Senate housing bias hearing focuses on four who were no-shows

Maura McDermott

Originally published in Newsday

Sen. Kevin Thomas (D-Levittown) questioned whether the owner of Woodbury-based Realty Connect USA could effectively supervise more than 400 agents. Co-owner Bart Cafarella said he could. Credit: NY State Senate

Lawmakers at a state Senate hearing Friday expressed outrage about an apparent lack of disciplinary actions against real estate agents spotlighted in Newsday's "Long Island Divided" series on housing discrimination and suggested brokers might need limits on the number of agents they supervise.

The four Woodbury-based real estate professionals from Realty Connect USA who were questioned under subpoena at the hearing spoke in support of fair-housing laws and insisted they did not discriminate. They also said brokerage owners provide ample supervision.

Read the full story at Newsday.com