BDS | Cuomo signs driver’s license suspension reform bill

Cuomo signs driver’s license suspension reform bill

In the News

January 13, 2021

“Wealth-based driver’s license suspensions have a disproportionate impact on low-income New Yorkers and people of color,” said Jacqueline Gosdigian, senior policy counsel at Brooklyn Defender Services, “and perpetuate the cycle of poverty and mass criminalization.”

View the full Greenpoint Star article, here.

Latest News

Press Release: NYC Public Defenders Join National Day of Action Calling for Increased Funding and Reduced Workloads
The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, The Bronx Defenders, and New York County Defender Services issued the following statement on today's national Day of Action for Public Defense, in response to San Francisco Chief Public Defender Mano Raju - who was recently held in contempt and fined $26,000 for refusing to accept additional felony cases one day a week - and calling for urgent investment in public defense: "Today, we join public defenders across the country to sound the alarm: the constitutional right to counsel is being systematically dismantled."
Press Releases
April 23, 2026
BDS Public Comment in Opposition to Proposed Contract Award to Securus Technologies
Brooklyn Defender Services (“BDS”) submits this public comment in strong opposition to the proposed five-year, $23.2 million contract award to Securus Technologies LLC for the Person-in-Custody Communication System at New York City Department of Correction facilities. For the reasons set forth herein, BDS urges DOC to cancel the proposed award and calls on the Comptroller not to certify the contract. If approved, the contract would entrench a mass surveillance system that records calls, captures voiceprints, maps relationships, and exposes deeply personal data from people in custody and their loved ones to ongoing constitutional violations, risks to privileged communications, and potential sharing with law enforcement systems, including federal immigration enforcement. The proposed award would further endanger immigrant New Yorkers, undermine the city’s sanctuary laws, and deepen the harm already caused by a vendor with a documented record of data privacy violations and unlawful surveillance.
Public Comments
Surveillance and Civil Rights
April 23, 2026
Testimony: The New York City Council Committee on Public Housing Oversight Hearing on Security Measures for NYCHA's Vacant Apartments
Brooklyn Defender Services told the City Council that efforts to fill vacant NYCHA apartments cannot come at the cost of residents’ due process rights. In testimony before the Committee on Public Housing, BDS warned that NYCHA has used the NYPD to remove people from apartments without going through the civil legal process, putting New Yorkers at risk of wrongful eviction and homelessness. “NYCHA must not circumvent the due process rights of occupants in NYCHA apartments by using NYPD to remove residents and illegally locking out people without going through the civil legal process that exists for this very purpose,” said Evan Ma, Senior Staff Attorney in Brooklyn Defender Services’ Civil Justice Practice. BDS urged the Council to require stronger safeguards and appeals processes so occupancy disputes do not lead to illegal lockouts.
Letters & Testimonies
Tenant Rights and Housing Discrimination
April 16, 2026
Testimony: The New York City Council Committee on Immigration Oversight Hearing on Sanctuary Protections for Immigrant Communities
Brooklyn Defender Services told the City Council that New York must strengthen its sanctuary protections as immigrant New Yorkers face rising risks of detention, deportation, and family separation. In testimony before the Committee on Immigration, BDS warned that unlawful information-sharing, weak agency training, and expansive city data systems can funnel people into federal immigration enforcement even when local law is supposed to protect them. “The city cannot adequately protect New Yorkers, or uphold the detainer discretion laws, without upholding the requirement that ICE present a judicial warrant in interactions with City agencies about an individual for the purpose of civil immigration enforcement,” said Sophie Dalsimer Associate Director, New York Immigrant Family Unity Project. BDS urged the Council to close gaps in the detainer law, improve agency compliance, limit sensitive data collection, and pass the NYC Trust Act so New Yorkers harmed by violations can hold the city accountable.
Letters & Testimonies
Immigration Raids & Detention
March 13, 2026
Press Release: Federal Court Blocks Significant Pieces of Administration’s Sweeping Immigration Appeals Rule That Eliminates Meaningful Judicial Review
Brooklyn Defender Services joined immigrant rights organizations in a federal lawsuit challenging a Trump-Vance administration rule that would have gutted meaningful review at the Board of Immigration Appeals and sharply increased the risk of wrongful deportations. A federal court has now blocked key parts of that rule, preserving immigrants’ ability to appeal removal decisions before they are deported. The challenged rule would have slashed the deadline to file most appeals from 30 days to 10 and made summary dismissals far easier, threatening due process for people fighting to remain with their families and communities. “Today’s ruling preserves a vital avenue for judicial review in removal proceedings,” said Lucas Marquez, Director of Civil Rights & Law Reform at Brooklyn Defender Services.
Press Releases
Right to Counsel in Immigration Court
March 11, 2026
Testimony: The New York City Council Committees on Oversight and Investigation and Criminal Justice Oversight Hearing on the Department of Investigation’s Reports on Agency Compliance with Sanctuary-related Local Laws
Brooklyn Defender Services advised the City Council Committees on Oversight and Investigation and Criminal Justice Oversight that New York City must strengthen and enforce its sanctuary laws to stop city agencies from becoming conduits for detention and deportation. In testimony on agency compliance with sanctuary-related laws, BDS pointed to recent findings that city staff shared information with federal immigration authorities and warned that weak training, poor oversight, and unlawful data-sharing continue to put immigrant New Yorkers at risk of family separation and prolonged detention. “The city cannot adequately protect New Yorkers, or uphold the detainer discretion laws, without upholding the requirement that ICE present a judicial warrant,” said Sophie Dalsimer, Associate Director of the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project.
Letters & Testimonies
Immigration Raids & Detention
March 10, 2026
Testimony: The New York City Council Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use Oversight Hearing on the From Crisis to Care: How New York City Connects New Yorkers to Mental Health Services.
Brooklyn Defender Services told the City Council that New Yorkers in mental health crisis are still too often met by police instead of care, leading to escalation, arrest, and incarceration when people need treatment. In testimony before the Council’s Committee on Mental Health and Substance Use, BDS called for a stronger health care response to crisis, more low-cost mental health and substance use treatment, expanded housing access, and culturally competent services that people can actually reach before they end up in court. “Mental health crises must be treated as health issues, not law enforcement matters,” said Danielle Regis, Senior Supervising Attorney, Mental Health Representation Team.
Letters & Testimonies
March 6, 2026
Testimony: New York City Council Committee on Technology Oversight Hearing on Facial Recognition Technology and the Collection of Biometric Data
Brooklyn Defender Services recommended that the New York City Council take steps to rein in biometric surveillance and pass bills that would limit the use of facial recognition and other biometric data collection in residential buildings and places of public accommodation. In testimony before the Council’s Committee on Technology, Talia Kamran, Staff Attorney & Fellow, Seizure and Surveillance Defense Project, Criminal Defense Practice, warned that these systems do not make New Yorkers safer. They expose people to privacy violations, discriminatory targeting, false arrests, and government access to deeply personal data, with the heaviest burden falling on Black, brown, and heavily policed communities. BDS also argued that the Council must go further by confronting the city’s own use of surveillance tools, from jail voiceprint databases to the NYPD gang database, which can deepen criminalization and family separation, "There is no way to build a humane surveillance state."
Letters & Testimonies
Surveillance and Civil Rights
March 5, 2026
Testimony: The New York City Council Committee on Children and Youth Subject: Examining Racial Disparities in New York City’s Family Policing System and the Need for Family Miranda Rights
Brooklyn Defender Services joined other New York City family defense organizations to urge the City Council to pass legislation requiring “Family Miranda Rights” at the first point of contact between ACS and families. In testimony before the Committee on Children and Youth, the organizations detailed stark racial disparities in the family policing system and called for immediate action to ensure parents are informed of their rights and have timely access to counsel before invasive investigations escalate to family separation. “When families know their rights and are able to effectuate them they stay safe and intact,” said Nila Natarajan, Director, Family Defense Practice and Policy.
Letters & Testimonies
Early Defense for Parents Facing ACS Investigations
March 2, 2026
Testimony: The New York City Council Committees on Public Safety and Small Business Oversight Hearing on Retail Theft
Testifying before a City Council oversight hearing on retail theft, Attorney-in-Charge of Law Reform and Policy Gina Mitchell urged lawmakers to reject expanded surveillance and punitive responses that criminalize poverty and instead invest in housing, mental health care, and youth employment. City data show retail theft has returned to pre-pandemic levels, yet proposals before the Council would spend millions on cameras and policing rather than address the affordability crisis and untreated behavioral health needs driving many cases. “These policing measures do not address the affordability crisis or social issues that are driving most cases of retail theft,” Mitchell testified, calling on the Council to fund services that stabilize communities and reduce system involvement at its root.
Letters & Testimonies
Surveillance and Civil Rights
March 2, 2026