Ending housing discrimination on Long Island requires concerted effort, experts say

James T. Madore

Originally published in Newsday

Senator Thomas and Fred Freiberg, Executive Director of the Fair Housing Justice Center, at a Newsday Live event discussing housing discrimination on Long Island.

Putting an end to housing discrimination on Long Island is going to take a concerted effort by the real estate industry, government and individual residents, two panels of experts said Thursday.

Speaking at a Newsday Live event on the Brentwood campus of Suffolk County Community College, State Sen. Kevin Thomas said the Democratic majority in the chamber is committed to issuing subpoenas “shortly” to 67 local real estate agents who refused to appear at a hearing last year.

The hearing was held in response to Newsday’s Long Island Divided investigation, which found evidence of discrimination against minority homebuyers by real estate agents.

Thomas (D-Levittown) and other panelists called for substantial funding in the 2020-21 state budget for paired testing to root out housing discrimination. Lawmakers and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo face an April 1 deadline to adopt a new budget.

Read the full story on Newsday.com.

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