Racial Segregation Claims With Shelter Placement

POUGHKEEPSIE – Last Tuesday, the City of Poughkeepsie filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Dutchess County and County Executive Sue Serino. The City’s legal course of action is a direct result of the County’s abrupt withdrawal from a joint plan to combat homelessness, at which time the County unilaterally imposed the requirement that an emergency shelter be placed at 26 Oakley Street in the Fifth Ward.

For decades, the City of Poughkeepsie has been targeted with policies and practices that have resulted in harmful, extensive racial segregation. As such, these practices have made it increasingly difficult for residents of the North Side of the City, who are disproportionately Black, to economically thrive and create a safe, secure, environmentally sound, and prosperous community. The City has historically undertaken a disproportionate responsibility for hosting shelters and social services within Dutchess County. Currently, the City constitutes only about ten percent of the County’s population but has nearly forty percent of the total shelter beds.

In 2022, the County declared, without seeking any input from the City, that it was placing yet another shelter, housing 120 single adults, in a residential area of the Fifth Ward of the City. Poughkeepsie City residents, community groups, and elected officials immediately expressed great concern about the negative impacts that placement of this shelter at 26 Oakley would have on the neighboring communities. As such, it was suggested that the site selection for the shelter be scattered throughout the county in a more equitable manner or returned to its original site, Hillcrest House, a non-residential area in the Town of Poughkeepsie. After extensive negotiations, the City and the County reached an agreement in April 2025 under which the shelter for single homeless adults would not be placed at 26 Oakley. As part of this compromise, the City nonetheless agreed to continue playing a large role in tackling homelessness in Dutchess County, by using the Oakley site to host a new shelter specifically for families and single women.

In May 2025, Dutchess County abruptly changed course and declared it would unilaterally insist on the shelter for single homeless adults being placed at 26 Oakley. The City, along with two Black women who live in the residential area surrounding 26 Oakley, filed this suit seeking an injunction to stop the County from proceeding with its plan, which would violate federal and state fair housing laws by furthering racial segregation and discriminating against residents of the City.

Mayor Yvonne Flowers said, “The City of Poughkeepsie has made it a priority to address head-on the racial disparities that prevent individuals from breaking the cycle of generational poverty and homelessness. For years, the City of Poughkeepsie has been used as a site to handle the County’s most challenging issues and the County’s abrupt change-of-mind has implied its disregard for disadvantaged individuals and their critical housing and living needs. These individuals are overburdened with years of discriminatory practices and are worthy of opportunity and growth.”

In contribution to the critical conversation, Council Chair Da’Ron Wilson added, “Our residents deserve housing policies that expand opportunity, foster diversity, and strengthen neighborhoods. By attempting to impose decisions that reinforce segregation, the County is disregarding both the law and the values of fairness and justice. The City will always stand against measures that harm our communities and work instead to build a future where every family can prosper.”