Commentary

Monitor identifies Westchester violation of consent decree
Westchester Case
Supplemental report focuses on County's failure to take required actions in respect to one development and County's failure to have financing in place for a sufficient number of units. Monitor still not seeking action on broader issues. More
Housing Coalition demands affordable units and Consent Decree compliance
Westchester Case
Westchester groups, fed up with inaction on affordable housing, seek action. 10 percent of 463 units of proposed new housing in Harrison should consist of affordable units, they say. County Executive reminded of his obligation to take legal action against municipalities who retain zoning barriers. More
In face of unrelenting Consent Decree violations, Monitor's latest report still leaves Westchester largely off the hook
Westchester Case
Latest status report does begin to cite subset of County's violations, but remains wedded to the false narrative that "progress" continues to occur and adds additional "cheating units." Window-dressing changes to zoning that leave vast single-family areas highly segregated and untouched by affordable housing are lauded. Westchester's six years of across-the-board refusal to challenge municipalities who retain barriers to fair housing choice not discussed. More
Appeals Court decision highlights inadequacy of U.S. Attorney approach
Westchester Case
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the unremarkable proposition that HUD decisions to withhold or withdraw funding are subject to judicial review. The decision in no way suggested that HUD did not have sufficient justification on the merits to deny Westchester funds because the County had failed to meet its obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. What the decision does do is to put into sharp relief the U.S. Attorney’s unwillingness to enforce directly the terms of the Westchester housing desegregation consent decree itself. More
HUD critiques Monitor's deeply flawed disparate impact analysis; Monitor flips out
Westchester Case
Failure to analyze different minority groups separately and focus on "clustering" instead of "segregation" among the problems identified. Monitor refuses to believe that HUD letter actually represents genuine or considered view of agency or U.S. Attorney; demands further "signal" from Government. More
Monitor's whitewash on disparate impact and perpetuation of segregation
Westchester Case
The most recent report from Jim Johnson, the Monitor in the Westchester case, purported to address the disparate impact of the zoning practices of Westchester’s towns and villages. The report, unfortunately, was a travesty. It does great harm to the struggle for civil rights. More
National civil rights groups speak out on Westchester
Westchester Case
The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF), and the Poverty and Race Research Action Council (PRRAC) recently sent a letter to Jim Johnson, the Monitor in the Westchester case, explaining serious concerns these groups have both with the scope of Westchester's violations of the consent decree and with the failure to respond to that failure adequately. The letter challenged the rosy view of enforcement efforts peddled to the Court by the U.S. Attorney and also criticized the Monitor’s intended method to assess the disparate impact caused by restrictive zoning in Westchester’s towns and villages. More
Monitor's biennial report a masterwork of misdirection
Westchester Case
As usual, the important thing is to recognize what isn't being said or done. More

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