News & Press
4 Ways the Next Mayor and City Council Must Do Better on Street and Subway Homelessness
Gotham Gazette
The Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center acquired the reasons for the rejections via the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL). The results were appalling, and showed the extent to which the Department of Social Services (DSS) and Department of Homeless Services (DHS) take a hands-off approach to the supportive housing application process. People were rejected because of their mental illness, the very reason supportive housing would likely have been a great fit in the first place.David Rockwell Wants Us to Never Forget Their Faces
CURBED
For the past year, Peter Malvan has been working with Midnight Run, the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project, and other groups to help the city’s unhoused. This has been especially challenging during COVID, with people fearing that the crowded conditions in the shelters would spread infection. “I’m disabled, but I like to keep busy,” he says. “I used to go to offices for in-person meetings. When virtual meetings happened, that got interesting because my phone doesn’t always work. I didn’t get paid, but I worked.”N.Y.C. doubled ‘cleanups’ of homeless encampments last year, despite C.D.C. guidance to let them be.
New York Times
From March 1 to Dec. 12, the city performed 1,077 cleanups, compared with 543 during the same period in 2019. The statistic was released by the city in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Urban Justice Center, a nonprofit whose Safety Net Project helps homeless people.MTA sticks to its guns regarding policies restricting homelessness in subways despite lawsuit
AM NY
A lawsuit against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority alleges that rules adopted by the agency to clear stations and trains of homeless men and women are discriminatory, namely by restricting people from remaining in stations for over an hour at a time. Urban Justice Center (Safety Net Project) and Picture the Homeless file the Article 78 petition in New York County Supreme Court on Thursday and the MTA is not backing downAdvocates for Homeless Sue N.Y.C. Subway System Over Covid Rules
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
«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
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
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.NYers Are Getting Evicted During the Pandemic. Lawmakers Must Act Now.
City Limits
There are now more than 200,000 families across New York State in eviction court. Since Cuomo opened the door to new eviction cases in June, over 33,000 cases have been filed. With a million-plus New York tenants behind on their rent, this number will continue to rise.‘ - Marika DiasBig Response, Huge Need: NYC’s Welfare System Amid COVID-19
City Limits
"Indeed, for those who strike out online, HRA offers a telephone Infoline... In August the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center reported that in an informal audit of 98 calls to the hotline, 58 percent were dropped. “In addition to dropped calls, we also documented significant issues with language access, uninformed workers, and confusing menus,” the report contended. “Overall, the Infoline was found to be ineffective.”Tapped-Out Tenants Take Charge as Landlords Pursue End Runs Around Eviction Moratorium
The City
Harassment “has really heightened throughout the pandemic since the court system has not been an avenue that has been accessible,” said Marika Dias, tenant attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center.NY Gov. Orders Eviction Default Buffer In Wake Of Atty Pleas
Law 360
"Leaving it up to individual judges to decide behind closed doors when they are considering a landlord's request for a default judgment is... bound to lead to a range of inconsistent results," said Marika Dias, attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center.NYC Tenant Attys Urge State, Courts To Prevent Default Spike
Law 360
"You've lost your case simply by virtue of the fact that you didn't file an answer," said Marika Dias, attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center. "That's not irreversible, but that's not a strong position to be in. You have to show both that your case has merit and that you have an excusable reason for the default."Atty Gaps, Case Backlogs Set Stage As NY Eviction Hold Lifts
Law 360
Outside of New York City, said Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center attorney Marika Dias, most tenants do not. The available defenses "are very complicated and are going to be difficult for tenants to argue," she said.Nearly 10K NYC Eviction Notices Filed This Summer, a 74% Drop
City Limits
"And so what the governor’s done is not issue a universal eviction moratorium. It’s not really even a general moratorium,” said Marika Dias, Director of the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project and Steering Committee member of the Right to Counsel NYC Coalition.NY Gov. Expands Eviction Defense Law, Not Moratorium
Law 360
"I think what the governor's press team tells us is what the governor's intentions were," said Marika Dias, attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. "Ultimately, it will be up to the courts to decide the scope of the language of the [order] and what it covers."New MTA Rules Are Criticized As ‘Anti-Homeless’
NYC Streets Blog
“The MTA is opportunistically using the pandemic to make long-sought anti-homeless measures permanent, right at a time when the city’s homeless population is most vulnerable,” said Helen Strom from the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center.CDC Eviction Rule Likely To Have Limited Reach In NYC
Law 360
"We are basically telling folks they should not submit a declaration without getting legal advice first," said Marika Dias, attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. "For most people, the declaration makes admissions without the moratorium actually offering them much benefit right now."Mixed Reception For Trump CDC’s Eviction Ban
Law 360
Marika Dias, attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City, noted that evictions in the state typically take longer than four months to resolve, likely pushing pandemic-related disputes past the Dec. 31 threshold.NY Courts Say State Has 1 Month To Act On Eviction Hold
Law 360
"Currently, in New York City alone, there are over 14,000 households with pending eviction warrants who are in imminent danger of displacement," Marika Dias, managing director of the Urban Justice Center's Safety Net Project, said in a Tuesday statement to Law360.NYC welfare benefit hotline is a mess months after benefits offices shut down, advocates claim
NY Daily News
The Urban Justice Center, which is focused on helping people secure public benefits, found that more than 50% of calls to the city Human Resources Administration were dropped and 20% had wait times of more than eight minutes.As New York Hurtles Toward an Eviction Crisis, These Are the Tenants Most at Risk
Curbed NY
Marika Dias, the managing director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, stresses it’s a small but critical change that gives those tenants a last-ditch effort to defend their homes, but it’s still a Band-Aid on a gaping wound. “That’s a much better situation than what we were going to see unfold,” says Dias. “That said, people are not going to suddenly have their job or their health restored come October 1. The situation demands a political solution.”Homeless People Sheltering From the Street Secure City Pledge to Fund Hotel Stays
The City
Meanwhile, the 30 people living in the hotel rooms meet every Tuesday evening with organizers from the Urban Justice Center and other groups to strategize, by consensus, their proposals to DHS.NY Courts Say Eviction Pause Continues, For Now
Law 360
"Cuomo's order gives permission for the courts to maintain a pause on eviction cases moving forward, but he's not requiring them to," said Marika Dias, managing director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center. "So we could see a situation where the courts decide that even though they have permission to pause, they don't have to. Cuomo has taken no steps to prevent that."Queens pols press city on Fresh Meadows shelter-hotel as neighbors plan protest
Queens Daily Eagle
The temporary hotel rooms are crucial for preventing the spread of the coronavirus among people experiencing homelessness or transitioning from jails, said Craig Hughes, a social worker supervisor with Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center.Can NYC Reopen Its Housing Courts Safely?
Commercial Observer
“There are questions about how to conduct something as complex as a trial, where people need to be able to cross-examine and raise objections of someone giving testimony, when they aren’t in the physical presence of the witness,” said Marika Dias, the managing director of the Safety Net project at the Urban Justice Center.NYC courts could face wave of post-pandemic eviction cases
Daily News
Marika Dias, director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, said it was critical that tenants know that while evictions are slowly starting to be filed, the process for considering the case and obtaining an order to leave an apartment remains on pause.Brooklyn To Resume Some Pre-Pandemic Housing Trials
Law 360
Marika Dias, managing director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, urged the court to reverse course "immediately." "NYC housing court's indication that they intend to move forward with eviction trials is dangerous and shows a complete disregard for the lives of tenants, their families and the community at large," she said. "It is also entirely at odds with the directive from New York state's chief administrative judge, which explicitly suspends all eviction cases statewide until further notice."NY Courts Extend Hold On Evictions In Latest Twist Of Saga
Law 360
"It's a horrible situation for tenants to have that level of uncertainty and this constant chopping and changing," said Marika Dias, managing director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center.State of NYC Housing on All of It w/ Alison Stewart
Alison Stewart - NPR
Marika Dias, tenant attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, explains what tenants should know about the new Tenant Safe Harbor Act, and why many are still pushing for rent during the pandemic to be cancelled altogether.The Effort to Move Every Homeless New Yorker Into a Hotel
Next City
The Homeless Can’t Stay Home campaign launched in March. While its founding organizations, including Human.NYC, VOCAL NY and the Safety Net Project, a division of the Urban Justice Center, push for the city to take on a coordinated effort to move unsheltered people into hotel rooms, the campaign has also raised $128,000 through a GoFundMe, which has allowed them to house about 28 people in hotel rooms.As Moratoriums Start to Lift, Preparing for an Eviction Wave
Shelter Force
“We’re really trying to make sure that tenants have access to information,” says Marika Dias, managing director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center. The Urban Justice Center is one of more than 25 tenant advocacy groups that are part of the Right to Counsel Coalition in New York City.When the NYC subway is your home—and you’re evicted every night
Curbed
Anthony Williams, a 67-year-old homeless New Yorker who is now staying in a hotel, had been sleeping on the subway as of a few weeks ago, but he was able to get a hotel room for himself through funds from a GoFundMe campaign organized by the Urban Justice Center.NY Atty Confusion, Concern Around New Virus Eviction Rule
Law 360
"What Cuomo is proposing beginning June 20 is not a moratorium but is prohibiting certain types of cases," Marika Dias, managing director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, told Law360. "What that means in practice is that it's going to shift the onus onto the tenants to make sure they fit into that category."
Cuomo’s New Order Opens the Door to Evictions
City Limits
By SNP's E.D. Marika Dias:By opening the door to all these new eviction cases and evictions, the new executive order will quickly take us back to overcrowded housing courts and families facing homelessness—both of which are guaranteed to endanger individual and public health. Cuomo didn’t extend the moratorium, he ended it, outrageously putting all of us at risk.
New Version of Cuomo’s Evictions Ban Seen as Weaker
City Limits
Marika Dias, managing director of the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project, says there are two key categories of tenants that are not covered under the new eviction moratorium: tenants who were being evicted for anything that doesn’t relate to nonpayment of rent (also known as holdover cases) and tenants unable to show that they have faced a financial impact due to COVID-19.Homeless Booted Out Of Subway Stations During Cold Snap Offered “Warming” Buses By MTA
Gothamist
"At the Atlantic Avenue station Friday night, warming buses were not even an option for homeless people because it's not an end-of-line station, said one staffer with the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project."Homeless people accept shelter offers as subway shuts down. Still, deaths mount.
New York Times
Craig Hughes, a supervising social worker at the Urban Justice Center, said city workers should be offering masks and gloves to everyone they approach and giving blankets to people who do not go to shelters and were now deprived a subway car’s warmth.De Blasio says subway shutdowns will ‘disrupt’ homeless problem
NY Post
“We’ve increasingly spoken with homeless folks who reject safe haven beds because they fear contracting COVID in these shared spaces,” said Craig Hughes of the Urban Justice Center.City’s homeless-hotel plan still has holes, advocates say
Queens Daily Eagle
“While these are certainly steps in the right direction, they are nowhere near what the city could and should be doing right now,” said Craig Hughes, a supervising social worker at the Urban Justice Center Safety Net Project.Hotels as COVID Convalescent Homes: Challenges for Patients, Staff
City Limits
Advocates for the homeless like VOCAL-NY, Human.nyc, and the Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center have spoken out about their concerns regarding the need for greater assistance to New Yorkers who are homeless and have been able to access the city’s hotel program.Council bill would house homeless in hotels
The Real Deal
"Moving homeless New Yorkers immediately out of crowded shelters, off the streets, and into single hotel rooms with private bathrooms is the best way to protect the community from contracting and spreading Covid-19, and further overwhelming our hospitals,” Peter Malvan, an advocate with Safety Net Activists at the Urban Justice Center, said in a statement.Some NYC Homeless Practice Social Distancing in Hotels, With Help from Donors
The City
The “Homeless Can’t Stay Home” crowdfunding campaign has raised $46,000 and has placed 25 people in hotel rooms, according to Helen Strom of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center, one of the groups behind the campaign.‘We need to fix it quickly.’ Asymptomatic coronavirus cases at Boston homeless shelter raise red flag
Erie News Now
Kiana Davis, a policy analyst at the Urban Justice Center's Safety Net Project, says that while the New York is making an effort to do temperature checks, it is not happening consistently at every shelter.NYC will move more homeless New Yorkers to empty hotel rooms to curb COVID-19 spread
6 Sq Ft
Advocacy groups first called on de Blasio to use the city’s 30,000 vacant hotel rooms to house homeless New Yorkers three weeks ago. A coalition of organizations, including Vocal New York, Neighbors Together, and Urban Justice Center, are behind the “Homeless Can’t Stay Home” campaign.Advocates urge de Blasio, Cuomo to put homeless in unused hotels
The Telegraph
Advocates and elected officials, including New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, are urging Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to house up to 30,000 homeless individuals in unused hotel rooms to help them engage in social distancing and limit the spread of COVID-19.Advocates urge NYC to house homeless in hotels during COVID pandemic
Advocates and elected officials urged Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to house homeless New Yorkers in vacant hotel rooms during a press call on Tuesday as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage New York City.
The Homeless Can’t Shelter-in-Place: Advocates Call for NYC To Put Empty Hotel Rooms to Use
The Indypendent
The Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project reports that NYPD is continuing to regularly clear homeless camps — a routine practice that advocates say explicitly disregards recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and PreventionNew York City Has Done Almost Nothing to Protect 70,000 People in its Homeless Shelters From Coronavirus Spread
The Intercept
Johanna Garcia is doing her best to keep her family and others safe during the coronavirus pandemic. She washes her hands a lot; she cleans constantly; she goes on social distance walks with her kids, 10-month-old Logan and 4-year-old Abigail. But there’s only so much she can do while living at one of New York City’s approximately 450 homeless shelters.CAST ADRIFT BY THE VIRUS, THE NEWLY HOMELESS SEEK A PLACE TO RECOVER
The City
For four days, Luis endured a fever, a headache — and a cough that brought him to his knees. An ER doctor at Long Island’s Northwell Hospital delivered the diagnosis for the otherwise healthy “fitness freak,” a construction worker in his early 30s: COVID-19.New York City Has Done Almost Nothing to Protect 70,000 People in its Homeless Shelters From Coronavirus Spread
Recently, the city has been conducting sweeps, but that’s not much of a solution either. “They move to another block or they’re likely arrested,” said Craig Hughes, a social work supervisor with the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that “Unless individual housing units are available, do not clear encampments during community spread of Covid-19.”
Housing Not Shelters: Amid Pandemic, Homeless New Yorkers Demand Refuge in Vacant Apartments, Hotels
Tens of thousands of homeless people in New York City shelters and on the streets have been left with no way to safely shelter in place. We hear from people who are homeless, and speak with Kiana Davis, advocate and policy analyst with the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center.
Closing of welfare offices over coronavirus means NYC’s poor will have a hard time getting help, advocates say
NY Daily News
“It’s an essential service,” said Kiana Davis. a policy analyst with the Urban Justice Center. “People should be able to access the centers. Having fewer centers means more overcrowding in the centers that are open.”No Virus Tracking for Homeless People on Streets and Subways
The City
“They’re pushed into drop-in centers that are struggling, but are also a dangerous environment for the spread of this virus,” Craig Hughes of the nonprofit Urban Justice Center told THE CITY.Closing of welfare offices over coronavirus means NYC’s poor will have a hard time getting help, advocates say
“It’s an essential service,” said Kiana Davis. a policy analyst with the Urban Justice Center. “People should be able to access the centers. Having fewer centers means more overcrowding in the centers that are open.”
Advocates Demand Help for Vulnerable Prisoners, Homeless Folks
Gay City News
VOCAL-NY, Communities United for Police Reform, Neighbors Together, human.nyc, Picture the Homeless, and Safety Net Activists at the Urban Justice Center offered specific recommendations in an open letter to Cuomo and de Blasio: Immediately provide services to folks living on the streetOpinion: Youth Homeless Are Falling Through Cracks in COVID-19 Response
City Limits
By all reputable predictions, we are only at an early phase of the COVID-19 crisis. Organizations that run shelters, food pantries, and drop-in centers are already facing a confluence of city neglect, staffing crises and exposure to the virus, and as a consequence are steadily limiting and temporarily shuttering services. Runaway and homeless youth (RHY) and programs tailored to serve them, in short supply prior to COVID-19, are facing an unprecedented emergency.City Doing Hundreds of Homeless ‘Clean-Ups’ Each Year
City Limits
Over the past four years, the de Blasio administration conducted at least 1,700 operations aimed at moving homeless people from locations where they had set up shelter, according to data obtained via the freedom of information act.Here’s Why the Homeless Are Enraged by Bloomberg’s Campaign
The Daily Beast
Maria T. Walles, 49, will never forget the years she spent worrying about where she and her family would sleep on any given night in New York City. Sometimes Walles, her husband, and her 3-year-old daughter stayed in a family shelter. Sometimes they were denied. On those nights, they’d have to leave her toddler daughter with a friend or family member, then split up to go to separate women’s and men’s shelters.A Guide to Your Rights in Homeless Shelters
City Limits
"The Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center, the Safety Net Activists, the Center for Urban Pedagogy and design studio 13 milliseconds this week released a pamphlet outlining the rights that homeless individuals and families have in New York City. It covers everything from privacy to diet, voting to disabilities, public benefits to income savings; explains supportive housing and vouchers; talks about how to get a fair hearing and how to seek permanent affordable housing."Press Release: From Shelter to Apartment
From Shelter to Apartment is a guide design to assist homeless New Yorkers navigating the city’s (DHS) shelter system and finding affordable housing, developed in collaboration with the Safety Net Project of the Urban Justice Center, the Safety Net Activists, the Center for Urban Pedagogy, and design studio 13 milliseconds.
Amid Youth Homeless Crisis, NYC Has Ramped up Shelter Capacity
City Limits
“They should immediately provide homeless youth relying on DYCD programs access to local rental subsidies like CityFHEPS, including those young people who only access drop-in sites, as well as priority access to NYCHA and Section 8 vouchers,” says Craig Hughes, a social work supervisor at the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project who is writing a doctoral dissertation on the city’s history of youth homelessness."SNAP Snapped: City closes food stamp assistance center
Manhattan Times
On June 28, the HRA stopped offering assistance for SNAP benefits at its St. Nicholas Center. The center served about 90 individuals per day. In recent weeks, the Safety Net Project spearheaded an effort to keep the center from closing. We organized petition letters and rallied community advocate walks.Charge City Making It Tougher to Sign Up for Food Stamps
The Chief Leader
Kiana Davis, a benefits advocate at SNP, discusses the de Blasio administration's use of misleading data to support their closing of an East Harlem snap center. “We think the city has made some misleading statements justifying the closure,” she said during a phone interview. “And we find their statistics highly problematic.”Advocates Call On City To Keep Harlem Food Stamp Office Open
Patch
Kiana Davis, our benefits advocate at SNP, speaks with Patch.com about the closure of Central Harlem's food stamp office and its negative effect on the most vulnerable benefits recipients.Shuffled Among Homeless Shelters, and Not Told Why
NY Times
Read this New York Times article about the Safety Net Activists' recent report on harmful “transfer” practices imposed on people living in NYC’s Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters.NYC welfare recipients endure long waits, bad treatment from staff: study
NY Daily News
For New Yorkers who rely on public assistance, the average wait-time at facilities that offer these benefits is three hours. The following article by the Daily News, features quotes and statistics from the Safety Net Project’s report: Bureaucracy of Benefits.Contact
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