Oscar Straus, the Director of Volunteers of Legal Service’s Elderly Project, and Nelson Gutierrez, Paralegal, were honored yesterday evening at the Riverstone Senior Center’s annual gala. Both received an official citation from the New York City Council for being, “outstanding citizen[s]… worthy of the esteem of… the great City of New York.”

Together, Oscar and Nelson provide legal assistance to over 1,500 low-income elderly people in New York City each year. They are able to serve this large number of low-income people because they leverage the talents and resources of over 100 volunteer attorneys from some of Manhattan’s top law firms.

Rebeccah Carel, Executive Director of Riverstone, said, “We are so fortunate to be a program involved directly with VOLS. Their legal expertise helps us provide the best possible help to seniors who are facing a crisis or who just need some legalese explained to them… Nelson and Oscar are an incredible team.”