Heights Broker Discriminated Against Low-Income Renters: Lawsuit

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — An apartment in Washington Heights was 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 the apartment in Washington Heights, a broker said that Section 8 vouchers would not be accepted by the landlord, according to the lawsuit.

The Washington Heights apartment featured in the suit is located at 780 Riverside Drive, between 155th and 156th Street.

In January of 2020, a tester posing as a prospective renter called Matthew Gros Werter to ask about apartment D10 within the 780 Riverside Drive building, which at the time relevant to this suit was owned by 780 Riverside Owner LLC.

The representative from Matthew Gros Werter told the tester, "No. Unfortunately no," when asked if the landlord would take a Section 8 voucher.

Matthew Gros Werter did not immediately respond to Patch's request 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."

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