Advocates demand return of online Housing Court filing tool
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The creators of a Housing Court online filing tool asked Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks to reinstate the tool after it was banned earlier this month. Eagle file photo by David Brand
By Jacob Kaye
Housing advocates, elected officials and the creators of an online housing court filing tool wrote a letter to Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks Monday demanding the courts reinstate the tool after it was banned last month.
The decision to block tenants from using nonprofit JustFix’s HP Action Tool comes as the city’s Housing Courts begin to open and as the end of eviction moratorium nears.
“Discontinuing this important avenue for tenants to advocate for their right to a safe and habitable apartment represents an unnecessary, harmful and reckless setback for NYC’s tenants,” wrote Georges Clement, the executive director of JustFix.
The HP Action Tool was created at the beginning of the pandemic and in partnership with the city’s Courts, according to JustFix. The virtual tool allows for tenants to file emergency complaints against their landlords. Since March 2020, over 3,100 HP Actions have been filed using the site, according to JustFix.
During the pandemic, the $45 court fee was waived and tenants were able to file for free using the HP Action Tool. Additionally, the courts waived the requirement that the filings be notarized during the city’s shutdown.
As the city began to return to normal, so too did the court’s operations. The filing fees and notarizing requirement returned earlier this month. Additionally, those filing complaints against their landlords without the help of an attorney had to file in-person.
On June 8, JustFix received an email from the court system saying that tenants would no longer be able to file using the online tool, according to the nonprofit.
“It was a very abrupt thing,” said Vincent Tsai, a spokesperson for JustFix. “They didn’t make a public announcement or anything, they didn’t let any of our partners or legal organizations know.”
Banning the tool will have a disproportionate effect on low-income tenants, homebound, immunocompromised, elderly and disabled New Yorkers who may be unable to file paperwork in person, advocates say.
In the letter written to Marks this week, JustFix, alongside organizations like Chhaya CDC and Right to Counsel Coalition NYC and lawmakers including Queens Assembly member Zohran Mamdani, requested a meeting between the court, JustFix and other stakeholders to try and get the tool reinstated.
“They didn’t really give us a reason [as to why tenants could no longer file using JustFix,” Tsai said. “The demands in our letter to Judge Marks include having a sit down meeting with the courts, also with the legal organizations that we work with to get more insight into this. Ideally, we would want this reinstated until at least the end of the eviction moratorium in August.”
A spokesperson for the Office of Court Administration said the courts had not received the letter by Monday afternoon but added that the OCA “will give due consideration to any concerns that are addressed.”
The courts have begun using a different online filing tool, the statewide New York State Electronic Filing System. According to the nonprofit, the state’s tool is designed for lawyers and is inaccessible to the average tenant.
“It’s just very difficult and confusing to navigate,” Tsai said. “There are just certain things in there that take time, so certain things have to get approved before you can move forward, so it also elongates the process.”
The longer the process, the larger the backlog of cases in the city’s Housing Court will grow, according to the nonprofit.
Currently, the number of cases waiting to be heard in Housing Court is unknown, according to the OCA.
“We don’t and won’t know until cases are calendared and we see how many have settled privately and then notify the court,” the spokesperson said. “Safe to say there will be a large number.”
