The Justice Department says a group of New Orleans landlords has agreed to pay $70,000 in damages and penalties to settle a lawsuit alleging they denied housing to African-American prospective renters at an apartment building in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.
The agreement, which still must be approved by a federal judge in Louisiana, was announced Monday.
The settlement would resolve a lawsuit alleging that the defendants — Betty Bouchon, the Bouchon Limited Family Partnership and Sapphire Corp. — discriminated against the prospective renters. The allegations were based on fair-housing testing conducted by the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center.
"In these challenging economic times, it is more important than ever that all Americans be able to rent or buy housing they can afford, and not face discrimination because of the color of their skin," Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a statement.
The lawsuit alleges that Betty Bouchon, the building manager, failed to return calls from African-American testers while returning phone calls from white testers, made statements to white testers indicating that she would not rent to black people, and falsely told an African-American tester than an apartment was not available for rent when in fact it was available.
Under the terms of the settlement, the defendants will pay $50,000 to GNOFHAC and $20,000 in civil penalties to the United States. The settlement also requires the defendants to adopt non-discriminatory policies, keep detailed records of inquiries from prospective tenants and of rental transactions, and submit periodic reports over the four year term of the settlement.
GNOFHAC filed a separate lawsuit, which is pending in federal court.
Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune
Filed under Fair Housing Act, HUD, Landlords, Section 8 by 
Five local groups get grants from Environmental Protection Agency
The grants announced at a ceremony Wednesday at the New Orleans Healing Center on St. Claude Avenue were:
- Louisiana Green Corps, $300,000 environmental job training grant to train low-income residents for jobs in energy efficiency and green building; solar and/or solar thermal system installation; and materials reuse, deconstruction and recycling. The program will last two years. The Green Corps acts as a recycling center for paint and construction materials and provides those materials for rebuilding projects in the city.
- Global Green USA, $100,000 green jobs pilot program grant for local youth job training and placing workers with local, small construction contractors. The organization’s NOLA Wise program, operating with support from the U.S. Department of Energy and the city of New Orleans, is renovating existing homes to be energy efficient, providing contractors and apprentices with employment opportunities.
- Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, $32,500 pollution-control grant, in partnership with Nurtured World, to provide Lower 9th Ward residents with energy efficiency training.
- Vietnamese American Young Leaders Association, $30,000 environmental education grant to provide local youth with training to monitor air quality in eastern New Orleans.
- Louisiana Bucket Brigade, $25,000 environmental justice grant to provide air-quality sampling around industrial areas in southeast Louisiana. The organization has used its air-quality sampling to support successful Clean Air Act lawsuits against several local refineries.
Source: New Orleans Times-Picayune
Filed under Energy Efficiency, Family Self-Sufficiency, Loans & Grants, Rehabilitating Homes, Section 8 by
| September 15, 2011 | ||
| 8:00 am |
HUD AND NEIGHBORWORKS® AMERICA ACCEPTING ADDITIONAL APPLICATIONS
FOR EMERGENCY HOMEOWNERS’ LOAN PROGRAM
Homeowners in Louisiana Will Have Until September 15 to Apply for EHLP Funding
FOR INFORMATION OR TO APPLY FOR EHLP: www.findEHLP.org or
call toll free: 855-FIND-EHLP (346-3345)
NEW ORLEANS – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and NeighborWorks® America today reopened the application process for the Emergency Homeowners’ Loan Program (EHLP) in 27 states and Puerto Rico, including Louisiana, to give homeowners at risk of foreclosure more time to apply for the program. While the original application deadline was July 27, HUD estimates that resources will be available to reach more struggling homeowners and NeighborWorks will accept applications submitted through September 15, 2011.More on HUD Extends Homeowners' Loan Program
Filed under Events, homeownership, HUD, Loans & Grants by
