I felt like I was taking crazy pills with this whole discourse.

https://www.empirecenter.org/publications/a-squatters-fix-that-may-fix-squat

The existing NYC and NY state laws didn't consider squatters lawful tenants. It was clear as day in the actual text of the laws and the very clear guidance from the attorney general to boot.

So this new language doesn't change that.

As the piece notes, under state law, self-help evictions of squatters are allowed ( there are limits on certain conduct in how the eviction is carried out).

Of course, police aren't always going to want to try to litigate these things and are going to enforce law imperfectly. And there ain't much that can be done about fraud short of the courts.

The piece does note that there are actual reforms legislators can do, but what they actually did wasn't really anything that wasn't already the law in the state and city.