WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES NOVEMBER 22, 2018 19
Housing attorney services
expand in Queens
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@CNGLOCAL.COM
@QNS
The de Blasio administration has
provided free housing legal
services to nearly a quarter of a
million New Yorkers in the past year,
and now the city is launching its second
phase of the “Universal Access” initiative
and expanding the program to Jamaica,
Elmhurst, Ridgewood and Glendale.
The fi rst phase provided access to
free legal representation in Housing
Court to low-income New Yorkers in
15 ZIP codes across the city that were
identifi ed as experiencing high risks
for eviction and loss of aff ordable
housing.
“New Yorkers shouldn’t have to
choose between paying for a lawyer
to fi ght to keep their home and putting
food on the table,” Mayor Bill de Blasio
said. “Our unprecedented commitment
to ensuring low-income New
Yorkers facing eviction in Housing
Court have access to legal assistance
has already served more than 250,000
New Yorkers and this new expansion
to fi ve more zip codes will allow us to
reach even more people in need.”
The initiative, which is overseen by
the Offi ce of Civil Justice at the Human
Resources Administration, is expected
to provide legal services to 400,000 residents
facing eviction and displacement
when fully implemented in 2022.
“With the launch of Universal Access
to Legal Services last year, New York
City became the fi rst jurisdiction in
the nation to guarantee legal assistance
to all low-income people facing
eviction,” Department of Social Services
Commissioner Steven Banks said.
“Now, one year late, this initiative has
provided thousands of New Yorkers
the fi ghting chance they deserve to
Photo via Shutterstock
avoid eviction and harassment, having
a positive impact not only for those
who are able to remain in their homes
but for the city overall.”
In 2013, only one percent of tenants
facing eviction in Housing Court had
legal representation.
The Universal Access to Legal Services
Implementation Report, released
last week, revealed that by the end
of Fiscal Year 2018, in the fi ft een zip
codes targeted for legal services in the
fi rst phase of the initiative, 56 percent
of the tenants who appeared in Housing
Court to face eviction proceedings
were represented by an attorney.
Citywide, 30 percent of tenants who
appeared in eviction cases in Housing
Court were represented by counsel.
“Low income New Yorkers facing
eviction should not lose their housing
simply because they cannot aff ord the
steep legal fees to defend themselves,”
state Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi
said. “By increasing access to free legal
services, the city has helped thousands
of people remain in their homes.”
The report further details that
city-funded lawyers represented tenants
in more than 9,000 eviction cases
that concluded in Fiscal Year 2018, and
in those cases the tenants were able to
remain in their homes 84 percent of the
time, meaning nearly 22,000 New Yorkers
whose tenancies were threatened by
evictions were able to stay in their homes.
“Access to Counsel is making New
York City a fairer place, and giving
tenants a chance to fi ght eviction and
harassment from landlords,” City
Councilman Rory Lancman, the chairman
of the council’s Committee on the
Justice System, said. “I am pleased to
see this landmark program expand
into Ridgewood and Glendale so more
Queens residents can receive free
legal representation in Housing Court.”
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