New York County Settles Housing Discrimination Suit
Westchester County settled a federal housing discrimination lawsuit earlier this week in which the county will pay $62.5 million. More than $50 million of the settlement is earmarked for the development of 750 affordable housing units.
Also included in the settlement is a requirement to build more than 630 units in areas of Westchester where the population is less than 3% African-American and less than 7% Latino.
The suit alleged that the county falsely claimed to have met fair housing standards set by the U.S government and as a result received more than $50 million in federal housing and community development funds from 2000 to 2006.
“Residential segregation underlies virtually every racial disparity in America– from education to jobs to the delivery of healthcare–but has been a problem that too many have ignored for too long,” said Craig Gurian, a civil rights attorney and executive director of the Anti-Discrimination Center (ADC), a fair housing advocacy group in Metro New York. “This settlement means that Westchester can no longer hide from the ugly reality of continuing residential segregation.â€
The ADC, which worked in conjunction with the federal government to prove Westchester’s wrongdoing, will
receive $7.5 million as part of the settlement. The ADC brought the case under the False Claims Act and Housing and Community Development Act.Westchester is also obligated to fund outreach efforts that promote fair and affordable housing and conduct an analysis of impediments to fair housing choice that examines barriers based on race or on municipal resistance. The county’s compliance with the agreement will be overseen by a court-appointed monitor.
–Marcia Wade Talbert
FAMU Law School Gets Full Accreditation
Florida A&M University (FAMU) cleared a major hurdle when the American Bar Association (ABA) granted the university’s law school full accreditation in July.
“I applaud Dean LeRoy Pernell, his administration, faculty, and students for reaching this milestone,†said FAMU President James H. Ammons.
The school opened its door in 2000 to 89 students, but it faced a number of challenges including faculty dissent and lack of leadership stability. The ABA granted the college provisional accreditation in 2004 as the school went through a number of faculty changes including the arrival of Pernell in 2008.
The new dean implemented a number of sweeping changes, including the addition of 16 nationally recognized faculty members and a Center for International Law and Justice. Subsequently, the law school was recognized as the most diverse law school in the nation by the U.S. News & World Report
in April.The FAMU College of Law is one of 189 law schools fully approved by the ABA. The accreditation takes effect immediately.“Full accreditation by the ABA ensures that the 500-plus FAMU College of Law graduates can continue to sit for the bar exam in any state in the nation and it reaffirms what we have always known: that we have and will continue to provide our students with a great legal education,†Pernell said.
— Renita Burns