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2005 Press Release

MEDIA ADVISORY

ATTENTION: EDITORS / ASSIGNMENT EDITORS

Contact:
Neil Cotiaux, FHLBank of Pittsburgh, 412-288-2851, cell: 330-703-0753
John Gentzel, press secretary, U.S. Rep. James Gerlach: 202-225-4315

CONGRESSMAN GERLACH TO CONDUCT TOUR, TOWN HALL MEETING APRIL 29: AFFORDABLE HOUSING, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TO BE THE FOCUS OF TALKS

READING, PA, April 19, 2005 — U.S. Rep. James Gerlach (PA-6) and officials of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank) will hold a Town Hall Meeting Friday, April 29, at 9:45 a.m. in City Council Chambers, located on the second floor of City Hall at 815 Washington Street. They will provide a status report on affordable housing and economic and community development, discuss private and public aid available to homebuyers and businesses, and respond to inquiries from the public.

At 9 a.m., Congressman Gerlach will lead a tour highlighting the successful renovation of affordable housing being sold to first-time, low-
to moderate-income homebuyers as part of Our City Reading. Our City Reading is a community development initiative founded in 2001 by Albert R. Boscov, chairman of Boscov's, that is rehabilitating approximately 200 blighted properties in the city, injecting a renewed sense of pride into inner-city neighborhoods through improved housing stock and the creation of block organizations. In addition, Our City Reading is helping to transform abandoned industrial sites known as "brownfields" into new business and industrial parks, creating more area jobs.

At the Town Hall Meeting starting at 9:45 a.m., Congressman Gerlach, Dave Buches, vice president and a community investment consultant at the FHLBank, and Peter Knight, the Bank's director of Government Relations, will discuss a variety of low-cost funding programs available to homebuyers and businesses to spur further revitalization. They will also receive comments from affordable housing advocates and other members of the nonprofit sector as well as area bankers, homebuilders, REALTORS© and municipal leaders.

The FHLBank is a $61 billion wholesale bank that provides low-cost funding for affordable housing and community development to approximately 350 member financial institutions in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, including 15 member institutions headquartered in Congressman Gerlach's district. It is a strategic business partner for organizations that invest in housing-related assets in order to ensure the availability of funds for housing and to enhance the quality of the communities it serves.

Across the congressman's district, the FHLBank of Pittsburgh has contributed $5.1 million in Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants for nearly 1,000 housing units, $5 million in Banking On Business (BOB) program funds for 57 small businesses, $11.9 million in Community Lending Program (CLP) funding for six community and economic development projects, and $496,500 through its Home Buyer Equity Fund (HBEF) in down payment and closing cost assistance for 173 first-time homebuyers. As a partner in Our City Reading, the Bank has contributed $500,000 to help fund the renovation of 125 housing units.

For more information on the April 29 Town Hall Meeting or to reserve a seat, call Staci King of the FHLBank at 1-800-288-3400 or 412-288-7307.

Representatives of the news media are invited to both the tour and Town Hall Meeting. The tour will begin promptly at 9 a.m. Media representatives interested in taking the tour should call Neil Cotiaux of the FHLBank at 412-288-2851 for details.