Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity
The City of Elmira is an "Entitlement Community" under the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program and a "Participating Jurisdiction" under the HOME Program. The rules and regulations governing these programs require the City to affirmatively further fair housing.
The City of Elmira is committed to creating equal housing opportunities and prohibiting discrimination for all persons in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and familial status under the federal Fair Housing Act. In addition to the classifications covered under federal law, the City recognizes the following protected classes which are also covered under New York State Human Rights Law: age, sexual orientation, marital status, military status, domestic violence victim status, arrest or conviction record, or predisposing genetic characteristics.
City of Elmira Analysis of Fair Housing Impediments 2020
The City of Elmira works with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to file and investigate Fair Housing complaints from residents who live within the City of Elmira. According to Fair Housing Law, individuals have one year after an alleged violation to file a complaint, however they should be filed as soon as possible.
The City designated a Fair Housing Officer, Emma Miran and the Department of Community Development may accept fair housing complaints which are then forwarded to HUD or if they fall under the State's protected classes, they will be forwarded to the New York State Division of Human Rights.
1. Send a letter to City of Elmira, Department of Community Development, Attn: Fair Housing Officer, 317 E. Church St., Elmira, NY 14901
2. Call (607)737-5691 or the New York State Relay Center at 1-800-662-1220 for individuals who are hearing impaired
3. Complete HUD's Housing Discrimination Complaint Form
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint
- Your name and address
- The name and address of the person your complaint is against
- The address or other identification of the housing involved
- A short description of the alleged violation (the event that caused you to believe your rights were violated)
- The date (s) of the alleged violation