July 21, 2020

By Emily Ngo and Kathleen Culliton (Read the story and watch the video on NY1)

NEW YORK —  New York renters facing a financial cliff in August, when federal unemployment and the state’s eviction moratorium expire, will have access to a new Landlord-Tenant Mediation Project run by the city, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday.

“We need to see each other through this crisis,” de Blasio said. “We are about to go over a cliff here in New York City.”

The Landlord-Tenant Mediation Project will operate out of 27 neighborhoods hit hardest by the novel coronavirus, said Housing Preservation and Development Commissioner Louise Carroll.

The city will work with tenants and landlords to negotiate rents outside of Housing Court, according to Carroll.

“The consequences of eviction can be devastating for families,” Carroll said. “By making this a fairer and more equitable city, we can only make it stronger.”

About 2 million New Yorkers have applied for unemployment benefits and the city has distributed 100 million free meals during a financial crisis de Blasio has often compared to the Great Depression.

New York City continues to see COVID-19 tracking indicators below the reopening threshold with 52 hospitalizations, 297 intensive care unit patients and a 2 percent positive test rate Monday, de Blasio said.

Several reporters questioned de Blasio about the delays in receiving results for COVID-19 tests.  New York City is currently conducting 40,000 tests a day which the mayor hinted might be pushing lab capacity to its limits.

“This is another thing the congress should act on,” de Blasio said.

De Blasio assured New Yorkers the city was prepared for a potential second wave of COVID-19 but did not detail any specific initiatives to address issues the five boroughs faced in the first, such as hospital bed and protective wear shortages.

“We are entirely better prepared than we were when we were first trying to understand, the world is better prepared,” de Blasio said. “There is just so much more knowledge.”

The mayor also doubled down on assurances that he would not allow President Donald Trump to send federal troops into the city to deal with an uptick in crime.

“I do believe it’s bluster,” de Blasio said. “I do believe we can beat it in court.”