Paycheck Protection Program Update | Eviction Ban Is Unlawful | Coronavirus Update

After more than a year of operation and serving more than eight million small businesses, funding for the bi-partisan Paycheck Protection Program has been exhausted.

The SBA will continue funding outstanding approved PPP applications, but new qualifying applications will only be funded through Community Financial Institutions, financial lenders who serve underserved communities. The SBA is committed to delivering economic aid through the many COVID relief programs it is currently administering and beyond.

Per the Economic Aid Act, a Community Financial Institution (CFI) is one of the following types of lenders.

U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich of the District of Columbia struck down a nationwide eviction moratorium Wednesday, calling it unlawful. Friedrich’s ruling applies nationwide.

The eviction ban was put in place last year by the Trump administration using public health powers granted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during health emergencies.

The ban was most recently extended by President Biden through the end of June.

In her 20-page ruling, Friedrich said, “It is the role of the political branches, and not the courts, to assess the merits of policy measures designed to combat the spread of disease, even during a global pandemic. The question for the Court is a narrow one: Does the Public Health Service Act grant the CDC the legal authority to impose a nationwide eviction moratorium? It does not.”

The Georgia and Alabama Association of REALTORS®, two housing providers, and their property management companies, filed the suit in defense of mom-and-pop property owners around the country struggling to pay bills without rental income for more than a year.

NAR—which helped secure nearly $50 billion in rental assistance provided by Congress since December to help tenants pay their bills and provide relief to housing providers who have lost income—supported the lawsuit, saying the ban was no longer needed.

“NAR has always maintained that the best solution for all parties was rental assistance to cover the rent, taxes and utility bills for tenants struggling during the pandemic,” says NAR President Charlie Oppler. “This decision prevents two crises—one for tenants, and one for mom-and-pop housing providers who do not have a reprieve from their bills. With rental assistance secured, the economy growing, and unemployment rates falling, there is no need to continue a blanket, nationwide eviction ban. With this safety net firmly in place, the market needs a return to normalcy and stability.”

Oppler adds that “our attention now should turn to the swift and efficient implementation of rental assistance.”

Our safe and careful economic recovery and reopening continues. Beginning May 19, large-scale outdoor event venues will welcome more people and only be limited by the capacity necessary to comply with the CDC social distancing rules. This applies to outdoor music concerts, live entertainment, baseball games, horse races and more. Additionally, fully vaccinated attendees at these events may be seated at full capacity in assigned sections—providing another incentive for New Yorkers to get vaccinated. And in great news, the New York Yankees and the New York Mets, along with the State Department of Health, are teaming up to offer the COVID vaccine at their stadiums for fans at games. There’s another perk, too: If you’re going to a Yankees or Mets game and get vaccinated while there, you’ll get a free ticket to a future game. This announcement is good for baseball fans and good for public health.

Broadway theaters are ready to reopen at 100% capacity beginning September 14, and tickets will go on sale starting tomorrow. Broadway is a major part of our state’s identity and our economy, so we’re glad the curtain will rise again.

New York has extended legislation that provides critical support to homeowners and business owners experiencing hardship due to the pandemic. The COVID-19 Emergency Eviction and Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2020 and the COVID-19 Emergency Protect Our Small Businesses Act will be extended until August 31. This means that current protections prohibiting residential and commercial evictions, foreclosure proceedings, credit discrimination and negative credit reporting related to the COVID-19 pandemic, will continue as the State marches on the road to recovery.