Category: In the News

Syracuse.com: NY’s hard-core traffic fines hit the poor hardest, Syracuse lawmaker says

“The problem is particularly troubling in Syracuse, a city with the nation’s highest rate of concentrated poverty among blacks and Hispanics, Hunter said. The rate of driver’s with suspended licenses for unpaid traffic tickets in one poor neighborhood in Syracuse is more than twice the statewide average, according to the Driven by Justice Coalition, a coalition of criminal […]

WBFO: State effort to eliminate driver’s license suspensions gets local support

“According to the Driven by Justice Coalition, over 1.6 million suspensions due to traffic debt were issued to New Yorker’s over a 28-month span. Kennedy said the suspensions are not equitable and poor people are punished for being poor. “Driver’s license suspension rates are nearly nine times higher in the ten poorest communities across New […]

NYN Media: New York City Council boosts funding to support immigrants facing deportation

“The New York City Council announced $16.6 million in funding for the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project for this coming fiscal year. The project received a boost of $5 million compared with last year, which will go toward increasing the project’s reach to provide free legal services to immigrants facing deportation. The Bronx Defenders, Legal Aid Society, […]

Patch: Corey Johnson And Carlos Menchaca Announce A $16.6 Million Allocation To Fund The New York Immigrant Family Unity Project

“City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Committee on Immigration Chair Carlos Menchaca announced today that the City Council is dedicating $16.6 million of this year’s budget to fund and expand the New York Immigrant Family Unity Project (NYIFUP), the nation’s first public defender system for detained immigrants facing deportation. NYIFUP, funded by the City Council, […]

El Diario: Concejo Municipal asigna $16 millones para dar ayuda legal gratis a inmigrantes

“Los operativos de los agentes del Servicio de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas (ICE) siguen aumentando en todo el país, y la meta es cumplir con el objetivo de la Administración Trump, de arrestar y deportar el mayor número posible de indocumentados. Y a pesar de ser una ‘ciudad santuario’, la Gran Manzana no ha escapado a las acciones de ‘La Migra’, y […]

The Appeal: Parents Threatened With Losing Children Over Cannabis Use

“Ms. D, a mother of two living in the Bronx, smoked cannabis occasionally. She never smoked in front of her children, and her casual use never affected her ability to parent. So when a child protective investigator asked her if she smoked, Ms. D was forthcoming. After all, her children were healthy, happy, and well […]

Law360: Challenge To NYPD’s Use of Sealed Records Gets Go-Ahead

“A New York judge has certified a class of individuals who contend the New York City Police Department has unlawfully used information contained in their sealed arrest records when investigating other cases. Justice Alexander M. Tisch of the New York Supreme Court for New York County determined Thursday that clients of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton […]

The City: Layleen Polanco’s Death Inspires Bail Fund For Transgender Inmates

“The effort has generated more than $10,000 in donations from fewer than 100 donors in less than a month, according to Kaminer, 52, who works in IT and lives in Hells Kitchen. The money has been used to free six transgender inmates so far, he said. “All of the discrimination the trans community faces in […]