Court Tells New York City to Improve Services for AIDS Victims

A federal judge in Brooklyn has ordered the City of New York to issue rent subsidies and Medicaid emergency housing to thousands of people living with AIDS. The ruling by Federal District Court Judge Sterling Johnson Jr. follows his September 2000 decision that some 27,000 people dependent upon the city agency were "chronically and systematically" subject to late benefits. In some cases, food stamps and other benefits were terminated without notice to the client. The ruling requires the Division of AIDS Services and Income Support to issue dated receipts noting the time of requests for assistance made by people with HIV.

The ruling is the result of a 1995 class-action lawsuit brought by Housing Works, an AIDS advocacy group that has frequently challenged various AIDS-related city policies. Armen H. Merjian, a staff lawyer with the group, called the ruling a great victory. "We won a wonderful decision in 2000 and now we have a wonderful order mandating the steps that we have for so long argued as necessary to guarantee that this population be assured meaningful access to critical benefits and services."

The requirement of a dated receipt is particularly beneficial to people living with AIDS, according to Merjian. "Many people with AIDS also suffer from dementia. The dated receipt will help hold the city accountable for the time frame. It will serve as tangible proof that the city can't just evade by saying it has no record of an application, which is part of the bureaucratic hell they have long subjected our clients to."

New York City must, for three years, appoint a troubleshooter to resolve problems reported by people with HIV and AIDS. The troubleshooter will report to Magistrate Judge Cheryl Pollack, who last year was appointed to monitor the agency. A spokesperson for the city's corporation counsel did not return several phone calls seeking official comment.

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