Suzanne Adler: Fighting Income Discrimination Through Neighbors Together

Suzanne Adler Elliman agent Suzanne Adler does more than help people find their dream homes—she helps fight income discrimination throughout the housing market and empowers others throughout their housing search. Elliman Insider sat down with Suzanne to find out how she, along with Neighbors Together , an organization fighting to end poverty and hunger, work to help people find both a new home and the resources they need. Elliman Insider: Income discrimination refers to the practice of refusing to rent to a housing applicant because of that person’s lawful form of income*. What inspired you to become passionate about income discriminationaffordable housing? Suzanne Adler: One type of income discrimination is when an owner doesn’t want to rent to someone because they pay their rent using a program like Section 8. There are a lot of reasons why someone might end up with a housing voucher or program. Some people have chronic medical issues, which inhibit their ability to work. Some have been living in the same place for a long time, happily, and have been forced to move because of gentrification. Others are trying to escape domestic violence or unsafe situations. Because I was white and sounded educated, I was treated completely differently. When I first started out as an agent I did mostly rentals. When I worked with tenants with housing vouchers, I saw how a lot of agents and landlords treated them differently than they would other customers. Some would flat out say “no”—people would be so rude to them. Because I am white and sounded educated, I was treated completely differently. That’s when I realized that this was really important work that needed to be done. I have found that with my real estate business, buyer and seller clients who have similar values and mindsets are seeking me out because they appreciate my strong ethics. EI: What are some typical barriers that homeless New Yorkers face when finding and obtaining affordable housing? SA : TECHNOLOGY: Often low-income or under resourced New Yorkers do not have access to the technology that is needed for a housing search in today’s world. The agencies that administer these rental assistance programs and vouchers do not help much. I would even go so far as to say they hinder the process sometimes because they do not understand what it takes to look for an apartment. One client recently showed me an apartment search guide that was so outdated, it suggested looking at the classified section of newspapers such as the Village Voice , a paper that went out of business in 2018. It was photocopied so many times you couldn’t even read it. Then the flyer urged clients to get a library card so they can use a computer. Housing specialists leave clients with that flyer and say “good luck!” But no realistic housing search can take place using a computer at a library. Many clients still have a phone that was given to them during the Obama Phone program and cannot conduct effective searches, or even keep their phone charged. VERY LITTLE INVENTORY Payment standards for housing vouchers are also incredibly low and most programs will approve an apartment far below market rate in New York City. For example, a family of two people using the City Family Eviction Prevention Supplement have to locate an apartment that rents for $1,303 or lower with no room for negotiation. If you search on StreetEasy.com, you’ll probably find no apartments that rent in that price range. I have no idea how they came up with that number, but I can tell you, there’s not much out there for that price. And with 61,000 New Yorkers living in shelters right now, you can imagine the competition for these and other low-cost apartments. NOT UNDERSTANDING THE LAW A lot of my normal day is spent explaining tenants’ rights around fair housing. Often tenants don’t pursue apartments because of misleading wording in the description of a listing. So much of this work is about communication and correcting miscommunication, and wading through paperwork and standing up for what is right. We are teaching skills that participants can take out into the world during their housing searches when I’m not with them. EI: Tell us more about the process of helping these New Yorkers set up a household—what is it like being able to help them set up their first home? SA : For many of my clients, this is literally their first apartment, so they have nothing. When you move out of a homeless shelter you can apply for a furniture grant. However, the furniture allowance amount has literally not been revised since the early 80s. So it doesn’t get them very far in setting up a household. Sometimes my Elliman clients who are selling their apartments have furniture and nice household items to give away and I always try to make that connect. EI: How long have you been working for Neighbors Together and how did you find out about the program? SA: I began working with Neighbors Together last summer, but I had been working to help low-income families with rental assistance long before that at Elliman. I was so excited to learn there was an organization out there that was seeing what I was seeing and actively trying to do something about it. I wrote a very impassioned cover letter explaining why I would be perfect housing advocate, and the director of HR called me the next day. At first, they were a little skeptical about how a real estate agent could help because historically, brokers and landlords were seen as the enemy. But I now feel like part of the family and I think I fit in really well because I can clearly see all the sides of the story, and all the good education that I get through Elliman really helps. Once a person has a good, safe place to live, they blossom. EI: What do you think sets Neighbors Together apart from other organizations? SA: There are many soup kitchens and food pantries throughout the city, and some offer services like we do, but ours is the only one of its kind that gives workshops about source of income discrimination and teaches people how to look for apartments. Neighbors Together’s mission is all about empowerment, and I think that’s really effective and powerful in housing advocacy. We are teaching skills that participants can take out into the world during their housing searches when I’m not with them. Once a person has a good, safe place to live, they blossom. EI: How has your work as a housing advocate morphed and changed as this pandemic has unfolded? SA: Since the stay-at-home order precludes me from meeting with clients and running housing search workshops, I need to do everything on the phone and that’s been hard. There is so much to effective communication that is not verbal, like body language cues or facial expressions. Our soup kitchen keeps breaking records in the number of people they serve. I might reach out to a person to check on their housing situation, but often our conversations unveil other issues or needs like access to food or resources for their children to be able to learn remotely. This work keeps me humble and grounded; it keeps me in the right state of mind. *Americanbar.org Contact Suzanne Adler for all of your real estate needs.