ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order Thursday expanding a coronavirus-related emergency moratorium on evictions and foreclosures of commercial properties until Sept. 20.
The move gives business owners heavily impacted by state-ordered closures associated with COVID-19 more another month to meet their rental obligations.
“While we have made great progress in keeping New York’s infection rate low, this pandemic is not over and as we continue to fight the virus, we are continuing to protect New York businesses and residential tenants who face financial hardship due to COVID,” Cuomo said.
“I am extending the state’s moratorium on commercial evictions to ensure business owners across New York will not be forced to close as a result of the pandemic.”
It’s an extension from an original March 20 eviction moratorium impacting commercial and residential renters, although Cuomo recently signed another bill allowing tenants some protections if they can prove they’ve been negatively impacted by the coronavirus.
But commercial tenants are feeling the crush — and have been for five months.
A recent survey by the NYC Hospitality Alliance found over 80 percent of bar and restaurant owners couldn’t pay their full July rent.
Nearly 40 percent said they wouldn’t be able to pay at all.
Meanwhile, New York City’s July unemployment rate remained flat compared to June at nearly 20 percent.
Statewide, that figure grew slightly to 15.9 percent — a small increase from the prior month’s 15.6 percent rate, according to data from the state Department of Labor.