Professor Jacqueline Nolan-Haley, director of the ADR & Conflict Resolution Program and the Mediation Clinic, was quoted in Harlem World Magazine regarding the launch of a program in New York City that will offer free mediation to New Yorkers and hospitality businesses.
Today, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced MEND NYC, a program to provide mediation to New Yorkers and hospitality businesses across the city who are in disputes over quality-of-life issues.
This is a free, innovative alternative that can bring lasting solutions to longstanding local issues that have been laid bare by the COVID-19 crisis, which has caused an increase in complaints to 311.MEND (Mediating Establishment and Neighbor Disputes) NYC will serve hundreds of New York residents and businesses each year, creating opportunities to resolve disputes before they escalate to the need for formal enforcement, such as issuing summonses, which can add financial hardship to small businesses operating under new rules and guidelines. Mediation is a constructive conversation between people in conflict that is facilitated by an experienced, neutral third person. Mediation provides participants an opportunity to collaboratively design creative solutions and repair tense relationships. MEND will get businesses and New Yorkers to communicate directly and establish respectful ongoing dialogue, helping them to compromise and coexist.
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“Mediation is the fastest growing dispute resolution process in the U.S. courts. It addresses the real needs and interests of disputing parties and provides greater efficiencies in the court system. This is an excellent opportunity for law students to provide access to justice for parties in conflict,” said Professor Jacqueline Nolan-Haley, Director of the ADR & Conflict Resolution Program and the Mediation Clinic at Fordham Law School.