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Mayor Bill de Blasio should remove more than 4,700 small homes from New York City’s annual tax lien sale list to protect homeowners during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Every year, the New York City Department of Finance (DOF) is conducting tax lien sale, which imposes mandatory 5% surcharges, legal fees, and a 9% or 18% interest rate that compounds daily. This year, the tax lien sale is set on September 4.

On Monday, New York State Attorney General Letitia James and a group of 57 elected officials called on Mayor de Blasio to help protect homeowners from experiencing more suffering.

In the letter, Attorney General James and her fellow elected officials strongly encouraged Mayor de Blasio to remove small homes from the city’s 2020 tax lien sale list and abstain from selling such liens until the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

They wrote, “As the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic continues its dramatic impact on the welfare of all New Yorkers, it is essential that the City of New York take special precautions not to exacerbate the crisis further within the city’s own borders.”

“It is well known that the terms imposed by the tax lien sale on New Yorkers are dramatic…In today’s economic environment, we simply cannot understand willfully subjecting residents of your city facing financial hardship to those terms.”

Attorney General James and her fellow elected officials also reminded Mayor de Blasio that the tax lien sale will result in more New Yorkers losing their homes to foreclosures. Others will be forced to sell under pressure while the housing market is down.

Mayor de Blasio previously stated that he wants to be “fair” and “understanding”

Additionally, they reminded him about his previous statement in which he said, “We understand right now people's lives have been turned upside down. They don't have money to pay bills. We want to be fair. We want to be understanding.”

Mayor de Blasio’s statements will be meaningless if he would allow the tax lien sale to move forward since the economic crisis got worse.

“By moving forward with this lien sale, New York City is making an affirmative decision to further destabilize New Yorkers encountering financial hardship in order to enrich private investors. We strongly urge you to reverse this decision and cancel the lien sale immediately,” according to Attorney General James and her fellow elected officials.

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