Affirming Principles for Expanding Operations in the New York City Housing Courts During the COVID-19 Crisis

SUMMARY

The Task Force on the Civil Right to Counsel and the Housing Court Committee wrote a letter to Chief Judge DiFiore, Chief Administrative Judge Marks, and Citywide Administrative Judge Cannataro with a twofold aim: (1) endorse the “Principles for Expanding Operations in the New York City Housing Courts During the COVID-19 Crisis” that has been drafted by a group of New York civil legal service providers; and (2) urge the courts not to reopen New York City Housing Court “until there is a thorough safety plan for reopening, informed by health experts, legal advocates, and other key stakeholders.” Although Governor Cuomo has extended the temporary stay on evictions under certain circumstances, there is concern that tenants who are served with evictions “will not have adequate information to fully understand their rights, will not be served in a manner that satisfies due process, will not have the technological capacity to respond remotely and/or will travel to the courts in order to respond and will jeopardize their health.”

REPORT

June 19, 2020

Via email

Honorable Janet DiFiore
Chief Judge of the State of New York
New York State Unified Court System
25 Beaver Street
New York, NY 10004

Honorable Lawrence K. Marks
Chief Administrative Judge
New York Unified Court System
25 Beaver Street
New York, NY 10004

Honorable Anthony Cannataro
Citywide Administrative Judge
Civil Court of the City of New York
111 Centre Street, Room 838
New York, NY 10013

Re:      Affirming Principles for Expanding Operations in the New York City Housing Courts During the COVID-19 Crisis

Dear Chief Judge DiFiore, Chief Administrative Judge Marks, and Administrative Judge Cannataro:

We hope this letter finds you and your families safe and well. Thank you for your service to New Yorkers during these extraordinarily challenging times. We write in consideration of the many thousands of New Yorkers who rely on New York City’s housing courts to access justice, remain secure in their homes, and avoid homelessness — all of which have taken on even greater importance during COVID-19.  We also write on behalf of those who routinely appear in New York City’s housing courts, including lawyers, litigants and court personnel.

To that end, on behalf of the New York City Bar Association Task Force on the Civil Right to Counsel and its Housing Court Committee, we are writing to (1) support, as they apply to residential cases, the attached “Principles for Expanding Operations in the New York City Housing Courts During the COVID-19 Crisis,” drafted by multiple civil legal services providers; and (2) urge that the Office of Court Administration suspend the reopening of the New York City housing courts until there is a thorough safety plan for reopening, informed by health experts, legal advocates, and other key stakeholders.[1]

Thank you for your consideration.  As always, we stand ready to assist.

Respectfully,

Alison King, Co-Chair
Task Force on the Civil Right to Counsel
Alison.King@apks.com

Andrew Scherer, Co-Chair
Task Force on the Civil Right to Counsel
Andrew.Scherer@nyls.edu

Sara Wagner, Chair
Housing Court Committee
swagner237lsp@gmail.com