Photo Courtesy of Comptroller Stringer’s Office
City Comptroller Scott Stringer
By Michael V. Cusenza
In a long letter dated Monday, Jan. 11, and sent to President-elect Joe Biden, incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, City Comptroller Scott Stringer urged the elected officials to deliver a comprehensive federal aid package that addresses both critical short-term needs and prepares to build back a stronger, more inclusive 21st century economy.
Stringer noted in the missive that New York City is still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic that claimed the lives of more than 25,000 New Yorkers, an economic crisis that shuttered more 2,800 small businesses at its height with a third more currently at risk of closure, and mass unemployment that has left nearly half a million people without work. With new leadership on the horizon in Washington, the comptroller outlined the city’s need for both an immediate equitable recovery and to address the numerous challenges that have cumulated over the past four years and longer, including: support for the city’s ongoing COVID-19 response, transportation, public housing, education, health care, child care and paid family leave, affordable housing and more.
“State and local governments cannot meet our residents’ needs alone. New York State already sends $26 billion more in taxes to the federal government than it gets back in federal spending, a larger imbalance of payment than any other state. New York City powers the national economy. Federal investment in the financial wellbeing of our cities is crucial to any sustained recovery,” Stringer wrote in the seven-page letter. “I urge you to act swiftly to help save New York City and get this nation’s economy back on its feet.”
In his message, Stringer said the city is still in dire need of expedited COVID-19 relief.
“The stimulus package enacted in the closing days of the 116th Congress provided some important, if limited, help to hard-pressed families and businesses. The additional 11 weeks of unemployment benefits, including extending the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation at $300 per week and the innovative Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, are a start—but do not go far enough to provide meaningful relief,” Stringer wrote. “For so many workers, jobs will not be returning by March. In the next relief package, I urge you to raise direct payments to $2,000 and again extend the unemployment assistance. Likewise, the flexibility to use 2019 income for purposes of claiming the Earned Income Tax Credit will benefit nearly a million households in New York City alone. Rental assistance will be crucial to many families who have struggled to stay current with their rent over the past months.”
The comptroller also urged the federal pols to ensure that the next relief package includes: cancellation of student debt for distressed borrowers, and making the Child Tax Credit fully refundable; and a national moratorium on evictions and additional rental assistance of at least $50 billion, alongside emergency vouchers and grants to help those at risk of homelessness remain sheltered. Any national eviction moratorium that supersedes the patchwork of state level policies must apply to all evictions—whether or not tenants make sworn declarations regarding a loss of income, and including tenants whose leases have expired during the pandemic.
The City mayoral candidate’s lengthy letter also called on elected officials to: address food insecurity and nutrition; restore the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; invest in infrastructure and education; adopt fair tax policies; and address the housing affordability crisis.
