LSNYC Files Federal Lawsuit against NYCHA on Behalf of Domestic Violence Victims

March 19th, 2013, New York, NY—Legal Services NYC-Bronx and Queens Legal Services today announced the filing of a new federal lawsuit that seeks to reform the New York City Housing Authority’s treatment of domestic violence victims who are seeking emergency public housing in order to escape from their abusers.

The ten plaintiffs, whose names are being withheld for their protection, are victims of domestic violence who are eligible for priority consideration of their applications to the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”) for public housing. In spite of their urgent need for safe and affordable housing to successfully establish homes for themselves and their children away from their batterers, and NYCHA’s stated policy of granting priority status to victims of domestic violence, NYCHA’s procedures for domestic violence priorities and for assigning those found eligible for housing are in disarray. Our clients’ applications have wrongly been delayed, denied, and/or classified as “dead,” due to NYCHA’s chronic inability to process them in a timely and competent manner. Applications and documentation are frequently lost and priority requests are often denied without good cause.

[Press coverage: NY Daily News, WNYC]

Even after they are found eligible for domestic violence priorities, some domestic violence victims are subjected to lengthy, inexplicable waits. As a result, they and their children are languishing in unstable temporary housing situations, including homeless shelters and time-limited domestic violence shelters.

“It’s so frustrating,” said one of the clients. “All I want is to find a safe place to raise my children and it seems like NYCHA is trying to come up with excuses to deny or delay my application. Sometimes I ask myself if I’m crazy or if it’s them.” One of the clients continues to live with her abuser, and all are at risk of losing their right to priority status due to NYCHA’s practice of denying domestic violence priorities to applicants because it deems their supporting documents to be too old— even though the documents have become “old” as a result of NYCHA’s delays.

“The decision to leave one’s abuser is not one that is made lightly, especially for victims who are financially dependent on their batterers,” said Legal Services NYC-Bronx Staff Attorney Beth Baltimore. “Housing is the foundation upon which victims begin to develop a sense of safety for their children, become self-sufficient, heal from the trauma of abuse, and begin to rebuild their lives. But when NYCHA fails to properly process applications for DV priorities in a timely way, many victims feel pressured to return to their abusers. This is unacceptable, and NYCHA must take responsibility for their failure.”

The suit seeks relief for the numerous ways in which the dysfunction of NYCHA’s domestic violence priority process violates these clients’ rights under the United States Constitution, federal statutes and federal regulations.

Above: NYC Council Member Rosie Mendez, Chair of the Committee on Public Housing, joins LSNYC advocates on March 19th to discuss the filing of the suit. Photo credit: Anthony Navarrete

Contact: Beth Baltimore, 718.928.2882
                 Amy Leipziger, 718.928.2893
                 Kate Whalen, 646.442.3654