debt collection

The City — As the coronavirus crisis unfolded in New York, Robert McNamara thought he should take some money out of the bank, just to be safe.

On March 19, the substitute teacher and father of two figured he’d be out of work for a while. Public schools had just closed, possibly for the rest of the spring. Plus, with big swings on the stock market, he wanted a bit of cash on hand.

New Economy Project strongly supports Int. 1912 and we urge the Committee to bring the bill before the full body of the NYC Council, for the swiftest possible passage into law. We commend Speaker Johnson and other sponsors of this emergency legislation for their strong leadership. New Economy Project, along with thousands of New Yorkers and more than 60 groups statewide, has been pressing Governor Cuomo to institute an emergency statewide moratorium on predatory debt collection during the COVID-19 crisis.

Law 360 — As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to envelop the country, some consumer advocates are calling for greater protections for consumers until the crisis abates, arguing that the economic crisis is negatively impacting the ability of Americans to not only pay their debts but also fight collection actions in court.

“We applaud Attorney General James for issuing strong guidance making clear that emergency stimulus payments authorized by the CARES Act are exempt from garnishment under New York law. Her commitment to aggressively prosecute any creditor or debt collector that garnishes New Yorkers’ stimulus payments is an example of the kind of leadership we need from our elected officials during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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