The Bronx Defenders

Lobbying client

A Bronx-based public defender nonprofit founded in 1997 that provides criminal defense, family defense, civil legal services, and social work support to low-income clients, defending nearly 20,000 New Yorkers a year in criminal, family, civil, and immigration proceedings. It has filed 31 disclosures since 2024, lobbying 17 council members on budget funding for the NY Immigrant Family Unity Project, the Fair Return Property Bill, voting access in NYC jails, and the city's response to executive orders on ICE access to Rikers.

Council members lobbied
17
Filings (since 2024)
31
Lobbying compensation (since 2024)
$282,017
Industry (per city contracts)
Human Services
City contracts (active)
$142,271,396 · 6 contracts
Awarded all-time
$678,013,133 · 53 since 2009, incl. expired
Paid to date
$574,674,810
Won without a fresh bid
70% of contract value · $476,985,183 · 46 contracts
Discretionary funding (FY2009-FY2027)
$69,844,158 · 57 awards
Funding history
Funded every year since FY2013 (15 years running)
Top officer pay (FY2023)
$340,575 · Justine Olderman, Executive Director (Thru 1/2024)
Based in
Bronx, NY

Lobbied these council members

Represented by lobbyist firms

Holds contracts at

Funded by these agencies

Lobbied former members

Members who have since left their seat

What they lobbied on

subjects from their filings

City contracts

Registered city contracts, largest first by current contract value (not amount spent): running now, then registered to start later, then ended. Totals count every registered contract. Each line shows its Checkbook contract ID. The tag on each row is how it was awarded (“no-bid” = non-competitive).

Largest payments, by purpose

The organization's largest individual city payments (roughly $25,000 and up), grouped by purpose, to show what recent money was for. This is NOT a total — smaller payments aren't listed; see “Paid to date” above for the complete amount paid against its contracts. Fiscal years 2020 and later.

Discretionary funding received

City Council discretionary (member-item) awards, largest first. Covers FY2009-FY2027.

Funded by these council members

City Council members who steered discretionary (member-item) money to this organization, largest first (FY2020 and later, where the sponsoring member is disclosed). Sitting members link to their page.

Officer & key-staff pay

Reportable compensation from this organization's IRS Form 990 (Part VII), latest available filing (FY2023). Includes pay from related organizations where reported; an annual figure, not a running total. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.

Officer pay over time

Total officer pay changed -2% from FY2020 to FY2023. Top-officer reportable compensation by year (org-paid only), with each year's share of total revenue. Source: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer 990 filings.

Where their influence converges

Outside interests connected to this official through more than one independent channel — drawn straight from the records the rest of the site already shows. “Lobbied them” = a lobbying filing that named the member. “Outside spending” = an independent-expenditure committee the interest funds spent in

Sources