Oren Hemovitis testifies for Legal Aid Society on NGBV independence

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Good afternoon.

Thank you to Chair Farias and the committee for the opportunity to speak.

I'm speaking today on behalf of the Legal Aid Society.

The Legal Aid Society was founded here in New York City in 1876.

We are the oldest and largest provider of legal services in the United States.

We handle some 300,000 cases and legal matters per year for low-income New Yorkers with civil, criminal, and juvenile rights problems.

I have been a staff attorney in our Family Law Domestic Violence Unit in our civil practice since 2019.

The Family DV Unit represents survivors of domestic violence in both Supreme and Family Court.

My fellow attorneys and I provide full representation to help survivors assert their rights to custody of their children, to child support and maintenance, to equitable distribution of property, and their right to be safe and free from harm.

We urge the Mamdani administration to keep NGBV operating as its own office.

NGBV has been operating for 25 years and has been successful.

We strongly believe that independence was a key to that success and that making the office part of OCS will detract from its independence and by extension its mission.

OCS seeks to address community violence with a community-centered model based in restoration and community

accountability.

This goal is commendable and needed, but domestic violence is not a community safety issue.

The New York City Charter itself, Section 19, the section which established NGBV in the first place, classifies domestic violence as a public health issue, not a community safety issue.

NGBV was created and structured with the clear goal of making a focused and streamlined effort to address domestic violence coordinated across city agencies.

The director was appointed by and answered directly to the mayor to give NGBV access to quick decision-making and high authority when needed to facilitate intensive cross-disciplinary focus.

Which Section 19 of the City Charter envisioned.

Every layer of bureaucracy which is added between NGBV and the mayor lessens the perceived authority of the office and accordingly the ability of NGBV to work across agency lines.

I can personally attest to the success of NGBV.

I've been very familiar with that office through the Family Justice Center.

Their dedicated and hardworking staff offer survivors of DV a wide range of counseling and services, including legal services.

And they send people to me to screen to discuss their cases and give legal advice.

They help other legal service providers also coordinate with agencies to better represent their clients.

On my own cases, I have seen the ease with which

Agencies can communicate when facilitated by the Family Justice Center.

center, and when they coordinate, how they can help provide a systemic answer to a devastating problem.

And I'm concerned about anything which could take away that coordination and communication.

Efforts to streamline the city government and reduce bureaucracy are needed.

But NGBV represents just such an effort, a successful and long-running one.

NGBV already had access to resources and was empowered by the Charter to coordinate with other agencies, and I have personally seen that coordination in action to good effect.

Taking away NGBV's independence sends the wrong signal to survivors and those who advocate for survivors.

The people of New York City voted to amend the city charter to establish NGBV in 2001 so that the city could have an office that would comprehensively address issues of domestic violence.

The administration should listen to that mandate and keep NGBV independent from OCS and let it continue succeeding in its mission.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much for providing testimony today.