NEW YORK—The New York Police Department is being sued for enforcing Operation Clean Halls, a project in which, officers patrol enrolled residential buildings to prevent drug use and trafficking, and remove nonresidents who are loitering.
The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), LatinoJustice PRLDEF, and The Bronx Defenders filed a class action lawsuit against the NYPD at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of residents of buildings enrolled in Operation Clean Halls and individuals who were unlawfully stopped and arrested on trespassing charges through the program, according to a press release issued by the NYCLU.
The city of New York, Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, and other officers involved in the program are listed as defendants. The lawsuit states that Operation Clean Halls violates the U.S. Constitution, the New York State Constitution, the federal Fair Housing Act, and New York common law.
In response to the lawsuit, the NYPD stated, “By challenging uninvited individuals, police are providing a level of safety to tenants that residents of doormen buildings take for granted.”
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