NYC Council proposing coronavirus relief package at first-ever remote meeting amid pandemic

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson is pictured during a press conference at the Bellevue Hospital about New York City response to the coronavirus outbreak.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson is pictured during a press conference at the Bellevue Hospital about New York City response to the coronavirus outbreak.(Luiz C. Ribeiro/for New York Daily News)

The City Council is proposing a pause on evictions and “bill of rights” for essential workers as part of a package of legislation meant to address the public health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The Council will also consider forcing the city to provide all single adult homeless people with private rooms during the pandemic to reduce the risk of infection – essentially requiring many shelters to close.
Marshals and city sheriffs will be prevented from the taking and restitution of property or executing money judgments during the coronavirus crisis – effectively pausing evictions and debt collection – under one bill in the package set to be introduced at the Council’s first-ever remote meeting Wednesday after hearings were canceled last month.
The measure, which ensures tenants get additional time to pay rent, will also bar the collection of debts and performance of evictions on all New Yorkers impacted by COVID-19 until April 2021.
Harassing residential and commercial tenants based on their status as someone impacted by the disease, including if they were laid off or their business had to close, would result in penalties between $2,000 and $50,000 under two other bills.
And as part of the proposed “bill of rights,” the Council will also consider instituting premiums to certain essential, non-salaried workers. Employers with more than 100 workers have to pay hourly employees $30 for a shift under four hours, $60 for a shift of four to eight hours and $75 dollars for any shift over eight hours under proposed legislation that would lift this obligation when the coronavirus state of emergency is lifted.

Another measure would prohibit essential workers from being fired without just cause. And paid sick leave would be extended to gig workers and independent contractors under one proposed law.

Lawmakers may suspend annual sidewalk cafe fees to reduce burdens on cash-strapped restaurants and bars that had to close during the pandemic.

“We are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis for our City, and mourning the loss of so many neighbors, friends and fellow New Yorkers,” Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan) said in a statement. “But even in this dark time, we must be laser-focused on helping New York City emerge from this crisis while prioritizing our public health.”

The Council will only vote on land use items during the meeting Wednesday but hearings on each of the bills in the COVID-19 relief package will be held in the next week and a half.


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