Joy Tuxson

Tuxson met with two fair housing testers — one white, one Asian American — seeking homes near Bethpage for up to $500,000. Tuxson told the white tester, “I’m not going to send you anything in Wyandanch unless you don’t want to start your car to buy your crack, unless you just want to walk up the street.” She also made comments about the Amityville school district to both testers. To the white tester, she said: “You look at the school, if the school is in session, you look at the bus, who gets off the bus ….” Tuxson testified the comments about Amityville were meant "only to convey the importance of not just picking remodeled homes with pretty pictures but homes that align with your needs and preferences after doing your own research," state documents show. She noted that she provided similar listings to the two testers. The administrative law judge dismissed the case, calling the comment about Amityville a "stray remark" that was not made to direct the buyer toward or away from the village. The judge ruled the comment about Wyandanch referred to property value, not race. The state appealed. The official who heard the appeal, special deputy secretary of state Daniel E. Shapiro, wrote that while Tuxson did not violate fair housing law due to her "lack of ill intent," her "explicit references, made to both testers, regarding ethnicity and race in the context of school district research" were "inappropriate" and "troubling." The comments were not shown to be linked to an effort to steer the testers, but they "may be interpreted as providing a roadmap to a buyer who wishes to make a racially based purchase," he wrote. Shapiro suspended her license until she submitted proof that she had completed a fair housing course. She took the course the day she was notified about the suspension, June 9, 2022, her attorney, Christopher Cassar, said. Her license was reinstated the next day, according to the Department of State. In a written statement, Tuxson said: "In my 40-plus years as a broker, I have never been faced with a claim of discrimination, steering, or any other wrongdoing. In a hearing following Newsday’s 2019 publication, an Administrative Law Judge dismissed all claims of discrimination or steering against me raised in the article. Dismissal of those claims was upheld on appeal. It is disheartening that Newsday is attempting to try in the court of public opinion what has already been tried in a court of law, without concern for the harmful effects of its publications on my personal and professional life. As I have done once before, I look forward to putting this incident behind me and continuing to provide exemplary service to all clients across Long Island."