Legal Services NYC, Groups Petition Court to Intervene in Landlords’ Lawsuit Attacking Rent Reforms

September 9, 2019, NEW YORK, NY – Legal Services NYC, Legal Aid Society, and Selendy & Gay PLLC submitted a letter to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York seeking approval to file a motion to intervene on behalf of N.Y. Tenants and Neighbors (T&N) and Community Voices Heard (CVH) on Community Housing Improvement Program, et al, City of New York – litigation recently brought to dismantle the historic statewide housing reforms enacted into law this past June and New York’s long standing rent stabilization laws that have existed since 1968.

 
The letter argues that Petitioners have standing and the right to intervene on behalf of T&N and CVH as these organizations represent thousands of members who are rent stabilized tenants and who stand to lose their homes if Plaintiffs in the aforementioned lawsuit succeed. The letter also requests leave to file a motion to dismiss in the event that said intervention is granted.

[View the letter here]

“The nearly one million rent-regulated households in New York City deserve a voice in opposing the real estate industry’s outrageous attack on the rent stabilization system, which they launched following recent reforms that closed decades-old loopholes that allowed them to profit off the working poor,” said Ed Josephson, Director of Litigation and Housing at Legal Services NYC. “We expect the landlords’ claims to be swiftly dismissed as they contradict decades of settled law in both the Supreme Court and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.”

“New York’s longstanding rent stabilization protections and the recently enacted reforms provide millions of New York tenants basic housing rights to defend against illegal evictions and harassment as well as unjustified rent increases,” said Judith Goldiner, Attorney-In-Charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “We look forward to defending these essential protections against this frivolous and baseless eleventh-hour lawsuit that seeks to allow landlords to evict 2.5 million New York City residents from their homes for their own financial gain. We implore the Court to grant our request.”

“New York’s rent stabilization laws serve an extremely important purpose in protecting the less privileged and preserving the social fabric of our communities. We are proud to help defend these laws against the landlord group’s latest spurious challenge, which flies in the face of long-settled Supreme Court and Second Circuit authority,” said Sean Baldwin, Partner at Selendy & Gay PLLC.

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Legal Services NYC (LSNYC) fights poverty and seeks justice for low income New Yorkers. For over 50 years, we have challenged systemic injustice and helped clients meet basic needs for housing, income and economic security, family and immigration stability, education, and health care. LSNYC is the largest civil legal services provider in the country and our staff of over 550 helps more than 110,000 New Yorkers annually across all five boroughs.

The Legal Aid Society exists for one simple yet powerful reason: to ensure that New Yorkers are not denied their right to equal justice because of poverty. For over 140 years, we have protected, defended, and advocated for those who have struggled in silence for far too long. Every day, in every borough, The Legal Aid Society changes the lives of our clients and helps improve our communities.
 
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