THANK YOU PRESIDENT BIDEN

We, The Fortune Society, hosted US Department of Housing & Urban Development Secretary, Marcia Fudge, to the Fortune Castle today. When I became the chairman of The Fortune Society, I had lived across the street from this magnificent, long abandoned structure. When my parents visited me from Baltimore, who owned 6 apartment houses in Baltimore, would sit on my balcony drinking coffee on Sunday mornings and look down from the 16th floor on "The Castle" as I enjoyed brunch with my parents and ask, " When is someone going to do something with that beautiful building? When We made an offer I called him and he was happy. The architectural firm that we hired assigned an architect to research the history of "The Castle". We learned that it had been built 100 years ago by the New York Catholic Diocese as a Catholic school for girls. St. Warburg's Academy. Sometime in the 60's the schools closed. New York City took over the property with an eye to turning the site into a public school. That was during the John Lindsey years, just as the New York City financial crisis was kicking in. The City abandoned it's plans and " The Castle" sat empty for decades. When we hired Joanne Page as Fortune CEO, I told her about my dad's advice that we, Fortune, needed to be in housing, and that het the building across the street from where I lived was a good place to start. As chairman, I worked closely with Joanne to "find" the right place, We looked at properties to the far West Side. They were too far from the IND,IRT & the BMT for our client base. If you emerge from the "A" train at 34th Street, the walk to 8th Avenue is too far for our clients to walk. Additionally, there are a lot of temptations between 7th Avenue and the West Side Highway. Our broker called me with sites in Brooklyn. They were within our budget, but many of our clients are not from Brooklyn. SO much for that. One morning the broker called me and said, " drop what you are doing. Can you meet me for lunch. I found what you were looking for". She said, " I know where you live and I know you paly in bands in clubs on the Upper Westside, so you know the address I am about to give you. Don't think about. Just meet me on Riverside Drive at noon. Close your eyes. Think positive and meet me." I did. The structure looked as if it was crumbling. I grew up in a real estate family and i always felt that, "Old was better than new". Materials, craftmanship and other things factor into the equation. When we walked in there were bats in the building there were bats, yes in Manhattan and a homeless man "living in the space". The broker said, " Roland, stop thinking. Close your eyes. Take a deep breadth and imagine." I did and we brought the property. My neighbors stopped speaking to me about bringing "criminals" to the neighborhood. My friend Jud Sabey helped me to show that a significant number of our client who would live at "The Castle", as they transitioned back to "LIFE" were not from someplace else. They were from the 6 zip codes around Upper Manhattan. I told my neighbors, " These are our neighbors coming home". Today Marcia Fudge, the US Secretary of Housing & Urban Development visited us today. Thank you President Biden and Secretary Fudge. We have to build our neighborhoods and families, A certain type of housing discrimination has been an impediment to that. When I was young my father would hire an employee coming home from prison or rent an apartment to a formerly incarcerated person. He would tell me, " No one should be judged by the worst thing he ever did". We need to keep playing this forward. Thank you President Biden.

Home / Press Room / Press Releases / HUD No. 23-083

HUD No. 23-083

HUD Public Affairs

(202) 708-0685 FOR RELEASE

Monday

April 24, 2023

HUD Outlines its Action Plan to Remove Unnecessary Barriers to

We, The Fortune Society hosted US Department of Housing & Urban Develpoment Secretary, Marcia

Housing for People with Criminal Records

In weeks ahead, HUD will introduce rulemaking, establish a process for individualized assessments, and outline guidelines for public housing authorities

HUD Secretary challenges public housing authorities to review current processes

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia L. Fudge announced further steps HUD will take to ensure that qualified people are not denied the opportunity to access housing solely due to a criminal history record. In the weeks ahead, HUD will issue a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in which it proposes to change its regulations governing public housing agencies and HUD-subsidized housing providers to prevent unnecessary denials of housing assistance to people with criminal history records.

HUD will issue new guidance and technical assistance to assist PHAs and HUD-affiliated owners in determining what convictions are relevant to health and safety and how to conduct an individualized assessment when reviewing criminal history records. HUD will also provide technical assistance to encourage grantees, PHAs, and housing owners to use HUD programs to provide housing and services that support people’s successful reentry from prisons and jails to the community, which enhances public safety.

“This Fair Housing Month and Second Chance Month, HUD recognizes that current criminal justice and housing policies have denied those seeking rehabilitation a chance to lead better lives,” said HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. “A year ago, I called on HUD programs to conduct a policy review of ways that we can remove barriers to safe, affordable housing for people with criminal history records. As we execute our action plan, I invite state and local housing agencies, owners, and property managers to partner with HUD to remove barriers to housing to people with criminal records and support people’s successful reentry to the community. Research shows that providing safe and affordable housing and supportive services so that people succeed during reentry makes our communities stronger and safer.”

The announcement follows a comprehensive review of HUD regulations, policies, and guidance geared toward increasing opportunities for qualified individuals and families to receive housing assistance from HUD. That review found that many of HUD’s regulations and sub-regulatory provisions could be improved and clarified to ensure that PHAs and HUD-affiliated owners are following recognized best practices, including:

Not automatically denying an applicant housing assistance simply based on the presence of a criminal conviction, other than where explicitly prohibited by federal law.

Disregarding criminal history that is unlikely to bear on fitness for tenancy, such as arrest records, sealed or expunged records, older convictions, and convictions not involving violence or harm to persons or property.

Using individualized assessments to determine whether applicants truly pose a future risk to persons or property, taking into account other factors such as the applicant’s employment, engagement in alcohol or drug treatment, and constructive community involvement.

Providing applicants with criminal history records with reasonable time and opportunity to provide supporting information regarding mitigating factors before an admission decision is made.

Many of these principles have already been implemented by many housing providers and public housing agencies who, in doing so, have preserved or improved the public safety of their communities. HUD’s forthcoming notice of proposed rulemaking will propose to require other housing providers and PHAs to do the same.

New guidance and technical assistance issued by HUD will assist PHAs and HUD-affiliated owners in applying these principles.

HUD’s forthcoming actions also will help PHAs and HUD-affiliated owners comply with the Fair Housing Act. Black and Brown people, other people of color, and people with disabilities are disproportionately involved in the criminal justice system. As a result, policies that unnecessarily deny housing because of a criminal history record can violate the Fair Housing Act of 1968, pursuant to the discriminatory effects rule that HUD recently reinstated. To ensure these reforms are successfully implemented, HUD is also stepping up Fair Housing investigations and enforcement. Fair Housing staff and grantees receive numerous complaints where exclusions based on criminal history records discriminate based on race, disability, or other protected classes.

In addition to addressing barriers to HUD housing assistance, HUD will also provide new tools and technical assistance on ways that HUD programs can support the successful reentry to the community from prisons and jails. For example, HUD will highlight communities that are using Community Development Block Grants to provide reentry services and programs, including counseling and legal assistance, and PHAs that are partnering to provide housing assistance to people reentering the community. HUD will also highlight ways that Emergency Solutions Grants and Continuum of Care Program grants can create models of housing to address homelessness among formerly incarcerated people. Taken together, these approaches make our communities stronger and safer.

The proposals announced today will codify protections against housing discrimination as HUD works to provide secure avenues for successful community-oriented rehabilitation and reentry.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all.

More information about HUD and its programs is available at www.hud.gov and https://espanol.hud.gov.