| TRENTON
-- Attorney General Zulima V. Farber and
the Division on Civil Rights announced today
that New Jersey has filed separate complaints
against three landlords and a real estate
agency who were targeted for state “testing”
after they posted apartment rental ads on
a Web site specifying their intent to discriminate
– in two cases by refusing would-be
tenants with children, in the other by rejecting
applicants paying with federal rental aid.
In announcing the three unrelated cases,
Attorney General Farber noted that the landlords
and real estate agency not only placed discriminatory
ads on a popular Internet bulletin board,
but are accused of engaging in discriminatory
conduct once contacted by Division on Civil
Rights testers who responded to those ads.
In one case, Century 21 On the River Realty,
of Edgewater, along with two agents employed
by the firm, are accused of discrimination
for acting on behalf of landlord Badawy
M. Badawy, of Jersey City, who is also charged
with discrimination. An Internet ad for
an apartment that Badawy was renting out
in Jersey City stated “NO CHILDREN,”
and the contact number listed in the ad
was for On the River Realty. Two state-assigned
testers responded to the ad by calling the
agency, and were advised that Badawy’s
apartment would not be available to renters
with children. In one instance, Badawy’s
refusal to accept tenants with children
was allegedly conveyed by Badawy himself,
in the presence of a real estate agent employed
by On the River Realty. That agent, Elizabeth
Romero, is named in the State’s complaint,
along with agent Fausto Diaz, also of On
the River Realty. Diaz is accused of informing
a state tester by phone that only childless
tenants were acceptable.
In an unrelated case, landlords Gerald and
Nancy Rubin are charged with discrimination
for allegedly telling two different state
testers – each posing as a potential
tenant with children – that they would
not be considered for a North Plainfield
apartment rental the Rubins had advertised
because they had children. In a third case,
Garfield landlords Francesca and Rosa Grasso
are charged with discrimination for allegedly
turning away two different state testers
– each posing as apartment seekers
who planned to pay using federal Section
8 rental assistance – because they
did not want tenants using Section 8 aid.
“In New Jersey, the law is very clear
-- all persons are entitled to equal treatment
in the pursuit of housing regardless of
their race, ethnicity or religion, regardless
of whether they have children, and regardless
of how they intend to pay, as long as their
sources of income are legal,” said
Attorney General Farber. “There is
no place in our state for landlords and
property sellers who deny housing to eligible
persons on the basis of prejudice. We are
committed to aggressively investigating
and prosecuting such conduct wherever we
find it.”
The state launched its investigation activity
in February of this year after a member
of the Division on Civil Rights Housing
Investigations Unit accessed the Internet
Web site www.Craigslist.org and discovered,
in a section of the site devoted to New
Jersey postings, two separate, unrelated
advertisements for apartment rentals in
North Plainfield and Garfield.
One ad -- later determined to have allegedly
been posted by the Rubins -- included the
language “sorry no pets or young children.”
Another ad – later determined to have
allegedly been placed by the Grassos --
included the language “Please no Section
8.”
According to Division Director J. Frank
Vespa-Papaleo, Division staffers acting
as testers then called the respective telephone
numbers listed in the ads. In each case,
Vespa-Papaleo noted, Division staffers spoke
directly with individuals who identified
themselves as contact people listed in the
on-line rental ads.
In the North Plainfield case, two different
state testers told a woman who identified
herself as Nancy Rubin that they had children,
and were allegedly told by Rubin that a
rental was not possible. A third state tester
made no mention of children while talking
with Rubin and was offered the chance to
inspect an apartment.
In the Garfield investigation, also in February,
one state tester spoke by phone with a woman
who identified herself as “Rosa”
(“Rosa” was among the contact
persons listed in the on-line ad) and mentioned
plans to pay via Section 8 housing assistance.
That tester was allegedly told that Section
8 renters were not welcome. Another state
tester had a similar experience –
she was told there would be no rental of
the Garfield dwelling to Section 8 recipients
-- while talking to a different contact
person listed in the ad. A third state tester
spoke with a woman who identified herself
as “Rosa,” made no mention of
her source of income, and was allegedly
invited to inspect an apartment.
The investigation involving Jersey City
landlord Badawy and On the River Realty
was launched on April 4, 2006, after state
investigators monitoring www.CraigsList.org
found an ad for a two-bedroom apartment
rental in Jersey City that was explicit
in saying “NO CHILDREN.”
On April 5, a state tester called the contact
number listed in the ad and was connected
with On the River agent Diaz. The tester
advised Diaz she intended to live in the
apartment with her husband and three-year-old
son. The agent allegedly told her he thought
the owner did not want small children living
there, but that he would call her back.
He allegedly called back shortly afterward
and confirmed that the landlord would not
accept children.
On April 7, a state tester visited the Jersey
City apartment accompanied by On the River
agent Romero, on the basis of an appointment
arranged by telephone two days earlier.
During the visit, landlord Badawy arrived
and introduced himself as the owner of the
apartment, as well as a medical practice
downstairs. The state tester commented that
the apartment’s small bedroom would
be ideal for her nine-year-old son, and
also inquired about the location of the
nearest school. In agent Romero’s
presence, Badawy allegedly said he would
not rent to a tenant with children, and
wanted only a single person or a childless
couple.
“Regrettably,
our investigation suggests that these landlords
– and these real estate professionals
-- blatantly ignored the New Jersey Law
Against Discrimination by refusing to consider
prospective tenants who had children or,
in the other case, who intended to pay using
federal rental assistance,” said Director
Vespa-Papaleo. “These Respondents
clearly advertised their intention to discriminate
on-line, then reiterated their discriminatory
policies when contacted directly by our
testers.”
The LAD provides that each Respondent found
to have committed a violation is subject
to a penalty of up to $10,000, provided
he or she has not been convicted of a previous
violation within the past five years. Respondents
who have violated the LAD within the past
five years are subject to a penalty of up
to $25,000, while those who have been convicted
of two or more violations within the past
seven years are subject to a penalty of
up to $50,000.
The Division on Civil Rights is responsible
for enforcing the LAD. Specifically, the
Division investigates allegations of discrimination
in employment, housing, places of public
accommodation and credit. The Division on
Civil Rights has six offices: Atlantic City,
Camden, Jersey City, Newark, Trenton and
Paterson. Further information is available
on the Division Web site www.NJCivilRights.org
. To file a formal Complaint, persons may
call the Division’s Housing Discrimination
Hotline toll-free at 1-866-405-3050.
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