In Brief: HUD Agency Settles Housing Bias Lawsuit

The Open Housing Center last week reached a $100,000 settlement in a housing discrimination lawsuit against two New York landlords.

The suit stemmed from a complaint by a black applicant for an apartment in Queens who claimed he was asked his race and was told by the landlord, "We're only looking for white applicants."

Investigators from the center, a nonprofit fair-housing group funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, posed as potential tenants to determine whether the landlord, Henry Bosio, did turn away black prospects.

Mr. Bosio's daughter, Mary Jo Pelletieri, also was named in the suit.

"When testers called, Mr. Bosio asked them if they were black or white," said Michelle Lee, testing coordinator for the group. "He refused to show apartments to black testers while he courted white testers and showed them apartments."

Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo said his agency would continue to fund testing programs to uncover housing discrimination. Last year HUD gave fair-housing groups $12 million to support the enforcement of fair-housing laws.

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