NYC nonprofit awarded $500K after housing firm admits discriminating against formerly incarcerated people

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The Fortune Society, a New York City nonprofit, received a $500,000 payout last week in a discrimination lawsuit settlement against a company that places tenants in city-subsidized affordable apartments, according to the Bronx Times.

The nonprofit organization, which provides reentry services for formerly incarcerated people, filed a lawsuit in October against iAfford, a marketing agency used by housing developers to manage hundreds of city-subsidized housing applications in 40 New York neighborhoods. The city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) approves iAfford for handling applications.

Last year, the Fortune Society launched the controversial Just Home initiative in the Bronx to house formerly homeless people released from Rikers Island.  

In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the Fortune Society alleged that iAfford discriminated against Black and Latino renters based on their criminal histories, the Bronx Times reported. According to the organization’s news release, the complaint referenced iAfford employees who stated in recorded phone calls in August, September, and December 2021 that the company rejects applicants with criminal records. 

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Per the complaint, the Fortune Society alleged that “iAfford rejects all applicants with a criminal record regardless of the nature of the conviction, age at the time of the offense, or evidence of rehabilitation.”

This month, iAfford agreed to pay the Fortune Society half a million dollars in damages and costs (including attorneys’ fees), a settlement the nonprofit accepted on Aug. 14, according to the Bronx Times. Despite admitting several violations of fair housing and human rights laws, iAfford did not admit liability in the settlement agreement or that the plaintiff suffered damages due to the violations.

The housing company also agreed to take steps to prevent future violations, including training employees and adopting an anti-discrimination policy. It will provide an annual progress report to the Fortune Society for four years.

JoAnne Page, president and CEO of the Fortune Society, said, “This resolution is a win not only for Fortune, but also for the City and for anyone with prior criminal justice involvement who is seeking housing.”

In a statement to the Bronx Times, iAfford denied rejecting applications of people with convictions but admitted employees made mistakes.

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“Over 2 years ago mistakes were made by lower level staff at our company that may have given an impression we would deny housing to people with criminal justice histories,” the company’s spokesperson said. 

“These errors ran contrary not only to our company policies, but also to who we are as a business and as New Yorkers. We have always abided by HPD’s marketing guidelines and will continue to do so.”

In the U.S., 65% of formerly incarcerated people are Black or Latino, according to the Fortune Society. Approximately 46% of New York’s formerly incarcerated people are Black, while 23% are Latino, the Bronx Times reports.

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