About Us
The Fair Housing Council of Central New York Inc. is dedicated
to promoting equal housing opportunity for everyone.
Our mission is to help enforce laws against discrimination in
housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, national
origin, sexual orientation, source of income, disability and familial
status. In addition, we work to enforce laws prohibiting fraud
and mortgage-lending abuses.
We are also committed to educating people about their rights
and responsibilities in the housing market, creating and sustaining
neighborhoods that are diverse in racial, ethnic and other grounds,
and engaging in advocacy to promote these objectives.
The FHCCNY receives funding from the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development, the City of Syracuse, and Onondaga County;
grants from
private foundations; donations from community partners and program-specific
sponsors; and is also supported, in part, through membership and
contractual services.
What We Do
Education & Outreach
• We train community members and advocates to identify
housing discrimination
• We distribute educational materials and public service
announcements to local community-based organization and local
media
Enforcement & Litigation
• We investigate complaints of suspected cases of housing
discrimination
• We provide free legal representation to victims of illegal
housing discrimination
Predatory Lending & Foreclosure Assistance Project
• We investigate complaints of lending discrimination
and predatory lending
• We refer cases of lending fraud to state and federal regulatory
agencies
• We maintain a small foreclosure prevention assistance
fund
Research and Contractual Services
• We produce research-based reports and make policy recommendations
on fair housing for governmental agencies
• We perform self-monitoring investigations for companies
to ensure that their employees are complying with fair housing
laws
• We provide training for professionals in real estate,
banking, insurance and property management
Who We Are
The Fair Housing Council’s Board of Directors includes:
Carol Williams
Beverly Fair-Brooks
Mark Wasmund
Beata Karpinska-Prehn
Shirley Goddard
John Yinger
Suzanne Williams
James Simmonds
JoAnne Spoto-Decker
Fanny Villarreal
Daniel Young
Our staff includes:
Executive Director, Merrilee Witherell
Assistant Director, Amy Emerson
Consumer Advocate, Adrianne Barrett
Office Manager, Tatyana Peshko
Education and Outreach Coordinator, Adriana Angulo-Howard
Enforcement Program Assistant, Ondalee Kelley
Enforcement Specialist, Karin Mallaro
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