Neighborhood Legal Services

Neighborhood Legal Services Inc. will present a FREE virtual legal clinic via Zoom on housing and evictions from 5 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18.

Know your rights!

Presenters are Allyssa Bergsten, Esq., and Michael Garrett, J.D., and topics include:

• Types of evictions
• Eviction process
• Tenant Safe Harbor Act defenses
• CDC defenses
• Resources

There are two ways to access the presentation.

1. Facebook Live
2. Call in on Zoom: phone 1-646-558-8656; when you hear "Enter meeting ID," enter this code -- 920 7422 0762; then when you hear participant ID, press the # key.

Neighborhood Legal Services has an office in Downtown Batavia at 45 Main St. Phone is 343-5450.

For more information on the Zoom legal clinic, call Katelyn Niedermier at (716) 847-0650, ext. 252, or email her at:    KNiedermier@nls.org

From Neighborhood Legal Services:

Neighborhood Legal Services is a free civil legal services firm serving Erie, Niagara, Genesee, Wyoming and Orleans counties.

It specializes in domestic violence prevention, divorce, eviction prevention, health insurance access, disability, student loans, SNAP, shelter and other government benefits.

Neighborhood Legal Services’ new Justice Bus program works with community-based agencies to increase access to justice by bringing lawyers into communities where the most vulnerable Western New York residents need legal assistance for basic needs such as food, shelter and safety.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Neighborhood Legal Services’ Justice Bus program will provide expanded telephone access to free civil legal services on Monday and Thursday evenings from 5 – 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. as follows:

Domestic Violence/Family Legal Needs -- (716) 847-0650, ext. 279

Landlord/Tenant Legal Needs -- (716) 847-0650, ext. 272

COVID-19 Programs/Government Benefits/Health Insurance -- (716) 847-0650, ext. 221

Student Loans/Social Security Disability/SSI/Benefits Counseling -- (716) 847-0650, ext. 302

Neighborhood Legal Services, which has an office in Batavia, remains open for TELEPHONE INTAKE during the COVID-19 pandemic Monday through Friday. Genesee/Wyoming/Orleans County residents can call (585) 343-5450, or email: contactus@nls.org.

We can help with domestic violence and other family law matters; health insurance; government benefits/SNAP/shelter/benefits counseling; Social Security disability/SSI hearings; and evictions/housing conditions/housing discrimination matters.

Neighborhood Legal Services Inc. (NLS), a nonprofit organization previously located on Clinton Street, recently moved office locations to 45 Main St. in Batavia.

NLS provides free legal services to low-income people and the disabled. They also provide a wide range of technical assistance and support services.

John Zonitch, the managing attorney at NLS, said the services remain the same, but they were looking to expand personnel.

“We have added an attorney that specializes in Social Security work, so we are able to handle more cases than we used to,” Zonitch said.

Zonitch said they enjoy their more centralized location.  

“We’re definitely closer to the courts,” Zonitch said. “It’s convenient for the courts as well as for those with transportation difficulties. I think it’s a lot easier for them.”

Zonitch said the Community Action Center was also hoping to expand their Head Start preschool program.

NLS offers services in family law, disability law, housing, public benefits, consumer issues and New York State of Health Marketplace. They do not handle criminal cases, traffic tickets, money damage actions, estate work and real estate closings, torts, small claims court cases, workers’ compensation, unemployment and cases where fees are available for other counsel.

There are three offices throughout Western New York. One located in Buffalo, serving Erie County, one located in Niagara Falls, serving Niagara County, and the branch located in Batavia, serving Orleans, Genesee and Wyoming counties.

Residents can call or walk in to fill out an application. Some of the services are funded by grants, which have qualification requirements.

“Assuming their income and their assets meet our maximums, then they would be financially eligible,” Zonitch said. “Then as long as it’s a problem type that we handle, then we would certainly be very open to providing them with some service.”

Zonitch said their services concentrate primarily on divorces, evictions from the tenant’s standpoint and Social Security work. He said they also have healthcare navigators to assist people looking to get health insurance to navigate the online system.

“Our mission is to help low-income families have access to the court system that they might not otherwise be able to have,” Zonitch said.

The nonprofit legal aid office known as Neighborhood Legal Services Inc. (NLS) is moving. It is currently located at 5073 Clinton Street Road, Batavia, and will be relocating its office downtown to 45 Main St, Batavia.

To accommodate the move, the office will close at 5 p.m. on Friday Sept. 23^rd and will reopen in the new space on Main Street at 9 a.m. on Thursday Sept. 29^th. The new location is west of Jackson Street near Evans Street.

NLS operates three offices in Western New York. The Batavia office serves people in Genesee, Orleans and Wyoming counties.

Its mission is to provide a full range of free civil legal representation to low income and disabled people in matters involving their financial security and the legal rights which affect the stability of families and individuals. Its goal is to create the greatest access to the justice system for those low-income and disabled people without the means to pursue their rights. It also provides outreach and training services to underprivileged populations and the community agencies which serve them.

Neighborhood Legal Services' phone number is 343-5450.

For more information, visit the NLS website by clicking here.