The City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court,
Inc.
Working since 1981 for justice and reform
Bronx
Brooklyn
Manhattan
Queens
Staten
Island
Citywide
Information Tables in Housing Court
If you need assistance in a landlord/tenant matter or would
like to be a volunteer, visit our information table at the Housing
Court in any of the five boroughs, Monday to Friday, from 9:00 am.
to 12:00 noon.
By Phone:
You can also contact our central office between 9:00 a.m. and
5:00 p.m. at (212) 962-4795 or by fax at (212) 962-4799. In Queens
please call (718) 657-0599.
By Email:
Email CWTFHC at info@cwtfhc.org
NEW! Join City-Wide's Yahoo Discussion Group on Housing
Court & Housing Law: Send us a
request to join the list to the email address above.
CWTFHC Staff
Executive Director Louise Seeley, Esq.
Assistant
Director Joe Lamport
Secretary Tianjiao Yu
Queens Coordinator Carl Peterson
Bronx Coordinator Rafael
Pichardo
Brooklyn Coordinator Brenda Castillo
Manhattan
Coordinator Gina Cuevas
Staten Island Coordinator Paul
Philps
Borough Assistants
 Bronx: Fatoma
Djabakatiι
Brooklyn: Kalya Schwarz
Manhattan/Harlem: Susan Slocum
Queens:
Jessica Hurd
Hotline Specialists
Emilia
Diplan-Santana
Josiris Ureρa
Board of Directors Executive Committee
President Larry Wood,
Goddard-Riverside Family
Council
Vice-President Judith Goldiner,
Legal Aid Society
- Civil Appeals
Treasurer Michael Williams,
The Door
Secretary Adriene Holder,
Legal Aid Society -
Civil Appeals
Board of Directors, General Members
Marianne Brennick, S.I. Community Agency-Sr.
Citizens
Cathy Grad, Grad & Weinraub
Rosa Maria de la
Tore, Chelsea Housing Group
Ted Finkelstein, NYC Commission on
Human Rights
Oda Friedheim, Queens Legal Aid
Celia Irvine,
Legal Aid-Bronx
Richard Munroe, Seaman's Society for Children and
Families
Sandy Russo, Legal Services for New York
HISTORY
The City-Wide Task Force on Housing Court, Inc. is a
non-profit coalition that was established in 1981 to address the
systemic challenges to justice in New York City's Housing Court. The
organization has historically focused on the obstacles faced by
people who cannot afford representation by an attorney.
Although its beginnings were at the grassroots level in each
borough, the Task Force has grown into a citywide network with
affiliations throughout the state and nation.
Today the staff collaborates with community groups, legal
services providers, eviction prevention specialists, academicians,
and elected officials to further the goal of justice in Housing
Court as a means of abating homelessness in New York
City.
INFORMATION TABLES
The most visible impact of the task force has been our
constant presence in each borough Housing Court and the assistance
that we provide to more than 60,000 people each year at our
information tables. The staff and volunteers at the table answer
questions and provide referrals to legal service providers and other
eviction prevention organizations, resources, and
agencies.
Plain language materials in English and Spanish are available
to provide New Yorkers with the information they need to understand
their rights in landlord/tenant matters.
PUBLIC ACCESS PROGRAM
The Task Force is a 2005 recipient of a Community Media Grant
from Manhattan Neighborhood Network. Eight informational videos on
Housing Court will be produced with this grant support.
TELEPHONE ASSISTANCE HOTLINE
The Task Force operates a telephone assistance hotline from 2
p.m. to 5 p.m.. Monday to Friday. During the hotline hours, the
staff and volunteers provide information regarding enforcement of
housing code violations and other landlord/tenant issues to New York
City residents, community based organizations, and other service
providers.
MONITORING AND REPORTING
Five Minute Justice: In 1986, the Task Force issued the first
comprehensive study of the N.Y.C. Housing Court entitled, "Five
Minute Justice." The study found that tenants are more often in
court without attorneys than owners are, that almost 50% of the
pre-trial hearings were completed in only five minutes, and that
approximately 80% of pre-trial hearings and half of all trials
lasted less than 15 minutes.
The Donaldson Report: In 1993, the Task Force issued a report
entitled, "Housing Court, Evictions and Homelessness: The Costs and
Benefits of Establishing the Right to Counsel," referred to as the
"Donaldson Report," which found that:
- Only 11.9 percent of tenants were able to
afford counsel, although.
- 97.6 percent of landlords were represented by
attorneys.
- 60% of tenants were financially eligible for
free legal representation and that providing counsel could save
approximately $67 million spent in homelessness services.
Both studies are often cited in the media, and are used by
several institutions for planning and development. In addition, the
Task Force is constantly called upon to assist others in their
research on Housing Court.
ORIENTATION WORKSHOPS
Over the past few years, Task Force staff and volunteers have
conducted tenant workshops in the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and
Queens. The program includes an overview of Housing Court and
instructions on how to prepare for a Housing Court proceeding. Since
1993, this program has enhanced our services by more than 3,500
tenants. The staff have also conducted similar trainings for unions,
building tenant associations and community
organizations.
REFORM ADVOCACY
The Task Force has continued to work toward justice in the
court and to make efforts to reestablish the focus on the Housing
Court's statutory mandate - the enforcement of housing and safety
codes. We continue to support:
- The right to counsel for all indigent
litigants in Housing Court
- The use of plain-language forms and
multi-language court information and legal forms
- A prerequisite that owners correct housing
and safety code violations prior to filing non-payment
claims
- Reform of statutory and administrative
barriers to equal protection and due process in housing
matters
- Maintenance and development of affordable and
habitable housing, and
- Improvements in the Housing Court's handling
of unrepresented litigants.
| 
