Talk Bronx New York

Court Rejects Suit Against Tenant Organizers

The owners of five buildings in the Bronx have failed to raise a triable issue of fact that tenant organizers interfered with their ability to get mortgages, a state judge has ruled in granting summary judgment dismissing the owners’ case. In New Line Realty V Corp. v. United Committees of University Heights, 1021/04, Supreme Court Justice Sally Manzanet-Daniels of the Bronx found that the owners had failed to submit “any evidence in admissible form” to prove that tenant organizers from the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition had taken actions to frustrate their ability to get refinancing for their buildings.

The decision will be published Monday. The owners had claimed that as a result of picketing, circulating fliers and other activities aimed at Washington Mutual Bank, the bank had pulled a letter of intent to refinance a mortgage issued in 2000. The owners claimed damages of $1.8 million.

The organizers denied any intent to interfere with the owners’ prospects for refinancing, and contended that instead they were trying to enforce a provision in the existing mortgage that required the owners to keep the buildings in good repair. The owners’ claim for tortious interference with prospective economic advantage was the sole surviving claim of their lawsuit, filed in 2004, which also raised claims of trespass and libel against the Northwest Bronx group, a 30-year-old, clergy-based community organization.

The owners had withdrawn their trespass claim, and Justice Manzanet-Daniels had dismissed the libel claim in 2006. Under a law adopted in 1992 designed to protect tenants and others who are asserting a First Amendment right to petition government, Justice Manzanet-Daniels wrote, the owners were required to show that their claims against the Northwest Bronx group have “a substantial basis in law and fact.”

The 1992 law (Civil Rights Law §§70-a, 76-a) was designed to curb lawsuits aimed at deterring the exercise of free speech rights by both creating a higher standard to establish a claim’s viability and giving defendants the right to counterclaim for violations of their speech rights. Suits aimed at stifling efforts to petition the government for redress of grievances and to express views at public hearings have been dubbed “Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation,” or SLAPP, suits.

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The Jericho Project Purchases Second Site for Homeless Veterans in the Bronx

Combating the 1-in-4 Disgrace of Homeless Vets

The Jericho Project, a national leader in forging permanent solutions to homelessness, today
announced a new milestone for its Veterans Initiative, closing on the purchase of a site to build its second Veterans Residence in the Bronx. Together the two sites will deliver Jericho’s trademark combination of
permanent supportive housing and comprehensive counseling to 130 homeless and low-income veterans.

Jericho’s Veterans Initiative is the latest in a series of innovations introduced at its recent 25th Anniversary Gala, Where Hope Finds a Home, which honored Senator Bob Dole for his work on behalf of veterans, as well
as other nonprofit and individual leaders addressing the root causes of homelessness, especially among veterans.

The event raised over $525,000 for Jericho, including $300,000 specifically earmarked for the Veterans Initiative.

“We intend for our Veterans Initiative to be scalable - and become a model for helping low-income and homeless veterans nationwide regain their dignity and rightful place in society,” said Jericho Executive Director Tori Lyon.

For many troops, war-induced trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are leading to a cascade of financial dislocation, family estrangement and homelessness. Extended tours and intensive violence abroad accelerate these
effects and threaten to deepen the national disgrace that one-in-four homeless individuals is a veteran.

“With its effective combination of permanent housing and supportive services, Jericho Project is at the forefront in helping homeless veterans regain control of their lives and once again enjoy the freedoms they helped preserve,” said Cheryl Beversdorf, President and CEO, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and one of the Gala honorees.

NCHV is a national nonprofit dedicated to ending homelessness among America’s veterans by shaping public policy, promoting collaboration, and increasing the capacity of service providers.

Unlike the temporary nature of a shelter, Jericho’s Veterans Residences will offer the permanent supportive housing and comprehensive counseling services that have resulted in Jericho’s track record of success. More than 20 percent of Jericho’s current 253 residents “graduate” each year to independent and productive lives, and the average stay is 2 1/2 to 3 years. Ninety-six percent of these graduates maintain permanent housing; two-thirds are employed, with the remainder having government subsidies. Only five percent experience relapse.

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