Jan. 12: Free Downtown Tenant/Landlord Seminar

Tenants and landlords of buildings near Ground Zero can get answers to questions about their rights or obligations related to the disaster. The free seminar will be held on Saturday, Jan. 12, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Martin Luther King, Jr., High School, 122 Amsterdam Ave., at 66th Street.

The event, organized by Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields and Fern Fisher-Brandveen, an administrative judge at New York City Civil Court, will address issues faced by tenants and owners who are having trouble paying or collecting rent, including those who lost family members or jobs because of the terrorist attacks.

"We’re beginning to see the ripple effect here in the court from the disaster," Judge Fisher-Brandveen said in an interview. "So many New Yorkers were affected, either at Ground Zero or across the city. Ninety thousand people lost jobs. We’re seeing cases of tenants who can’t pay rent, landlords who can’t collect, and also rent strikes."

A group seminar, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., will be followed by private consultations with an attorney between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Many organizations and city agencies are scheduled to participate, including the Legal Aid Society, the New York City Bar Association, Housing Court, and the Department of Housing, Preservation and Development. For more information, call : 374-4504