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Disaster Assistance Centers And Other Resources
Q: Who can help me understand better all these legal issues?
The following organizations are among those offering legal assistance and/or referrals:
- City Bar Fund September 11 Legal Relief Initiative at (212) 382-4763;
- New York State Bar Association help line at (877) HELP-321 or (518) 487-5709 (www.nysba.org);
- The Legal Referral Service of the New York City and County Bar Associations at (212) 626-7373 (www.ilawyer.com click on "New York City");
- Queens County Bar Association Lawyer Referral & Information Service at (718) 291-4500;
- Law Help, New York's Online Legal Referral and Information System at www.lawhelp.org;
- The Legal Aid Society in New York City at (718) 722-3100;
- Legal Services for New York (LSNY) at (212) 431-7200; or
- Trial Lawyers Care at (888) 780-8637.
Where can I get legal assistance in person?
Legal Services for New York has neighborhood offices throughout the boroughs of New York City. To get more information, you can reach their Manhattan office at 350 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY, or call (212) 431-7200.
At present, the Legal Aid Society's Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn Neighborhood Offices can be reached at 166 Montague Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201; (718) 722-3100. For people in other areas, contact the following Legal Aid offices:
Harlem Neighborhood Office
(serves Lex. to Riverside Dr.
W. 110th St, to 169th St.)
2090 7th Ave., 8th Fl.
New York, NY 10027
(212) 663-3293
Nassau/Suffolk Law Services Committee, Inc.
(East end of Long Island/Suffolk County)
313 West Main St.
Riverhead, NY 11901
(631) 369-1112
Rockaway Neighborhood Office
(serves zip codes 11414, 11416-17, 11420,
11422, 11691-95, 11697)
1600 Central Ave.
Far Rockaway, NY 11691
(718) 337-4900
Bronx Neighborhood Office
(serves all of the Bronx)
953 Southern Blvd.
Bronx, NY 10451
(718) 991-4758
Staten Island Neighborhood Office
(serves all of Staten Island)
60 Bay St.
Staten Island, NY 10301
(718) 273-6677
Queens Neighborhood Office
(serves all of Queens)
120-46 Queens Blvd., 2nd Floor,
Kew Gardens, NY 11415
(718) 286-2450
Nassau/Suffolk Law Services
Committee, Inc. (Suffolk County)
1757 Veterans Highway, Suite 50
Islandia, NY 11749
(631) 232-2400
Community Law Offices
(serves all of Upper Manhattan above 96th Street)
230 East 106th Street
New York, NY 10029
(212) 426-3070
Nassau/Suffolk Law Services Committee, Inc. (Nassau County)
1 Helen Keller Way, 5th Floor
Hempstead, NY 11550-3903
(516) 292-810
Who can help me with the non-legal issues?
There are currently three centers in Manhattan where you can obtain information and assistance (including notary service and legal referrals) from a number of agencies in a single site. For a limited time, you can also apply for benefits from Safe Horizons, Red Cross, and the Salvation Army in one interview at one of these sites. All centers are open 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. M-F and 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Saturday.
Families of victims receive service at the Family Assistance Center, at 575 Lexington Avenue. Others can go to the Disaster Assistance Service Centers located at 51 Chambers Street and 141 Worth Street (also known as 80 Centre Street).
For further information, see www.safehorizon.org or call (800) 621-HOPE (4673), (800) 247-8035 or (212) 577-7777.
Safe Horizon provides support, crisis counseling, practical assistance and emergency compensation to cover immediate expenses (rent, utilities, groceries, etc.), burial and funeral expenses, and longer-term counseling at nine community offices. This effort is supported by the New York State Crime Victims Board in the Manhattan Family Center, with whom Safe Horizon has developed procedures to expedite payments, and the United Way/NYCT September 11th Fund.
Manhattan - Upper West Side Brooklyn
166 West 75th Street 3021 Atlantic Avenue
New York, NY 10023 Brooklyn, NY 11208
(212) 874-0724 (718) 827-4700
Manhattan - Harlem Staten Island
2090 7th Avenue, 10th floor 130 Stuyvesant Place, 5th floor
New York, NY 10027 Staten Island, NY 10301
(212) 316-2100 (718) 448-3118 x 21
Manhattan - Washington Heights Bronx - Claremont
336 Fort Washington Avenue 1460 Washington Avenue
New York, NY 10033 Bronx, NY 10456
(212) 740-7446 (718) 538-9382
Queens - Jamaica Bronx - Kingsbridge
90-14 161st Street 2530 Grand Concourse
Queens, NY 11432 Bronx, NY 10458
(718) 291-2555 (718) 933-1000
Queens - Jackson Heights
74-09 37th Avenue, Room 412
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
(718) 899-1233
Where can I get other assistance?
For financial assistance, contact:
- The Salvation Army (800) SAL-ARMY (725-2769) or www.salvationarmy.org;
- The Red Cross (877) 746-4987 or www.redcross.org;
- The Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service (718) 310-5600. Offers job training and placement assistance;
- The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York (212) 371-1011 ext. 2401. Offers temporary shelter, child care and medical attention;
- The Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Brooklyn and Queens (718) 625-7800. Offers support groups and day care services;
- The Community Service Society of New York (212) 614-5566. Specializes in helping families learn what public benefits they are eligible for and helps with funeral and burial expenses;
- The Children's Aid Society, in conjunction with the New York Times (212) 358-8930, provides food, clothing, housing, furniture, child care, legal information and referral and funeral expenses; and
- The National Association of Realtors has established the Realtors Housing Relief Fund (800) 874-6500 or www.relief.realtor.org, to help pay the mortgage and rental costs of the families devastated by the WTC disaster.
For information about disaster assistance loans for businesses of all sizes, nonprofit organizations, homeowners and renters, contact:
- The U.S. Small Business Association at (800) 659-2955 or visit the website at www.sba.gov/disaster;
- The New York State Business Assistance Center at (800) STATE-NY (782-8369); or
- The NY State Department of Labor, Employment Services Offices (layoff aversion grants at (212) 621-9343.
Several organizations solicit donated food and grocery products from the nation's food and grocery industry and distribute it to people in need. You can contact the following:
- America's Second Harvest: www.secondharvest.org/aboutash/disaster; (800) 771-2303;
- New York City Harvest: www.cityharvest.org; (917) 351-8700;
- Food for Survival, Inc.: www.foodforsurvival.org; (718) 991-4300;
- The Food for Survival Hotline: 718-991-4300 Ext. 20; or
- The Emergency Assistance 24 hour Hotline: (800) 994-6494.
In addition, Food Stamp benefits have been expanded for New York residents and other individuals (regardless of their immigration status) who need food assistance as a result of the WTC disaster due to:
- loss of food;
- damage to or destruction of the household's home or self-employment business;
- disaster-related expenses not expected to be reimbursed during the benefit period (e.g. home or business repairs, temporary shelter expense, etc.);
- loss or inaccessibility of income for half the benefit period; or
- inaccessible liquid resources (e.g. banks closed due to the disaster).
For information on whether you are eligible and how to apply, call the NY City Human Resource Administration information line at (877) 472-8411(English/Spanish) or (718) 557-1015 (Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese language). Also see www.gulpny.org.
Where can I get help with funerals?
If your loved one died while at work, New York State Workers' Compensation Death and Funeral Benefit may pay funeral expenses of up to $6,000 in metropolitan New York counties and up to $5,000 in all other counties. Call (800) 580-6665, (800) 697-4878, or (800) 877-1373.
Where can I get more information?
The Federal and NY State governments are continuing to allocate new resources in an effort to assist victims of the WTC disaster. Recommended sources for keeping up to date and learning about new programs are:
NY City Help Line: (212) 560-2730 or (212) 221-8635.
New York City Central Labor Council: (800) 509-0036.
www.firstgov.gov;
www.labor.state.ny.us;
www.nyc.gov;
www.ny1.com;
www.nypl.org;
www.nypt.org/branch/services/emerginfo.html;
www.nypost.com or
www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/wtchelpinfo.htm;
www.nytimes.com or
www.nytimes.com/national/resources/index.html; and
www.september11fund.org/grief.html.
If you or any of your family members belong to a labor or trade union, or are an employee of NY City, NY State or the U.S. Government, specific resources and procedures may be available to you. You should follow up with those organizations or agencies.
