Nyack

ROCKLAND, NY – Senator Elijah Reichlin-Melnick was joined by local residents and activists to discuss plans to combat housing discrimination in New York. The Senator authored the bill S8874/A10130 which aims to crack down on appraisal discrimination by forcing violators of state and federal fair housing policies and laws to pay fines that will be allocated to the anti-discrimination in housing fund. 

The press conference was a reaffirmation of the Senator’s commitment to championing this bill so that it can become law. Last year the bill passed the Senate with a bipartisan vote of 53 to 10, but did not come to a vote in the Assembly. Once in place, this law would allow New York to join a handful of states that have taken action toward ensuring that everyone, regardless of race, can fully and fairly participate in buying homes. 

Senator Reichlin-Melnick said, “New York must do all that we can to dismantle the institutional racism that continues to undermine the ability for us to reduce the racial wealth gap. Owning a home is not just a foundation of the American Dream, it is often the greatest contributor to household wealth. Yet throughout the history of the United States, government policies have systematically undermined the ability for Black and Hispanic people to own homes, which is such a critical step in establishing generation wealth.”

“Homeownership is a reliable pathway to build generational wealth for American families. However, discriminatory home appraisals are draining wealth from communities of color,” stated Assemblymember Michaelle C. Solages. “As the Chair of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic, and Asian Legislative Caucus I am proud to have introduced this legislation alongside Senator Reichlin-Melnick which will curtail this practice. By instituting fines and funding the anti-discrimination in housing fund, the bill will proactively weed out bad actors, and allow families to build home equity.”

Nyack NAACP President Nicole Hines read a testimonial from Sabriya Elam, a South Nyack resident describing appraisal discrimination happening right here in Rockland, “In 2020 when I was refinancing my home, I knew the first assessment came in way under market value for my house. I set up a scenario that I hoped would get a better assessment, but never really thought about just how valuable and simultaneously devastating the results would be. By removing the artifacts that represent my family and replacing them with staged images from my white friend, we were able to secure a significant increase in the assessed value, offering financial opportunities we wouldn’t have otherwise been able to experience.”