New York City's annual tax and water lien sale was scheduled to occur on Friday, but officials announced Friday afternoon that it was called off.
The tax and water lien sale takes debts from homeowners and residential building owners that are owed to the city and sells them to third-party investors, who then have the right to demand payment, plus fees and interest.
It is unclear when the tax lien sale will now take place.
De Blasio tweeted out Friday that it was rescheduled for September 25.
However, the governor’s office told NY1 on Saturday that the executive order signed by Cuomo prohibits any sales of tax liens until October 3, and that the governor has the option to extend the moratorium on that date.
The timing of the announcements from the mayor and governor - at around 3:30 pm - was surprising. Other elected officials at at a press conference earlier in the week had said the sale was supposed to start at 12:01 a.m. Friday, but City Hall now says it never began.
Numerous politicians earlier this week called on the mayor to delay the sale.
Attorney General Letitia James alleged that more than half of the 9,000 properties are supposed to be excluded under an agreement she hammered out with the mayor.
The mayor had said the properties that were part of the sale had gone into arrears before the pandemic, and that the sale should generate nearly $60 million for a city in desperate need of funds.