Fifty years after Martin Luther King’s historic March on Washington, it’s apparent that America remains a nation divided by race. According to a lawsuit filed by ERASE Racism, the managers at the 74-unit Town House Apartments in the Village of Mineola in Nassau, New York created barriers to prevent black applicants from renting in the predominately white neighborhood.
ERASE Racism and the Fair Housing Justice Center funded an investigation where they sent qualified black and white applicants to rent from the complex. However, the apartment managers discouraged black applicants by quoting higher rents, not showing available apartments and adding them to a waiting list that never existed.
In September 2012, a black candidate was told that an apartment would cost $1,725 to rent and wouldn’t be available until a month later. Two hours later, the group sent a white candidate who was quoted at $1,675 and told that an apartment would be available immediately.
ERASE Racism is suing because the complex managers violated the Fair Housing Act by discriminating over race. Out of 2,000 units, only four percent of the residents in the complex are black.
