Law coalition finds home inside Kingsbridge Heights

At any given time, anybody can find himself or herself in legal trouble. But not everybody can afford the legal help they need.

Luckily, many of them no longer have to face their troubles alone — or travel far to seek that help out.

The Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals — which provides legal assistance to those who cannot afford it since 1998 — has found a home for its New York chapter in Kingsbridge Heights.

After taking on temporary housing in Brooklyn and Manhattan over the years, the chapter made its permanent home at 2675 Heath Ave., in 2016. And outside of those who immediately needed the legal counsel found within the coalition, the fact that such a group had put down roots so close went unnoticed by many in the community.

The Bronx was an attractive location for the organization because of easy access via public transportation, a number of colleges nearby, and the large number of volunteers that already came from the borough.

Daniel Fiske, a full-time volunteer and the acting operations manager of the coalition’s New York chapter, found that even when surrounded by near-constant renovations, its team members still work hard.

“We’ve always done these law sessions,” Fiske said, “even when the walls weren’t painted.”

The coalition is composed entirely of volunteers, ranging from attorneys to undergraduate students, providing no-charge legal help to people who cannot afford it. And that’s a large pool of potential clients available to them, since 80 percent of low-income people have trouble accessing necessary courtroom help, according to the Washington-based Legal Services Corp.

“People are seeing more and more that there’s really a two-tiered justice system,” Fiske said, “one for those who can afford it, and one for those who can’t.”

In the short time the coalition has been housed in Kingsbridge, the organization has made strong connections with the community. That includes local businesses, such as Garden Gourmet Market, where volunteers man a table outside of the store advertising its services while attracting more potential volunteers.

The group has also partnered with religious organizations like the Episcopal Church of the Mediator, where they host “Know Your Law” sessions — in-depth discussions about the law that are open to the public.

Each session tackles relevant issues in the community like immigration, police interactions, and consumer debt.

It was thanks to these sessions that Marianne Kahn, a part-time volunteer and New York chapter board member, first discovered the coalition and realized the extent of issues in the justice system.

“I always tried to be informed as I could and read about things, but I didn’t realize the extent of how things were happening, especially in recent years,” she said. “These are systemic problems, problems in the system. Either the law itself or the application of the law.”

Kahn, who now works to organize “Know Your Law” sessions, helps with legal advice sessions, community information tables outside, and organization fundraisers.

Kahn, however, says she is just one example of how the coalition has made community connections and grown from those connections.

The organization also hosted screenings of “The Central Park Five,” the 2012 Ken Burns documentary about the five teenagers who were falsely charged — and convicted — of raping a jogger in Central Park in 1989. That documentary has made its way around area colleges, with the most recent showing locally at Manhattan College last April.

The screening was organized in conjunction with a number of the college’s departments, including, urban studies, spearheaded by associate professor Adam Arenson.

Arenson regularly asks Kahn to speak to his urban studies and history classes, and feels events like the documentary screening are an important experience for his students.

“They are dedicated to pointing out the inequities in our injustice system, and then offering students opportunities to be part of real work, to be part of the solutions,” Arenson said.

Students inspired by these talks go on to volunteer with the coalition and are often pre-law students, Arenson added.

Through the one-on-one and “Know Your Law” sessions, the coalition’s volunteers have helped individuals in need with a variety of successes — from winning back wages, to saving homes from foreclosure, and even insurance issues caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Considering that America makes up 5 percent of the world’s population but houses 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population as reported by the American Civil Liberties Union, Fiske finds the work he does with the coalition allows him to be part of the solution.

“There’s a lot of people right now in the country who are living in very troubled times and feel isolated,” he said. “So an organization can help bring a new spirit of hope through material success.”

Despite these small victories, the coalition knows there’s still more work to be done.

“We’re trying to get at the root causes, the big issues that are now systemic,” Kahn said. “Not just putting a Band-Aid on one person’s issue, but what’s going on? What can be done? How do we come together and fix it?”

To connect with the Coalition of Concerned Legal Professionals — whether to volunteer or get legal help — call (212) 791-1364, or email nyscclp@verizon.net.