12 UES Brokers Discriminated Against Low-Income Renters: Lawsuit

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A dozen apartments on the Upper East Side 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 apartments on the Upper East Side, 12 brokers either explicitly or implicitly said that Section 8 vouchers would not be welcome, according to the lawsuit.

"We don’t take vouchers," a broker for Paley Management Corp. told an investigator who called about an apartment at 1366 York Ave., the suit alleges. "We just don’t. We don’t. For any of our buildings."

The apartments

Here are the Upper East Side apartments that brokers refused to rent to prospective tenants using Section 8 vouchers, according to the lawsuit:

348 East 92nd St., #1C

• In October 2019, a broker from Bold LLC told an investigator that using vouchers was "not an option that I would even explore entertaining," the lawsuit alleges.

308 East 90th St., #2A

• In November 2019, a broker from Eric Goodman Realty said, "No, unfortunately not," when an investigator asked if she could use a Section 8 voucher for the apartment, the suit claims.

426 East 73rd St., #5RW

• A broker from Eric Goodman Realty told an investigator in June 2020 that "the owner doesn't take" vouchers, according to the lawsuit.

232 East 64th St. #14

• In February 2020, a broker working for Peter Chris Meskouris recognized an investigator from a previous call and said this apartment, like the other, would not accept vouchers, the suit claims.

242 East 89th St., #1D

• In February 2020, a representative from Alexander Hidalgo Real Estate said the property owner "wants very well qualified people" when asked if vouchers would be allowed, the suit claims.

1366 York Ave. #5D

• A representative from Paley Management Corp. told an investigator, "We don't take vouchers," in February 2020, the suit alleges.

316 East 62nd St., #5RE

• In February 2020, a broker from Manhattan Realty Group said the firm accepted vouchers, but "the owners is not going to accept it for this one in particular," the lawsuit claims.

1369 First Ave., #4C

• When asked in February 2020 whether vouchers would be accepted, a broker from JM Preston Properties told an investigator, "Uh, no, unfortunately not with this landlord," the suit claims.

348 East 62nd St., #6Front

• In March 2020, a broker from Urban Real Estate Property Group told an investigator that "this landlord isn't really, like, you know, doesn't really do it," the suit alleges.

1594 Third Ave. #5C

• A broker from FirstService Realty told an investigator in March 2020 that the owner "was pretty strict" when refusing to allow a voucher, according to the lawsuit.

1515 Lexington Ave., #2C

• In June 2020, a broker from FamGroup told an investigator, "No, no, we don't take that" when asked about vouchers, the lawsuit claims.

1380 First Ave., #3H

• When an investigator asked in August 2020 about using a Section 8 voucher, a broker from Saldo Properties stated, "Actually, they don't allow it in that building," the lawsuit alleges.

The Upper East Side brokers named in the suit did not respond to requests for comment.

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

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