Press release: Over $2.2 Million to Resolve Fair Housing Accessibility Case

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:


Wednesday, October 20, 2010



Over $2.2 Million to Resolve Fair Housing

Accessibility Case in Manhattan



In 2006, the Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc. (FHJC) conducted a testing investigation to

determine whether new multi-family rental developments in Manhattan were being designed and

constructed in compliance with the accessibility requirements of the federal Fair Housing Act

(FHA). The FHJC investigation, funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

Development (HUD), found non-compliance with the design and construction provisions of the

FHA. The testing identified barriers which posed significant challenges to people with disabilities

who use wheelchairs. The FHJC forwarded the results of its testing, including information about

Avalon Chrystie Place apartments, to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District

of New York (U.S. Attorney’s Office). In 2008, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit which

alleged that developers and architects of Avalon Chrystie Place and six other Avalon Bay

Communities in New York City had failed to design and construct their buildings in compliance

with the accessibility requirements of the FHA.



Yesterday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced a resolution to the lawsuit. The consent

decree covers 2,557 Avalon apartment units and provides:



1). $2,045,600

to compensate victims (i.e., any person who was harmed by the lack of

accessible features, discouraged from living in the apartments because of the lack of

accessible features, who personally paid to make an apartment accessible to persons with

disabilities, or who was otherwise discriminated against on the basis of disability based on

the design and construction property and apartment flaws);



2).

a civil penalty of $90,000; and,



3).

an Accessibility Project Fund of $72,000 to increase the accessibility of apartment

kitchens

.



Altogether, the settlement is worth over $2.2 million and specifically requires that the relevant

apartments and common areas be retrofitted so people with disabilities can access, use and enjoy

these rental housing opportunities.



Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc. - 5 Hanover Square, 17th Floor, New York, NY 10004

(212) 400-8201 - Fax: (212) 400-8203 - Website: www.fairhousingjustice.org



Under the consent decree, the $2,045,600 victim fund is available to any person who was

harmed by the lack of accessible features at any of the following New York City Avalon buildings:



Avalon Chrystie Place

Avalon Bowery Place I

Avalon Bowery Place II

Avalon Riverview

Avalon Riverview North

Avalon Fort Greene

Avalon Morningside Park



Anyone who believes that he/she may be entitled to receive monetary relief from the victim

fund is encouraged to contact the:

Chief of the Civil Rights Unit

U.S. Attorney’s Office

86 Chambers Street, Third Floor

New York, NY 10007

Civil Rights Complaint Line at (212) 637-2987

TDD line: (212) 637-0039



The FHJC applauds the US Attorney’s Office for bringing this case to a successful

resolution that expands the rental housing opportunities available to people with disabilities in New

York City. Susan M. Kurien, FHJC Executive Director commented, “We are pleased that we were

able to assist the U.S. Attorney’s Office by identifying barriers that continue to restrict access to

rental housing opportunities by persons with disabilities.” Ms. Kurien added, “Since part of the

mission of the FHJC is to promote open, accessible, and inclusive communities, we will continue to

work with local, state, and federal officials to ensure that fair housing accessibility requirements are

enforced.”



The mission of the FHJC is to challenge systemic housing discrimination, promote open and

inclusive communities, and strengthen fair housing enforcement. The FHJC assists individuals who

encounter illegal housing discrimination by providing counseling on fair housing rights,

investigative assistance (including testing), and referrals to administrative agencies and cooperating

attorneys. Individuals who encounter illegal housing discrimination are encouraged to call the

FHJC at (212) 400-8201.



FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Susan M. Kurien, Executive Director

Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc.

(212) 400-8201

HUGE! $100M boost opens doors to Section 8

New York Daily News -

100M boost opens doors to Section 8
BY MICHAEL SAUL
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF
Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

For the first time in more than a decade, the city will be accepting new applications for Section 8 vouchers - with 22,000 families getting the coveted housing subsidy."This really is a very big deal in the housing business," Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday at an applications office in Corona, Queens.

A huge boost in federal funding - up to $100 million nationwide - is behind the largess that's opening up the waiting list for the first time since 1994.

Applications will be accepted for three months starting Feb. 12.

Officials said 12,000 vouchers will be available this year and an additional 10,000 next year. The city will set aside 3,000 for households at risk of becoming homeless.

With a Section 8 voucher, families pay 30% of their income for rent, and the New York City Housing Authority, the largest provider of public housing in the country, pays the remainder directly to the landlord.

The current waiting list has 127,000 families - but time has rendered most of the names obsolete. Of the 75,000 people the city already has contacted, about 60,000 no longer want the vouchers, are no longer eligible or can't be found.

Janet Perry, 48, who has been living in a Brooklyn homeless shelter for nearly a year, was elated to hear she might be in line to get her own apartment.

"I'm very happy," said Perry, a former groundskeeper for the city's Parks Department.

"I called already and the line's been busy, busy, busy at the Section 8 office," Perry said. "I'm going to keep calling, though, until I get someone."

Mary Brosnahan Sullivan, executive director of the Coalition for the Homeless, said she's concerned these vouchers won't reach those with the "most urgent need."

Over the years, the Bloomberg administration has steered homeless people away from Section 8 and toward the "highly flawed" Housing Stability Plus program, which makes it difficult for families to get permanent housing, she said.

But Bloomberg spokesman Jason Post said under the mayor's administration, far more New Yorkers receive rental assistance than before.

"We want to ensure as many households as possible - homeless or otherwise - can benefit," Post said.



First steps toward housing subsidy

Here's how to apply:


Applicants can pick up forms at any of the New York City Housing Authority's borough applications offices or management offices. For a list of addresses, go to www.nyc.gov/nycha or call 311.




Individuals who earn less than $24,800 a year or a family of four making less than $35,000 a year may qualify for the subsidy.


Applications must be postmarked no later than May 14.


Mail completed applications to New York City Housing Authority, P.O. Box 445, Church St. Station, New York, N.Y. 10008-0445.


If you think you're already on the current waiting list, contact the New York City Housing Authority or call 311.

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