Attorney General James Renews Suspension of State Debt Collection for Fifth Time as Coronavirus Continues to Impact New Yorkers’ Wallets

 

New Yorkers with Student and Medical Debt Referred to AG’s Office

Will Have Payments Automatically Frozen Through September 4, 2020

   New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced that the state will, on Sunday renew for the fifth time, an order to halt the collection of medical and student debt owed to the state of New York that has been specifically referred to the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) for collection. In response to continuing financial impairments resulting from the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), the OAG will renew orders again from this coming Sunday, August 16, 2020, through Friday, September 4, 2020 — a date which coincides with Governor Cuomo’s most recent executive order tolling statutes of limitation and other legal time periods. After this period, the OAG will reassess the needs of state residents for another possible extension. Additionally, the OAG will accept applications for suspension of all other types of debt owed to the state of New York and referred to the OAG for collection.

“Although New York has had remarkable success in containing the coronavirus, too many New Yorkers are still enduring the financial hardships of this pandemic,” said Attorney General James. “We have the power to help tens of thousands of New Yorkers who are struggling to make ends meet, which is why we are again suspending the collection of state student and medical debt referred to my office. As we continue our work to stop the spread of this virus, we must also work to rebuild our economy and help New Yorkers get back on their feet, and that starts with ensuring our state’s residents are not unnecessarily burdened with additional debt payments at this time.”

Millions of New Yorkers, like Americans across the nation, have been impacted — directly or indirectly — by the spread of COVID-19, forcing them to forgo income and business. Since COVID-19 began to spread rapidly across the country in mid-March, tens of millions of residents across the nation have filed for unemployment, including more than 3.4 million in New York state alone. In an effort to support many New Yorkers economically impacted during this difficult time, Attorney General James will this weekend renew an order — first made in March and renewed in April, in May, in June, and in July — to ease the financial burdens for many workers and families by halting the collection of medical and student debt owed to the state of New York and referred to the OAG for collection through September 4, 2020.

The OAG collects certain debts owed to the state of New York via settlements and lawsuits brought on behalf of the state of New York and state agencies. A total of more than 165,000 matters currently fit the criteria for a suspension of state debt collection, including, but not limited to:

• Patients that owe medical debt due to the five state hospitals and the five state veterans’ homes;
• Students that owe student debt due to State University of New York (SUNY) campuses; and
• Individual debtors, sole-proprietors, small business owners, and certain homeowners that owe debt relating to oil spill cleanup and removal costs, property damage, and breach of contract, as well as other fees owed to state agencies.

The temporary policy has also automatically suspended the accrual of interest and the collection of fees on all outstanding state medical and student debt referred to the OAG for collection, so New Yorkers are not penalized for taking advantage of this program.

New Yorkers with non-medical or non-student debt owed to the state of New York and referred to the OAG may also apply to temporarily halt the collection of state debt. Individuals seeking to apply for this temporary relief can fill out an application online or visit the OAG’s coronavirus website to learn more about the suspension of payments. If an individual is unable to fill out the online form, they can also call the OAG hotline at 800-771-7755 to learn more.

NYS Office of the Comptroller - DiNapoli: State Tax Revenues Down $3 Billion Through July

 

State tax receipts of $26.4 billion through the first four months of the state fiscal year were $3 billion, or 10.2 percent, below the same period last year, according to the July cash report issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“The shift of the tax filing deadline from April to July this year added to the revenue damage created by the COVID-19 pandemic,” DiNapoli said. “July numbers show more clearly the extent of the budgetary damage from the pandemic, which is driving both unanticipated spending and declining tax receipts. Washington’s continued delay on further federal response leaves the state, local governments, nonprofits and others with increasingly difficult questions on how to maintain the services New Yorkers need during this national emergency.”

Other items of note in the report:

• Personal income tax (PIT) collections totaled $18.9 billion through July, $1.4 billion, or 6.8 percent, lower than a year ago. Receipts from PIT withholding were 1 percent, or $133.1 million, below the previous year, while estimated payments were 14.4 percent, or more than $1.3 billion, lower.
• Sales tax receipts of $4 billion for the first four months were down $1.2 billion from a year earlier, a drop of 23.1 percent. The year-over-year decline in July, 8.6 percent, was the lowest since March.
• All Funds spending through July totaled $53 billion, down $2.3 billion, or 4.2 percent, from the previous year, including a $1.8 billion decline in local assistance grants.
• The General Fund ended the month with a balance of $14.4 billion, $7.8 billion higher than July 2019, reflecting a variety of factors including short-term borrowing authorized in the State Fiscal Year 2020-21 Enacted State Budget.

July Cash Report

MAYOR DE BLASIO ADDS MORE OUTDOOR DINING AND PLAY STREET LOCATIONS TO NATION-LEADING OPEN STREETS PROGRAM

 

Expanding initiatives provide street space for restaurants and recreation along select corridors and in pedestrian plazas

  Mayor de Blasio today announced 21 more locations for outdoor dining options as part of a City initiative that combines the Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs, while adding more seating in more outer-borough pedestrian plazas. The Administration is also adding four more locations in three boroughs for Play Streets, an initiative the City launched in July to provide children with safe, structured activities on Open Streets during summer weekdays. 

 Today’s announcement brings restaurant seating options to 16 more car-free streets on weekends for select corridors, with most of the new locations starting the evening of Friday, August 15th. New plaza locations with exclusive seating, collective dining, and open public seating include Westchester Square in the Bronx and Hillel Plaza in Brooklyn, along with Corona Plaza, Diversity Plaza, and the 71st Avenue Plaza in Queens. Last month the Mayor announced that the City would extend in-street dining through October instead of ending it by Labor Day, giving more than 9,500 participating restaurants two extra months to serve diners in safe, socially distant outdoor spaces. 

 

"Rebuilding a fairer and better city means using our urban landscape creatively, and I'm proud to build on the success of our Open Streets program," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "New Yorkers have sacrificed so much during this crisis and they deserve the opportunity to safely enjoy their neighborhoods and communities."

 

"Communities from across New York City are seeing the benefits Open Restaurants has upon its businesses and the joy it brings to residents, which is why we are continuing to see more and more streets open up to outdoor dining," said Deputy Mayor Laura Anglin. "By continuing to give restaurants innovative ways to serve their customers, we are not only helping to save these jobs and businesses but also providing New Yorkers a small sense of normalcy."

 

“We are so excited to see the Open Streets: Restaurants and Play Streets initiatives continue to grow, bringing new recreation opportunities and outdoor dining locations to our Open Streets and pedestrian plazas in all five boroughs,” said DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. “We thank Mayor de Blasio and our many agency and community partners for keeping up the hard work and helping New Yorkers stay prosperous, healthy and socially active in the fresh air as we emerge step by step from the COVID crisis.”  

 

"Our City continues to benefit from the ever-popular Open Streets and Open Restaurants programs,” said Jonnel Doris, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “As more restaurants get involved, we continue to see the great benefit these initiatives bring to our City and to the people who patronize these businesses.” 

 

New Open Streets: Restaurants Locations:

 

Organization	On Street	From Street	To Street	Borough
3rd Ave BID	Alexander Ave	Bruckner Blvd	E 134th St	BX
Park Slope 5th Ave BID	5th Ave	Sterling Pl	Berkely Pl	BK
Prospect Heights NDC	Vanderbilt Ave	Pacific St	Atlantic Ave	BK
99 Favor Taste	61st St	7th Ave	8th Ave	BK
Chinatown BID	Bayard St	Mott Street	Mulberry St	MN
Calabria Restaurant dba Il Brigante Restaurant	Front St	Peck Slip	Beekman St	MN
34th Street Partnership	32nd St	6th Ave	Broadway	MN
	Broadway	32nd St	31st St	MN
Casa Nomad restaurant and Akin Hospitality Group	Broadway	W 29th St	W 31st St	MN
Mari Makan LLC	Spring St	Mott St	Elizabeth St	MN
Peasant	Elizabeth St	Spring St	Prince St	MN
120 Marcus Meets Malcolm	W 120th St	Malcolm X Blvd	Mt Morris Park W	MN
Flatiron 23rd St Partnership	Broadway	W 28th St	W 29th St	MN
Flatiron 23rd St Partnership	Broadway	W 21st St	W 22nd St	MN
Friends of Diversity Plaza	37th Rd	75th St	74th St	QN
The Angiuli Group	Minthorne St	Bay St	Victory Blvd	SI

 

The first round of Open Streets: Restaurants locations, announced July 2^nd, focused on streets that were already participating in the Open Streets program, and on corridors represented by organizations that have worked with DOT on street closures in the past. The second tranche announced, July 17^th, added 26 new locations. A third round, announced on July 31^st, included 15 locations. Today’s announcement brings the citywide total to 76 participating streets and 9 pedestrian plazas.

 

The hours of operation for this new expanded seating option for restaurants will be from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday nights, and noon to 11 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

 

New Play Streets include locations in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island, in partnership with the Police Athletic League and the Staten Island Open and Play Streets Coalition:

 

 

Neighborhood	Boro	Street	From	To	Partner	Start Date	End Date	Days	Times
Morrisania	BX	170th St	Webster Ave	Park Ave	PAL	TBD	9/4/20	M,T, W, Th	12pm - 5pm
Red Hook	BK	Wolcott Street	Richards St	Van Brunt St	PAL	8/1/20	9/4/20	M,T, W, Th	12pm - 5pm
Port Richmond	SI	Hill St	Tompkins St	Warren St	SIOAPSC	8/27/20	8/27/20	Th	12pm - 4pm
Port Richmond	SI	Henderson Ave	Alaska St	Broadway	SIOAPSC	9/3/20	9/3/20	Th	12pm - 4pm

 

At Play Streets locations, children participate in independent crafting and art projects that include making kaleidoscopes, birdhouses, rhythm drums, and cloud climbers. Giant board games such as Connect 4 and Jenga are also available. Sports drills include basketball, frisbee, softball, wiffle ball, kickball, and laser tag. Reading corners, dance classes, cardio and yoga exercises are also be provided. All programming is creatively designed to meet social distancing guidelines.

 

Play Streets locations are launching on a rolling basis until September 4^th. Hours vary by location, but will generally be from 10 AM to 5 PM and include streets adjacent to NYCHA developments as part of the Mayor's Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety. Vehicles are not permitted to enter the streets during the hours of the full street closure. Organizing Partners will be responsible for setting up barricades and posting signage, as well as restoring the Open Street condition at the end of their programming. They will also post No Parking signage with days and times ahead of starting their activations.

 

The following Open Streets will be changed or removed from the program:

 

 

Change	Boro	Original	New
Shorten One Block	Brooklyn	Willow St (Middah to Pierrepont)	Willow St (Middah to Clarke)
Remove	Brooklyn	2nd Place (Smith St to Henry St)	None
Move & Shorten Two Blocks	Brooklyn	Livonia Ave (Mother Gaston to Powell)	Livonia Ave (Powell to Junius)
Remove	Brooklyn	Butler St (Gregory Pl to 4th Ave), Gregory Pl (Baltic St to Butler St)	None
Remove	Manhattan	Margaret Corbin Drive (Ft Washington to Cabrini Blvd)	None

 

 

Under Open Streets, pedestrians and cyclists are free to use the roadbed of each street. No through traffic is permitted, with remaining vehicle traffic limited to local deliveries, pick-ups/drop-offs, necessary city service, utility, and emergency vehicles only. Such drivers are alerted to be hyper-vigilant and to drive at 5 MPH along these routes. Regular Open Streets operate from 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM, with timing varying slightly depending on staff availability.

 

If you have questions about Open Streets or would like to request an Open Street in your community, please contact your NYC DOT Borough Commissioner's office.