NEW YORK STATE (WRGB) — New York Attorney General Letitia James announced $970,000 in grants Friday, to support and expand fair housing testing and enforcement in New York’s Capital Region.
This grant funding will be provided to United Tenants of Albany, Inc. (UTA) and the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) to develop and launch the region’s first fair housing testing and enforcement program and fund the program for a minimum of two years. The Capital Region is the most populous region of New York state that is not currently served by a Qualified Fair Housing Organization (QFHO). QFHOs, as designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, operate fair housing enforcement programs and seek to protect families from housing discrimination.
Housing discrimination perpetuates racial discrimination and discrimination against protected classes, and without the sort of fair housing testing and enforcement program now made possible by these grants, the Capital Region faces greater risk of social and economic inequality, neighborhood disinvestment, increased childhood poverty, and widening homeownership disparities. These grants will bring critical and necessary services to the Capital Region and promote fair access to housing for thousands of New Yorkers…