A Dream Deferred: BMHA Pays $125,000

Insight Summer 2004

A DREAM DENIED: BMHA pays family $125,000 to settle disability case

By Andrea Mujahid-Moore

According to Mrs. Gwendolyn McIver, “This story is about a 29 year old African-American woman who the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority (BMHA) successfully imprisoned in her own home.” She was referring to the ordeal experienced by her daughter, Shandria Brooks, and her family when, after a stroke left her partially paralyzed and in a wheelchair, her daughter was denied a transfer to an accessible apartment in the complex where she was living.

On May 12, 1999, Mrs. Gwendolyn McIver called HOME on behalf of her daughter. In July 1998, Ms. Brooks had sustained a left-sided hemiplegia that left her in need of a wheelchair-accessible apartment near her mother’s home. Both women were residents of BMHA units and at that time, Ms. Brooks maintained her own household with her two children.

Mrs. McIver informed HOME staff that she had first requested a transfer to an accessible apartment for Shandria just after being told that she would be permanently paralyzed. Her numerous subsequent requests both orally and in writing were either ignored or denied. Additionally, Shandria’s doctor had made a written request for an accessible unit so that she could get the therapy she needed in order to care for her family. That request was also not acted upon by BMHA.

Mrs. McIver told HOME that after continuous requests to the site manager of the complex where Shandria lived, she was told she would have to wait. Mrs. McIver finally came to HOME for help when she learned that during this waiting period, another resident who was injured long after her daughter’s stroke had been given an accessible housing unit.

In late June 1999, HOME staff sent a written request to the BMHA site manager on behalf of Ms. Brooks and Mrs. McIver. That letter reiterated the past requests and formally requested a reasonable accommodation for Ms. Brooks in accordance with the Fair Housing Act. The site manager did not respond. During July and August of 1999, HOME staff made several calls and sent a letter to BMHA’s general counsel detailing the efforts that had been made thus far on Ms. Brooks’s behalf. BMHA finally responded to HOME’s efforts in late August 1999.

The BMHA attorney who contacted HOME said he was familiar with Ms. Brooks’ case and that she had been approved for an accessible unit. However, when questioned for details about when the approval was made and which unit was designated for her, the attorney said that Ms. Brooks was on a waiting list. When HOME staff stated that Ms. Brooks had apparently been passed over on the list because someone whose request came months after hers had been transferred, the attorney offered excuses and suggestions.

Among the suggestions offered was that, if Ms. Brooks and/or her family could identify accessible units in the complex that were currently occupied by non-disabled tenants, then BMHA could start the process to remove the non-disabled tenants. Although offended by the suggestion, HOME staff relayed it to Mrs. McIver. Subsequently, Mrs. McIver did attempt to identify those accessible units that were not occupied by disabled tenants.

In September 1999, HOME sent another letter to BMHA legal department, listing the units identified by Mrs. McIver. After not received a response from BMHA, HOME assisted Mrs. McIver in finding an attorney to represent her and her daughter in a federal lawsuit based on the Federal Fair Housing Act. It had been more that a year since Mrs. McIver requested an accessible unit on behalf of her daughter.

Shandria Brooks died on Saturday, April 22, 2000 without ever being able to receive the in house therapy she needed.

Mrs. McIver, through her attorneys, Stephen C. Halpren and Daniel T. Lukasik (Morris, Cantor, Lukasik, Dolce & Panepinto, PC), continued fighting in Shandria’s name for the rights of mobility impaired BMHA tenants.

The lawsuit was nearly settled in January of this year for $125,000. Although BHMA denied any wrongdoing and asserted that they had followed proper procedure, they wanted to include a confidentiality clause into the settlement. Risking the loss of the settlement, Mrs. McIver refused to accept the clause which would have prohibited her from speaking publicly about the case.

A few months later, when BMHA agreed to remove the clause, a final settlement was reached. As Ms. McIver explained, “This story must be told so it can never happen again.”

For Ms. McIver's story, see "In Her Own Words" this issue.

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