Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church v. City of New York
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
293 F.3d 570 (2002)
- Written by Tanya Munson, JD
Facts
The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church (the church) was a church in Manhattan where homeless persons slept outside. In 1990, the church officially designated two areas on its outdoor property for homeless persons to sleep. One area encompassed a landing at the top of the staircase leading to the church’s main entrance that was set back from and elevated above the sidewalk. The second area was a strip of land that extended to the sidewalk. The church only permitted homeless persons on the outdoor property from 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. and restricted activities such as loud music and begging. In 2001, the city of New York (the city) (defendant) notified the church that homeless persons were no longer permitted to sleep on the church’s outdoor property. On three occasions, city police removed homeless persons from the church property during the night. The church brought suit against the city under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, seeking injunctive relief preventing the city from entering onto the church’s property and dispersing the homeless. The city argued that allowing the homeless to sleep on church grounds did not constitute protected religious activity and that the church was violating applicable laws and regulations by operating a shelter without a license. The district court concluded that allowing homeless persons to sleep on the church’s private property constituted protected religious activity and granted in part the church’s request for a preliminary injunction. The district court agreed with the city that the city is permitted to regulate the presence of sleeping persons on the land adjacent to the sidewalk and denied the church’s application regarding that area. The city appealed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Straub, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 816,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 988 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.