On May 8, 2002, Matthew Cheng, a HUD Equal Opportunity Specialist with the New York Program Center, received the New York Federal Executive Board's "Chairman's Award for Continuous Excellence." This is the first time that a HUD employee has ever been recognized by the New York FEB.

Dr. Cheng joined HUD's New York Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in 1990, but has 24 years of federal service, beginning in 1978 with the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. For nearly a quarter of a century, he has been devoted to the idea that all people should be treated fairly - and at HUD his timely, detailed, and sensitive investigative reports have helped bring relief to many victims of housing discrimination. For the past 11 years he has been the "go-to" investigator for highly complex/difficult cases of housing discrimination in New York and New Jersey.

In one of Dr. Cheng's most recent investigations, families seeking housing charged that they were the victims of a discriminatory policy that refused rental of second floor apartments to families with children under the age of ten, and that the rental company also made discriminatory statements. Cheng's investigation involved six separate complaints, one private fair housing organization, five bona fide housing seekers, 18 tests, four separate apartment complexes and seven rental agents. Ultimately, the respondents tried to claim that in 1986, HUD approved their policy of not renting certain units to families with children under 10 years old - and they never changed that policy even in light of the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, which included families with children as a protected class. This very complex case might not have been successfully resolved without the unrelenting efforts of a dedicated investigator.

Fair housing investigations are rarely cut and dried, and in a recent case that involved multiple complaints from persons with impaired mobility, Dr. Cheng also proved that HUD is fair in its investigations. The complainants alleged that the building owners illegally refused to construct a ramp at the main entrance of an apartment building, denying disabled tenants and visitors equal access to the only building entrance they considered safe and convenient. But Cheng's investigation revealed that the entrance lacked the necessary space for a ramp, and would have created an unsafe condition if one were added. Through hands-on intervention and negotiating skills, Cheng brought the parties together: the respondents agreed to make modifications to two other entrances to make them fully accessible, installed handrails at both entrances and re-pitched the ramp at an outer courtyard to fully meet ADA code requirements.

NY HUD takes pride in this special recognition of a HUD Fair Housing investigator, and these cases - involving highly complex and emotional issues - are some of many that underscore why Matthew Cheng was honored by the New York Federal Executive Board.