File Photo
Elected officials, tenants, condo owners, and advocacy groups rallied outside 47-55 39th Pl. last August.
By Forum Staff
Three Sunnyside condominium board members have been forced to resign as part of a recent settlement between the City and the Board of Managers at 47-55 39th Pl. following a NYC Commission on Human Rights investigation into reports of tenant harassment, discrimination, and a hostile environment, including displays of Nazi and Confederate imagery, swastikas, and hate symbols in the lobby.
The agreement requires the resignation of board member Neal Milano and two others, removal of all offensive posters, symbols, and materials from the lobby, and changes to the condo “House Rules” to comply with the NYC Human Rights Law, including the removal of a provision requiring tenants to prove their immigration status and amending its “no pets” policy to include language about accommodating tenants with disabilities.
Additionally, the settlement requires the new Board of Managers to create and distribute new written policies detailing its housing obligations under the NYC Human Rights Law to all unit owners and tenants, post “Fair Housing” and “Notice of Rights” posters prominently in the lobby, and train newly elected board members on the Law. The settlement also allows the commission to be present at Board of Manager’s annual meetings and elections to ensure compliance with the settlement and the NYC Human Rights Law and requires the new board to notify the commission of annual meetings for the next two years.
The CHR launched the investigation on behalf of the City in August 2017 after it learned of possible violations of the NYC Human Rights Law in the building from Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), tenants, and condo owners. Several individuals reported that board member Neal Milano was harassing tenants based on their immigration status, national origin, and race and creating a hostile environment, including the posting of notices, photos, and slogans in the common area of the building to demean, intimidate, and harass tenants. The commission indicated that it sent a Cease and Desist Letter to the board in September 2017, which warned that their policies and practices were potentially in violation of the NYC Human Rights Law and ordered Milano to stop, and began investigating the allegations by interviewing tenants and unit owners and reviewing the board’s rules and policies.
According to CHR, one tenant alleged that Milano stopped her as she was walking to her apartment with her boyfriend, who is of Puerto-Rican descent, demanding to see his passport and exclaiming that he “could be anyone illegal.” Another unit owner said that Milano left her a voicemail claiming to be Adolf Hitler and stating that “the grandmaster of the KKK is coming to the lobby.” The same unit owner said that Milano also responded to her attempt to rent her unit to a Latina woman by declaring, “She’s Spanish. They are low lives and don’t pay the rent.”
Additionally, the commission reported violations of the NYC Human Rights Law in the condo’s “House Rules,” including a provision requiring unit owners to provide to the board the U.S. passport or residency card of any tenant renting or residing in the unit, as well as a blanket “no pets” policy that does not mention accommodations for tenants with disabilities.
