Sunday, February 12, 2017

Giving low income tenants a right to counsel

From the Daily News:

Mayor de Blasio and the City Council will announce a new initiative Sunday giving low-income tenants in housing court access to an attorney, according to sources.

Councilman Mark Levine (D-Manhattan), among others, has been fighting for a so-called “Right to Counsel” bill that would provide New Yorkers facing eviction with legal representation since 2014.

The movement hopes to lessen the chances that those unable to afford an attorney will end up in the homeless shelter system.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

So if the low income tenant cannot pay the rent, and the landlord will not be able to evict, who is going to pay the rent?

Camel said...

Let's see if I've got this correct. Mayor Wilhelm, council member Levine and a bunch of other sacks of shit in the city council want to spend tax payer money to represent tenants who are being evicted by a private landlord. Keep in mind that it is a rare occurrence when a tenant is unfairly being evicted. In most cases they didn't pay their fucking rent. In a lot of the rest of the cases they have destroyed the property. Most of these eviction cases do not involve "billionaire" landlords. They involve small property owners. So now the government fells the need to fuck over private property owners even more. And before anyone accuses me of being one of the evil wealthy landlords, I don't own any rental property and never have. I simply can see with an open mind what is fair and what is bullshit.

(sarc) said...

Just what everyone needs, their own FREE personal lawyer.

What a great way to help the homeless issue.

Have a City PAID lawyer bring landlords' legitimate evictions to a grinding halt!

Additional costs to YOU the tax payers and excessive losses to the homeowners.

This is just postponing the inevitable!

Can no one see the unintended consequences of this?

The housing courts backlogs will grow, homeowners will need to incur greater legal fees and years of unpaid rents with even more personal property destruction.

In the end it will workout!

Many of these landlords, especially those with two and three family homes, struggling to meet the mortgage, will be disgusted and disheartened and sell to the greedy developers sitting on the sidelines smiling and waiting.

Another gift from your Comrade,the Mayor...

Anonymous said...

So you have a piece of property, which you rightfully own, and you don't want to renew the lease on the tenant. Said tenant won't budge, and you move to evict. It's all there on paper: tenant's lease ran out, he refuses to pay more. You take the tenant to court, which is there to ensure your legal right to your property, and the squatter gets the state-paid attorney but not you. Sure, you win the case, but entirely at your own expense for representation, because the local government only subsidizes one side, unquestionably, in a civil trial.

Pretty surreal.

Anonymous said...

they already have it it is called legal aid which we the taxpayers are paying

Anonymous said...

There are already plenty of pro-bono/free legal services for low income persons. Might not be the best option but beggars can't be choosers. Talk about redundant services.

Anonymous said...

Let me educate you readers. The people who get Legal Aid help or pro bono attorneys in NYC housing court are immigrants, seniors , maybe the disabled and those with children. If you are white person are on your own. Unless you have half black or half latino children, then you hit the jackpot.

Any counsel that the city would give tenants for free would be a nightmare and anti tenant. These lawyers main concern is climbing the ladder and getting a job at a landlord's lawyer's firm. They will not be doing anything for tenants or housing rights. They will work for the city long enough to get credits paid on their law school loans.

And the housing court judges all have money invested in real estate development, shell companies and could very well be the silent owner of the property that they are presiding over in housing court. Ask Fern Fischer about all of that.

Anonymous said...

Wow, good to see the landlord trolls on Queens Crap. Can I get a job doing that?

Anonymous said...

Do the homeowners who face foreclosure if they can't make the mortgage with missing rent get City paid attorneys?

Anonymous said...

they already have it it is called legal aid which we the taxpayers are paying

Legal aid is a non-profit which can choose cases on their merits; it's not a guaranteed right to an attorney at taxpayer expense.

Anonymous said...

I don't get it, why would you buy rental property in NYC? The laws, the tax system, the politicians, the newspapers, and judicial system are all against you. Thanks Mayor DeBlasio.

Anonymous said...

Wow, good to see the landlord trolls on Queens Crap. Can I get a job doing that?

You don't want to do an honest job, you just want a handout. You're not fooling anyone.

Gino said...

""Wow, good to see the landlord trolls on Queens Crap""

Hey FU arshole you don't know what its like !!
These bums you defend blow money on lottery tickets, drink beer, like to stay stoned cant hold a job to pay the rent, get pregnant again to get more $$ from the government, free medicaid and don't have to work.
This as we slave our asses off to pay huge taxes & healthcare for them.
I see these brats in the gas station buying all this shit all the time. Sometimes the line to pay is 5 deep and 10 minutes with inner city morons picking lottery numbers with a 12 pack in one arm. Why is this the landlords fault ?

Who pays my 2 years of lawyers, gas and electric for these bastards as some scumbag liberal ebonic woman judge gives them 24 months of 3rd monthly chances before sending a sheriff to physically eject them.

To add, By then the apartment, plumbing and hallway is destroyed add $20,000 damage.
Why is this city and mayor so hostile toward property owners ?

Unknown said...

These anti-tenant arguments miss the most important part of the story, which is that it costs taxpayers much more to house a homeless person than to give them representation in court and keep them in their apartment. The projections for the first year show the program not only paying for itself, but also saving the city an additional $320 Million dollars. A vast majority of cases will now be settled, and private landlords will still get their back rent from other fund allocations that go back to Bloomberg. One can mourn the use of one's taxes or call their fellow New Yorkers lazy or believe they just want a handout. Vitriolic arguments based on race or income level are subjective and you're welcome to try to convince people of your position. But data is data, and this is going to cost taxpayers significantly less money, which is not subjective. Maybe some other folks can chime in now that the tax argument is debunked?

Anonymous said...

These anti-tenant arguments miss the most important part of the story, which is that it costs taxpayers much more to house a homeless person than to give them representation in court and keep them in their apartment.

No, we've gotten past them. Queenscrap commenters generally oppose the NYS Right to Shelter provision that's overwhelming the system because the city is a magnet with everyone who shows up on DHS' doorstep. The issue here is that loony City Council is looking to guarantee taxpayer representation, without qualification, to one side of a civil dispute, not based on indigence or merits of the case, but as routine.

Anonymous said...

Maybe tenants will use these lawyers to sue NYCHA since they're the WORST landlord in the city

JQ LLC said...

This concession is too little and too fucking late. But understandable if you look at what De Faustio's whoring for agenda and campaign cash from REBNY members, Broadway Stages, workspace and two-bit entrepreneurs and hasidic slumlords has caused. The displacement of poor families from their homes via intimidation, buyouts, refusing checks and gut renovations spreading toxicities through the halls and the defunding and shutting down of hospitals to spur the pestilence of gentrification and hyper-development.

But this is an election year and now with this cash infusion they want to buy the votes and pay to play with the poor and desperate.

If Figurehead Trump really cared about his hometown he would have continued to build in Queens instead of taking daddy's money to build his illicit empire in Manhattan and ripping off his contractors and immigrant workers for his inevitable casino failures in Atlantic City. When he left Queens he never looked back. The only thing he has built in the borough area is that ugly ass golf course in the Bronx.

He's not a racist, if he was he wouldn't appoint that idiot savant Ben Carson to lead HUD. He's just a fraudulent lying scumbag. And judging by his recent meeting on a dark terrace in his Mar-a-lago palacial resort discussing recent military aggression by North Korea with aides using their cellphone flashlights to illuminate a meeting with Prime Minister Abe with rich assholes looking on and posting it on Facebook, fucking dumb as shit.

As Howard Stern wackpacker Daniel Carver once repeatedly refrained: "wake up white people"

Gary W said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Maybe tenants will use these lawyers to sue NYCHA since they're the WORST landlord in the city


Bravo!!!

The city has the balls to hand out grades to restaurants, but meanwhile the city allows their tenants to live in hell holes.

Anonymous said...

who is going to pay the rent?
------------

The taxpayers, of course!

Anonymous said...

Data is data Estaban.

White folk don't get the same perks and benefits that blacks do with the endless crying about slavery days.

Anonymous said...

>Wow, good to see the landlord trolls on Queens Crap. Can I get a job doing that?

Sure, buy your own property, rent it out, and you'll quickly discover first hand that part of your job is advocating against laws like this that allow freeloaders to mooch off you endlessly while wrecking your property.

Anonymous said...

The Liberals are at it again. Cradle to grave policy rammed down our throats. But hardworking taxpayers foot the bill.

Anonymous said...


Like what exactly?

>>>White folk don't get the same perks and benefits that blacks do