Projects

A Night Out on the City with UJC

We hope you'll join us on June 12th for our annual summer bash, A Night Out on the City with UJC! We are excited to announce that once again A Night Out will be held at the beautiful Museum of the City of New York. This fun event for young professionals attracts hundreds of our supporters in the legal, financial, and creative fields every year.

This year, we are excited to have as a special guest Cory Booker, Mayor of Newark and former UJC staff attorney. Other invited celebrities include Chris Hayes (MSNBC), Yaniv Schulman (Catfish), Ariel Schulman (Paranormal Activity 3 & 4), and UJC Board Member Fred Mwangaguhunga (MediaTakeOut.com). The event includes dinner, an open bar, music, a VIP reception area, and exclusive nighttime access to the Museum itself.

Tickets can be purchased here.

More than a Home: CDP and VOCAL-NY Release Housing Report

The Community Development Project and VOCAL-NY are pleased to share our new report, More than a Home: How Affordable Housing for New Yorkers Living with HIV/AIDS Will Prevent Homelessness, Improve Health and Reduce Costs. This report, based on surveys, focus groups and secondary research, examines the impact of denying affordable housing to permanently disabled people living with HIV/AIDS who receive rental assistance. Hundreds of low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS are homeless and thousands more are on the brink of losing their homes due to a loophole in state law that denies them affordable housing. A simple solution – and one that has broad bi-partisan support in the state legislature – is to ensure that homeless and formerly homeless people living with HIV/AIDS pay no more than 30 percent of their income towards rent. This report outlines why this is not only humane and just, but also a highly effective public health intervention that will produce cost-savings for taxpayers. Read the report here.

9th Annual Community Justice Awards Luncheon

Please visit our photo gallery for the event.

CDP and CASA Release Report on Bronx Housing Court

The Community Development Project (CDP) and New Settlement Apartments' Community Action for Safe Apartments (CASA) are pleased to share our newest report, "Tipping the Scales: A Report of Tenant Experiences in Bronx Housing Court." This report, which is the result of over 1,000 surveys, 3 focus groups, and 15 judge observations, documents tenant experiences with Bronx Housing Court. About 2,000 tenants go to Bronx Housing Court every day and in 2012, 11,000 households were evicted. It is estimated that about 95% of tenants do not have legal representation while 90% of landlords do. Our research shows that current court protocols and policies are insufficient to level the playing field for unrepresented tenants in Housing Court. This report provides simple, common-sense steps that can be taken to ensure that all tenants receive fair treatment. Read the full report and the Executive Summary in English and in Spanish.

MHP Obtains Unprecedented Relief for Thousands of Disabled New Yorkers in Settlement with Social Security Administration

On January 11, 2013, MHP and pro bono co-counsel Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP reached a major settlement in a lawsuit filed against the Social Security Administration (SSA) for systematic, generalized bias against disabled claimants by five administrative law judges (“ALJs”) in SSA’s Queens Office of Disability Adjudication & Review (“QODAR”). Under the settlement, approximately 4,000 individual denied disability benefits will be entitled to receive new hearings. The settlement also provides prospective relief to those denied in the future. For the 30-month period after the court approves the settlement, any claimant denied benefits by these five ALJs will automatically have their claim reviewed by the special review unit, and, if granted a new hearing, will have a right to a new hearing before other ALJs. The settlement is the largest of its kind and provides unprecedented relief. Click here to read the press release. Click here to read the proposed settlement agreement and other background documents.

SNP celebrates the release of their book, Street Practice

Street Practice presents recent studies of non-profit organizations involved in poverty relief services in New York City in comparison with programs in existence across the U.S. Street Practice provides a front-line, ground-level perspective on innovative research practices designed to solve community problems. It explores the manner in which organizations bridge the gap between research and policy advocacy, with an account of the ways in which research contributes to alleviating or solving a community problem, as well as details on successes and failures of advocacy work, problems and limitations of their research, funding constraints and political resistance. As such, this book not only offers compelling examples of social change in action, but also serves to introduce models for research and policy advocacy that can be applied similarly in other urban areas.

Thank you to all who shared in SNP’s celebration. To purchase Street Practice, access link below:
http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9781409425335

Urban Justice Center 2012 Annual Report

The Urban Justice Center’s 2012 Annual Report is now available. Click here to download and read about our year of tremendous success! Please, as the end of the year approaches, make a donation to help us continue to help the poorest New Yorkers in the coming year.