New York Close To Banning Criminal Background Checks From Housing Applications

The Root via yahoo ^ | August 10, 2022 | Murjani Rawls

[grundle]

The city of New York is fighting to find solutions to the ongoing homelessness crisis. Almost 50,000 people are said to be occupying New York shelters right now. Besides inflation and abnormally high rental prices, another barrier to housing is criminal records factoring into applications. As the New York Times reports, a piece of legislation seeks to end that practice that has abnormally affected people of color. The Fair Chance For Housing Act would ban landlords and brokers from seeking a person’s criminal records and stop them from denying housing because of prior arrests or convictions.

In New York alone, almost 750,000 residents have a criminal conviction record – 80% of which are Black and Latino. Due to discriminatory practices, New York City ranks as the third-most-segregated city for Black Americans in the US and second-most-segregated for Latinos.

Places like New Jersey, San Francisco, and Cook County in Illinois have hampered the ability of landlords to check and screen tenants based on their criminal records. New York City mayor Eric Adams has stated he would favor the legislation. Property owners and landlord groups successfully stopped a prior attempt to pass similar legislation last year. The same will likely happen with this version of the bill. Vito Signorile, vice president at the Rent Stabilization Association, stated he and 25,000 owners were against the bill because of “safety concerns.”

Under the bill, someone who believes they have been discriminated against because of their criminal history could file a lawsuit against a landlord or a complaint with the New York City Commission on Human Rights. The act does come with a couple of exceptions.

[willk]

Here is an easy solution to the homeless crisis. For the majority of them. Wait for it...just put them back in jail. Remember vagrancy laws? Start enforcing them. Remember when the state hospitals were emptied out after lawsuits by the ACLU with the promise that local governments would look out for them? Local government needs to start providing treatment for them. Unlike the druggies, criminals and bums, the mentally ill never had a choice.

[MinorityRepublican]

Local government needs to start providing treatment for them. Unlike the druggies, criminals and bums, the mentally ill never had a choice.

Should have vagrancy laws but back then up with homeless shelters and mental institutions. If the person does not cooperate, put him in jail until you get him checked out and see if he needs treatment (mental institution). If not, there's a bed at the homeless shelter.

[ronnie raygun]

bloods, crips, ms 13, are happy, if they are not already there

[Toespi]

So what happens to “Megan’s Law”? At the federal level, Megan’s Law requires persons convicted of sex crimes against children to notify local law enforcement of any change of address or employment after release from custody (prison or psychiatric facility)

Guess this is out the window? Licensed Realtors are required to search local databases and disclose any registered sex offenders in a certain radius of a property to potential buyers.