BDS Testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Public…

BDS Testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Public Housing regarding Vacancies in New York City Housing Authority Properties

Letters & Testimonies

Tenant Rights and Housing Discrimination

February 6, 2023

Permanent affordable housing is the foundation many New Yorkers, including the people we serve, need to find stability in their lives. Stable housing helps our clients favorably resolve their criminal cases and reunite with their children after ACS involvement, maintain jobs and allow children to remain in school. BDS supports NYCHA’s efforts to improve its inspection and repairs processes, but drastic changes are necessary to ensure that families do not face unnecessary delays in safety and stability while NYCHA apartments sit vacant.

View the full testimony here.

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We urge the Board to continue listening to the people who have been incarcerated in New York City jails and their families, as well as the many advocacy groups who rely on these public meetings to address and inform the Board about the conditions that people at Rikers are suffering and how that impacts our communities in New York City.
Letters & Testimonies
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NY Lawmakers Renew Push To Ban Predatory Court Fees
New York's mandatory fee structure was adopted in the 1980s as the state looked for new funding streams amid a national political climate that was generally supportive of tough-on-crime policies. Since the structure's adoption, the legislature has gone on to pass measures hiking the fees, which studies say have risen at a rate faster than inflation.
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“When we are underfunded, it doesn’t just affect us, but the legal rights of every New Yorker. Because of this, we have successfully fought for years to expand legal counsel and support services to people beyond the legal system, to prevent system involvement in the first place."
Press Releases
March 9, 2023
New York City Council Committee on Public Safety Regarding the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group
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Bail & Pre-Trial Incarceration
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Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Partners With BDS Pro Bono Unit to Support Immigrants Fleeing Persecution and Violence
Simpson Thacher’s volunteers researched and drafted country conditions reports for 16 people seeking asylum, withholding of removal, and Convention Against Torture (CAT) protection.
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BDS Testimony before the New York City Council Committee on Public Housing regarding Vacancies in New York City Housing Authority Properties

Latest News

Commentary: Hochul’s justice system budget skimps on defense

Public defenders upset with unequal funding in Gov. Hochul’s executive budget proposal

Public Defenders Lobby for Funding Parity With Prosecutors

BDS Testimony Before the New York City Board of Correction Regarding Public Meeting Frequency Resolution & Limits on Public Comment

NY Lawmakers Renew Push To Ban Predatory Court Fees

Joint Statement in Response to Council Speaker Adrienne Adams State of the City Address Remarks on Funding for Public Defender, Civil Legal Services Organizations

New York City Council Committee on Public Safety Regarding the NYPD’s Strategic Response Group

New York City Advocates and Legislators Push To End ‘Predatory Court Fees’

﻿Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Partners With BDS Pro Bono Unit to Support Immigrants Fleeing Persecution and Violence

Hochul’s Budget Pads Prosecution Funding Without Match for Public Defense

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP Partners With BDS Pro Bono Unit to Support Immigrants Fleeing Persecution and Violence