Give Low-Income Tenants a Fair Chance in Housing Court Posted on May 2, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Slant There is an undeniable homelessness crisis in this city, one that underscores the importance of increased representation of low-income tenants in eviction proceedings. Anyone doubting the relationship between homelessness and the evictions and possessions of t ..Read More
Studying How Poverty Keeps Hurting Young Minds, and What to Do About It Posted on May 3, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in The New York Times The human brain begins as a neural tube that develops five weeks after conception. Years later, it is fully formed. On Tuesday, experts in neuroscience, genetics and social work met in Manhattan to talk about what can happen to it along the way, and what emerg ..Read More
City Says Homeless Numbers Are Down; Some Homeless Advocates Disagree, Saying Survey Methodology is Flawed Posted on April 28, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Wall Street Journal An annual survey found fewer people living on New York City streets this year than last, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Friday, though some homeless advocates dismissed the claim. The count found 2,794 people living on the streets as of Feb. 8, down 12% from a y ..Read More
De Blasio to Commit $30M to Address Growing Homeless Student Population Posted on April 26, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in Politico Mayor Bill de Blasio will announce steps to tackle the city’s large and growing homeless student population on Tuesday, with a $30 million commitment to build health centers in schools with large numbers of homeless students and to provide new supports t ..Read More
Coalition Testifies on the Department of Homeless Services’ 90-Day Review Posted on April 25, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone On Thursday, the Coalition for the Homeless and The Legal Aid Society presented testimony before the New York City Council Committee on General Welfare about the results of the City’s comprehensive 90-day review of homeless services. Two weeks ago, the de Bl ..Read More
‘This is Beautiful’: After 16 Months in a Shelter, New York Family Finds a Home Posted on April 25, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Guardian In late December, three days after Christmas, Shakira Crawford left her three children with her neighbor at a homeless shelter in East New York and rushed into the night to look at an apartment. “I’m excited,” she said, exuding her usual cheerfulness, de ..Read More
The State of New York City Rent Affordability in 2016 Posted on April 21, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in StreetEasy New data provides quantitative evidence of the widening gap between what New York City households can afford and what they are likely to find in the city’s increasingly expensive and competitive private rental marketplace. According to StreetEasy’s annual ..Read More
Council Members, Banks Discuss 90-Day Review’s Impact on Nonprofits Posted on April 22, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in City & State Amid the largest restructuring of city homeless services in decades, members of the city council’s Committee on General Welfare pressed Steven Banks, commissioner of the newly minted Department of Social Services, on the impact that his agency’s sweeping r ..Read More
Right to Counsel in Housing Court: The Bottom Line Posted on April 18, 2016 by Jacquelyn Simone in The Huffington Post A new report, which finds that New York City would save hundreds of millions of dollars a year by providing a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction, has added new urgency and optimism to a campaign to pass a bill that would establish such a right. The b ..Read More
