Mishandled housing discrimination complaints ended up in "Twilight Zone," New York state comptroller says
NEW YORK — From lost files to investigations going months past the deadline, a new audit from the New York State Comptroller says some state employees regularly mishandled housing discrimination complaints. Now, changes are in the works.
When someone believes a landlord has discriminated against them, that person can complain to the New York Division of Human Rights and seek an investigation, but the state comptroller says that agency often failed to do its job, putting tenants at risk of facing continued discrimination.
CBS News New York investigative reporter Tim McNicholas exclusively obtained the comptroller's report.
NYS comptroller discusses "disheartening" report
You may know "The Twilight Zone" as a 1960s sci-fi hit that takes viewers to another dimension, but state auditors recently discovered a "Twilight Zone" in the Bronx – a filing cabinet labeled with the show's name filled with housing-related discrimination complaints at the New York State Division of Human Rights headquarters.
"Yeah, it was disheartening," said state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
DiNapoli's new audit report says the Human Rights Division decided those complaints needed more paperwork from the people who filed them, but the state didn't always seek it.
"They weren't doing the kind of follow up that should've been done. Our auditors did some follow-up to see if in fact the complainants were contacted to get the more detailed information, and in many cases, they were never contacted," DiNapoli said.
DiNapoli's office says some of those complaints were never entered into the state's computerized case management system, leaving people searching for answers.
The comptroller's office also says many of the "Twilight Zone" complaints shouldn't have been sidelined anyway because they did include enough information for an investigation.
"Especially when with that kind of a label, it kind of reinforces some people's worst opinion of what government bureaucracy is about," DiNapoli said.
Attorney says complaints end up in "a state of limbo"
The "Twilight Zone" is just one aspect of the audit, which found complaints were "lost and unprocessed" or "inappropriately deemed defective" from 2019 through 2023.
"I mean, if you're calling it 'The Twilight Zone,' it's there to get lost," said attorney George Haddad, with the Hudson Valley Justice Center.
Haddad says housing discrimination complaints filed by his clients have dragged on for months or sometimes years.
"It's a state of limbo there, right? It's a state of, they're not sure what's gonna happen with their complaint. And their trust in the justice system is depleted," he said.
The comptroller's office says in a sample of 175 complaints, it found 120 in which the agency "did not complete the investigation or notify the accused of the outcome within 100 days as required" under state law.
In its response to the audit, the Human Rights Division said:
"The New York State Division of Human Rights (DHR) is dedicated to eliminating discrimination, remedying injustice, and promoting equal opportunity, access, and dignity. The Division has received the report issued by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) pertaining to DHR's Housing Investigations Unit and covering that Unit's operations from April 2019 to February 2024.
"The issues identified by the audit were unacceptable, and DHR did not wait for the release of today's report to take decisive action in order to address and rectify these issues. Governor Hochul immediately appointed Denise Miranda to serve as Acting Commissioner and directed her to implement wide-ranging and transformative changes, not just within the Housing Investigations Unit but across the entire agency.
"Since her appointment, Acting Commissioner Miranda has made significant leadership changes and created critical new staff positions within the agency. DHR has also launched a new Internal Audit Unit and is working to implement crucial operational efficiencies and to modernize the Division's technology infrastructure in order to expand and improve access to agency services.
"While this work is not over, we are confident that these reforms will make DHR stronger and better positioned to protect the rights of New Yorkers than ever before. The New York State Division of Human Rights appreciates OSC's efforts and looks forward to working together in the coming months to assess the implementation of these improvements."
The audit report includes a list of recommendations to improve training and to help the Human Rights Division better organize and investigate complaints. The agency says it's already acting on those recommendations.