Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A - Community and Economic Development (CED) Program

Brooklyn A’s Community and Economic Development program was created in 1976 in response to our realization that consistent legal counsel is a critical element to the neighborhood-based and controlled community economic development process. Our track record of success in CED efforts has made Brooklyn A exceptional within the legal services community. We are one of the only community-based legal services organizations in the country to develop and sustain a neighborhood-based CED program, through which we have represented hundreds of nonprofit community based organizations in low-income communities.

CED program staff work both as in-house and special project counsel, offering our nonprofit clients both short term and ongoing, long-term representation. We act as counselors, negotiators, tacticians, strategists, and troubleshooters to CBOs as they fulfill ambitious and strategic plans for neighborhood revitalization. Examples of our services include reviewing, drafting, and negotiating contracts, as well as representing and advising clients in tax matters, real estate and public and private finance transactions (including pre-development coordination and title and loan closings), green project development, employee relations, and administrative, licensing, and regulatory proceedings.

Through our role as lawyers for community-initiated projects, Brooklyn A’s CED program provides critical legal support and representation to community development corporations=and CBOs that, amongst a variety of community services, seek to: create, develop, and operate new and rehabilitated affordable housing, provide high quality health care services, develop community-wide sustainable development strategies, provide support and educational services to youth from infancy through college, and generally work for social and economic justice in local low-income communities. CED attorneys, as general counsel, provide CBOs with ongoing, comprehensive legal counsel in their daily operation and functioning and at all stages of project and program development, thereby increasing their client’s organizational strength, the effectiveness of the services they deliver and their ability to meet their community’s needs.

How to Get Help

To become a client, call our office at (718) 487-2300 during our regular business hours, Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

In the case of an emergency, you may speak with an attorney same-day if an attorney is available.