Long Island fair housing watchdog loses $1M in DOGE spending cuts

Quoted from Newsday:
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Long Island’s only local nonprofit dedicated to investigating housing discrimination said it has lost $1 million in funding over the next three years after the Trump administration terminated its federal contract as part of a nationwide slashing of federal spending.

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Long Island Housing Services received a letter last week from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development notifying the Bohemia-based organization that it will lose its federal funding — effective immediately — because the money no longer carries out the agency’s priorities or the goals of the federal Fair Housing Initiatives Program, said LIHS Executive Director Ian Wilder.

“We have to figure out how to fill that hole in our budget to continue with current staff and the level of services we’ve been providing to Long Islanders,” Wilder said.

Wilder’s nonprofit investigates housing discrimination complaints and provides education and training on fair housing laws for the real estate industry, government officials and the public. The federal Fair Housing Act, which LIHS was tasked with enforcing under the HUD grant, prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status and disability.

The grant termination letter was the first Wilder heard from HUD about any concerns with the organization’s work, he said. The grant represents about 20% of the nonprofit’s annual budget.

Long Island Housing Services is one of dozens of nonprofits around the country hit by the cuts as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development canceled about half of its 162 fair housing

Wilder said LIHS will tap into its cash reserves to continue funding its housing programs and does not plan to lay off any of its 12 employees at this time. But the organization will have to reevaluate its financial situation at the end of March if funding is not restored.

LIHS had received a three-year enforcement grant worth $425,000 annual under the federal Fair Housing Initiatives Program. The nonprofit had $1,075,000 remaining on its current award through July 2027, including $225,000 in funding through the end of this program year, which ends in July, Wilder said.

Wilder said he fears his nonprofit could lose even more funding if HUD cuts other housing aid to state, county and town governments that enter contracts with LIHS to provide services.

“With everything that’s in motion with the federal government, we don’t even know the full impact yet,” he said.