The Legal Aid Society released a statement calling for an indefinite extension of Gov. Cuomo’s eviction moratorium to protect New Yorkers from the threat of impending homelessness in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The statement followed last week’s extension of the moratorium to Sept. 4th, with Cuomo indicating his intent that the courts be left to determine policy on eviction proceedings independently, according to the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

Legal Aid’s statement slammed the stop-gap measure and reiterated their longstanding call for expansive relief measures as the only means of truly protecting the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who can no longer afford their rent.

“New Yorkers on the brink of eviction need more than just a month-to-month extension of protections to defend against homelessness in the midst of this pandemic,” said Judith Goldiner, Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “These families need Governor Cuomo to act on his own, without needlessly deferring to OCA, by using his powers and authority to extend the eviction moratorium indefinitely and outright.”