OUR MISSION

The Right to Counsel NYC Coalition is a tenant-led coalition that formed in 2014 to disrupt Housing Court as a center of displacement and stop the eviction crisis that has threatened our families, our neighborhoods, and our homes for too long. Our Coalition is made up of tenants, organizers, advocates, legal services organizations and more! Our work is rooted in principles of dignity, diversity, equity, humanity, and justice. After a hard fought, three-year grassroots campaign, we won and became the first city in the nation to establish a Right to Counsel for tenants facing eviction. Our campaign has inspired a movement across the country.

OUR VISION

Our work is grounded in a history of tenant organizing and the belief that housing is a human right. Since winning the Right to Counsel in 2017, we have been working to ensure that the Right to Counsel law is implemented in a way that upholds the right, that builds tenant power, and that transforms the courts into a place that upholds the dignity and humanity of every tenant. We are also running campaigns to change the laws to stop evictions in NYC and across the state, supporting Right to Counsel campaigns nationally, supporting the development of passionate and zealous attorneys committed to tenant power, and expanding and strengthening Right to Counsel so that it extends to all tenants.

OUR ORGANIZING PRINCIPLES

Our organizing principles describe our collective thinking about humanity, how society is structured, and how the world operates. They ground us, guide us, and should be consulted regularly to ensure that our actions, decisions, and principles are aligned. Our organizing principles should also reflect the collective growth of our coalition – as we continue to build, learn, and organize together, we expect our organizing principles to deepen, strengthen, and evolve. Click here to read more. You can also download a PDF by clicking the image below.