Sullivan v. Syracuse Housing Authority
| Decision Date | 29 April 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. 708,D,708 |
| Parties | Thomas SULLIVAN, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. SYRACUSE HOUSING AUTHORITY, Defendant-Appellee. ocket 91-7834. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Faith A. Seidenberg and Dawn M. Gencarelli, Syracuse, N.Y. (Seidenberg, Strunk, and Goldenberg, Arlene S. Kanter, Director of Clinical Programs, and Denise Harrington, James E. Stern, and Silvia Kierszenbaum, Student Interns, Syracuse University College of Law, of counsel), for plaintiff-appellant.
Edward A. Mervine, Syracuse, N.Y. (Robert H. Kirchner and Kevin G. Martin, Bond, Schoeneck & King, of counsel), for defendant-appellee.
Before PRATT and MINER, Circuit Judges. *
Plaintiff-appellant Thomas Sullivan appeals from a judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (McAvoy, J.) dismissing, for lack Sullivan does not dispute in this appeal the propriety of summary judgment for the SHA on his Equal Protection claim. Sullivan does, however, contend that he has standing to assert, and was entitled to summary judgment on, the Establishment Clause claim. Sullivan, a Native American who is not a Christian, contends that the SHA unconstitutionally supported Christianity at the Benderson Heights community center. For the reasons that follow, we hold that Sullivan has standing to maintain the Establishment Clause claim, but decline to address whether Sullivan was entitled to summary judgment on that claim. Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is reversed to the extent that it dismissed Sullivan's Establishment Clause claim for lack of standing, and the case is remanded to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
of standing, Sullivan's claim that defendant-appellee Syracuse Housing Authority ("SHA") violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution, and rendering summary judgment in favor of the SHA on Sullivan's Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection claim. The SHA is a public housing authority organized under and pursuant to the laws of the City of Syracuse, the State of New York, and the federal government. Since 1985, Sullivan and his family have been residents of the Benderson Heights Family Housing Complex ("Benderson Heights"), a public housing development in Syracuse owned and operated by the SHA
Like most of the housing developments owned and operated by the SHA, Benderson Heights has a community center providing space for community activities. The Benderson Heights community center is operated under the terms of a written policy statement formulated by the SHA and the Benderson Heights Residents Association ("Residents Association"). "Operating custody" of the community center is vested in the Residents Association under the supervision of the SHA. This includes authority over the selection and scheduling of community center programs. According to the policy statement, the community center is "provided by the SHA for the use and benefit of the residents of" Benderson Heights. Outside organizations may use the center, although priority is given to uses that "directly benefit" residents of Benderson Heights. The community center has been used for a variety of purposes, including pregnancy prevention programs, women's support programs, meetings of the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, dance classes, movie nights and Residents Association meetings.
The Rescue Mission Alliance, Inc. ("Rescue Mission") is a not-for-profit corporation organized under the laws of the State of New York, and is located in the City of Syracuse. The Rescue Mission provides a variety of services in and to the Syracuse community. These services include after-school activities for area children in the Rescue Mission's own community center, programs for the homeless, and drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs. The Rescue Mission receives funding from several sources, including the federal government and the State of New York. While the Rescue Mission is not formally affiliated with any particular church, its Executive Director describes it as adhering to the belief of "Christ as Saviour," and it appears that the Rescue Mission's members and employees predominantly are devout Christians.
In late 1988, the Vice-Chairperson of the Residents Association, Maxine Bandoh, approached the Rescue Mission about operating an after-school program in the Benderson Heights community center for children residing in the development. In early February 1989, the Residents Association approved, apparently by informal consensus, the use of the community center for an after-school program operated by the Rescue Mission. During this time, Sullivan was Chairperson of the Residents Association.
The SHA and the Rescue Mission subsequently entered into a written contract, dated February 11, 1989, pursuant to which the Rescue Mission agreed to provide twenty The agreement between the SHA and the Rescue Mission further specified that "Bible lessons" would be among the offerings of the after-school program. The Rescue Mission pledged not to discriminate in the provision of services to the Benderson Heights community and made a specific pledge not to discriminate on the basis of the "religious preference or lack of a religious preference" of Benderson Heights residents. The agreement also provided that if a scheduling conflict arose in the use of the community center, the Rescue Mission would "work cooperatively" with, and defer to the judgment of, the SHA and the Residents Association in the resolution of the conflict. An appendix to the agreement listed the equipment and areas of "community space" that the Rescue Mission was entitled to use during program hours. These included the "Main Meeting Room," the kitchen, and folding tables and chairs.
hours per week of "recreational and educational programs for young people who reside at [Benderson Heights]." The contract indicated that the Residents Association had requested, and was to be the beneficiary of, the program. The agreement specified that the program would be for children aged five to 14 years, and would be offered "after school, Tuesdays through Fridays." The Rescue Mission also was obligated to provide a "full time Program Coordinator" to run the after-school program, under the supervision of the Rescue Mission's Director of Family Services, Steven Tennant. The job description developed by the Rescue Mission for the Program Coordinator noted that the duties of the position would include, among other things, offering a "Bible Club," and that the qualifications for the position included a "[c]ommitment to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord."
The Rescue Mission began to operate its after-school program in the Benderson Heights community center shortly after the February 1989 agreement was executed, and continues to operate the program. By custom and practice, the after-school program runs, in its entirety, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays. Secular activities are offered for the children until about 4 p.m., at which time the Bible study period is announced. Many of the children leave the community center at this point and do not attend the Bible study, although pizza and ice cream have been offered at times for children who stay for the Bible study. On Saturdays, the Rescue Mission does not operate in the community center, instead offering field trips and other activities elsewhere for Benderson Heights children. These trips require parental consent.
Steven Burch is the Program Coordinator selected to run the Benderson Heights after-school program, and is an employee of the Rescue Mission. As contemplated by the February 1989 agreement's provision for a "full time" Program Coordinator, Burch is present at the community center during normal business hours each Monday through Friday, for a total of 40 hours per week, rather than for just the hours during which the after-school program is offered. When not with the children, Burch plans and prepares for the after-school program. While at Benderson Heights, Burch uses a desk near the community center's Meeting Room.
On September 14, 1989, Sullivan wrote to the SHA's Executive Director, requesting to use the Benderson Heights community center for a meeting of Benderson Heights residents on the subjects of "the future of our neighborhood" and "home ownership of our public housing complex." Sullivan specified times on four different days during which he wanted the center. One of the times requested by Sullivan was 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, September 28, 1989, a time during which the after-school program in the community center ( the Bible study period) would have been in progress. Sullivan was informed a few days later, in a letter from John DeVoe of the SHA's Tenant Services Department, that the times requested by Sullivan were reserved for previously scheduled programs. The letter noted the "heavy use" of the community center, expressed a willingness to work with Sullivan to find alternative times, and gave DeVoe's telephone Sullivan himself was never present in the community center during an after-school program. Sullivan's son, Jason, attended on at least some occasions the first portion of the after-school program, but never attended the Bible study portion. With the consent of Mrs. Sullivan, Jason also attended one of the Rescue Mission's Saturday field trips.
number. It does not appear that Sullivan responded to the DeVoe letter
On October 4, 1989, Sullivan brought suit against the SHA under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985 & 1986, making Establishment Clause and Equal Protection claims. The complaint began by asserting the religious character of the Rescue Mission, and Sullivan's right, as a Benderson Heights tenant, to the "use and enjoyment of" the community center. The complaint went on to state, in pertinent part, the following:
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