Astoria Property Owners Named In Section 8 Discrimination Suit

ASTORIA, QUEENS – Three property management companies in Astoria are among 88 rental companies and landlords that are named in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan on Monday by a watchdog group that is alleging discrimination against renters that are in possession of Section 8 housing vouchers.

Housing Rights Initiative secretly recorded nearly 500 phone calls with property management companies over a year-long period. The group engaged in conversations with rental agencies while posing as prospective renters seeking housing. In each case, the callers were told that the property management company or landlords who own the units do not accept the housing vouchers, otherwise known as Section 8.

The effort by the watchdog group included 477 recorded phone calls involving property that appeared to be reasonable, the New York Times reported. The group built a profile of a prospective renter — in many cases a working-class mother with good credit. The lawsuit stated that the phone calls normally lasted several minutes, but that the calls typically ended as soon as any mention was made of the vouchers. In many cases, the representatives hung up on the potential renter.

The lawsuit said that more than 125,000 families in New York City rely on Section 8, which is a federally funded program that provides $22 million to families in need to assist with rental costs. The lawsuit seeks unspecified financial damages and seeks for the discriminatory behavior to stop.

Among the Astoria property management companies named in the suit are Eva Management, LLC, which owns a rental unit at 31-14 35th St. , according to the lawsuit. The suit maintains that the property was listed as a one-bedroom unit for $1,900 per month. When the caller inquired about renting the unit, a representative identified in the lawsuit as “Cesar” told the caller that caller that “they (meaning Eva Management) don’t take Section 8 in that building.”

At another property, this one at 33-14 34th St., a renovated one-bedroom apartment was listed for $1,800 per month, according to the lawsuit. When the caller asked about renting the unit and said they wanted to use a Section 8 voucher, the representative told the caller that the building doesn’t take “programs”, referring to the voucher.

When the caller told the representative that she was in dire need of housing and wanted to get herself and her daughter out of a homeless shelter during the coronavirus pandemic, the broker replied, “This apartment would not work out for you because the building does not take programs.” The lawsuit maintains that the agency was working on behalf of Chandler Management, LLC, which is among those listed in the lawsuit.

The owner of a property at 30-95 30th Street in Astoria is also listed after a caller inquired about the unit, which was listed for rent. That unit was listed as a “beautiful one-bedroom” for $1,850 per month. The caller spoke with an unnamed representative from “Rentiko” who told the caller that the unit’s owner did not work with “programs.”

The complaint filed on Monday states that is illegal in New York City for renters to not be offered housing because they hold the Section 8 vouchers, but that discrimination "is rampant" across the city.

Aaron Carr, the founder and executive director of the Housing Rights Initiative” told the New York Times that the goal of the effort to target the discriminatory action was simple.

“It’s to get real estate companies to abandon their discriminatory housing practices and follow the damn law,” Carr told The Times. “They are the gatekeepers of housing and they get to decide where families live, where they work and where children go to school. Housing discrimination goes beyond the walls of housing.”

The Times reported Monday that The New York City Housing Authority has a wait list of more than 36,000 applicants for Section 8 services. According to the report, those who are eligible for Section 8 typically pay for 30 percent of their income in rent while the voucher covers the remainder of the rent as well as utilities.

More than 80 percent of New Yorkers who use housing vouchers are Black and Hispanic, but the investigation found discrimination was most prevalent in higher-income, majority-white neighborhoods, Carr said Monday.

"When you discriminate against tenants with rental assistance, you discriminate against tenants of color," Carr said in a news conference Monday.

Patch editor Nick Garber contributed to this report.