Mhany Management Inc. v. Incorporated Village of Garden City

4 F. Supp. 3d 549, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34589, 2014 WL 1010529
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedMarch 17, 2014
DocketNo. 05-CV-2301 (ADS)(WDW)
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 4 F. Supp. 3d 549 (Mhany Management Inc. v. Incorporated Village of Garden City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mhany Management Inc. v. Incorporated Village of Garden City, 4 F. Supp. 3d 549, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34589, 2014 WL 1010529 (E.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

Familiarity with the facts of this case is presumed.

Of relevance here, on December 6, 2013, after an 11-day bench trial commencing on June 17, 2013, this Court concluded that the Plaintiffs established the liability of the Incorporated Village of Garden City (the “Village” or “Garden City”) and the Garden City Board of Trustees (collectively the “Garden City Defendants”) under (1) the Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq. based on a theory of disparate treatment and disparate impact; (2) 42 U.S.C. § 1981; (3) 42 U.S.C. § 1983; and (4) the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United [551]*551States Constitution. MHANY Mgmt. Inc. v. Inc. Vill. of Garden City, 985 F.Supp.2d 390, 05-CV-2301 (ADS)(WDW), 2013 WL 6334107 (E.D.N.Y. Dec. 6, 2013) (Spatt, J.). In particular, the Court found that:

Garden City Defendants acted with discriminatory intent when they eliminated R-M [Multi-Family Residential Group] zoning and endorsed R-T [Residential Townhouse] zoning after they received public opposition to the prospect of affordable housing in Garden City. The Court notes that R-T zoning banned the development of multi-family housing on all but a small portion of the Social Services site — the 3.03 acres located on the western side of County Seat Drive— and then only by special permit. The Court also notes the negative remarks by Garden City residents at public hearings and the flyer against multi-family housing on the Social Services Site. Set against the underlying sequence of events and the considerable impact that this zoning decision would have had on minorities in that community, the Court concludes that some of the expressions by Garden City residents of disapproval for affordable housing reflected race-based animus or at least could have been construed as such by the Board.
Furthermore, the Court finds that the adoption of R-T zoning instead of R-M zoning had a disparate impact on minorities in Garden City and tended to perpetuate segregation in that community.

Id. at 430-31, 2013 WL 6334107 at *37.

With respect to remedies, the Court recognized that the FHA authorizes injunc-tive relief. The Court noted that “at a minimum, prohibitive injunctive relief enjoining future FHA violations is appropriate.” Id. at 429, 2013 WL 6334107 at *36. “However,” the Court reasoned, “because such an injunction merely prohibits what is already prohibited, further relief, perhaps in the form of affirmative relief, appears appropriate.” Id. In that regard, the Court noted that “a directive requiring Garden City to join the Nassau Urban Consortium appears eminently reasonable as a starting point.” Id. The Consortium is a group of municipalities in Nassau County that are eligible to receive federal funding to support affordable housing development.

At the same time, the Court made clear that “there is no constitutional or statutory right for individual citizens to have housing comply with a particular standard, nor is there a concomitant duty on the part of political entities to provide housing.” Id. Ultimately, the Court reserved decision on the issue of remedies and directed the parties to propose remedial plans to be incorporated into the final judgment in this case.

As modified in its reply brief and described in more detail throughout this opinion, the Plaintiffs’ proposed remedies for inclusion in the final judgment are as follows: (1) a general injunction prohibiting any discrimination in housing policy in Garden City on the basis of race, color, or national origin; (2) a directive to Garden City to adopt a Fair Housing Resolution to assure equal housing opportunities and nondiscrimination in its zoning and other land use processes; (3) the appointment of a third-party contractor as a Fair Housing Administrator to ensure compliance with the final judgment; (4) rezoning the Social Services Site from R-T zoning to R-M zoning; (5) participation by Garden City in the Nassau County Urban Consortium; (6) promotion of the development of no less than 78 affordable housing units in Garden City; (7) Fair Housing training for Garden City employees whose duties relate to housing or zoning; (8) funding of an Affordable Housing Trust Fund; (9) certain record-keeping requirements; (10) a dead[552]*552line to file a motion for attorney’s fees and costs; and (11) retention of jurisdiction by this Court over this action until Garden City has fulfilled its obligations under the judgment.

In opposition, without conceding liability, the Garden City Defendants contend that at most the Plaintiffs are entitled to have the Social Services Site rezoned RM. Alternatively, the Plaintiffs suggests (1) a prohibitory non-discrimination injunction; (2) a requirement that any developer of multi-family property consisting of 5 or more units in the Village offer at least 10% of the units to be reserved for families whose income is 40% to 100% of the Nassau-Suffolk County Area Median Income; (3) Fair Housing training for Village officials whose duties relate to housing or zoning; (4) appointment of a Garden City employee or Trustee as a Fair Housing Compliance Officer to ensure compliance with the final judgment; (5) a deadline for compliance; (6) a deadline to file a motion for attorney’s fees and costs; and (7) retention of jurisdiction over this matter by this Court until Garden City has fulfilled its obligations under the judgment.

In this decision, the Court adopts various aspects of the parties’ respective proposed judgments, and includes its own changes as well. Within ten days of the date of this order, the Plaintiffs are directed to submit a final judgment in accordance with the terms of this decision. The Defendants shall then have ten days to file objections or an alternative proposed judgment. The Court will subsequently enter a final judgment.

I. DISCUSSION

The FHA expressly authorizes courts to award injunctive relief:

if the court finds that a discriminatory housing practice has occurred ... the court may ... grant as relief, as the court deems appropriate, any permanent or temporary injunction, temporary restraining order, or other order (including an order enjoining the defendant from engaging in such practice or ordering such affirmative action as may be appropriate).

42 U.S.C. § 3613(c)(1). “The Court must craft injunctive relief with a view toward the statute’s goals of preventing future violations and removing lingering effects of past discrimination. The scope of the injunction is to be determined by the nature and extent of the legal violation.” United States v. Space Hunters, Inc., 2004 WL 2674608, at *8 (S.D.N.Y. Nov. 23, 2004) (citing Rogers v. 66-36 Yellowstone Blvd. Coop. Owners, Inc., 599 F.Supp. 79, 83 (E.D.N.Y.1984)).

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4 F. Supp. 3d 549, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34589, 2014 WL 1010529, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mhany-management-inc-v-incorporated-village-of-garden-city-nyed-2014.