Advocates for Homeless Sue N.Y.C. Subway System Over Covid Rules

2021-02-16T14:35:14-05:00February 12th, 2021|

New York Times

 But the rules exempt so many activities from the one-hour limit — including public speaking, campaigning, leafleting, artistic performances and collecting money for religious or political causes — as to make it “clearly apparent” that their real purpose is to exclude homeless people from the subways, the suit says. The lawsuit was filed by the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project on behalf of Picture the Homeless and a homeless man named Barry Simon.

Lawsuit: The MTA Is Using The Pandemic To Exclude Homeless From The Subways

2021-02-16T14:25:55-05:00February 12th, 2021|

Gothamist

"The rules are not about 'safeguarding public health' and ensuring that essential workers are 'able to maintain social distancing,' but rather are about permanently excluding homeless persons from the subway system," the lawsuit states.The complaint was filed by the Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center, Picture the Homeless, and Barry Simon, a disabled homeless shelter resident who has been ejected from subway stations because of the new rules.

NYC Transit Authority Accused of Using Covid to Boot Homeless From Subways

2021-02-16T14:23:55-05:00February 12th, 2021|

Courthouse News

In September, the transit authority made those rules permanent — a move that advocacy groups Picture the Homeless and Urban Justice Center say effectively bans homeless people from the city’s subway system.

MTA rules wrongly target homeless who use NYC subways for shelter, advocates say in lawsuit

2021-02-16T14:22:23-05:00February 12th, 2021|

NY Daily News

The rules were instituted as part of the MTA’s response to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. In September, the MTA made the rules permanent — effectively banning homeless people from the trains, says the suit in Manhattan Supreme Court by Picture the Homeless, Inc. and Urban Justice Center, advocates for the homeless.

New York’s New Eviction Moratorium Protections Are Not Automatic. Here’s What You Need to Do

2021-01-27T15:36:57-05:00January 7th, 2021|

The City

Marika Dias, director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, said: “It’s obviously going to be helpful to a lot of tenants. But it’s not a real eviction moratorium, which would be a blanket protection… . It requires tenants to take a step to access the protection, which always makes it likely folks will slip through the cracks.”

New NYC Eviction Cases Start To Move As State Teases Action

2020-12-23T20:18:21-05:00December 23rd, 2020|

Law 360

But Marika Dias, managing director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, called it "entirely unjust and shameful" that the courts have begun issuing default judgments in these cases. Tenants have run into trouble when they try to answer their petitions by phone, as the courts have instructed them to do, she said.

NY renters face pandemic evictions ahead of Christmas, even with moratorium. What to know.

2020-12-22T19:12:10-05:00December 21st, 2020|

Lo Hud

Both depend on tenants paying thousands of dollars in back rent that they will likely not have and actively taking steps to assert that protection, Marika Dias, managing director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, said.

Ti ammali, perdi il lavoro, non paghi più la casa: il dramma homeless travolge gli Usa

2021-01-11T13:58:16-05:00December 15th, 2020|

«Quella federale è comunque una moratoria limitata, perché non si applica automaticamente a tutti gli inquilini, occorre rispettare determinati criteri per beneficiarne», ci spiega Marika Dias, avvocato di Urban Justice Center, una rete di “cliniche” legali impegnate anche nelle battaglie contro gli sfratti di massa.

NYC Marshals Carry Out First Evictions Since Pandemic Onset

2020-11-30T14:27:09-05:00November 25th, 2020|

Law 360

"Without a comprehensive eviction moratorium, tenants are now being put out onto the streets, in the middle of a pandemic and heading into the winter," said Marika Dias, attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. "This is simply cruel."

First Tenant Evicted in NYC since the Pandemic Started. Here’s What It Means

2020-11-30T15:42:28-05:00November 24th, 2020|

The City

Marika Dias, a tenant attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, said: “We really have reached a moment where it’s clear that the lack of political action does not just have hypothetical consequences, but it has the very real consequences that people are being put out of their homes in the middle of a pandemic.