Demonstrators call for state to extend moratorium on evictions and foreclosures
With the state moratorium on evictions set to expire on Oct. 17, nearly 100 protesters gathered outside the Park Street MBTA station at Boston Common on Sunday in support of a bill that would extend the ban.
The crowd surrounded a 6-foot sign reading, “Eviction Free Zone” and carried many handmade banners and placards supporting the bill, including several that said, “Stop 100,000+ Evictions.”
Advocates said the bill, which still needs to pass both branches of the Legislature and get approval by Governor Charlie Baker, would spare more than 100,000 households struggling due to the pandemic from displacement.
“We are just so anxious about what’s going to happen after Oct. 17,” said Lisa Owens, executive director of City Life/Vida Urbana, the tenants’ rights group that planned Sunday’s event.
“This is a crisis we can avert,” she said in a phone interview before the rally. “The clock is ticking,”
As the