Protesters gathered outside DeFalco Realty in Bay Ridge on August 5, accusing the real estate firm of discriminating against potential tenants who rely on rental assistance and voucher programs like CityFHEPS in New York City’s challenging housing market. Demonstrators, including voucher recipient Douglas Powell, claimed that DeFalco Realty repeatedly rejected applicants who mentioned vouchers, which is illegal under local, state, and federal fair housing laws. Advocacy groups like VOCAL-NY and UnlockNYC organized the protest to highlight income discrimination issues, with one participant revealing that he and another person applied for apartments at the same time, but only one was approved when vouchers were mentioned. The city’s Commission on Human Rights has resolved numerous cases of income discrimination and obtained substantial penalties from discriminatory companies and landlords.