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DOT Supervisor Called Blacks 'N-----s' and 'Monkeys,' Federal Suit Charges

By Trevor Kapp | January 19, 2017 4:06pm
 U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office has filed suit against the Department of Transportation for discrimination within its Fleet Services unit.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's office has filed suit against the Department of Transportation for discrimination within its Fleet Services unit.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

DOWNTOWN — The Department of Transportation racially discriminated and retaliated against minority employees within its Fleet Services unit — demoting them from high-ranking positions and denying them better-paying jobs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office charges in a new lawsuit.

Supervisors in the 200-person unit — comprising mechanics, electricians and engineers tasked with maintaining DOT vehicles — have engaged in racist acts dating back to 2007, according to the lawsuit.

In one case, an executive director within Fleet Services requested that a black mechanic who had been working as an assistant supervisor at a Bronx DOT garage be removed from his position and immediately demoted back to mechanic.

After the demotion, the executive direction said the worker “was forced down my throat by the two monkeys who put him in the office and I want him out!” according to the lawsuit.

The “monkeys” the director was referring to were then-Deputy Commissioner Keith Howard and Leon Hayward, who are both black, prosecutors said.

The next year, an African-American blacksmith in Fleet Services asked for a cellphone and had his request refused. Later that year, he found out a phone had become available and given to a white blacksmith with less seniority, according to the court papers.

When the director was reminded by another supervisor that the blacksmith had asked for one too, the director said, “That n-----r gets nothing,” according to the lawsuit.

That director was ultimately fired, but when the new director took over, the problem persisted. He “handpicked white candidates for those assignments that provided the best opportunity for further advancement within Fleet Services,” according to court papers. 

DOT spokesman Scott Gastel said the agency is working with the U.S. Attorney's Office to settle the allegations and has already made administrative changes to its Fleet unit.

"Since being made aware of DOJ’s investigation in late 2015, NYC DOT and the Corporation Counsel's office have been working with DOJ to reach a resolution of the allegations made in the complaint," Gastel said in a statement.

The lawsuit was first reported by Politico.