Housing Advocates Push MOU Approval in Advocacy Push Posted on February 16, 2017 by Jacquelyn Simone in State of Politics Housing advocates today are organizing a day of advocacy to push for their version of a memorandum of understanding that would spend nearly $2 billion on affordable and supportive housing. The push is aimed at Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose office contends the MOU h ..Read More
Housing Court Just Got Easier for NYC Renters Posted on February 16, 2017 by Jacquelyn Simone in Next City On Sunday, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito announced the city would fund universal access to legal services for tenants facing eviction in New York City Housing Court. City Council will also pass legislation that effecti ..Read More
A Housing Solution: Lawyers for Tenants Posted on February 15, 2017 by Jacquelyn Simone in The New York Times Defending yourself in court might work in old movies or on reality TV, when the stakes are small and the judge is named Judy. But in real life, in the face of dire circumstances — like being tossed from your home into the street — you need a lawyer. That ..Read More
Balance These Scales, Too by Getting Lawyers for Tenants in Housing Court Posted on February 14, 2017 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Daily News Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito aim to extend to New York’s lowest-income families the aid of a lawyer in Housing Court when the evictors come knocking. The idea, championed by former New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, pas ..Read More
City Homeless Count Restrictions Hinder Accuracy Posted on February 11, 2017 by Jacquelyn Simone in New York Daily News At half-past midnight, a 46-year-old military veteran stood amid a motley collection of plastic bags and containers filled with his life’s possessions on the 66th St. subway platform under Lincoln Center. The bags held bunched-up clothing. There was a metal ..Read More
Reaction to City Announcing Right to Counsel in Housing Court Posted on February 13, 2017 by Jacquelyn Simone in City Limits In the three days before the final State of the City address before he faces re-election, Mayor de Blasio unveiled two major shifts to address critics of his housing policies. On Friday, he revealed a major shift toward lower-income families in the allocation ..Read More
City Will Guarantee Legal Aid to Low-Income New Yorkers Facing Eviction Posted on February 12, 2017 by Jacquelyn Simone in Metro Funding just doubled for the city’s well-supported “right to counsel” initiative, turning the free legal aid pilot program into a full-fledged city service, Mayor Bill de Blasio and City Councilmembers announced Sunday. Low-income tenants who earn up to ..Read More
A Golden Ticket for New York City’s Homeless? Posted on February 9, 2017 by Jacquelyn Simone in Brooklyn Magazine Cecilia Grant is not used to this. Ten years ago, when issues arose in her family, she made plans to relocate to Florida. Today, she considers that relocation one of the biggest mistakes of her life. When she returned to New York in the winter of 2013, rising ..Read More
The Long View on New York’s Homeless Problem Posted on February 6, 2017 by Jacquelyn Simone in City Limits Nearly four decades ago, Ellen Baxter and I set out to document the predicament of New York’s street-dwelling poor. Released in 1981, Private Lives / Public Spaces confirmed what was already open secret: the city’s emergency shelter system was failing badl ..Read More
