Right to Counsel: Katy Lasell, 617-645-5122, katy@righttocounselnyc.org
BetaNYC: Ashley Louie, 646-598-2272, ashley@beta.nyc
In August 2017, following a hard fought three-year campaign, the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition won an historic victory, making NYC the first city in the nation to establish a right to counsel for tenants facing eviction. Three years later, the Coalition launched its statewide Housing Courts Must Change! Campaign (HCMC), which aims to end all evictions across New York State and is currently fighting for a legislative platform of three bills that will strengthen tenants’ rights and stop displacement.
BetaNYC and Right to Counsel are excited to announce the launch of a new website that visualizes the support for these three pieces of legislation from both grassroots and elected leadership: Statewide Support for Housing Courts Must Change! Campaign: hcmustchange.beta.nyc. The website allows viewers to:
- Visualize the districts of state legislators, including the counties and zip codes their districts cover; learn which pieces of legislation on the HCMC platform they support; and contact their legislators to advocate for the legislation.
- Visualize where Right to Counsel member and endorser organizations are located throughout the state; see which legislation they support; and get in touch with them.
With nearly 175,000 New Yorkers actively facing eviction across the state, homelessness on the rise, and families still struggling with the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, tenants are urging state legislators to act this session and pass Statewide Right to Counsel (S2721 / A1493), Defend Right to Counsel (S3254 / A4993) and Winter Eviction Moratorium (S1403 / A4093) legislation. These bills would keep New Yorkers securely housed, reduce evictions, and ensure that ALL tenants’ rights are upheld in the court system.
“The Housing Courts Must Change Map shows that organizations and elected officials across the state, representing hundreds of thousands of tenants, support the passage of Statewide Right to Counsel legislation. New Yorkers in areas that are attacked by crises of forced eviction, dispossession, and systemic poverty, such as the Bronx, Albany, and Syracuse, understand its essential that tenants have legal representation in order to stop evictions. The map shows that 219 organizations across the state have come out publicly in support of Statewide Right to Counsel! 62 Assembly members and 30 Senators are signed on, in addition to Albany Common Council and NYC City Council, which have passed resolutions in support of the bill. Tenants will fight for this fundamental need until our demands are fully won.”–Jake Buckner, BED Organizer and RTC Statewide Steering Committee Member
BetaNYC is a civic organization dedicated to improving lives in New York through civic design, technology, and data. This project was designed and developed by BetaNYC’s Civic Innovation Lab in collaboration with the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition, through a BetaNYC service called Research and Data Assistance Request (RADAR). Follow this link to learn more about RADARs and how to submit a request!