Federal Judge Rules Lakewood Section 8 Tenants Organization Qualifies as Public Housing Agency in Longstanding HUD Dispute

Trenton, NJ — After nearly a decade of litigation, a federal judge has ruled that the Lakewood Tenants Organization (LTO), the nonprofit entity that has administered the Township of Lakewood’s federally funded Section 8 housing program for almost half a century, qualifies as a public housing agency (PHA) under federal law.

The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel in Township of Lakewood, et al. v. Castro, No. 15-cv-06325 (ESK-SAK), resolves a pivotal question in the protracted dispute between Lakewood, LTO, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). While the ruling affirms LTO’s official status as a PHA, the court emphasized that broader issues raised in the case—including allegations of bias, selective enforce...