By Nathan Duke
Gioia stood outside of Astoria's Rent-A-Center on Steinway Street on Friday, warning consumers not to buy TVs from the company for last weekend's Super Bowl matchup between the New York Giants and New England Patriots. He said the centers often force customers to pay nearly three times the amount they would pay at other retail outlets.”This is a business model that rips off minorities,” Gioia said. “We all want to cheer the Giants on to victory, but New Yorkers shouldn't be fooled into buying TVs at these Rent-A-Ripoffs.”But Gus Whitcomb, a spokesman for Rent-A-Center, said the company did not target minority neighborhoods.”We respect the councilman in his concern for his constituents, but the information he is sharing is misinformation,” Whitcomb said. “Like any business, we locate where our customers are. Convenience is a big thing for them, so it makes sense for us to be in the neighborhoods where they live.”Rent-A-Center was founded in 1973 and has long generated controversy. Critics have alleged that many the company's stores are located in economically depressed neighborhoods, which has helped to perpetuate poverty in those areas.Customers acquire ownership of products from rent-to-own stores over a period of time without taking on debt. The companies rent the products, which include furniture, electronics and appliances, on the condition that a product will be owned by the customer once a term of rent is completed.Gioia said a majority of the company's city chains are located in predominately black and Hispanic neighborhoods. He said nearly 70 percent of Rent-A-Center's transactions result in the property being returned to the company's chain stores.Woodside Houses Tenants Association President Annie Cotton Morris said the company's business model could pave the way for damaged credit.”People should really read the contract they sign to know what they're up against,” she said. “People want to rent a TV for one game, but end up having to pay for a long time.”Gioia compared the company's business practices to those of Delta Funding, a Long Island-based home equity loan firm that conducts much of its business in Brooklyn's African-American neighborhoods. Gov. Eliot Spitzer filed suit against that company in 1999 under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, a law which stipulates that creditors must evaluate potential candidates solely on credit.Reach reporter Nathan Duke by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 156.
