Governor Cuomo at long last signed the “COVID-19 Emergency Protect our Small Businesses Act of 2021.” The law, passed by the legislature in January, extends the moratorium on evictions for certain small businesses through May 1, 2019. Notably, the moratorium does not apply to any business. To qualify for protection, the business must “independently owned and operated, not dominant in its field and 40 employs fifty or fewer persons” and it must file declaration attesting to significant loss of revenue, increased expenses of other hardship attributable to the pandemic.
The Act also stays any pending eviction proceedings against an eligible tenant for sixty days and prohibits the institution of new proceedings until May 1.
While this is certainly a welcome respite for qualifying tenants, as with prior moratoriums, it must be stressed that this law only “kicks the can down the road.” It delays evictions but does not offer any relief as to the rent owed by the tenant. That’s the hard part …
