The city puts up thousands of affordable apartments for rent per year on a lottery, which is notoriously competitive to win.

A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit brought against the city alleging that the policy is discriminatory, can proceed.

The lawsuit claims the longtime policy of setting aside half the apartments for current residents of each building’s area puts certain people at a disadvantage based on race.

“Do we want to be a City that marks out areas that are better for this racial group or are not as good as this racial group,” Craig Gurian, the executive director of the Anti-Discrimination Center, said. “That shouldn’t be.”

What You Need To Know

  • A federal judge has ruled that a lawsuit brought against the city alleging that a lottery system for affordable apartments is discriminatory, can proceed

  • The lawsuit claims the longtime policy of setting aside half the apartments for current residents of each building's area puts certain people at a disadvantage based on race

  • The lawsuit alleges that the city’s policy violates the federal Fair Housing Act and New York City Human Rights Law

Gurian filed suit eight years ago against the city’s “community preference” policy, claiming that his two clients, who are Black women, are harmed by it.

“If you’re a Black New Yorker applying as an outsider to a white neighborhood, you’re substantially disadvantaged,” Gurian said. “And by contrast, if you’re a Black New Yorker applying in a Black neighborhood, you get advantaged.”

“Community preference” was designed to benefit low-income communities in the city’s lottery system for city-subsidized housing by reserving half of the apartments for people living near the site of new housing in order to prevent displacement and gentrification.

A study by a Queens College professor commissioned by Gurian’s team found that the policy makes white communities whiter and Black and Brown communities more Black and Brown.

The lawsuit alleges that the city’s policy violates the federal Fair Housing Act and New York City Human Rights Law.

“One way or another, this policy is on its way out,” Gurian said.

But the city insists the policy protects New Yorkers from being displaced in communities where new development is taking place

In a statement a spokesperson for the Mayor’s office said, “New York City has a severe housing shortage at the root of our affordable housing crisis, and at the heart of Mayor Adams’ strategy to make our city more affordable is building new housing in every corner of the city—especially in neighborhoods with access to jobs, transit and economic opportunity.”

The court has directed both sides to participate in mediation in several weeks’ time to potentially reach a settlement.

Gurian said his team will only entertain is a consent decree that forces the city to change its “community preference” policy.

While the city’s eight-year effort to have the entire lawsuit was dismissed was unsuccessful, the judge did rule in the City’s favor in one important area, saying that discrimination in one place can be balanced out by advantage to a group in another place. The plaintiffs also plan to asked the judge to reconsider that decision.