MFJ in the News

NYCHA Policies Place Tenants’ Health at Risk

MFJ Supervising Attorney Justin LaMort exposes how public housing tenants’ health is put at risk by government policies and practices and how public housing tenants receive unequal treatment compared to private housing tenants in this article in ABA Journal of Affordable Housing. He reviews the origins of public housing in New York City and the …

Advocates Call on NYS to End Bail Bond Industry after NYC Adopts Consumer Protections

People impacted by predatory commercial bail practices, community groups & elected officials support City Council consumer protection bills and call on New York State to eliminate the industry    The NYC Council passed two bills on July 18, 2018 that will provide consumer protections to vulnerable New Yorkers trying to pay money to get their …

MFJ’s Leah Goodridge Defends Call for Rent Freeze in City Limits Op Ed

In an Op Ed in City Limits on June 28, 2018, Mobilization for Justice Supervising Attorney Leah Goodridge, one of two tenant representatives on New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board, defended her call for a rent freeze and her vote against new rent increases. She showed that while New York rent regulated tenants enjoyed two …

MFJ’s Leah Goodridge Fights for Rent Freeze at Rent Guidelines Board

Mobilization for Justice Supervising Attorney Leah Goodridge, one of two tenant representatives on New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board (RGB), led an effort to convince the Board to adopt a rent freeze. Despite compelling testimony on the impact of another rent hike on low-income tenants, and expert commentary on how earlier large rent increases were …

Partnership for Children’s Rights Merges into MFJ to Help Families Secure Special Education Services

On June 11, 2018, Partnership for Children’s Rights (PFCR), a not-for-profit law firm founded in 1999 to protect the rights of New York City’s disadvantaged and disabled children, will be merging into Mobilization for Justice (MFJ), a 55-year-old prominent anti-poverty organization formerly known as MFY Legal Services.  The merger will dramatically expand MFJ’s ability to …

When Three-Quarter Houses Close, Tenants Have Nowhere Else to Turn

WNYC/Gothamist explores what happens when the “necessary evil” preventing homelessness falls apart. Reporter Lylla Younes describes in detail the closing of three-quarter houses operated by Interline, after operators were indicted for Medicaid fraud. MFJ Attorney Matthew Main commented that “While the exploitative practices of some three-quarter house operators are shamefully unjust, tenants have always emphasized …

Ditch the Wheelchair, or Find a New Place

In an article in today’s New York Times, Paula Span describes how people who use wheelchairs are being denied admission to certain adult care facilities, and the lawsuit filed on behalf of the Fair Housing Justice Center by MFJ and the AARP Foundation. The lawsuit names several adult care facilities along with the NYS Department …

MFJ Lawsuit: Sec. 8 Tenants Forced to Pay 80% of Income for Rent

In this article in AM-NY, MFJ Supervising Attorney Justin LaMort explains why MFJ and other legal services providers are suing the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) for problems in the way rent is calculated for tenants receiving enhanced Section 8 …

MFJ Testimony: Immigrant Children Need Equal Access to Benefits

In testimony before the New York City Council’s Committee on Immigration, MFJ Attorney Ernie Collette discusses the unequal access to benefits for immigrant children with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status and new rule changes that may mean immigrants who now legally receive certain non-cash public benefits would be barred from becoming lawful permanent residents.

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