News & Press

1.24.13

MFY Hosts Networking Mixer for Law Students

Law students and young attorneys interested in public interest careers are invited to mix and mingle with MFY attorneys at a Networking Mixer at MFY on Thursday, January 31, 2013 between 5 pm – 7 pm.

1.24.13 | Tenants

Class Action for Three-Quarter House Tenants Reinstated on Appeal

A Brooklyn appeals court ruled to reinstate DiGiorgio v. 1109-1113 Manhattan Ave Partners, a putative class action, and ordered the case to be heard by a different judge. The ruling was a victory for some 70 low-income tenants who will now have a chance to show that they are lawful tenants under the rent stabilization …

1.24.13 | Foreclosure

MFY Helps Homeowners with Cases Stalled in the “Shadow Docket”

MFY foreclosure attorney Aaron Jacobs-Smith comments on the problems faced by homeowners with stalled foreclosure cases in the “shadow docket,” in Bloomberg News. MFY’s Foreclosure Prevention Project represents homeowners in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

1.09.13 | Consumer Rights

Attorneys Should Embrace Debt Collector Rules

In a letter to the New York Law Journal published on January 8, 2013, MFY staff attorney Ariana Lindermayer responds to a recent article that heralded a federal court decision (Berman v. New York City) that struck down a NewYork City law requiring all debt collectors, including debt collection attorneys, to be licensed. Ms. Lindermayer …

12.28.12 | Disability Rights

MFY Article: Pillsbury Winthrop and MFY Hold Legal Clinics to Assist Aged and Disabled New Yorkers in Obtaining Access-a-Ride Services

The latest edition of New York City Voices features the pro bono project that MFY Legal Services has launched with Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP to help seniors and people with disabilities obtain and maintain eligibility for Access-A-Ride Services (AAR). AAR is an accessible transportation system operated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority for people who …

12.28.12 | Disability Rights

WWRL Interviews MFY on Nursing Home Evacuees

WWRL, a progressive New York City radio station, interviewed MFY’s Disability and Aging Rights Project Senior Staff Attorney Shelly Weizman on “The Mark Riley Morning Show,” on December 27, 2012, about nursing home residents who have been displaced due to Hurricane Sandy. Click here to listen to the interview.

12.11.12 | Consumer Rights

MFY and Pro Bono Net Launch New Consumer Web Site

Tuesday, December 11, 2012–MFY’s Consumer Rights Project, in conjunction with Pro Bono Net, launched The NYC Consumer Debt Defense Project website today at www.probono.net/ny/consumer/. The website serves as a resource for pro bono, private, and legal services attorneys to share data, forms, news and information about trends and developments in the area of consumer debt. …

12.07.12 | Foreclosure

Banks Refuse to Help Homeowners Devastated by Hurricane Sandy

Attorneys from MFY Legal Services and South Brooklyn Legal Services who are assisting Hurricane Sandy victims found that many banks are refusing to offer their customers any kind of meaningful mortgage relief, severely hampering their ability to rebuild their homes and stabilize their lives. The Huffington Post explores the issue.

12.07.12 | Consumer Rights

MFY Testimony: Economic Abuse Results in Lifetime Poverty for Domestic Violence Victims

MFY Supervising Attorney Barbara Graves-Poller testified before the NYS Assembly Committees on Codes and Judiciary on how economic abuse ensnares victims of domestic violence in inescapable debt, housing instability and intractable poverty and urged lawmakers to support laws that will help address the problem.

11.21.12

MFY Staffs Free Clinic for Hurricane Victims in Chinatown

MFY Legal Services, in collaboration with Community Board No. 3, will offer legal assistance next Tuesday, November 27 to hurricane victims who need help with FEMA benefits, replacement food stamps, rent-related issues, emergency social security payments, and disaster unemployment assistance. Click here for information in English, Spanish, and Chinese.