Each April, we celebrate Fair Housing Month and the progress our nation has made in expanding equitable access to housing for all. This year, we highlight the New York Metro region’s role as a pioneer in fair housing efforts, and how commitment to equitable housing continues to evolve and strengthen in the Empire State.  

Fair housing is often discussed as a question of intent.

Did someone mean to discriminate? Was a policy designed to exclude? Did anyone explicitly say or do something that crossed a line?

Those are reasonable questions.

But they’re not the ones the law ultimately answers.

The Fair Housing Act doesn’t stop with intent. It looks at whether housing is made available in practice.

Every situation we deal with may have similarities, but they also have nuances and differences. Systems and routines can be effective and beneficial, but only when we engage them with intention and are fully present. Fair housing demands intention because when we operate of ‘cruise control,’ we risk allowing bias to steer the outcome.