The Legal Aid Society warned against the consequences to the health of thousands of New Yorkers of the drive to resume housing court proceedings amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between the grave health risks represented by in-person proceedings, and the lack of clarity surrounding Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s successive eviction moratorium orders, Legal Aid has cautioned the city over rushing to re-institute eviction proceedings, especially after previous guidance issued by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore that the return of in-person proceedings was “not imminent.”

“[It’s] going to sound pretty damn imminent to many tenants in NYC, especially poor people, who are not going to take any chances when they get eviction petitions, and will come down to the courthouse to answer in person,” Nakeeb Siddique, Director of Housing for the Brooklyn Neighborhood Office of the Legal Aid Society, told Law 360.