ECBAWM Partner Diane L. Houk authored an OpEd in City Limits urging the New York Court of Appeals to reverse a lower court ruling that threatens critical housing discrimination protections for New Yorkers who rely on Section 8 vouchers and other forms of rental assistance.

In the piece, Houk argues that the lower court’s decision, which found New York’s prohibition on lawful source-of-income discrimination unconstitutional, relies on hypothetical harms while ignoring existing constitutional safeguards for landlords. She warns that allowing the ruling to stand could undermine protections that help hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers access and maintain stable housing.

Houk represents six fair housing and legal services organizations as amici curiae in Matter of People of the State of N.Y. v. Commons West, LLC, which is scheduled for oral argument before the New York Court of Appeals on October 20, 2026. ECBAWM, together with the University at Buffalo School of Law Civil Rights & Housing Clinic, filed an amicus brief on behalf of the organizations urging the court to uphold New York’s source-of-income discrimination protections.

Read the full OpEd here.