WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday that federal agencies are taking new steps to stop racial discrimination in appraising home values by proposing a rule intended to ensure that the automated formulas used to price housing are fair.

“Everyone should be able to take full advantage of their aspiration and dream of owning a home,” Harris told reporters on a telephone call.

Announcement of the proposed rule comes a year after the administration laid out a plan to stop appraisers from systemically undervaluing the homes of Black people and other underrepresented groups. Low appraisals make it harder for these homeowners to build wealth and access home equity lines of credit, worsening racial inequality. Appraisers help to determine the value of a home so buyers can receive a mortgage.

The extent of the discrimination by appraisers can be massive, in some instances more than halving the value of a property. In Indianapolis, one Black homeowner found the appraised value of her home jumped to $259,000 from $125,000, after she declined to disclose her race on her application and removed all family photos and African American art in the home.

Because many financial institutions and mortgage companies use formulas to judge the value of a home, the proposed rule would set out new standards to prevent discrimination. Companies that rely on appraisals would need to adopt policies to improve the accuracy of their appraisals, stop data manipulation and avoid conflicts of interest.

The proposed rule would have a 60-day comment period.

The Biden administration is also having federal agencies make it easier for homebuyers to appeal racial bias in appraisals and is providing the public with more data in order to increase transparency. The administration is also seeking to make it easier for people in underrepresented groups to become appraisers.

In June 2021, President Joe Biden announced the formation of the Interagency Task Force on Property Appraisal and Valuation Equity, known as PAVE, to address the challenge of bias in appraisals.

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NEW YORK (AP) — A New York City police officer is speaking out against the use of “courtesy cards” by friends and relatives of his colleagues on the force, accusing department leaders of maintaining a sprawling system of impunity that lets people with a connection to law enforcement avoid traffic tickets.

Though not officially recognized by the NYPD, the laminated cards have long been treated as a perk of the job. The city’s police unions issue them to members, who circulate them among those who want to signal their NYPD connections — often to get out of minor infraction like speeding or failing to wear a seat belt.

In a federal lawsuit filed in Manhattan this week, Officer Mathew Bianchi described a practice of selective enforcement with consequences for officers who don’t follow the unwritten policy. Current and retired officers now have access to hundreds of cards, giving them away in exchange for a discount on a meal or a home improvement job, he said.

In the Staten Island precinct where he works, a predominantly white area with a high percentage of cops and other city workers, Bianchi said multitudes of people he pulled over for traffic infractions flashed him one of the cards.

“I see card after card. You’re not allowed to write any of them (up),” he told The Associated Press. “We’re not supposed to be showing favoritism when we do car stops, and we shouldn’t be giving them out because the guy mows my lawn.”

Bianchi said he was reprimanded on numerous occasions for writing a ticket to a relative or parent of an officer. In some cases, his commanding officer would personally review body camera footage to see if he was giving those with cards a “hard time,” the lawsuit states.

The final straw came last summer, when Bianchi wrote a ticket to a friend of the NYPD’s highest-ranking uniformed officer, Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, according to the lawsuit. Three days later, Bianchi said he was ousted from his job in the traffic unit and moved to a night patrol shift.

The top chief, a long-time ally of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, is currently facing a department trial over allegations that he improperly voided the arrest of a former officer accused of menacing children with a gun.

A spokesperson for the NYPD said the department would review the lawsuit. Inquiries to Maddrey were not returned.

John Nuthall, a spokesperson for the Police Benevolent Association, the NYPD’s largest union, didn’t deny the existence of courtesy cards but said it was up to management to decide department policy.

“The law and NYPD policies afford police officers discretion in taking enforcement action,” Nuthall said. “Each police officer determines how to exercise that discretion based on the specifics of each case.”

The city’s police unions have long faced media scrutiny over the cards, both over the appearance of corruption and over their appearance for sale on eBay.

Bianchi said it was common for officers to receive stacks of cards from different union delegates. Dozens of courtesy cards are currently listed for sale online.

The ubiquity of the cards means that those without connections to law enforcement are less likely to get off with a warning, since officers are expected to write a certain amount of tickets, Bianchi said. In his experience, he said minority motorists were less likely to have access to the cards.

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* This article was originally published here

Garrett Warren, one of the boys missing in Harlem who later drowned in the Harlem River, is being laid to rest at a funeral Thursday. Warren, 13, went missing last month along with 11-year-old Alfa Barrie, who’s body was recovered from the Hudson River.

Services were held at Unity Funeral Chapels in Harlem. There was a viewing from followed by the funeral service.

RELATED: Bodies of missing boys Alfa Barrie and Garrett Warren recovered from local rivers

On May 12, Warren and Barrie, both students at Democracy Prep Middle School, went missing. After a week-long search, Warren’s body was recovered from the Harlem River on May 18. Barrie’s body was recovered under the Madison Avenue Bridge over the Hudson River on May 20.

Reports indicate that the boys climbed through a broken bridge close to the 145th Street Bridge. Police say the investigation is ongoing.

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* This article was originally published here

AmNews political reporter Ariama C. Long was featured on the June 1 episode of NY1’s You Decide with Errol Lewis podcast.

Long discussed the District 9 City Council Democratic Primary and the candidates looking to fill Richardson Jordan’s seat. She also touched on housing issues plaguing Harlem.

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE EPISODE.

Long is a Report for America corps member for the AmNews. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing political stories. Please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting https://bit.ly/amnews1.

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* This article was originally published here

New York was built on the passion and perseverance of immigrants, a fact that Queens Night Market is celebrating this June by spearheading the second annual “This Is NY: Celebrating Our Immigrant Heritage and Communities” series, a citywide initiative taking place throughout the month (which is also, fittingly, Immigrant Heritage Month) with programming and partnerships that honor the city’s many immigrant communities and their contributions. 

RECOMMENDED: Let me tell you—immigrants help make NYC the best city in the world

The series will include walking tours of Elmhurst, Queens and Manhattan’s Harlem, a film screening at the Museum of Chinese in America, a family-friendly Dragon Boat festival, a fair spotlighting Juneteenth and One Love Little Caribbean Day vendors and traditions and a night of live Jewish music, as well as various book talks, oral history exhibits, outdoor concerts and more. Find event and ticket information at the official This Is NY website. 

“This is our second year spearheading This Is NY, and in the long run, I hope it becomes a citywide resource that helps us all celebrate the immigrant history and immigrant New Yorkers that make this city such a vibrant, rich wellspring of food, arts, and ideas,” said John Wang, founder of the Queens Night Market, in a press release.   

As part of the This is NY series, Queen Night Market will also partner up with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to commemorate World Refugee Day and shine a light on all those who have had to flee their homes due to the threat of persecution, war or violence. On Saturday, June 17, the market will highlight the culinary traditions of vendors that are run either by refugees or other forcibly displaced persons, including Nomad Dumplings, Blintz Box, Cambodianow and Nansense. Along with the great food, there will also be live performances from forcibly displaced musicians, including The Brooklyn Nomads.

“Since it launched, the Queens Night Market has represented over 95 countries through our vendors and their food, and many of those vendors, or their families, were refugees seeking asylum here in the US. So, when the United Nations Refugee Agency asked if we’d be interested in collaborating, we couldn’t say yes fast enough,” added Wang.

Guests can help out the cause with a suggested donation of $5 upon entry, which will be donated to USA for UNHCR to support refugee communities. And Queens Night Market has pledged to donate 33-percent of its net proceeds from the June 17th event to charity. 

* This article was originally published here