Midtown Brokers Discriminated Against Low-Income Renters: Lawsuit

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Six apartments in Midtown and Hell's Kitchen are among nearly 50 across the city that brokers refused to rent to investigators posing as low-income tenants, according to a new lawsuit filed in federal court Monday.

The lawsuit alleges that 88 landlords and real estate brokers refused to rent apartments to prospective tenants who said they were using Section 8 vouchers, a federal housing assistance grant. Such a refusal is illegal in New York City.

The investigation began in 2019, when workers from the Housing Rights Initiative pretending to be low-income renters called brokers and recorded their conversations.

When it came to six apartments in Midtown and Hell's Kitchen, brokers either explicitly or implicitly said that Section 8 vouchers would not be welcome, according to the lawsuit.

"Unfortunately, no," one broker told an investigator who called about an apartment on West 39th Street in Hell's Kitchen, the suit alleges. "I know that the owner doesn't accept that."

The apartments

Here are the Midtown and Hell's Kitchen apartments that brokers refused to rent to prospective tenants using Section 8 vouchers, according to the lawsuit:

45 Tudor City Pl., #412

• In January 2021, a broker from Corcoran told an investigator that "co-op buildings have a right to refuse" vouchers, adding, "I don't think this apartment would work for your needs," the lawsuit alleges.

407 West 39th St., #W2B, W3C

• In November 2019 and February 2020, representatives for broker Peter Chris Meskouris said, "Unfortunately, no" when investigators asked if they could use Section 8 vouchers for the apartments, the suit claims.

320 East 34th St., #5B

• A broker from JRL-NYC said told an investigator in February 2020 that "They just don't take it" when asked about Section 8 vouchers, according to the lawsuit.

449 West 56th St. #2B

• In June 2020, a broker for Maz Group said "I don't believe so," when asked if the apartment would accept vouchers, the suit claims. (Maz denies the allegation.)

The suit is demanding an end to the alleged discrimination as well as unspecified monetary damages.

Reached for comment, the Maz Group's president said the firm does not discriminate against tenants with vouchers, and said the investigators failed to follow up after making initial appointments.

"I find it interesting that we could not secure one appointment with anyone who called and said they would like to view and had vouchers," broker Charles Mazalatis said in an email. "We always tried and never succeeded."

A Corcoran spokesperson said the company "take[s] these allegations seriously," adding, "The Corcoran Group is committed to upholding the principles of the Fair Housing Act, including offering comprehensive education and training programs for our employees and affiliated sales agents."

The other neighborhood brokers named in the lawsuit did not respond to requests for comment.

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, according to Aaron Carr, the founder of the Housing Rights Initiative.

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

"Every time a landlord saw my voucher ... their whole facial expression changed," said Nancy Padilla, a tenant and HRI client, during the news conference. "Immediately, they would turn me away."

Related coverage: Dozens Of Landlords, Brokers Accused Of Housing Bias: Lawsuit