The first Rockland County Housing Forum will take place on Friday, April 21, with major stakeholders, including developers, lenders, the Department of Social Services, HUD, and more, to strategize on how to overcome Rockland’s housing challenges.

The event will also include early findings of the County’s first-ever comprehensive community and affordable housing needs assessment.

“If we can rescue this County from the brink of bankruptcy, we can find a way to make it affordable for all,” County Executive Ed Day says. “And when I say all, I’m referring to our essential workers, our teachers, our first responders, all of whom are having a hard time affording a home in this County. We are not looking for a license to overdevelop; we are simply taking a thoughtful approach to help us figure out the best way to address the housing challenges residents are facing.”

The forum is being held in April in honor of Fair Housing Month and additionally in recognition of Community Development Week (April 10-14), as Community Development Block Grant funding has existed since 1975 to provide local governments with resources to develop viable communities by providing affordable housing and expanding economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income

levels.

The forum will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the  Rockland County Fire Training Center, 35 Firemen’s Memorial Drive in Pomona.