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New York Fines Queens Landlord $55,000 Over ICE-Linked Lobby Sign, Orders Reforms

State officials announced a settlement imposing training, policy changes, plus multi-year oversight following findings of intimidation tied to immigration enforcement.

Overview

  • The Division of Human Rights said Parsons 88 Realty, Zara Realty Holding Corp., and five individuals will pay $55,000 under a February settlement announced this week.
  • Investigators cited a lobby poster urging calls to a Homeland Security Investigations tip line that listed “immigration” among “suspicious criminal activity.”
  • The agreement requires fair housing posters, a written anti-discrimination policy distributed in English, Spanish and Bengali, removal of national origin questions from applications, and staff training.
  • State officials said building staff harassed tenants and deterred cooperation by falsely warning of immigration raids; defendants admitted no violation.
  • The state will conduct a three-year compliance review of rental policies and applications, and Gov. Kathy Hochul publicly warned that threatening tenants with ICE is illegal in New York.