Staff attorney David Stern unpacks boxes as the Legal Aid Society returned yesterday to its headquarters at 199 Water St. in lower Manhattan. Legal Aid’s 400 lawyers and staff, who were forced out by Hurricane Sandy, had been working for the past 2 1/2 months from temporary digs at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.
There is still no land line service at the Water Street building and staffers are relying on cell phones and phone service in other locations, including a switchboard in the Bronx office, said attorney-in-chief Steven Banks. “We’re certainly pleased to be back in our office and (regrouping) our central staff, but we’re concerned about the continuing lack of telephone services,” he said.