Jayne Betts says she wasn't informed about a city law which guarantees legal representation for low-income tenants facing eviction when she arrived at court. She says she fell behind on rent after losing her job as a barista and second job at Krispy Kreme.
The number of tenants in the Bronx facing eviction without an attorney in housing court has increased more than 900% in less than a month, according to court officials, after a legal service provider said it did not have enough lawyers to meet the demand.
“It's truly alarming,” said Adriene Holder, attorney-in-charge of the Civil Practice of the Legal Aid Society, one of two major providers of legal services to tenants facing evictions. “I anticipate that it's just going to get worse.” Raun Rasmussen, executive director of Legal Services NYC, an organization that contracts with the city to provide legal representation, said his group does not have enough lawyers to meet the demand in Bronx Housing Court. Rasmussen said it currently has enough lawyers to staff two of the four courtrooms in the Bronx, where judges refer cases to legal service providers.
Janaye Betts, who owes her landlord about $7,500 in back rent, said she wishes she would have been told about the Right to Counsel law when she showed up in Bronx Housing Court on March 2. The 32-year-old said she fell behind on rent after she lost her job as a barista and a second job working at Krispy Kreme, but was not offered a city-funded attorney.
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