Page 38 - Impact: Collected Essays on the Threat of Economic Inequality
P. 38
36
New York City has a rich history of leading the nation in protecting and advancing the rights of its residents, particularly around housing, discrimination, and due process . The list of the City’s accomplishments is long and includes the first housing code (1905), the first public housing program (1934), and some of the strongest tenant protection anti-discrimination legislation in the country . New York City’s current political leaders now have a unique and timely opportunity to take a bold step, lead the nation, and create a lasting legacy by changing the paradigm around the wealth-based distribution of access to justice and establishing a right to counsel in court proceedings for people who face losing their homes . To paraphrase the much-quoted words of a religious philosopher of more than two millennia ago, “if not now, when, and if not the current New York City leadership, who?” •
Impact: Collected Essays on the Threat of Economic Inequality
