News & Press

MFJ Comments on New Airbnb Report

In an article in Bedford + Bowery, MFJ Supervising Attorney Justin LaMort comments on the recently published report from McGill University showing that Airbnb increases rent, quickens gentrification and earns most of its revenue in New York City from illegal rentals. “That there is no difference between the number of illegal listings in 2014 and …

Airbnb Rentals Continue to Depress Affordable Housing Stock in NYC

A new report analyzing Airbnb activity in New York City in the last three years by the School of Urban Planning at McGill University shows that short-term rentals continue to have a negative impact on affordable housing in the City.  It found that two-thirds of Airbnb revenue comes from illegal listings–$435 million and 45% of …

MFJ Joins Advocates in Asking Chief Judge to Ban ICE from Courthouses

Mobilization for Justice joined scores of legal services providers, labor leaders, public officials and advocates in asking NYS Chief Judge Janet DiFiore to ban ICE Agents from New York State courts. Since the beginning of 2017, there have been 78 courthouse arrests by ICE officers in New York City. The letter states: “Right now, any …

OASAS Leaves Three-Quarter House Residents in Limbo

In this op-ed in City Limits, three-quarter house resident Jasmine Monk describes how tenants in seven houses operated by Interline were left to fend for themselves after Interline operators were indicted for Medicaid fraud. Already poor conditions deteriorated rapidly, with no heat and hot water, and broken locks on doors. While the city stepped in …

MFJ Supports NYC Council Action to Reduce Indoor Asthma Triggers

In testimony before the New York City Council in support of Intro 385, MFJ paralegal Jeff Bohn described how low-income tenants are virtually held hostage in mold-ridden apartments that exacerbate children’s asthma because landlords are not fixing the problem and tenants have nowhere else to go. The bill calls for reclassifying mold to a higher …

MFJ Supports Crown Heights Tenants on Rent Strike

Mobilization for Justice is representing a group of Crown Heights tenants who are waging a rent strike after three winters with no heat. As this report from News 12 Brooklyn shows, the landlord has engaged in serious harassment in an effort to force out rent-stabilized tenants. MFJ Attorney Brian Sullivan said, “They’ve illegally removed five …

WNYC Report: Giving Tenants Their Day in Court

WNYC reporter Beth Fertig spent time in Bronx Housing Court with Mobilization for Justice attorneys examining how the city’s right to counsel in housing court program is working. MFJ attorneys are in the court every Friday offering free legal assistance to low-income tenants who qualify. Over the past three years, representation for tenants has increased …

MFJ: U.S. Senate Vote is a Major Blow to Consumer Rights

Mobilization for Justice has actively opposed efforts to repeal a rule on predisupte binding mandatory (forced) arbitration issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The rule, issued in July 2017, had restored consumers’ right to band together in class actions to pursue claims of wrongdoing against financial institutions. Mobilization for Justice is a member of …

MFJ Led Push for Preferred Language Option on Mortgage Applications

On Friday, October 20, 2017,  the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the body that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, announced that it will amend its Uniform Residential Loan Application (URLA) to add a preferred language question so that limited English proficient (LEP) borrowers can inform the lender at the outset the language in which …

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