Opening Doors On A Fair Housing Decision

The recent decision of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in the much-publicized federal Fair Housing Act case MHANY Management v. Incorporated village of Garden City, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172326 (EDNY Dec. 6, 2013) presents a classic example as to how a municipality can run afoul of the federal Fair Housing Act even if none of its officers or employees directly express animus toward members of a protected class or take an action directly against a member of such a class.

MHANY Management stems from a decision of Nassau County to sell unneeded public property. One of the properties the county selected for sale contained various county buildings in an area of the suburban Incorporated village of Garden City which was located near single-family houses. The property was situated in the village's zoning district which only allowed public uses and did not permit residential housing.