The Legal Aid Society filed this lawsuit on behalf of Safe Horizon and a group of homeless and unstably housed youth to challenge unlawful source of income discrimination. Safe Horizon, through its Streetwork Project, assists homeless youth in locating, applying, and moving into stable housing. Each Plaintiff qualified for an Emergency Housing Voucher and had been issued Section 8 Vouchers but were denied apartments because they sought to pay their rent with a voucher, instead of through employment income. All Plaintiffs were at high risk of losing their vouchers due to their failure to locate housing.

In February 2023, the Plaintiffs won a Temporary Restraining Order holding the apartments vacant as well as an agreement from NYCHA not to terminate their vouchers. Forcing settlement, in March 2023, a trial court judge granted Legal Aid’s preliminary injunction enjoining the defendant landlords indefinitely from renting the apartments.

In July 2023, in addition to winning apartments for our Plaintiffs, Legal Aid secured 40 “set asides” for Legal Aid clients and for clients of Safe Horizon. All Plaintiffs, including Safe Horizon, also received a monetary settlement.