Long Island Town Hall on housing divide

Ahead of Thursday’s State Senate hearings about housing discrimination on Long Island was a town hall Tuesday night that drew more than 100 attendees.

The event, sponsored by EOC Suffolk, Erase Racism, NAACP and Urban League of Long Island, included a discussion with Newsday investigative team members Olivia Winslow and Keith Herbert about what went into producing Long Island Divided, the three-year investigation of real estate practices. Erase Racism president Elaine Gross opened the town hall with a history of housing discrimination in the region and the event concluded with a panel that included Gross, LIA President Kevin Law, developer Les Bluestone and NAACP’s Gary Johnson.

Attendees, which included leaders of advocacy groups, state offices and more, participated by answering texting answers to questions posed by Gross and others. Responses then appeared together on the screen.

The word attendees most often texted about how they feel in regard to housing discrimination on Long Island?

Angry.

Watch the video above to hear the full town hall and the Q&A discussion.