Urban Justice Center

The Urban Justice Center is a non-profit legal services and advocacy organization serving the New York City area. It is known as a breeding ground for progressive programs and initiatives and for being a significant legal presence in the struggles of New York's poverty stricken and minority populations.^[1]

History

Founded in 1984 as the Legal Action Center for the Homeless by Douglas 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 include Doe v. City of New York, Tolle v. Dinkins, and joint legal action with other groups against the Grand Central Partnership and the 34th Street Partnership for hiring homeless employees at $1 an hour.^[1] 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.^[2]

Originally operating from a burned-out building in Harlem staffed only by Lasdon the UJC has relocated to Lower Manhattan 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.^[3]

Organization

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 along with two Associate Directors and maintains a support staff of administrators, development and financial officers.^[4]

Executive Office directors

• Douglas Lasdon, Executive Director and Founder^[5]
• Harvey Epstein, Associate Director and Community Development Project Director
• Madeline Garcia Bigelow, Associate Director and Domestic Violence Project Director^[4]

Project directors

• Shani Jamila, Human Rights Project Director^[6]
• Becca Heller, Iraqi Refugee Assistance Project Director^[7]
• Mary Beth Anderson, Mental Health Project Director^[8]
• Lee C. Strock, Peter Cicchino Youth Project Director^[9]
• Denise M. Miranda, Safety Net Project Director^[10]
• Sienna Baskin, Sex Workers Project Co-Director^[11]
• Crystal DeBoise, Sex Workers Project Co-Director^[12]
• Sean Basinski, Street Vendor Project Director^[13]
• Coco Culhane, Veteran Advocacy Project Director^[14]

Notable alumni

• Cory Booker, United States Senator from New Jersey, former UJC Staff Attorney^[15]
• Raymond Brescia, Law professor, former UJC Associate Director and Community Development Project Director^[16]
• Sally Kohn, Political commentator, former UJC Consultant^[17]
• Erin Siegal McIntyre, Photographer and writer, co-director and co-producer of the UJC-funded documentary "Taking the Pledge"^[18]

References

External links

• Urban Justice Center
• UJC – Community Development Project
• UJC – Iraqi Refugee Assistance
• UJC – Safety Net Project
• UJC – Street Vendor Project
• UJC – Sex Workers Project
• UJC – Veterans Advocacy Project