pleased to welcome everyone here today for schenectady annual fair housing luncheon homeownership is such an important component of the american dream we want to make sure that housing in the opportunity for homeownership is available to everyone regardless of race color creed national origin or handicap while he'd hear from hud and whereas the congress of the united states passed the civil rights act in one nine hundred sixty eight which title eight declared the law of the land would now guarantee the rights of equal housing opportunity and whereas the laws of this nation and our state seek to ensure he quality of choice for all transactions involving housing and whereas the city of schenectady is committed to the mission in intent of congress to provide fair and equal housing opportunities for all regardless of race color or national origin religion disability or other issues and whereas going education outreach and monitoring are key to raising the awareness of fair housing principles practice rights and responsibilities and where as only through continued cooperation commitment and support can barriers to fair housing be removed now therefore i carry mccarthy bear the city of schenectady do hereby proclaim the month of april two thousand and twelve this fair housing month in the city of schenectady and express the hope that this year's observance will further promote fair housing practices throughout the city of schenectady i'd like to take the opportunity to present that to you and again preach appreciate your assistance to our sprayed city am a native schenectady again so it's great for me to come home and to come home to celebrate such a great event again from there is direct from the office of fair housing for new york and new jersey mr jay gilligan and the office of fair housing think new york state homes and community regionals commissioner downtowns i'm happy to be here today i've always been invited i'm always invites our office to come and participate in this luncheon and we always enjoy and we the resources that we the people that we meet and the resource information that we collect commission a town since his regrets for not being able to join us today i actually work in the fair housing office under the direction of wanda graham i am the deputy director managing the state office in my office we work to ensure compliance with the fair housing act including the federal state and local laws on agency funded projects our office is working hard let me tell you we have we manage the minority and women business enterprise program as well which ultimately aids  initiative as well but is our goal to become a value partner to the development community and we work with a lot of developers and ensuring that there are it's safe and affordable housing in new york state i would like to congratulate the mayor on his initiative on the keys to the city program and also to congratulate on another successful luncheon our edge and see would like to continue to work with this office to assure that the citizens of our state have fair housing choices can find safe and fordable and decent housing and my name is janessa thank you always a pleasure to be  to celebrate fair housing month which is not something that you know just the right thing to do it's the law besides as paul and as the other speakers have alluded to earlier fair housing is the law under title this month i've been invited to and i have already have participated in several fair housing events around the district and just going talking to people and it's the same speech we get talking points from headquarters they talk about nondiscrimination you know the one thing that really when you talk about fair housing a lot of people talk about we can't discriminate based on race based on politics based on children based on this the other thing that seems to this year there seems to be a focus on and it's so nice to see the bankers that are here that are represented because bankers can't discriminate on lending for people to buy houses and i just think that this year that seems to be coming into focus you guys are doing a great job and  his continue doing the same i want to thank the mayor for inviting me to be here i hope that the group that i work with the housing authority being an eye on that he has had his office the other day but he couldn't make it but commissioner towns representative  and the other people in the community to also community development block grant month in april to sell we've got a great department here with under dick heard and i want to thank you for inviting me both kerry and and i'm out and i look forward to duties of mary a year ago i made it a priority to focus the resources of the city to improve the quality of housing in our neighborhoods we've put together a coordinated effort with our code enforcement office the office of general services our corporation counsel in the police department to ensure quality of life and property management issues are addressed in a properly in a timely manner but there have been some people that even though we have given a polite notice we've given them a formal notice they've ignored that we've given a more formal notices they've ignored that we've served with papers petition and been to court they've ignored that what are we supposed to do well we've taken some of those people move through the system and have asked the courts to issue warrants for him in the last forty eight or seventy two hours the police department has started to actually go out in arrest people who just want  thumb their nose at the system in we're going to hold people accountable i want people in this community to know that if you're making an investment that you have an expectation in a reasonable belief to believe that we are going to up hold our responsibility and work to protect the value that you have in your property that we're going to go after that derelict property across the street the one down the block and that if people don't want to live up to those standards i'm telling them they should not be doing business in the city but that's on the enforcement side the long term solution to neighborhood stabilization and revitalization is increasing the number of owner occupied houses in our city a year ago we were fortunate to have an bt bank step forward in assist first time homebuyers with a practical financial assistance to make home ownership a reality and joe i thank you for your efforts last fall jeff stone in the team of key banc made available in schenectady a mortgage product to fit the needs of the many people with stable employment good credit and the desire to be homeowners this mortgage product also allowed real interest in schenectady we have labeled this program key to the city we've had two city wide open house weekends in schenectady which have been very successful our next one will be and sunday april twenty second and we're looking to do this every month we're going to try and make it the third sunday of each month today i'm announcing the creation of a bay oral task force to create more homeownership opportunities in schenectady and i've asked mary della sun dro to chair the real estate review component and jo reed ammar to chair the financial incentives component you know if you look at our community we know that downtown is doing very well we've seen a significant rebirth tremendous investment around the concept of an arts and entertainment district and we want to build on that we're going to continue to build on that this year the next roughly three weeks we're going to start the long delayed renovation of erie boulevard but i want to take that energy and that focus and i want to look forward to working with our community partners are key to the city initiative to extend an invitation to people looking to buy a home to look at schenectady neighborhoods there are great opportunities in this city homeownership is part of the american dream and schenectady is the place where that dream can come true thank you thank you marin good afternoon everybody and behalf of cora carr schroeder who is our schenectady county district office manager and myself we say thank you for the outstanding work that you're doing in promoting choice housing the dignity of housing is so important in the quality of life that it's defined by our communities and the great leadership that we have enjoyed throughout the years in this community enabling people to have those quality choices is recognized here today i want to thank our team from both federal and state government i've worked so closely with daryl towns through the years and having the commissioner in that wonderful assignment these days is a powerful thought  back and we talked housing in cohost we've talked housing in schenectady and all through the twenty first congressional district and i thank you for that and for all of our representatives from federal and state government and to the mayor and his team here in the city of schenectady you know the fact that forty four years ago congress acted and acted it a bit of legislation dealing with fair housing made a statement very bold very noble to the people of this lan that we shall pride ourselves on embracing the sort of stewardship that will advance the notion of fair housing quality housing and with that comes not only the statement that is made that shell work against any discrimination of any kind towards people who look for that avenue to housing fair housing is enough itself a very quality statement one that is our hallmark as a nation we pride ourselves on stamping out discrimination but it goes beyond that it provides for the underpinnings and the guarantees of quality schools sound environment and certainly economic opportunity those are the dynamics i think that can bring a new bit of hope and prosperity into the fabric of our communities and so as we work together in partnership to make certain that housing available housing quality housing and access and affordability to that housing are all part of the parameters for which will pursue that we honor that commitment today i bring with me a proclamation from the house that indicates that we will celebrate with all of that tender meaning fair housing month here in the city of schenectady and throughout our nation and we'll pause and reflect in a very gracious and grateful manner for the impact that the fa housing act has provided in promoting these very just causes these very social causes that lead to the economic recovery and the potential and the opportunity and the hope of which were all deserving so it's my honor to present to the mare and his team this proclamation thanking everyone for their work in empowering us through the auspices of the fair housing act now forty four years old during this month of fair housing we thank you and i also would be remiss if i didn't underscore the value added that gary has brought there mccarthy has brought with his vision for empowering our community by marketing it through its housing opportunities gary that's a great ingenious way to really address an urban revitalization and to market the community for the housing stock that is a cherished heritage piece a compost into prosperity is around the corner for so many and it is a way to grow our urban cores and revitalize the comeback story and very powerful expression so to you and your leadership to the vision that you have now tethered and staked into this community thank you thank you i'm just going i'm president key bank in the capital region and i couldn't be more pleased to be here congressman mentioned marketing and one of the things that it's interesting is the key the city product that we have is really a product that we've had for quite some time it's not a brand new product for us it's something that we've had in our inventory say it's been difficult to get the word out it's been difficult to communicate what it is and in the mare and the modern the administration of doing just such a great job and working that part of this to get the word out and to really get the get the message out that the skin and he's a great place to be in there's a number of products that really fit that  when we when we launched the approach the key to the city which would have been about october november timeframe you know key bank the city and all of our partners had very high hopes for key to the city and i have to tell you we've probably even exceeded the high hopes that we've we've had it's been very successful we've brought a lot of new people into the into the area actually i think we've got one of our colleagues at key closing on a home here in the next week or two buying in the city of schenectady and probably it's been a cab this was a catalyst of that happening but since september bank has closed on twenty six loans that's twenty six new homeowners in the city we have eight more in progress eight more loans in progress there fifteen more pre approved applicants for key to the city we've had five hundred thirteen inquiries and that's probably even gone up as of today since this number was as of yesterday and the open house events are ongoing and have been proven to be very successful it's going to use a great all you know it in this is a great city to live in and raise a family and those of us at key can certainly say it's a great place to do business we really appreciate all the business we do here keeping his proud to invest and helping make this city an even greater place to be we do that by encouraging people to buy homes through key to the city homeownership in the city of schenectady just to give you a little bit of the details for those who may not know what the key to the city program is key to the city provides financing of two hundred percent on a first mortgage to allow people to buy one in two unit properties as long as they live in at least one unit will emit one unit came within probably two but longer living in one unit there's no private mortgage insurance no upfront costs no application fees just as long as a loan is granted closing fees are discounted if you have a key bank checking account buyers must contribute only five hundred dollars of their own money there's no maximum income cap on the purchase properties in the low to moderate income tracks which makes this very attractive since the entire city qualifies as a lot of moderate income track so no income caps on any of those those  applicants we have a provision called renewal home which is a provision that helps homebuyers fix up their homes by allowing them to baria borrow up to one hundred fifty percent of the appraised value of the home or up to fifty thousand dollars for rehab costs so if you got a fix that roof fixed that furnace fix that porch you need some money to do that money's available to do that up one hundred fifty percent of the appraised value if it up to fifty thousand dollars all this makes it easier to buy homes here now there's there's one more component that that's really important that we want to talk about that's the financial education and siddaramaiah tara branch manager here in schenectady provides financial education for all of our all of our residents who who used the key to the city program but it's really important because we want to make sure that everybody has an understanding of how to how to make sure that we stay in the home how do we how do we manage our finances in a way that we can put the money aside for future improvements and the like such an important component kita see homeowners remain in our portfolio they're not sold in the secondary markets are locally held here by by us a key as home buyers pay back the loans it just creates more more money available for future buyers to to the world from us we really want to think the mare in the administration ahmad on ahmad day when i think think i'm odd for all the work that's been done here it's been a great partnership in working with you know sitting in joe enjoy all on our team and we couldn't be more proud of the work that's being done here in schenectady and i want think everybody in this room for for your support and especially mary mccarthy thank you very much hominick thank you very much it's rare that i get an opportunity to directly thank congressman taco who has local albany office and his washington office which i frequent either on by telephone or personally for all the help he has provided to the housing authority and housing authorities and throughout new york state i really want to emphasize that i can't wait to get back and give this award really to my staff because they are the reason that where a good housing authority doing a great job and we do focus on the people we talk a lot today about high level things and programs but it's really the people that we serve that are the most important thing to my staff and every day if you're there you could see that you could feel that they have the direct services and i want to add a little a little bit of that representation here from the perspective of people that we serve because today i got a letter handed to me that actually was received as today april thirteenth it was received today and it's from one of our newest tenants that address to mate and i'll just read it  brief but it will give you a flavor of what i think really fair housing is all about is serving the people that most rely on the big bureaucracies like us as we're seen sometimes to do the right thing and to really reach out and help people and it says i wish to express my deepest gratitude to you and the staff of the housing authority for all the systems my son and i received during a recent relocation in particular i want to thank you and these are my staff several the range michelle a lawyer cindy brennan and blanche mendell for expediting our move into a two bedroom apartment their professionalism and kindness are greatly appreciated in addition i want to thank the awesome maintenance department john tony dan and ron for their help they were very supportive during the move everyone involved certainly ease the stress of a difficult personal situation and we are very grateful for all your help p s i'll continue to live at the housing authority unless of course i win the lottery get well while we aspire for people to move up and out of housing and become self sufficient it's not always the case for a lot of people because we do serve approximately you know i think around half of our twenty four hundred families are either elderly or disabled and unable to you know to go out and become self sufficient so those are the people really have to keep in mind we talk about fair housing and what we're doing with housing into the future because it's not as some might in washington might have you believe and certainly not our congressman that housing is necessary it is important and you cannot eliminate the department of housing and urban development because there are too many people that really depend on it long term very happy to receive this and we are also happy to support and we are proud to be recognized as a longtime supporter of the good work the city of schenectady and its fair housing office has done you have promise of continued support going forward as you and we work to promote and ensure equal housing opportunity for everyone we recognize as does each of you that fact fair housing is the law of  but we also recognize that until the law of the land becomes the practice in every community that neither schenectady the capital region nor the country will be able to say that we have fulfilled the promise of equal housing opportunity which has been made to all our citizens that is why the greater capital association of realtors appreciates and applauds the good work which is being done by the city of schenectady by m mccarthy and the mayors who preceded him and by the city's fair housing office and i'm not thank you again for this recognition i promise it will find a place of honor in our office were visitors and our members alike will be good to see it thank you but what's funny about coming back here is i started in residential mortgage lending back many years ago everybody remember the name ne savings bank right and it's funny how things go full circle it's still a business that i love every single day it's still exciting as difficult as it continues to become from a regulatory standpoint and a lot of the changes that continue to happen it's still the backbone of not only every city but it's the backbone of the banking community as well the residential mortgage customers always been very important not only to end bt to jeff and his group of key banc but every bank that operates locally you know that's what certainly stabilizes the communities that we all reside in it's very important homeownership as a whole to everything that we do from a banking standpoint in the entry that it gives us to developing the deeper relationships with those customers so to all of our friends here in the city to  here who has been very instrumental obviously and not only what's taking shape now but i think you're going to continue to see that and be a model for other cities not only in our area but throughout the country so the small part that we play we couldn't be happier about that we will continue to do anything that we can from a friendship standpoint from a partnership standpoint from a financial standpoint and again we appreciate the cooperation everybody here today looks like one of the largest turnouts that you've had so fair housing is extremely important for this community and we wish everybody s thank you thank you try keep these remarks quick by i cannot stress the team effort for here city this started as just a small idea and it snowballed into this we've had a huge success from it and that this team here that we have today the mayor and of course the mob we will be here so really appreciate it thank you have a great lunch i just wanted to just say they think you and also recognize the mayor for all of his efforts we've got some of our team here much i just want to say our key bank has always been proud to be part of the community and when you have creative people that come together successful things will happen so thanks a lot thank you very much the key to the city is is in hand saying the city to to again advance to become the jewel that it should be and we're all very excited about that and by saying that we need well we just we have just begun and we have made a substantial dent in our progress which is we're all very excited about but again mayor mccarthy said we need more help so after this luncheon anyone from  the community the real estate community that would like to join us in the adjoining room for a brainstorming session we look forward to that thank you i just want to say thank you the success of the city is really a result of a unique partnership we have amazing partners and any success that we have moving forward will be a result of teamwork so thank you all we have a few representatives that from the gazette that will be here to accept some awards and on behalf of big is that we just thank you thank you to the mayor and thank you to a mob for getting the get involved or the marketing and promotion component to it but at the same time to be part of this great effort to sell homes in our community it's so important to the local community newspaper and the human family so on behalf of the good said thank you ok this one our program at this time and i provided thank you everybody for coming in and celebrating national fair housing month with us and we're happy to have you and always count on your partnership and have a great day i