A complaint brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James against a New Rochelle-based real estate firm has been settled, according to an announcement from James’ office. James had accused Platzner International Group, which owns or manages more than 200 residential units primarily in New Rochelle, Rye and Pelham Manor of denying housing to low-income residents. In addition to naming the company, James named owners Merrick Platzner and Harrin Platzner.
James’ office, working with the Housing Rights Initiative, found that the company violated federal, state and local laws by denying housing to low-income people who had Section 8 Housing Choice vouchers.
James said that as a result of the settlement with her office, there was a separate settlement reached with Westchester Residential Opportunities, which had gone to court alleging discriminatory behavior.
Under the settlements, the company is required to set aside 20 units in its portfolio for use by people with Section 8 vouchers or other housing subsidies. In addition, the company will not collect brokerage fees from any applicants using Section 8 vouchers or other subsidies for the next five years. It also must pay $10,000 to the Housing Rights Initiative and $95,000 to Westchester Residential Opportunities.
“Every New Yorker, regardless of their income, deserves a place to live,” James said. “Denying housing opportunities to low-income New Yorkers simply because they have a housing voucher is not only illegal, it worsens our affordable housing crisis.”
James’ office said that investigation also found that the Platzner company asked illegal questions to prospective tenants on their rental applications. Investigators found that it asked about a potential tenant’s sex and marital status, which James said was a violation of New York’s Human Rights Law and federal fair housing law. In addition, James reported that the investigators found that the company claimed in its rental application that the application fee was as high as $50. She said such a fee is a violation of New York state law, which mandates the fees do not exceed $20.
