FHJC AND CO-PLAINTIFF FILE SOURCE OF INCOME DISCRIMINATION COMPLAINT

 The Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) announced today it has filed a new lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court of Kings County alleging source of income discrimination at five different apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Queens.

The named Defendants are property owner/managers BRG Management LLC and Benedict Realty Group LLC; real estate firms First State Realty LLC and E Hudson Properties LLC; building owners 1947 Ocean LLC, 1730 East 18th Tenant Corp., 149-05 Owners Corp., and 2940-2950 Ocean Apts. Inc.; real estate agents Phillip Salamon, and Joshua Glikman; and BRG owner/officers Barry D. Sendrovic, Daniel Benedict, and Ari Benedict.

The FHJC is joined as a co-Plaintiff by Ms. T, a Brooklyn resident and voucher holder who contacted the FHJC in 2025 after attempting to apply for an apartment in a BRG-owned building for herself and her young daughter. The complaint alleges that despite her voucher covering the full amount of the rent, Ms. T was ignored and ghosted by the Defendants.

After reviewing Ms. T’s case, the FHJC conducted investigations of the five buildings referenced in the complaint. Undercover testers posing as prospective renters contacted Defendants Salamon and Glikman regarding online ads for available apartments. In every case, testers who claimed their income was solely from employment were responded to promptly and invited to view the units. Several of these testers were sent applications, and one was even offered a rent that was $100 lower than the advertised rent.

In a stark contrast, the complaint alleges that FHJC testers claiming to be using government vouchers to cover all or part of their rent experienced the same ghosting treatment as Ms. T. Calls and texts went unanswered, effectively blocking these testers from viewing or applying for available units. Only one tester was able to view an apartment after disclosing their voucher, after which they were unable to access an application.

According to the complaint, the FHJC investigation demonstrates that the discrimination Ms. T experienced was not an isolated incident, or merely the result of apartments not being available. Instead, it was part of a systemic scheme to prevent housing voucher participants from accessing housing in Defendants’ buildings.

“When real estate professionals like BRG and their agents refuse to rent to voucher holders they don’t just break the law,” said FHJC Legal Director David Berman. “They slam the door on families who are just trying to navigate a complex system to secure assistance. That kind of discrimination doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it perpetuates cycles of poverty and segregation, and we intend to hold these Defendants fully accountable.”

The complaint was filed on January 20, 2026, and alleges violations of New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws. Along with monetary damages, it seeks permanent injunctive relief to end the discrimination, fair housing training for Defendants and their agents and employees, compliance testing for multiple years, and outreach to rental assistance organizations in New York City about Defendants’ non-discriminatory rental policies. The complaint can be read in full HERE.

The Plaintiffs are represented by Samantha Braver and Matthew Handley of Handley Farah & Anderson PLLC.

 Ms. Braver stated, “Source of income discrimination in New York City is a pernicious and systematic problem, further exacerbating the affordable housing crisis that has plagued this City for decades and forced many individuals to suffer inadequate living conditions. The complaint filed in Kings County is designed to stop this practice.”

The mission of FHJC, a nonprofit civil rights organization, is to eliminate housing discrimination; promote policies and programs that foster open, accessible, and inclusive communities; and strengthen enforcement of fair housing laws in the New York City region.