City celebrates expansion of program that helps tenants fight eviction
/
Members of the Ridgewood Tenants Union march along Fresh Pond Road. Eagle file photoby David Brand.
By Jonathan Sperling
The de Blasio Administration is celebrating the expansion of the city’s right-to-counsel initiative coming to five new neighborhoods across the city — including one in Queens — setting the stage for 350,000 New Yorkers to receive free legal representation during the eviction process.
The Universal Access to Counsel law now applies to tenants facing evictions in Far Rockaway, Morris Heights, East New York, East Harlem and Inwood. Right to counsel will be available citywide by 2022, according to de Blasio.
The law provides legal assistance to all tenants facing eviction in Housing Court and also covers tenants in public housing who face termination of tenancy proceedings.
“No person should lose their home because they cannot afford a lawyer, and New York City is the first city in the country to make this a reality. Over 350,000 New Yorkers have received free legal assistance so far, setting us on the course to be the fairest, big city in America,” de Blasio said in a statement.
The expansion of the right to counsel comes as tenant advocates 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. Rent-stabilized tenants, senior citizens and tenants most at risk of entering the city’s shelter system would be prioritized.
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 — doubling the law’s current income eligibility level.
The right to counsel expansion will be accompanied by a citywide campaign in 2020 aimed at spreading the word about available resources for people facing housing instability and encouraging them to reach out for help.
