NYC Comptroller: Some Landlords Turn Down Low-Income NYers
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Some landlords illegally refuse to rent to tenants who get government aid, New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer announced Tuesday.
Stringer is calling on the city's Commission on Human Rights to go after landlords who openly ignore a 2008 law that bars landlords from discriminating against tenants based on their lawful source of income.
Stringer told 1010 WINS he wants the commission "to take proactive, immediate steps to protect homeless New Yorkers from out-and-out discrimination."
"I believe that this conduct is absolutely against the law, it violates the human rights laws of this city and I'm calling on the Human Rights Commission to do their job and find these landlords and make it very clear to them that you cannot discriminate against people in this city," Stringer said.
Online advertisements say "no voucher need apply,'' echoing long-held discrimination against low-income residents, according to Stringer.
"It's simply outrageous. If you have money you should be able to rent an apartment regardless of whether you're poor or struggling in this city," Stringer said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has complained some landlords are declining to participate in his Living in Communities program, which seeks to move homeless families from shelters into apartments.
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