Eight BLS students over the past two years provided legal assistance to the eleven lower east side buildings that were recently transferred by the City of New York to a not-for-profit group with the eventual goal of forming resident-controlled co-ops. Students in the corporate and real estate clinic formed the People's Homesteading Association, a coalition of the buildings, and helped the group prepare by-laws, negotiate with architects and resolve organizational and transfer issues. Students drafted and negotiated a letter of intent which was eventually signed by the not-for-profit group and by each building association. This document will provide a guide for upcoming construction and formation of co-ops. Model by-laws were also prepared by students for each building association to follow and training in co-op operation was provided. Through this process, 250 residents of the buildings have taken a major step toward stable ownership of a decent home and away from the insecurity of "squatting" without authority in a dilapidated building.

James Fawcett ('02) worked on the project for an entire year and the following students each worked on it for one semester: Robert Stinson ('01), Michelle Pugliese ('01), Bill Lang ('01), Michael Kanter ('03) Danielle Gordon ('03), Diane Yang ('03) and David Keusch ('03). The students work under the supervision of Professor Debra Bechtel, who has represented low-income cooperatives in New York City for the past 18 years.

In December 2001, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held in Harlem to mark the official opening of the First Ludford-Lourdes Housing Development Corporation’s new co-op. The property at 610 West 140th Street was transformed from a vacant five-story building into 15 cooperative apartments for low-income residents of the neighborhood.

Over the course of two years, different groups of twelve students were involved in every phase of this $1.2 million dollar project from the day in August 1999, when the letter of intent to sell the property was first received from the City of New York, until the families moved into their apartments in November.

Students formed a Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC), and then drafted its by-laws. They monitored the sale process, drafted and negotiated the construction contract, researched tax exemptions, and drafted and prepared loan closing documents which they negotiated with the National Consumer Cooperative Bank. One student team conducted the four-hour closing. Following the transfer of the building from the City of New York to the HDFC and after obtaining funding from the bank, the students drafted the proprietary lease and began the process of obtaining the Attorney General’s approval to operate as a cooperative.

In another Corporate and Real Estate Clinic project that directly affected the lives of New York residents, students completed eleven home closings for the nonprofit organization Habitat for Humanity -- New York City. Habitat built the homes on vacant land in Brooklyn purchased from the City of New York. Low-income families who assisted with the construction received no-interest loans of $135,000 from Habitat, repayable over a 30-year period at the modest rate of $375 per month. Because the organization was both the seller and the lender, clinic students were involved in a range of legal work, from preparing the deed and transfer tax documents to completing the mortgage and loan documents.

The students who worked on the Harlem project were: Jon Popin ’01, Doug Mannal ’00, Anthony Clemenza ’01, Lissa Luke ’01, Ron Lebow ’01, Elizabeth Capuano ’00, Chris Staples ’02, Michelle Baginski ’01, Lorena Alvarado ’02, Bill Duquette ’02, Odalis Encarnacion ’01, and Marvin Romero ’02. The students who worked on the Habitat project were: Jennifer Battaglino ‘02, Zina Bellman ‘02, Dinsmore Campbell ‘02, Sergio Cavelli ‘02, David Keusch ‘03, Monica Schroer ‘02, Sarah Spierling ‘02, Diane Yang ‘03, Shawn Singh ‘02, Rompel Sachdeva ‘02, and Lorena Alvarado ‘02.