HUD AWARDS $3.5 MILLION TO NEW YORK STATE TO FIGHT HOUSING AND LENDING DISCRIMINATION

NEW YORK - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $3,546,011 to 11 New York nonprofit groups to educate the public and help combat housing and lending discrimination. The grants are part of over $40 million awarded nationwide to over 100 fair housing groups, which represents a $13.2 million increase over last year's award. (A list of New York grantees is below.)

"The record increase in support to local fair housing and community organizations demonstrates the Obama Administration's firm commitment to ending housing discrimination and providing help to families victimized by mortgage scams," said Regional Administrator Adolfo Carrión.

"Ending housing discrimination takes more than the efforts of Washington," said John Trasviña, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity. "These grants enable community groups all over the nation to help HUD enforce the Fair Housing Act, make the public more aware of their fair housing rights and ensure that housing providers understand their responsibilities under the law."

The grants announced today are funded through HUD's Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) and will be used to investigate allegations of housing discrimination, educate the public and the housing industry about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act, and work to promote equal housing opportunities.

The categories grants were awarded in include:

• Private Enforcement Initiative grants (PEI) - HUD awarded $28 million to support organization that investigate alleged housing discrimination, and enforce the Fair Housing Act and state and local laws that are substantially equivalent to the Act. Groups will also use the funding to conduct testing to protect individuals living in minority neighborhoods from mortgage rescue scams.
  
  
• Education and Outreach Initiative grants (EOI) - HUD awarded $6.8 million to organizations that educate the public and housing providers about their rights and obligations under federal, state, and local fair housing laws. Groups will also conduct fair lending workshops, community meetings, and individual counseling activities focused on homeowners at risk for discrimination.
  
  
• Fair Housing Organizations Initiative grants (FHOI) - HUD awarded $6 million to organizations serving rural and immigrant populations in areas lacking existing fair housing organizations, or otherwise underserved. Included will be activities that provide direct assistance to victims of fraudulent or predatory mortgage rescue schemes.

Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) Grants Fiscal Year 2010

New York

Buffalo

Housing Opportunities Made Equal, Inc. (HOME)
Private Enforcement Initiative - Performance Based
Funding Component - $263,846.33

HOME will use its grant to vigorously provide fair housing enforcement services in the Buffalo‐Niagara region. Some of the activities of this 3 year project will include: intake of allegations of discrimination; conducting testing activities; filing verified complaints w/HUD and FHAP; mediating valid discrimination cases; conducting training sessions for staff of grass‐roots/faith‐based organizations and minority servicing institutions; and administering a Revolving Litigation Fund, through previous FHIP grants, to provide fair housing litigation costs.

Bohemia

Long Island Housing Services, Inc.
Private Enforcement Initiative - Performance Based
Funding Component - $275,000

Long Island Housing Services will use its grant to conduct enforcement activities in Nassau and Suffolk Counties in New York. The focus of the project will be to enforce fair housing for individual victims of housing discrimination and prevent further victimization by identifying and eliminating patterns of discriminatory policies and practices. Special emphasis will be given to four of the most sorely affected populations on Long Island; people with disabilities, blacks, Hispanics (especially those who are not English proficient), and families with children.

Brooklyn

South Brooklyn Legal Services
Private Enforcement Initiative - Performance Based
Funding Component - $325,000

South Brooklyn Legal Services (SBLS) will use its grant to generate and accept referrals of clients alleging housing discrimination in home financing and sales in New York City; screen, investigate and analyze all complaints through a testing methodology that will allow us to identify both individual discrimination and patterns of discrimination; refer meritorious housing discrimination complaints to HUD; provide legal and other assistance to help targeted homeowners avoid foreclosure and access fair credit; provide training and support to partner local agencies and organizations; and promote fair housing choice by educating the public about discriminatory practices in lending and home sales. 

South Brooklyn Legal Services
Fair Housing Organizations Initiative
Mortgage Rescue Scam Component - $427,587

South Brooklyn Legal Services (SBLS) will use its grant to generate and accept referrals of clients at risk of foreclosure due to housing discrimination in home financing and sales in New York City; screen, investigate and analyze all complaints through a testing methodology that will allow us to identify both individual discrimination and patterns of discrimination; refer meritorious housing discrimination complaints to HUD; provide legal and other assistance to help targeted homeowners avoid foreclosure and access affordable loan modifications; provide training and support to partner local agencies and organizations; and promote fair housing choice by educating the public about discriminatory practices in lending and home sales and foreclosure prevention.

Jamaica

Queens Legal Services
Fair Housing Organizations Initiative
Mortgage Rescue Scam Component - $498,753

Queens Legal Services (QLS) will use its grant to develop a Fair Housing Initiative within its Foreclosure Prevention Project to serve Queens County, New York. In order to affirmatively further fair housing, QLS will analyze and eliminate housing discrimination in the jurisdiction, promote fair housing choice for all persons and foster compliance with the nondiscrimination provisions of the Fair Housing Act. QLS will achieve these goals through a combination of litigation, community education and capacity building for other non-profits and local government. The QLS Fair Housing Initiative will focus on low-income households facing foreclosure. Through translated materials, bilingual outreach and community partnerships, QLS will focus on particular immigrant and non-English speaking communities.

Monroe

Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc.
Private Enforcement Initiative - Performance Based
Funding Component - $277,000

Legal Assistance of Western New York, Inc. (LAWNY) will use its grant to continue the work of its Fair Housing Enforcement Project for the Finger Lakes Region (FHEP) in two regions (Rochester and its suburbs and five adjoining rural counties) for testing and enforcement activities. LAWNY will field complains for testing, utilizing paired tests when appropriate, and refer to FHEP attorneys for enforcement when discriminatory practices are corroborated. FHEP will recruit and train testers, and testing throughout both the urban and rural project areas will ensure that meritorious cases project attorneys file in Federal Court will be well documented. Additionally, with Empire Justice Center, FHEP will conduct a 2010 Census data analysis and map patterns of racial segregation in the use of Section 8 Vouchers in the Rochester Metropolitan Region. FHEP will conduct audit tests in segregated areas to determine advocacy strategies and to plan enforcement activities to address discriminatory barriers to fair housing choice.

New York City

AAFE Community Development Fund, Inc.
Education and Outreach Initiative
Lending Component - $100,000

AAFE Community Development Fund (AAFE CDF) will use its grant to extend foreclosure prevention services to troubled homeowners to its target populations. It will develop an educational and downloadable video in Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, and English and make it available on its website to quickly target these homeowners and homebuyers before they fall victim to predatory lender or enter the full-blown crisis stage of foreclosure. AAFE CDF will work with media partners and radio programs (weekly 30-minute anti-predatory lending Q&A sessions). Other anti-predatory lending outreach and education materials will include multi-lingual handbooks, brochures, website, fairs, workshops, seminars, and one-on-one counseling. AAFE CDF will log complaints and refer cases to HUD and partner with Federal and State regulators; real estate, banking and media professionals; the Center for NYC Neighborhoods; and the New York Mortgage Coalition.

New York City

Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc.
Private Enforcement Initiative
General Component - $324,991

The Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc. (FHJC) will use its grant to affirmatively further fair housing through fair housing outreach and complaint intake and investigations, including testing in response to housing discrimination complaints. FHJC will recruit and train testers, cooperating attorneys, and student interns and conduct systemic rental tests. The grant will enable FHJC to maintain critical partnerships with local agencies and organizations and provide fair housing handbooks and conduct outreach meetings with NYC organizations, including those serving homeless, low and very low-income persons, the elderly, families, persons with disabilities, limited English speaking communities and others facing barriers to obtaining and maintaining housing.

New York City

Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project
Education and Outreach Initiative
General Component - $22,376

The Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP) will use its grant to work with partners throughout NYC on fair housing issues, particularly in the context of fair lending and foreclosure prevention.  NEDAP will work with the state's FHAP agency to disseminate information on fair housing rights, coordinate screening and referrals of fair housing claims, and train agency staff. The project's three goals will be to educate community organizations and residents about fair housing discrimination and fair lending issues;  to facilitate discovery and referral of fair lending and fair housing complaints to HUD, including abusive lending and real estate schemes, loan modification scams, redlining and other housing discrimination against Latinos, African-Americans, and other ethnic and racial groups, seniors, new immigrant families and individuals with disabilities;  and to prevent foreclosures and help stabilize communities.

New York City

Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project
Education and Outreach Initiative
Lending Component - $125,000

The Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP) will use its grant to collaborate among NEDAP, community groups and legal services offices in NY city boroughs to work on fair housing issues, particularly fair lending and foreclosure prevention. NEDAP will work with the state's FHAP agency to disseminate information on fair housing rights, coordinate screening and referral of fair housing claims, and train NY state Division of Human Rights staff. NEDAP also will: to reach out to and educate grassroots, faith-based, and other community organizations and homeowners about abusive and discriminatory mortgage lending and foreclosure prevention issues in their communities; facilitate discovery and referral of fair lending and housing complaints to HUD to address housing and lending discrimination against Latinos, African-Americans, and other ethnic and racial groups, seniors, new immigrant families and individuals with disabilities; and prevent foreclosures and help stabilize communities. 

Staten Island

Legal Services NYC Staten Island
Private Enforcement Initiative
Mortgage Rescue Scam Component - $471,932

Staten Island Legal Services' Homeowner Defense Project (HDP) will use its grant in its Fair Housing for Staten Island initiative to serve 150 Staten Island minority, elderly, and/or immigrant homeowners with a range of services to: prevent foreclosure; redress the effects of discriminatory mortgage practices; prevent homeowners from falling prey to mortgage rescue scams, mortgage servicing abuses, and other mortgage-related abuses; and leave homeowners with stable, safe, affordable housing. HDP also will use news media outlets in six cases to generate wide-spread knowledge of discriminatory practices and sources of help.

Syracuse

Fair Housing Council of Central New York, Inc.
Private Enforcement Initiative
General Component - $323,870

Fair Housing Council of Central New York, Inc. will use its grant to conduct fair housing enforcement and outreach activities, including complaint intake and investigation of housing discrimination cases, testing, and assistance to households facing foreclosure. The Council will organize an annual conference about affirmatively furthering fair housing obligations, meet with local groups to bring awareness of and attention to fair housing issues and review Analyses of Impediments for local jurisdictions and make suggestions.

White Plains

Westchester Residential Opportunities, Inc.
Private Enforcement Initiative
General Component - $251,156.17

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