Organizations Filed Purposes:
To protect and strengthen the legal rights of people in New York State who are poor, disabled or disenfranchised through: systems change advocacy, training and support to other advocates and organizations, and high quality direct civil legal representation.
Empire Justice is a statewide organization working to improve civil justice in NY (See Sch.O)The Empire Justice Center is a statewide multi-issue, multi-strategy organization focused on changing the systems within which poor and low income families live. Empire Justice provides legal assistance to those in need, offers training and support to community-based organizations, and works to improve programs and services for those in need.
Disability Benefits: Empire Justice contracts with New York State to provide legal assistance to individuals in Western New York who have been inappropriately denied or terminated from federal disability and supplemental security income programs. In 2019, Empire Justice administered a sub-contract with LawNY to provide these regional services. In 2019, 404 cases were closed in the region, generating approximately $889,957 in interim assistance to clients and an additional $3,146,622 in retroactive benefits. In 2019, the Western New York Disability Advocacy Program (DAP) won 74% of cases. Empire Justice also contracts with the state under DAP to provide training, support and technical assistance to local grantees throughout the state.
Foreclosure Prevention: In 2019, Empire Justice continued its role as Anchor Partner as designated by the NYS Attorney General in efforts to combat foreclosures in New York. In this role, Empire Justice oversees 54 legal services and housing counseling contracts, oversees data collection and provides statewide training, support and technical assistance to grantees. Empire Justice also provided direct representation to homeowners at risk of foreclosure in the Greater Rochester area. In 2019 assistance was provided to 107 homeowners who were victims of predatory lending and/or who were at risk of foreclosure. The foreclosure prevention work of Empire Justice Center achieved restructuring and refinancing of clients' predatory loans, saving them tens of thousands of dollars over the life of their loans.
Crime Victims: Empire Justice partners with the University at Albany's Center for Human Services Research, and Pro Bono Net on the New York State Crime Victims Legal Network Project, a federally-funded project that brings awareness to the many civil legal needs of crime victims, while also helping victims access civil legal assistance. The Network focuses on the 57 counties outside of New York City. In 2019, the Network completed a statewide expansion of www.crimevictimshelpny.org a central online hub that connects crime victims with legal assistance on issues related to housing, family, employment, finances, and more. (Continued on Schedule O.)In 2019, 7,560 site users viewed 34,634 pages on the site covering essential areas such as family law, safety and housing matters. More than 1,164 individuals used the site to search for a legal services provider, and more than 2,541 visitors accessed information about free legal documents and court forms available to help victims address their civil legal needs. Empire Justice Center's Long Island, Rochester and Westchester offices also provided civil legal services to 482 crime victims in 2019.
Executives Listed on Filing
Total Salary includes financial earnings, benefits, and all related organization earnings listed on tax filing
| Name | Title | Hours Per Week | Total Salary |
|---|
| Kristin Brown | President and CEO (Beginning 7/2019) | 35 | $111,173 |
| Anne Erickson | President and CEO (Ending 7/2019) | 35 | $102,774 |
| Lori K Mccormick | Chief Financial Officer | 35 | $91,518 |
| Juan Gabriel Genao | Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Mishka Woodley | Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Ginette Rows | Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Daniel Guzman | Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Maureen Derosa | Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Kristen Clark | Treasurer | 1 | $0 |
| David H Tennant | Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Emily Whalen | Secretary | 1 | $0 |
| John Bringewatt | Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Raymond Brescia | Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| L Theresa Macon | Member (Ending 8/2019) | 0.5 | $0 |
| Nancy Engelhardt | Member | 0.5 | $0 |
| Deborah P Amory | Vice Chair | 1 | $0 |
| Joann Smith | Chair | 1 | $0 |
Data for this page was sourced from XML published by IRS (
public 990 form dataset) from:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/irs-form-990/202023109349302717_public.xml