Half Moon Bay accused of leaking secrets about former residents

The Westchester County Fair Housing Board claims that Half Moon Bay has retaliated against a couple that had previously settled a discrimination suit against the Croton-on-Hudson condominium community.

The housing board accused the homeowners association, boards of managers, and board member Stanley Esposito of breaching a settlement agreement, in a complaint filed Nov. 15 in U.S. District Court, White Plains.

The action was filed on behalf of former Half Moon Bay homeowners Deborah and Peter Tomasi.

Half Moon Bay is a gated community on the east shore of the Hudson River. In 2017, the Tomasis bought a 3-bedroom, 3-bath 2,502-square-foot townhouse in the Discovery Cove Condominium at Half Bay Moon for $854,000. They sold the unit in 2020 for $919,000.

A couple of months before selling their townhouse they accused Half Moon Bay of discriminatory housing practices, in administrative complaints filed with the county housing board and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The dispute was quickly settled and included a confidentiality clause that required everyone to keep the terms, and even the very existence of the settlement, secret.

But six months later, Stanley Esposito of the Discovery Cove board of managers allegedly disclosed to other residents how much the Tomasis were paid to settle the matter.

The Tomasis filed new complaints with the county housing board and HUD.

The housing board investigated and purportedly uncovered evidence that Esposito spoke about the settlement to members of the community and to an outside company.

The housing board found probable cause that an unlawful discriminatory real estate practice took place, and this past August the Tomasis elected to have their claims decided in a civil lawsuit.

On Nov. 6, the housing board authorized Westchester County Attorney John Nonna  to file a federal lawsuit.

The complaint charges retaliation under federal and county laws and breach of the 2020 settlement agreement.

The condominium’s management company, Heritage Management Services, of Somers, is also named as a defendant. It did not reply to a message asking for responses to the allegations.