Application for Section 8 Housing Properly Rejected

Prospective tenant applied for the Section 8 housing assistance voucher program. NYCHA sent tenant a form letter in 2008 advising him that his application was being “discarded” because the Section 8 waiting list had been closed on May 14, 2007, except for an emergency category that didn’t apply to tenant. Tenant appealed NYCHA’s determination that he was ineligible for the Section 8 waiting list. He claimed that he wasn’t given due process and that NYCHA violated the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The court and appeals court ruled against tenant. Tenant admitted that he didn’t qualify for the emergency category. Tenant also was subject to lifetime registration in New York as a sex offender. That made him ineligible for admission to public housing and the Section 8 program. Since tenant didn’t qualify for the Section 8 program and had no legitimate claim to the requested benefits, there was no violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Boddie v. NYCHA: NYLJ, 4/29/10, p. 34, col. 3 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Tom, JP, Mazzarelli, Andrias, Saxe, DeGrasse, JJ)