Mastrovincenzo v. City of New York
Pro bono counsel: Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering
People v. Kaminskaite
The Urban Justice Center represented a Russian craft vendor who was arrested and prosecuted in New York City Criminal Court on charges that she sold goods on the street without a license. In 2002, we filed a motion to dismiss on the ground that defendant's sale of her artwork was First Amendment-protected expression that did not require a license. All charges against the vendor were dismissed.
City of New York v. Dominguez
The Urban Justice Center represented a Lower East Side hot dog vendor in New York State Supreme Court after the City seized his pushcart and sought its forfeiture in 2002. We filed a motion to dismiss the forfeiture on the grounds that, among other things, it would be unconstitutionally cruel to take away his livelihood for a minor, first-time violation. The City settled the case and returned the vendor's property.
Cummings v. City of New York
The Urban Justice Center filed this lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court in 2002, challenging New York City's arbitrary and unfair harassment of a food vendor in East Flatbush, Brooklyn. The lawsuit sought a judicial declaration that the City's enforcement of an obscure 1938 peddling regulation against the vendor was improper. The Court granted preliminary relief, allowing the vendor to return to her spot pending final resolution of the case.
Pro bono co-counsel: Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger, & Vecchione
