Fair Housing

The Western New York Law Center (WNYLC) was established in 1996 following the enactment of new rules by Congress that restricted the activities that organizations funded by the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) could undertake. These organizations could no longer handle class action lawsuits or lobby for changes. James Morrissey and Joe Kelemen, former attorneys at Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS), founded WNYLC to address gaps in legal assistance, particularly in fair housing cases.

Fair housing has always been a big focus for WNYLC. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 and New York State law prohibit discrimination in housing based on race, disability, income source, and other protected categories. WNYLC has collaborated with Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME), an organization dedicated to combating housing discrimination and enforcing fair housing laws in Western New York.

One of WNYLC's first big cases was Comer v. Kemp. This class action lawsuit was filed against the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority, the City of Buffalo, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The case began in 1989 at NLS and later transferred to WNYLC with the assistance of the Greater Upstate Law Project (GULP), now known as the Empire Justice Center. This important case challenged unfair practices in the Section 8 program that kept people segregated. For example, it restricted the use of Section 8 vouchers to the City of Buffalo and didn't provide other housing options for Section 8 recipients. After years of work, the case was settled in 1996, resulting in $130 million for housing subsidies and the establishment of new programs.

In 2003, WNYLC helped HOME with a lawsuit against a low-income housing developer. In 2008, the center sued a landlord who wouldn't accept Section 8 tenants, leading to Buffalo's first ruling under the Fair Housing Ordinance in 2015. From 2015 to 2019, WNYLC also defended veterans who were evicted for having service animals, which violated their rights related to disabilities.

WNYLC was also part of a group that pushed for an Erie County Fair Housing ordinance, which became law in 2019. This law created an Erie County Fair Housing Board, with one member chosen jointly by WNYLC and NLS. An attorney from WNYLC served on this board for several years.

Stay tuned for updates on WNYLC's ongoing efforts to promote fair housing!

Matthew Parham

Director of Litigation and Advocacy