Posted on April 18, 2016 by Susanna Blankley and Andrew Scherer in The Huffington Post The Huffington Post, By Susanna Blankley and Andrew Scherer 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 bill, introduced in March of 2014 by New York City Council Members Mark Levine and Vanessa Gibson, would require the city to provide attorneys to low-income tenants and homeowners who face eviction and foreclosure. The bill would benefit New Yorkers whose income is 200% of the federal poverty line or below, meaning households earning less than $50,000 a year for a family of four. If signed into law, nearly 130,000 tenants could qualify for the right to counsel.
