NY Gov. Expands Eviction Defense Law, Not Moratorium

2020-09-30T15:15:41-04:00September 29th, 2020|Press|

Law 360

"I think what the governor's press team tells us is what the governor's intentions were," said Marika Dias, attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. "Ultimately, it will be up to the courts to decide the scope of the language of the [order] and what it covers."

New MTA Rules Are Criticized As ‘Anti-Homeless’

2020-09-25T18:42:19-04:00September 24th, 2020|Press|

NYC Streets Blog

“The MTA is opportunistically using the pandemic to make long-sought anti-homeless measures permanent, right at a time when the city’s homeless population is most vulnerable,” said Helen Strom from the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center.

De Blasio’s Cuts to Jail Oversight Must Not Stand

2020-10-26T13:13:15-04:00September 24th, 2020|Press|

Gotham Gazette

New Yorkers are beyond tired of the tale of two mayors: one who claims to be committed to substantive reform of New York City’s criminal legal and jail systems and another who resists, delays, and undermines efforts to address the deep injustices of those same systems.

Street vendors call on city to approve permit bill & remove NYPD from enforcement

2020-09-28T12:39:10-04:00September 24th, 2020|Press|

AM NY

The rally, organized by the Street Vendor Project and the Urban Justice Center, is the second such rally, the other held in August in Times Square sought to convince Council Speaker Corey Johnson to move the legislation to a vote.

Donald “C-Note” Hooker the World’s Most Prolific Prisoner-Artist

2020-09-28T12:54:13-04:00September 23rd, 2020|Press|

London Daily Post

Since 2016, his Works have been in nearly 15 collective exhibitions of Prison Art. Some notables were... Capitalizing on Justice was a Prisoner Art exhibition in October of 2018, at the Urban Justice Center, in Manhattan, New York City. The exhibition was curated by the Corrections Accountability Project (CAP), a criminal justice advocacy organization. The aim of the exhibition was to raise awareness on the issue of monetary exploitation of prisoners and their families.

SWP Receives Historic $1.2M Grant from the Sex Work Rights Fund

2020-09-21T15:52:50-04:00September 21st, 2020|Press|

SWRF has made a generous donation of $1.2 million to SWP to significantly increase SWP’s capacity, size, scope, and impact. With this gift, SWP is able to hire a Director of Communications, Director of Development, Director of Research, Organizing, and Advocacy, and an Associate Director for State and Local Campaigns, as well as locally based organizing consultants. While continuing to focus on legislative efforts in New York, SWP will also focus on building a statewide campaign in Oregon to decriminalize and destigmatize sex work, partnering with SWR and other national, statewide, and local human rights organizations through 2020 and beyond.

Call off your old, tired ethics

2020-09-28T18:28:06-04:00September 18th, 2020|Press|

The Minnesota Daily

Testimonies from New York to Los Angeles tell the same story: officers aren’t above privacy violations, enforced acts of public nudity and inappropriate physical contact. The Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center in New York City found that 17% of sex workers had been sexually harassed, abused or even raped by police officers.

CDC Eviction Rule Likely To Have Limited Reach In NYC

2020-09-28T12:43:22-04:00September 14th, 2020|Press|

Law 360

"We are basically telling folks they should not submit a declaration without getting legal advice first," said Marika Dias, attorney and director of the Safety Net Project at the Urban Justice Center in New York City. "For most people, the declaration makes admissions without the moratorium actually offering them much benefit right now."

Leaders of Change: Johnny Perez

2020-09-14T14:38:50-04:00September 3rd, 2020|Press|

USA Today

Johnny Perez fights for the rights of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people, not just because he has heard about their suffering in the system, but because he has lived it.

NY Courts Say State Has 1 Month To Act On Eviction Hold

2020-09-02T12:37:29-04:00September 1st, 2020|Press|

Law 360

"Currently, in New York City alone, there are over 14,000 households with pending eviction warrants who are in imminent danger of displacement," Marika Dias, managing director of the Urban Justice Center's Safety Net Project, said in a Tuesday statement to Law360.