Legal Services NYC

For more than 45 years, our staff of talented attorneys, paralegals, social workers and clerical workers have helped low-income New Yorkers navigate the civil legal system. Each year, through our efforts, we have helped more than 10,000 families avoid homelessness and more than 50,000 poor and low-income New Yorkers with a full range of their legal needs. Our network is community-based and includes offices in low-income communities and transportation hubs throughout New York City. 

What's New at Legal Services NYC

    Thursday, 02 February 2012

    Legal Services NYC—Bronx Education Staff Attorney Nelson Mar appeared on BronxNet on February 1st to discuss the rights of parents whose children are sent to hospitals by their schools or by EMS for psychiatric evaluation. 

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    Tuesday, 31 January 2012

    Albany, N.Y., January 31, 2012 - Today elected officials, including New York State Senators David Carlucci (Rockland), Adriano Espaillat (Upper Manhattan), Mark Grisanti (Buffalo), Jeffrey D. Klein (Bronx/Westchester), Diane J. Savino (Staten Island/Brooklyn), Malcolm A. Smith (Brooklyn) and David Valesky (Syracuse), and Assemblymembers James D. Conte (Nassau/Suffolk), Guillermo Linares (Upper Manhattan),Vito J. Lopez (Brooklyn), Francisco P. Moya (Queens) and Helene E. Weinstein (Brooklyn) and other legislators along with non-profit housing counseling and legal services organizations held a press conference at the Legislative Office Building to call on Governor Cuomo to restore $25 million for the statewide Foreclosure Prevention Services Program in his 30-day amendments to the Executive Budget. 

    Thursday, 19 January 2012

    Brooklyn, NY, January 19, 2012—Over 60 tenant-side housing attorneys in Brooklyn have joined together to form The Brooklyn Tenant Lawyers Network (“BTLN”). The mission of the BTLN is to strengthen the voice and influence of the tenant-side bar and foster the effective provision of high quality legal representation to tenants in Brooklyn. The BTLN will provide a forum for tenant-side attorneys to discuss and develop strategies for improving the administration of justice in the Brooklyn Housing Court.

    Wednesday, 11 January 2012

    thumb_justice.jpgJanuary 11, 2012, Brooklyn, NY— South Brooklyn Legal Services (“SBLS,” a program of Legal Services NYC) and the Fifth Avenue Committee, Inc., today announced a precedent-setting State Supreme Court decision holding that a mortgage holder can be held liable for maintaining building conditions once a foreclosure is initiated and a receiver is in place.

    Saturday, 07 January 2012

    The New York Times Neediest Cases series focused its attention on Staten Island Legal Services Client Jose Perez and his family. The Perez family had only recently moved into their new home when disaster struck in the form of flooding, which was not covered by insurance. Shortly after, Mr. Perez was diagnosed with renal failure which left him unable to work as the bank began foreclosure proceedings on his home.

    Thursday, 05 January 2012

    January 4, 2012 – In a significant decision that moved toward resolving a longstanding challenge to New York City’s largest affordable housing plan and which may have implications for all future affordable housing developed in the city, a State Supreme Court judge today granted a preliminary injunction barring New York City from moving forward with developing affordable housing on the border of two Brooklyn neighborhoods, Williamsburg and Bedford-Stuyvesant, that would create dramatic racial disparities and increase existing segregation in surrounding neighborhoods.