Income discrimination - especially programs/ Section 8

[jkgal]

Greetings,

There's a hot line set up by Legal Aid regarding income discrimination by LLs. Right now, the hot line isn't set up to deal with prospective tenants - only those who are in place, and LL refuses to accept a Section 8 Voucher, or other such legal payment. If you are a prospective tenant, and believe that you have been discriminated against, based upon your lawful source of income (Local Law 61), please see the below, provided for me by Legal Aid:

Hot line: 212 577 3639

Resources, as mentioned above:

Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York, Inc.
377 Broadway, 9th Floor
New York, New York 10013
212-346-7600
212-242-6126 (fax)

Fair Housing Justice Center
5 Hanover Square, 17th Floor
New York, NY 10004
Phone: (212) 400-8201
Toll Free: (866) 350-FHJC
TRS: (800) 662-1220
Fax: (212) 400-8203
Email: fhjc@helpusa.org

For filing complaints with the NYC Commission on Human Rights (call for intake appointment):

40 Rector Street, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10006
(212) 306-5070

275 Livingston Street, 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11217
(718) 722-3130

1932 Arthur Avenue, Room 203A
Bronx, NY 10457
(718) 579-6900

136-56 39th Avenue, 3rd Floor
Flushing, NY 11354
(718) 886-6162

60 Bay Street, 7th Floor
Staten Island, NY 10301
(718) 390-8506

Good luck,

jkgal

[rocinante]

I visited DHCR on Beaver Street earlier this year for a Preferential Rent issue. When I questioned a reply by agent, she remarked that "I am here to tell you what your landlord can do."

If you want to preserve your preferential rent the lease must specify that the preferential rent will last for a specified period of time or for the duration of tenancy. If the lease does not specify duration of preferential rent, then preferential rent can be terminated by landlord when lease is renewed.

In the old days, e.g. before the Missioinay Sisters case and the subsequent law passed in 2003 by NY State Legislature, preferential rent in a rent regulated aparrment lasted for the duration of tenancy.

The 2003 changed that and screwed many of us.

This seems a constitutional issue for those tenants who signed prefentilal rent agreements before the law was changed. We have been denied due process by the State of New York with this 2003 law.