Lawsuit!: Brokers Have No Room for the Kids

A class action lawsuit was filed in New York federal court yesterday, alleging that real estate firm "Brown Harris Stevens Brooklyn LLC (BHS) and its senior vice president and two real estate agents discriminate against families with children attempting to rent apartments in Brooklyn."

Park Slope parents, and even soon-to-be stroller pushers, may be having a hard time finding the perfect brownstone. Seems Brown Harris Stevens, and other real estate agents (see: Craigslist), are discriminating against the little tykes of New York. The release we received from the plaintiff's lawyer, Mariann Meier Wang, stated:

The lawsuit alleges that in 2006 and 2007, BHS real estate agents refused to show apartments for rent or to negotiate with Jamie Katz and his wife, Lisa Nocera, because they were expecting and then had a child. The Katz/Nocera family alleges they were told by two different BHS agents with rental listings that the owners of available apartments in Brooklyn Heights and Park Slope would not rent to a family with a child. One agent is alleged to have said, “I’ll show you everything available that I think is suitable for kids.”

From there, the Fair Housing Justice Center (a nonprofit group) sent testers posing as prospective renters, both with and without children. Surprise, surprise, those sans children were shown apartments that parental renters were not allowed to see. The NY Times got in touch with one of the families who owned a home in question, and while they are not part of the suit, they stated that they never told the firm they did not want children, and in fact ended up renting their apartment to a family.

The plaintiffs seek to represent a class of “all persons who have or will seek rental properties through BHS to inhabit with a child or children under the age of 18.” Their hope is that the court will find "that the defendants have engaged in illegal housing discrimination, requiring the defendants to take all necessary steps to prevent future discrimination, and providing damages pursuant to the federal Fair Housing Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law."

Park Slope stroller photo via John-Paul Pagano's Flickr.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Carlson in News on April 25, 2008 12:38 PM

Comments [rss]

tingo

Everything about NYC housing is discriminatory, so what's the news here?

I'd say brokers are the lowest of the low of NYC professionals.

HughGass

What do you do with a BA in English? Become a 1) drug rep 2) recruiter 3) residential broker.

sonyactivision

Let's face it, they all want the same tennant: Mary Tyler Moore, i.e, a fictional character.

Snoopy

Baby Hitler has never tried kids broiled with a hint of sea salt. He just doesn't get out enough and explore.

Mike D

They definitely broke the law and I'm not trying to be provocative, but shouldn't private property owners be able to decide who they want to rent to?

I'm glad for tenant protection laws but sometimes I think the Federal Fair Housing Act goes a little too far.

BMMDan

i dont think anyone expected/assumed differently from you, babyhitler.

matty

It's not a question of defending. The licensing laws are clear on this. The brokers should have known better. This is a federal law and the biggest no no in the real estate world.

babyhitler

I personally hate kids. I mean they are fine for the first ten minutes and then I'm like "get the hell out of my face!"

rockypocky

this discussion is so much different than brownstoner's:

http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/04/oh_baby_class_a.php#comments

where people are actively defending the broker and all the power that they and landlords uphold.

UrbanCowgirl

Personally, I think most PETS are cleaner and less obnoxious and noisy than children...and pet friendly apartments are getting super hard to come by. On the other hand, with rents, deposits and broker fees as ridiculously high as they are, it makes me gag to know that we still have no real rights when it comes to any rental.

As much as it sucks, the lawsuit is probably a waste of time and money. I'm not sure about rental laws, but I know that Co-op boards can discriminate however they please when appraising candidates for board approval.

Snoopy

Shouldn't that dumpster be written up? It is overloaded and the top isn't down. What has this city come to?

matty

"what choice does the broker have???"

the only choice you do have is to drop the client and report him to the Federal Government.

If you don't you automatically lose your license and are fined a huge amount of money.

You don't fuck with the Federal Fair Housing Act.

NYer

Our coop doesn't allow stollers in the lobby, that's how you keep out children.

nycbiker

the times articles states that it was the property owner that didn't want to rent to families with children. assuing that's the case (and dont get me wrong, i hate brokers just as much as the next girl), what choice does the broker have???

starrygordon

"Park Slope" / "No children" -- isn't that a contradiction in terms? I thought you had to have 2.2 kids (all above average), several $500 dollar strollers (the kind with tank treads), and an SUV to get in.