CJP Wins Key Victories!
Language Access to City Services
On July 22, 2008, Mayor Bloomberg signed Executive Order No. 120- Citywide Policy on Language Access to Ensure the Effective Delivery of City Services- a major victory for all New Yorkers to access City agencies, regardless of their language.
In coalition with Communities for Housing Equity (CHE), Chinatown Tenants Union (CTU) has been working on language access legislation over the past 4 years. The first of its kind nationally, we began this process with legislation that would ensure language access services and adequate outreach in immigrant communities at the City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). CHE worked with the City Council to draft Intro 596, the Equal Access to Housing Services Act. Introduced in 2006, Intro 596 gave us the momentum we needed towards the Executive Order that Mayor Bloomberg signed into law on August 22, 2008.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXECUTIVE ORDER
Under the provisions of the Order, ALL city government agencies will:
* Translate essential public documents and forms into the top six languages spoken in New York City;
* Provide interpretation services in at least the top six languages spoken in New York City;
* Post visible signs about the rights to interpretation and translation in all agency offices;
* Designate a language access coordinator and develop plans for complying with this Executive Order in the coming months; and
* Convey information in their materials using plain, non-technical language.
And importantly, implementation and compliance oversight is placed under the Mayor's Office of Operations. Progress-or lack thereof-in implementing the Executive Order will be reflected in the annual Mayor's Management Report, which serves as a public report card on city agencies.
Member Organizations of Communities for Housing Equity (CHE):
Asian Americans for Equality, Chinatown Tenants Union of CAAAV, El Centro del Inmigrantes, Make the Road NY, Neighbors Helping Neighbors, New York Immigration Coalition, University Settlement, and the Urban Justice Center.
At CJP and CTU, we are excited for the Executive Order to be implemented. We've worked hard to draw attention to the fact City agencies can hold slumlords accountable, yet these same agencies don't do anything to protect the rights of immigrant tenants. We've held rallies, did petition drives, published two reports, educated city officials- the list is goes on! And while we know that the City needs to do much more, this is a great first step that we have worked hard for.
To see a clip of the August 22nd press conference, click here.
To download a PDF copy of the Executive Order, click here.
With other organizations, we put together the following reports:
Hear This! [2006]
Living in Isolation [2007]
Residents Win Legal Battle to Stay In Their Homes
After over two years of struggle, tenants at 81 Bowery Street in Chinatown won a major victory. A judge has decided that all the tenants in the single-room occupancy (SRO) building can stay in their homes!
Tenants in 81 Bowery, a single-room occupant (SRO) building in Chinatown, won a major victory in June when a judge dismissed the landlord’s case against all the tenants.
In 2006, all the tenants were served with legal papers that challenged whether the space was for residential use. Many having lived there for more than 10 years, and some for more than 20 years, the tenants knew immediately that this was a ruse to get them out of their homes. If the landlord had issues with tenants living there, then why was he illegally converting empty rooms into hotel rooms and charging people $50-$80 a night to stay there?
With the support of CTU and MFY Legal Services working on the lawsuit, the tenants organized, refused buy-out offers and made consensus agreements to fight the landlord.
After two years, a state judge finally made the decision that all the tenants had a right to stay in their homes and dismissed the case. CTU will now continue to work with the tenants around improving their housing conditions and fight the landlord on rooms that have been illegally converted to hotel rooms.