Tenants File Class Action Lawsuit Against Large Landlord for Failing to Make Property Safe | | |
Two months ago, Upsal Garden – a 144-unit sprawling, aging apartment complex in Mt. Airy – was declared unsafe by the Philadelphia Department of Licenses and Inspections. Now, three tenants, on behalf of themselves and their neighbors, are seeking accountability and safety with a class action lawsuit.
In August, the city declared Upsal Garden an “unsafe structure” that posed “immediate danger or hazard to health safety and welfare” due to dangerous conditions, including a deteriorated foundation, fractured exterior masonry walls, and deteriorated interior floor joists. In the two plus months since that notice, the landlord has failed to make the property safe, not even taking the preliminary step of obtaining the required permit, while continuing to unlawfully demand and collect rent.
“Tenants deserve respect, accountability, and the basic right to live in healthy conditions,” said plaintiff William Scott. “From City Hall to the courtroom, I’m speaking up not just for myself, but for every renter who’s been ignored or silenced. We all deserve safe, healthy homes, and I hope this case helps bring the change we have been fighting for.”
We’re proud to represent these brave clients alongside Face to Face and pro bono co-counsel at Youman & Caputo LLC.
“Philadelphia law is clear. If a landlord wants to do business in Philadelphia, their buildings must be safe,” said Sari Bernstein, senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center. “And landlords who do not address unsafe code violations will face consequences.”
Read more about the case here.
| | Governor Shapiro Joins Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Case as Amicus | | |
Governor Shapiro filed an amicus brief in the legal battle we joined to quash the Trump Administration’s subpoena for the medical records of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia patients receiving gender-affirming care.
The records being sought are deeply personal, containing medical information about these young patients’ mental, sexual, and reproductive health, along with personally identifying information, including their names, addresses, and Social Security numbers.
The Governor’s brief rejects the Department of Justice’s “flawed” argument, arguing that if enforced, the subpoena would “allow the government to interfere with the doctor-patient relationship and erode the confidence patients have that their medical records will be kept private.” The brief also holds that the subpoena is an attempt to “intimidate medical providers from offering critical, medically necessary health care.”
Find the Governor’s brief, and read more about the motions to quash we filed in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, here.
| | The Public Interest Law Center & Education Law Center Send Memo to General Assembly About the Need to Fund Public Schools | | |
As tensions continue in Pennsylvania’s ongoing budget standoff, the Public Interest Law Center and Education Law Center, our co-counsel for our landmark education funding case, recently sent the Pennsylvania General Assembly a memo making plain that compliance with that judgment requires years of sustained funding increases:
“Put simply, any suggestion that the Court’s decision is silent on the need to increase school funding does not merely miss the forest for the trees. Rather, it misses the forest and the trees. Unconstitutional underfunding was the central point of the trial, the 786-page opinion, and the compliance process that started last year.”
Read the full memo here.
| | Protecting the Right to Vote for Homeless Pennsylvanians | | |
A proposal by Stephen Miller’s nonprofit, America First Legal Foundation, would bar citizens from registering to vote with the federal form unless they show documents such as a U.S. passport—which many can’t access.
The Law Center, along with pro bono co-counsel at Troutman Pepper Locke, submitted an opposition to that petition on behalf of the Homeless Advocacy Project, highlighting the particular burdens this would impose on homeless Pennsylvanians.
Fewer than half of Americans have a passport, and scarcely any homeless citizens have one. Obtaining a passport requires presenting a birth certificate, which homeless Pennsylvanians often lack; paying a steep passport fee of $165; and navigating a complex bureaucratic process with long waiting periods. The process is often a dead end.
These Pennsylvanians want to vote. They are members of the community where they live, even though they do not have a permanent home. The federal government should not erect barriers to voting that will keep our most financially disadvantaged neighbors from the ballot box.
We’re stepping in to remind the federal government that voting is a right, not a privilege.
Read the comment here.
| | Working to Protect and Preserve Community-Built Green Space | | |
Executive Director Brent Landau attended Reinhard Street Community Farm and Kitchen’s Harvest Dinner, where he met some of the stewards from this Southwest Philadelphia farm and from gardens across the city who have invested precious resources to turn neglected vacant land into beautiful community spaces. Speaking alongside Councilmember Kendra Brooks, he emphasized the importance of preserving community gardens and green space.
Several of the lots that make up Reinhard Street Community Farm and Kitchen were recently acquired by the Land Bank. The next step is for City Council to vote for these parcels to be transferred out of the Land Bank and into community control.
It's important for all city leaders to recognize the hard work, community care, and public investment that have gone into these plots of land.
| | Inclusionary Zoning Makes Pittsburgh a Better City, and It's Constitutional | |
“While the debate over city-wide inclusionary zoning in Pittsburgh drags on, in the heart of Oakland stands The Caroline: a 118-foot tall real estate project which potentially will have an outsized impact on the fate of inclusionary zoning and the resulting affordable housing in four Pittsburgh neighborhoods,” wrote legal director Mimi McKenzie and staff attorney Liv Mania in a joint op-ed for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Read their full piece here.
| Rallying for Safe, Healthy H.O.M.E.S | |
The Law Center was proud to stand with our partners, Renters United Philadelphia (RUP) and OnePA, at their Make H.O.M.E. For Us Rally. Nearly a dozen organizations joined at City Hall to demand that City Council shift the funding priorities in Mayor Parker’s H.O.M.E. Initiative. Attendees called on council to prioritize renters – who make up nearly half the city – along with “deeply affordable housing” for Philadelphians who are most at risk of housing instability.
In connection with this ongoing campaign, staff attorney Madison Gray will continue to work with partners at Renters United Philadelphia in support of tenant-driven policy goals.
| |
Brent Landau Talks Holding Power Accountable & Government Transparency with Committee of Seventy | |
On Election Day, Executive Director Brent Landau spoke with C70's Director of Civic Education Justin Villere about what it looks like to hold power accountable under and the importance of rights guaranteed by the Pennsylvania Constitution.
Find the full interview here.
| Reimagining Education — Funding, Accountability, and the Future of Learning in Philadelphia | |
Senior attorney Dan Urevick-Ackelsberg will be a panelist discussing how education is funded, where inequities persist, and how to co-create a stronger, more equitable public education system for Philadelphia’s students and families.
When: Monday, November 17, 5:00 PM – 7:30 PM
Where: North10, Philadelphia – 3890 N 10th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19140
RSVP here.
| | |
On October 9, we celebrated at our annual event, A Night of Impact, with more than 360 supporters! Executive Director Brent Landau presented former Senator Bob Casey with the Thaddeus Stevens Award. In his speech, Senator Casey reminded us that our crucial work is only possible when we come together.
Thank you to all attendees and sponsors!
| | The Law Center in the News... | | |
Mt. Airy renters say their landlord illegally collected rent. Now they’re suing - WHYY
“Philadelphia law is clear. If a landlord wants to do business in Philadelphia, their buildings must be safe,” said Sari Bernstein, senior attorney at the Public Interest Law Center, in a statement. “And landlords who do not address unsafe code violations will face consequences.”
Guns, soda tax, and paid sick leave: How Pa. Supreme Court rulings have shaped cities – Spotlight PA
This means that cities like Philadelphia, where gun violence remains prevalent despite a falling number of shootings and homicides, must rely on other methods, such as community violence interruption programs.
“There are a lot of approaches,” said Ben Geffen of the Public Interest Law Center, who served as counsel for the plaintiffs in this case, “but when the state law chokes off certain paths that the city would otherwise follow, it predictably leads to deaths.”
Lawsuits Push Back Against Trump Administration’s Attacks on Health Care and Privacy Rights for Pennsylvania’s Transgender Youth – Bucks County Beacon
“It’s no secret, nor is it ‘political rhetoric’ that DOJ is using these subpoenas to end gender affirming care in states like Pennsylvania where it remains legal,” [the Public Interest Law Center and Ballard Spahr] state. “They admit that purpose while they celebrate that it is working. Movants, patients who were receiving this recognized, legal care, are injured by DOJ’s issuance of this subpoena.”
The Case for Managing the Property Manager: Ensuring Safe, Quality and Habitable Housing for Vulnerable Tenant Populations - The Philadelphia Bar Reporter
"While our advocacy resolved the lawsuit, our advocacy for the Philadelphia community continues. The filing of the lawsuit, and press regarding it, has unearthed other affected tenants who have been subject to many of the failures experienced by our clients. Columbus has made meaningful, real promises to live up to its mission. We continue to ensure they do so," writes our pro-bono co-counsel Benjamin Wilson of Holland & Knight.
| | |
Please consider making a contribution to support our work:
| | The official registration and financial information of the Public Interest Law Center may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement. | | | | |
