Dear Mayor Taylor and City Council Members: Thank you for your service during this challenging time. You’re on the front lines of this fast-moving crisis, and we are very grateful for your leadership. As you know, Menlo Together is a group of Menlo Park and Peninsula residents who envision a city that is integrated and diverse, multi-generational, and environmentally sustainable. Because of the current health crisis, we urge you to please pass a moratorium on evictions as soon as you can. With the broad shelter-in-place and shutdown of many businesses and services, many of our neighbors are out of work or have reduced incomes. While some are fortunate to be able to work from home, many are not, and lower income residents are less likely to be able to work from home -see this news article with information: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/01/upshot/coronavirus-sick-days-service-workers.html We need to look out for everyone in our community, particularly people who are most vulnerable in times like this. Please use your power to help our neighbors. Please pass a policy that would: * halt evictions (due to non-payment of rent) until the COVID-19 emergency has passed * halt foreclosures (due to non-payment of mortgage) until the COVID-19 emergency has passed * protect tenants who do not learn of these emergency measures before their rent is due * include a requirement that landlords notify tenants of their rights during the emergency * include a “right to cure” for tenants allowing them to notify their landlord of COVID-19-related financial impacts up until the date of the actual physical eviction in non-payment of rent case Thank you for your public service, especially in these difficult times. Sincerely, Adina Levin Menlo Together https://menlotogether.org 650-646-4344 Received on Mon Mar 23 2020 - 14:39:04 PDT
