A disabled single mother from Brooklyn is fighting to keep a roof over her head after being caught in a bureaucratic nightmare with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA). Shedarian Butler-Jones filed a complaint on December 5, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against NYCHA and several of its employees. The lawsuit alleges that NYCHA's mishandling of her housing voucher has left her facing imminent homelessness.
The plaintiff, Shedarian Butler-Jones, accuses NYCHA and its officials of failing to issue a physical voucher for a three-bedroom unit despite approving her eligibility. This oversight has resulted in lost housing opportunities and put her at risk of homelessness. Butler-Jones claims that NYCHA did not process or record her repeated requests for reasonable accommodation due to her disabilities, which include significant health issues such as COPD and neurological conditions. She further alleges that an employee at the NYCHA walk-in center denied her access based on discriminatory assumptions about her disability status.
According to the complaint, Butler-Jones received an email on December 3, 2025, warning that she had only five days to submit an updated voucher or lose an apartment she had already signed for at 532 Neptune Avenue Apartments. Her current lease expired on November 30, 2025, leaving her without stable housing options. The lawsuit outlines multiple legal claims including violations of procedural due process under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and breaches of both federal and state human rights laws.
Butler-Jones seeks various forms of relief from the court: immediate issuance of the approved housing voucher, protection against case closure while awaiting resolution of accommodation requests, compensatory damages totaling $250,000 for emotional distress and economic losses, punitive damages amounting to $1.5 million against individual defendants for misconduct and negligence, as well as declaratory relief acknowledging violations of her rights.
Representing herself pro se in this matter, Butler-Jones emphasizes that she has exhausted all administrative remedies by repeatedly contacting NYCHA staff and elected officials without success. The case is presided over by Judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr., with Case ID: 1:25-cv-06738-RER-TAM.
Source: 125cv06738_Butler_Jones_v_New_York_City_Housing_Authority_Complaint_Eastern_District_New_York.pdf