There was a press conference yesterday held by Councilmember Bill de Blasio, the Legal Aid Society, and Russian community leaders to announce a new hotline providing legal assistance to victims of housing discrimination. Mr. de Blasio, who is a candidate for Brooklyn Borough President, sponsored anti-discrimination legislation (Intro 61a) that prohibits landlords from refusing to accept Section 8 vouchers and other lawful sources of income. In a statement that was emailed, Mr. de Blasio is quoted as saying “Landlords who refuse tenants based on their source of income are breaking the law, and we must do everything possible to combat this blatant discrimination.” Per the emailed press release:
Immediately after the legislation passed, Councilmember de Blasio’s office was flooded with calls from tenants who were being told they could not use Section 8 vouchers or other lawful sources of income, like Social Security, to rent apartments. In response, Councilmember de Blasio teamed up with Legal Aid, the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and AARSA (American Association of Russian Speaking Attorneys) to form a hotline that people can call if they believe they have been discriminated against. The hotline number is 212-577-3639.
Given the huge numbers of people in New York City that receive rental assistance, the issue of discrimination against them is a significant one. More than 300,000 New York City tenants rely on Section 8 to pay their rent – the largest number of Section 8 tenants in any city in the country.
1 response so far ↓
1 chantel boyd // Jan 20, 2009 at 10:36 am
To whom it may concern , I am a section 8 voucher holder in new york city . In october of last yr. I found an apartment in brooklyn through the section 8 listings. I set up an appointment to see the apt . Once I saw it I decided that I wanted to rent the apt. The landlord took my package n voucher n now is avoiding me . When I called my section 8 apt to complain noone was willing to assist me . Can someone please HELP ME , I DON’T KNOW WHAT 2 DO .