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Congressional Support to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing

The rule to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH), proposed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in July 2013, includes guidance for grantees in complying with the obligation to account for fair housing in the utilization of federal funds.  The AFFH rule under review is currently subject to controversy from political opponents.  In a movement to urge the implementation of a final rule, a number of congressional members have signed "Dear Colleague" letters this month to support the expeditious adoption of the HUD proposal to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing.  Citing the lack of enforcement and accountability for housing discrimination, select members of the House of Representatives and the Senate signed separate letters affirming the obligation to address discrimination and segregation and further integrated housing and equal access to opportunity.  A delegation of House of Representatives members issued a letter in support of this measure on May 8, 2014, which stated in part,

"Zip code is a major factor in determining the type of education, jobs, health and other quality of life outcomes that people in this country experience.  For too many people, housing options have been limited because of race, gender, religion, national origin, family status or disability.  Unequal access to vital community resources results in unequal access to opportunity, and undermines our prosperity and success as a nation.  Segregation and racially concentrated poverty conflict with long-established public policy intent as well as our shared national value of access to opportunity."

Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy of the New York 4th Congressional District (who is retiring this year) was the only Long Island signatory for this letter.  A similar "Dear Colleague" letter to endorse the AFFH from supportive members of the U.S. Senate is pending.  Final action on the proposed AFFH rule is scheduled for October 2014.

Westchester County Remains in the Fair Housing Spotlight

The protracted litigation in the case, U.S. ex rel. ADC of Metro N.Y. v. Westchester, endures as the parties grapple with the terms of the Stipulation and Order of Settlement and Dismissal filed on August 10, 2009, also referred to as the Consent Decree.  The Consent Decree provided for the continued supervision and oversight of housing patterns in Westchester County in an effort to affirmatively further fair housing in the development of affordable housing units.  Prompted by fair housing concerns raised in a report drafted by the Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC) entitled, Cheating on Every Level,  the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York conducted a status conference on May 2, 2014.  The ADC report asserts that Westchester officials refuse to follow the terms of the Consent Decree to develop affordable housing in a non-discriminatory manner.  Following the status conference before the court,  the ADC issued a letter on May 6, 2014 to the chief of the Civil Rights Unit for the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, urging the proper interpretation of the Consent Decree to promptly demand that Westchester comply with the obligation to affirmatively further fair housing as agreed.  Cheating on Every Level, which had been published in April, was revised after the court status conference in May.  The revised report highlights the focus within the Consent Decree to develop the majority of affordable housing in areas with a low minority population in order to abide by AFFH obligations and inhibit racial segregation patterns in Westchester.

 HUD issued a letter on April 23, 2014 notifying the county that it must comply with required special assurances, including an acknowledgement of an ongoing AFFH duty, in order not to forfeit further federal funding.  Westchester has already forfeited some 7 million dollars in HUD funding but is yet to fully comply with the terms of the Consent Decree and the civil rights laws related to fair housing.

Illegal Dumping of Toxic Waste in the Town of Islip

The illegal dumping of at least 32,000 tons of asbestos-laden toxic waste debris is seriously impacting residents of predominately Latino and African American communities Brentwood and Central Islip.  Adrienne Esposito of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment has labeled this destruction of land "environmental racism" (the placing of hazardous substances or materials in minority or low-income communities).  Brentwood's Roberto Clemente Park and the Police Athletic League fields in Central Islip were the first areas to be damaged by the illegal dumping; however, additional areas are being discovered. The number of African American and Latino communities on Long Island that are affected by environmental racism is growing.  

On April 21st, Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota served a subpoena on the Town of Islip and an investigation continues regarding the source of the hazardous debris that was dumped in these communities.  Town officials, in addition to construction companies, are a focus of the investigation.  Sadly, the parks are now closed to the children and families in the community as more testing is being conducted at the sites and in the surrounding neighborhoods.  The investigation is ongoing and by unanimous vote the Islip Town Board has decided to spend 6 million dollars to clean up Roberto Clemente Park.