The New York City Commission on Human Rights is apparently investigating an incident in which a white woman (Amy Cooper) called the NYPD on a black man (Christian Cooper) after he asked her to put her dog on a leash.
The NYC Commission on Human Rights enforces the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL), which prohibits discrimination in various contexts, including employment, housing, and places of public accommodation.
While it is not immediately clear which statutory provisions are implicated, it should be noted that NYCHRL itle 8, Chapter 6 of that law provides for remedies resulting from “discriminatory harassment or violence.”[1]Even assuming that Central Park is a “place of public accommodation, it would appear that the statutory provision prohibiting public accommodation discrimination may not apply, since it is not clear that the person allegedly engaging in discrimination here is “the owner, franchisor, franchisee, lessor, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place or provider of public accommodation[.]” See NYCHRL § 8-107(4).
For example, NYCHRL § 8-602, titled “Civil Action to enjoin discriminatory harassment or violence; equitable remedies”, provides in part:
a. Whenever a person interferes by threats, intimidation or coercion or attempts to interfere by threats, intimidation or coercion with the exercise or enjoyment by any person of rights secured by the constitution or laws of the United States, the constitution or laws of this state, or local law of the city and such interference or attempted interference is motivated in whole or in part by the victim’s actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation, age, whether children are, may or would be residing with such victim, marital status, partnership status, disability, or alienage or citizenship status as defined in chapter 1 of this title, the corporation counsel, at the request of the city commission on human rights or on the corporation counsel’s own initiative, may bring a civil action on behalf of the city for injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief in order to protect the peaceable exercise or enjoyment of the rights secured.
Furthermore, NYCHRL § 8-603, titled “Discriminatory harassment; civil penalties”, provides in part:
a. No person shall by force or threat of force, knowingly injure, intimidate or interfere with, oppress, or threaten any other person in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured to such other person by the constitution or laws of this state or by the constitution or laws of the United States or by local law of the city when such injury, intimidation, interference, oppression or threat is motivated in whole or in part by the victim’s actual or perceived race, creed, color, national origin, gender, sexual and reproductive health decisions, sexual orientation, age, marital status, partnership status, disability or alienage or citizenship status, as defined in chapter 1 of this title.
A violation of this subdivision may result in “a civil penalty of not more than $100,000 for each violation, which may be recovered by the corporation counsel in an action or proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction.”
| ↩1 | Even assuming that Central Park is a “place of public accommodation, it would appear that the statutory provision prohibiting public accommodation discrimination may not apply, since it is not clear that the person allegedly engaging in discrimination here is “the owner, franchisor, franchisee, lessor, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent or employee of any place or provider of public accommodation[.]” See NYCHRL § 8-107(4). |
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