A group of state lawmakers are pressing legislation to extend Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s moratorium on evictions for an additional six months, according to Gothamist. The legislation would ensure that tenants cannot be ejected from their homes as they continue to grapple with the devastating economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Housing attorneys consider the extension to be an essential first step to ward off a potential eviction crisis that would affect the millions of New Yorkers whose incomes have either suffered or collapsed entirely during the outbreak.

“Without any state action, there are going to be New Yorkers across the state who will be unable to pay their rent, and very soon the courts are going to reopen and the cases will start piling up,” said Ellen Davidson, a staff attorney with the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “This is a step in the right direction to ensure we don’t end up with hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers in the street at a moment when coronavirus is wreaking havoc on the homeless population.”