Report Looks At Threats To Affordable Housing In City Neighborhoods

City neighborhoods report threats to affordable housing. The Association for Neighborhood & Housing Development released its 2018 report on “How Is Affordable Housing Threatened in Your Neighborhood?” The report provided its findings in a chart on all neighborhoods in the five boroughs and indicators of threats to affordable housing. The Association is the umbrella organization of 100 non-profit affordable housing development groups, which serves low- and moderate-income residents in all five boroughs.


5Pointz Artists Awarded $6.75 Million for Destroyed Artwork

After destruction of legendary 5Pointz artwork, artists receive substantial monetary award. On February 12, 2018, graffiti artists of the legendary 5Pointz site were awarded $6.75 million in damages for the wrongful and willful destruction of 45 works of art that once were displayed on the five-story buildings. The award comes after nearly five years of litigation between the graffiti artists and the owners of the 5Pointz buildings in Long Island City, Queens. To read CityLand’s … <Read More>


Free Legal Services for Small Businesses with Lease Issues

Small businesses will now receive free legal services for issues related to a business lease. On February 6, 2018, the de Blasio administration announced the launch of the new Commercial Lease Assistance Program, which will offer assistance to small business owners with lease negotiation, landlord issues, lease renewal, and eviction notices. Non-franchise businesses that meet an income requirements will be eligible for this program.


Andrew Scherer on Keeping New Yorkers in their Homes

On August 11, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio signed a local law that guaranteed legal representation for low-income tenants facing eviction in New York City’s Housing Court. One of the bill’s major champions was Andrew Scherer, Policy Director of the Impact Center for Public Interest Law at New York Law School, who began fighting for housing justice decades earlier.


Panel Discusses Right to Counsel for Eviction Cases in NYC Housing Court

On November 2, 2017, the Impact Center for Public Interest Law and the Center for New York City Law hosted a discussion on the newly enacted local law which will insure that all low income persons facing eviction will have counsel in Housing Court. Professor Andrew Scherer, Policy Director of the Impact Center, moderated the panel featuring: Marika Dias, Director of Tenant Rights Campaign at Legal Services NYC (LSNYC); Carmen Vega-Rivera, Tenant Leader of … <Read More>


5Pointz: The Anti-Rebellion Message of the Graffiti Dispute

Graffiti has become much more than spray-painted tags and quickly disappearing pieces on train cars and underpasses. In some quarters it is now high art. Highly prized are works by Shepard Fairey, the artist behind the “Hope” poster Fairey made for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, Jean-Michel Basquiat, who began as a graffiti artist and whose works today command huge prices, and Banksy, whose street works are carefully preserved.  These dramatic changes in the nature and … <Read More>