Eviction proceedings resumed Thursday at Troy City Court with several landlord-tenant cases on the calendar. Local tenants and housing advocates are outraged by this, saying nobody should face eviction amid a pandemic.

“A $1,200 stimulus check was not enough to keep people housed over the past five-plus months,” said Luke Grandis with VOCAL-NY.

The state has issued a moratorium on evictions, but VOCAL-NY says property owners are using paperwork filed before the pandemic to still pursue evictions. And they say it’s forcing tenants to prove they’ve experienced, or are experiencing, financial hardship in court.

“There are a lot of loopholes to have to jump through, and to be stamped by a landlord-friendly judge,” said Grandis.

The group claims 1.5 million New Yorkers are not in a position to pay rent right now. Many of them are Black, brown, or earning low incomes.

“We’re being ostracized and targeted as lower-class and colored people, and the question becomes are we in our moral right to question that?” said one person at the rally who chose not to be identified by name.

Housing advocates and renters are gathering outside Troy City Court. The group is protesting eviction defense.

A moratorium on evictions is in place but advocates say property owners are still pursuing eviction using paperwork filed before the pandemic.@SPECNewsAlbany pic.twitter.com/UOydFrkOTY

— Spencer Conlin (@SpencerReports) August 27, 2020

The state has attempted to help renters at risk of eviction. In addition to the ban on evictions, Governor Andrew Cuomo launched an emergency rental assistance program designed to help low-income families. The group is calling on state and local leaders to find a more long-term solution that they say is long overdue.

“We’re looking at a housing crisis that was already raging on way beyond 92,000 people homeless pre-COVID,” Grandis said.

The state’s moratorium, initially issued by the governor in March, was extended through at least October 1.