The New York City agency responsible for enforcing local anti-discrimination laws has been beset by staff attrition and is, in some instances, prematurely closing cases without fully investigating allegations, leaving in question the effectiveness of the myriad laws that advocates have said would be the strongest in the country if they were fully enforced.
Other discrimination claims lodged with the City Commission on Human Rights, or CCHR, have been delayed by increased caseloads for a reduced number of staffers, affecting the agency’s ability to tackle one of its key remits: stopping landlords and brokers who refuse to rent to New Yorkers who receive government assistance to pay their rent.
“They were just like, we got the information but basically, that’s about as much as we can do,” said Kamilah Newton, a Bronx resident who lodged a discrimination claim against one broker that she said was never fully resolved by the commission.
“There are no consequences for this stuff,” she said, adding that numerous brokers and landlords refused to rent to her as a housing voucher holder — a potential violation of city and state laws — and that the agency finally took action on her behalf in another case.
The cause of the disruption, according to current and former workers, is a severe staffing shortage that was aggravated by the mayor’s decision to eliminate another 20 positions from the agency earlier this year.
The commission’s law enforcement arm currently has roughly 70% fewer staff attorneys — who handle the bulk of the agency’s investigative work — than the agency had in 2017, according to data from the city’s Independent Budget Office and Local 237, a city employees’ union.
Many current and former staff members who spoke with Gothamist did not want to be identified out of fear of retaliation or reputational damage for speaking about the agency’s inner workings.
In a written statement, CCHR spokesperson Claire Gross said the agency is…
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