Officials: Port Washington apartment complex settles tenant discrimination complaint

A Port Washington apartment complex and its management company will pay an $8,000 penalty to settle a housing discrimination complaint, New York State human rights officials said.

In a press release Thursday, the state’s Division of Human Rights alleged that Port Washington apartment complex Cow Bay Apartments and Westchester-based property management company Cornell Pace "failed to adopt a reasonable accommodation policy for tenants with disabilities."

The case originated when an older tenant with disabilities filed a complaint with the Division, alleging the complex and its management company failed to assign them a parking spot near their apartment building. In doing so, the tenant alleged, they denied a reasonable accommodation for age and disability. The release did not name the tenant.

Division officials filed their own complaint after the complex and its management company agreed to adopt an accommodation policy and circulate it to tenants and employees but never provided proof they had done so, according to the release.

Under the latest settlement, besides the fines, Cow Bay and Cornell Place have agreed to train employees on the state’s antidiscrimination law and to submit to a Division compliance review.

Cornell Pace did not respond to a voicemail. A man who answered the phone at Cow Bay said he knew nothing about the settlement and could not comment. The press office for the Division of Human Rights did not respond to emailed questions.

An $8 million renovation of 88-unit Cow Bay in 2012 drew officials from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development as well as local elected officials, with one HUD administrator describing the complex as "an affordable housing resource for the residents of Long Island," according to an agency press release at the time.

The complex was built in 1971 with HUD money and is made up of seven garden-apartment buildings, the release said.