City of Rochester
News Release
(Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009) - Mayor Robert J. Duffy, City Neighborhood and Business Development Commissioner R. Carlos Carballada and City Councilmember Elaine Spaull joined Citizens Bank Rochester District President Charles Vita and RIT President Bill Destler to announce their participation in the City’s Employer Assisted Housing Initiative (EAHI) during a news conference at the bank’s Rochester headquarters located at the Sagamore downtown. The EAHI provides up to a $3,000 benefit to employees of participating employers for bank fees, down payments, closing costs or recording fees on the purchase of a home in the city. The City matches Citizens Bank and RIT’s benefit dollar for dollar up to $3,000.
Mayor Duffy praised Citizens Bank and RIT for their commitment to Rochester and welcomed them as the newest of local EAHI participating employers, which includes the City, Eastman Kodak, PAETEC Communications Inc., Unity Health System, University of Rochester, Visiting Nurse Services and Xerox Corporation. “I am extremely grateful to Citizens Bank and RIT for helping to make home-ownership in the city attractive and affordable,” he said. “Your employees can fulfill their homeownership dreams; you can stabilize your workforce and we can grow our tax base. This is truly a win-win-win,” the Mayor said as he presented certificates of appreciation to Vita and Destler. The Mayor also said the City was appreciative that the bank chose to keep its headquarters downtown after being displaced from the Midtown block this year.
EAHI was rolled out by the City in 2003 as a way to stabilize city neighborhoods by increasing homeownership opportunities. To date, 176 individuals have taken advantage of the benefit and Citizens Bank is the first lending institution to participate while RIT- is the second higher education institution to participate. Among other requirements, homebuyers receiving a grant for a one to four family home in the city must not already own property in the city, promise to live in the home for five years and use $1,500 of their own funds.
"Citizens Bank is proud to partner with the City of Rochester to help provide assistance to our families through the City’s housing initiative,” said Charles Vita, Rochester district president of Citizens Bank. “We are also proud to be the first lending institution to participate by demonstrating our commitment to our community in a new and innovative way.”
“It’s important to recognize that the ‘R’ in RIT stands for something—it stands for Rochester,” stated RIT President Bill Destler. “This program will encourage more members of our campus community to become active stakeholders in the prosperity of Rochester while enjoying a high-quality residential experience that simply can’t be duplicated elsewhere.”
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News Media: For more information, contact Carlos Carballada at 428-6808.