non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
legal services and
advocacy
Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group that aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to influence public policy, laws and budgets by using fac ...
organization serving the
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
area. It is known as an incubator for progressive programs and initiatives and for being a significant legal presence in the struggles of New York's poverty stricken and minority populations. Urban Justice Center won the 2020 Webby People’s Voice Award for Law in the category Web.
History
Founded in 1984 as the Legal Action Center for the Homeless by Doug Lasdon, the Urban Justice Center (UJC) works for vulnerable New Yorkers through direct civil legal, political organizing, legislative advocacy and policy education. Some of the UJC's important legal victories in aid of the
indigent
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
include ''Doe v. City of New York'', ''Tolle v. Dinkins'', and joint legal action with other groups against the
Grand Central Partnership
The Grand Central Partnership manages the Grand Central Business Improvement District, one of the largest business improvement districts in the world. It comprises of commercial space in a 70-block area of Midtown Manhattan, New York City, arou ...
and the 34th Street Partnership for hiring homeless employees at $1 an hour. The UJC's community building and immigrant aid programming was also recently recognized by New York City by their naming as finalists in the Competition THRIVE.
Originally operating from a burned-out building in
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...
staffed only by Lasdon the UJC has relocated to
Lower Manhattan
Lower Manhattan (also known as Downtown Manhattan or Downtown New York) is the southernmost part of Manhattan, the central borough for business, culture, and government in New York City, which is the most populated city in the United States with ...
and as of 2013 has a staff of over 100 with an operating budget of over $7.5 million. The UJC has provided 96,000 people with community legal education and has closed 8,881 cases thus far. Real estate deals undertaken by Lasdon in 2007 led to the $5.7 million sale, close to 10 times the initial amount paid for, of the UJC office space at 666 Broadway in 1997. The UJC's headquarters are located on Rector Street, and were purchased with its real estate profits and a $5 million grant from New York City.
The UJC sponsors the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), which works to organize
law student
Legal education is the education of individuals in the principles, practices, and theory of law. It may be undertaken for several reasons, including to provide the knowledge and skills necessary for admission to legal practice in a particular ...
s and lawyers to develop and enforce legal and
human rights
Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
for
refugee
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
s and
displaced person
Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
s. They have offices in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Jordan, and Lebanon. IRAP is a
plaintiff
A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of t ...
in the 2017 decision ''
International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump
''International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump'', 857 F. 3d 554 (4th Cir. 2017), was a 2017 decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, sitting ''en banc'', upholding an injunction against enforcement of Executiv ...
The UJC is made up of 10 anti-poverty projects devoted to specific goals and clientele. Projects are led by directors, who are empowered to manage the staffing, fundraising and advocacy work for their individual projects almost autonomously. The executive office of the UJC provides overhead funding for the organization and overall mission direction. The executive office led by the UJC’s founder and
executive director
Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization.
The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...
along with two associate directors and maintains a support staff of administrators, development and financial officers.
Notable alumni
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Cory Booker
Cory Anthony Booker (born April 27, 1969) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the junior United States senator from New Jersey since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Booker is the first African-American U.S. se ...
, United States Senator from New Jersey, former UJC Staff Attorney
*
Raymond Brescia
Raymond H. Brescia is an American law professor.
Education and early life
Brescia is the son of a salesman and school teacher from Huntington, New York. He graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Political Philosophy from Fordham University i ...
, Law professor, former UJC Associate Director and Community Development Project Director
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Harvey Epstein
Harvey Epstein is an American politician from the state of New York. He is the member of the New York State Assembly from the 74th district, which consists parts of the Lower East Side, East Village, and Midtown East neighborhoods of Manhattan.
...
, New York State Assemblyman, former Associate Director and Community Development Project Director
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Sally Kohn
Sally Rebecca Kohn (born March 27, 1977) is an American liberal political commentator, community organizer, and founder and chief executive officer of the Movement Vision Lab, a grassroots think tank that focuses on liberal and progressive ide ...
, Political commentator, former UJC Consultant
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Erin Siegal McIntyre
Erin Siegal McIntyre is an American investigative journalist, photographer and author. She is a senior fellow at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at Brandeis University, and her photography is represented by Redux Pictures in ...
, Photographer and writer, co-director and co-producer of the UJC-funded documentary "Taking the Pledge"