Possessing a JD from Touro Law Center, Amy Goldenberg of Closter, NJ, most recently served as a judicial law clerk with Essex Vicinage. Experienced with performing legal research and drafting judicial opinions, Amy Goldenberg is a member of the Criminal Courts Committee of the New York City Bar Association (NYC Bar).

The NYC Bar formed a civil justice task force to evaluate the Right to Counsel law passed by the City Council in 2017 that ensures free legal representation to eligible tenants facing eviction. Applying to residents in certain zip codes, the law has altered the dynamics of landlord-tenant disputes in one of the country’s most-populated cities, according to attorney and task force co-chair Andrew Scherer. Now that citizens are more informed about their rights and have access to representation, more cases are going through litigation rather than ending in eviction.

Right to Counsel, which took effect in January 2018, is the result of the persistent work of a coalition of fair-housing advocates. The law’s success is evident; around 22,000 evictions have already been stopped and roughly 30 percent of tenants appear with an attorney, up from 1 percent in 2013.

While the NYC Housing Court has become more manageable for residents and the total number of evictions has dropped, some tenants who qualify for free legal assistance continue to fall through the cracks. More outreach and education is necessary to reach everyone who needs help staying in their home. However, by 2022, the law will expand to include all New York citizens with incomes up to double the federal poverty level.