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TRENTON
-- Attorney General Stuart Rabner announced
today that the state Division on Civil Rights
has filed housing discrimination complaints
against three different New Jersey landlords
and one real estate agency for allegedly
placing discriminatory “housing available”
ads on Internet websites frequented by potential
renters.
In addition to the four new complaints,
the Attorney General announced that the
Division has reached a settlement with a
landlord previously charged with housing
discrimination for placing an Internet ad
that discouraged tenants with children.
In another case, Rabner said the state has
issued a Finding of Probable Cause against
a landlord accused of placing Internet housing
ads intended to discourage tenants seeking
to pay with federal rental assistance, or
Section 8 housing funds.
“Although
there is certainly much to recommend the
Internet as a source of information, the
World Wide Web is also emerging as a new
frontier for discrimination, and we in New
Jersey law enforcement are responding accordingly,”
Rabner said. “There is no place in
our state for property owners, landlords
and rental agents who would deny housing
on the basis of prejudice, and we are committed
to investigating and prosecuting such conduct
-- wherever we find it.”
Recently charged with violating the New
Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD)
after separate investigations prompted by
allegedly discriminatory Internet rental
advertising are property owners Mark Cornacchia
of Hackensack, Stephen F. Mandato of Malvern,
Pa., landlord Robert Pratola of West Orange,
and the Metropolitan Gallery of Homes in
Jersey City.
In the case of Cornacchia, the state’s
complaint charges that he placed an on-line
ad for a rental property he owns in the
800 block of Main Street, Paterson, saying
“no Section 8" – a reference
to federal Section 8 housing assistance.
The advertisement was published at www.newjersey.craigslist.org
. The state complaint charges Cornacchia
with not only placing discriminatory advertising,
but with subsequently telling two undercover
state testers – testers who represented
themselves as Section 8 rental assistance
clients – that he would not rent to
them.
In the case of Mandato, the owner of a rental
property on Bond Street in Asbury Park,
he is charged with placing an on-line advertisement
that also said, “no Section 8,”
and with telling two state testers who followed
up that he would not deal with tenants using
federal rental assistance. . This advertisement
was also published at www.newjersey.craigslist.org
.
Pratola is also accused of placing a “No
Section 8" reference in an Internet
housing ad found on-line by state investigators.
The on-line ad encouraged non-Section-8
housing seekers to call a telephone number
registered to Pratola and to ask for either
“Dana or Rob” regarding a three-bedroom
apartment available in West Orange. Subsequently,
two state testers who called the number
spoke with a woman who identified herself
as “Dana” and confirmed that
she would not rent to tenants who intended
to pay using Section 8 rental aide, according
to the complaint. The woman identified as
“Dana,” whose last name has
not yet been confirmed, is also charged
in the state complaint. The advertisement
at issue was published at http://apt.8list.com
.
Metropolitan Gallery of Homes, a Jersey
City real estate agency, is accused of placing
an on-line advertisement for a rental property
on Undercliff Avenue in Edgewater, Bergen
County, that said “no children”
in violation of state law that prohibits
housing discrimination on the basis of “familial
status.” The advertisement was published
at www.newjersey.craigslist.org .
Each of the allegedly discriminatory ads
were found on-line by state investigators
in October and November 2006, said Division
on Civil Rights Director J. Frank Vespa
Papaleo.
“All
otherwise eligible persons have the same
right, under our law, to access the same
clean, safe and affordable housing opportunities,“
said Vespa-Papaleo. “Technology may
be evolving rapidly, and the principal means
of advertising available housing may be
changing, but the legal obligation of property
owners, landlords and real estate professionals
remains the same – treat people equally.”
The state recently settled a similar, Internet-related
housing case in which a Somerset county
landlord had refused would-be tenants with
children. Under terms of an October 31,
2006 settlement agreement with the state,
landlords Gerald and Nancy Rubin of North
Plainfield acknowledge that they violated
the LAD by placing an on-line apartment
ad saying they would not rent to tenants
who had children, and by subsequently turning
away state testers who called them, expressed
interest in the apartment and claimed to
have children. The Rubins own only this
single property.
Vespa-Papaleo said that, during a February
2006 investigation, two different state
testers responded to the Rubins’ ad
and spoke with a woman who identified herself
as Nancy Rubin.
Both
state testers told the woman they had children,
and were allegedly told by Rubin that a
rental was not possible. A third state tester
made no mention of children while talking
with Rubin and was offered the chance to
inspect the apartment on Rockview Avenue,
according to the state’s original
complaint.
In addition to agreeing to comply with the
LAD in the future, the Rubins agreed as
part of the settlement to modify their rental
property as required to make it suitable
for children, including installation of
child-protective window guards that meet
state Department of Community Affairs standards
by the end of January 2007.
In another, unrelated Internet housing case
announced today, the Division on Civil Rights
has issued a Finding of Probable Cause against
landlords Francesco and Rosa Grasso of Garfield,
Bergen County. According to the state’s
complaint, the Grassos allegedly placed
an on-line rental ad for a three-bedroom,
two-bath apartment on Lincoln Place in Garfield
in February 2006. The ad allegedly discouraged
Section 8 federal housing assistance clients.
Subsequently, a state tester spoke by phone
with a woman who identified herself as “Rosa”
and mentioned plans to pay via Section 8
housing assistance. That tester was allegedly
told that Section 8 renters were not welcome.
Another state tester had a similar experience
– she was told there would be no rental
of the Garfield dwelling to Section 8 recipients
-- while talking to a different contact
person listed in the ad. A third state tester
spoke with a woman who identified herself
as “Rosa,” made no mention of
her source of income, and was allegedly
invited to inspect an apartment.
A Finding of Probable Cause means the State
has finished its investigation, and has
determined there is sufficient evidence
to support a reasonable suspicion that the
actions of the Respondent violated the LAD.
The Grasso matter will now be referred for
conciliation, a DCR process designed to
resolve cases without trial. If conciliation
fails, an Administrative Law Judge will
conduct a non-jury public trial, or hearing,
on the case.
Under the LAD, Respondents found to have
committed a violation are subject to a penalty
of up to $10,000, provided they have not
been convicted of a previous violation within
the past five years. Respondents who have
violated the LAD within the past five years
are subject to a penalty of up to $25,000,
while those who have been convicted of two
or more violations within the past seven
years are subject to a penalty of up to
$50,000.
The Division on Civil Rights is responsible
for enforcing the LAD. Specifically, the
Division investigates allegations of discrimination
in employment, housing, places of public
accommodation and credit. The Division on
Civil Rights has six offices: Atlantic City,
Camden, Jersey City, Newark, Trenton and
Paterson. Further information is available
on the Division Web site www.NJCivilRights.org
. To file a formal Complaint, persons may
call the Division’s Housing Discrimination
Hotline toll-free at 1-866-405-3050.
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