Freeze all Commercial Evictions

The following is a press release from the Small Business Congress

Candidates rally behind call to Freeze all Commercial Evictions

Last Chance to Save Mom & Pop businesses on the road to extinction.

Last Wednesday, on the steps of City Hall, independent-minded candidates running for office called for an Emergency Freeze of Evictions of All Commercial tenants. Lead by Mayoral candidate Sal Albanese, Public Advocate candidate David Eisenbach, and six council candidates, they claimed City Hall was not doing enough to pass legislation to protect small businesses from the sky-high rent increases forcing them to close in record numbers. Small Business Congress spokesperson Steven Barrison went further and accused the city’s leadership--Mayor de Blasio, Public Advocate James and Speaker Mark-Viverito--of joining big real estate in “rigging the system” to stop any legislation which gave rights to commercial owners to negotiate fair lease terms.

Barrison stated: “the crisis facing our small businesses has grown worse under these self proclaimed progressive liberals whose policy of 'doing nothing' has not saved a single business or job. In the long debate on passing legislation to regulate the lease renewal process, only once in 30 years has a public hearing been denied, under the de Blasio and Mark-Viverito administration."

To substantiate his claim the crisis is worsening, he gave NYC Court Warrants to Evict Commercial Tenants during Mayor de Blasio’s first three years compared to the last years of Mayor Bloomberg. Every day in NYC since the election of self-proclaimed Progressives, 16 businesses are issued court warrants to vacate, with an estimated 40 businesses closed each day.

Under former Mayor Bloomberg the average court evictions of commercial tenants, his last two years:

Avg. 492 warrants to vacate per month

Est. 1,000-1,2000 businesses closing each month in NYC

Est. 8,000-9,000 jobs lost each month


Under Mayor de Blasio, average court evictions of commercial tenants the past three years:

Avg. 491 warrant to vacate per month

Est. 1,200-1,400 businesses closing each month in NYC

Est. 9,600 – 11,200 jobs lost each month





Bronx Council candidate John Doyle explained how the crisis was no longer a high-rent neighborhood in Manhattan but has spread to even low-income neighborhoods in every borough. He proved his point with the court evictions for Bronx businesses’ increase in 2015 by 30%, leading all the boroughs.

The advocates for small business wanted the public to know the crisis was not just the exorbitant rent increases that are driving businesses to close or destroying their futures. Manhattan Council candidate Christopher Marte, whose father once ran a Bodega in the East Village, stated the growing trend of extorting cash from mostly immigrant owners whose lease expired and they had no rights to protect themselves. Bronx council candidate Michael Beltzer spoke about the shameful short term leases, sometimes month to month given to mostly immigrant owners, as landlords waited for deep pocket renters or speculators to buy their property. Brooklyn candidate Deidre Olivera highlighted the loss of jobs and lower wages that business owners were forced to pay as a result of paying both sky high rents and the landlord’s growing property taxes.

The crisis to survive was not just limited to small businesses. Manhattan candidate Mel Mymore spoke of the many professional businesses who faced this crisis but were being discriminated against in all of the City Hall proposals being discussed to address high rents. None of these proposals: zoning, lease extensions to give time to move, and tax incentives to landlords gave any protection to professional small business owners. Only the Small Business Jobs Survival Act gave rights to all commercial tenants. Rights to renewal leases for 10 years and rights to negotiate fair lease terms.



As this crisis grows worse and spreads to each borough, why would once proud sponsors of the Jobs Survival Act like Mayor de Blasio, Public Advocate James, and Speaker Mark-Viverito now allow their offices to remain silent and deny a hearing on the Jobs Survival bill or any legislation giving rights to the business owners?

The answer came from mayoral candidate Sal Albanese, who supports the Freeze of Evictions because “Mayor de Blasio would never support legislation which regulated his primary campaign donators-- big real estate.” Public Advocate candidate David Eisenbach agreed with Albanese's assessment and said, “the same was true for other leadership at City Hall who were being heavily funded in the election by REBNY and the real estate PACs. Several top leaders, like Public Advocate James had completely 'flipped' their support for the Jobs Survival Act and joined big real estate in denying democracy at City Hall.”

The Small Business Congress endorsed all these independent minded candidates as the ONLY HOPE to stand up to big real estate and the corrupt political machine to end this crisis and save our businesses.


For more on high-rent blight, read:
Bleak City
Save New York
Unchain the City
Vacant New York