SBLS in the News

14 April 10	Residents of Bushwick Houses Fear Section 8 Cuts, Says SBLS Attorney South Brooklyn Legal Services Director of Litigation Ed Josephson was interviewed for a recent story about the impact of potential Section 8 cuts on residents of a Brooklyn housing project. “‘For a time, things seemed good,’ said Dolores Byrd, a retiree who has lived at Bushwick Houses for 27 years, and who made $45 yesterday collecting completed census packets. Still, like many of the thousands who call the project home, Byrd’s good week ended abruptly on Wednesday when the city announced it may have to revoke housing assistance vouchers from more than 10,000 New Yorkers. The New York Housing Authority (NYCHA), faced with a $45 million deficit, may have no choice but to cut off the housing voucher program, known as Section 8, even though it may result in many thousands of people being unable to pay their rent and perhaps ending up homeless. [...] One of the public advocates working in Brooklyn’s housing courts sees NYCHA’s announcement as short-sighted, partly because of the added pressure this could put on the city’s homeless shelters. ‘By definition, people with Section 8 vouchers can’t afford the rent,’ said Ed Josephson, director of litigation at South Brooklyn Legal Services. ‘Needless to say these people will end up in the shelter system.’” Read the full story at The Brooklyn Ink. (Housing) \| More SBLS in the news >

14 April 10

Residents of Bushwick Houses Fear Section 8 Cuts, Says SBLS Attorney

South Brooklyn Legal Services Director of Litigation Ed Josephson was interviewed for a recent story about the impact of potential Section 8 cuts on residents of a Brooklyn housing project.

“‘For a time, things seemed good,’ said Dolores Byrd, a retiree who has lived at Bushwick Houses for 27 years, and who made $45 yesterday collecting completed census packets. Still, like many of the thousands who call the project home, Byrd’s good week ended abruptly on Wednesday when the city announced it may have to revoke housing assistance vouchers from more than 10,000 New Yorkers. The New York Housing Authority (NYCHA), faced with a $45 million deficit, may have no choice but to cut off the housing voucher program, known as Section 8, even though it may result in many thousands of people being unable to pay their rent and perhaps ending up homeless.

[...]

One of the public advocates working in Brooklyn’s housing courts sees NYCHA’s announcement as short-sighted, partly because of the added pressure this could put on the city’s homeless shelters.

‘By definition, people with Section 8 vouchers can’t afford the rent,’ said Ed Josephson, director of litigation at South Brooklyn Legal Services. ‘Needless to say these people will end up in the shelter system.’”

Read the full story at The Brooklyn Ink.

(Housing) | More SBLS in the news >