Fighting Back
V. Elaine Gross
The level of racial segregation on Long Island has been appallingly high, but it was a problem that was hiding in plain sight. ERASE Racism decided to fight back.
I’m the President of ERASE Racism, and we first researched and published a report called Long Island Fair Housing: A State of Inequity. The report identified both the persistence of structural racism and the complete inadequacy of enforcement efforts at all levels of government.
Using the report as a point of departure, we organized a coalition of civil rights advocates to push for comprehensive fair housing ordinances in both Nassau County and Suffolk County. We helped improve Suffolk’s law, and help completely revamp Nassau’s law to have several provisions that go well beyond the provisions of the Fair Housing Act.
We continue to see towns and villages perpetuating segregation either by resisting affordable housing altogether, or by having housing and planning policies (such as preferences for existing residents) that, in practice, perpetuate racial segregation.
A new report called The Racial Equity Report Card: Fair Housing on Long Island documents the fact that we have a long way to go.
I’m the President of ERASE Racism, and we first researched and published a report called Long Island Fair Housing: A State of Inequity. The report identified both the persistence of structural racism and the complete inadequacy of enforcement efforts at all levels of government.
Using the report as a point of departure, we organized a coalition of civil rights advocates to push for comprehensive fair housing ordinances in both Nassau County and Suffolk County. We helped improve Suffolk’s law, and help completely revamp Nassau’s law to have several provisions that go well beyond the provisions of the Fair Housing Act.
We continue to see towns and villages perpetuating segregation either by resisting affordable housing altogether, or by having housing and planning policies (such as preferences for existing residents) that, in practice, perpetuate racial segregation.
A new report called The Racial Equity Report Card: Fair Housing on Long Island documents the fact that we have a long way to go.