redlining has been outlawed for decades but the problem hasn't disappeared the illegal practice just exists in new forms lenders are finding modern day ways to deny loans or other services needed for home ownership based on race and ethnicity well the group of legal and government experts recently got together in Newark announcing new measures to combat the housing discrimination senior correspondent Joanna gagas reports as part of our ongoing Series Chasing the Dream that focuses on Justice poverty and Economic Opportunity home ownership still today is a dream denied to communities of color Community leaders joined with several of the state's top law enforcement officials recently to discuss redlining an illegal process where Banks deny Home Loans to people of color based largely on where they live redlining is happening in New Jersey today it's happening today right here in Newark they laid out the efforts on the state and federal level to put an end once and for all we've built out fair housing unit under the division on civil rights thank the governor for giving us tremendous resources and allowing us to grow that team I created a civil rights division at the U.S attorney's office here in New Jersey we have doubled the number of attorneys focused exclusively on civil rights enforcement and mobilized our resources in a single the vision to concentrate our efforts to root out hate and discrimination Newark mayor Ros Baraka spoke about the impact redlining has had on black communities over decades and how restoration has to be part of any response punishing them doesn't help me in unless unless it really helps me and so in Newark we have to do creative things we have to partner with uh you know NACA and Bank of America and cdfis to make sure that we can provide people that will have that are in Section 8 homes using a voucher to be able to become homeowners we have to do that we have to sell property for a dollar in the city that's dilapidated and tell people that they don't have to put any money down on this property you have to be creative about making home ownership because the number of homeowners in Newark is Slim in fact about 75 percent of Newark residents are renters according to Baraka a result of redlining in and around the city that exists even today Lakeland Bank was recently put under a consent decree after the company was found to be redlining around the state the allegations were shocking to be Camden if you lived in a Black Or Hispanic neighborhood in Essex County Somerset County or Union County you likely had little opportunity to apply for and certainly not obtain a mortgage from Lakeland Bank and in fact you probably never even saw a Lakeland branch in your community it's a matter of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking up in a more focused way using new technology to catch Bad actors according to its director Rohit Chopra we are not just going to look at when someone is excluded but also when they are targeted and courts and case law for years have really affirmed that so I think this is really also a new page a new chapter of what the Attorney General Garland and the assistant AG have kicked off 18 months ago which is combating modern day redlining the banks that are charged with redlining are paying Hefty fines to federal and state governments that money is being being used to reinvest in communities of color most impacted by the practice most of that money is being dedicated to loan subsidy funds these are funds that can be used to help prospective home buyers from affected communities with down payments and other assistance including helping them to secure lower interest rates on on their loans an effort that'll likely take several more decades before communities of color start to see the dream of home ownership become a reality for NJ Spotlight news I'm Joanna Gagis major funding for Chasing the Dream is provided by the JPB foundation with additional funding from the Peter G Peterson and Joan Gantz Cooney fund [Music]