This Clinic is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. Note: You must arrive by 6:30 to be served. If you arrive later, you may be turned away. Nearest subway stations: Before you come to the walk-in clinic, please note: Please first seek answers to your questions at the Help and Answers link online at http://bit.ly/2o2lgFd, or by calling the Tenants’ Rights Telephone Hotline at 212.979.0611. Most questions can be answered on the group hotline, and the clinic has very limited capacity. The clinic is staffed by one trained volunteer per evening, and often there are a dozen or more tenants seeking help. Active members of Met Council on Housing will be seen first. After that, the clinic is first come, first served. However, anyone coming for a follow-up question or who is a repeat visitor to the clinic will be asked to wait until the end. You must arrive by 6:30 p.m. to be helped, and if you arrive late, you will be turned away. This is an open environment. Participants sit around a large table, so your housing matter will be discussed in front of other people. If certain facts about your case are sensitive (such as the exact amount of rent you pay) you can find a way to discreetly share this information with the clinic leader. That will be respected, but participants are asked to realize that your issue as a whole will be heard by others. Cooperation and collaboration are encouraged, and all are welcome to stay to lend support to others or simply to learn. The Met Council is not a service organization that takes on clients. The group is comprised of tenant volunteers who are helping other tenants and are trained on the laws and regulations relating to tenants’ rights in New York City. What services does Met Council provide tenants who visit the Tenants’ Rights Walk-In Clinic? The group can give brief answers to your rights as a tenant, and explain your options for dealing with a housing situation. Common questions relate to: It can also provide referrals to agencies, community organizing groups, and tenant lawyers – either free legal services or private-practice lawyers, depending on your situation. What the Met Council doesn’t do: It cannot give legal advice – they are trained volunteers, not lawyers. They can explain your rights and options under the law, but cannot advise you on how to proceed in a legal case. If you know that you need the services of a lawyer, please read the group’s page on finding a lawyer at http://bit.ly/2oVIfGY. It doesn’t give rental assistance or provide help with back rent. The Council is a grassroots membership organization. If financial assistance is what you need, you are encouraged to read the online fact sheet if you just can’t afford the rent. The fact sheet can be found at http://bit.ly/2oqgq8j. It cannot advocate on your behalf, and it does not have any extra pull with city or state agencies. The group can give you pointers on how to be an effective advocate for yourself. It cannot help you locate new housing or place you in housing – for that, check the group’s website at http://bit.ly/2oniaxn. Legal advice is not offered at the Tenants’ Rights Walk-In Clinic. The tenants’ rights telephone counselors are trained volunteers, not lawyers. They can tell you about your rights as a tenant, your options for solving a problem with your housing situation, and strategies for how to assert your rights. They can educate you about the laws that exist to protect you. However, the group cannot advise you about how to proceed on legal matters. Only lawyers are legally permitted – and qualified – to do that. What languages can you answer questions in? The Inwood Clinic is done fully is fully bilingual in English and Spanish. For more information, please visit metcouncilonhousing.org or call 212.979.0611.
Met Council on Housing – Uptown Clinic
The Met Council on Housing’s Inwood Village Clinic will meet at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church, located at 91 Arden Street in Manhattan, between Broadway and Seaman Avenue, on these Wednesday nights: April 19th, May 3rd, May 17th, and May 31st – beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The group only helps tenants, and only on issues related to their apartment. The clinic is not open to landlords, and it does not advise tenants on how to pursue evictions (including against roommates or family members.) The group can only help on issues related to housing – not other matters.
