The Supreme Court of Long Island City ruled that the Queensboro Corporation, which manages the apartment houses in Jackson Heights, Borough of Queens, has the right, as renting agent for the owner of the apartment houses, to refuse to accept Jews as tenants, no matter how excellent was the character of those who apply, or their ability to pay the required rent.
Supreme Court Justice Burt J. Humphrey ruled that under the terms of the contract with the renting agency the latter had the right to choose the tenants.
The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company loaned money for the construction of these buildings, and still hold the first mortgages. The Jackson Heights Investing Co sued to foreclose second mortgages amounting to $375,000 on the group of apartment houses known as the “Spanish Gardens” and the defense presented by the owner, whose treasurer is a Jew, was, that the Queensboro Corporation, which had been selected by the holder of the mortgage as the Renting Agent, had issued instruction not to accept any Jews as tenants, and that this was the cause of the premises remaining largely unrented, as a result of which, the owner was unable to make payments as required by the mortgage.
The owners of the property will appeal from the decision.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
