(University of Oregon School of Law, 2021-05-06) Layser, Michelle D.; De Barbieri, Edward W.; Greenlee, Andrew J.; Kaye, Tracy A.; Saito, Blaine G.
One evening in April 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic swept through the United States and businesses closed their doors, Margarita Lopez received a knock on hers. When she opened it, a man handed her a note and said “Good luck.” She was being evicted from her Staten Island apartment; New York’s emergency eviction freeze was set to expire, leaving Lopez with little time or recourse. Reflecting on the experience, Lopez told a reporter, “Every time I walk out of this door, I’m scared for my life. I feel like I have no power. . . . I feel stuck. If I end up homeless, a shelter is not an option because eventually I’ll get sick. It’s a lot of questions about what comes next.”
