Moran, Howell Looking for Answers in Alleged Reston Discrimination Case

Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA 8th) and Virginia State Sen. Janet Howell  (D-36th) are now involved in getting to the bottom of the complaint that

Howell wrote a letter last week to Kelly Amorin, director of operations for the Fellowship Square Foundation, which operates the Fellowship House, Washington Jewish Week reported.

"The discrimination that occurred toward these residents because of their faith practices is unacceptable anywhere and is certainly not something I would expect in Reston, Virginia," Howell wrote. 

Howell demanded an assurance that the incident be "thoroughly investigated, the offending administrators appropriately admonished and that there will be no such discrimination" in the future. The letter also noted that the home's on-site director, Michaela Burdubus, failed to respond to several inquiries from her office. 

Moran sent a letter on Tuesday to Charles Wortman, president of the Fellowship Square Foundation, saying he is concerned the facility "acted in a highly discrimintaory fashion."

"I request that you immediately provide an explanation for what occurred," Moran wrote. "If innapropriate activties are determined to have taken place, those affected deserve an apology and the staff responsible must be held accountable."

Wortman told WJW that too many non-resident guests were invited to the party. That would have interfered with building security, he said. He also says that  "common space, by HUD mandate, is for the use of all residents."

"The notice supplied by Mr. Goldovsky indicated that of the 40 invited guests (plus children), half were not residents of Hunter Woods Fellowship House," Wortman wrote to WJW in an email. "The controlled access to the building, which ensures the safety of all residents, would be interrupted by allowing entrance to more than 20 non-residents."

Reston resident Azik Goldovsky, 86, told WJW he feels like  he's "back in the Soviet Union."

Goldovsky's daughter, Tatiana, has talked to the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern Virginia to help file a discrimination complaint with the Fairfax County Housing Board and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington and the Washington D.C. branch of Anti-Defamation League also are investigating the incident.

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