NYC Landlord Tagged With Lawsuit Alleging Discrimination Against Prospective Tenant With Section 8 Housing Voucher

In New York City, the Fair Housing Justice Center recently issued the following announcement of a lawsuit it filed alleging fair housing violations against a Brooklyn landlord:

• On October 21, 2014, the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC)(1) and Barbara S., an African American woman with a Section 8 Housing Voucher, filed a state court lawsuit in Manhattan alleging that the owners and managers of apartment buildings in New York City discriminate against Section 8 Voucher holders in violation of the New York City Human Rights Law. The lawsuit names Carnegie Management, Ditmas Park LLC, and Ditmas Park Two LLC as defendants. Since 2008, the New York City Human Rights Law has prohibited discrimination in housing based on source of income, including rental subsidies.(2)
  
  In 2012, Barbara S. complained to the FHJC that Carnegie Management refused to rent to her because she has a rental subsidy. In response to her complaint, the FHJC conducted an undercover testing investigation involving two Carnegie properties in Brooklyn, a 65-unit apartment building located at 585-599 East 21st Street and a 48-unit apartment building located 2211 Ditmas Avenue.
  
  The testing investigation confirmed that agents for the defendants informed renters with Section 8 housing vouchers that they would not be accepted while encouraging renters without rental subsidies to apply for available apartments owned and managed by the defendants.

Source: Landlord Rejects Tenants with Rental Assistance (FHJC Lawsuit Alleges Source Of Income Discrimination).

(1) The Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc. (FHJC) is a regional fair housing organization based in New York City. The FHJC provides a full-service fair housing program to New York City and the seven surrounding New York counties of Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester.

(2) For more on 'source of income' discrimination in New York City, see No License to Discriminate (Real Estate Advertising, Source of Income Discrimination, and Homelessness in New York City).