Lawmakers announce $175,000 in state funds from NYS Affordable Housing Corporation to help rehab five more homes for ownership opportunities in 19th Street neighborhood.

New homeowner Gary Damon Jr. accepts the keys to his 19th Street home, which Homefront Inc. recently rehabilitated, in a ceremonial key presentation.

Kennedy: Homeownership has always been at the heart of the American Dream, and this state funding will help local families live the American Dream right here on Buffalo’s West Side.

BUFFALO, N.Y. – Senator Tim Kennedy and Assemblyman Sean Ryan today announced a major state grant award to substantially rehabilitate several vacant houses on Buffalo’s West Side. The New York State Affordable Housing Corporation (AHC) will invest $175,000 to renovate five vacant homes in the 19th Street neighborhood – which will, in turn, open up five new affordable opportunities for local families to purchase their own homes.

Court filings for foreclosure in Western New York continue to be a problem, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York states that there are roughly 2,000 homeowners in active foreclosure in Erie County alone. A Mortgage Check-Up event on Saturday, September 29 will provide Western New York homeowners worried about their mortgages with the opportunity for a quick, easy and confidential way to address their concerns.

The Mortgage Check-Up is sponsored by West Side Neighborhood Housing Services in partnership with Fillmore Leroy Area Residents (FLARE), Western New York Law Center, Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo and Legal Services for the Elderly & Disabled. Counselors and lawyers will consult homeowners privately from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the FLARE office at 307 Leroy Ave.

The reason for the expected increase in Western New York foreclosures lies in the state’s long foreclosure waiting period, made longer by legislation passed last year.

PROFITABLE PRESERVATION: UNDERSTANDING HISTORIC TAX CREDITS

Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Group of Western New York presents: Artspace Buffalo case study

WHO: The Urban Land Institute’s Young Leaders Group of Western New York (ULI YLG of WNY), a subsidiary of the global nonprofit research and education organization, the Urban Land Institute, and guest speakers Jason Yots of Preservation Studios, and Gerald Strickland, Jr. of HHL Architects.

WHAT: The Young Leaders Group is providing an afternoon of exploring the ‘ins and outs’ of the Commercial Historic Tax Credit program. The incentive program encourages private sector investment in the rehabilitation and re-use of historic buildings, and is one of the Nation’s most successful and cost-effective community revitalization programs. A tour of Artspace Buffalo is included.

WHEN: Saturday, May 12, 2012 from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.