PO Box 2107
Mt. Vernon, NY 10550
ph: 914 699-1114
fax: 914 699-7449
Service Profile: MVUT is a city-wide, membership organization whose program efforts fall primarily under five (5) categories:
1) Tenant Action Program (TAP):
MVUT organizes unorganized tenants within individual buildings to fight for increased services; a lessening of landlord harassment and more affordable rents. We typically engage in approximately twenty (20) building organizing campaigns each year. Most of these organizing efforts result in the landlord reinvesting resources into the building. We work closely with the local code-enforcement office to monitor complaints; and where applicable (those buildings covered under the New York State Tenant Protection Laws) we assist tenants and tenant associations in filing administrative complaints to the Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR). We also work with Legal Services of the Hudson Valley to assist tenants and tenant associations in organizing to file affirmative court motions and/or organize rent-withholding efforts designed to force landlords to maintain services via court orders.
2) Homelessness Prevention Program (HPP):
MVUT provides intensive case management for tenants at risk of eviction. We assist tenants with administrative and/or judicial responses to local court actions. We mediate between landlords and tenants; help prepare repayment plans; assist in identifying and collecting resources (financial and other); prepare meritorious defenses; etc. We successfully prevent well over 100 evictions per year and also rehouse approximately 20 families per year.
3) Homebuying Assistance:
With more and more tenants paying excessive rents ($1,000-$1,500), MVUT has added a homebuying assistance component to our program delivery system. We sponsor Homebuying Workshops in both English and Spanish, and work in close coalition with Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO) who have opened a Mt. Vernon Homebuying Center in providing follow-up counseling. We also sponsor at least one (1) Financial Literacy Workshop annually. We have also continued an Anti-Predatory Lending Campaign with WRO and local black clergy.
4) Hispanic Outreach
With a tremendous growth in the number of Spanish-speaking residents (over 10% of population according to the 2000 Census), we have endeavored to make our programs available to them.
5) Re-housing Services
With a HUD "Continuum Of Care" grant, we now provide direct re-housing services.
6) DSS Fair Hearings
Because of a pattern of abuse by staff at the District Office (DO) of the Dept. of Social Services (DSS), MVUT has been assisting clients in preparing Fair Hearings for Denial of Services and/or discontinuance of benefits for public assistance recipients. Staff member, Gary Fuller, a Para-legal has also been representing clients at Fair Hearings. This has been extremely successful in that the clients invariably win their Fair Hearings, and more importantly, the presence of our representation and our lobbying of the management staff of the DO has resulted in an overalll decline of such abusive behavior. Many, if not most of these services/benefits issues directly impacts on the clients' housing affordability.
Mount Vernon United Tenants
PO Box 2107
Mt. Vernon, NY 10550
(914) 699-1114
Web: www.MVUT.org
Copyright 2010 Mount Vernon United Tenants. All rights reserved.
PO Box 2107
Mt. Vernon, NY 10550
ph: 914 699-1114
fax: 914 699-7449