Assistant Secretary Velasquez Visits New York Regional Office

FHEO Assistant Secretary Gustavo Velasquez

On August 21, FHEO Assistant Secretary Gustavo Velasquez and FHEO Special Assistant Renae Campbell were warmly greeted by the Region II staff and FHEO's fair housing and civil rights partners. During his stay, Mr. Velasquez held six separate meetings. He met with Deputy Regional Administrator Mirza Orriols, and FHEO Region II Director Jay Golden in the morning. A working lunch was held with the FHEO Region II Managers, and afterward, Mr. Velasquez met with the Region II HUD program directors. A meeting was also held with the entire Region II FHEO staff (NY and Newark staffs in person, Buffalo and Caribbean staffs via video conference), and finally, a meeting was held with FHEO's fair housing and civil rights partners (FHIPs, FHAPs, Civil Rights Roundtable, and other fair housing organizations). Notable participants at the partners' meeting included Ms. Lee Porter, Executive Director of the Fair Housing Council of Northern New Jersey. Ms. Porter was a recipient of HUD's Samuel J. Simmons Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, an award named after HUD's first FHEO Assistant Secretary and awarded to those who have been active in the struggle for civil and human rights, and who have devoted their life to public service. Adam Gordon of the Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) of Cherry Hill, New Jersey was also in attendance. FSHC was one of the main organizations to file complaints against the State of New Jersey with respect to their distribution of Hurricane Sandy funds. Those complaints were later resolved by means of a significant settlement agreement between the parties.

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