FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, Sept. 29, 2006 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRT (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against Triple H. Realty LLC and a current and former employee of the corporation, alleging that they discriminated against non-Jewish black and Hispanic tenants at the Cottage Manor Apartments in Lakewood, N.J.
The complaint, filed in federal district court in Newark, alleges that the defendants marketed the complex to Orthodox Jews in the local area beginning in 2002 by offering lower rents than current tenants paid for comparable apartments. Non-Jewish black and Hispanic residents were allegedly pressured to move out of buildings that management reserved for incoming Jewish tenants and that were better maintained than other buildings in the complex. The complaint also alleges that management provided Jewish residents more favorable living conditions, such as a fenced, landscaped yard.
"It is inexcusable and illegal to deny equal access to housing based on one's race or ethnicity," said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously protect the equal housing rights of all Americans." The Fair Housing Act protects all Americans from housing discrimination, including those persons recovering from substance abuse problems, said R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida. My office, in conjunction with the Civil Rights Division, is deeply committed to enforcing the laws that provide equal protection to all Americans. "It is inexcusable and illegal to deny equal access to housing based on one's race or ethnicity," said Wan J. Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously protect the equal housing rights of all Americans." The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, sex, familial status, national origin and disability. Since Jan. 1, 2001, the Justice Departments' Civil Rights Division has filed 210 cases to enforce the Fair Housing Act. For more information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces, visit http://www.usdoj.gov/crt.
Source: US Department of Justice
