THE FORTUNE SOCIETY SECURES HALF MILLION DOLLARS IN COURT CASE AGAINST iAFFORD FOR BARRING PEOPLE WITH CRIMINAL JUSTICE HISTORY FROM ACCESS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN NEW YORK CITY

The Fortune Society today announced that a federal district court has directed entry of judgment against iAfford NY, LLC in the amount of $500,000 in Fortune’s case alleging that iAfford excluded people with prior criminal justice involvement from accessing affordable housing units in its New York City portfolio, which disproportionately disqualified Black and Latino applicants.

Last October, Relman Colfax PLLC filed the civil complaint on behalf of Fortune in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, charging that the Brooklyn-based firm categorically rejected applicants solely based on justice involvement and disguised its offending blanket ban as a City policy.

Judge Pamela K. Chen has directed entry of judgment pursuant to terms agreed to by the parties. Accordingly, iAfford concedes that that certain conduct violated fair housing and human rights laws and agrees to pay $500,000 to Fortune. Additionally, the terms prohibit iAfford from enforcing a blanket ban of justice-involved applicants, require it to comply with all City, State and federal fair housing laws, and order iAfford to take “affirmative steps” to ensure no further violations occur. These affirmative measures shall include holding an annual training for iAfford and its employees, adopting a written housing anti-discrimination policy, adopting a formal process for applicants to appeal a denial of housing because of criminal history, and submitting a yearly report to Fortune for four years detailing iAfford’s compliance efforts.

JoAnne Page, President and CEO of The Fortune Society, said, “This resolution is a win not only for Fortune, but also for the City and for anyone with prior criminal justice involvement who is seeking housing. It also has national implications as a deterrent to blanket discrimination and is in keeping with guidance from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which addresses widespread housing discrimination because of criminal legal history. At a time in our nation’s history when housing insecurity has soared, we need to ensure that people encounter opportunities, not obstacles, as they work to build constructive lives in their community for themselves and their families. iAfford’s actions as alleged in the Complaint had the specific impact of frustrating the will and good social policy efforts of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and New York City. Exclusionary policies hold back marginalized justice-impacted people and their families, who are primarily persons of color, from the vital resource provided by New York City’s investment in affordable housing.”

Valerie D. Comenencia Ortiz, an Attorney at Relman Colfax PLLC, noted, “When housing providers turn away qualified justice-involved applicants without any individualized consideration, they stand in the way of applicants’ efforts to rebuild their lives and contribute to their communities, and they disproportionately exclude Black and Latino applicants and their families. We hope that this outcome will send a strong message to New York City and national housing providers that such sweeping exclusionary policies are as misguided as they are unlawful.”

Adolfo Carrión Jr, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development, said, “Shining a light on discrimination is essential to ensuring our housing lotteries are fair and open and reaching New Yorkers in need of housing. We strictly prohibit marketing agents from denying housing based solely on a criminal record and require extensive training on fair housing laws. We will continue to work hand-in-hand with the Fortune Society in this fight as we applaud them for reaching this impactful outcome.”

The lawsuit stemmed from a Fortune Society client who applied to an iAfford-marketed apartment in 2021, armed with a City-sponsored rental assistance voucher and meeting other qualifications. iAfford is hired by housing developers to manage the application and selection process for hundreds of City-assisted affordable housing units in more than 100 developments throughout more than 40 neighborhoods across New York City. iAfford also serves as a marketing monitor for developments with City-assisted units and is therefore tasked with monitoring developers’ compliance with affordable housing regulations and HPD requirements.

In the Fortune client’s case, iAfford denied his application at the pre-screening stage solely because he had a past conviction. iAfford failed to engage in an individualized assessment of his case and to respond to his efforts to appeal the decision. Fortune subsequently investigated the scope of iAfford’s conduct with the assistance of testing by the Fair Housing Justice Center and, in recorded calls, three iAfford employees corroborated that iAfford categorically discourages and/or rejects applicants with criminal convictions without individualized assessment.

The civil complaint described the impact of such discrimination, noting that nationally, more than half a million people are released from confinement each year. Largely because the imprisoned population as a whole is disproportionately Black and Latino and 95% of the imprisoned population is eventually released, 65% of the formerly incarcerated population in the United States is Black or Latino. Three-quarters – 75% – of New York State’s formerly imprisoned population is Black or Latino and as recently as in 2015, 46% of the people released were Black, while 23% were Latino.

“As a service organization, the Fortune Society assists about 10,000 justice impacted people each year, about a quarter of whom are homeless, and as an advocacy organization, we seek to combat discrimination in housing when we see it,” Page said. “We applaud the City, and in particular HPD, as well as the Fair Housing Justice Center, for their efforts to ensure that no one is wrongly denied housing simply because of their prior criminal justice involvement. This outcome is a victory for us, our attorneys, our sister organizations in New York and across the country and all who are experiencing and combatting discrimination.”

The Relman Colfax litigation team includes John Relman, Lila Miller, Valerie D. Comenencia Ortiz, and Emily Curran. The firm has a long and successful history of fighting discrimination nationally and has been a valued partner in Fortune’s work against housing discrimination for approximately a decade.

Contact: Jeff Simmons

917-673-0024

jeff@anatgerstein.com