Bronson v. Crestwood Lake Section 1 Holding Corp.

Ruth Bronson and Lisa Carter (plaintiffs) were Black residents of Yonkers who lived in a poor area of the city. Bronson and Carter both received public assistance and federal housing assistance vouchers, known as Section 8 vouchers. As a result of these programs, each woman could afford an apartment in a more desirable neighborhood in Yonkers. Bronson and Carter both hoped to rent an apartment at Crestwood Lake Apartments, a large apartment complex owned by Crestwood Lake Section 1 Holding Corporation (Crestwood) (defendant). When Bronson and Carter interacted with the Crestwood rental office, however, they were generally discouraged from applying for an apartment and given conflicting and inaccurate information about rental policies. After Bronson contacted legal-aid attorneys, Crestwood eventually clarified its purported rental policies. Crestwood claimed that it did not accept Section 8 housing vouchers, although there were White residents of the complex who received Section 8 vouchers, and that it would only rent to applicants who could show annual income of at least three times the annual rent. Crestwood also stated that attempts to change the racial balance of residents at the apartment complex should be avoided because doing so would induce White residents to leave. Bronson and Carter sued Crestwood, alleging that these rental policies violated the Fair Housing Act because they had a substantially disproportionate and adverse impact on minorities. Bronson and Carter filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Crestwood from renting two available apartments in the complex that Bronson and Carter alleged they should have been allowed to rent.