Bronx Landlord Settles Racial Discrimination Case

A landlord has settled a civil rights lawsuit that claimed the company discriminated against prospective black tenants in the Woodlawn neighborhood of the Bronx.

The Fair Housing Justice Center filed the complaint after employees for the landlord, J.J.A Holding Corporation, showed available apartments to prospective white tenants, but on the same day told prospective black tenants there were no apartments for rent. The prospective tenants were testers sent by the Justice Center.

"Because discrimination is so subtle, unless you have a comparison that you get with testing, there's really no way for an ordinary consumer to know that they're being discriminated against," said Fred Freiberg, executive director of the Justice Center.

J.J.A Holding Corporation denied any wrongdoing in the settlement. The company agreed to several changes, including training employees and ensuring that rental units would be properly advertised.