ERASE Racism Praises New York State for Revoking Racist, Long Island-Based, Real Estate Agent's License and Calls on the State to Enforce its Human Rights Law Aggressively

Syosset, NY – December 14, 2020 – ERASE Racism President Elaine Gross today issued the statement below in response to the State of New York's revocation of the license of a Long Island real estate agent who used a racial epithet and made threats while brandishing an assault-style weapon in a widely circulated online video. The license of Jared Aversano, who was an agent at his parents' Ronkonkoma-based brokerage RE/MAX Eastern Properties until the 14-second video came to light in June, was revoked in a 24-page decision by Administrative Law Judge Joan R. Salzman. The statement by Elaine Gross follows:

The announcement on Friday that a New York State administrative law judge had revoked the real estate license of Jared Aversano, who exhibited, in the judge's words, "the deeply ingrained bad faith and rancor he holds against Black people," was welcome news. It is just a drop in the bucket, however, when it comes to undoing the widespread and proven racial discrimination of the Long Island real estate community. That discrimination is evident not only in this case but broadly. 

Just over a year ago, Newsday's landmark investigation of housing discrimination on Long Island demonstrated "ERASE Racism's previous investigation, using the same gold-standard method of paired testing, that demonstrated racial discrimination by Long Island property owners and management companies that showed rental apartments to white applicants and not to African Americans." Its finding aligned with the results of widespread separate and unequal treatment of minority potential homebuyers and minority communities on Long Island." Its findings aligned with the results of ERASE Racism's previous investigation, using the same gold-standard method of paired testing, that demonstrated racial discrimination by Long Island property owners and management companies that showed rental apartments to white applicants and not to African Americans.

As recently as September, real estate agents and brokers on Long Island appeared before a joint hearing of three State Senate Committees and testified that they had not discriminated based on race in their advice to prospective homeowners on Long Island, despite undercover video demonstrating the opposite.

The State should be commended for revoking this racist real estate agent's license, but much more aggressive enforcement is needed to end racial discrimination in the real estate industry. Most racial discrimination is far less visible and more insidious than this real estate agent brandishing an assault rifle. The challenge for the State is to eliminate all racial discrimination in the industry – not just the most glaringly obvious. Disciplinary actions including revocations should become much more common to correct widespread illegal discrimination."

Click here to download a PDF of the Press Release.