Reporters Go Undercover to Identify Housing Discrimination

A three-year investigation of the real estate industry on Long Island reveals rampant discriminatory practices and an industry complicit in the segregation of the communities that comprise the region.

1 minute read

November 20, 2019, 6:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Long Island, New York

BrandonKleinVideo / Shutterstock

Ann Choi, Keith Herbert, and Olivia Winslow present the bombshell findings of an undercover investigative report into the unequal treatment of minorities by real estate agents working on Long Island in New York.

"The three-year probe strongly indicates that house hunting in one of the nation’s most segregated suburbs poses substantial risks of discrimination, with black buyers chancing disadvantages almost half the time they enlist brokers," according to the article.

Of the interactions encountered by the undercover reporters working on the story, 19 percent of Asians faced unequal treatment, 39 percent of Hispanics, and 49 percent of Blacks.

"Additionally, the investigation reveals that Long Island’s dominant residential brokering firms help solidify racial separations," according to the article. "They also avoided business in communities with overwhelmingly minority populations."

The article includes interactive graphics, videos of encounters during the investigation, and a lot more info to document a massive investigative undertaking.

Sunday, November 17, 2019 in Newsday

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