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City Commission on Human Rights
The Commission on Human Rights traces its origin to 1944, when Mayor Fiorello La Guardia created the Mayor's Committee on Unity by executive order to address racial tension after unrest in Harlem; lacking enforcement power, the committee was reorganized in the mid-1950s into the Commission on Intergroup Relations, with authority to investigate complaints and hold hearings. It was renamed the Commission on Human Rights in 1962, and passage of the New York City Human Rights Law in 1965 extended its jurisdiction to prosecute discrimination in employment, housing, and public spaces.
What's working
- How many complaints were filed?: 397 complaints — increasing, as inquiry volume grows faster than the agency's shrunken enforcement staff
- On average, what is the age of complaint caseload?: 614 days — increasing, as case backlogs grow faster than the agency's shrunken staff can resolve them
What's getting worse
- How many people reached (youth events) are there?: 19,177 events
Critical indicators
Without a numeric target
How many complaints were filed?
397 complaints — increasing, as inquiry volume grows faster than the agency's shrunken enforcement staff
How many complaints were filed?
397 complaints — increasing, as inquiry volume grows faster than the agency's shrunken enforcement staff
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual |
|---|---|
| FY22 | 318 complaints |
| FY23 | 340 complaints |
| FY24 | 366 complaints |
| FY25 | 397 complaints |
| FY26 (YTD) | Not available |
The number of complaints CCHR formally files has risen every year, from 318 in Fiscal 2022 to 397 in Fiscal 2025, even as the commission's law-enforcement staff has shrunk roughly 70% since 2017 and its overall headcount fell from 128 in 2020 to 105 in 2024. In 2024 alone the agency logged 13,360 inquiries but converted only 366 into formal complaints and closed just 447 cases, leaving a backlog of open cases that predates that year. Advocates and the City Council have pushed for increased funding, including a call for at least $21 million for CCHR.
Researched July 17, 2026 — Documented NY, "Complaints Pile Up at NYC Human Rights Commission", NYC Bar Association, "Restoring Funding for NYC Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)"
Why this is tracked
New York City's civil-rights apparatus began with Mayor La Guardia's Mayor's Committee on Unity in the 1930s and 40s, a body formed amid racial unrest that had no enforcement authority. It became the Commission on Intergroup Relations in the mid-1950s and the Commission on Human Rights in 1962. The 1965 NYC Human Rights Law gave the Commission actual prosecutorial authority over discrimination in private housing, employment, public accommodations, and equal pay. Today the law is regarded as one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws in the nation, covering categories including race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and immigration status, and CCHR's enforcement arm is what makes those protections actionable rather than aspirational.
Commission's History - NYC Commission on Human Rights, New York City Human Rights Law - Wikipedia
On average, what is the age of complaint caseload?
614 days — increasing, as case backlogs grow faster than the agency's shrunken staff can resolve them
On average, what is the age of complaint caseload?
614 days — increasing, as case backlogs grow faster than the agency's shrunken staff can resolve them
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual |
|---|---|
| FY22 | 503 days |
| FY23 | 514 days |
| FY24 | 593 days |
| FY25 | 614 days |
| FY26 (YTD) | Not available |
The average age of CCHR's open complaint caseload has grown every year, reaching 614 days in Fiscal 2025 — in 2024 the commission took an average of 593 days to close a case, the longest in five years, and housing discrimination cases alone averaged 883 days to reach a determination. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office found housing discrimination complaints in particular languishing for years. The commission's law-enforcement staff has shrunk roughly 70% since 2017, and its overall headcount fell from 128 in 2020 to 105 in 2024, even as inquiry volume has grown.
Researched July 17, 2026 — Documented NY, "Complaints Pile Up at NYC Human Rights Commission", NYS Comptroller, "DiNapoli: Housing Discrimination Complaints Languish at NYC Commission on Human Rights"
Why this is tracked
New York City's civil-rights apparatus began with Mayor La Guardia's Mayor's Committee on Unity in the 1930s and 40s, a body formed amid racial unrest that had no enforcement authority. It became the Commission on Intergroup Relations in the mid-1950s and the Commission on Human Rights in 1962. The 1965 NYC Human Rights Law gave the Commission actual prosecutorial authority over discrimination in private housing, employment, public accommodations, and equal pay. Today the law is regarded as one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws in the nation, covering categories including race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and immigration status, and CCHR's enforcement arm is what makes those protections actionable rather than aspirational.
Commission's History - NYC Commission on Human Rights, New York City Human Rights Law - Wikipedia
How many people reached (youth events) are there?
19,177 events
How many people reached (youth events) are there?
19,177 events
* Year to date — this fiscal year isn't complete, so it's not compared against prior years in the target/trend status above.
View as table
| Fiscal year | Actual |
|---|---|
| FY22 | Not available |
| FY23 | Not available |
| FY24 | 19,412 events |
| FY25 | 19,177 events |
| FY26 (YTD) | Not available |
19,177 events in FY25 — has no numeric target set by the City, and it has trended in the wrong direction over the past 1 year of reported data.
Why this is tracked
The Commission's roots go back to Mayor Fiorello La Guardia's Mayor's Committee on Unity, formed to address race relations after unrest in Harlem in 1935 and 1943, though it initially lacked enforcement power. It evolved into the Commission on Intergroup Relations in the mid-1950s and became the Commission on Human Rights in 1962. The NYC Human Rights Law, passed in 1965 and expanded many times since, is now one of the most comprehensive civil rights laws in the country, covering employment, housing, and public accommodations. CCHR's community education work exists because a legal right to be free from discrimination only protects people who know the law exists and know how to invoke it.
Commission's History - NYC Commission on Human Rights, New York City Human Rights Law - Wikipedia