'Nightmare' tenant mistreatment in Queens prompts demand for increased NYC 'Right to Counsel' budget

In a Queens courtroom last spring, a landlord reached an unusual agreement that forgave over $14,000 in owed rent for one of his tenants. The settlement concluded a lawsuit brought by tenant Jei Wan Wu against her Forest Hills landlord, who she accused of subjecting her to a years-long harassment campaign that included cutting off her power and threatening her with obscenities. The case was filed on Wu's behalf by Legal Aid Society attorneys, who find their ability to do this kind of work stretched thin due to city funding shortfalls.

Wu expressed that she might not have been able to navigate her situation without the assistance of the Legal Aid Society. After the April 1, 2022 settlement, she alleged that Peter Cai, the landlord, made her life "even more of a living hell." As part of their agreement, in addition to forgiving Wu's rent debt, Cai was required to cease harassment as she searched for a new apartment. However, Wu's attorneys allege in court documents that Cai began violating the agreement almost immediately.

Cai has been accused of entering Wu's apartment without permission, damaging her possessions, stealing her mail, verbally abusing her with slurs, and recording her while she was undressed. On May 27, 2022, following a particularly heated confrontation, Wu called 911, resulting in Cai's arrest on harassment charges. A Queens judge subsequently issued two orders of protection against Cai, prohibiting him from contacting Wu.

After finally vacating Cai's building in December, Wu continues their legal battle in Queens Housing Court, asserting that Cai should be mandated to pay monetary damages for violating their settlement. Remarkably, Wu still does not need to pay for the attorneys representing her, thanks to the city's Right to Counsel program.

Established in 2017, Right to Counsel provides all low-income New Yorkers with free Housing Court representation. However, Wu is among a small number of individuals who have actually been assigned lawyers in recent years. The groups responsible for implementing the program have had to turn away thousands of impoverished tenants since last year due to staff shortages, high attrition rates, and difficulties recruiting new attorneys who could earn more in private practice.

Adriene Holder, the attorney in charge of the Legal Aid Society's Civil Practice, emphasized the urgent need to increase funding for Right to Counsel so that wages can be raised and staff augmented. Thanks to the program, her organization was able to dedicate five staff members to Wu's case. Holder is deeply concerned about other similar cases going unnoticed due to staffing shortages.

Following his arrest in May 2022, Cai pleaded guilty to one count of disorderly conduct. He fiercely disputes the accusations, claiming he only entered a settlement with Wu because he could not afford to continue their legal battle. Cai does not contest that hostilities persisted beyond the settlement, but believes they were perpetuated by Wu as well.

Wu, who stopped paying rent in July 2020 due to uncorrected hazardous conditions in her apartment, now lives in accommodations in Manhattan that Legal Aid lawyers helped her secure. She is still engaged in litigation against her former landlord in pursuit of closure, as she continues to experience stress and lingering fear.

The unfolding Right to Counsel crisis is taking place against a backdrop of rapidly increasing eviction filings in the city following the expiration of pandemic-era moratoriums. With an expected 120,000 eviction filings this year, approximately 71,000 will involve low-income tenants eligible for free Right to Counsel representation. However, current city funding levels only allow providers to take on 35,000 of those cases, meaning most affected tenants would be unrepresented in court.

Holder fears that this discrepancy will result in a surge of evictions, putting further strain on the housing and homelessness crisis. Notably, data from 2021 under de Blasio's administration showed that 84% of tenants who received Right to Counsel representation managed to keep their homes.

On April 10, Right to Counsel provider groups Legal Services NYC, New York Legal Assistance Group, and Legal Aid called on Mayor Adams and the City Council to allocate $461 million in program funding for the 2024 fiscal year budget under negotiation. Adams' executive budget proposal, released last week, only includes $166 million for Right to Counsel contracts. Spokespeople for Adams declined to comment on the funding request.

The Rent Stabilization Association, one of the city's largest landlord industry groups, supports allocating additional funds for Housing Court legal representation, arguing that it usually benefits both tenants and landlords. The association proposes amending the law to allow private practice lawyers to be assigned to cases that Right to Counsel providers are unable to handle.