The New York Legislature reconvened in Albany on [Sept. 1] to extend the state’s moratorium on evictions. The special session, which concluded after many New Yorkers had gone to sleep, was needed to extend the state’s misguided eviction moratorium until Jan. 15, 2022. The bill itself is almost as flawed as the process that led up to its passage.

Only seven states in the country are still forcing landlords to operate under an eviction moratorium. Four additional months (at a minimum) of “cancelling rent” here in New York comes only after Albany dysfunction and Democrats’ delays held up $2.3 billion in federal rental-assistance funding. The money from Washington was approved in January, but the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) did not begin to get funds out the door until this summer.

By every metric, the previous administration failed miserably at moving this critical funding through the Office of Temporary Disability Assistance (OTDA), the state agency tasked with distributing relief money. New York remains among the slowest states to deliver ERAP assistance to struggling tenants and landlords. Had the OTDA simply done its job, the impetus for the recent chaotic and secretive session would never have existed in the first place. 

 Instead, landlords facing enormous financial pressure to pay their mortgages, taxes, and utility bills will continue to shoulder those costs without receiving duly owed rent. Under the extended moratorium, landlords can only recover existing back rent if they agree not to evict tenants for another 12 months. Simply put, participation in the ERAP program triggers an eviction moratorium all on its own. The state’s small property owners are damned if they do, damned if they don’t. 

In addition, the special session also highlighted the total dysfunction of government operations in New York. In one of her first official acts, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed off on a measure that would suspend New York’s Open Meetings Law, a measure that provides a critical outlet for public participation in government. There is no shortage of irony that Albany’s method of modifying the Open Meetings Law was to advance the bill without public input, public review, or any public participation whatsoever. For a governor who has boldly proclaimed her commitment to transparency from the day she was installed, hiding this measure from
20 million New Yorkers does not instill confidence.

Overall, New Yorkers were on the losing end of the recent backroom dealmaking and the old-school Albany approach to governing. This is a dubious start for a new administration that made promises of open government and a new day in Albany. Every New Yorker has a right to wonder how this represents an improvement from the previous one.        

William (Will) A. Barclay, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County. Contact Barclay at barclaw@assembly.state.ny.us. 

What does it mean to be an American? I suspect each of us would answer this question in our own way, depending on our experiences. But there are features of the American identity, certain qualities of what it means to be an American that many of us hold in common. 

We believe the United States is a special country. We take pride in its strength, its history, and its unity out of diversity. We share a belief in American exceptionalism. 

If you ask most of us what it means to be an American, you won’t get very far into the conversation without hearing the word opportunity. America is known as the land of opportunity, a place where you can fulfill your dreams and succeed through your own efforts. That’s why, throughout history, we have been a nation of immigrants, a destination for people seeking a better life. 

Our national anthem refers to the United States as the land of the free, and freedom is surely at the top of the list of things that Americans value. An essential part of being an American is that we’re free to live our lives as we wish. We don’t like being told what to do. We treasure our independence, not surprising in a nation whose creation resulted from declaring our independence from England and fighting a war to win that independence. 

We are not a tradition-bound country, but we do value our past. As the historian Gordon Wood said, our history is the source of our American-ness. The Declaration of Independence, our nation’s founding creed, proclaims all are created equal and have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We cherish the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to equal protection and due process of law. 

While we treasure our rights as Americans, we understand that with those rights come responsibilities; these responsibilities are not numerous. We have a responsibility to obey the law, pay taxes, and respect the rights of others. We may be called to serve on juries. During wartime, Americans have been drafted to serve in the military. Many of us have taken an oath to “defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” 

We believe we also have an obligation to improve our corner of the world. As Americans, we expect our government will protect us anywhere around the world. We qualify for certain benefits by virtue of being Americans: Social Security and Medicare to support us when we age, unemployment insurance, and other programs when we need them. 

As American citizens, voting is both a right and a responsibility for us. We have faith in our fellow citizens and in their efforts to achieve a more perfect union. This is especially true for Americans from groups that were long denied the right to vote. 

A couple of years ago, Grinnell College asked in a nationwide poll what it means to be a “real American.” A small minority listed nativist qualities, like having been born in this country or practicing a certain religion. But an overwhelming majority said real Americans treat people equally, take responsibility for our actions, and accept people of different racial and religious backgrounds. 

In other words, our values define us as Americans, not where we were born or what we look like. Those values make us stronger than the forces that divide us.  

Lee Hamilton, 90, is a senior advisor for the Indiana University (IU) Center on Representative Government, distinguished scholar at IU Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, and professor of practice at the IU O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs. Hamilton, a Democrat, was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for 34 years (1965-1999), representing a district in south central Indiana.