For those facing eviction in New York, it's getting harder to find an attorney
NEW YORK - If you're facing eviction, it may be harder to get a free attorney.
Tuesday, Legal Aid attorneys said they cannot take new housing court cases in Queens this month, highlighting a much bigger problem.
CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas explain why, and what this means for tenants.
"I'm scared right now," said Arrouna Soumarhoro, who has lived in a Bronx apartment for more than 20 years, but is now facing eviction despite trying to pay his landlord thousands of dollars.
"Have you been to court with a lawyer?" Cline-Thomas asked.
"No, I go by myself," he said. "If I go by myself, I'll never win. You'll never win."
Soumarhoro is among many tenants across the city who cannot find a lawyer, although the right to counsel law is supposed to give him access to one for free.
"Right now, we have an excess of 40 vacancies or people who are on leave. That makes it very difficult to take on the cases that we need," said Adriene Holder of the Legal Aid Society.
The Legal Aid Society joined the New York Legal Assistance Group citing an overwhelming caseload due to pandemic backlogs, with fewer attorneys after widespread resignations making it difficult to meet the demand.
It's so bad in Queens, Legal Aid is not taking on new clients in housing court this month, and is appealing to the courts to delay cases.
"If the court would slow down the calendaring of the cases, if they would slow down, we could try to continue to ramp up to bring more people in," Holder said.
In response, a court spokesperson said it was the legal providers that needed to make adjustments, criticizing them for not fulfilling their contractual obligations.
Meantime, Soumarhoro showed Cline-Thomas his medication, saying the stress is impacting his health.
"I can't pay $7,000 right now. I'm a cab driver. How can I pay? I don't have credit," Soumarhoro said.
A cab driver struggling to support his family without an attorney and fears they're on the brink of homelessness.
On the city's website, it says 84% of tenants who had a lawyer through the right to counsel program avoided eviction.