Attorney Alison Yoder’06 Kelley in the historic Lennox Hill Neighborhood House, home to a 124-year-old organization that provides an array of services, including legal advice. (Photo by Jon Styer)
WHEN ALISON YODER ’06 KELLEY and her husband moved for the second time to accommodate their growing family, she knew full well, she said, that 鈥渨e got super lucky.鈥�
Their new landlords had also lived in Germany, near where Kelley had grown up. Their kids had even gone to the same school that she attended.
鈥淲e had that instant connection,鈥� she said. 鈥淭hey were very supportive of having a young family move in.鈥�
That kind of affirming relationship between tenants and landlords 鈥渋s not how it often goes,鈥� Kelley said, something she learned in her work as a housing attorney hearing about and seeing broken plumbing, pest infestations, mold and mildew, water leaks and many other problems that can happen in a New York City apartment.
Kelley works for Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, a 124-year-old nonprofit on the east side of Manhattan that provides an extensive array of services, including legal advice. The organization is funded by city, state and federal government agencies and private donors. She manages a load of approximately 30 cases, helping tenants challenge their eviction notices by negotiating in and out of court with landlords鈥� attorneys.
There is no shortage of work. A plan announced in February 2017 by Mayor Bill de Blasio provides low-income tenants facing eviction with free legal counsel and representation. The first law of its kind in the nation, 鈥渞ight to counsel鈥� services will be phased in by zip code over the next five years.
It鈥檚 actually a money saver for the city to provide the services, Kelley said. 鈥淭he city has found it less expensive to help people stay in their homes than to pay to house them in shelters if they are evicted.鈥�
The program has been a game-changer. In the past, landlords were represented by attorneys in housing court, while tenants had no representation or represented themselves, which usually meant that the landlord won the argument, Kelley said.
But now, with representation, tenants have a fighting chance in the court system 鈥� a new dynamic that many landlords鈥� attorneys don鈥檛 appreciate even though dealing with an attorney might be more comfortable than working with a tenant. After all, attorneys who know their client’s rights can advocate on their behalf, potentially lengthening and complicating the process.
As a social work student at 黑料正能量, Kelley interned with Blue Ridge Legal Services, which piqued her interest in legal issues: 鈥淪ocial work and law really go hand in hand,鈥� she said.
But negotiation isn鈥檛 one of her natural strengths, she said 鈥� which made her current position all the more appealing. Appearing in court sometimes twice a week has shown her 鈥渁 different side of law than I had previously seen.鈥�
After graduation, she returned to Germany to work with asylum seekers for two years, followed by two years as a paralegal with a law firm in Washington D.C. She completed her JD degree at University of Maryland Law School in Baltimore. From there she landed a two-year clerkship with the Department of Justice at New York City鈥檚 immigration court, work she found 鈥渞eally interesting and important,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut sitting in a room by myself and writing all day was not something I wanted to do for the rest of my life.鈥�
Comfortable with legal writing, Kelley wanted more negotiation and litigation experience. She also wanted to be an advocate. Tenant rights are a 鈥渕orally important issue,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e trying to alleviate poverty, one of the best things you can do is provide stable housing.鈥�
Her current position integrates collaboration 鈥� 鈥渕y co-workers are one of the best parts of this job,鈥� she says 鈥� and skill development.
There鈥檚 a counseling aspect as well. 鈥淰ery often, you鈥檙e dealing with people in crisis who are not only going to lose their housing, but have a lot of other things going on, whether it鈥檚 a lost job, an illness, things happening in their family,” she said. “I try to help them solve the underlying issue that causes them to come to housing court, but also keep an awareness that there are these other issues that I can鈥檛 really help with.鈥�
It all makes her more grateful for the stability of her own life. Her husband is the director of special education at a public charter school, and they have an eight-month-old daughter.
鈥淗aving a baby in the city isn鈥檛 really a big deal,鈥� she says, with the same practical tone that puts her legal clients at ease. 鈥淵ou just plan ahead more, don鈥檛 buy too many things, and make it work.鈥�