral to public health and safety,” Myrie said. “In the midst of a homelessness and housing affordability crisis in this city and state, stopping eviction proceedings during the winter months is an important step towards housing justice for all.”

Tenant advocates agreed, saying that the bill would provide some peace of mind for New Yorkers falling behind on rent or worried about winding up on the streets during a cold spell.

“Respect low income people and stop all court cases from moving forward and evicting people and their families, who are losing their homes,” said Fidele Albert, a tenant leader with Flatbush Tenant Coalition, Crown Heights Tenant Union and Brooklyn Eviction Defense. “Say no to more homelessness and yes to abolishing and banning winter evictions forever.”