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Westchester Apartment Building Discriminated, Civil Rights Group Claims

An Eastchester landlord and building superintendent have been accused of racial discrimination after a seven-week sting operation that used black and white testers posing as prospective tenants, according to this report by Westfair.

An apartment building in Eastchester discriminated, a civil rights group claims.

An apartment building in Eastchester discriminated, a civil rights group claims.

Photo Credit: Westfair

The Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) reportedly sued New Property Associates LLC and Dikson Dumitrescu, the superintendent, on Sept. 20 in U.S. District Court in White Plains. The complaint accuses them of violating the federal Fair Housing Act and New York civil rights law, the report said.

The FHJC and testers claim that the landlord and superintendent provided untruthful information about available apartments based on race or color.

According to the report, their allegations focus on a 53-unit apartment building at 9 New St. in Eastchester. New Property, based in Mount Vernon, owns the building and many other rental units in Westchester County. FHJC is a nonprofit civil rights organization based in Long Island City that serves New York City and seven surrounding counties on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley.

White testers, who are not identified in the lawsuit, were offered rental applications, given the superintendent’s cell phone number and encouraged to submit applications directly to him, the complaint states.

Black testers who visited the building before and after the white testers were allegedly told falsely that apartments were under contract, told there was a waiting list, directed to call a broker for an application or not given the superintendent’s phone number, the report said.

Click here to read the Westfair report.

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