Legal Services
Current as of April 9, 2020
COURT UPDATES:
The Courts continue to accept filings only for what are deemed “Essential”.
Commencing April 13, 2020, certain steps will happen to commence remote conferences on existing cases and judges will begin to decide stalled motions previously filed.
Emergency/Essential Matters include, among other matters, applications to stop a wage garnishment or bank account restraint.
NYCHA and HPD Section 8:
NYCHA is suspending all termination actions until at least May 15, 2020.
HPD Section 8: Subsidy terminations at 60 Gold Street are suspended until further notice.
LOSS OF INCOME: NYCHA and Section 8 residents are encouraged to request a rent reduction online through NYCHA Self-Services Portal or by calling 718-707-7771. Keep a record of when the claim was made.
Emergency repairs continue and management offices remain open.
STUDENT LOAN AND MEDICAL DEBT PAYMENTS ARE SUSPENDED:
Federal student loan interest is set at 0% for a 60-day period with an option to suspend payments for 2 months.
New York State Attorney General’s office will stop collections of medical and student loan debts owed to the State of New York through April 15, 2020 and then reevaluated.
New York State Department of Financial Services also has obtained relief for New Yorkers with student loans not covered by the Federal CARES Act. Refer to DFS website for assistance and information.
Department of Motor Vehicles:
DMV Traffic Violations Bureaus, NYS DMV Violations Adjudications and Refusal Hearings are adjourned.
Dates for expiration of license and registration transactions are extended.
Major Utilities will suspend service shut offs during COVID-19 outbreak.
Please check back for continued updates.
Current as of April 1, 2020
The Legal Services Plan continues to support members and retirees during the health crisis by working remotely. Members in need of assistance can contact the Legal Services Plan by leaving a detailed message at (212) 924-2000 or by e-mail at one of the e-mail addresses listed for Legal Services Plan attorneys. If you already have an assigned attorney working for you, please contact them directly.
If you have a scheduled intake, your assigned attorney will conduct the intake with you at the scheduled time over the phone.
Please review the following information regarding court operations in NYC and the surrounding counties. This information will be updated continuously as new information comes in.
All New York City Civil Courts Are Closed until April 17, 2020 with a Few Exceptions
- The civil courts are currently only hearing essential or emergency matters.
- All other matters are being administratively postponed by the court by at least 45 days.
- Contact your attorney if you need assistance finding out whether your court case has been postponed.
Housing Court
- On March 20, 2020 Governor Cuomo issued an order suspending all eviction proceedings and pending eviction orders for 90 days statewide.
- All pending housing court cases with court dates in March through mid-April will be postponed by the court.
- In NYC, all city marshals have been instructed that they cannot execute any pre-existing eviction warrants. If they attempt to violate this, please report this activity by calling the City’s Department of Investigation Bureau of City Marshals at (212) 825-5953.
- Housing Court remains open for post-eviction relief, illegal landlord lockouts, and emergency apartment repairs.
Family Court
- As of March 26, 2020, the New York City Family Court started hearing by remote video appearances and/or by telephone for the following matters:
o Child-protective (ACS) intake cases involving removal applications,
o Newly-filed juvenile delinquency intake cases involving remand applications,
o Emergency family offense petitions, and Writ applications where there is a court order if custody or parenting time. - All existing scheduled court proceedings, except those listed above, will be administratively postponed for a period of 90 days or more. Clients should not appear. New appearance dates will be sent to you.
- All Temporary Orders of Protection are continued.
- Family Court is not accepting any non-emergency papers for filing.
- All existing Court Orders are still valid. For Visitation one should contemplate the overarching public health crisis and attempt to work with the other parent to protect the health of everyone.
Civil Court (Consumer)
- All existing scheduled court proceedings have been postponed. Clients should not appear. New appearance dates will be sent to you.
- For consumer cases, emergency applications to vacate a judgment, stop a wage garnishment or a frozen bank account will be heard by the court. Contact the Legal Services Plan if you are facing one of these emergencies.
- The Civil Court is not accepting any non-emergency papers for filing.
Supreme Court (Divorce, Foreclosure)
- On March 20, 2020 Governor Cuomo issued an order suspending all foreclosures for 90 days statewide. Mortgage payments are also suspended for 90 days if you can show financial hardship.
- Supreme Court is not accepting any non-emergency papers for filing. This includes new divorce filings.
- Mental Hygiene Law (MHL) applications and hearings addressing patient retention or release.
- MHL hearings addressing the involuntary administration of medication and other medical care
- Newly filed MHL applications for an assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) plan
- Emergency applications in guardianship matters
- Temporary orders of protection (including but not limited to matters involving domestic violence)
- Emergency applications related to the coronavirus
- Emergency Election Law applications
- Extreme risk protection orders (ERPO)
Federal Court (Bankruptcy)
- Effective March 16, 2020, all in-person Chapter 7, 12, and 13 section 341 meetings scheduled through April 10, 2020 have been postponed until a later date to be determined. This applies to both the Eastern District of New York and Southern District of New York.
Notice of Court Status: If conditions warrant court closure or any change in operations, notice will be posted on the court system’s web site or call (800) 268-7869.
Additional Resources:
- Utility Shut-Offs: All utility companies have temporarily suspended gas, electric, and water shut-offs until further notice.
- Student, Medical, and Other State-Referred Debt: The New York Office of Attorney General (OAG) will halt the collection of medical and student debt owed to the State of New York and referred to the OAG for collection from March 16, 2020 through April 15, 2020. There is an automatic payment suspension for student loans held by the federal government The suspension ends 9/30.
For Court Updates for Covered Counties Outside of NYC:
As a result of new legislation, homeowners receiving a Basic STAR exemption will be required to re-register with the New York State Tax Department in order to receive the exemption in 2014 and subsequent years.
The people who are not affected by the new requirement are senior citizens receiving the Enhanced STAR exemption. In order to receive Enhanced STAR, however, seniors must continue to apply annually, or participate in the Income Verification Program.
For homeowners who receive the Basic STAR exemption, registration began in August and continues through December 31. They will not have to re-register every year, and based on the information provided in the registration process, the Tax Department will confirm homeowner's eligibility in future years.
Local 237 has long been a pioneer in the field of legal services. In fact, Local 237 was one of the very first unions to set up its own legal services office. Since its creation in 1975, the Teamster Local 237 Legal Services Plan has assisted thousands of active members and retirees in the Citywide and Housing Divisions with their personal legal problems.
The Legal Services Plan represents members in a wide range of civil matters in 11 New York State covered counties. These matters include domestic relations (Family Court proceedings, divorce and separation), purchase and sale of primary residences (co-op, condo, 1 and 2 Family homes), wills, powers of attorney, health care proxies, adoptions, credit and consumer actions, tenant rights and bankruptcies.
Representation can include consultation, legal research, drafting of documents and pleadings, and negotiation on your behalf with you in court. A lawyer is provided at no cost to the member. Additionally, after paying a $150 deductible, a $500 litigation benefit is available for various court-related fees.
The Plan does not handle matters outside of the covered New York counties or cases involving workers compensation, employment discrimination, immigration, tax matters, criminal cases, matters involving an interest in a business, cases generally handled on a contingent fee basis (such as automobile and other accident claims), traffic violations or other administrative law cases, and cases against New York City Housing Authority.
If a retired member resides outside of the covered New York State Counties and has a covered legal matter, the retiree may be eligible for reimbursement of some paid attorney's fees pursuant to a schedule approved by the Welfare Fund trustees.
The Legal Services Plan currently has thirteen full-time attorneys who work to handle members' cases and answer their questions. The best way to have the Legal Services Plan assist a member with his or her legal problem is to have the member call (212)924-1220 and schedule an appointment. If the member does not need an actual appointment, the Plan has an advice hotline where staff attorneys will try to assist the member over the telephone.
Contact: Phone (212) 924-1220 FAX: (212) 647-9421
Office Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Legal Services Staff
Jennifer E. Hudson, Esq.,Director, jhudson@Local237.org
Rebecca J. Engel, Esq., Deputy Director, rengel@local237.org
Sara N. Wagner, Esq., Associate Director, swagner@local237.org
April M. Calabrese, Esq., Senior Attorney, acalabrese@local237.org
Maeve M. Callagy, Esq., Staff Attorney, mcallagy@local237.org
Jessica A. Caruso, Esq., Supervising Attorney, jcaruso@local237.org
Hannah E. Collins, Esq., Staff Attorney, hcollins@local237.org
Israel Y. Levin, Esq., Senior Attorney, ilevin@local237.org
Lucia Lopez, Esq., Staff Attorney, llopez@local237.org
Anelle Morales-Rojas, Esq., Staff Attorney, arojas@local237.org
Sharmin A. Piancca, Esq., Staff Attorney, spiancca@local237.org
Kirk M. Rotger, Esq., Staff Attorney, krotger@local237.org
Caroline Tenesaca, Esq., Staff Attorney, ctenesaca@local237.org
Ingrid A. Thogode, Office Manager
The Local 237 Legal Services Plan Staff, February 2026. Top row (l-r) Christian Ureña; Jessica A. Caruso, Esq.; Ingrid Ventura-Thogode; Amanda Colon; Israel Yevgeny Levin, Esq.; Kirk M. Rotger, Esq.; Ishtar Summerfield; Lucia M. Lopez, Esq.; Rebecca J. Engel, Esq.; and Caroline Tenesaca, Esq. Bottom row (l-r) Jennifer E. Hudson, Esq.; Maria Debraux; Sharmin A. Piancca, Esq.; Hannah E. Collins, Esq.; Anelle Morales-Rojas, Esq.; Maeve M. Callagy, Esq.; April M. Calabrese, Esq.; and Patricia Groner.
