Mobilization for Justice defends tenants against harassment, obtains apartment repairs and prevents evictions in rapidly gentrifying communities.
When we opened the doors to our first storefront office in 1963 (as MFY Legal Services), apartment buildings and tenements throughout the city provided affordable housing to tens of thousands of low-income families. Now, after decades of runaway gentrification, those earning the area median income can scarcely afford a rent-stabilized apartment, with market rate housing completely out of their reach. For low-income New Yorkers, the situation is desperate.
Mobilization for Justice’s housing program works on many fronts to preserve affordable housing and protect tenants’ rights. We provide advice, counsel and representation to thousands of tenants each year, help organize and support tenant organizations, advocate for policies and programs to provide greater protections for tenants and to promote affordable housing, and represent tenants in eviction proceedings and Housing Part actions to obtain repairs and make apartments and buildings habitable. We also initiate affirmative litigation to enforce fair housing protections for people with disabilities.
Mobilization for Justice empowers communities to advocate for tenant rights by providing information and trainings on tenants’ rights and partnering with neighborhood-based organizations that work to assist low-income residents and organize tenants in building-wide actions.
In addition to serving low-income tenants in Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx, we provide housing and other legal assistance citywide to specific groups, including:
People with Mental Illness
Single-Room Occupancy (SRO) Tenants
Three-Quarter House Tenants
Manhattan Seniors
Nursing Home Residents
Adult Home Residents
Click here for information on housing legal clinics in communities in Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn.