ECBAWM attorneys settled a housing discrimination case alleging a New York management company, landlord, building superintendent, and his wife racially discriminated against prospective African American renters. The case was based on fair housing testing conducted by the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) in 2009 at Broadway Crescent Apartments in Astoria, Queens. The Complaint alleged that white testers sent to the building by the FHJC were given information about available apartments and often taken to view them, while African American testers were told that there were no availabilities.

The FHJC and four African American testers who were told apartments were not available to rent when they visited Broadway Crescent Apartments will receive $341,000 in damages, attorneys’ fees, and costs. The defendants are required to provide fair housing training for their employees, adopt non-discrimination policies, and advertise available rentals in all apartment buildings managed by M & N Management. These and other measures, which aim to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local fair housing laws, will span four years. The plaintiffs in the case are represented by ECBAWM’s Diane L. Houk and Eisha Jain.