By Andrew Coen and Mike Schnitzel
Valley Stream Mayor Edward Cahill said that he would await the results of an investigation into the allegation, and called steering wrong. "I don't like to hear that discrimination might be going on when the Island should be open to all families," said Cahill. "Steering people in one direction is not right, and I'm sure [Valley Stream-based] real estate companies are fair-minded to everyone."
Rose Harris of Inwood recently called a real estate agency to inquire about an advertisement she saw for a condominium. The former Lawrence school board member's phone call wasn't returned, and she believes that with her caller ID showing a number starting with 239 - the common exchange for Inwood - it was a way for the Realtor to steer African-Americans away from the condos.
This experience of Harris, who is African-American, pales in comparison to practices that another agency, Julia Stevens Realty in Hewlett, is accused of using on prospective buyers, which were uncovered by the Washington D.C.-based National Fair Housing Alliance and Long Island Housing Services during a recent sting operation. The NFHA said it saw evidence of discriminatory practices by real estate agents, including acts of racism and anti-Semitism, in its undercover investigation, and filed a complaint with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
At a June 21 press conference at the Five Towns Community Center in North Lawrence, NFHA President Shanna Smith alleged numerous examples of intolerance displayed by Julia Stevens Realty agents, including steering African-Americans undercover agents posing as buyers - also known as "testers" - to areas with large minority populations like Valley Stream and Inwood. Smith also said that during the undercover operation, which ran from 2004 to last January, whites were steered to homogenous white communities such as Hewlett, Lynbrook and East Rockaway. In addition, agents allegedly made negative comments about Jews to both white and African-American testers and allegedly discouraged non-Jewish whites from considering neighborhoods with large Jewish populations, like Cedarhurst.
Racial steering at the Hewlett agency was also uncovered when brokers showed rental housing, according to Michelle Santantonio, executive director of Long Island Housing Services.
"It's not a new issue," said Harris, an active community member who served on the Lawrence school board from 2002 to 2005.
Jay Goldman, owner of Julia Stevens Realty - the company retained the name of the previous owner - issued a statement about the allegations, saying he was unaware that any such discrimination was occurring within his company. "Our firm has been in business for many years and has an unblemished record," said Goldman. "It is our firm's policy to fulfill the housing needs and requirements of our customers regardless of race, creed and/or religion. We have no knowledge of any acts of alleged discrimination."
Smith said that examples of racial steering included agents making remarks to black testers about how great the Valley Stream and Malverne school districts were (both enroll a large percentage of minority students). With white prospective home buyers, however, an agent from the company would say the opposite.
"When this type of steering occurs, choice doesn't exist," Smith said at the press conference. "Much of the segregation [in Nassau County] is because of the racial steering."
Dr. Marc Bernstein, superintendent of the racially diverse Valley Stream Central High School District, said that he didn't know about this specific case. "I have not heard about this case, but the quality of a school district is something that is always taken into account when buying a new home," said Bernstein.
"I think [racial steering is] reprehensible behavior," said VSCHSD Board of Education President Dr. Frank Chiachiere. "We are a diverse community, and we welcome everybody."
According to a report by the New York State Education Department, as of the 2004-05 school year, 50.3 percent of the Central High School District's student body was white, 18.3 percent was African-American, 17.8 percent was Hispanic and 13.7 percent was Asian, American Indian, Alaskan or Pacific Islander.
For the same school year, whites made up 86.5 percent and 89.5 percent of the Lynbrook and East Rockaway school district student bodies, respectively, while African-Americans made up just 1.2 percent and 0.6 percent of the student populations.
NFHA officials said that one example of anti-Semitism uncovered in their sting operation came when a female agent drove a white tester past her own home in Hewlett and pointed to a picture of Jesus Christ that a relative had placed in the window, saying it was there to "show those Jews." The same agent later said it was good to have some Jews in the neighborhood, adding that "they have a lot of money and they would never sell their homes to blacks, thereby keeping the property values up," Smith recounted in the press conference.
NFHA officials said they were unsure whether the anti-Semitic remarks were targeting the large Orthodox community in the Five Towns or the Jewish population as a whole. "Fair Housing doesn't [distinguish] between Orthodox, Conservative or Reform Jews," said Smith.
Greg Nunn, president of the Inwood Community Group and an active member of the Five Towns African-American community, said he felt that the local acts of housing discrimination outlined by the NFHA were overblown. He said he had no problem purchasing a house on Rugby Road in Cedarhurst in 1974, and that during the eight years that he lived there before moving to Inwood, he was treated with great respect in the predominantly white neighborhood. "I don't think it's a fair portrayal of our community," said Nunn.
Eon Bailey, president of Jamaicans and Caribbeans for Action, based in the Five Towns Community Center, said during the press conference that through his involvement with the housing activist group Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), he believes racism is a major problem in Nassau County when it comes to minorities trying to purchase homes in certain neighborhoods. "The racism is thick and [minorities] are not getting a [adequate] response," said Bailey.
Smith would not say whether other real estate agencies on Long Island were under investigation, but hinted that violations of discrimination may be brought in the near future. "Testing for us is always ongoing," Smith said. "You'll probably be seeing us soon."
Comments about this story? ACoen@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 210.
