Utica, N.Y. – CNY Fair Housing, a 27-year old local non-profit organization working to eliminate housing discrimination in Central and Northern New York, is conducting two “Playing Fair: Fair Housing Landlord Training” workshop sessions Friday, August 24, 2018, at the Chancellor Apartments, Community Room, 417 Bleecker Street, Utica. The workshops will cover Fair Housing laws and responsibilities, and will be targeted to area landlords, property managers, realtors, housing developers, housing authorities, and anyone doing business in the housing industry. The first workshop will be held from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m., and the second workshop will take place from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. People need to attend only one of the two workshops. The event is co-sponsored by the Utica Municipal Housing Authority and the City of Utica, and the workshops are free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
The trainings will review current fair housing laws as well as provide updates on reasonable accommodations, harassment, illegal behavior, and Disparate Impact. Municipalities and public housing authorities are obligated to actively work to affirmatively further fair housing or potentially lose federal funding. Private and non-profit housing providers, landlords, and others in the housing industry can also protect themselves from increasingly larger settlements and court actions by knowing and understanding their fair housing responsibilities. Certificates of completion will be presented to those who attend the workshops.
To sign up for the free Fair Housing training or request more information, people can email info@cnyfairhousing.org or call the Utica Municipal Housing Authority at (315) 735-5246. Participants are encouraged to register online at https://utica-fair-housing-training.eventbrite.com.
The Fair Housing Workshops are made possible through the support of the U.S. Department of HUD Fair Housing Initiatives Program, the City of Utica, and in conjunction with the Utica Municipal Housing Authority. Anyone needing a reasonable accommodation should contact the sponsors.
CNY Fair Housing assists more than 300 individuals and families every year in resolving housing complaints including denial and differential treatment in rental housing due to race, ethnicity, familial status and disability status, sexual harassment by housing staff, and the potential loss of housing due to disability accommodation needs. More than half of CNY Fair Housing’s clients are disabled. It is estimated that almost 90% of all housing discrimination goes unreported.
Established in 1937, the Utica Municipal Housing Authority is the major provider of affordable housing in the City of Utica. Funded by AmeriCorps, United Way of the Valley and Greater Utica, and the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, the Housing Authority’s Housing Information and Referral Center helps residents locate rental apartments and access housing programs such as rental assistance, homeownership, and eviction/foreclosure prevention.
“We must become the change we wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Ghandi
