On May 16th, 2018, advocates rallied on the steps of City Hall in opposition to Mayor Bill DeBlasio’s proposed budget cuts to the City’s Commission on Human Rights. The commission is home to a Source of Income Unit, one of the city’s only responses to rampant income discrimination in the New York City housing market.
The unit that currently exists is small, but robust. With 5 full time staff members, it currently has over 230 open cases against discriminatory landlords. The proposed $1.7 million cut to the commission’s budget will not eliminate the Source of Income Unit, but it will put a heavier strain on its employees and their access to resources. And while the commission is doing its best, it is indisputable to anybody with a voucher that the city needs to do more to properly address income discrimination, not less. DeBlasio’s actions make it clear that this administration does not consider source of income discrimination a serious problem, nor will they take any actions to advance the city’s response.
Advocates, including city council member Jumaane Williams (above), and chair of the council’s Committee on Civil and Human Rights, Matheiu Eugene, spoke about the reality of this crisis and its inevitable link to the city’s other under-acknowledged crisis; homelessness. You can read more about the rally in AMNY here.