New York, NY —

Federal officials say housing discrimination complaints have been steadily increasing in New York City since 2006. WNYC's Cindy Rodriguez reports.

REPORTER: According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, housing discrimination complaints went up 47 percent. There were 287 complaints in 2006 and 424 in 2008, that's a minute amount given the size of the city's housing market. But HUD Official Brian Greene says housing discrimination is vastly under reported:

GREENE: And what's interesting about the New York City and the New York State numbers where we've seen an increase in complaints alleging race discrimination, nationally we've actually seen a decrease.

REPORTER: Greene says better outreach in New York City could be one reason for the higher numbers. Race based complaints are highest in Manhattan. The borough also has the highest overall complaints. For WNYC, I'm Cindy Rodriguez.