Bill seeks to prevent discrimination of co-op applicants

A bill before the City Council would require co-op board members to confirm in writing they did not discriminate against potential buyers and to act on all applications within 45 days, the New York Times reported.

The measure is intended to limit mistreatment of applicants because of their race, ethnicity and a host of other criteria. The signatures of board members would bring accountability and the time limit would prevent a delayed response from being construed as bias said Councilman Lewis Fidler, who sponsored the bill.

Co-op group representatives have called the bill unnecessary, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it creates “additional impediments to private real estate transactions,” according to the Times.

Fidler’s measure cobbles together many anti-discrimination bills dating back to 2004, but is more diluted in its approach. Those bills forced boards to explain why they rejected an application, the newspaper said. [NYT] –Mark Maurer