Federally-funded legal services programs in New York systematically
misuse taxpayer dollars to pursue litigation on behalf of the most undeserving
of clients. This includes violent individuals threatening the safety of
their neighbors and homosexuals in child custody cases.
Beggars’ Income Should Not Be Counted in Setting Welfare Benefits
In 1992, MFY Legal Services of New York City claimed that the money
earned by a beggar through panhandling should not be counted as income
when determining his eligibility for welfare benefits. Beggar Kevin Barry
sought the services of MFY after the Social Security Administration (SSA)
informed him that they were going to reduce his monthly Social Security
Disability (SSDI) checks by $250. That is the amount of money he typically
made each month from panhandling. The SSA exempts certain types of “earned
income” to encourage recipients to work and become self-sufficient. However,
the SSA does not exempt money accrued from panhandling. However, MFY said
Barry’s income should be considered “earned” because “he actively
sought contributions” and did not passively hold his hand out waiting for
money.
See “Brazen Beggar,” The Columbus Dispatch, Dec. 10, 1992, pg.
6A
Stops Eviction of Violent Tenant
In 1993, Brooklyn Legal Services successfully defended an abusive tenant
from being evicted from his apartment despite terrorizing his neighbors.
For years, the man publicly abused neighbors and passersby, with
a special animus against blacks, Jews and homosexuals. Besides shouting
out obscenities in the middle of the night, he physically assaulted tenants,
hurled cinder blocks and furniture off the roof and harassed a woman to
the point she needed an order of protection against him. On one occasion,
a SWAT team had to be called in to deal with one of his more violent outbursts.
Finally, after tenants started to leave the building to get away from their
dangerous neighbor, the landlord moved to evict him. After nearly two years
of legal action, Brooklyn Legal Services stopped the eviction by arguing
that although his behavior may have been offensive to other tenants, he
did not pose a danger to their safety.
See “Who Murdered Quiet Enjoyment?” Real Estate Weekly, June
21, 1995, pg. 10
City Sued for Closing Crackhouse
In September 1992, the City of New York responded to long-standing complaints
and closed down a crackhouse that had been plaguing a neighborhood with
shootings, prostitutes, and assorted health hazards. MFY Legal Services
responded by suing the city for illegally evicting seven of the 15 tenants
living in the building. Although none of the evicted tenants were charged
with illegal activity, the building had been a magnet for drug dealers
and other criminals that threatened the safety of the neighborhood. While
residents were relieved that the city finally shut down the eyesore, an
MFY attorney claimed that the swift action was racially motivated because
the evicted tenants were “people of color." Neighbors angrily denied the
accusation and said they were just glad that children could finally play
in the street where before there had been shootings and vermin.
See “City Illegally Evicted Tenants, Court Rules,” Newsday,
Dec. 22, 1992, pg. 21
Flophouses Threatened by Legal Services Litigation
In 1994, MFY Legal Services stopped the eviction of a man from a Manhattan “Flophouse” in a significant decision that could seriously undermine the provision of temporary housing for the poor. The case began in 1990 when the Palace Hotel sought to evict William Hargrove from his cubicle for not paying $6 nightly rent. However, MFY Legal Services argued that the cubicle occupied by Hargrove, just big enough for a bed and locker, was equivalent to a housing accommodation and thus subject to onerous eviction laws. Flophouse owners and other providers of Single Resident Occupancy (SRO) housing deplored the decision. The Executive Director of the flophouse said the only time tenancy becomes an issue is when legal services decides to get involved and usually that is on the behalf of “the least desirable tenant who disturbs everyone else.” MFY’s client did not personally benefit from the state appellate court’s decision. A year before the case was decided, Hargrove set fire to his cubicle and subsequently disappeared.
See “Court Says Flophouses Fall under Rent Stabilization,”
Real Estate Weekly, April 20, 1994, pg. 21
Legal Services Gets Involved in Homosexual Child Custody Case
In 1993, the Legal Aid Society of New York successfully assisted a lesbian in winning custody of a child in a bizarre custody battle that involved another homosexual. The case began in the 1980s when the woman artificially inseminated herself with the sperm of a homosexual man who agreed to donate his sperm so she could have a child. At the time, the man agreed not to exercise parental rights. The woman had a girl and reared her for several years with her lesbian partner and her partner’s daughter (Also the result of an artificial insemination by a homosexual). The homosexual donor later decided he wanted more parental rights with the little girl which resulted in the legal action. Legal Aid won the case by arguing that the little girl would suffer psychological harm if the homosexual man disrupted the lesbians’ family life.
See Thomas S. v. Robin Y., 157 Misc. 2d 858, Family Court,
New York County, 1993