Who We Are: Mission and Vision

A fair economy is key to justice for all. Fair Deal NY is fighting for the right to live our lives without fear of exploitation. We are labor, legal services and other community-based organizations coming together to end abusive and unfair business practices in New York. We demand a fair deal: Pass the Consumer and Small Business Protection Act (CSPA). 

New Yorkers have little recourse against predatory businesses because unlike 40 other states, New York bans deceptive, but not unfair and abusive, business practices.

This glaring oversight makes New York a hotbed for schemes that extract wealth from communities of color and trap people in financial distress. Student loan servicers can steer borrowers to the most expensive repayment plans when better options exist. Nursing homes can shake down relatives to pay patients’ bills. Debt collectors can manipulate seniors into giving up their limited, protected income. And landlords have a free hand to abuse and harass tenants. This “anything goes” policy harms not only individual New Yorkers, but also small business owners, nonprofit organizations, and the honest businesses put at a competitive disadvantage.

It’s time for us to demand a fair deal by:

  1. Banning unfair and abusive business conduct;

  2. Protecting small businesses;

  3. Imposing real consequences for harm by raising the penalty from $50 to $1,000; 

  4. Improving access to justice by allowing class actions; and

  5. Allowing nonprofit organizations to prevent public harm by holding companies accountable for violations. 

Abuse has no business in New York. Let’s raise the bar. 

This video describes the proposed Consumer and Small Business Protection Act (CSPA) to update New York's consumer protection law to be as strong as similar laws in other states.

Please contact Carolyn Coffey at Mobilization for Justice, Inc. to learn more:

(212) 417-3701

ccoffey@mfjlegal.org