NYC Defenders’ Statement on Death of Brandon Rodriguez in DOC Custody
August 13, 2021 Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily [...]
August 13, 2021 Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily [...]
The program, designed to support tenants hurt by the pandemic, faces myriad problems: a confusing application process, unnecessary means testing, bureaucratic delays and more.
Joint Statement in Response to Reports that NYC Family Court Clerk Used Racial Slurs to Refer to 15-Year-Old (NEW [...]
Judge sides with public defenders and advocates in suit, says state’s exclusion of incarcerated people from vaccine eligibility is [...]
Today, THE CITY reported on an unreleased Board of Correction (BOC) investigation into three deaths that occurred in Department of Correction (DOC) custody last year. The men died at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in conditions exacerbated by a series of DOC failures, the report shows
Mayor de Blasio’s plan for police reform is an insult to public defenders, to organizations working to confront police misconduct, and to Black and brown New Yorkers who have been subject to constant surveillance and frequent police violence.
If granted, the preliminary injunction would force the state to begin offering vaccinations to incarcerated people immediately, while awaiting a final decision on the petition.
February 4, 2021 CONTACT Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (smccann@ndsny.org) Arianna Fishman, New York Civil Liberties Union [...]
Evictions are always an act of violence; during a pandemic they can be deadly. Expand the Right to Counsel
As the pandemic’s latest wave rages, with New York City’s COVID positivity rate now at more than 9 percent, the state has two solutions before it, which must be pursued in tandem: vaccinate every incarcerated person and reduce the jail and prison population. The consequences of inaction would be catastrophic.
Last night, Governor Cuomo signed a bill into law that will protect the confidentiality of contact tracing information and prohibit access by police and immigration enforcement.
(NEW YORK, NY) – Neighborhood Defender Service (NDS) Executive Director Rick Jones issued the following statement regarding the enormous [...]
New York City Council's Committee on General Welfare hosted a hearing on "Racism in the Child Welfare System." NDS' Helen Montalvan testified on the white supremacist roots of the system, and why the title of "child welfare system" obfuscates the function and history of ACS and other agencies.
This week, NDS Harlem's Sara Wolkensdorfer submitted written testimony to the New York City Council on the need to end discriminatory background checks in public housing.
New Yorkers need contact tracing, but for it to succeed we need to make sure police and ICE never have access to sensitive information.