City of Poughkeepsie Sues Dutchess County over Placement of Homeless Shelter
The City of Poughkeepsie is suing Dutchess County over the placement of a new homeless shelter in the city. Photo by Emma Gaecklein '26
The city of Poughkeepsie and two individuals have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Dutchess County and Dutchess County Executive Sue Serino, arguing the placement of a new homeless shelter in the city’s Northside neighborhood will reinforce racial segregation, lower property value and put stress on a neighborhood that is already home to multiple social services.
The complaint also alleges violations of the Fair Housing Act, New York Executive Law and City of Poughkeepsie Zoning Laws.
The city had a history of racial segregation dating back to the 1940s, when IBM moved to the Poughkeepsie area and brought “economic prosperity” to the town.
The company built a plant in the Spackenkill neighborhood in 1942, and with it recruited highly educated professionals who had the means to buy expensive homes. As a result, the local school district was funded greatly by property taxes in the neighborhood.
During this time, high school students from the Spackenkill Union Free School District attended Poughkeepsie High School in the Poughkeepsie City School District. In 1956, however, residents of the Spackenkill school district supported a plan for the town to build its own high school for its older students.
The plan was successful, and in 1974 Spackenkill High School had its first graduating class, marking the beginning of residential and educational segregation within Poughkeepsie neighborhoods.
In the 2003-04 school year, the Poughkeepsie City School District enrolled more than twice as many students as the Spackenkill Union Free School District. They also had a large Black and Hispanic population of roughly 80 percent, 65 percent of students eligible for free lunch, only 39 percent of students receiving a Regents diploma and an 18.3 percent non-completion rate, compared to Spackenkill’s non-completion rate of three percent.
However, this history of racial and financial segregation can be traced back to the 19th century.
“The debate of where and how to manage people financially and mentally in Poughkeepsie has been a long one,” said Bill Jeffway, executive director of the Dutchess County Historical Society in Rhinebeck.
The Dutchess County Poorhouse, also known as the County Infirmary and the County House, operated from 1864 until 1998. Its purpose was to provide support services for the poor, ill and abandoned residents of Poughkeepsie.
The connection between race and income is nothing new and has only been exacerbated as time has passed. According to the Urban Institute, in 1983, the average wealth of white families was approximately $320,000 more than that of Black and Hispanic families. By 2022, the average wealth of white families was over $1 million more than that of Black and Hispanic families.
“People have called [racial segregation] a ‘dispassionate economic argument,’” said Jeffway.
Despite slavery being abolished in 1865, racial disparities were still prevalent in society. One way these disparities were enforced was through racial covenants – clauses written into property deeds barring people of a certain race from owning, leasing or occupying a property.
“No person of any race other than the Caucasian race shall use or occupy any building or any lot except that this covenant shall not prevent occupancy by domestic servants of a different race domiciled with an owner or tenant,” read one racial covenant from the early 1900s in Beacon, provided by Jeffway.
The effects of racial segregation in Poughkeepsie are still felt today, thanks to the separation of school districts over 60 years ago and the construction of the east-west arterial highway through Poughkeepsie. The construction of the highway required the demolition of houses in the city, particularly in the Northside neighborhood. It also created physical barriers separating the neighborhood from the rest of the city.
Poughkeepsie’s Northside neighborhood is home to multiple social services, most prominently the county jail built in 1984. The facility was placed between the Third and Fifth wards of the city and has received multiple expansions, decreasing property value and exposing residents to drug use and other dangerous activities, according to the complaint against the county.
In a statement to the Times Union, Serino claimed the location of the shelter is tied to a $13 million grant, explaining the county’s push for the Oakley Street location.
At this time, the homeless shelter is still scheduled to open in 2027.