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QLS Staff Favorites
WEBSITES OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO SENIORS
The New York City Department for the Aging
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dfta/home.html
Explains and lists the basic eligibility criteria for 16 different programs that help the elderly; allows on-line application for SCRIE; provides a senior center locator. Very user-friendly website.
State Department of Aging
http://www.aging.state.ny.us
This website is extremely well-organized and easy to use. It repeats some of the same material one finds in the Department of Health website but also has senior residences, tips for caregivers, etc.
National Senior Citizens Law Center
http://www.nsclc.org
Aimed at advocates, not clients. Not a comprehensive listing of anything, but a lot of useful updates, etc.
Senior Law Website
http://www.seniorlaw.com
A private law firm site with useful material about medicare, medigap, wills, and other issues involving planning for incapacity .
Law office of Dean Bress
http://www.bresslaw.com
This solo practitioner's website has an extremely readable explanation of medicaid eligibility. Also has a lot of stuff aimed at a wealthier client base. Helpful for slightly higher income clients
The Veterans Administration
http://www.va.gov
Quite user-friendly site showing eligibility for various veterans' benefits
The Social Security Administration
http://www.ssa.gov
A great site for lay people and lawyers, with easy-to-read explanations of eligibility for various benefits (Social Security disability, Social Security retirement and survivors' benefits, SSI) Additionally, this site has links to the statutory and regulatory material needed by advocates.
HEALTH-CARE RELATED WEBSITES
NY State Health Department
http://www.health.state.ny.us
Here, the reader can learn eligibility requirements and ways of applying for Medicaid, Child Health Plus, Family Health Plus, Healthy NY, WIC, and EPIC, as well as gaining other health-related knowledge.
Medicare (The Government website regarding Medicare)
http://www.medicare.gov
Very helpful stuff-largely user friendly.
Medicare Rights Center
http://www.medicarerights.org
This not-for-profit has an even better website than the government site, because it offers material on how to challenge the wrong decisions made by the government.
WEBSITES OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO TENANTS
Tenant Net
http://www.tenant.net
Comprehensive website for residential tenants, particularly those in privately owned rent regulated apartments. A must-read for the sophisticated and semi-sophisticated tenant or tenant advocate. Everything is there, but not the easiest website to navigate.
NY State Housing Agency
http://www.dhcr.state.ny.us
A comprehensive website for landlord-tenant relations. Has online 31 fact sheets covering a great many landlord-tenant issues.
NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development
http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd
This is a busy website, not too easy to use, but it has building violations and information on seeking affordable housing-useful for lay advocates and more sophisticated clients
New York City Housing Authority
http://www.nyc.gov/html/nycha
Here one finds listed numerous helpful programs available to residents. Does not answer a lot of the questions residents might actually ask and (naturally enough) does not spell out how to effectively dispute the agency. (See booklet, at http://www.bronxlegalservices.org)
New York City Department of Buildings
http://www.nyc.gov/html/dob
Mostly owner-oriented. Some very helpful booklets on understanding the component parts of a building-plumbing, wiring, etc. Can be helpful in making a good HP or abatement case.
The Rent Stabilization Association
http://www.housingnyc.com
This is an owner-oriented website; has accurate information about a lot of housing issues.
WEBSITES DEALING WITH CONSUMER ISSUES
New York State Public Service Commission (utility regulation)
www.dps.state.ny.us
Public Utility Law Project
http://www.pulp.tc
Very user-friendly website with a great deal of detailed, readable information about getting and keeping gas and electricity service and resolving disputes with the providers.
New York City Consumer Affairs Department
http://www.nyc.gov.html/dca/home
The New York City Consumer Affairs website offers a lot of information about businesses that need to be licensed and about filing complaints about shoddy or sleazy service or products. Website includes a guide to Small Claims Court. Small businesspeople can also download applications (for example, for a street vending license, etc). There are some pro se pamphlets on a number of topics.
The three major credit reporting agencies
http://www.equifax.com
http://www.experian.com
http://www.transunion.com
These three websites give consumers access to the credit reporting agencies, each of which has instructions for ordering a credit report and reporting identity theft.
New York State Attorney General (Elliot Spitzer)
http://www.oag.state.ny.us
This is an excellent website for consumer law issues-covers auto sale tactics, predatory lending, identity theft, and a whole range of other real-life issues. It's mostly written at a level where it can be of assistance to consumers and to advocates.
Better Business Bureau
http://www.newyorkbbb.org
Good consumer information. One can file a complaint online. Much free info, but some parts of the website are accessible only on a pay-per-minute basis.
WEBSITES DEALING WITH UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
National Employment Law Project
http://www.nelp.org
Useful client-oriented website for the unemployed, seeking help with getting UIB
This site is not as comprehensive as the official state site (http://www.labor.state.ny.us) but the official site is very difficult to navigate.
FOODSTAMPS
Community Food Resource Center
http://www.cfrcnyc.org
This is a site aimed largely at advocates. One can get to information about food stamps in several languages from this website, but if one spoke little English, one would likely not weave one's way through the website to discover this.
WEBSITES FOR HIV+ PEOPLE OR PEOPLE WITH AIDS
HIV Law Project
http://www.hivlawproject.org
Useful for letting potential clients know what services the office offers. No pro se material at this time.
African Services Committee
http://www.africanservices.org
This community-based organization offers assistance to African immigrants and offers translation services in 20 different African languages. Their focus is on HIV positive clients but help others too
God's Love We Deliver
http://www.godslovewedeliver.org
This agency provides daily meals and friendship to People with AIDS.
FAMILY LAW WEBSITES
InMotion (formerly, Network for Women's Services)
http://www.inmotiononline.org
A very good, grass-roots help group for victims of domestic violence. The organization provides pro se divorce clinics and also links women seeking a divorce with volunteer attorneys.
OTHER GOVERNMENT WEBSITES
New York State Court system
http://www.courts.state.ny.us
Site has upcoming court dates for Supreme Courts, Housing courts, plus a lot of decisions. Offers some pamphlets for pro se litigants. Somewhat user-hostile, but site is improving all the time.
U.S. Department of Justice
http://www.usdoj.gov
There is a section on the home page labeled "information for individuals and communities" that leads to some good, readable questions and answers aimed at uncounseled parties. Very good material on discrimination law, criminal law. Some of the links (like the immigration one) lead to other agency's websites.
OTHER FREE LEGAL SERVICES PROVIDERS: WHAT THEIR WEBSITES OFFER
South Brooklyn Legal Services
http://www.sbls.org
A large array of useful pro se materials, aimed at clients, including unemployment benefits, public assistance, tax, and foreclosure issues, as well as the more traditional housing, family and consumer issues. Best website available on foreclosure issues. User friendly.
Neighborhood Legal Services
http://www.nls.org
Great, detailed materials on public benefits. Has a section on the Americans With Disabilities Act /Section 504, for people who are being discriminated against because of a disability or who want to know the extent that the law requires others to accommodate their disability. Suitable for clients as well as for advocates.
MFY Legal Services
http://www.mfy.org
A good website, with easy-access pro se materials--some NYCHA stuff, some regular L & T stuff, assorted public assistance topics. What's there is good, useful material but somewhat idiosyncratically selected.
Bronx Legal Services
http://www.bronxlegalservices.org
Much pro se material, especially in housing and family law. Comprehensive NYCHA tenant guide (not found elsewhere). Two comprehensive brochures on tenant succession: one for rent-regulated private housing and one for NYCHA. Not super user-friendly.
Western New York Law Center
http://www.wnylc.net
This site has "current events" in NY's public interest law on its home page in a very timely fashion; much material on public benefits and disability law; provides Legal Services Corporation links and lists of legal services providers around the state. This website is almost one-stop shopping for the legal services advocate, particularly on state and national law (except not very good for NYC housing issues). Has training schedules and training materials. Largely advocate-oriented, not client-oriented.
Empire Justice Center
http://www.empirejustice.org
Various poverty-law materials, especially related to disability law. This website is largely advocate-oriented. It has a welfare fair hearing bank which is password protected but extremely helpful.
Community Service Society
http://www.cssny.org
Aimed at advocates, not clients-many trainings, seminars on poverty law issues offered
The Legal Aid Society
The basic website is http://www.legal-aid.org and is not terribly useful, in terms of looking for law, either as an advocate or as a client. However, there is a separate link that allows users to download ten extremely helpful pro se pamphlets, covering various public benefits issues in detail. This site allows the reader to download the pamphlets in various languages. http://lasweb.legal-aid.org/revson
Center for Law and Social Policy
http://www.clasp.org
Excellent source of big-picture overviews of poverty law. Advocate-oriented, not client-oriented. Not the place to turn to for answers to day-to-day advocacy issues, but provides great food for thought in the big brief or such endeavors.
Pine Tree Legal Services
http://www.ptls.org
This is a Maine-based LSC-funded office with some really good client-accessible stuff, particularly in the consumer law arena. Unfortunately, the website does not really tell the unsophisticated reader which material applies to everyone and which only to Maine residents.
BAR ASSOCIATIONS, LAW SCHOOLS
Association of the Bar of the City of New York
http://www.abcny.org
A wide (but not comprehensive) amount of pro se material, including many helpful issues: criminal court, housing court, bankruptcy, child support, home improvement contractors, pet law, alternative dispute resolution, and complaints against lawyers. Not very user-friendly:
Cornell Law School
http://www.law.cornell.edu
A must-visit sight for lawyers and sophisticated advocates. A law library, on line. Navigating the site is not easy. Not for pro se litigants or computer-phobic users.
New York State Bar Association
http://www.nysba.org
Has some pro se material; generalized stuff, and not much aimed at problems of poorer clients.
MISCELLANEOUS MATERIALS
Everyday Law for Everyday People
http://www.nolo.com
Interesting site with some useful pro se stuff. Not New York specific. Especially good stuff re retirement planning and pensions. Bankruptcy material also good.
City Limits
http://www.citylimits.org
This website bills itself as a newsletter for the NYC not-for-profit community. Many not-for-profit jobs listed, plus Village-Voice style investigative articles. Often very interesting stuff. Factual, but somewhat heavy-handed in the use of a strongly liberal editorial voice.
Law Help
http://www.lawhelp.org
This website lets users search for pro bono attorneys and tells readers what intake criteria are used by the various offices. There is also a LOT of useful pro se material there too, but that isn't evident from the homepage-one has to dig deeply to unearth it. The home page has links for lawyers for immigration law and death penalty law. Not NY specific.
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