Times Union photo illustration by Jeffrey Scherer.
It's hard to say what's the most outrageous finding in the comptroller's audit of the state Division of Human Rights. Is it the carelessness? The incompetence? The grim implications for New Yorkers seeking justice?
The office of state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli noted all that and more when it took an accounting of the agency’s operations. The Division of Human Rights’ shoddy case management, the audit found, meant that dozens of housing discrimination cases went unaddressed: Complaints were lost or mislabeled and fell through the cracks. Many never even made it into the computer system. Notifications required by law were blown off. Incomplete case files suggest all investigative steps may not have been followed before a case was dismissed. Some cases were allowed to languish for years.
The audit, which looked at the period from April 2019 to October 2023, found that in about half of 175 complaints reviewed, the agency never investigated, or it failed to notify the accused within 30 days, as the law requires. In nearly 70% of cases, the agency........