NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Mayor Bill de Blasio took to Twitter late Thursday to slam the Supreme Court following its decision allowing evictions to resume across the nation amid the pandemic.
The court's conservative majority blocked the Biden administration from enforcing an eviction moratorium imposed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention earlier this month as the delta variant fueled coronavirus cases across the country. The ruling ends protections for roughly 3.5 million people facing evictions in the next two months.
De Blasio denounced the decision, tweeting, "A group of right wing extremists just decided to throw families out of their homes during a global pandemic."
He went on to say, "This is an attack on working people across our country and city," adding, "New York won’t stand for this vile, unjust decision."
Rep. Jamaal Bowman said the ruling "will put millions of people in danger."
"We must take immediate legislative steps to extend the eviction moratorium and solve the short term problem created by this Supreme Court decision," he tweeted. "Then, we must take steps, as a Congress, to transform a system that puts profit over keeping our people sheltered."
According to the court, the CDC lacked the authority to issue the moratorium, which would have expired Oct. 3.
“If a federally imposed eviction moratorium is to continue, Congress must specifically authorize it,” the court wrote.
The three liberal justices dissented, writing the moratorium should be allowed due to rising COVID-19 transmission rates.
The Biden administration was "disappointed" by the court's ruling, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, adding President Joe Biden “is once again calling on all entities that can prevent evictions — from cities and states to local courts, landlords, Cabinet Agencies — to urgently act to prevent evictions.”
On the state level, protections remain on the books in New York through the end of the month.
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