Balance these scales, too by getting lawyers for tenants in Housing Court 

Justice for all. (Norman Y. Lono/for New York Daily News)

Mayor de Blasio and Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito aim to extend to New York's lowest-income families the aid of a lawyer in Housing Court when the evictors come knocking.

The idea, championed by former New York State Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, passed the test of a rigorous pilot — and is well worth the estimated $93 million pricetag.


The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution says that defendants in criminal cases shall "have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence," which means a lawyer will be provided for people unable to afford one.

But New York City Housing Court is civil court, not criminal court, so tenants, no matter how poor, were long left alone facing landlord attorneys in eviction proceedings.

Which left them subject to getting kicked out of their home even when, little did they know, the law was on their side.

In 2015, de Blasio began a pilot program to provide lawyers for tenants most at risk of eviction; previously, only 1% had lawyers, while landlords had representation 99% of the time. The predictable result of the uneven playing field: The tenants were being evicted half the time.

When represented by counsel, the eviction rate fell to 10% of cases. Besides parrying unjust evictions by a small number of unscrupulous landlords, trained lawyers also make sure tenants take full advantage of assistance like Social Security, veterans benefits, food stamps and rent vouchers to stay in their homes.

Under de Blasio's and Mark-Viverito's sponsored expansion, tenants with annual incomes up to twice the federal poverty rate — about $50,000 for a household of four — will have attorneys made available, free of charge.

Taxpayers who wince at paying the bill should understand that it stretches and strains the city more when people lose their apartments and wind up in publicly funded homeless shelters.

A single month to put up a homeless family in an often horrible hotel is more than $5,000; homeless families stay on average for more than a year. The city estimates the cost of a Housing Court attorney at $2,500.

Meantime, having lawyers on tenants' side in notoriously inefficient Housing Court should make those gears turn more smoothly.

Faster court isn't just better for judges, but often also for litigants, including the landlords, which may explain why neither of the city's major landlord groups has opposed the new service.


Some evictions are not only warranted but necessary, and it's critically important that the new benefit not empower people who are simply trying to beat the system.

The city should track results transparently, and watch for unintended consequences , including tenants with weak cases clogging the court.

Last, the $93 million figure is an estimate; if, in practice costs balloon, de Blasio has to be prepared to put the brakes on.