The Legal Aid Society and public defenders across NYC are sounding the alarm in response to news that three courtrooms have been designated for trials at the Supreme Court building at 320 Jay St. in Downtown Brooklyn, rather than the notoriously cramped housing court at 141 Livingston St. The new state guidance stated that some proceedings will resume “on or about” July 27th – in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. The news came on the heels of seemingly contradictory guidance extending a hold on eviction proceedings – sewing confusion among legal advocates who are left with more questions than answers about the new guidelines.

Attorneys at Legal Aid slammed the incoherence created by the court’s conflicting messages, and noted the inherently dangerous situation of indoor proceedings in the age of COVID-19, according to Law360.

“The lack of clarity from the courts could result in a new outbreak with desperate tenants searching for information forced to go to unsanitary and dangerous housing courts,” said Judith Goldiner, Attorney-in-Charge of the Civil Law Reform Unit at The Legal Aid Society. “There is no excuse for this.”