Federal Judge Rules Long Island Village Purposely Discriminated Against Minorities

LongIsland.com

Judge Arthur D. Spatt ruled a 2004 zoning change in Garden City discriminated against the working class and minorities.

Print Email
On Friday, a federal judge ruled that the predominantly white village of Garden City has discriminated against blacks and Hispanics with a  zoning change in 2004. The zoning change focused on building townhouses and single-family homes over affordable apartments.
 
Garden City trustees claim that in 2004 they planned on turning the area into a space for multifamily residential housing. During a hearing this plan caught the ire of residents afraid of affordable housing drawing in lower-income tenants. The plan the trustees came up with following the town meeting was a zoning change that could be used for 90-single family homes or up to 159 townhouses and 36 apartments.
 
Judge Arthur D. Spatt of Federal District in Central Islip ruled that Garden City was harboring a segregationist philosophy with it's housing situation. He was quoted as saying in the New York Times that “the plaintiffs have established by a preponderance of evidence” that “the village’s acts had both an adverse impact on minorities and tended to perpetuate segregation.” 
 
Spatt argues that less discriminatory alternatives could have been found when making the zoning changes back then. He now gives Garden City trustees 30 days to come up with a plan to change this.
 
Housing advocates say the ruling is a starting point in suburbs for working class residents and minorities. One of these advocates is lawyer Stanley J. Brown. “It is important to give people the message that exclusionary zoning is both illegally and morally wrong,” Brown says.
 
Garden City mayor and seven trustees say the village will appeal Judge Spatt’s decision. They say the zoning change was “based on legitimate concerns over increased traffic congestion, parking, school and public service impacts.”
 
[Source: New York Times