Legislators Demand End to Transfer of Women and Transgender People Held on Rikers Pre-trial to Prison
Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) (NEW YORK, NY) – 17 legislators issued an open letter to Governor Hochul and Mayor de Blasio today demanding an [...]
More than 70 Incarcerated Women and Transgender New Yorkers at Rikers Island Release Petition Protesting Transfers to Upstate Prisons
Contact: Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org) Lupe [...]
NDS’ Danielle Jackson Testifies Before NY State Senate on Predatory Court Fees
NDS’ Danielle Jackson testified before the New York State Senate on the End Predatory Court Fees Act. She said that court surcahrges are “a regressive tax that plunders money [...]
Legislators and Impacted People Demand That District Attorneys End Cash Bail Practices to Curb Rikers Crisis
Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE*** (NEW YORK, NY) – Legislators, public defenders, and impacted New Yorkers gathered outside the office of Manhattan [...]
NYC Defenders’ Statement on Yet Another Death in DOC Custody
September 20, 2021 Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org ) ***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE** (NEW [...]
NYC Defenders Demand Courthouse Safety as the Delta Variant of COVID-19 Surges in New York City
August 16, 2021 Contact: Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (SMccann@ndsny.org) Press Office, The Legal Aid Society (press@legal-aid.org) Sarah Duggan, Brooklyn Defender Services (SDuggan@bds.org) Emily Whitfield, The Bronx [...]
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 Whitfield, The Bronx Defenders (Ewhitfield@bronxdefenders.org ) Press Office, The Legal [...]
NDS’ William Botchway Testifies Before New York State Assembly on Emergency Rental Assistance Program
The program, designed to support tenants hurt by the pandemic, faces myriad problems: a confusing application process, unnecessary means testing, bureaucratic delays and more.
To Mark Juneteenth, Neighborhood Defender Service of Detroit Announces Creation of Eviction Defense Practice
The practice will focus on representing people negatively impacted by the economic fallout from the pandemic who are in danger of losing their home, and will play a pivotal role keeping Detroiters housed.
NDS Mourns Death of Former Vera Institute President Michael E. Smith
Michael was a giant in the fight for justice in the criminal legal system and an early supporter of NDS and the practice of holistic public defense.
Joint Statement in Response to Reports that NYC Family Court Clerk Used Racial Slurs to Refer to 15-Year-Old
Joint Statement in Response to Reports that NYC Family Court Clerk Used Racial Slurs to Refer to 15-Year-Old (NEW YORK, NY) – The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, [...]
NY Supreme Court Rules Incarcerated People Must be Offered COVID Vaccine Immediately
Judge sides with public defenders and advocates in suit, says state’s exclusion of incarcerated people from vaccine eligibility is unconstitutional March 29, 2021 CONTACT Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service [...]
Following Bombshell Report on COVID Deaths on Rikers Island, Officials Must Address the Deadly Conditions That Persist in Jails and Prisons
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
NDS: Mayor de Blasio’s Police “Reform” Plan Reinforces Police Impunity and Endangers Black and Brown New Yorkers
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.
Public Defenders, Advocates Ask Court to Force State to Offer Vaccine to Incarcerated People Immediately
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.
Public Defenders, Advocates Sue New York, Claim Vaccine Denial Violates Constitutional Rights of Incarcerated People
February 4, 2021 CONTACT Sam McCann, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem (smccann@ndsny.org) Arianna Fishman, New York Civil Liberties Union (afishman@nyclu.org) Redmond Haskins, The Legal Aid Society (rhaskins@legal-aid.org) Ryan Karerat, [...]
NDS’ Amy Kwak Testifies to New York City Council on Expanding Right to Counsel
Evictions are always an act of violence; during a pandemic they can be deadly. Expand the Right to Counsel
NDS Harlem Calls on New York to Vaccinate Incarcerated People Now
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.
Public Defenders Nationwide Announce Plan for Immigration Justice; Provide Ten-Point Plan to Biden Administration
The plan urges the Biden administration and new Democratic majority in Congress to act swiftly and decisively for immigration justice to undo the unjust, harmful and destructive tactics of the outgoing administration.
New York Installs Privacy Safeguards for Contact Tracing
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.
NDS Harlem Managing Director Alice Fontier on How Communities of Color Are Particularly Vulnerable to COVID-19
This March, Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem welcomed Managing Director Alice Fontier to helm our office. In her first weeks on the job, she worked across our practices to [...]
Victories in the Fight for Justice During COVID-19
All of our communities face this same elevated threat, and NDS has fought for justice in every forum. Our family defense practice has left no stone unturned in its efforts to reunite families during this already stressful time, when they need each other more than ever. Our immigration defense team has sought to stand in the way of a deportation machine that seeks to churn on amid a pandemic. And our civil team has fought to keep our clients and their families safely housed.
Support Heroic Work on #GivingTuesdayNow: A Letter from the Executive Director
On Tuesday, May 5, Neighborhood Defender Service is participating in #GivingTuesdayNow, a global day of giving to meet the unprecedented challenges posed by COVID-19. Our clients are vulnerable in the best of times; facing a crisis, they need us more than ever. And we need you. Give to NDS today and make our indispensable work possible.
Coronavirus policy must account for those in Michigan jails and prisons
By Chantá Parker, Amanda Alexander and Jonathan Sacks Originally published in Detroit Free Press Tens of thousands of people are held in Michigan jails and prisons that leave them [...]
NDS’ Emily Ponder Williams Testifies to City Council on NYC Human Rights Law
Emily Ponder Williams, Managing Attorney of NDS' Civil Defense Practice, testified before the New York City Council's Committee on Civil and Human Rights this week on amendments to the [...]
NDS’ Chantá Parker Talks the Power of Public Defense with American Black Journal
This week, NDS Detroit Managing Director Chantá Parker spoke with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Stephen Henderson about the arrival of world-class public defense in Wayne County. Henderson hosts American Black [...]
Support Our Clients With a Gift This Holiday Season
Dear Friends, It is a challenging time for public defense. Our communities from Harlem to Detroit are under threat. Poverty is persecuted at the subway turnstile, at bail hearings, [...]
NDS’ Chantá Parker Talks Public Defense with Deadline Detroit’s Craig Fahle
NDS Detroit Managing Director Chantá Parker appeared on the Craig Fahle Show on Deadline Detroit to discuss the arrival of world-class public defense to Detroit.
Albert Woodfox, Nicole Austin-Hillery Call for Robust Public Defense and Movement- Building at Conversations with NDS 2019
On Monday, November 18th, Neighborhood Defender Service welcomed the leading minds in the criminal legal community for its annual benefit, Conversations with NDS. This years event, titled Mobilizing Against [...]
“Human Rights and Civil Rights are Inextricably Linked:” Nicole Austin-Hillery on the Fight Against Mass Incarceration
What does human rights field have to say about the criminal legal system in the United States? Quite a lot, says Nicole Austin-Hillery, the Executive Director of the US Program at Human Rights Watch.