Brooklyn A has been a beacon of hope for so many people.
Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A (Brooklyn A or BKA) was founded in 1967 under the original vision of the national legal service program:
- Providing services in low-income neighborhoods where our clients live.
- Developing programs and staff that are part of those communities.
- Working to advance social and economic justice in the communities we serve.
For over half a century, we have utilized an array of legal and advocacy strategies—community organizing, affirmative civil rights litigation, and eviction defense to defend the rights of individuals and families. Collaboration with the city, state, and federal officials to enforce housing laws and develop legislative solutions is also an integral part of our strategy.
These strategies, coupled with our demonstrated commitment to building community-based coalitions, have made us a leading voice in New York City’s ongoing public discourse about affordable housing, tenants’ rights, foreclosure defense, economic justice, and sustainable community-based development.
We focus our work on advocacy that protects and develops affordable housing, combats tenant harassment and housing discrimination, strengthens families, provides access to education and health care, and safeguards subsistence income for individuals and communities throughout New York City.
We work with individuals and communities that have historically been disenfranchised. Our priority to not only protect these individuals from the sort of discrimination they experience regularly but to empower them to fight for themselves. We seek to protect the fundamental rights of our clients while providing them with the opportunities and resources to uplift themselves and their greater community at large.
Our years of experience have dictated to us that solely providing people with legal services for the hurdles they face is akin to treating only the symptoms of a greater illness. Thus, while we seek to defend the rights and dignity of our clients against unlawful, demeaning conditions, we also work shoulder to shoulder with grassroots organizations to build and sustain the community and its infrastructure.
Brooklyn A has been a beacon of hope for so many people. It is thanks to the tireless efforts of our board, staff, interns, pro bono partners, and volunteers, and outstanding members of the community that we can provide the services that we do. Our work would not be possible without the generous donations and support we receive from institutions and individuals who recognize the power and importance of access to justice.