News & Press

800 Three-Quarter House Residents May Need a New Home

The Daily News reported on July 27, 2015 that 11 of 18 three-quarter houses operated by Narco Freedom may close after its CEO and son were indicted for an illegal Medicaid kickback scheme and other charges and it was found that the organization is operating at a severe loss. MFY Attorney Matthew Main commented that …

Tenant Restored to Now Occupied Apartment after Six-Year Battle

MFY Attorney Tanya Kessler won the restoration of a west side tenant to his now occupied apartment six years after his landlord evicted him on a bogus subletting charge. Although he tried to appear to defend himself despite being incarcerated, the Housing Court judge defaulted him. After he filed an order to show cause upon …

Long-Term Solutions to Three-Quarter Houses

MFY Attorney Tanya Kessler is quoted extensively in an article in City & State focusing on the long-term solutions to the problems of three-quarter houses, highlighting the need to increase the city’s shelter allowance for single adults, combat Medicaid fraud, end the exclusion of people with criminal records from public housing, and explore new models …

MFY Defends Tenants Harassed by Morningside Heights Landlord

MFY has defended tenants in buildings owned by The Orbach Group, the subject of a recent New York Times article describing the landlord’s attempts to force out rent-regulated tenants through harassment, baseless eviction proceedings, and heavy-handed buyout offers. Read the article here.

New York Times Report Draws Attention to Abusive Three-Quarter House Industry

MFY’s work to defend residents of three-quarter houses and end abusive practices was recognized in a major exposé in the New York Times on May 31, 2015. Staff from MFY’s Three-Quarter House Project worked with the Times reporter over a period of many months and facilitated interviews with members of the Three-Quarter House Tenant Organizing …

People with Disabilities Fight Back Against Unfair Access-A-Ride Policies

Five people with disabilities filed a class action lawsuit in federal court against New York City Transit (NYCT) for the unconstitutional policies of Access-A-Ride, the City’s paratransit service for people with disabilities. MFY Legal Services, Inc. and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, who are representing the plaintiffs, found that NYCT fails to tell applicants and …

Elizabeth Lynch Named 2015 Rising Star

Elizabeth Lynch, MFY Legal Services’ supervising attorney for the Foreclosure Prevention Project, was among 50 young lawyers chosen as 2015 Rising Stars by the New York Law Journal’s panel of 24 esteemed judges.  In addition to her zealous advocacy for individual clients and leadership of seven foreclosure attorneys, Ms. Lynch has co-authored three reports that …

Manhattan Senior Gets Apartment Back after 20-Month Battle

On April 9, 2015 AM-New York reported on the 20-month saga of an 80-year-old Manhattan woman represented by MFY Legal Services who was illegally evicted from her home of 36 years while hospitalized with serious injuries after being hit by a bicycle. While she was recovering in a nursing home, the landlord gutted the apartment  …

MFY Urges Passage of Consumer Credit Fairness Act

MFY supports swift passage of the Consumer Credit Fairness Act (CCFA) (A. 4438), which would strengthen the pleading requirements in debt collection cases, enhance notice requirements, and require greater information when applying for a default judgment, thereby leveling the playing field for pro se litigants.  CCFA will codify many of the provisions found in the …

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