Another bad decision from the State of New York is the blanket moratorium on eviction and its Hardship Declaration Form. Simply checking a box gave all tenants, rich or poor, a shield from eviction, and being taken to Court. The law itself was a good option in a hurry to make sure poor people didn’t become homeless in mass until the State of New York managed to get them relief.

Unfortunately, it also protected people that have never lost money during COVID or regain these losses but still use the Hardship Form to skip on rent. That’s the case for Doctor Ava Thaw, a dentist, and her husband (Michael Safko), a retiree that continued to receive, his full pension during COVID but stopped paying their small landlord altogether.

If the lawmakers had taken more time to write the law, they might have added a provision for landlords to request the tenants to prove that they were under hardship. In the eyes of the law, hardship means being impacted negatively to a point where the tenants are too sick to move to a new apartment or work and pay their rent in full.

This video was released yesterday on YouTube and shows how Michael Safko, in May 2020 when the first eviction ban took effect, had already decided and warn his landlord that he wouldn’t pay rent unless his conditions were met. All that despite the lease being over in February 2020, before COVID arrived on US soil. Claiming to be Judgment Proof, Michael informed Mario, the landlord, that if he didn’t agree to his terms, they (the landlord) would lose 40,000$ or more as it would take a long time to evict them. The property, located at 366 Park Hill Avenue in Yonkers, New York, is a single-family home almost new and luxurious. The rent price is below average, and the tenants and the rent have not increased in the years that Doctor Ava Thaw has lived there. You would think it would have earned the landlord some respect and honesty from his tenants.

Fast forward to May 2021, and the landlord has lost 50,000$ already and counting. All they have received are incredible demands from Michael Safko and his daughter Amanda. The colorful woman doesn’t hesitate to throw her own mother under the bus in the video. If it was not so tragic, it would be funny. The latest demands; “give us money so we can move and forget the 50,000$ we owe you already” or “sell your house and pay us the difference in rent at our new place.”

Last week, the moratorium on eviction in New York was extended to August 31st. The extension doesn’t ask people that might not be in hardship anymore to resubmit a form or prove their hardship. It is simply assuming that they are, which means 16,000$ of additional loss for Doctor Ava Thaw’s landlord as she still has no intention to leave his property or pay the rent.

Now, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to mention that fact, but Doctor Ava Thaw contributed 7,800$ to the Democratic Party in the past. Looks like a good investment now.

Link to the video: youtu.be/If6BskVIujw

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