3 UWS Brokers Discriminated Against Low-Income Renters: Lawsuit

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Three apartments on the Upper West 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 West Side, three brokers either explicitly or implicitly said that Section 8 vouchers would not be welcome, according to the lawsuit.

A broker, when asked about an apartment at 328 West 83rd Street, for example, told the tester the landlord was "picky as hell," according to the lawsuit.

"When the tester asked about using her Section 8 voucher, the representative replied there was 'not a hope in hell,'" the lawsuit states. "She later stated 'they don't do vouchers.'"

Refusing to accept vouchers perpetuates discrimination against Black and Brown New Yorkers, continues segregation in the city, and creates barriers to housing, the lawsuit states.

The Upper West Side Apartments

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

328 West 83rd Street, Apt 6G: In March 2020, a broker from Reynolds Real Estate told a tester that the landlord was "picky as hell" about using Section 8 vouchers. The broker eventually told the tester here was "not a hope in hell" the voucher would be accepted, the lawsuit alleges.

118 West 83rd Street, Apt 1B: In May 2020, a tester posing as a prospective renter called Guidance Realty Corp regarding the Upper West Side apartment. When the tester asked if she would be able to use her Section 8 voucher, the broker replied, "Unfortunately this landlord does not participate," according to the suit. The tester followed up by saying she was in an urgent situation living in a shelter with her three-year-old daughter during the pandemic, and the broker replied, "I would love to help you but I don't have a landlord that is taking section 9," according to the suit.

224 West 82nd Street, Apt 4: In June 2020, a broker from John O'Kelly Real Estate Inc. told a tester posing as a prospective buyer that the landlord doesn't take Section 8 vouchers, according to the suit.

The suit is demanding an end to the practices 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

Patch reporter Nick Garber contributed to this report.