There are issues with the way New York state’s Division of Human Rights (DHR) manages housing discrimination complaints, according to a new audit released Thursday by the office of state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, which found DHR could not account for 68% of sampled complaints. 

“We do a lot of work with the Division of Homes and Community Renewal, and they have a backlog of tenant cases that goes back years," said For The Many political coordinator Daniel Atonna.

For The Many is a grassroots advocacy group that focuses a lot of its work on tenant protections.

"It doesn't surprise me that the Division of Human Rights also has a backlog of cases," Atonna said. 

The audit found that complaints were not being managed correctly and little supervision was given, meaning the investigations took longer than the established timeframes and so did communicating the outcome to those who lodged complaints.

The report concluded the issues of timeliness and communication eroded public trust. 

Atonna believes it’s possible that housing discrimination is being underrepresented by complaint numbers. 

“It's possible that dozens of people are being discriminated against, but they're not even bothering to file because they don't have any faith that the state will actually follow up on it," he said. "And based on this report, their cynicism is actually based on some fact.” 

In response to this report, DHR’s Acting Commissioner Denise Miranda said in the few months she’s been there, the division has taken steps to improve efficiency and responsiveness. 

"While this work is not over, we are confident that these reforms will make DHR stronger and better positioned to protect the rights of New Yorkers than ever before," Miranda said in a statement. "The New York State Division of Human Rights appreciates OSC's efforts and looks forward to working together in the coming months to assess the implementation of these improvements."

Atonna said he’d like to more support given to agencies like DHR through the state's budget.