NYS Unified Court System Logo Image Credit: NY Courts
REBNY, Legal Aid and all parties united against evictions during Corona outbreak. On March 15, 2020, the New York State Court System issued an indefinite moratorium on eviction proceedings, effectively allowing many people and families throughout the state to stay in their homes and off the streets or in shelters. Tenant advocates and numerous elected officials argued housing insecurity and homelessness will only exacerbate the COVID-19 threat. The proceedings which a New York City Housing Court might now hear, will be limited to landlord lockouts, serious housing code violations and repair orders. Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence K. Marks’ memorandum also limits other types of “non-essential” proceedings to assure the operation of the courts in the safest possible manner for the public and court employees.
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CEO and Attorney-in Chief of Legal Aid Janet Sabel speaking at the 166th CityLaw Breakfast
On Friday, February 14, 2020, Legal Aid Society CEO, Janet Sabel, spoke at the 166th CityLaw Breakfast at New York Law School. Ms. Sabel was introduced by New York Law School Professor Alvin Bragg. Professor Ross Sandler, Director of the Center for New York City Law and Dean Anthony W. Crowell gave opening remarks. This Breakfast was sponsored by ConEdison, GreenbergTraurig, and Verizon. The Impact Center for Public Interest Law also co-sponsored the event. Attorney-in-chief Sabel spoke on “Working Towards Justice One Case at a Time.”
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Dean Anthony W. Crowell and
Professor Ross Sandler, Director
cordially invite you to the 166th CityLaw Breakfast
Featuring Speaker
Janet Sabel, Attorney-in-Chief and Chief Executive Officer, The Legal Aid Society
Date
Friday, February 14, 2020
Time
8:15 AM (read more…)
Scale of Justice. Image credit: Laobc.
The Legal Aid Society’s Annual Gala brought more than 800 people to Cipriani’s on 42nd Street in Manhattan on May 10, 2018. At the end of the evening the Legal Aid Society bestowed its Servant of Justice Award on Richard Davis, the chair of the Legal Aid Society and a longtime member of its Board, and on Herb Sturz. (read more…)
Image Credit: CityLaw
Recently the City got some good news about Rikers Island, a change from the bad news of recent years. On August 2, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio, together with Correction Commissioner Joseph Ponte, announced that for the first six months of 2016 the frequencies with which staff used serious force on inmates and inmates seriously assaulted staff dropped by nearly half over the past year. Overall uses of force and assault numbers were also down over 2015, but not by as much. The mayor trumpeted the improvement although the frequency of the use of force and assaults in 2016 remained far higher than had been experienced from 2011 to 2014. Still, the improvement in 2016 over 2015, the most violent year, was a welcome step in the right direction.
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From left to right: Don Schacknai, First Deputy Commissioner of HPD, Miguilania Rincon, tenant, Mayor de Blasio, Public Advocate James, Commissioner Steven Banks, HRA/DSS, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez. Image Credit: Anna Bower.
City forces eight landlords to fix building code violations in twelve buildings by threatening to stop paying rent for tenants on public assistance. On May 26, 2016, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Public Advocate Letitia James announced the use of the 1962 New York State Spiegel Law as a tool to compel landlords to fix violations for tenants receiving public assistance. Landlords who do not complete repairs quickly will lose out on rent payments. (read more…)
