Build Up Justice NYC

Build Up Justice NYC advances economic and racial justice by providing community-centered free civil legal services to low-income New Yorkers across all five boroughs. We leverage the power of the law to challenge structural inequities in public systems, policies, and practices – creating a lasting impact in the lives of our clients and the neighborhoods they call home.

Our clients live in rapidly-gentrifying neighborhoods where many residents and small business owners have been displaced or are facing displacement and harassment.

Build Up Justice NYC has three core programs—Preserving Affordable Housing (PAH) Program, Consumer & Economic Advocacy (CEA) Program, and Community Economic Development (CED) Program—each of which has unique initiatives and plays an important community role to ensure basic needs are met and fundamental rights affirmed

Build Up Justice NYC provides legal representation and advocacy including full representation, brief advice, outreach, and education to low- and moderate-income individuals and families, community-based organizations, community development corporations, coalitions, and small business owners throughout New York City.

Since 1968, Build Up Justice NYC has devoted our legal services to advocacy that protects housing, strengthens families, provides access to education and health care, and safeguards subsistence income for our city’s most vulnerable residents. Our clients live in rapidly-gentrifying neighborhoods where many residents and small business owners have been displaced or are facing displacement and harassment. We have successfully represented and advised thousands of families in varied and multi-faceted legal matters.

Core Programs

Consumer & Economic Advocacy

The Consumer & Economic Advocacy Program uses civil legal remedies, as well as non-legal advocacy to protect economic equity of low-and moderate-income families. We prevent foreclosures and defend against predatory lending. We resolve tax issues with the IRS for low-income taxpayers. We strive to ensure that vulnerable groups have strong safeguards in place to help them build and maintain assets throughout their financial lives.

Community & Economic Development 

The Community & Economic Development Program provides transactional legal counsel to nonprofits and small businesses that sustain and empower low-income communities. We assist these organizations with an array of development and operational projects to sustain affordable housing developments, community health centers, and schools. We help small businesses on commercial lease matters.

Preserving Affordable Housing 

The Preserving Affordable Housing Program uses legal and advocacy strategies to preserve and protect affordable housing, prevent evictions, combat tenant harassment and discrimination, and ensure that working families, individuals, older adults, and others live in stable environments and within their financial means.