Q&A
Mastro's representation of clients against vulnerable populations
1:33:12
·
3 min
Council Member Ayala criticized Mastro's record of representing clients who she claimed were against the interests of vulnerable populations in New York City. She expressed concern about Mastro's ability to advocate for the city's most vulnerable residents as Corporation Counsel.
- Ayala highlighted Mastro's choice of clients and the arguments he used in litigation
- She specifically mentioned the unhoused population as a vulnerable group Mastro had advocated against
- Ayala provided statistics on homelessness in New York City to emphasize the importance of the issue
- The council member questioned whether Mastro would prioritize vulnerable New Yorkers in his role as Corporation Counsel
Diana Ayala
1:33:12
New Yorkers need a corporation counsel who will advocate in their best interests, especially New Yorkers in the most vulnerable positions of society.
1:33:21
Instead, Mister Mashro during your tenure as a high profile litigator, At 2 prominent firms, you have repeatedly chosen to represent clients who are mistakenly who are unmistakingly against the interests of the most vulnerable populations of the city and beyond.
1:33:34
You have agreed to represent predatory clients who time and time again are fighting against the interests of vulnerable people.
1:33:39
Engaging in egregious civil and human rights violations and seeking to overturn protections, we must ask ourselves at this council.
1:33:48
Why these clients seek your representation?
1:33:50
Beyond your choice of clients how and how this reflects on your professional priorities, There are the arguments and tactics that you have used, which we must evaluate in assessing your ability to make important decisions as Corporation Council for the New York City of New York.
1:34:05
I'd like to talk about one of the most import the most vulnerable groups in New York City.
1:34:08
Our on house population comprises proportionately of black and Hispanic Al Anonaks New Yorkers.
1:34:14
According to the coalition for the homeless in June 2024, 132,293 people slept each night in New York City shelters.
1:34:23
1000 walls left unsheltered in public spaces, and more than 200,000 people left temporarily doubled up in the homes of others.
1:34:30
That means that an estimated 350,000 people were on houses past June.
1:34:35
Unhouse New Yorkers, like others in our city, need a corporation council that can and will be their advocate.
1:34:42
So we turn to the Lutheran Hotel.
1:34:44
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, Unhouse individuals were dying in crowded city shelters where they could not social distance.
1:34:51
So the city under the De Blasio administration moved on house individuals into temporary single occupancy rooms to reduce the density of congregate settings and shelters during the pandemic and slow the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic.
1:35:04
Of COVID 19.
1:35:05
1 of those shelters was the Lutheran Hotel located on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
1:35:09
The city then announced plans to move those individuals in that shelter to another hotel in the financial district.
1:35:15
Residents of the financial district subsequently brought litigation to stop this move.
1:35:20
Mister Maestro forgets and done.
1:35:21
As part of this litigation, you represented the West Side Community Organization Incorporated comprised of residents of the Upper West Side who pressured the city to move the individuals out of the Lucerne.
1:35:33
In fact, this organization known for his anti homeless views and then Buddhism argued that the need for the on house individuals were met at the Lutheran Hotel and that their needs would be met elsewhere.
1:35:45
Could be met elsewhere.
1:35:47
Just not at the at the upper west side.
1:35:49
In response to this litigation, the Department of Homeland Services issued a statement saying, quote, New Yorkers experiencing homelessness are our neighbors.
1:35:58
And the notion that they are not welcome in some neighborhoods for any reason is an affront to the to basic decency, unquote.
1:36:05
By pursuing this litigation, you determine the city's efforts to create a safe environment for on house New Yorkers during the pandemic by pressuring the city to move 235 individuals from the Los Angeles Hotel.
1:36:18
Would you do that again?