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Black couple seeking Queens apartment sues over racist text from broker
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Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 23, 2026 at 3:20 p.m. ET
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By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 23, 2026 at 3:20 p.m. ET
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A couple who mistakenly received a racist text message at an apartment viewing this summer is now suing the real estate company, the broker and the landlord for discrimination.
According to the lawsuit filed in state court this week, Lisa Renee Olaso and Cyril Christopher were scheduled to view a three-bedroom unit in a home on 26th Avenue in Flushing in June.
But when they arrived and prepared to get out of their car to see the apartment, they got a text that the broker Helen Tzelios apparently meant to send to just the landlord: “Ugh, they’re Black.”
Tzelios, who worked for Douglas Elliman Realty, had never met the couple in person before, according to the couple's lawyer Kenneth Mollins. When a tearful Olaso asked her about the message, Tzelios allegedly said it was referring to other Black people who had “caused problems” in the neighborhood before.
Olaso said she was shocked by the text and initially doubted whether she had read it correctly. Then, reality set in.
"You saw exactly what you saw. You got a text that was meant to go to someone else," she told Gothamist in an interview.
Olaso said she decided to file the lawsuit to showcase how racism exists today.
"And these are people, all races, just many of us who are just working class, good people, we're just sick of ignorant things that other people do to make everybody else look bad," she said.
Olaso and Christopher were “upset and humiliated” and declined to see the apartment after that exchange, according to the suit, which also alleges that the message violated the federal Fair Housing Act.
Mollins said the couple was unsure what to do, but finally decided to take legal action to show that racism and discrimination still exist in New York.
Just 3% of residents of Queens Community District 7 — which includes Flushing, Murray Hill, and Whitestone — identify as Black, according to 2024 census data.
As housing becomes increasingly scarce, it’s easier for landlords to discriminate and harder for tenants to challenge it, according to Where We Live NYC — the city’s fair housing planning initiative.
“ Racism isn't always someone wearing a white hood. Sometimes it's someone holding the keys to a house, and they won't allow Black families to belong there,” Mollins said.
He said the experience was especially shocking to Olaso and Christopher because it was one of their first tastes of New York City. They were looking to move to the five boroughs from Delaware.
“ They felt it was a culturally diverse area that's not going to have that type of discrimination,” he said.
A spokesperson for Douglas Elliman said the company has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination and that Tzelios was fired. Tzelios did not immediately answer a text message.
Charles and Barbara Neocleous, who are listed online and in the lawsuit as the landlords of the apartment in question, did not answer a phone call and did not respond to a voicemail.
Mollins said the couple is not suing for money.
Olaso works as an airline manager and Christopher works as a surgical technician at a hospital in Brooklyn, Mollins said. They ended up finding a place to rent in Commack, on Long Island.
For Olaso, the decision to speak up about what happened was to honor Black Americans who fought for their civil rights in the past.
"The reason why many of us have the opportunities that we have is because people before us fought. They fought for change. They fought for opportunity. They walked. Some of them sacrificed their lives for us," she said.
Sweeping racism under the rug would do nothing for progress, especially for her son, as well as her nieces and nephews, she said.
"How am I going to make change if I just sweep things under the rug? And this is not easy, but I feel like it wasn't easy for people back in the day, but sometimes we have to stand for change," Olaso said.
Tagged
discrimination
housing
queens
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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