Nassau Unveils New Anti-Housing Discrimination Plan

MINEOLA, NY — Nassau County officials have announced a package of efforts to combat housing discrimination following an alarming report that some Long Island real estate agents appear to treat prospective home-buyers differently based on race — including steering whites away from certain neighborhoods and blacks to those very same communities.

Laura Curran, the county executive, on Friday announced the following actions:

• Errol Williams, the deputy county attorney, was named special housing counsel tasked with coordinating the county's plan. Williams recently helped lead efforts to reach the county's housing settlement in March.
• Curran will seek proposals for legal services aimed at boosting enforcement of and compliance with open housing laws.
• Curran and county legislators agreed to bolster staffing at the county's Human Rights Commission, including by adding an investigator and an administrative judge to help resolve fair housing complaints. The county executive also ordered a review of existing Human Rights Commission forms and processes to ensure housing complaints and investigations are best resolved.
• Curran created a permanent Fair Housing Advisory Board that will advise and suggest to county officials how best to promote fair and equal housing policies. The Legislature will recommend participants and the panel will be made up of community stakeholders and advocates.
• Curran ordered her administration to begin robust educational efforts, such as conducting workshops and forums to teach residents about their housing rights and show them what resources are at their disposal. The county executive plans to announce in the coming weeks the first slate of educational workshops.
• A new public awareness campaign seeks to increase awareness about the county’s commitment to and enforcement of fair housing laws.
• Curran pledged to proactively cooperate with federal and state authorities in ongoing and future efforts to hold real estate brokers, property management firms and lenders accountable when it comes to open and fair housing laws.
• County agencies were ordered to engage towns and villages in the Nassau County Fair Housing Committee Consortium to promote fair housing policies at the municipal level.

The changes follow a three-year Newsday investigation in which black and white home-buyers approached real estate agents seeking homes with the same or similar criteria. Out of 86 tests, fair housing experts agreed that 40 percent of them showed disparate treatment with minority testers compared with white testers.

In one case, a broker reportedly refused to give a black home-buyer a house tour until she proved she was prequalified for a mortgage loan. That same broker reportedly gave such a tour for a similar white tester, who did not show any prequalification.

In a second instance, a broker who eagerly promoted Brentwood to a black home-buyer told a similar white customer the area was riddled with gang activity.

In announcing the changes, Curran said the county will "seize the opportunity" to create lasting change.

"Newsday's investigation uncovered an unacceptable reality that we must commit to reversing," Curran said. "In Nassau County, we are forging a historic, comprehensive, and bipartisan action plan to combat housing discrimination through increased enforcement, education, and community engagement."