by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Dec 12 – Two gentrifying buildings in the South Bronx have been sued for failure to comply with the Fair Housing Amendment Act of 1988.
On December 12, 2023 before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Denise L. Cote, the defendants disputed whether damages can be awarded under the frustration of mission theory of fair housing law that stretched back to the Havens Realty case. Inner City Press was there.
No decision was made, but a showdown may be looming.
The buildings are at 25 Bruckner Boulevard in Mott Haven; rents range from $2300 to $4300. The claim is that the apartments are inaccessible to disabled people. Defendants have apparently offered to remediate in three or five years.
After the case was filed in 2019, COVID made it difficult for the plaintiff's expert to access the building.
But now a mediation is scheduled for January 24, and a status letter by January 26.
On February 16, if the issue hasn't been settled out in mediation, the plaintiffs are to present case law justifying their request for damages under the frustration of mission theory.
The case is Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc. v. Bruckner Tower LLC et al., 19-cv-8622 (Cote)
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