A racist realtor for Douglas Elliman accidentally texted "ugh they are black" to a Black couple looking for an apartment in NYC. The text was meant to be sent to the landlord, but it was sent directly to the prospective renters.
After realizing the mistake, the agent attempted ouple is moving forward with legal action by filing a housing discrimination lawsuit alleging federal and New York state housing law violations and racial profiling.
By sending a text like that, it implies that the realtor expected the property owner to be racist too and share that sentiment.
Housing discrimination is notoriously difficult to prove in US courts. There's always subtle excuses like another applicant, credit score, income requirements, etc. This racist text is a smoking gun that bypasses plausible deniability.
Douglas Elliman is one of the largest real estate brokers in the USA. They terminated the agent, but that doesn't make up for the racism and the indignity the couple faced.
After realizing the mistake, the agent attempted ouple is moving forward with legal action by filing a housing discrimination lawsuit alleging federal and New York state housing law violations and racial profiling.
By sending a text like that, it implies that the realtor expected the property owner to be racist too and share that sentiment.
Housing discrimination is notoriously difficult to prove in US courts. There's always subtle excuses like another applicant, credit score, income requirements, etc. This racist text is a smoking gun that bypasses plausible deniability.
Douglas Elliman is one of the largest real estate brokers in the USA. They terminated the agent, but that doesn't make up for the racism and the indignity the couple faced.
Oct 23, 2026 · 4:01 AM UTC
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"A couple has filed a lawsuit against a real estate brokerage, an agent and several property owners after they say a broker sent a text message referencing their race while they were seeking to rent an apartment in Queens."
abc7ny.com/post/queens-ho…
abc7ny.com/post/queens-ho…
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@davenewworld_2 Ppl look you dead in your face and tell you black ppl have a victim mindset from a period of time nobody was alive to experience…….
Brother….. this is what happens in 2026….
But this will still be argued this is an outlier and racism is a southern thing.
Brother….. this is what happens in 2026….
But this will still be argued this is an outlier and racism is a southern thing.
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@davenewworld_2 The most harm black people face isn't the racism that they receive explicitly from racists, but more on what happens in the background, you will be struggling with many things without knowing why.
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@davenewworld_2 He wasn’t smart enough to follow up with something like… “I was really hoping they would have been the red ones in the bag, they sent the black ones though. Will that fit the faucet?”
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@davenewworld_2 Imagine being a defense lawyer trying to spin "ugh they are black" into an issue with their credit score. Good luck explaining that typo to a judge.
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@davenewworld_2 He wouldn’t have texted that at all if that wasn’t already part of the corporate culture.
This racism has always been there…but now the racists feel empowered by the government.
This racism has always been there…but now the racists feel empowered by the government.
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@davenewworld_2n recognition
The civil rights act must be repealed.
All of this was forced on us at the point of a bayonet by the US military. No one wanted it and now we see that those who opposed it the loudest were 100% correct in predicting the consequences.
Our people are not compatible, and our society is crumbling as the result of attempting to force these square pegs into a round hole.
The civil rights act must be repealed.
All of this was forced on us at the point of a bayonet by the US military. No one wanted it and now we see that those who opposed it the loudest were 100% correct in predicting the consequences.
Our people are not compatible, and our society is crumbling as the result of attempting to force these square pegs into a round hole.
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@davenewworld_2 “After realizing the mistake”… More like, “after realizing that they broke the law, committed a crime, and lost their license”
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@davenewworld_2 But all the maga ytees say blacks get equal treatment these days and that racism is a thing of the past. Hmmm
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@davenewworld_2 the correlation of being a racist and being a clumsy fool needs to be studied
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@davenewworld_2 The Only form of Racism recognized by the Courts
Is Overt and Frankly idiotic direct Forms such as a Private Text
Without this Mistake they would’ve reeled Havok with Plausible Deniability.
Is Overt and Frankly idiotic direct Forms such as a Private Text
Without this Mistake they would’ve reeled Havok with Plausible Deniability.
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@davenewworld_2 Make sure people know that realtors name.
She should never work in the industry again
Helen Tzelios
She should never work in the industry again
Helen Tzelios
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@davenewworld_2 "Douglas Elliman is one of the largest real estate brokers in the USA. They terminated the agent"
Performative damage control, given the agents are essentially contractors for the agency.
Performative damage control, given the agents are essentially contractors for the agency.
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@davenewworld_2 I'm a real estate agent now for 23+ years.18 of those years with @DouglasElliman .Every year they requires you to take a rental brokerage course.& one of the topics is discrimination. This agent should have known better.And above that it's awful that he/she still thinks this way
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@davenewworld_2 And this right here is why I don't think DEI is necessarily a bad thing. If people are getting cut out, I don't see why it's so wrong to selectively give them a boost
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@davenewworld_2 Imagine not spinning this into an accidental text about bananas or something
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@davenewworld_2 I am sure the name on the application would have sufficed as evidence of their color.
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@davenewworld_2 Looks like they won’t be needing that apartment after all.
Mr Elliman is going to buy them a house instead.
Mr Elliman is going to buy them a house instead.
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@davenewworld_2 This needs to happen. My white appearing daughter and her grandmother would be offered apartments which would be rescinded when her black grandfather was brought in to look at the place. This happened multiple times throughout Brooklyn.
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@davenewworld_2 I'm so sorry. I take heart, however, that bigots are dumb. But I'm being redundant. For bigots, redundant means needlessly repetitive. Saying "bigots are dumb" is "redundant" because only dumb people are bigots or all bigots are dumb. Thank you for attending Grammar for Dummies.
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@davenewworld_2 It’s not racism. It’s simple pattern recognition
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@davenewworld_2 Is "the landlord" who got the text Douglas Elliman?
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@davenewworld_2 The agent will likely lose their license too, it's a clear violation of the federal Fair Housing Act
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@davenewworld_2 It’s 2026, so you haven’t come a long way and this is who you are.
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@davenewworld_2 It's good to get a glimpse into these people's reality. Imagine how many similar texts these real estate people send.
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@davenewworld_2 they control the maket everyone wants to have good schools and closer commute to work without living near the basketball people cmon this is common sense
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@davenewworld_2 @NewYorkStateAG @NYCMayor
We need to prosecute Douglas Elliman real estate so this racial discrimination stops happening from all agents
It is an unconscionable nightmare for families of color. NYC should provide the utmost protection to its residents
We need to prosecute Douglas Elliman real estate so this racial discrimination stops happening from all agents
It is an unconscionable nightmare for families of color. NYC should provide the utmost protection to its residents
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@davenewworld_2 I hope they get every single dollar they are entitled to.
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@davenewworld_2 Being Corporate Racist in NYC is generationally stupid. So much for high IQ
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@davenewworld_2 This is the agent.
Helen Tzelios - Real Estate Agent in Bayside, NY - Reviews | Zillow share.google/N3jAcQRxXevGCH…
Helen Tzelios - Real Estate Agent in Bayside, NY - Reviews | Zillow share.google/N3jAcQRxXevGCH…
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@davenewworld_2 HELEN TZELIOS is the name of the agent. Again, HELEN TZELIOS...
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@davenewworld_2 Investigate the entire agency, if someone is bold and dumb enough to text something like that than it's probably an issue with the office culture.
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@davenewworld_2 🤡 back in the 70s. He discriminated against blacks trying to rent from him too. The DOJ filed a federal lawsuit and the 🤡 settled.
"[The settlement] required the Trumps to place ads in newspapers saying that they welcomed black applicants," Kranish says. "It said that the Trumps would familiarize themselves with the Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination. So it also specifically said they don't admit wrongdoing, but they did have to take several measures that the Trumps had fought for two years not to take."
"[The settlement] required the Trumps to place ads in newspapers saying that they welcomed black applicants," Kranish says. "It said that the Trumps would familiarize themselves with the Fair Housing Act, which prohibited discrimination. So it also specifically said they don't admit wrongdoing, but they did have to take several measures that the Trumps had fought for two years not to take."
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