At The Legal Aid Society our Civil, Criminal Defense, Juvenile Rights, and Pro Bono practices work tirelessly in and out of the courtroom to defend our clients and dismantle the hidden, systemic barriers that can prevent them from thriving in New York City. We seek to be a beacon of hope for those who feel neglected —regardless of who they are, where they come from, or how they identify. Our experienced teams provide comprehensive services, support, and advocacy that protect rights, keep families and communities together, and in many cases, saves lives. We have an intrinsic connection to the daily lives of New Yorkers. Here are a few of the places we made a difference, provided context or added valuable perspective this week:

NYPD disproportionately targets people of color for fare evasion

Patch: Minority Fare Evaders Are Arrested Most At This Brooklyn Station
Queens Daily Eagle: People of color account for 85 percent of fare evasion arrests in 2019 Q2
Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Black and Latinx straphangers make up 85 percent of fare evasion arrests
AMNY: Black, Hispanic people make up highest number of fare evasion arrests, NYPD data show
NY Daily News: Black & Latino New Yorkers make up vast majority of arrests for subway fare evasion

Majority of NYCHA Housing apartments lost heat/hot water over the winter

NY Post: Nearly 90 percent of NYCHA apartments lost heat, hot water during winter
NY1: Report: 87% of NYCHA Units Had Heat or Hot Water Outages Last Winter
CBS: Report: Most NYCHA Apartments Lost Heat, Hot Water Last Winter
WCBS880: Over 85% Of NYCHA Apartments Lost Heat, Hot Water Last Winter
CurbedNY: Most NYCHA developments suffered heat and hot water losses this winter
Queens Daily Eagle: 18K NYCHA tenants faced heat and hot water outages in Queens last year
CBS: ‘I Hope It Works Out’: New NYCHA Head Arrives For First Day On The Job
Pix 11: New NYCHA boss has first day on the job as report reveals major heating problems
NY Post: EDITORIAL – The heat’s on NYCHA’s new boss, Gregory Russ
Brooklyn Daily Eagle: 17 Brooklyn NYCHA complexes faced 10 or more heat or hot water outages

Class action results in the sealing for 300+ low-level marijuana convictions

WSJ: People Convicted of Low-Level Marijuana Crimes in Manhattan Will Have Records Sealed
The Crime Report: 350 Records of Minor NYC Pot Crimes Being Sealed
NY Daily News: Manhattan judge orders 350 marijuana possession convictions to be sealed
NY Post: Judge seals arrest records for over 300 low-level marijuana offenders

Trump administration announces changes to public charge regulations

El Diario: Alertan que ‘carga pública’ afectará a más de 250,000 neoyorquinos
Brooklyn News 12: Expert: New Trump administration rule will scrutinize finances of immigrants

More LAS in the news

NYT: Facing the Injustice of Immigration Court
Daily News: Attorney General William Barr slams ‘prancing punks’ for dousing NYPD cops
WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer Show: Going Broke with Brokers’ Fees
CITYLAB: Trump’s DHS Aims to Scare Immigrants Away From Public Benefits
Gothamist: ‘Massively Out Of Scale’: Inwood Groups Battle In Court Over City’s Rezoning Plan
NYCHA: Hundreds of NYCHA Evictions Raise Questions About Process
Patch: Roaches, Bed Bugs And Rats Plague Rent-Controlled BK Buildings
Gothamist: NYPD Police Union Boss: Sorry For Sharing Racist Video, ‘I Have Black Friends‘
Raw Story: NYPD union president insists ‘I have black friends’ after promoting a rabidly racist video
Gothamist: NYC Real Estate Brokers Are Already Exploiting A Perceived Loophole In New Rent Laws
Crime Report: NYC DNA Database Has More than 80K Genetic Profiles
NYT: N.Y.P.D. Detectives Gave a Boy, 12, a Soda. He Landed in a DNA Database
Gothamist: DA Got Innocent People’s Phone Data Through A ‘Reverse Location’ Search Warrant