Support Swells for ‘Right to Counsel’ for Low-Income New Yorkers Facing Eviction

Legislators and activists petitioned Mayor Bill de Blasio at City Hall Tuesday to give low-income New Yorkers the right to an attorney when facing unjust evictions in housing court.

In 2015, de Blasio enacted a plan to support New Yorkers facing unfair evictions, one initiative of many to reduce homelessness and its exorbitant costs to the city. Since he took office, money spent on eviction prevention increased tenfold to around $67 million — and evictions fell 24 percent.