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On April 15th, fair housing supporters
gathered to celebrate HOME’s 40th year and honor individuals
and organizations for their contributions to fair housing and human
rights.
The evening
began with a short reception, an opportunity to meet old and new friends
and enjoy the 40th anniversary display highlighting a variety
of contributors to HOME history (see “We were there”.) Guests were then
welcomed by Membership Chair Jean Doerr and, during dinner, Senior Vice
President Janet Barnes called the meeting to order and introduced Liz
Clark, chair of the Nominating Committee.
Ms. Clark
gave the report of the Committee and conducted the election of new
officers and board members. This year’s officers will be Susan M. Fayle,
Chair; Charles C. Thomas III, President; Janet E. Barnes, Senior Vice
President; Stephen B. Karnath, Vice President; Lance Fertig, Secretary and
Michael D. Riegel Treasurer.
New on
board are Dorothy Ivy Gadley, Lisa Jenkins, Fred Merukeb, Steven J. Weiss
and Juan Carlos Valentin. Returning to the board is Dan D. Kohane, Esq.,
who for many years served as board counsel. Janet E. Barnes, Catherine M.
Braniecki, Jean Doerr, Esq., Rev. Theodore Hamilton, Gilbert R. Hernandez,
Samuel E. Loliger, Janet B. Meiselman, Barbara I. Mervine, and Arthur L.
Taggert were reelected.
Following the
election, the Joanne Champion Granger Scholarship award was presented.
First prize was given to Anna Marie Savatteri of Lancaster High School for
her extraordinary commitment to the housing rights of the disabled (her
essay will be featured in a future Insight). Second prize was awarded to
Akouavi Tossah, from Grover Cleveland High School in Buffalo. She is a
political refugee from Togo who demonstrated not only a determination to
succeed academically, but a dedication to community service . Honorary
President Arthur Butler presented the awards.
Highlights of the Chair’s report
Chair Susan M. Fayle opened her report by stating “We appreciate your
support over the years and trust you will all be with us for out
fiftieth.” She noted that in spite of the attitude that the struggle for
civil rights is a thing of the 60’s and 70’s, “The battle is not over.
While
adequate legal enforcement and protection are basic to changing the status
of housing opportunities for all, education, training and experience are
essential to developing a climate of personal conviction and support from
the general population. This double pronged approach has been the
backbone of HOME’s mission and program for all of its forty years.” She
later added “Educating landlords & tenants about the law is one of the
most effective tools we have to confront discrimination”
Highlights of the last year included:
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Serving a record 6,047 clients (not
including those reached through educational presentations.) HOME
provided assistance to discrimination victims, paralegal information to
landlords and tenants, fair housing information to government, housing
and social service agencies and mobility counseling to families
receiving Section 8 assistance.
-
Reaching over 4,000 additional people
through our 221 educational presentations and thousands more through
publications and media initiatives.
-
Settling our first
case of internet discrimination with an internet publisher
advertising rental property.
-
Publishing the [revised and expanded]
fourth edition of “A Guide to Landlords’ Rights and selling
nearly 700 copies this year.
-
Assuring equal opportunity and protecting
the rights of current and future tenants of the Marine Drive complex.
-
Working with the New York State Attorney
General’s office and the Inclusion Task Force to combat discrimination
against persons with disabilities, the poor, and people of color.
-
Successfully advocating for passage of the
Sexual Orientation Non Discrimination Act.
-
Participating in a national study to
measure the extent of housing discrimination.
-
Winning $247,000 through HUD’s Fair
Housing Initiatives which will allow HOME to continue essential services
to victims of discrimination and publish a bilingual brochure in English
and Arabic.
Keynote, Awards and
honors
Following
her report, Ms. Fayle recognized former board chair and cooperating
attorney James I. Myers who introduced the keynote speaker, Dr. James L.
Hecht. James Hecht is a founding member of HOME and the author of
Because it is Right: Integration in Housing. Highlights of his moving
speech are found elsewhere in this issue.
Susan Fayle and Executive Director
Scott W. Gehl then certificates of appreciation to cooperating attorneys
Stephen Halpern and Daniel T. Lukasik (both of Morris, Cantor, Lukasik,
Dolce, and Panepinto, P.C.) who represented HOME in a West Seneca familial
status discrimination case argued successfully in federal court.
The Sarah G. Metzger Human Rights
Award was presented to attorney Michael L. Hanley of the Greater Upstate
Law Project (GULP) for his work on the Comer v. Kemp. The case
changed the way federal housing programs are administered in Western New
York and laid the groundwork for the Greater Buffalo Community Housing
Center. Mr. Hanley also chairs the NYS Advisory Council to the US Civil
Rights Commission.
HOME’s
highest honor, the James Crawford Award, was presented to founder and
longtime supporter James L. Hecht.
The evening
ended with a celebratory cake cutting followed by dancing to the sultry
sounds of the Joanne Paladino Quartet. |
