The city’s trailblazing program guaranteeing legal representation to the city’s poorest tenants facing eviction has been falling short since the state eviction moratorium was lifted last year; many still face housing court alone. State officials told City Limits the program has declined more than 10,000 cases since March 2022.
As 2022 comes to a close, City Limits looks back at images that defined some of New York City’s biggest news stories and most pressing policy issues.
More than 73,000 NYCHA households are behind on rent, what officials say will force the public housing authority to draw from operating reserves and make other cuts in the year ahead—and could potentially hamper its repair plans. Meanwhile, the state’s already-exhausted Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) to aid New Yorkers in rent arrears is unlikely to reach NYCHA.
“If New York’s city and state leaders truly prioritize a society where social equity as well as environmental sustainability are fundamental values, discussion of subway and bus fare increases would not be on the table. And if the overarching goal is to bring riders back to the nation’s greatest public transit system, why disincentivize them with higher fares?”
The $10 million program comes as the city looks to provide additional support for tens of thousands of asylum seekers who’ve arrived in the five boroughs in recent months.
In 2019, when the police were the sole enforcer, the NYPD issued 1,812 tickets versus 2,499 in the first nine months of this year, with almost half (48.6 percent) doled out in the last quarter. In just nine months, the NYPD and the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) have issued 3,884 tickets to vendors, more than double the number of tickets made in 2019.
Housing Works and the Doe Fund are breaking into the cannabis industry and pioneering new terrain for nonprofit organizations post-pot prohibition. But the two organizations have different business models as well as divergent approaches to substance use when it comes to their own clients.
Según la Ley HERO de Nueva York, los trabajadores pueden solicitar la creación de un comité de seguridad en el lugar de trabajo para evaluar la eficacia de los protocolos de seguridad y exponer problemas de salud, entre otras tareas. Pero hasta ahora, los trabajadores tienen pocos recursos cuando los empleadores incumplen la ley. Una enmienda a la ley que está a la espera de la firma de la gobernadora crearía sanciones más estrictas en caso de incumplimiento.
In the absence of specific data, the housing organization Open New York has launched a project asking everyday residents to crowdsource the locations of vacant apartments—rent-stabilized and unregulated units alike—to paint a more complete picture.
Under the NY HERO Act, workers can request the creation of a workplace safety committee to assess the effectiveness of security protocols and raise health concerns, among other tasks. But so far, workers have little recourse when employers fail to comply. An amendment to the law awaiting the governor’s signature would create stricter penalties for noncompliance.
City Limits uses investigative journalism through the prism of New York City to identify urban problems, examine their causes, explore solutions, and equip communities to take action.
Founded in 1976 in the midst of New York’s fiscal crisis, City Limits exists to inform democracy and equip citizens to create a more just city. The organization is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit funded by foundation support, ad sponsorship and donations from readers.
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