Coalition urges city to promote tenants’ right to organize
/
Ridgewood Tenants Union members demonstrate for tenant protections in April. Eagle file photo by David Brand.
By Jonathan Sperling
Two years after the city expanded a law that gives tenants facing eviction access to attorneys in Housing Court, tenant organizers are calling for the passage of a bill that would raise awareness of the measure by funding tenant organization efforts.
The enactment of the Universal Access to Counsel law in 2017 made New York City the first U.S. city to provide legal assistance to all tenants facing eviction in Housing Court. The measure also covers tenants in public housing who face termination of tenancy proceedings in select zip codes. On Thursday, the city’s Human Resources Administration announced that it would expand the Universal Access to Counsel law to five additional zip codes: 10453 in the Bronx; 11207 in Brooklyn; 10029 and 10034 in Manhattan; and 11691 in Queens, which covers Far Rockaway and Edgemere.
A complete citywide rollout of the law, which currently exists in 25 zip codes, will be complete in 2022.
Though tenant advocates have praised the expansion of Universal Access to Counsel, they say too few people know about it.
They are pushing for the passage of Intro 1529, a City Council bill that would require the HRA’s Office of the Civil Justice Coordinator to collaborate with community groups in engaging and educating tenants of their rights in housing court, such as Universal Access to Counsel. Rent-stabilized tenants, senior citizen and tenants most at risk of entering the city’s shelter system would be prioritized.
“If tenants don’t know they have a Right to Counsel when facing eviction, they are more likely to not show up to Housing Court or make a deal with their landlord’s lawyer before learning that they have this right, which has happened,” said Lauren Springer, a tenant leader with Queens’ Catholic Migration Services.
Springer said that Intro 1529 would also benefit tenants who aren’t facing an eviction.
“And even before facing an eviction, we need tenants to know they have this right because this makes them more confident in fighting for repairs, fair treatment, and their other rights as tenants. When they know that they’ll have a lawyer if their landlord tries to retaliate and bring them to court, they are more likely to fight for the homes they deserve,” she said.
Members of the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition have also called for the passage of a bill that would require the Office of the Civil Justice Coordinator to expand the income requirements of Universal Access to Counsel to all tenants making under 400 percent of the federal poverty guidelines — double the law’s current income eligibility level.
“With more zip codes having the Right to Counsel, we need more organizers than ever to let tenants know about and help them use this right,” Randy Dillard, a tenant leader with the Bronx’s Community Action for Safe Apartments. “Organizers from neighborhood groups need to do this work because that is who our communities trust.”
