South Brooklyn Legal Services (a program of Legal Services NYC) Foreclosure Prevention Co-Director Meghan Faux (center left, above) appeared on WABC-TV's weekly public affairs series Like It Is on November 15th. Meghan joined SBLS client Pauline Parker-Johnson and attorney Melanca Clark of the Brennan Center for Justice in a conversation with host Gil Noble about the effects of the foreclosure crisis on minority and low-income communities, predatory lending, and more.  

The New York State Legislature on November 16th passed Governor’s Program Bill No. 46, which provides critical protections for New York State homeowners, tenants and neighborhoods in the wake of the ongoing foreclosure crisis. The legislation will help homeowners facing foreclosure by, among other things, expanding the 90-day notice requirement and settlement conference process previously mandated for sub prime loans to all home loans; tightening the requirement that servicers negotiate in good faith at settlement conferences; and closing (at least partly) broker and attorney loopholes in the law governing "distressed property consultants," or loan modification scammers.

The Post also urged the House and Senate to come to an agreement that will increase Legal Services Corporation funding by $50 million over 2009 levels.

Washington, DC—The Senate approved $400 million for the Fiscal Year 2010 budget of the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) last night, an increase of $10 million. Most of the funding—$374.6 million—would be distributed as grants to 137 independent, nonprofit legal aid programs that deliver civil legal assistance to low-income individuals and families across America, including Legal Services NYC.

LS-NYC is prominently featured in a National Pro Bono Week special issue of the New York State Bar Association's Pro Bono Newsletter, with an article co-authored by LS-NYC's Director of Communications and Government Relations, Edwina Frances Martin (pictured, right) and Summer 2009 LS-NYC Communications Intern Maureen Chang on an Anti-Eviction project with Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, as well as a mention of the great work of the NYC Bankruptcy Assistance Project in an article by Bankruptcy Judge Elizabeth S. Stong.

New York, NY—Manhattan Legal Services (“MLS,” a program of Legal Services NYC) today filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court against Vantage Properties LLC (“Vantage”) and BP III 3489 Broadway LLC (“3489 Broadway LLC”) for violating New York City’s Tenant Protection Act.