Perez v. Lavine

422 F. Supp. 1259
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 14, 1977
Docket73 Civ. 4577 (CHT)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 422 F. Supp. 1259 (Perez v. Lavine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Perez v. Lavine, 422 F. Supp. 1259 (S.D.N.Y. 1977).

Opinion

ORDER

TENNEY, District Judge.

Defendants having been directed in an opinion handed down by this Court dated March 29, 1976 to submit a proposed order outlining plans for revision of their procedures in conformity with such decision, and the Court having considered the submission of both parties with respect to such direction, it is hereby

ORDERED (1) that, subject to paragraph (2) hereof, any person wishing to apply for public assistance within the City of New York shall be provided an application form on the date of such person’s first or second visit to an Income Maintenance Center for the purpose of applying for assistance; and it is further

ORDERED (2) that

(a) application forms be provided at alternative locations throughout the community to all interested organizations which request a supply of the forms. A comprehensive list of organizations which have requested and been provided application forms is attached hereto as Appendix A;

*1260 (b) the availability of application forms from such organizations be adequately publicized by defendant [J. Henry Smith], as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services, so that persons wishing to apply for aid are, to the maximum extent feasible, made aware of the availability of application forms from such organizations;

(c) notwithstanding the alternative provided by this paragraph, any individual wishing to obtain an application form and application kit (described in NYC Procedure No. 75-13, Oct. 6,1975, p. 9, and subsequent revisions thereto which must include like materials) from an Income Maintenance Center must be permitted to do so, and must be provided such form and kit on request; and it is further

ORDERED (3) that at the time such person is provided an application form he or she shall simultaneously be provided the application kit which shall include a comprehensive, intelligible set of instructions, written in large, easily read print in English and/or in Spanish as applicable, designed to ensure that an applicant can complete the application form without requiring the assistance of Income Maintenance Center personnel. A draft copy of these instructions is attached hereto as Appendix B; and it is further

ORDERED (4) that signs be posted prominently in all Income Maintenance Centers in the City of New York notifying applicants that they are entitled to an application form and informing them to request an application from the receptionist if they want one. The sign, which will be in both English and Spanish and in letters of at least one inch in height, will read as follows:

“NOTICE TO APPLICANTS
IF YOU WANT TO APPLY FOR PUBLIC ASSISTANCE, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO GET AN APPLICATION FORM AND WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS THAT EXPLAIN HOW TO FILL OUT THE APPLICATION. YOU ALSO HAVE THE RIGHT TO FILE THE APPLICATION FORM AND GET A WRITTEN DECISION TELLING YOU WHETHER OR NOT YOU ARE ELIGIBLE. YOU CAN FILE AN APPLICATION AND GET A WRITTEN DECISION EVEN IF THE RECEPTIONIST TELLS YOU THAT YOU DO NOT SEEM ELIGIBLE.”

It is further

ORDERED (5) that

(a) after an applicant receives an application, an appointment shall be scheduled for the applicant to return for an initial application interview within five working days;

(b) all application staff will be notified that they cannot schedule initial application appointments beyond five working days without express approval from the Center Director;

(c) the Center Director, upon being notified by his application supervisor that the initial application interview cannot be scheduled within five working days, will provide for the transfer of staff from other sections to meet the five-working-day requirement or call the Deputy Administrator for Income Maintenance Programs, or his designee, who will take immediate steps to ensure that such appointments are scheduled within five working days;

(d) if an appointment cannot be scheduled within five working days, the applicant’s completed application shall nevertheless be accepted for filing at the time submitted by the applicant;

(e) if the applicant returns to the Center on the date of his or her scheduled application interview, the application interview shall be held on that day and the completed application form shall be accepted as filed on or before that day; and it is further

ORDERED (6) that all application section personnel and administrative staff within the Income Maintenance Centers be notified that applicants have a right to obtain an application form even if they are in the wrong Center or the pre-screening interview indicates that they are presumptively not eligible. Training sessions will be held *1261 to ensure that Center staff, including receptionists, “A” receptionists, application interviewers, application supervisors, and all administrative staff are aware of this requirement; and it is further

ORDERED (7) that defendant [Philip Toia], as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Social Services, take such steps as may be necessary to assist defendant [J. Henry Smith], as Commissioner of the New York City Department of Social Services, to comply with this Order and to ensure periodic review by the State Department of Social Services so that appropriate corrective action may be taken by such State agency in the event that noncompliance is ascertained.

APPENDIX A

Community Offices_BROOKLYN

Brighton Beach Coordinating Committee for Russian Immigrants

293 Neptune Avenue

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11235

Jewish Family Services

4917 12th Avenue

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11219

Sunset Park Family Health Center

514 49th Street

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11220

186 Montague Street

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11201

John the Baptist Community Center

807 Willoughby Avenue

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11206

Bedford Stuyvesant Alcoholism Treatment Clinic

1121 Bedford Avenue

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11216

Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Corp.

172 Tompkins Avenue

Bedford Stuyvesant Youth in Action

882 DeKalb Avenue

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11221

Lyndon B. Johnson Health Center

507 DeKalb Avenue

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11205

Bedford. Stuyvesant Youth in Action

930 Bedford Avenue

496 Franklin Avenue

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11238

Club Heraldo Hispano

727 Fulton Street

Brooklyn, N. Y. 11217

Fort Greene Community Corp.

205 Ashland Place

Coney Island Hospital

Social Service Department

2601 Ocean Parkway

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Related

Slade v. Koch
135 Misc. 2d 283 (New York Supreme Court, 1987)
Lamboy v. Gross
129 Misc. 2d 564 (New York Supreme Court, 1985)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
422 F. Supp. 1259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/perez-v-lavine-nysd-1977.