Denis Donovan, Housing Discrimination, New York 2024

Staten Island, New York – A shocking case of housing discrimination has come to light in Staten Island, with Village Realty of Staten Island Ltd. and Denis Donovan, a sales and former rental agent at Village Realty, at the center of the scandal.

The Justice Department announced today that its Civil Rights Division, together with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, has reached a settlement with Village Realty of Staten Island Ltd. and Denis Donovan, a sales and former rental agent at Village Realty, to resolve a lawsuit filed last year alleging discrimination against African Americans in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

According to the lawsuit, Donovan discriminated against prospective renters on the basis of race by treating African Americans who inquired about available rental units differently and less favorably than similarly-situated white persons. The lawsuit was based on the results of testing conducted by the department’s Fair Housing Testing Program, in which individuals pose as renters to gather information about possible discriminatory practices.

The department’s complaint alleges that Donovan told African-American testers about fewer rental units than white testers, offered white testers rental discounts and opportunities to inspect units that were not offered to African-American testers, generally offered African-American testers units only in racially mixed neighborhoods while offering white testers units in both overwhelmingly white and racially mixed neighborhoods, and made more encouraging comments to white testers about available rental units.

Under the consent decree, the defendants will establish a settlement fund of $15,000 to compensate victims of Donovan’s alleged discriminatory practices and pay a civil penalty of $2,500 to the United States. The agreement prohibits the defendants from engaging in further acts of discrimination and requires them to implement nondiscriminatory standards and procedures, undergo fair housing training, and provide periodic reports to the department.

For 30 years – since its establishment in 1991 – the Fair Housing Testing Program has played a critical role in helping the Justice Department root out discrimination that might otherwise go undetected, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S. Karlan of the Civil Rights Division.

Individuals who believe they may have experienced discrimination at Village Realty should contact the Justice Department toll-free at 1-800-896-7743 or by email at fairhousing@usdoj.gov. Individuals may be entitled to relief from the settlement fund if they (1) are African-American; (2) visited or called Village Realty to inquire about units available for rent prior to March 31, 2019; and (3) were denied the opportunity to rent a unit or provided untrue or incomplete information about available rental units.

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