BP Adams announces access to legal service program

June 9, 2015 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Eric Adams announces his Access to Legal Service program at Brooklyn Borough Hall, joined by (left to right) Sidney Cherubin, supervising attorney at the Brooklyn Volunteer Lawyer’s Project; Fraidy Nachman, director of outreach and elder law at the Brooklyn branch of Legal Services New York City; and Bedford-Stuyvesant resident Albert Danny Marcano, a constituent who received legal assistance. Photo Credit: Kathryn Kirk/Brooklyn BP’s Office

Share this:

Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams announced on Wednesday his Access to Legal Service program, a partnership he has forged with the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project and Legal Services NYC-Brooklyn, to offer free professional assistance to Brooklynites in need.

The initiative will run out of Room G-80 at Brooklyn Borough Hall between 2 and 5 p.m. on select days. On the second Wednesday of every month, the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project will offer foreclosure intervention and prevention services. The second and fourth Thursday of every month will feature housing and elder law assistance, as well as help with pension matters, from Legal Services NYC-Brooklyn. Adams noted the importance of making legal services available to those facing financial challenges in the borough.

“The law impacts all of us, and we must empower everyone with the resources needed to handle it,” Adams said. “I thank the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project and Legal Services NYC-Brooklyn for partnering with me on Access to Legal Service, an effort that will ensure more Brooklynites can overcome whatever difficulties they might face in availing themselves of needed legal assistance. Programs like this can be the difference in someone keeping their home, securing their person, and aging with dignity.”

“The Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project (VLP) is excited and proud to partner with the Brooklyn Borough President’s Office to provide critical legal information and advice to Brooklyn residents facing foreclosure though a new monthly legal clinic at Borough Hall,” said Heidi Lee Henderson, Esq., executive director of the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project. “The VLP’s mission is to ensure that high quality legal representation is accessible to those who, because of the overwhelming burdens of poverty, would not otherwise have their rights protected or their voices heard. The VLP’s foreclosure program provides critical legal assistance to Brooklyn residents facing the acute loss of their homes, and through the VLP’s partnership with Borough President Eric Adams, our compassionate and knowledgeable attorneys will help Brooklyn residents stay in their homes, help stabilize neighborhoods, and provide a valuable resource to an overburdened and challenged court system.”

“Legal Services NYC-Brooklyn is proud to be a part of the Borough President’s initiative to focus government resources on the plight of the elderly and lower income residents of Brooklyn,” said Fraidy Nachman, director of outreach and elder law at Legal Services NYC-Brooklyn. “We look forward to working with Borough President Eric Adams and his staff in their efforts to provide legal services to those in greatest need.”

Those interested in Access to Legal Service are asked to call (718) 802-3777 to make an appointment, which is required, for free legal assistance. Walk-ins will only be seen based on availability. The last appointment for each day will be at 4:15 p.m.