News Release - City Seeks Community Input for Fair Housing Choice Study

City of Rochester

News Release

(Wednesday, January 7, 2015) – The City Department of Neighborhood and Business Development (NBD) is seeking input from citizens in Rochester and Monroe County to complete a study of fair housing choice in Rochester.

A fair-housing consultant hired by the City to produce a report called “Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice” (AI), will host two community forums to facilitate discussion about issues and opportunities related to the issue of fair housing choice.

The first forum will be held in the Kate Gleason Auditorium at the Rochester Central Library (Bausch and Lomb Building), 114 South Avenue on Thursday, Jan. 15 from 2 to 4 p.m. and will be repeated at 6 to 8 p.m. to accommodate citizens who prefer an evening meeting.

The City is also asking people throughout Rochester and Monroe County to fill out a brief online survey. The survey can be found in English and Spanish on the City website at www.cityofrochester.gov/aistudy.

The survey should take less than ten minutes, and all comments will remain anonymous. The last date that the survey can be accepted is Monday, March 2 at 11:59 p.m.

The “Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice” (AI), is required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as a condition for receiving Federal housing and community development funds. The goals of the study are to identify whether barriers to fair housing choice exist in the city of Rochester in the rental and real estate markets and the mortgage lending, insurance and appraisal industries.

The study will also examine private and public policies and practices to identify any intentional or inadvertent housing discrimination.

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News Media: For more information, contact Press Officer Jessica Alaimo at 428-7135.