Organization Details:

Founded on the principle of equal access to justice for all, MFY Legal Services, Inc. works in concert with community organizations to provide free civil legal assistance to those in the greatest need. From advice, to full representation and impact litigation, MFY’s work has helped tens of thousands of New Yorkers since 1963.

MFY provides legal services to more than 6,500 low-income clients in New York City every year in the areas of housing, benefits, consumer and workers' rights, and foreclosure. We are the largest legal services provider for mental health services consumers in New York City. Although our offices are located in Manhattan, we represent clients in every court in every borough.

Description and/or History:
Mobilization for Youth opened its first storefront office on New York City’s Lower East Side in September 1962, and hired over 300 community organizers,social workers, and other professionals to carry out its ambitious agenda.

Over MFY's four decades of work, the face of poverty in New York City has changed, and MFY’s independent status has allowed it to create new programs to address the needs of the working poor, who account for half of the households living in poverty in the city. While continuing to preserve affordable housing in MFY’s traditional neighborhoods through the Neighborhood Preservation Project, new programs were developed. MFY’s Workplace Justice Project, which began in 2003, defends the rights of low-wage workers, including immigrants, winning tens of thousands of dollars in back wages for exploited workers each year. In 2005, MFY secured additional city funding to help Manhattan seniors age with dignity through its Seniors Project. The Consumer Rights Project, developed that same year through a fellowship funded by Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, is now one of the largest programs in the city and offers legal assistance
to low-income consumers who are victims of identity theft, improper debt collection practices, and financial scams. In 2006, MFY launched the Pro
Bono Kinship Caregiver Law Project to address the legal needs of the largest—and often forgotten—segment of the child welfare system. Pro bono attorneys trained and mentored by MFY attorneys bring stability to children’s lives by representing grandparents and other relatives caring for related children
in custody, guardianship, and adoption proceedings. In 2008, MFY launched the Lower Manhattan Justice Project, greatly expanding services to preserve housing and economic diversity in lower Manhattan, and the Foreclosure Prevention Project, which is citywide in its scope.

Contact people:

Jeanette Zelhof, Program Director, (212) 417-3727, (email) Elise Brown, Project Director, (212) 427-3753, (email)

Address:

299 Broadway, 4th Floor New York, NY 10007 (See a map)

Directions:

MFY is located in lower Manhattan on Broadway between Duane and Reade Streets.