At The Legal Aid Society our Civil, Criminal Defense, Juvenile Rights, and Pro Bono practices work tirelessly in and out of the courtroom to defend our clients and dismantle the hidden, systemic barriers that can prevent them from thriving in New York City. We seek to be a beacon of hope for those who feel neglected —regardless of who they are, where they come from, or how they identify. Our experienced teams provide comprehensive services, support, and advocacy that protect rights, keep families and communities together, and in many cases, saves lives. We have an intrinsic connection to the daily lives of New Yorkers. Here are a few of the places we made a difference, provided context or added valuable perspective this week:

LAS secures release of incarcerated New Yorkers as COVID-19 spreads at city jails

NY Daily News: Manhattan judge rules 16 ‘vulnerable’ city inmates will be released
Vice News: Coronavirus Dispatches – No Hot Water – Locked Up
Mother Jones: Rikers Jail Inmates Speak Out As Coronavirus Cases Spread
NYDN: Coronavirus keeping prison-bound inmates in limbo
Law 360: NY Judges Release 122 Inmates As Virus Cases Spike In Jails
NY Post: Number of NYC inmates with coronavirus soars as jail population dwindles
NY Times: Governor and Mayor Hit Back at Trump Over Ventilators for Coronavirus
BuzzFeed: Rikers Island Detainees Say They Fear Dying From Coronavirus
Gothamist: As Infections Surge On Rikers Island, Cuomo Orders Some Parole Violators Released
NYLJ: New York to Release Up to 1,100 People Jailed on Parole Violations, Officials Say
Huffington Post: Prisoners At Rikers Say It’s Like A ‘Death Sentence’ As Coronavirus Spreads
Newsweek: NY to Release 1,100 as Worries Over Prison System’s Vulnerability to COVID-19 Mount
PBS News Hour: Incarcerated people face potential disaster during outbreak
ABC News: Conditions on Rikers Island during COVID-19 unsafe, some inmates say
Yahoo News: Watery soap to disinfect: Conditions on Rikers Island during COVID-19 unsafe
Newsweek: Rikers Island Chief Physician Warns Coronavirus Cases ‘Growing Quickly’ 
The Intercept: Rikers Island Prisoners Being Offered PPE and $6 an Hour to Dig Mass Graves
CBS: Boro Pres, Union Demand Better Protections For Rikers Correction Officers
Pix 11: Needs for correction officers on Rikers Island
Atlantic: Can’t We at Least Give Prisoners Soap?
Pix 11: Correction officer with lupus fears for her health at Rikers Island
NYT: ‘We’re Left for Dead’: Fears of Virus Catastrophe at Rikers Jail
NYLJ: Cuomo Weighs Grants of Clemency Amid Coronavirus Outbreak in Prison System
Politico: Legal Aid presses for more transparency on coronavirus outbreak in jails
Queens Daily Eagle: At least 167 NYC inmates, 114 jail staffers now have COVID-19
WaPo: Top doctor at Rikers Island calls the jail a ‘public health disaster’
City Limits: The Coronavirus Thread: Broad Clemency Sought as COVID Hits State Prisons
Buzzfeed: People Are Bailing Out Inmates From New York City’s Biggest Jail
The Guardian: Coronavirus spread at Rikers is a ‘public health disaster’
Gothamist: “Nobody Is Safe Here”: Inmates Live In Fear As Coronavirus Spreads
NY1: Advocates Push for Release of Parolees During Coronavirus Crisis
THE CITY: Call for Cuomo to Free Ailing Prisoners as Virus Spreads
NY Mag: Coronavirus in New York: Latest Updates
The Crime Report: Rikers COVID-19 Outbreak Called ‘Public Health Disaster’
Democracy Now: Cruel and Unusual Punishment: The U.S. Prison Pandemic
Gothamist: Defense Lawyers Demand Release Of Vulnerable Prisoners
AMNY: Call for Cuomo to free ailing prisoners as virus spreads
New Yorker: A Pulp-Fiction Novelist Trapped on Rikers During the Coronavirus Pandemic
The Chief Leader: Husamudeen Rips Correction Dept., Mayor for ‘Failing’ COs on Supplies
Sputnik News: New York’s Rikers Island Inmates ‘Dehumanized’ By Digging Mass Graves

LAS offers guidance as renters face uncertainty during COVID-19 outbreak

NY Times: 40% of N.Y. Tenants May Not Pay Rent This Month. What Happens Then?
Law360: Attorneys Predict Rent Cancellation Defense, Challenges
The City: April’s Rent is Due But I’ve Lost Income. What Are My Options? 
Commercial Observer: Will New York Cancel Rents and Commercial Mortgage Payments?
CBS: Rent Due For Millions Of New Yorkers, Many Fear They Can’t Pay After Losing Work
Vice Impact: Should I Pay My Rent on April 1? We Asked a New York Housing Organizer
City Limits: The Coronavirus Thread: Mayor Seeks Immediate Rent Freeze
Gothamist: Some Desperate NYC Tenants Say “There’s No Choice” But To Rent Strike
Curbed NY: What NYC renters need to know during the coronavirus pandemic
Bklyner: April’s Rent Is Due But I’ve Lost Income. What Are My Options?
NY Curbed: One of New York’s new rent laws struck down by appeals court
NY1: Couple Kicked Out of Apartment After COVID-19 Diagnosis

LAS files for release of vulnerable juveniles from detention 

Politico: Teens in Juvenile Facilities Sue to Leave Centers
NBC News: Coronavirus in juvenile detention is a ‘nightmare scenario,’
THE APPEAL: Coronavirus Prompts Urgent Calls for Minors in Detention to be Released
The City: Mayor Hails Release From Juvenile Detention, Yet Most Remain as Virus Hits
The Hill: New York is being sued for the release of teenagers at risk for coronavirus
Bronx Times: Legal Aid Society files lawsuit to release juveniles from center

LAS secures release of immigrant detainees

Documented: The Varick St. Immigration Court Has Moved All of Its Hearings to Fort Worth
Progressive: Don’t Let Trump Make Immigrants Victims of COVID-19
The Intercept: How Ice Operations in New York Set the Stage for a Coronavirus Nightmare 
Law 360: Some NJ, NY ICE Detainees To Be Released Amid Pandemic
DocumentedNY: Judge Orders Immigrants Released from Detention Due to COVID-19

City must do more to protect the homeless

The Crime Report: NYC Accused of ‘Negligence’ in Caring for Homeless Youth
WSJ: New York City Must Shield Homeless From Coronavirus, Legal Aid Says
Pix 11: How the city’s homeless deal with COVID-19 and precautions for the virus’ spread
The Intercept: NYC Has Done Almost Nothing to Protect its Homeless Shelters From Coronavirus

Bail reforms rolled back in state budget

Brooklyn Daily Eagle: Opinion: Cuomo is exploiting a pandemic to roll back bail reform
NYDN: New York lawmakers slated to approve changes to controversial bail reforms
Mother Jones: Cuomo’s Push to Send More People to NY Jails Will Likely Worsen the Pandemic
Pix 11: Bail reform overhauled in New York budget

More LAS in the news

Politico: New York City to shut down worship services as coronavirus spreads
City Limits: Cuomo Extends School Closure, Names New Hospital Sites
Chronicle of Social Change: New York Foster Youth Ousted from Dorms
Roll Call: Coronavirus could overwhelm legal help for America’s poor
Politico: Public defenders raise civil rights concerns as more court proceedings move online
Independent: AOC calls for end to ‘preferential treatment’ for wealthy in coronavirus response
The Intercept: NYPD’s Aggressive Policing Risks Spreading the Coronavirus