News

Commission on Housing & Homeownership Releases Final Report
4/29/2009

Mayor Matt Ryan today announced that the Commission on Housing & Homeownership (CHH) has released its final report.

The report recommends a variety of ways to boost the City’s homeownership rate, strengthen its housing stock, promote and retain responsible landlords and tenants, and improve the local quality of life.

CHH was one of four commissions convened in April 2008 to investigate the most pressing issues related to City finances. The other commissions were asked to address personnel costs, sanitation, and sustainable development. The housing commission is the first to issue its final report.

The report now is available on the City’s website. (See links below.) CHH members will be available for comment tomorrow, April 30th, at 11:00am in the Mayor’s Conference Room, which is located on City Hall’s 4th Floor.

“This report holds great promise for making our neighborhoods healthier, promoting economic development, and resolving the City’s largest fiscal challenges – and this is exactly what we hoped from the commission,” said Mayor Ryan. “It also represents more than a year’s worth of research, analysis, and outreach to the community by a cross-section of local stakeholders. Their efforts are a testament to the power of partnerships and participation, and I thank each of them for their hard work and dedication.”

The final report is 92 pages, including the executive summary. The commission was composed of 15 members, with representation from City Hall, City Council, Binghamton University, landlords, realtors, the Binghamton Housing Authority, housing advocates, and citizens groups.

“Our report has something for everyone,” said Alycia Harris, Chairwoman of the Commission on Housing & Homeownership. “To inform our work, we cast our net as wide as possible, consulting with other municipalities, reviewing studies, and speaking with community members. In the end, we struck a balance among the many priorities at hand, and we trust this document will help move our community forward in the right direction. We greatly appreciated the initiative of the Mayor and the Council to sponsor this commission, and on behalf of everybody involved, we were pleased to participate.”

“Our commission took its job very seriously,” said City Councilman and CHH member Charles Kramer. “We solicited input from across the community and we looked at the issues from as many angles as possible. Our final report should be a blueprint for positive development throughout Binghamton.”

“Stabilizing our housing stock, boosting our homeownership rate, and increasing neighborhood safety are key priorities for our community, and this report will help us address all of them,” said City Council President Martin Gerchman. “We look forward to sharing its recommendations with our constituents, and then moving ahead on smart reforms.”

It is anticipated that the City’s other three commissions will release their reports in the coming weeks and months. Like CHH, these bodies include representation from City Hall, the Council, and the community.

LINKS
For the Commission on Housing & Homeownership’s Final Report Executive Summary (27 pages), click here. For CHH’s full report, click here. For more information on the Partnership for Change Initiative, please visit the City’s dedicated page.

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