Attorney General James Announces $970,000 in Grants to Fund Fair Housing Programs in the Capital Region

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced $970,000 in grants 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. 

“Access to housing is a basic human right, but too often, discriminatory practices and high prices prohibit countless New Yorkers from securing stable housing and further exacerbates the housing crisis,” said Attorney General James. “Investing in fair housing testing programs ensures we can create greater fair housing opportunities, protect tenants statewide, and hold landlords accountable. The new program supported by these grants will allow for an expansion of accessible and affordable housing across the Capital Region and help more New Yorkers find a place to call home.”

Fair housing testing programs seek to identify and investigate housing discrimination in order to ensure fair access to housing for all. In 2021, the New York state Legislature established the Anti-Discrimination in Housing Fund, which collects licensing fees and discrimination fines from brokers and real estate agents to finance grants in support of fair housing testing and enforcement efforts. Grants from the Anti-Discrimination in Housing Fund are intended to benefit local non-profit organizations focused on preventing illegal discriminatory housing practices.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will award $520,000 to UTA to create a new fair housing enforcement program in the Capital Region and $450,000 to FHJC – a QFHO that is well-versed in fair housing testing and enforcement programs – to provide training and technical assistance while UTA develops and launches the program. The FHJC will be subcontracting with CNY Fair Housing, a Syracuse-based QFHO, to provide these services. The FHJC and CNY Fair Housing will also assist OAG in identifying additional regions in New York that could benefit from increased fair housing support.

By utilizing fair housing testing and enforcement programs, Attorney General James has been able to reveal and eliminate housing discrimination practices at real estate brokerages on Long Island. In March 2023, Attorney General James took action against Coldwell Banker for discriminating against Black, Hispanic, and other potential homebuyers of color. As a result of Attorney General James’ intervention, Coldwell Banker was required to implement fair housing training for all real estate agents and to fund programs to promote enforcement of and compliance with fair housing laws in Suffolk County. In August 2022, Attorney General James took action against three other Long Island real estate brokerages that were discriminating against homebuyers of color. In some cases, agents at these brokerages were recorded showing preferential treatment to white homebuyers, disparaging neighborhoods of color, and only directing homebuyers of color to homes in neighborhoods where residents predominantly belonged to communities of color. In a fair housing settlement with Attorney General James, these brokerages contributed more than $115,000 to fix discriminatory practices and implement fair housing trainings. 

“For over fifty years, UTA has specialized in advocating for tenants' rights, and telling landlords what is and isn't acceptable,” said Canyon Ryan, Executive Director of United Tenants of Albany. “But now, we are developing the capacity to go one step beyond advocacy: enforcement. With support from the Office of the Attorney General, the Fair Housing Justice Center, and others, UTA looks forward to ensuring landlords are held accountable when they violate fair housing laws.”

“The Capital Region needs a full-service fair housing organization to address ongoing issues of illegal housing discrimination and residential racial segregation,” said Michele Cortese, Interim Executive Director, Fair Housing Justice Center, Inc. “The Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) applauds the New York Office of Attorney General for recognizing this urgent need and making the necessary resources available to create an effective fair housing program in the Albany area. The FHJC is proud to have been selected by the Attorney General’s Office to provide extensive training, resources, and technical assistance to this emerging fair housing program.”  

“Fair Housing is excited to be helping build fair housing capacity in the Capital Region, an area that has gone far too long without a fair housing organization,” said Sally Santangelo, Executive Director of CNY Fair Housing. “We know people in the region are experiencing housing discrimination and we are grateful that the Attorney General is investing in protecting their rights.”

The OAG is allocating $970,000 to grantees over the program period of two years. Program continuation and grant renewal options will be evaluated and determined by OAG.

This is the latest action taken by Attorney General James to root out discriminatory housing practices and expand fair housing support across the state. In September 2024, Attorney General James and New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) Commissioner RuthAnne Visnauskas announced the return of 263 apartments to rent stabilization and reduction of rent for an additional 43 apartments throughout New York City. In August 2024, Attorney General James stopped property owner and management company Shamco Management Corp. from illegally denying housing opportunities to low-income renters in New York City. In October 2023, she released a report detailing deep racial disparities in homeownership and access to home financing across the state. Also in October 2023, Attorney General James announced an agreement with Platzner International Group (PIG) and their various properties for denying housing to low-income residents in Westchester County. In May 2020, Attorney General James announced a $4.5 million grant to the Eliminating Barriers to Housing in New York (EBHNY) program which benefited existing QFHOs. This program set the framework for New York to continue funding these organizations through HCR under their Fair Housing Testing, Education and Networking Program.