Garden City Ordered to Remedy Discriminatory Housing Practices

HEMPSTEAD, NY—A federal judge has ordered the Village of Garden City and its Board of Trustees to implement a number of changes to their residential housing practices to remedy the effects of their prior intentionally discriminatory conduct. The case was brought by New York Communities for Change and affordable housing developer MHANY Management against the Village of Garden City in Nassau County, on Long Island.

The judgment comes on the heels of the judge’s December 6, 2013 ruling that Garden City violated the Fair Housing Act, the United States Constitution and other civil rights statutes when it enacted a zoning ordinance in 2004 in response to public pressure to keep minority households out of Garden City. That discriminatory action, the Court found, perpetuated deep-seated segregation that has allowed Garden City to remain a steadfastly white enclave surrounded by predominantly minority neighboring towns.