LIHS will also honor trailblazing leaders in the field of Fair Housing including LIHS Executive Director Emeritus Michelle Santantonio, who served LIHS as Executive Director from 1999-2017.
Gala to honor Fair Housing Heroes
Bohemia, NY– On October 3, 2018, Long Island Housing Services, Inc. (LIHS), a 49-year-old Civil Rights organization, will host its 50th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act Celebration Gala at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook, NY. The event will commemorate the passing of Title VIII of the 1968 Civil Rights Act (also known as the Fair Housing Act). LIHS will also honor trailblazing leaders in the field of Fair Housing including LIHS Executive Director Emeritus Michelle Santantonio, who served LIHS as Executive Director from 1999-2017. Ms. Santantonio’s outstanding contributions to LIHS led to many advancements in the work of Fair Housing on Long Island and have been recognized nationally.
Additional honorees include:
- Fred Freiberg, Executive Director, Fair Housing Justice Center
- Diane L. Houk, Esq., Emery Celli Brinckerhoff & Abady LLP
- Lisa Rice, President & CEO, National Fair Housing Alliance
- Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, Fair Housing & Community Development Project
All proceeds from this event will go to support the critical work of fulfilling Long Island Housing Services’ mission. To purchase tickets and for sponsorship information please visit the LIHS’ website at www.lifairhousing.org
LIHS is a 49-year-old private, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation, so donations are tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. LIHS is the only Long Island based, private fair housing advocacy and enforcement agency serving Nassau and Suffolk counties. LIHS challenges all illegal housing discrimination including race, color, national origin, disability, religion, sex, familial, marital, military, veteran’s status, domestic violence status, as well as age, alienage or citizenship status and gender orientation. We have worked to outlaw and challenge Source of Income discrimination in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.
Since the 1970’s, LIHS has sustained its credentials as a HUD-approved Counseling agency, and is the only LI HUD-approved qualified Fair Housing enforcement agency. LIHS has achieved the GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency and is a Better Business Bureau (BBB) Accredited Charity.
In the early 1970’s, the founding group successfully challenged real estate agencies, management companies, landlords, and owners where investigation revealed solid evidence for discrimination.
In the mid-1980’s the agency became nationally acclaimed for its investigation and testing abilities with an Eastern District landmark jury award of $565,000 in favor of two African-American air traffic controllers.
In coalition with other advocacy organizations, LIHS successfully worked to outlaw Source of Income discrimination in 2000 for Nassau County and 2006 for Suffolk County. LIHS has successfully conciliated landmark complaints against several major developers in pursuing compliance with the Fair Housing Act’s requirements for accessibility in multi-family design and construction. LIHS has also challenged discriminatory advertisers, all sizes of real estate management companies and providers involved with rentals and sales. Two recent high-profile Fair Housings cases are and Long Island Housing Services v German American Settlement League and Long Island Housing Services v Village of Mastic Beach.
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