Mayor's Budget Plan Could Further Shrink City's Housing Discrimination Enforcement

The NYC Commission on Human Rights enforces civil rights laws covering employment, disability, and housing discrimination. Its budget line shrank in Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s executive budget proposal, reducing the agency’s budget by 6 percent and cutting headcount by eight full-time employees. The Commission already had a 23 percent vacancy rate as of March. The mayor is working to close a budget deficit, but reductions to the Commission are deeper than in a preliminary proposal, following an Office of Management and Budget order to cut vacancies in half. The agency investigates discrimination against rental voucher holders, who are sometimes denied housing despite being able to pay rent using vouchers. Source of income discrimination has been illegal since 2008, yet tenants report it remains common.

"The NYC Commission on Human Rights-the agency responsible for enforcing civil rights laws that protect against employment, disability, and housing discrimination-saw its budget line shrink in Mayor Zohran Mamdani's executive budget proposal, published earlier this month. The cuts would reduce the already slim agency's budget by 6 percent and slash its headcount by eight full time employees. The Commission on Human Rights had a 23 percent vacancy rate as of March, according to officials who testified before the City Council."

"The mayor has been scrounging to close a significant budget deficit with the help of some state aid. While the administration pledged no significant cuts to city services, reductions to the City's Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) in Mandani's executive budget are deeper, even, than in his preliminary budget proposal, after an Office of Management and Budget order to cut vacancies in half. Former employees of the agency were puzzled by the move, which comes as the mayor steps up other enforcement actions, like cracking down on "bad landlords" and touting big settlements for worker protections."

"Among other responsibilities, CCHR investigates discrimination against rental voucher holders, who are sometimes denied access to housing because landlords consider them less desirable tenants, despite their ability to pay rent with the voucher. While "source of income" discrimination has been illegal in New York City since 2008, tenants who use rental vouchers say it's still common. "I was very disappointed, because I know the impact that CCHR has," said Nailah Abdul-Mubdi, a city housing voucher holder who lives in Brooklyn."

Read at City Limits