Connecticut town sued for allegedly trying to ‘keep out’ black residents

Connecticut town sued for allegedly trying to ‘keep out’ black residents
The federal lawsuit claims that Winchester illegally prevents people from receiving housing aid they are eligible for in an effort to keep the town overwhelmingly white.

By Victoria Cavaliere / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Tuesday, August 7, 2012, 11:59 AM





A small Connecticut town is being sued for allegedly discriminating against minorities in an effort to keep its black population "so low that it does not register above zero percent," according to a federal complaint.

The town of Winchester "systematically and unlawfully" works to keep out African-American families by denying access to federal housing vouchers known as Section 8, according to a lawsuit brought by the Connecticut Fair Housing Center and plaintiff Crystal Carter.

"We are challenging a pattern of denying minorities fair access to housing," said Greg Kirschner, staff attorney for the Connecticut Fair Housing Center .

Carter, a single mom of six children, joined the lawsuit after she was allegedly told by the Winchester Housing Authority (WHA) that she was ineligible to apply for Section 8 housing in the town because she was not already a resident.

The WHA also told Carter "that Winchester was not on a 'bus line,' there were no real jobs there, and it was in the 'woods,'" Courthouse News Service reported.

According to census data, 94.4 percent of Winchester's 11,000 residents are white and 4.5 percent are Hispanic. The number of African-American residents is “statistically zero,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit claims the WHA is keeping minorities out by enforcing a "residency requirement" for those wishing to apply for Section 8 vouchers in its 17 communities.

Kirschner says the practice violates Section 8 guidelines.

"These requirements are unlawful because in communities with populations that are disproportionately white and or/non-Hispanic they perpetuate segregation by excluding minority applicants who live outside those communities from obtaining housing here," the lawsuit states.

Officials at the WHA could not be reached for comment. The agency's website said its mission is to "provide, without any type of discrimination; decent, safe, affordable housing and a sustainable living environment."

The Connecticut Fair Housing Center filed the lawsuit last week and is seeking both a policy change and punitive damages.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/connecticut-town-sued-allegedly-black-residents-article-1.1130655#ixzz22wnd8mA7

Nystyle709 wrote:Yeah, what they told her was a bunch of bullshit. My cousin has Section 8.....you can move anywhere in the country with it. It's a federally funded program. You can live anywhere in any housing that accepts the voucher. Residency of that area isn't required. To keep it real though, most people don't want a Section 8 single mother with six kids. That's not seen as a favorable tenant in most cases.

Shale wrote:Always surprising when this kind of blatant Southern style racism comes to light in supposedly more enlightened Northern states.