“We find ourselves …  returning to more traditional, and admittedly less desirable, forms of compulsory dispute resolution like in-person trials of long-overdue matters.”. Tenants with emergencies like illegal lockouts or emergency repairs can file cases. Only 20 zip codes, however, are currently included in the program. It is people of color.”. Key Highlights Moratorium on evictions in New York State expire and housing courts reopen Second eviction order in NY state that has shielded tenants affected by pandemic set to expire in late August Housing rights advocates estimate some 50,000-60,000 evictions cases could flood NYC’s housing courts plus the thousands paused in March that can now […] Adriene Holder, Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Practice at The Legal Aid Society, said: “Amid the BLM demonstrations sweeping our city and nation, and the unprecedented public health crisis that is still unfolding, it is unconscionable to reopen civil and housing courts in New York City. Massachusetts Housing Courts Reopen Amid Protests. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter . Holdover cases where the landlord is claiming the tenant is a nuisance or danger to the building are still being scheduled. If the mayor wanted them to, he could have them look at it, and they could have them decide whether it’s safe for court.”. New York City is set to restart residential evictions later this week for renters who fail to prove a coronavirus-related financial hardship, but tenant advocates are demanding protections against widespread displacements. La Mort pointed out that something as simple as testifying during a trial is complicated if it’s done over the phone or video. Protesters rallied las week in front of the Boston Housing… “We may never have the opportunity for a risk-free environment, and the denial of justice for both landlords and tenants has gone on too long, especially given the backlog of cases even before the pandemic,” said Jeffrey Goldman, a managing partner and head of the litigation department at Belkin, Burden and Goldman. © 2021 Forbes Media LLC. Housing Courts can start accepting new eviction filings Monday as fears mount over mass evictions after Massachusetts’ moratorium expired Saturday. "Right now it's critical that every New Yorker is safely housed." Public defenders are predicting a flood of new eviction cases once the state signals that eviction proceedings can resume. Reach out with story ideas and tips at dima93vitanova@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter at @DimaVitanova. In May, about 25% of New York City renters did not pay rent, according to a survey by the Community Housing Improvement Program. Mitchell said, “No one should have to suffer from being evicted because of something we didn’t know. Evictions disproportionately impact renters of color and immigrants, according to the Community Action For Safe Apartments (CASA). “Some people aren’t back at work. It wasn’t our fault, so we shouldn’t be evicted because we were displaced from our jobs.”. The state court system has not set reopening dates yet for non-emergency, in-person appearances at the housing courts in Manhattan, Queens or the Bronx. Even with a prolonged eviction halt, unpaid rent is still due. Daniel P. Romano Hon. And there are issues that extend beyond technological access. It was a big step when the court system announced that it would begin reopening courts in counties that meet the Governor’s safety metrics, but many lawyers and judges predicted that Brooklyn, which has some of the most crowded and high-volume courts in the country, would still be months and not weeks away from reopening. NY housing courts reopen | Waccabuc Real Estate “I feel like I’m on the edge of a cliff, and I’m just waiting for a push to send me over.” Daniella Vega has called every tenant hotline she could find, but she still doesn’t know if she’s on the cusp of being evicted. "Every housing court except for Manhattan is inadequate," said Mitch Posilkin, general counsel for the association. The right to counsel is especially important to Mitchell, who said she would not have been evicted from her apartment in Bronx’s Riverdale neighborhood had she received legal aid. Court proceedings remain open to the public, but defendants, lawyers and judges will not be present in the courthouse. Somehow, OCA still expects us to trust that they will safely reopen housing court, despite lacking any meaningful input from health experts, tenants, or tenant advocates.” We need to slow down the pace of housing court to ensure that tenants are safe and protected. But as more than 30 courts in New York City now enter phase one, well behind their counterparts in the rest of the state, there are special concerns about the city’s five housing courts. My work has appeared in the Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Mansion Global and Robb Report, among other publications. Housing Court cases on pause. Hours of Operation. Under New York State law, residential evictions and eviction cases in Housing Court are suspended through February 26, 2021. Holding proceedings over video chat also makes it difficult for low-income or elderly tenants, who may not have access to technology that enables them to participate in their own cases. Tenant advocates fear coronavirus could spread in cramped housing court. “There have been instances outside of New York where people have been evicted because they ran out of minutes on their phone, or they had a tech issue,” said Justin La Mort, a housing attorney at nonprofit Mobilization for Justice. When the current eviction case moratorium expires, Gov. New York City Housing Authority, NYCHA, was behind 722 evictions last year. Some landlord lawyers dismiss their colleagues’ safety concerns about in-person trials because the courts can’t simply close indefinitely. Kings County Housing Court is also scheduled to begin today. As a result, she spent two years in a shelter. All Rights Reserved, This is a BETA experience. For Forbes.com, I write about luxury residential real estate as well as the emerging trends in how homes are built, marketed, financed, sold and purchased. New York City officially entered Phase Four of its reopening, and with it the Kings County Supreme Court, Criminal Term held its first in-person hearings since the courts shutdown on March 16. Judges and court employees began returning to … Within the City of New York, Family Court consists of such number of judges as may be provided by law. In General Judgment when Respondent Fails to Answer Judgment when Respondent Fails to Appear Judgment based on a Stipulation of Settlement Judgment after Trial Non-Military Affidavit. HMCTS states that “each building that reopens has been individually assessed and will strictly follow public health guidance to ensure the protection and safety of all court users." ... argued in a statement that the state Office of Court Administration’s plan to reopen the courts “forces our clients to choose between their health and safety and their freedom, and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act in doing so. The Housing Courts in NYC are open. Judgments in Nonpayment Cases. There is no grand jury action. “A lot of people facing eviction are less tech savvy, and it’s a higher percentage of the elderly and of non-English speakers.”. I have gone to the courts in Bronx and in Manhattan. Judges will have to determine thousands of stayed pre-coronavirus cases, and the even greater number of new … What we can assist you with: Sidelined tennis players are calling “fault” on the city Parks Department, whose courts will remain padlocked through July 6 even as it allows privately managed courts on its property to reopen. The official home page of the New York State Unified Court System. County-level and city courts in upstate New York and the Hudson Valley are reopening this week. 4. new york housing court cases, bronx housing court nyc, nyc housing court forms, nyc housing court records, nyc housing court case search, new york housing court, nyc housing court search, nyc housing court open Black Enterprise Investment in Cleveland decide whether to faulty part and eligibility of bicycle and intimidating situation, personal situation. There is no reason to force anyone to pile onto public transit and into courtrooms for cases that are going to be adjourned, when the same result can be achieved over a virtual hearing.”. “While it exists, it does not work,” she said. 2 . “We’ve been working this whole time, so it doesn’t seem necessary to leverage people’s health and safety while we’re still very much in the middle of the health crisis,” said Claire Gavin, a civil vice president for the Legal Aid chapter of the Association of Legal Aid Attorneys. New York Courts Re-Open This week For In-Person Hearings. The court has been functioning and can continue to function without that.”, Other public defenders raised questions about whether the state court system had conducted a detailed health and safety assessment or upgraded the ventilation in the city court buildings, most of which are at least 50 years old. Seven of the 10 red clay courts inside Manhattan’s Riverside Park reopened Monday, according to Mike McIntyre , executive director of the Riverside Clay Tennis Association, which runs the courts. I discovered my interest, which has now grown into a passion, for real estate during my first editorial job after college. Gothamist: As Civil Courts Reopen, Tenant Advocates Fear Coronavirus Could Spread In A Busy Housing Court. Learn More. By Rebecca Baird-Remba August 3, 2020 4:45 pm reprints. Phone: 914-831-6450 Fax: 914-377-6395. The legal services groups, which include the Legal Aid Society, the Bronx Defenders and the Brooklyn Defender Services, argued in a statement that the state Office of Court Administration’s plan to reopen the courts “forces our clients to choose between their health and safety and their freedom, and violates the Americans with Disabilities Act in doing so. Meanwhile, many lawyers on the landlord side of the business believe that their clients have waited long enough to pursue evictions and other housing court matters, and that the risk of spreading the virus can be properly mitigated with masks and social distancing. New York Housing Courts Reopen to Confusion and Protests. Stephanie Keith/Getty Images “I feel like I’m on the edge of a cliff, and I’m just waiting for a push to send me over.” Daniella Vega has called every tenant hotline she could find, but she still doesn’t know if she’s on the cusp of being evicted. Sign-up to receive Emergency Court Notices for NY State Courts . The two main public defender unions—the Legal Services Staff Association (LSSA) and Association of Legal Aid Attorneys (ALAA)—have also publicly stated that their members will not appear in court until they believe it is safe to do so. It’s not fair to owners who aren’t getting rent, it’s not fair to criminals who are being held in custody, and it’s not fair to tenants who have claims against their landlords.”, He added, “Letting me file a holdover case for a tenant whose lease has expired and who has not paid rent but not telling me when I can get to court and when the judge will hear my case is [an] open [court] in theory but not in practice. “We have had members apply and get denied because they couldn’t prove that they have lost work or because they are choosing not to go to their dangerous job as elders or people with health conditions.”. If you are interested in emergency notices for NY Federal Courts, please use the following links: U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit U.S. District Courts of NY: Northern | Eastern | Southern | Western. The list below sets out the courts that HMCTS expects to open. Criminal courthouses across New York City reopened for in-person appearances and trials in late July, triggering federal lawsuits from several public defender groups and from the state court officers’ union. A New Jersey appeals court has denied a fourth attempt to retry the case in the murder of Howard Lewis, the late heir to the Sealy Mattress Co. in Paterson, despite pleas … The videoconference will not be viewable by the public. “This is really, really personal for me because when I was going through my eviction process in Riverdale, right to counsel did not exist and I wound up in a shelter because I couldn’t fight by myself,” Mitchell said. The judges of the Family Court within the City of New York are residents of the city and are appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York for terms of ten years. “Unfortunately, despite my best efforts, it has been disheartening to witness the lack of serious interest or widespread participation among the bar in self-initiated out-of-court negotiation or even court-initiated virtual case conferencing,” the judge wrote. Housing rights groups estimate that in the coming days, 50,000 to 60,000 cases could be filed in New York City’s housing courts. “How do you know someone doesn’t have notes that they’re reading off of, that someone isn’t feeding them answers?” he asked. Despite the risks, the court system has marched on, particularly on the criminal side. Most tenant attorneys, and even some landlord lawyers, believe that it would be unsafe to start in-person eviction trials until the pandemic is under control. You have to speak from memory.”. Reopening New York City’s housing courts is a thorny issue. I discovered my interest, which has now grown into a passion, for real estate during my first editorial job after college. NOTE: The information above relates to NY State Courts. The Housing Courts in NYC are open. Yet, his new executive order covers only those who qualify for unemployment benefits or can otherwise demonstrate they have suffered an adverse coronavirus impact. This isn’t right, is it? ... are not ready to safely reopen. I don’t have a court date, my client doesn’t know when they will get rent again. Housing Court Answers is the first and best place to go for information about Housing Court. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Alternatively, Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks, who oversees the entire state court system, could issue a new rule allowing eviction cases to proceed, or continue to push back the deadline for restarting cases. The Office of Court Administration has planned a Saturday “walk-through” of the Downtown Brooklyn building where civil and housing courts operate before it reopens. Dima Williams Contributor. Reopening New York City’s housing courts is a thorny issue. We hear more than three million cases a year involving almost every type of endeavor. Housing Court remains closed and an eviction moratorium runs through Aug. 20, but attorneys say they have other ways to get rid of tenants. The debate runs up against issues of due process and raises questions about whether the archaic city and state court systems can operate properly over Zoom or Skype. We hear family matters, personal injury claims, commercial disputes, trust and estates issues, criminal cases, and landlord-tenant cases. She added that the courts haven’t solved issues like making video court proceedings accessible to the public and providing interpreters for non-English speakers during remote hearings. The official home page of the New York State Unified Court System.