The Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC) recognized Crowell & Moring with the Igniting Change Award in honor of the firm’s “tireless work” on behalf of underserved New York City communities. The award was presented at the organization’s annual benefit, “Juntos: Building Without Limits,” which was held on June 9 in New York City.
“NMIC is excited to present our Igniting Change Award to Crowell & Moring. Crowell’s partnership and commitment to NMIC has been critical to improving the lives of our community members. Through our collaboration, NMIC and Crowell uncovered fraudulent landlord behavior and brought millions of dollars back to tenants in our community while reducing their ongoing rent burdens. Additionally, our joint efforts have improved community members’ health and safety by holding landlords accountable for their failure to properly maintain the neighborhood’s housing stock. Crowell has truly committed their time, energy, and staff to ‘igniting change’ in our community, and we are proud to honor them with this award,” said Maria Lizardo, executive director of NMIC.
NMIC was founded in 1979 to provide free legal services to recent immigrants living in economically challenged communities in Northern Manhattan. In the ensuing years, the organization’s services expanded to include education and career services, tenant and community organizing, weatherization, and domestic violence services. In 2016, NMIC also began serving residents in underserved communities in the Bronx.
Crowell’s partnership with NMIC started in 2016, when the firm joined NMIC on a group legal action lawsuit representing dozens of tenants in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. NMIC and Crowell have continued to partner in subsequent years, including establishing a secondment that provides an opportunity for a Crowell attorney to work part-time at NMIC on high-impact litigation. In addition, Crowell partner Juan Arteaga has served as the NMIC Board Chair for the past two years.
“We are proud to receive NMIC’s Igniting Change Award, which reflects our firm’s longstanding commitment to giving back to the communities where we live and work. However, we are even prouder that our partnership with NMIC has helped make a positive difference in the lives of many low-income New Yorkers, including requiring landlords to repay millions in illegal rent increases and agree to future rent reductions,” said Glen G. McGorty, the managing partner of Crowell’s New York office.
“Our partnership with NMIC has helped families in Northern Manhattan and the Bronx continue to have access to affordable housing within their beloved communities as they pursue the American Dream. We look forward to expanding this partnership in the years to come,” said NMIC board chair and Crowell partner Juan A. Arteaga.
For more information on NMIC, please visit here.
About Crowell & Moring LLP
Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with offices in the United States, Europe, MENA, and Asia that represents clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory and policy, and transactional and corporate matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation and government-facing matters, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity, equity, and inclusion.
