Jamaica landlord fi ned for threatening to call ICE on tenant
BY MAX PARROTT
A New York City judge recommended
on Sept. 12 that a
Jamaica-based landlord pay
$17,000 to a tenant after threatening
to call Immigration and
Customs and Enforcement on
them.
The New York City Commission
on Human Rights
(the Commission) brought
this discrimination lawsuit
on behalf of the tenant Holly
Ondaan against her former
landlord Dianna Lysius. An
administrative judge recommended
damages of $12,000 for
emotional distress and a civil
penalty of $5,000, according to
the Office of Administrative
Trials and Hearings.
The commission’s lawyers
alleged that the Lysius discriminated
against Ondaan
by sending her a series of text
messages calling her an illegal
immigrant and threatening
to contact ICE after Ondaan
missed rental payments.
They argued this constitutes
a violation of City Human
Rights Law, which makes
it illegal for landlords to discriminate
the conditions of
housing accommodations
based on “alienage or citizenship
status.”
According to the Wall
Street Journal, Lysius claims
that she didn’t send the texts
and emails to Ondaan. She
called the commission’s report
“false” and said she plans to
appeal the judge’s ruling.
Philippe Abner Knab, a
lawyer who represented the
commission, said that the
judgment is the first case of
its kind where a landlord was
fined for threatening to call
immigration. According to
the commission, they have
received 160 inquiries in 2018
related to housing discrimination
based immigration status,
national origin and citizenship
status — a 7 percent
increase from 2017.
“There’s cases like this in
employer context — an employer
using ICE as a threat.
But in housing, there’s nothing
like this,” Knab told QNS,
adding that he didn’t see the
recommendation as the beginning
of an increase in landlord
discrimination suits because
of the fear that people without
status often have over accessing
A replication of a text that Jamaica landlord Dianna Lysius allegedly
sent her tenant in January.
Original image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
the legal system.
After Ondaan moved into
the apartment on 148th Street
in 2011, for years she paid
for part of her housing using
rental assistance through the
City Human Resources Administration.
A conflict began
between her and Lysius in
October 2017 when she ceased
paying rent based on “financial
difficulties.”
The Commission’s lawyers
said that Ondaan started complaining
to the police about
receiving harassing texts
and visits from Lysius that
fall, but it wasn’t until January
2018 that the landlord began
threatening to call ICE.
Ondaan printed the text messages
from this period and presented
them to the court.
“I REPORTED YOU TO
IMMIGRATION BOO THEY
KNOW IM THE LANDLORD
TO PROVIDE THEM KEYS
COME DIRECTLY TO YOU,”
read a text that Ondaan printed
out. T
he cap on damages for
the penalty for the violation of
human rights law is $125,000.
While Administrative Law
Judge John B. Spooner wrote
that he found the Ondaan’s testimony
credible and her emotional
distress tangible, ultimately
he did not find it as severe as
several cases that set precedent
for this type of award.
The recommendation will
now go before the Chairperson
of the Commission who will
ultimately decide whether to
accept or modify it.
Reach reporter Max Parrott
by e-mail at mparrott@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at
(718) 260-2507.
L’Shana Tova
Best Wishes for a
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Jewish New Year
Congresswoman
Grace Meng
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TIMESLEDGER,8 SEPT. 27-OCT. 3, 2019 BT TIMESLEDGER.COM
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