Ms. Deborah Gottlieb, Esq., Director of Housing
To Email Ms. Gottlieb Click Here
Housing Required Disclosure Letter Click Here
Housing Counseling Plan 2009 Click Here
Housing Project
The Housing Project plans, organizes and directs the program providing in-depth counseling, detailed information and other assistance to minority groups and low-income families and individuals seeking to locate decent, safe and standard living quarters, rental or sales, and to assist low income families in preparing themselves for the responsibility of homeownership.
The objectives are to promote home ownership using workshops to outline the process working in conjunction with local housing authorities, the "American Dream" and Habitat for Humanity.
Establish a formal listing of vacancies in Bergen County with referral service to clients on existing housing opportunities such as rooms, apartments and houses utilizing rental agents for future vacancies.
Offer credit counseling including default and delinquency and mortgage assistance and home improvement programs thru existing agencies.
Opened Hearts Open Doors Program was established at the Urban League and has successfully found new living arrangements for displaced workers entering a field at entry level wages, college students and hard working people in shared housing.
The Housing Project seeks to assist clients with issues and concerns ranging from landlord/tenant to homeowners. The project is the oldest HUD certified continuous source of counseling in the County. The housing staff is knowledgeable in all facets of housing. The project offers pre and post purchase counseling for homeowners. Our mainstay has been the ability to intervene and negotiate on behalf of our clients. We have been consistently successful in mediating forbearance (payment) arrangement and amenable workout situations. We have been able to inculcate our availability of financial resources to augment our counseling capacity. Our involvement on the boards and advisory committees of lending institutions gives us increased ability to advocate on behalf of our clients as well as influence outcomes through total examination of the variables.
On a monthly basis, housing workshops are held either at our main office or in collaboration with other entities. The project strives to educate tenants on the need to uphold their tenant responsibilities as well as the rights available to them. The housing staff is visible in the housing court and makes visits to apartments. Our services are available 2 evenings per week in addition to the normal business day and on weekends by appointment.
The Housing Department is one of the most active program offerings of the Urban League. Our client profile runs the range from very low-income tenant to upper middle-income homeowner. The fact that the foreclosure process has been legislatively shortened, increases the volume of clients coming to the League for assistance. Conversely, first time homebuyers have also increased in number of applicants to the League. However, our ability to utilize other resources enables us to have numerous successful outcomes with this growing population. There has been a dramatic increase in senior citizens seeking our counseling to qualify for reverse mortgage loans. The League is 1 of only 2 providers (HUD) authorized in the county. Many of the applicants to be served by our program have credit problems ranging from slight to extremely severe.
NULITES
National Urban League Incentive to Excel and Succeed (NULITIES) meetings are held on a weekly basis also here at the training center and are students between the ages of 12 and 18. Participants must maintain good grades and exhibit enthusiasm and concern for others. Students are taught the attributes that will lead to a successful life in today's society. The main purpose is to promote and maintain high standards of well being, educational, character and leadership qualities. This is accomplished through the program goals, structure and required vocational seminars and community service projects such as participating in the Englewood Street Fair, Health Fair, feeding the needy and collecting and distributing toys for underprivileged children. The NULITES also work in conjunction with CPIP or the Community Parental Involvement Partnership, which is the Parent Support Group here at the Urban League.
Additional activities include participation in Red Ribbon Week, Women Fashioned for Today fashion show, driving permit registration and driving lessons, Time Warner Cable Vision studio training, drug awareness workshops, Today's Men, the Coalition to Prevent Adolescent Pregnancy, African American Scholarship Event and The Annual Urban League Awards Dinner.
Over the past two years, the Safe Passage Program has significantly increased student and faculty involvement at the high school. The counselors have better established the drop-in center as a place to find confidential assistance. Without this center, the youth would be at a disadvantage as this is the only program available to them at the school.