NYCHA Discontinues Over 31,000 Non-Payment Cases in Housing Court

The pandemic and eviction moratorium provided NYCHA with an opportunity to reassess the agency’s approach to non-payment cases. On February 3, 2022, the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced that the agency has discontinued over 31,000 rental non-payment cases in housing court without judicial intervention. There were approximately 34,000 non-payment cases from NYCHA before the housing court; the discontinuance will result in a resolution of 90 percent of these cases. 


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>


$93 Million to Fund Universal Legal Access in Housing Court

The Mayor’s Administration and City Council move to create universal access for tenants facing eviction in Housing Court. On February 12, 2017, Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito jointly announced that the City government will now fund universal access to legal services for tenants facing eviction in Housing Court. The City will allocate an additional $93 million to this effort—effectively doubling the existing fund for Housing Court legal services. This announcement … <Read More>


Court finds City discriminated in housing project

Judge enjoined City’s redevelopment proposal for area straddling Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant. In December 2009, the City Council approved the Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s redevelopment proposal for the Broadway Triangle Urban Renewal Area in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The seventeen-block urban renewal area was created in 1989 and is primarily located within Community District 1, with a six-block portion within Community District 3. CD 1 is predominately white with a large Hasidic community, and CD … <Read More>


Court remands decision on homeless housing to BSA

Provider of transitional housing appealed denial of variance. Homes for the Homeless, Inc. operated the Saratoga, a transitional housing facility for the homeless on Rockaway Boulevard in Queens. After receiving a request for proposals for added units, Homes applied to BSA for two variances: to legalize the use of its homeless facility, which was located in an M-1 district zoned for light manufacturing, and to expand its homeless units by constructing a new building.

BSA … <Read More>


City Reveals Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan to Bring Affordable Housing and Open Space to Central Brooklyn

On September 7, 2023, the New York City Mayor’s Office and New York City Department of City Planning released plans for new affordable senior homes and a revamp of St. Andrew’s Playground in Central Brooklyn. The departments’ objective was to further their ‘Atlantic Avenue Mixed-Use Plan’ by building in a zone of Brooklyn that has been stifled by restrictive zoning regulations.