The Lien Machine

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When the city set out to collect debt on its most troubled properties, it touted the millions that it would bring to city coffers. But when fiscal concerns dictate housing policy, tenants get the shaft.

Justice

STATE BUDGET A MIXED BAG

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The state legislature and Governor Pataki agreed last week to spend $1.5 billion in surplus federal welfare dollars for the fiscal year ending next March, a move that sent sighs of relief through the world of social services.

Staten Island

WELFARE GETS A BREATHER

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While a handful of job centers still flounder without operating computer systems four weeks after the Trade Center attacks, the city has streamlined the re-application process for benefits due to expire in December in a push to minimize crowds at the centers.

Sheldon Silver

CASH FOR KIDS

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After months of delays, state leaders began to complete their unfinished budget work last week, agreeing to spend part of their surplus federal welfare dollars on child care for low-income families.

Liening on Homeowners

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Activists monitoring the effect of the city’s tax lien sales program on apartment building tenants recently discovered something they weren’t looking for: The sales are hurting poor, often elderly outer-borough homeowners as well, thanks in large part to the program’s tough debt collection tactics.