Is Affordable Housing Development Plan Discriminatory?

Groups of nonwhite families and organizations together sued the mayor and HPD, claiming discrimination in the planned development of affordable housing in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. They asked the court for a preliminary injunction halting the development while the case was pending. They argued that the city’s intent and actions in selecting, in a no-bid process, one particular Hasidic Jewish organization to develop affordable housing in a rezoned nine-block manufacturing area would have a discriminatory effect on them and on the surrounding neighborhood. They also claimed that the developers were given political accommodation to benefit the Hasidic community. The court ordered that a hearing be held on whether to grant the temporary stay while the case was pending. The proposed development area was predominantly white, while the larger community was overwhelmingly nonwhite. And the plan called for building very large apartments with multiple bedrooms for large families, despite the general demand in the surrounding area for smaller housing units. Although there would be a lottery for admission to the new housing, the complaining groups claimed that the plan would cause self-selection of residents based directly or indirectly on ethnicity, religion, or race.

Broadway Triangle Community Coalition v. Bloomberg: NYLJ, 5/24/10, p. 40, col. 5 (Sup. Ct. NY; Goodman, J)