Denying rent to a group of 3 roommates

[Joel Sommer]

Hello everyone! I'm new to the site and would appreciate any help you could offer on the legality of denying rent to a group of 3 individuals that want to move in as roommates. They have seen the unit and have expressed interest moving forward with the application. My wife and l own a 2 family house (owner occupied) in NY and have always had a family rent the upstairs unit. We'd prefer a family going forward. Can we deny the 3 roommates because they are not all related? Is that legal? Thank you for any help you could offer! Best regards, ---Joel