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Complaints filed
Enforce the NYC Human Rights Law. — Investigate, prosecute and resolve complaints of discrimination, discriminatory harassment, and bias-based profiling in a timely and efficient manner.
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)"
* 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 |
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
Source: Law Enforcement Bureau — via NYC Open Data: Mayor's Management Report, Agency Performance Indicators
Coverage shown: FY22–FY26, reported monthly.
Definition: The number of complaints of violations of the New York City Human Rights Law filed for investigation with the Law Enforcement Bureau during the reporting period.