State Supreme Court Justice Emily Goodman granted a preliminary injunction preventing New York City from proceeding with its Broadway Triangle housing development plan. Plaintiffs in the case contend that the City’s plan to build affordable housing would favor the area’s Hasidic population, to the detriment of Blacks and Latinos, and further racial segregation. The plan, which would include a housing priority for residents of the predominantly white area of South Williamsburg over the adjacent predominantly black area of Bedford-Stuyvesant, would, according to the court, exacerbate the existing racial disparity between the neighborhoods and do little to further community integration.

The court further concluded that, as a recipient of federal housing funds, the City must evaluate the impact its housing development projects have on segregation and is obligated to pursue projects that are inclusive and integrative. The plaintiffs, a coalition of local community groups and residents, are represented by ECBAWM, NYCLU, Brooklyn Legal Services, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP.