POLICY DEVELOPMENT

The COVID-19 crisis is magnifying the importance of equitable public policy and exposing the structural problems that persist in our health systems and economy. Several of these issue areas were already priorities on our 2020 Community Agenda, including reducing evictions, reversing water shut-offs, improving language access and inclusion, and making healthy food available to our children. 

Policy Changes Adopted to Date 

These policies have been adopted in response to the COVID-19 emergency. We are monitoring their implementation and impacts in Buffalo Niagara and ensuring the government response is adequate to the challenges at hand.

• Paid sick leave: Both the federal government and New York State have created paid sick leave policies for coronavirus-related circumstances. The federal program (Federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act - FFCRA) offers up to 80 hours paid sick leave. It also offers 12 weeks emergency family leave if you're not able to work because you're caring for a child because schools are closed and childcare is unavailable. If you're not eligible for the federal program, you may be eligible for the NYS program (New York State Emergency Sick Leave). Learn more about both programs and eligibility here.
• Federal mortgage moratorium: For FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac single-family home mortgages, there will be no foreclosures until at least January 1, 2021.
• Eviction moratoriums: The NYS Tenant Safe Harbor Act has been extended to January 1, 2021. This means that tenants cannot be evicted for non-payment of rent if their financial hardship is COVID-19 related.
• Utility shut-offs moratorium: NYS passed legislation which bans utility shut-offs for customers who are unable to pay their utility bills until March 31, 2021.
• Waiting period for unemployment benefits waived: NYS has passed legislation waiving the 7-day waiting period for collecting unemployment benefits. This waiver will last until the COVID-19 state of emergency is lifted. You can apply here for benefits.
• State medical and student debt collection suspended: NYS Attorney General Letitia James paused collection of debt that is owed to the state government, which includes medical and student debt. This suspension will last until October 4, 2020. At that time, the Attorney General will consider extending this suspension. Debt collection by private companies has not been suspended.
• Shelter and meals available to the homeless: The wintertime Code Blue program to shelter the homeless has transitioned into "Code 19" during this public health crisis. Find updates about shelter openings here.
• Absentee ballots: Governor Cuomo has expanded absentee voting during this COVID-19 crisis. Anyone can request an absentee ballot for November's election by submitting your information here.

Policy Changes Still Urgently Needed

These policies are still needed now to meet residents' basic needs and address the ongoing impacts of the crisis.

• Rent relief/cancellation: Thousands of workers in the state were laid off as a result of COVID-19. Many won’t be able to pay their rent during this crisis and will likely be evicted once the eviction moratorium is lifted. NYS should cancel all rental payments during this period of crisis and provide a standard rental payment to landlords. Bills currently in committee that would address this issue include NYS Senator Gianaris' bill S8125A and NYS Senator Kavanagh's bill S8140A. Sign the petition to forgive rent and mortgage payments. At the federal level, Representative Ilhan Omar has introduced a comprehensive rent and mortgage cancellation bill that would protect tenants and homeowners, reimburse landlords and lenders, and fund the creation of more affordable housing. Support it here. The NYS legislature should also pass the Home Stability Support bill, which would provide much-needed rental assistance to people who qualify for public benefits and are facing homelessness.
• Debt collection moratorium: While debt collection owed to NYS has been suspended due to COVID-19, debt collection owed to private companies has not. In this public health and economic crisis, everyday people need access to their money in order to survive. Yet, private debt collection is resulting in frozen bank accounts and wage garnishments. Governor Cuomo should suspend private debt collection immediately.  Sign the petition here.
• Release aging and legally innocent inmates: Incarcerated people are currently some of our most vulnerable community members when it comes to contracting COVID-19. They are in a confined space—often packed together—and are not provided with basic hygiene supplies like soap. Further, the Erie County Holding Center has demonstrated that it does not provide adequate medical care to incarcerated individuals at the best of times. Aging and medically vulnerable people who are currently incarcerated should be released immediately as they are highest-risk for contracting severe and deadly cases of COVID-19. Similarly, bail-eligible, legally innocent inmates should be released immediately. Sign the petition here. To see PPG's full analysis and recommendations on reducing the spread of COVID-19 in jails, see our post here.
• Restore water service: Buffalo Water should take a proactive approach to reaching households whose water was turned off for nonpayment in the months before the crisis, and quickly turn their water back on at no cost. Sign the petition here.
• Language Access for public health and emergency information: The City of Buffalo and Erie County have provided limited information in our region's top languages other than English during the crisis. Immigrant and refugee organizations have expressed the difficulty of communicating "stay at home" and public health messages without official information translated, which harms community health for all. Local governments should work more quickly to provided translated resources and video messages in top languages.
• Provide Emergency Fiscal Support for Non-Profits: Non-profits and community-based organizations  provide essential services like food, health services, childcare, language access, and more. Non-profit organizations providing essential services should receive emergency fiscal support while non-profit organizations providing non-essential services should be eligible for grants based size.  

Policies to Move Toward Long-Term Equitable Recovery

These policies can ensure we move forward to ensure lasting, equitable economic change. While these policies benefit everyone, they are particularly important for populations and communities that were vulnerable at the start of the crisis, facing health disparities and historic patterns of inequality and discrimination.

• Pro-worker, High Road labor standards: The Buffalo-Niagara region suffers from a lack of high-quality, living wage jobs. One third of our workforce makes less than $15/hour, and many workers do not have access to health insurance through their employer. Yet, each year, millions of taxpayer dollars are dolled out to real estate developers and big businesses as incentives to invest in our region. Local and state governments should require companies that receive taxpayer-funded incentives to create high quality jobs that pay living wages. Our officials must also monitor these companies to ensure that these promises are fulfilled.
• Expand voting accessibility: While NY passed a slew of voting expansion bills in 2019, there’s still much to be done. The NYS legislature should commit to passing same day voter registration and no-excuse absentee ballots on the first day of the 2021 legislative session. These measures are necessary to remove the barriers that keep many New Yorkers from exercising their constitutional right and civic duty to vote.
• Protect tenants and improve housing quality: Low-income renters are some of the most vulnerable people in our community due to many factors including a lack of quality jobs, stagnant incomes, poor housing quality, and limited emergency rental assistance. There are many steps that our local government can take to stabilize our renters. Erie County should enact the supplemental shelter allowance to bridge the gap between rental assistance and the actual cost of renting an apartment as well as expand the criteria for emergency rental assistance when a renter is facing homelessness. The City of Buffalo should legislate proactive inspections to ensure quality rental housing throughout our city and should refuse landlords the right to evict if the property is not up to code via a Clean Hands Eviction law. Finally, the City should pass Just Cause legislation to ensure that tenants cannot be evicted without a good reason. For our full list of recommendation, see our report here.
• Equitable water financing: The Buffalo Water Board should develop programs and policies to ensure more equitable financing and rate structures for low income individuals who are unable to pay their water bills. Approximately 2,500 to 3,000 Buffalo residents each year have their water turned off because of nonpayment of water bills; some residents of our city then live without water for months. Water is a human necessity, and we must institute equitable billing structures to ensure that all residents have access to this vital resource. More equitable policies will assist individuals living with disabilities, fixed incomes, or life emergencies that preclude them from paying their water bills.
• Child care
• Universal healthcare

COMMUNITY GROUPS IN THE LEAD

We are collecting stories and examples to document how community groups—as they always do—are stepping up to fill the gaps in our systems which this emergency has so clearly magnified and exposed. From block clubs and established neighborhood organizations to rapidly forming coalitions, community groups are providing incredible leadership in this time of crisis. Long-term recovery should center their needs, insights, and leadership too.

If you have a story or example to share, email buffalocommons@cornell.edu or tweet @PPGBuffalo and @Buffalo_Commons. 

BUFFALO COMMONS WORKSHOPS CONTINUE VIRTUALLY

For the foreseeable future, our Buffalo Commons capacity-building workshops will be held in a virtual format.  

SUBMIT YOUR COVID-19 CRISIS RESEARCH REQUEST  

As usual, we are here to connect you to researchers or graduate students who can help find local solutions to your questions. Please use our Buffalo Commons Research Exchange form to submit your research need related to this crisis and we will share it with our researcher network. Or email buffalocommons@cornell.edu to get started.

In the weeks ahead, we will feature locally-focused research on the crisis and its impacts on this site.

Please submit additional policy priorities and local resources to info@ppgbuffalo.org.