City Council committee discusses co-op bias bill

Following a three-year wait, a City Council committee is holding a hearing today on a bill that strives to end co-op board discrimination, the New York Post reported.

“There is no question that discrimination goes on in the purchasing and selling of a co-op,” City Council member Lew Fidler, who sponsored the bill, told the Post. “Anybody who has been involved in the buying and selling of co-ops … if they’re going to be honest knows that truth.”

The bill requires co-op boards to provide every interested homebuyer with the same application — regardless of their age, race or ethnicity. In addition, boards must inform rejected buyers of the status of their bids within 45 days.

Allegations of board discrimination have provided fodder for countless lawsuits, notably one from African American hedge fund manager Alphonse Fletcher Jr. He sued the Dakota board after it rejected his attempt to buy the unit next to his own. The board claimed his finances were not in order.

In December, a state judge allowed his lawyers to withdraw the suit. [NYP] —Zachary Kussin