The Legal Aid Society filed this class action lawsuit on behalf of New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) residents, challenging the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) policies and practices of unlawfully stopping and arresting NYCHA residents and their visitors for criminal trespass without reasonable suspicion or probable cause and due to their race and/or ethnicity.

On April 28, 2015, a federal court approved a final settlement agreement that explicitly states that “NYCHA residents and their authorized visitors have the same legal rights as the residents and authorized visitors of any other residential building in New York City, and deserve the utmost courtesy and respect.” The settlement revised the NYPD Patrol Guide on interior NYCHA patrols and the related NYPD training materials regarding these patrols and enforcement of NYCHA rules, requires documentation of all trespass arrests in public housing, and modifies certain NYCHA rules concerning residents’ cooperation with police and the prohibited activity of “lingering.” Learn more about NYPD oversight here.