Section 8-101. Policy

In the city of New York, with its great cosmopolitan population, there
  is  no  greater  danger to the health, morals, safety and welfare of the
  city and its inhabitants than the existence of groups prejudiced against
  one another and antagonistic to each other because of  their  actual  or
  perceived differences, including those based on race, color, creed, age,
  national   origin,   alienage  or  citizenship  status,  gender,  sexual
  orientation, disability, marital status, partnership status, any  lawful
  source of income, status as a victim of domestic violence or status as a
  victim  of  sex  offenses  or  stalking, whether children are, may be or
  would be residing with a person or  conviction  or  arrest  record.  The
  council  hereby finds and declares that prejudice, intolerance, bigotry,
  and discrimination, bias-related violence  or  harassment  and  disorder
  occasioned  thereby  threaten  the  rights  and proper privileges of its
  inhabitants and  menace  the  institutions  and  foundation  of  a  free
  democratic  state.  A  city  agency  is  hereby  created  with  power to
  eliminate and prevent discrimination from playing any  role  in  actions
  relating  to  employment,  public  accommodations, and housing and other
  real estate, and to take other actions against  prejudice,  intolerance,
  bigotry,  discrimination  and  bias-related  violence  or  harassment as
  herein provided; and the  commission  established  hereunder  is  hereby
  given general jurisdiction and power for such purposes.