Housing Advocacy

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2009-08-05T11:20:00.001-07:00

Our apologies for the lack of updates since Dec. 2008. New posts will be forthcoming. Please check back often as we will be working diligently to get caught up.

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A LETTER TO PRESIDENT ELECT OBAMA:

2008-12-10T14:01:00.000-08:00

The National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, the National Coalition for the Homeless and other national leaders of the movement to end homelessness, in America, have written a letter to President-Elect Obama. Beyond offering congratulates, the letter urges strong leadership in strides to end homelessness by increasing affordable housing, ensuring adequate incomes, expanding access to health care, ensuring access to education for our homeless children and youth and protecting homeless people from discrimination.

The Task Force for the Homeless works in conjunction with NCH in the drafting of policy statements and stands in support of the suggestions and recommendations outlined in this letter.

November 25, 2008
President-Elect Barack Obama
Presidential Transition Team
5th and D St. NW
Washington, DC 20270

Dear President-Elect Obama,

We congratulate you on your election as the next President of the United States. As you move forward with your agenda, we urge you to give priority to the needs of America’s most vulnerable population – homeless persons.

The recent spikes in mortgage foreclosures and economic downturn have created a surge in demand for shelter and social services. As many as 3.5 million people are homeless over the course of a year, including 1.35 million children. Your strong leadership is needed to end this crisis. Solutions to address homelessness exist and they are centered on affordable housing, supportive services for those who need them, and adequate incomes. These solutions recognize that homelessness is more than just a charitable concern, but an issue of basic human rights that affects the overall wellbeing of our country.

We appreciate your leadership in the Senate to prevent homelessness among veterans, through your sponsorship of the Homes for Heroes Act, and Vice President-Elect Biden’s leadership in the Senate to prevent domestic violence survivors from becoming homeless, through the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.
As leaders of the movement to end homelessness in America, we call upon you to build on this work by committing to take, and ask the Congress to take, these six key steps to move us significantly towards the goal of ending homelessness in America:

1. Commit to End Homelessness—Now

During the first year of your Administration, hold a White House Conference on Homelessness at which a federal, interagency plan to end homelessness in the United States is presented. The plan should have concrete goals and timelines.

2. Increase Access to Affordable Housing Fund at least 150,000 new housing vouchers each year to help address the critical shortage of rental housing affordable to people with extremely low incomes who are homeless or at risk of homelessness; create and sustain 90,000 additional units of permanent supportive housing; add 20,000 new HUD-VASH vouchers and 40,000 new units of permanent supportive housing for veterans who are homeless or at risk; fully fund the housing programs created by the Violence Against Women Act; increase funding for the National Housing Trust Fund, and provide 19,000 vouchers for homeless families under the Family Unification Program. Further, prevent low-income people from becoming homeless as a result of the current foreclosure crisis by providing $575 million in emergency funding to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to use to assist tenants displaced by foreclosure.

3. Ensure Adequate Incomes

Ensure that every American has an annual income—whether through wages, public income assistance, tax credits, or a combination thereof—sufficient to obtain and maintain permanent housing that costs no more than 30 percent of the household’s income.
4. Expand Access to Health Services

Ensure that your health care plan guarantees access and eliminates all financial barriers to comprehensive health services – including mental health care – for all Americans, and enact Medicaid policies that allow reimbursement for effective services that help reduce the use of more costly emergency and hospital care.

5. Ensure Access to Education for Homeless Children and Youth

By 2010, strengthen educational access and stability for homeless children and youth, including young children and unaccompanied youth, through the reauthorization and the full funding of the education title of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, and expanded access to Head Start.

6. Protect Homeless People from Discrimination

Homeless persons’ civil rights to vote, to frequent public places, to utilize public facilities, and to enjoy equal protection of the law must be supported and advanced.
We urge you to adopt these recommendations as a first step towards ending homelessness in America. A more detailed explanation of the recommendations and their rationale is enclosed. We stand ready to assist you and your staff. We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you or your staff.
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For more information, please contact Laurel Weir, Policy Director, National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty, at 202-638-2535, x210.

Respectfully,

National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty
America’s Road Home Corporation for Supportive Housing
Give Us Your Poor
National AIDS Housing Council
National Alliance to End Homelessness
National Center for Housing and Child Welfare
National Coalition for Homeless Veterans
National Coalition for the Homeless
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Housing Law Project
National Low Income Housing Coalition
National Network to End Domestic Violence
National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness

Ending the Crisis of Homelessness in America
Background for Recommendations to President-Elect Obama

1. Commit to End Homelessness—Now.

Background: Solutions to homelessness exist and thousands of programs are implementing them across the country, but these groups do not have the resources to bring them to the scale needed to solve the problem. Further, many state and local governments have created plans to end homelessness in their communities, but they are hampered by the lack of federal support. While President Bush made a commitment, albeit limited, to end some forms of homelessness, federal support was not forthcoming. Public opinion surveys consistently show that the American people favor government action to end homelessness, and would pay higher taxes to fund it. Coordinated federal action, funding and leadership are needed, and White House leadership is essential to mobilizing the political will to end the crisis.
Recommendation: During the first year of your Administration, hold a White House Conference on Homelessness at which a federal, interagency plan to end homelessness in the United States is presented. The plan should have concrete goals and timelines.

2. Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing

Background: Federal funding for affordable housing has been slashed over the past 30 years; in the private market, gentrification has replaced inexpensive housing with luxury residential or commercial property, without provision for those displaced. Currently, in no U.S. county can a minimum wage worker afford a one-bedroom apartment, according to federal affordability guidelines. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), approximately 5.99 million low-income households had worst case housing needs in 2005, the most recent year for which data is available; that number does not include persons who were homeless or who were living doubled up. Even emergency shelter is insufficient: according to the most recent data from HUD, approximately 280,000 persons were unsheltered on a single night in 2007.

Subpopulations of homeless and at risk people have particular needs. Homeless veterans, both men and women, account for 30% of the adult homeless population, and the numbers threaten to rise as a result of inadequate support for those returning from the current Gulf wars. For women, domestic violence is a leading cause of homelessness, but there is a severe shortage of housing for women fleeing abuse. Unaccompanied youth also face a shortage of housing options – in 2007, programs funded by the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act made street contacts with over 740,000 youths, but only 7% received shelter or housing options. Additionally, many homeless persons have disabilities or suffer from addictions and need permanent, supportive housing. For example, access to affordable housing is critical for persons with HIV/AIDS – a 15-year longitudinal study by Columbia University found housing to be one of the primary needs for persons living with HIV/AIDS, and housing with supportive services provided a critical pathway to HIV care and treatment.

Recommendation: Fund at least 150,000 new housing vouchers each year to help address the critical shortage of rental housing affordable to people with extremely low incomes who are homeless or at risk of homelessness; create and sustain 90,000 additional units of permanent supportive housing; add 20,000 new HUD-VASH vouchers and 40,000 new units of permanent supportive housing for veterans who are homeless or at risk by enacting and fully funding the Homes for Heroes bill you introduced; and fully fund the housing programs created by the Violence Against Women Act, sponsored by Vice-President Elect Biden. Additionally, quickly promulgate regulations for the National Housing Trust Fund and work to increase Trust Fund funding to $5 billion. Protect homeless families by providing 19,000 housing vouchers under the Family Unification Program. Lastly, prevent low-income people from becoming homeless as a result of the current foreclosure crisis by immediately providing $575 million to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to use to assist tenants displaced by foreclosure.

3. Ensure Adequate Incomes

Background: Approximately 44% of the adult homeless population has performed some type of work for pay in any given month, yet most do not make enough to afford housing. Many more homeless persons may be unable to work due to disabling conditions – some 31% of homeless adults experience mental illness, addiction or both in a year; and approximately 45% suffer from chronic health conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, cancer, or lost limbs. Yet, while many are eligible for disability benefits under the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) programs, only 11% receive SSI and only 8% receive SSDI benefits.

Recommendation: Ensure that every American has an annual income—whether through wages, public income assistance, tax credits, or a combination thereof—sufficient to obtain and maintain permanent housing that costs no more than 30 percent of the household’s income.

4. Expand Access to Health Services

Background: Homeless people suffer from multiple health problems at a rate far higher than the general U.S. population, yet 55% have no medical insurance; only 30% receive Medicaid, and only 7% receive medical care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. Once people become homeless, they have shorter life spans than housed persons, and are three or four times more likely to die prematurely due at least in part to untreated medical problems. When homeless persons are hospitalized, they remain in the hospital longer than housed persons with similar ailments. Mental health and substance abuse disorders are also common – as many as 74% of homeless adults have experienced a mental health, alcohol, or drug problem within the past year. Without access to treatment, these issues may both prolong and be exacerbated by homelessness.

Recommendation: Ensure that your health care plan guarantees access and eliminates all financial barriers to comprehensive health services – including mental health services – for all Americans, and enact Medicaid policies that allow reimbursement for effective services that help reduce the use of more costly emergency and hospital care.

5. Ensure Access to Education for Homeless Children and Youth

Background: School is a place of safety, structure, and opportunity. Yet homeless children and youth face unique barriers to education. These barriers include being unable to meet enrollment requirements, high residential mobility, lack of transportation, lack of school supplies and clothing, and poor health, fatigue, and hunger. When these barriers are not addressed, homeless children and youth often are unable to attend, or even enroll in, school, which prevents them from obtaining the education that is guaranteed under law and is their best hope of escaping poverty as adults. The McKinney-Vento Act’s Education for Homeless Children and Youth (EHCY) program was created specifically to remove the barriers to education, including early childhood education, caused by homelessness. It was amended most recently in Title X, Part C, of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB).

Recommendation: By 2010, strengthen educational access and stability for homeless children and youth, including young children and unaccompanied youth, through the reauthorization and the full funding of the education subtitle of the McKinney-Vento Act.

6. Protect Homeless People from Discrimination

Background: Homeless persons encounter many challenges not faced by housed persons when trying to exercise basic civil rights. Homeless persons seeking to vote or register to vote may face obstacles because of their inability to prove residency or because they lack the necessary identification documents such as a photo ID. The lack of ID also may cause them to be denied access to government buildings, such as Social Security offices, even when the purpose of their visit is to obtain replacement identification documents.

City ordinances frequently serve as a tool for criminalizing homelessness – prohibiting persons from engaging in necessary, life-sustaining activities in public spaces even when those persons have nowhere else to go. Furthermore, some cities have taken the criminalization of homelessness a step further, by prohibiting public feeding of groups of homeless persons or limiting feeding to certain parts of the city.

Recommendation: Homeless persons’ civil rights to vote, to frequent public places, to utilize public facilities, and to enjoy equal protection of the law must be supported and advanced.

USA TODAY – HOMELESS NUMBERS ALARMING!

2008-11-24T20:17:00.000-08:00

By Wendy Koch
More families with children are becoming homeless as they face mounting economic pressures, including mortgage foreclosures, according to a USA TODAY survey of a dozen of the largest cities in the nation.
Local authorities say the number of families seeking help has risen in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Seattle and Washington.
"Everywhere I go, I hear there is an increase" in the need for housing aid, especially for families, says Philip Mangano, executive director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, which coordinates federal programs. He says the main causes are job losses and foreclosures.
Other factors have been higher food and fuel prices hitting families with "no cushion," says Nan Roman of the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Many mayors have 10-year plans to end homelessness and had reported progress until this year. The most recent official count, in January 2007, found 671,888 people living on U.S. streets or in shelters, down 12% from January 2005.
"We saw family homelessness began to increase last winter," says Sally Erickson, Portland's homeless program manager. "There's definitely a spike in the last six months." The number of requests for emergency shelter doubled from fiscal year 2007 to fiscal 2008, which ended in June.
Darlene Newsom, who runs United Methodist Outreach Ministries' New Day Centers, which provide shelter programs for families in Phoenix, says the number of requests is "alarming." She says families who never sought help before are calling.
Los Angeles says it has no 2008 data. Miami reports no major change. Chicago has not had a surge in requests, but more come from renters evicted because of landlords' foreclosure, says Nancy Radner of the Chicago Alliance to End Homelessness.
USA TODAY found:
• In New York City, 2,747 families applied for shelter in September 2008, up from 2,087 in September 2007.
• In Hennepin County, including Minneapolis, 880 families were in shelters from January through August 2008, up from 698 in that period last year. At least 10% this year came from foreclosed properties where most had been renters, says Cathy ten Broeke, county coordinator to end homelessness.
Dennis Culhane, a University of Pennsylvania professor of social policy, expects foreclosures to cause a "big increase" in homeless families.
Mangano says a new federal law gives communities $3.9 billion to buy foreclosed properties or provide services to the homeless.

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BELOW ARE A FEW ARTICLES RE: HOUSING FROM OUR ARCHIVES THAT RELATE TO DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF HOUSING AS IT RELATES TO POVERTY AND HOMELESSNESS...

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PRESIDENT SIGNS HOUSING TRUST FUND INTO LAW!!!

2008-08-07T09:54:00.000-07:00

A Message from the National Housing Trust Fund Campaign:

July 30, 2008 / Today, President George W. Bush signed the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Among the bill’s numerous provisions is the establishment of a national Housing Trust Fund. This is a major victory for low income housing advocates and the lowest income people in our country with the most serious needs.

The Housing Trust Fund’s most important features are:

It is a permanent program with a dedicated source of funding not subject to the annual appropriations process.

At least 90% of the funds must be used for the production, preservation, rehabilitation, or operation of rental housing. Up to 10% can be used for the following homeownership activities for first-time homebuyers: production, preservation, and rehabilitation; down payment assistance, closing cost assistance, and assistance for interest rate buy-downs.

At least 75% of the funds for rental housing must benefit extremely low income households and all funds must benefit very low income households.

This is the first new federal housing production program since the HOME program was created in 1990 and the first new production program specifically targeted to extremely low income households since the Section 8 program was created in 1974.

Funds for the Housing Trust Fund will come from annual contributions made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The amount will be based on a percentage of each company’s annual new business. Using the formula in the bill, the amount in 2007 would have been $557 million. Because their new business is increasing, the amount in 2008 is expected to be higher. However, 25% of the funds each year must first go to a reserve fund at the Treasury to offset scoring problems.

The remaining 75% of the funds will be divided between the Housing Trust Fund, which gets 65%, and a new Capital Magnet Fund that gets 35%. For the first three years, a percentage of the funds (100% in FY09, 50% in FY10, and 25% in FY11) will be diverted to a reserve fund to cover losses that the FHA might incur refinancing troubled mortgages through the new HOPE for Homeowners program (see article below). Based on the projected amount the formula will produce in calendar year 2008, approximately $300 million would have been available for the housing trust fund this year had it been in place with no diversions for the HOPE for Homeowners reserve fund. Funds not needed to cover FHA losses eventually will revert to the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund.

Given the recent instability of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, concerns have been raised about whether any funds will be available for new programs. The new regulator has the authority to suspend contributions under certain circumstances related the fiscal distress of the GSEs. However, no money will be available for the Housing Trust Fund until FY10, by which time Freddie Mac’s and Fannie Mae’s fiscal conditions are expected to be much improved.

Now that it has achieved this important and long-sought milestone, the National Housing Trust Fund Campaign will turn its attention to the next two steps towards achieving its goal of 1.5 million homes in 10 years. The first is implementation of the program—working with HUD to create an effective and timely fund distribution system. The second is to identify and advocate for additional sources of dedicated revenue. The bill specifically provides that Congress may “transfer, appropriate, or credit” other funds to the Housing Trust Fund.

More details about the Housing Trust Fund and the Capital Magnet Fund provisions follow:

Housing Trust Fund

For the purposes of federal civil rights laws, the Housing Trust Fund is considered federal financial assistance. All activities carried out must comply with federal laws on tenant protection and tenant participation, laws requiring public participation, and fair housing and laws related to accessibility for people with disabilities.

It will be administered by HUD, which will provide grants to states, which will designate a state housing finance agency, housing and community development entity, a tribal designated housing entity, or any other qualified agency to receive the grants.

The HUD Secretary is to establish a distribution formula to the states within 12 months of enactment of the bill. The formula should include the following factors:
- the ratio of the shortage of affordable and available rental units to extremely low income renter households in the state to the aggregate shortage of affordable and available rental units to extremely low income renter households in all the states (this factor is to be given “priority emphasis”);
- the ratio of the shortage of affordable and available rental units to very low income renter households in the state to the aggregate shortage of affordable and available rental units to very low income renter households in all the states;
- the ratio of extremely low income renter households in the state living with either incomplete kitchens or plumbing facilities, more than one person per room, or paying more than 50% of their income for housing costs to the aggregate number of extremely low income renter households living with either incomplete kitchens or plumbing facilities, more than one person per room, or paying more than 50% of income for housing costs in all the states;
- the ratio of very low income renter households in the state paying more than 50% of income on rent compared to the aggregate number of very low income renter households paying more than 50% of income on rent in all the states.
- The sum of those factors will be multiplied by the approximate cost of construction in the state to determine the final amount of funding allocated to each state. However, the minimum state allocation will be at least $3 million annually.

Each year that the state receives a grant, it must establish a plan to distribute the funds and allow public comments on the plan. The plan must detail the eligible uses including the required income targeting.

Eligible recipients of grants from the states are organizations and agencies (for-profit and non-profit) that demonstrate 1) the experience and capacity to produce the kind of housing the program calls for, 2) the financial capacity to undertake the eligible activity, and 3) familiarity with federal, state, and local housing programs.

Prohibited uses are political activities, lobbying, counseling, traveling and administrative

expenses, or endorsements of a particular candidate or party.

Recipients must conduct and submit periodic financial and project reports, and conform to audit and record retention requirements. If a recipient misuses the funds allocated to it, it must reimburse their grant to the state within 12 months after their misuse is known. Either the Secretary of HUD or the state can determine if a grant is being misused.

States must submit an annual report describing the activities for which they used the funding. If the Secretary determines that the state is blatantly not complying with the requirements, the Secretary can reduce the amount of the grant to the state, limit the availability of assistance, or require the state to reimburse the Secretary.

States must spend the allotted amount in two years or the funds are returned to HUD.

If another affordable housing trust fund is established by law, the funds meant for the trust fund created in this bill will be transferred to the new affordable housing trust fund.

Capital Magnet Fund

Establishes a Capital Magnet Fund (CMF), which will be an account within the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund at the Department of Treasury, which is also allowed to receive additional funding from other sources.

Eligible recipients are Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution or non-profits that have at least one of their purposes the development or management of affordable housing.

Eligible recipients can apply for a competitive grant through the Treasury to help develop, preserve, purchase, and rehabilitate affordable housing for mostly extremely low, very low, and low income families. Grant funds may also be used for economic development or community service facilities in conjunction with affordable housing to help stabilize a low-income or rural area.

The CMF may also be used to provide loan loss reserves, to capitalize a revolving loan fund or an affordable housing fund, or for risk-sharing loans.

Applications for the competitive grants are required to include a detailed description of the types of affordable housing, economic, and community revitalization projects the institution would use the grant for, and the anticipated time frame they intend to use it.

No institution can be awarded more than 15% of all Capital Magnet funds available for grants in that year.

The Secretary is encouraged to fund activities in rural or underserved metropolitan areas.

Among the criteria in determining which areas should be served are:

o the percentage of low income families or the extent of poverty

o the rate of unemployment or underemployment

o the extent of blight and disinvestment

o projects targeting extremely low, very low , and low income families in an area of economic distress

o or any other criteria chosen by the Secretary

Institutions receiving grants must spend the funds within two years from the date of receiving

them.

Prohibited uses are political activities, advocacy, lobbying, counseling services, travel expenses, and endorsements of a particular candidate or party.

Each grantee must track its funds by issuing periodic financial and project reporting, and audit requirements. If the Secretary is not satisfied with the compliance, the grantee may receive fewer funds, have to pay the Treasury back, or have their grant terminated.

The Secretary must submit a periodic report to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs and the House Committee on Financial Services describing the activities these funds are being used for.

For more information, go to www.nhtf.org.

U.N. Weighs in Against Demolishing Public Housing

2008-07-28T07:59:00.000-07:00

John Moreno Gonzales / Associated Press Writer / Thursday, February 28, 2008

New Orleans advocates who've clamored for recognition of alleged human rights violations in the Hurricane Katrina recovery claimed victory Thursday, after United Nations' experts said thousands of black families would continue to suffer displacement and homelessness if the demolition of 4,500 public housing units is not halted.

"I think this is vindication of what public housing advocates have been saying from day one," said Monique Harden, co-director of the public interest law firm Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, who testified before Geneva-based U.N. experts.

"Recovery must mean the end of displacement for the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast," added Harden, who returned to New Orleans last week. "What we have instead is recovery that demolishes affordable housing."

U.N.-appointed experts Miloon Kothari, the U.N. Human Rights Council's investigator for housing, and Gay McDougall, an expert on minority issues, urged U.S. and local government leaders to further include current and former residents in discussions that would help them return home.

"The spiraling costs of private housing and rental units, and in particular the demolition of public housing, puts these communities in further distress, increasing poverty and homelessness," said a joint statement by the men. "We therefore call on the Federal Government and State and local authorities to immediately halt the demolitions of public housing in New Orleans."

But local officials said the U.N. experts were too detached from the complexities of the post-Katrina city to claim razing of the buildings was racist. City officials were riled, but mostly planned to ignore the finding.

"The past model of public housing in New Orleans has been a failed one - years of neglect and mismanagement left our public housing developments in ruin," said a joint statement issued by the city council Thursday. "These are critical times in our city's history - we can choose to continue on the path of progress and positive change or we can choose to maintain the status quo."

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also weighed in, calling the U.N. expert findings "misinformed."

"We do not want to relegate thousands of minority and low-income families back into the sub-standard conditions of New Orleans' public housing - conditions only made worse by Hurricane Katrina," said a statement issued by HUD's press offices.

The expert comments did not entail an official U.N. resolution, but came a day before a larger U.N. racism panel planned to discuss Katrina recovery efforts and public housing in New Orleans. Neither opinion carries legal or regulatory power.

The demolition of the housing projects appears all but assured, early stages have begun at some developments only demolition permits remain for others. The council voted unanimously in December to raze the units. Still, critics say it was the council's first major action after the election of a white majority that reflected demographic shifts caused by Katrina.

"After the disaster there was a desire for a clean slate on the part of local leaders," said Robert Tannen, a local urban planner and housing advocate. "And that clean slate mostly displaces poor and minority residents."

Since the storm in August 2005, the city's black population has plummeted by 57 percent, while the white population fell 36 percent, according to U.S. Census data. Blacks now make up roughly 58 percent of New Orleans compared to 67 percent before the storm. Blacks have been in the majority for about three decades.

New Orleans has seen 65 percent of its total population return, according to a local demographer who uses utility hookups to offer the most detailed figures. But some black enclaves are a fraction of what they were, and others see their very existence threatened.

According to demographer Greg Rigamer, the Lower 9th Ward has seen only 9.9 percent of its population return. A traditionally mixed-race neighborhood within the Lower 9th, Holy Cross, has fared better with a 37 percent return, benefiting from the work of preservationists who seek to restore the federally declared historic district. Eastern New Orleans, a sprawling area that includes the black upper middle-class enclave of Eastover, has nearly kept pace with the overall return, with about 60 percent of its residents home.

But Rigamer's numbers bear out the racial and economic underpinnings of the recovery. Affluent and mostly white areas not only have all their residents back, but are growing. The Garden District has seen 107 percent of its population return, the French Quarter 103 percent, and an adjacent neighborhood called Faubourg Marigny has a 100.3 percent return rate.

Tannen, who has advocated for the housing to be improved but not destroyed, said while the focus on public housing is symbolically powerful, the loss of working-class rental units to Katrina is more significant.

According to the Oakland, Calif., think tank PolicyLink, hurricanes Katrina and Rita destroyed 41,000 apartments affordable to people earning less than the area's median income, and only 43 percent will be rebuilt under federal programs. Prospects are bleakest for those earning less-than $26,150. According to the think tank, only 16 percent of housing affordable to them is scheduled for federally funded redevelopment.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

HUD Grants Approval to Demolish Bowen Homes

2008-07-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

(FROM ATLANTA PROGRESSIVE NEWS) ATLANTA - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) granted the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) approval June 20, 2008, to move forward with plans to relocate the residents of Bowen Homes and demolish the complex.

The AHA has been working for over a year to demolish Bowen Homes and the other 11 remaining public housing complexes under their jurisdiction. Five were demolished last year, leaving seven left, including Bowen.

As this story went to press, APN received unconfirmed reports that HUD has now also approved demolishing Bankhead Courts, Herndon Homes, Hollywood Courts, and Thomasville Heights, the last of the family developments. If the information is confirmed, this would leave just two senior high-rises-Palmer House and Roosevelt House-under consideration with HUD.

There are about a dozen additional senior high-rises and small developments not affected by the demolition plans. AHA's director, Renee Glover, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) newspaper, these would not be set for demolition; however, AHA requested City funds for redevelopment at these sites and suggested possible demolitions even for these communities at its most recent annual public hearing.

If successful, AHA would become the first large city in the United States to demolish all of its public housing communities.

The AHA submitted the Bowen Homes application March 17, 2008, to HUD, arguing that Bowen Homes has become physically obsolete, meaning that it would cost too much to renovate; and that it has become a haven for violence and crime.

"It don't surprise me in a way but I expected HUD to take a look a little deeper than they did," Shirley Hightower, President of the Bowen Homes resident association, told APN.

Hightower believes the AHA exaggerated its crime statistics and added that crime committed on the site is perpetrated by outside individuals.

The City Council of Atlanta had approved two resolutions in February 2008 proposed by Councilwoman Felicia Moore, providing for increased oversight of AHA's demolition applications.
The first resolution had allowed Moore one month to review the applications for Bankhead, Bowen, and Hollywood. Moore reviewed the applications and asked questions, but said she was not satisfied with the answers. Moore did not take any additional action after that point, telling APN she was fed up with AHA, and that she would address them again when they sought more funding from the City.

The second resolution, accepting measures volunteered by AHA, allowed the Community Resources and Human Development Committee (CDHR) three weeks to review all other demolition applications, which AHA never provided. APN made the Committee aware of this but no Members ever took action.

The second resolution also provided that AHA would hold quarterly presentations for CDHR. These presentations never occurred. Councilman Ivory Young told APN he inquired to AHA as to when the date of the first one would be, but never advised of one being scheduled. AHA was also supposed to hold two public hearings which never occurred.

Meanwhile, APN had sent in 82 questions to AHA, which they never answered. HUD promised resident leaders in writing this spring that the demolitions would not be approved until all the questions were answered. Neither APN nor residents have received the answers to the questions to date.

QUESTIONS LINGER OVER PHYSICAL OBSOLESCENCE - The AHA concluded, and HUD concurred, that it would be more cost effective to demolish Bowen Homes than redesign and rehabilitate the complex, according to a copy of a letter from HUD's Special Applications Center (SAC) in Chicago, to HUD's Atlanta Office of Public Housing, obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.

However, HUD's concurrence raises serious questions about its implementation of its own rules regarding physical obsolescence.

As previously reported by APN, AHA submitted inflated renovation budgets for multiple communities to make the cost of renovation seem unaffordable. They did this by including interior and exterior renovations to bring the units up to market standards as well as numerous luxury and aesthetic amenities. Meanwhile, HUD instructs AHA to provide renovation budgets for HUD's analysis, which include a reasonable program of modifications to bring the community back to "useful life," not market standards.

AHA initially placed the cost of redesigning and rehabilitating Bowen Homes at $103,351,472. HUD's SAC conducted a tour of the facility April 30, 2008, through May 2, 2008. "In summary, all major electrical and mechanical systems need upgrading and a central air conditioning system should replace the window-mounted units (these units were purchased by individual residents)," according to HUD's approval letter.

"None of the buildings' units comply with Section 504 requirements and the physical design makes retrofitting nearly impossible without major rehabilitation."

Jones attributed any disrepair at Bowen Homes to the lack of care and attention paid by the AHA over the years more than anything else.

While federal funding for public housing has decreased by 20% under the Bush Administration, AHA has increased revenue from its own residents by raising their rents; therefore, AHA has chosen to spend money on demolitions instead of improvements.

After the SAC inspection, the AHA removed "several ineligible items" from its estimate, such as a swimming pool, microwave range hoods, dishwashers, garbage disposals, and "other amenities and luxury items." This suggests that HUD took some notice of the questions raised by APN.

However, HUD allowed AHA to continue to include market-based improvements which are not based on any deficiencies with the buildings. "The exterior design readily identifies this site as public housing. Redesigning the exterior will require additions to the rear of the buildings, defined off-street parking, new fencing, sidewalks, and rear patios," HUD wrote.

"In order to make the units marketable, a redesign of the interior units is required since the bedrooms are too small by today's standards, a separate dining area is needed for larger families, and all kitchens and bathrooms will require upgrading," HUD wrote.

Still, with the swimming pool and other luxury items taken out, the new cost fell to
$72,649,543 with a separate cost for redesign that totaled $27,694,525.

Then, "the SAC modified the revised cost estimates by adjusting the quantity of interior doors, windows, light fixtures, and the demolition of some interior doors," according to HUD's approval letter. "The SAC also removed the rehabilitation cost for an administration and community building as [HUD] is comparing the rehabilitation cost with [Total Development Cost] TDC of units only."

As a result, the adjusted cost fell to $66,588,209, which is 58.90 percent of the Total Development Cost (TDC) limit. Regulations do not permit HUD to consider modifications cost effective if the modifications exceed 57.14 percent of the TDC at the time the application is submitted.

Thus, if the cost had been slightly lower-which it would have been by far if the exterior and interior market-based modifications were excluded-the demolitions could not have been approved.

RELOCATION - The relocation of remaining residents at Bowen Homes is expected to begin in July and will take approximately 12 to 18 months to complete. Relocation is expected to cost $5,718,120, which includes moving expenses for each family as well as staff salaries for relocation teams.

Hightower told APN residents are scared and uncertain of the future.

"They're not ready to leave but yet they want to go," she said. "They don't have the means to go."

As previously reported in APN, while the majority of residents attending association meetings at Bowen Homes and Bankhead Courts say they want to move, this does not reflect all of the communities. The majority of residents at Hollywood Courts and Palmer House have signed petitions stating they do not want to move. APN has no information regarding the wishes of residents at Herndon Homes, Thomasville Heights, or Roosevelt House.

The AHA said it will give residents Section 8 vouchers that will allow them to move elsewhere. Complaints on these Section 8 vouchers have included: not every resident that wants one has received one, residents are having a hard time finding another place to live, and some landlords do not take the vouchers.

Hightower told APN that those who have moved elsewhere on Housing Choice Vouchers are having a hard time adjusting.

"Most of the people I talk to on Section 8, it's not the rent, it's the utility bills that whip them," Hightower said. "In public housing, you get behind in rent, at least you get to catch up on your late fees. You're in Section 8, you don't pay your rent, you're gone."

Once all the residents are gone, AHA can begin demolishing Bowen Homes at an estimated cost of $5,850,000. The AHA plans to submit a Request for Proposal (RFP) to Atlanta's developer and investor community to build a mixed-use, mixed-income development.

AHA is no longer required to provide one-for-one replacement housing and HUD is not obligated to fund replacement housing due to changes in federal law over the last few years. Lindsay Jones, an Atlanta attorney who has been working with public housing residents for several months, told APN that HUD did not look close enough at the AHA's relocation plan, which he argues violates the US Fair Housing Act, which HUD enforces.

Jones, along with other individuals and groups, submitted evidence along with the AHA application that he said proves the violation. "It's obviously surprising to receive notice of HUD's approval, in light of all this evidence given to HUD," he told APN.

Jones and Hightower contend that under AHA's relocation plan, residents are either being moved from one public housing complex to another or placed in areas that are socially and economically segregated without access to good jobs, schools, or retail opportunities.

"I want to know, where are they going?" Hightower asked, adding the new places are "no better than where they left from." No resident should be relocated until the AHA brings its relocation plans in accordance with the Fair Housing Act, Jones said.

Advocates will take this complaint to the Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity office (FHEO) within HUD's Atlanta regional office for an appeal and also pursue other legal options.

RESIDENT CONSULTATION - HUD decided the AHA has met the requirements for resident consultation as required by federal law.

"In the application, the AHA states that they have worked diligently to keep AHA-assisted residents and the resident leadership fully informed of its plans for relocation and demolition and has engaged in significant consultation with residents and resident leaders to ensure that their questions, suggestions, and concerns have been addressed," according to HUD's approval letter.
The approval letter noted the AHA met with the Bowen Homes Resident Association April 26, July 26, and December 11, 2007; and with the Jurisdiction Wide Resident Council (JWRC) or Resident Advisory Board (RAB) on April 12, 2006, and February 14 and December 18, 2007.
While AHA has met with residents, these meetings involve AHA telling residents their plans, not asking residents their wishes. Also, AHA did not modify its plans to address any resident concerns.

APN previously reported the AHA sent in a false agenda and minutes for the February 14, 2007 JWRC meeting along with five demolition applications to HUD.

While the matter was referred to the HUD's Office of the Inspector General, the OIG never contacted APN about it, and the SAC did not even mention the issue in their letter. AHA submitted the same fabricated documents to HUD again in these applications.

APN had provided HUD's SAC with a copy of the forged and original documents by certified mail.
Moreover, the SAC did not mention the fact that the Resident Advisory Board had adopted a resolution opposing the demolitions, even though a copy of this resolution was also sent certified.
The application also noted several other meetings: April 4, 2006 (initial meeting to discuss demolition and relocation plans); April 18, 2006 (public hearing on 2007 annual plan at Atlanta City Hall; and April 19, 2007 (public hearing to discuss 2008 annual plan).

HUD also acknowledged receiving e-mails, faxes, and written comments from residents and other concerned groups and individuals who oppose the AHA's relocation/demolition plans, but did comment on what it saw.

Several of the acknowledged comments were from APN readers, who sent emails to APN for forwarding to HUD. These APN readers who HUD acknowledged were Alan M. Harris, John R. Caruso, and Elisabeth Omilami, Executive Director of Hosea Feed the Hungry.

HUD also acknowledged letters from the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless and attorney Lindsay Jones; receipt of APN's analysis; and receipts of letters from three resident presidents, Elaine "9X" Osby of Cosby Spears, Eleanor Rayton of Palmer House, and Diane Wright of Hollywood Courts and the RAB Board. APN had assisted the three Presidents in articulating their concerns.

"I'm not pleased with it at all," Hightower said of HUD's decision. "I haven't given up. We're not through with them at all."

Diane Wright declined to be interviewed for this article.

HUD Reviewing Resident & APN Concerns

2008-06-06T05:38:00.000-07:00

From: The Atlanta Progressive News / By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor

(APN) ATLANTA – The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) responded to the city-wide Resident Advisory Board for public housing residents, in a May 13, 2008, letter obtained exclusively by Atlanta Progressive News, acknowledging residents’ concerns and promising to analyze the issues raised both by residents as well as by APN.

"Thank you for your letter of April 28, 2008, raising your concerns about the proposed demolition of seven developments by the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA)," Ainars Rodins, Director of HUD’s Special Applications Center in Chicago, which reviews demolition applications, wrote.

"The Special Applications Center (SAC) is aware of the 82 questions raised by the Atlanta Progressive News (APN) and has incorporated their analysis in its review, along with other issues raised by interested parties received via Email and other means," Rodins wrote.

"A final decision will not be rendered until all of the issues raised by concerned individuals have been analyzed, but we cannot commit to putting off a final decision for a specific amount of time as you request in your correspondence," Rodins wrote.

Ms. Eleanor Rayton, President of Palmer House senior high rise, and RAB Board members had previously sent a letter and resolution, respectively, requesting a 60 to 90 day extension on HUD’s review of the applications where residents and resident leaders were not provided the chance to review or respond to applications before they were submitted to HUD.

Meanwhile, in Wright’s April 28, 2008, letter, she requested a meeting with Mr. Rodins and others at HUD in Chicago, to discuss her concerns about the applications.

Residents from Hollywood Courts, Palmer House, and the RAB Board wanted also to attend a meeting in Chicago.

"I feel a meeting here in Chicago would add little to the process since our analysis is still underway. We have spoken several times on the phone, and I am aware of your constituents’ concerns," Rodins wrote.

It is unclear why analysis being underway would stand in the way of a meeting. After all, if Rodins met with residents after the analysis was done, it would defeat the purpose of the meeting.

As previously reported by APN, Ms. Rayton says she has spoken twice with Mr. Rodins and he told her he could not give her a date and a time for such a meeting.

Rodins attempted to assure the residents, however, that his office would review their concerns.
"The SAC reviewers have a compiled a list of the concerns that have been raised with us and will use it as their guide to get their questions answered, in addition to those they pose as part of their usual review process," Rodins wrote.

So far, multiple parties including Atlanta Progressive News, Georgia State University Assistant Professor of Sociology Deirdre Oakley, the RAB Board, and the resident associations of Hollywood Courts and Palmer House have sent certified packages including various letters, reports, documents, and resolutions to HUD’s Chicago Office.

APN also collected comments sent from readers after encouraging readers to email their concerns about the demolition applications to demolitioninput@gmail.com. APN sent in five comments from readers. If readers want to continue to send comments in, they should send them to directly to ainars.rodins@hud.gov and copy APN.

Previously, AHA promised City Council that they would respond to APN’s 82 questions, but their eventual written response was merely to thank APN for the questions and state they would consider them.

Resident leaders from the RAB Board and residents of Hollywood Courts signed a petition stating “WE WANT REAL ANSWERS!” to the 82 questions. This petition was sent in to HUD.
APN’s analysis of the demolition applications raised serious concerns about AHA’s apparent fraudulent claims regarding the physical conditions of some of the public housing buildings; AHA’s apparent fraudulent claims regarding residents’ preferences as to whether to move or stay; and the lack of evidence of available voucher-leasing opportunities for residents who would be displaced.

Recently, APN also exclusively reported that the Empire Board of Realtors is claiming that AHA only has 700 possible units identified for some 2000 families. This information was also sent to HUD.

This is the first time HUD has acknowledged Atlanta residents’ concerns in writing.

Wright told Atlanta Progressive News she was pleased to get some written response from HUD but still wants a meeting.

"I think it was very nice of him to send it, but I do have some problems with it. I just really want to know, why is it they can't meet with us?" Wright said.

"I'm really trying to figure out, they can just throw the residents out on the street and no one from HUD wants to talk with the residents about it?" Wright said.

"It should have been answered before now. We should've known what was going on. It's just like AHA is doing here, not wanting to talk to us, not wanting to meet with us like we're nobodies," Wright said.

At a meeting, "they'll be able to hear our concerns, not just put ‘em in an email and on paper. Maybe we could get better answers and find out what's really going on," Wright said.

"I think if they were going to answer the 82 questions, don't you think they would've analyzed them by now so people wouldn't be evicted?" Wright asked. Residents claim that AHA is already evicting many residents living in public housing on lease violations and criminal background, in order to empty out the communities before an application is approved.

"I just think they're holding something back," Wright said.

Resources Scarce, Homelessness Persists in New Orleans

2008-05-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

By SHAILA DEWAN - The New York Times - Published: May 28, 2008

NEW ORLEANS — Mayor C. Ray Nagin recently suggested a way to reduce this city’s post-Katrina homeless population: give them one-way bus tickets out of town.

Patrick Pugh and Clara Gomez outside their tent at a homeless encampment under a highway overpass in New Orleans.

Mr. Nagin later insisted the off-the-cuff proposal was just a joke. But he has portrayed the dozens of people camped in a tent city under a freeway overpass near Canal Street as recalcitrant drug and alcohol abusers who refuse shelter, give passers-by the finger and, worst of all, hail from somewhere else.

While many of the homeless do have addiction problems or mental illness, a survey by advocacy groups in February showed that 86 percent were from the New Orleans area. Sixty percent said they were homeless because of Hurricane Katrina, and about 30 percent said they had received rental assistance at one time from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Not far from the French Quarter, flanking Canal Street on Claiborne Avenue, they are living inside a long corridor formed not of walls and a roof but of the thick stench of human waste and sweat tinged with alcohol, crack and desperation.

The inhabitants are natives like Ronald Gardner, 54, an H.I.V.-positive man who said he had never before slept on the streets until Katrina. Or Ronald Berry, 57, who despite being a paranoid schizophrenic said he had lived on his own, in a rented house in the Lower Ninth Ward, for a dozen years before the storm. Both men receive disability checks of $637 a month, not nearly enough to cover post-hurricane rents.

“If I could just get a warm room,” Mr. Gardner said, sitting on the cot under which all his belongings are stored, “I could take it from there.”

Lurlene Newell, 54, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency had paid her rent in Texas after the storm, but when she moved back to New Orleans, she could not find a place to live.

By one very rough estimate, the number of homeless people in New Orleans has doubled since Katrina struck in 2005. Homelessness has also become a much more visible problem — late last year, Unity of Greater New Orleans, a network of agencies that help the homeless, cleared an encampment of 300 people that had sprung up in Duncan Plaza, in full view of City Hall. About 280 of those people are now in apartments, but others have flocked to fill several blocks of Claiborne Avenue at Canal, near enough to the French Quarter to regularly encounter tourists.
Unity workers are hoping that Congress will include $76 million in the supplemental appropriation for Iraq to pay for vouchers that would give rent subsidies and services to 3,000 disabled homeless people.

On Thursday, the Senate passed a version of the bill that included the vouchers; the current House version, not yet approved, does not include them. Without the vouchers, said Martha J. Kegel, Unity’s executive director, even those people already in apartments will be in jeopardy. Their current vouchers, issued under a “rapid rehousing” program, expire at the end of 2008.

New Orleans had 2,800 beds for the homeless before the storm; now it has 2,000, Ms. Kegel said. Those beds are full, but even if they were not, many of the people living on Canal Street are not the sort who can stay in a group shelter. According to the survey, which was conducted before dawn one morning so that only those who actually sleep in the camp would be counted, 80 percent have at least one physical disability, 58 percent have had some kind of addiction, 40 percent are mentally ill, and 19 percent were “tri-morbid” — they had a disability, an addiction and mental illness.

For these difficult cases, permanent housing with supportive services, like counseling, has become a preferred method. But it takes time, patience, money and one thing New Orleans is short of: apartments. Many apartment developers who applied for tax credits after Hurricane Katrina were required to set aside 5 percent of their units for supportive housing, but because of high construction costs and other factors, far fewer units than expected are in the pipeline. And without the vouchers, even those units will not be affordable.

Unity has already moved 60 of the most vulnerable people from the camp to hotel rooms, paid for with a city health department grant, including a woman who is eight months pregnant and a paranoid schizophrenic who is diabetic and a double amputee. In the filth of the camp, the amputee’s stumps had become infected.

Outreach workers have found clients with cancer and colostomy bags, and one so disabled that he was unable to talk. On average, people have stayed in hotels for six weeks before Unity finds an apartment and cobbles together the necessary funds.

Mike Miller, the director of supportive housing placement at Unity, said the camp had become a public health hazard since the city removed some portable toilets in February.

“Two outreach workers have tested positive for tuberculosis,” Mr. Miller said. “There’s hepatitis C, there’s AIDS, there’s H.I.V. Everyone out there’s had an eye infection of some sort. I got one.”
On Thursday, Herman Moore Jr. was hanging out with a friend in the camp. Mr. Moore had lived in a Federal Emergency Management Agency trailer, then a FEMA-financed hotel room, but had not realized that he was eligible for further assistance after the 30-day hotel stay ended last fall. Tipped off by his brother, Mr. Moore had only recently rented a house under the emergency management agency’s program, but had yet to pay the deposit or turn on the utilities because he had no money.

“If I had a TV and some electricity, you all wouldn’t even see me,” he said.

Clara Gomez, 45, told an outreach worker that she had just discovered she was pregnant. Like about 14 percent of the homeless people under the bridge, Ms. Gomez had come to New Orleans to work as a builder, but acknowledged that she had problems with drug and alcohol abuse.

After getting fired from one job, she wound up under the bridge, where she met Patrick Pugh, 36, a New Orleanian who said he had been in drug rehabilitation, turning his life around, when the storm hit. Their IDs had been stolen, they said, making it difficult to get jobs or food stamps.
Seated on a mattress, Ms. Gomez shifted nervously, changing positions every few seconds, all the while keeping her arms anchored around Mr. Pugh’s neck.

“We’re ready,” she said. “We’re ready to get out of here.”

Chicago's City of (homeless) Children

2008-05-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

May 27, 2008

Heated discourse on the Children's Museum, pro and con, has occupied many pages of the Chicago Tribune recently. Expressions of passion and concern for our city's poor children have emerged as part of that discourse, even a suggestion by the mayor to call this the "City of Children."

So, too, has willingness emerged to spend substantial money for the museum - $100 million and the whatever-it-takes cost of legal fees to be paid by Chicago.Chicago Coalition for the Homeless lauds expression of concern for our children by the mayor and other leaders, but we invite attention to be turned fully to the children's greatest concern, a lack of stable, affordable, decent housing.

This year alone there have been 10,349 homeless students identified in the Chicago Public Schools. On any scale, such a thing can only be termed a disaster.

What happens to children when they are homeless? You won't like the answer: they are more likely to be exposed to violence and food deprivation, suffer increased anxiety and depression, have greater rates of developmental delays and behavioral disturbances, experience more untreated or undertreated asthma, have fewer supports to recover from trauma, more hospitalizations and emergency room visits, experience repeated disruption in relationships and social settings, require more special education services and generally have a worse overall health status.

With more than 10,000 of Chicago's children undergoing homelessness, a hefty figure repeated for at least two years, shouldn't housing be our pre-eminent concern for children?We recognize the considerable power of a bully pulpit acting to change the lives of homeless children. And museums are important.

If, for the sake of children we are willing to spend $100 million and more on the museum, then, at least, we ought to be willing to spend the same amount of money and passion to fund and build affordable housing for Chicago's families and their children.

Laurene Heybach - Chicago Coalition for the Homeless

Northampton, MA Gets $500,000 to Help Homeless Veterans with Housing

2008-05-20T14:23:00.001-07:00

By NANCY H. GONTER ngonter@repub.com - The Republican Newsroom - May 13, 2008

NORTHAMPTON, MA - Federal and local officials announced today that nearly $500,000 has been awarded to Northampton to provide subsidized housing vouchers for 70 homeless veterans.

"This fits exactly into what we are trying to do in terms of homelessness in this city," Mayor Mary Clare Higgins said at a press conference at the Northampton Senior Center on Conz Street. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Regional Director Taylor Caswell presented Higgins, Northampton Housing Authority Director Jonathan A. Hite and Veterans Affairs Medical Center Director Mary A. Dowling with a check for $487,402.

"This funding will serve a vital need of providing homes and support to those who sacrificed so much while serving our country," Caswell said. Caswell praised the cooperation between the city of Northampton, the Housing Authority and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Part of new HUD housing program

The money is part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's new Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing Program, passed by Congress at the end of last year, which will provide $2.5 million statewide and assist 245 homeless veterans across the state. In Northampton, the Housing Authority will award the vouchers, with the process starting as soon as next week, and veterans will receive the services they need through the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Leeds.

They may be used in any community in Western Massachusetts to rent privately-owned housing. "We want to go back and say 'Here's how it's done in Western Massachusetts. Let's use this as a model,'" Caswell said. Steven E. Como, executive vice president of Soldier On, which operates homeless shelters for veterans at the Medical Center, said there are 145 homeless veterans now at the shelters, some of whom may be referred to this program.

Unlike traditional "Section 8" housing vouchers which set income limits and bar anyone who has had a substance abuse or criminal history, these vouchers will be more flexible, taking in the needs of veterans who are homeless, Como said. 'A tremendous gift' John F. Downing, president of Soldier On which is also building 39 units of housing for veterans in Pittsfield, said these vouchers are a "tremendous gift" to veterans.

"In a capitalistic society, if you have a place to call your own, you feel you can change and you feel you can build a future," Downing said.

Downing said that as a group, veterans are three times more likely than others to be homeless.

"This is a moment of great home for our work and a moment of great dignity for the people we serve," Downing said.

AHA Is 1,300 Voucher Units Short, Realtor Board Says

2008-05-20T14:13:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (May 12, 2008)

(APN) ATLANTA – An Atlanta realtor coordinating the effort to find replacement housing for some 2,000 families in public housing communities about to be evicted by Atlanta Housing Authority sent a message to realtors stating AHA only has 700 voucher-leasing units identified for some 2,000 families.

An Atlanta Progressive News undercover operative contacted the realtor, Vivian Lyons, to confirm the authenticity of the message and learn additional information. The operative told Lyons she had friends who had properties to lease.

The revelations raise the probability that AHA has defrauded the US Department of Housing and Urban Development when they stated there was more than sufficient leasing opportunities in Atlanta and that each family would get three units to choose from.

"I am working with the Empire Board of Realtors and through them we are working with the Atlanta Housing Authorities. We currently are trying to place about 2,000 tenants into houses if at all possible," Vivian Lyons wrote May 8, 2008, in the Google Group, "The Good Broker, LLC."
"The tenants are coming through the Atlanta Housing Authority and the rental payments will be paid through the Atlanta Housing Authority. This program works somewhat like Section 8 but the AHA will come out and do the inspection if home passes inspection on first round a check for the first month's rent is given at the end of the inspection... AHA will pay the moving expense and some other incentives," Lyons wrote.

"So if any of you have any rental homes in the Atlanta area may I please list them on the site that we have available to us, you must be a Empire Board Member to do this and the training period for this first round has been closed but we are in need of 2,000 homes and we only have 700 as of 5-7-2008," Lyons wrote.

Today, Lyons confirmed to Atlanta Progressive News that AHA is 1,300 units short.
"Yes, 1300. The floodgates will open on the first on June for us to start putting residents in properties," Lyons said.

"We have 2,000 residents to place," Lyons said.

When Lyons and her team of realtors identify a voucher-leasing opportunity, "We list it on the website for the AHA people."

Lyons said she was looking "As far Mableton and Ausdale, Douglas, Cobb, and Fulton and Dekalb. And there will be a few in Conyers and Covington. If I get enough in Carroll County area we'll have the floodgate open up to that to."

Councilwoman Felicia Moore, who is not satisfied with AHA’s plan, was not surprised. "We already knew that," Moore said when told about the email and phone call with Ms. Lyons.
AHA promised to HUD in demolition applications submitted in February and March 2008, in their relocation plans, that they would offer each family three different units to choose from.
It is unclear how each family will have three units to choose from, when actually, there are fewer units than families to be displaced.

"They won’t have the choice of one unit," Councilwoman Moore remarked. AHA’s program is ironically called Housing Choice.

APN previously reported there is no evidence of available voucher housing for the families facing eviction.

HUD asks a Housing Authority in the relocation plans to "describe, generally, the availability of rental housing to voucher holders in the metropolitan area over the planned period of relocation. What is the vacancy rate? Is there a shortage of such housing?"

In AHA's answer they mislead HUD when they write, "Atlanta has experienced a soft rental market for the past several years. According to REIS Rental Market Data, there were approximately 3,564 property vacancies in the Atlanta/Fulton submarket, and over 28,767 vacancies in the metro Atlanta area as of mid-year 2007," (Relocation Plan, page 10).

However, this data gives property vacancies, not, as HUD inquires, "availability of rental housing to voucher holders." A listing of vacant properties does not even mean that those units are affordable, and therefore able to be covered under the limits on the vouchers established by AHA under the voucher program.

In a meeting AHA held with resident leaders in December 2007, City Councilwoman Felicia Moore requested copies of "studies" that AHA alleged having from their developer partners showing that there are available housing opportunities.

"Your comment was the developers have insured [sic] you that there are enough units within the city of Atlanta. Well, I'd like to see that documentation from developers. You said you've done these studies. I'd like to see those studies," Councilwoman Moore said on December 18, 2007.

"All right. Well, we'll work with you on that and I'm sure you can get some closure," AHA Director Renee Glover said.

AHA never did provide evidence of available voucher housing and now it apparent why: because, according to the Empire Board of Realtors, the units do not exist.

Numerous families were living in hotels who had been evicted by AHA from five communities in 2007, according to numerous residents and resident leaders. APN has not yet confirmed how many families are still in hotels, but AHA admitted in at the December 18, 2007, meeting, they were using hotels.

Residents are asking HUD not to approve the 7 demolition applications currently under review, based on the fact they don’t have anywhere to go and that AHA appears to have de-frauded HUD regarding this issue.

The Empire Board of Realtors approached AHA to help find landlords, Lyons told APN.

The Empire Board of Realtors was originally formed in 1939 to fight discrimination against Blacks in housing in Atlanta.

About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for The Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

Beltline Investor Conspires to Raise Rent on AHA Voucher Holders

2008-05-20T14:09:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (May 11, 2008)

(APN) ATLANTA – In a rare admission of intent, a real estate investor in the Beltline area, James Orr, wrote on his blog about how realtors should invest in rental properties in the area, accept vouchers for displaced public housing residents, and then raise rents as property values skyrocket around the Beltline.

The blog post is currently available on Orr’s website at: http://analyzeddeals.com/atlanta-ga-real-estate-deal-58k-discount-nice-cash-flow/

On Orr’s blog post, he writes about a two-bedroom one bath duplex, 900 square feet, in the 30314 zip code. He writes that a “preferred investor” in the Atlanta area told him about the property, and this investor has gotten tired of being a landlord.

Orr then suggests displaced public housing residents as potential tenants to an investor.
"I have a close relationship with Atlanta Housing Authority. AHA will pay up to $750 for a 2 bedroom in this area. According to AHA, due to the demolition of project housing across the US; starting in June/2008 - 342 families will need housing in addition to current need," Orr writes.
"More families will be added to this list in July, September and finally Jan/2009; AHA anticipates over 1700 families will be displaced in Atlanta and in need of housing," Orr writes.
However, unbeknownst to these residents, Orr suggests the landlord can raise the rent after just one year.

"AHA requires that all participants remain in the property for 2 years; AHA will allow for rental increase after the expiration of the annual lease," Orr writes.

"It gets better; this property is walking distance from the Beltline," Orr writes.

"The Beltline is a one-of-a-kind rail/trail, parks and mixed development plan to link 45 neighborhoods. They have started construction of the Southwest Beltline project in late January/2008. This property is located in the Southwest of Atlanta. The Beltline has a five year plan," Orr writes.

"Anyone purchasing this property should let it sit/collect the rent, allow the market to correct itself and reap the benefits," Orr writes.

The problem is, AHA will only pay voucher subsidies up to the fair market rent value of housing.
Fair market rent is determined by dividing Greater Metro Atlanta up into a few submarkets. Fair market rent in AHA’s submarkets will likely not keep pace with Beltline development in specific areas.

Therefore, based on his proposed investment plan, it is unlikely the duplex Orr is advertising will remain as voucher housing for long.

Mr. Orr did not return two voice messages from Atlanta Progressive News.

"Our concern has been that looking at AHA’s policies and the City’s enactment of the TADs [tax allocation districts], we see the making of a perfect storm to create broad scale gentrification of Southwest Atlanta with significant displacement of residents in public housing and homeowners, who we know by research commissioned by Georgia Stand Up, are dealing with significant increases in property taxes due to real estate speculation in the area," Lindsay Jones, attorney for the City-wide Resident Advisory Board for public housing residents, and others, told Atlanta Progressive News.

"We’re looking at displacement... The inevitable displacement of persons from rental properties when the redevelopment opportunities for the real estate speculators take place, as illustrated by this advertisement," Jones said.

"These are the very concerns of course the residents in public housing have been trying to address with the City, the Housing Authority, and HUD [the US Department of Housing and Urban Development] as violations of the Fair Housing Act," Jones said.

Jones agreed with APN’s analysis that the fair market rent of the Atlanta submarkets which include parts of the Beltline, will likely be unable to keep up pace with the rents in close proximity to the Beltline.

"They’re diluting the impact of the Beltline by having an area [to determine Fair market rent] larger than the Beltline area," Jones said.

"You’ll see displacement close to Beltline and it will move out... So as to create an exclusionary policy, where the closer you are to the Beltline, you are excluded, because you can’t use Section 8 certificates," Jones said.

"But as the Beltline moves out... by the time they [property values] catch up to the whole region you’ll have major displacement," Jones said.

About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for The Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

Hollywood Courts Residents Say Rufurbish, Don’t Demolish

2008-05-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (May 07, 2008)

(APN) ATLANTA – Hollywood Courts residents held a meeting in chairs outside of their community center this evening, because Atlanta Housing Authority has locked them out of their center and refused to let them hold their meeting inside, according to Diane Wright, President of Hollywood Courts resident association and the city-wide Resident Advisory Board (RAB).

The resident association approved a plan which they plan to submit to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to refurbish their community instead of tearing it down.

The residents also stated their interest in forming a co-op by purchasing their community from AHA and managing and refurbishing it themselves.

The full text of the plan is as follows:

We the people of Hollywood Courts tenant association hereby resolve:

We have adopted a plan to refurbish our community with AHA’s funds they’ve set aside for relocation:
$90,900 – fixing pest infestation
$95,950 – accessibility modifications
$129,750 – storm sewer repair
$909,000 – HVAC system (central air and heating)
$116,150 – remove old AC, heater
Total – $1,341,750

We know the HVAC costs should be lower because all units have no AC to remove; all units already have heaters; and some residents may not require new HVAC units.

Whereas we disagree with AHA’s claims about the buildings.

Whereas we want to hire residents to do the work.

Whereas the majority of residents do not want to move.

Whereas we are interested in purchasing our community, managing it ourselves, and starting a co-op.

(End of resolution text)

HUD’s Special Applications Center has been reviewing demolition applications for Hollywood Courts, Bowen Homes, and Bankhead Courts since March 2008. They’ve been reviewing applications for Palmer House, Roosevelt House, Thomasville, and Herndon Homes since February 2008.

As previously reported by Atlanta Progressive News, AHA made fraudulent claims to HUD in demolition applications for Hollywood Courts and Palmer House regarding the physical condition of the buildings. APN has not yet reviewed the other applications’ architectural reports, although they are likely also fraudulent because the contents of the applications are very similar to each other.

Despite AHA’s claims that they do not have money to repair Hollywood Courts, AHA told HUD they have set aside $1,781,907 for relocation for Hollywood Courts, including money to pay staff salaries for relocation teams and to give a few hundred dollars to each family for moving costs.
Therefore, Hollywood Courts residents’ refurbishing plan costs less than AHA’s planned costs for relocation, not to mention the funds they have allotted for demolition.

Due to AHA’s participation in Move to Work (MTW), a federal demonstration program, AHA has the flexibility to spend its funds on repairs or demolitions if it chooses.

AHA claims Hollywood Courts is "physically obsolete" and, to quote director Renee Glover, "decrepit."

However, as exclusively reported by APN because no other media is paying attention, Praxis 3 architectural firm’s report for Hollywood Courts states the buildings are structurally sound.
Praxis 3 finds only two physical issues with Hollywood Courts: pest infestation and storm sewer overflow.

Therefore, Hollywood Courts residents’ refurbishing plan addresses both physical issues raised by Praxis 3, in addition addressing handicap accessibility issues and providing each unit with central air and heating.

The budget figures in residents' plans are actually pulled from Praxis 3's own budget. However, Praxis 3's budget also included numerous unnecessary luxury amenities and aesthetic improvements, thus inflating their stated cost of refurbishing Hollywood Courts to over $32.8 million. Some items included in AHA and Praxis 3's $32.8 million budget, are a swimming pool, athletic center, additions to each unit, new front porches and patios, new roofing, doors, and windows.

In order for a housing authority (HA) to propose demolition, federal regulations state the HA must show they do not have enough funds to refurbish the community. This appears to be why AHA inflated their proposed budget: so they could say it was too much to afford.

In addition to passing the resolution, Hollywood Courts residents talked also about their next steps. They said they want to drive up to Chicago to meet with Ainars Rodins and others in the Special Applications Center who are reviewing the demolition applications.

Diane Wright as well as Eleanor Rayton, President of Palmer House, are both waiting to hear back from HUD regarding their meeting request.

They would also like to protest locally, including possibly at HUD’s Atlanta regional office on Marietta Street.

The majority of Hollywood Courts residents have signed petitions stating they do not want to move, which have also been sent certified to HUD.

Hollywood Courts is in good physical condition, does not have major crime problems, and has high levels of employment. Wright runs a Section 3 business, where she employs residents in construction, painting, and maintenance jobs. Hollywood Courts has a strong residents association and close ties between neighbors.

It is located in District 9, west of Downtown Atlanta. The residents have a computer lab, training center, office, and barber shop. The community is surrounded by forest.

About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for The Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

Seniors, Resident Leaders Ask HUD to Postpone Demolition Review

2008-05-20T14:03:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (May 02, 2008)

(APN) ATLANTA – Resident leaders at Palmer House senior highrise and the citywide Resident Advisory Board for public housing have sent emails, letters, and resolutions to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development requesting a delay in their consideration of demolition applications currently under review, until residents and association leaders have a chance to review the demolition applications, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

"Atlanta Housing Authority submitted to you demolition applications for several communities on February 4, 2008, without letting resident leaders and officers see or review the applications for comments before the were submitted. I would think that since they want to demolish our home that we should have been included in what they were doing to us," Eleanor Rayton, President of the Palmer House senior highrise, wrote in a letter to Ainars Rodins, director of HUD’s Special Application Center, dated March 30, 2008.

"We want a chance to review the application! We are senior citizens and we will need more time at least two or three months to review the application. It’s a very thick book and it will take some time for me to read all of it, and my officers want to read it also, we want to know how and why they justify their plans, what are their plans, and why didn’t they speak with us about their plans to see if we want to move or stay," Rayton wrote.

"I have a lot of seniors that are going through a lot of emotional changes about this moving, some of them are afraid that they will be homeless, and have had to up on nerve medication, they are seniors and they are afraid," Rayton wrote.

"We support Ms. Rayton’s request for a 60-90 day extension on HUD’s review of demo applications so residents have a chance to review them and respond," leaders of the RAB Board, wrote in a resolution dated March 23, 2008, which was also mailed to HUD.

Rayton has not received written replies to either her email or letter to Mr. Rodins, she says, and she has also left him several voice messages which have not been returned.

"Please do not shut us out of this process; this is our Home and the seniors want to have a voice, they’re afraid. Let’s be honest and truthful with our seniors, most of the seniors have lost their confidence in AHA. They don’t trust them, they come to me daily wanting to know they are being truthful with [sic], and will they end up homeless," Rayton wrote.

SENIORS ADAMANT THEY DO NOT WANT TO MOVE

"My residents are still saying they don't want to move. They don't want to go anywhere. We're going to stay right here," Rayton said.

"Me and several of my residents talked today, including my Vice and we were talking about it. We think it’s really wrong how they doing us, how they wanting us to move. We stayed here during the time it was so bad you couldn't walk the streets. Why can't we be here to enjoy the beautiful location of Techwood now?" Rayton said.

Palmer and Roosevelt House are located near Centennial Park, where Techwood/Clark Howell was demolished by AHA in the 1990s under HOPE VI and was replaced with Centennial Place.
"We went through all that bad times here and now they want us to move and it's just not right. We want to enjoy all this beautification. It's for the rich people. Either for like the people that have to drive maybe 50 to 60 miles to get to work, the people that live out in the suburbs and they don't to spend all that time coming down to Atlanta, that's what we feel like," Rayton said.

PALMER HOUSE BUILDING IN GOOD CONDITION

Atlanta Progressive News reviewed the architectural report for Palmer House by Praxis 3 architectural firm for the Palmer House demolition application.

The report shows Palmer House, like Hollywood Court and possibly other communities, is "structurally sound." APN has only had time to review Hollywood Courts’s full application [around 1000 pages] and only portions of other applications thus far. Palmer House is reported by Praxis 3 to be in good physical condition.

The only two physical issues with Palmer House are that discoloration on the roof suggests standing water, which can be fixed for $7500; and that refurbishment is needed for the glazing on the exterior walls, which can be fixed for $75,000. Thus, the total refurbishment cost is $82,500 to address physical issues listed in the report.

However, AHA has apparently made a fraudulent claim to HUD that Palmer House, like Hollywood Courts, is physically obsolete, a claim not even supported by the architectural reports they commissioned.

RESIDENTS SCARED BY AHA RELOCATION TEAMS

Relocation teams have been approaching senior citizens at Palmer House and Roosevelt House since February 2008, resident leaders say.

"The first time when they came out here I did not know they was coming. They were on the floor and some of the residents had called me saying they had signed a letter and people wanted their social security numbers," Rayton told Atlanta Progressive News.

"I said who are these people? Where are they from? They said they're from Housing. I said, do they have a business card to give y'all? They said no they didn't want to tell us their name. I said this wasn't right. I was in a lot of pain that day," Rayton said.

"I went to a couple of seniors’ apartments and looked at the paper. I talked to my Vice and said I can't go door to door. So I went on the intercom. I said people who say they're from AHA are here, I don't know who they are. And I don't know where they come from. I said those papers, you might be signing your life away or you might be signing yourself outdoors. So don't sign any more papers," Rayton recalled.

"The people got mad and came to the management office and wanted to know who said that," Rayton said.

"I went down trying to block them by the water fountain as people got on the elevator," Rayton said.

"One lady she said I'm not going to sign this. I said y'all don't sign anything til I go out and find out what's going on. [AHA’s] Mr. .Simms called my office and my VP said I wasn't there," Rayton said.

"He called downstairs to management. I asked them, did they have any business cards and they said they didn't. I said we'll just wait until we find out about you all," Rayton said.

"Mr. Simms called management to come get me to the phone. He tried to explain what was going on. I said that wasn't right because we didn't know what was going on. And he should come down here himself," Rayton said.

RAYTON’S VISIT TO LOCAL HUD

Determined to find answers, Rayton visited federal HUD’s Atlanta office on Marietta Street.

"I went down to HUD to find out. Down on Marietta Street. I spoke with [Onri Harvey]. She was somebody on staff. We went up and I sat and talked with her. We took the papers and asked was those papers correct? She said yes. They had to do that now because last year they had a lot of drama with AHA coming and saying to move in 90 days, and that's not enough time for us to be able to move," Rayton said.

From the way the letters are described, they are likely letters which were included the various demolition applications. The letters let residents know that applications have been submitted to HUD and that if they are approved, then the residents will be displaced.

"They said it's for us to sign to receive them so we can't say you only gave us 60 days."

Rayton asked Harvey why her building was proposed for demolition, she said.

"She told us it was gonna have to go because it's so old and they can't keep putting money into it and fix it up the way they should be fixed up for us to live in here. But my residents don't want to go," Rayton said.

When told in recent days by APN that Palmer House is not physically obsolete and can be refurbished with funds AHA has already set aside for relocation: "Well I think what they said was wrong. They just lied," Rayton said.

"I wanted a copy of the developers. She told me they don't have a copy of that because they don't have any developers," Rayton said.

Rayton also asked HUD for a copy of the demolition application.

"She said they don't have a copy of it. She told us we couldn't get one," Rayton said.

RAYTON’S EMAIL TO AHA AND HUD

When local HUD would not provide Rayton a copy of the demolition application, after AHA never provided Rayton a copy, she emailed AHA director Renee Glover and carbon copied HUD officials in Chicago.

"I've ask [sic] several times for a copu [sic] of the demolition application, I would like to also know what will be did with this building and will some of the residents get to move back it they want to, I would like to know who are the developers that will get this building," Rayton wrote in an email dated March 10, 2008.

"I'm the resident president of the palmer house senior high rise and we're very concern that AHA didn't send us a copy of the demolition application before they submited [sic] it to HUD, we have serious concerns and questions about the demolition application that was submited to HUD on February 1, 2008 we feel that we be included in everthing [sic] that has to do with the Palmer House Senior High Rise because this is our home, this is where we live, we never had a chance to see the copy of the demolition application, my residents are asking me to see it and I don't have it to show them," Rayton wrote.

AHA’s Barney Simms responded to Rayton’s email on March 12, 2008.

"Ms. Glover forwarded to me your e-mail dated March 9, 2008 in which you requested a copy of the demolition application for Palmer House," Simms wrote, according to an email obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.

"I was not aware that you had requested a copy of the application before; however, I think it would be great for you and other Palmer House residents to have access to the application. Therefore, I will make sure that you receive a hand delivered copy of the application before the close of business on Friday of this week. I will also make another copy available so that it can be kept in the property management office so other Palmer House residents will have access to it," Simms wrote.

"In fact, I think your idea to provide the applications to the residents is such a wonderful idea that I will make available copies of the demolition applications for each affected community. One copy will be provided to the resident association president and another will be made available for residents' access within the property management office of the community," Simms wrote.
Rayton received her copy Friday of that week, she said.

Rayton believes it is unfair AHA did not involve the resident association in their planning.
AHA claims it has held over 20 meetings with the various resident associations, but these meetings typically involve AHA telling residents their plans.

"They made the plan by themselves. We didn't know anything about it. We really should have. If they didn't want to include the residents, I think the officers should have been included. When they did HOPE VI for Techwood/Clark Howell, they gave them the plans and everything. They sat down and talked with them about it," Rayton said.

Rayton is currently hopeful she will hear back from Mr. Rodins regarding her request. She is actively seeking support from various community leaders for her request as well, APN can report.

Rayton, along with other RAB Board members, has requested a sit-down meeting with HUD in Chicago and is waiting to see if HUD is willing.

"I would just like to ask them, could they just come back, reevaluate this building and let us stay here? This is our home. This is where we want to stay. We don't want to move out of Atlanta. We don't want to move out of Downtown Atlanta. We want to stay here. And if there's anything wrong with the building, could they just repair it and let us continue to live here? We have some residents live here 30 something years and they don't want to go anywhere," Rayton said.

About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for The Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.

'Taking Back the Blocks' in Huntington Station

2008-05-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

Revitalization program aims to increase owner-occupied affordable housing

BY DEBORAH S. MORRIS deborah.morris@newsday.com - May 9, 2008

In Huntington Station, town officials and community advocates are working together to spruce things up -- one block at a time.

They're aiming to continue Huntington Station's revitalization and turn the once blighted gateway to Huntington Village back into a destination of its own.

"If we really want to address affordable housing and quality of life issues," said Town Supervisor Frank Petrone, "then the best quality of life is to walk out of your home and feel safe and feel good about your neighborhood."

The centerpiece of the area's business district -- the Big H shopping center, with a Home Depot and Kmart -- is booming. Now town officials, along with members of the Huntington Economic Development Corp., and the town's Community Development Agency, are pushing for more commercial growth and increased homeownership in the area.

"What we are trying to do is marshal several resources to work in partnership," said Doug Aloise, director of Community Development. "Only by working synergistically are we going to make an impact."

Plans for the area include not only more shops and restaurants but also a cultural center on New York Avenue and Northridge Street and a business incubator at 1268 New York Ave., next door to the new Huntington Enrichment Center. But the jewel of the revitalization effort is the Take Back the Blocks affordable housing/neighborhood revitalization program. It's the brainchild of Petrone.

"This initiative provides an opportunity to families that might not have the means by which to own their own home," Petrone said. "It also restores a neighborhood so that people can take pride in the place in which they live."

Through the program, started in 2005, a committee of citizens nominates properties owned by absentee landlords for town acquisition and rehabilitation. Those properties are then converted into owner-occupied residences with legal accessory apartments and sold to families that fall within certain income guidelines.

Petrone said the rental apartment is intended to help boost the family's income.

"We're Taking Back the Blocks from absentee landlords," Petrone said, "and encouraging first-time homeowners to instill pride into the neighborhood and providing much-needed rental units."

The funding for Take Back the Blocks comes from the town, county and state. In February, the town received $1.56 million in Restore New York Communities Initiative grants through the Empire State Development Corp.

Susan Lagville, executive director of Greenlawn-based Housing Help, a nonprofit Housing and Urban Development agency that provides housing counseling services, is coordinating efforts for the first home in the program, 32 E. Sixth St. The land had been foreclosed by the county, transferred to the town and eventually turned over to Housing Help.

"This whole mortgage default disaster points out just how desperate people are to own a home and have a piece of the American dream," Lagville said. "Programs like these are essential everywhere."

On a recent sunny afternoon, East Sixth Street was filled with children playing in yards, riding bicycles or gathered around an idling ice cream truck. The block, a busy thoroughfare with mostly well-kept houses tucked behind locked gates, appears to be a model of suburban life. But just a few years ago, 32 E. Sixth St. was the site of a vacant home with boarded windows, vagrants and drug dealers.

"There was trouble there before," said Dilma Zelaya, who has lived on the block for 10 years. "But it's a good place now. I love it here. It will be good to have new neighbors to keep the street in good hands."

Zelaya's new neighbor will be Monique Agudio, 42, a single mother of two. Already a Huntington Station resident, Agudio will be moving 14 blocks north to her new two-story, three-bedroom home with a one-bedroom rental apartment. She expects to move in next month.

"This is a dream come true," said Agudio, a service coordinator for Nassau Association for the Help of Retarded Children. "I tried before to buy a foreclosure but it fell through. ... I wouldn't be able to buy a home on Long Island without a program like this."

Agudio was one of two finalists in a housing lottery to purchase the house. For years she worked with Housing Help's first-time home buyers program and qualified because she had a family income of less than $69,900 annually for a family of three.

Grants from the county and the state lowered her purchase price to $200,000 from $330,000.

Agudio said even though she is familiar with the neighborhood, she had some initial concerns about its safety. Now those fears subsided after she became more familiar with the block.

"We will be an asset to the block," Agudio said. "There won't be any problems from us. We'll be good neighbors."

Vera Ehlers, a Huntington Station community activist who has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years, said she is pleased the town is making the effort to encourage homeownership. But, she said, officials are not doing enough to help all residents -- and what they are doing is not working fast enough.

"I just don't want to see another cycle of absentee landlords," Ehlers said. "If someone is going to be following up making sure that the people living in the home are the owners, it's a good thing. Otherwise, it will be business as usual."

After East Sixth Street, Take Back the Blocks will turn its attention to 1 Tower St., Petrone said. The single-family home needs some cosmetic fixes and the installation of a one-bedroom apartment.

The third project will be at Lowndes Avenue and Columbia Street. The town is acquiring three houses there and will then demolish them to construct seven town houses, with a rental in each town house.

For information about the Take Back the Blocks program, call the Community Development Agency at 631-351-2881.

Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.

Nabe Groups Battle to Save Afordable Apartments

2008-05-12T15:31:00.000-07:00

By Marlene Naanes, amNewYork Staff Writer - MNaanes@am-ny.com - May 12, 2008

Decrepit apartments and cramping are a common trend among the city's immigrant families struggling to afford housing, particularly in gentrifying neighborhoods.

In a city that is losing about 60,000 affordable units a year, everyone in New York is feeling the pinch, but immigrant communities can be a little more vulnerable, affordable housing advocates said.

"In some immigrant communities, tenants are more vulnerable to being pushed out illegally because they may fear being reported to the authorities or they may be unfamiliar with the rules," said Tom Waters, Housing Policy Analyst, for the Community Service Society, a anti-poverty group.

Landlords have been known to charge exorbitant fees or allow units to rot to force out low-income immigrant tenants so they can boost the rent for new tenants, advocates said.

Neighborhood groups are on the front lines in the battle to retain affordable housing, tackling the threats in New York's historically immigrant neighborhoods by buying up buildings, confronting corporate landlords and educating tenants about their rights.

Here's a look at how three neighborhoods are dealing with the problem.

El Barrio

Filiberto Hernandez, 34, has had to wait months for his leaky bathroom ceiling to be repaired. He said he fights his landlord, but some of his neighbors do not know their rights and end up moving out.

"The landlords are rich, multi-millionaires, and then there are many poor people in El Barrio without resources," Hernandez said.

Landlords in East Harlem have been trying to force their low income, immigrant tenants out by letting apartments fall apart and later charging higher rents in the gentrifying neighborhood, advocates said.

For the past four years, Movement for Justice in El Barrio has fought one particular landlord, forcing him to repair hundreds of units in 47 East Harlem buildings before he sold the properties last year. Now the group, comprised of about 400 tenants, is battling the units' new owner, Dawnay, Day Group.

Movement for Justice recently sued Dawnay for charging tenants for repairs or appliances they were never given. Dawnay did not return calls seeking comment.ChinatownChinatown recently saw the price of buildings with five or more units skyrocket higher than any other neighborhood in the city, boosting the cost of these properties by 42 percent from 2005 to 2006, according to an NYU survey released last month. As luxury condos are increasing, affordable rent buildings are being demolished, advocates said.

"We're bleeding existing affordable housing everyday," said Thomas Yu with Asian Americans for Equality, which began an affordable housing program to combat the problem.

The group buys up apartment buildings, refurbishes units and rents them to lower-income residents for $1,000 a month or less. So far, the program has preserved 90 affordable units with grants funding and financing through long-term mortgages. Yu's group hopes to purchase another 70 apartments. Asian Americans for Equality is fundraising to defray repair costs, which can reach up to $50,000 a unit. The group hopes that their efforts also will work to combat severe overcrowding that can be prevalent in the immigrant community.

BushwickResidents in the neighborhood, like Gladys Puglla, say they often have to fight landlords to repair anything.

The native-Ecuadorian, who has lived in her apartment for 10 years, has gone without electricity in half of her apartment for more than three months until the city forced her landlord to fix it. She's now fighting her landlord for charging more than allowed for her rent-controlled apartment. Meanwhile, she fears another rent increase."Can you imagine? I'm going to move my son and my daughter together, and I'm going to rent my room," she said.

Puglla said that like many immigrant residents in Bushwick, she did not know her rights until she began attending meetings held by Make the Road New York, a group that lobbies for better rent laws and helps tenants wade through the process of fighting a landlord. The group also holds meetings in Spanish.

"These people are fed up and ... realize they have to stand up because otherwise we're going to lose Bushwick," said Irene Tung, director of organizing for the group.

Copyright © 2008, AM New York

Santa Clara Earmarks $3 Million for Affordable Housing

2008-05-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal

The County of Santa Clara Board of Supervisors will allocate about $3 million in federal funding for several housing-related programs and community service programs.

Recipients include the Community Development Block Grant, HOME Investment Partnership Act, and American Dream Downpayment Initiative programs.

"Providing decent housing for all residents is one of the county's highest priorities," said Supervisor Don Gage, District 1. "The federal funds that the county is allocating will provide much-needed housing options for the families in this valley."

The Community Development Block Grant Program was created by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. The county has been working with the cities of Campbell, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill and Saratoga, as well as the unincorporated areas of the county.

Activities funded by the county and the participating cities since 1975 include the development of new affordable housing units, rehabilitation of affordable housing units, construction of neighborhood centers, removal of architectural barriers for the elderly and persons with disabilities, fair housing services, shelters for the homeless and victims of domestic violence, and other housing-related public services.

The HOME funds are used primarily to help finance housing construction projects. The goals of the HOME program include expanding the supply of decent and permanently affordable housing for lower income families, with an emphasis on rental housing for very low income families.
The American Dream Downpayment Initiative Program provides down payment assistance to low-income families who are first-time homebuyers towards the purchase of single family houses. The Initiative is a component under the HOME Program.

California Proposition 98 Will Abolish Rent Control and Have Major Impact on Accessible and Affordable Housing

2008-05-12T15:22:00.001-07:00

By Marty D. OmotoDirector/Organizer California Disability Community Action Network

A little known initiative on the June 3 California primary election ballot would prohibit new rent control measures and eventually abolish existing rent controls in the State that advocates say will have a major impact on accessible and affordable housing for tens of thousands of low income people with disabilities, seniors, low income workers who provide supports and services, including those in communities of color.

The ballot measure, Proposition 98 is titled "Eminent Domain: Limits on Government Authority" and would amend the State Constitution.No statewide polls have been conducted measuring the support of two propositions on the June ballot - but extremely low voter turn-out could favor passage of Proposition 98. If it passes, the measure would impact all areas in California currently under rent controls and prohibit any area from enacting any new rent controls, including rent controls in mobile home parks.

The issue would impact persons under the federal housing programs, such as "Section 8" because in those areas where rent controls are in place, rents could increase and the control on that unit would end when tenants change, if Proposition 98 passes. The independent and non-partisan Legislative Analyst says that about 1 million California households - which includes low income seniors, people with disabilities, low income workers who provide supports and services and others - live in housing or mobile home parks under some form of rent control, which Proposition 98 would abolish.

Some Opponents of Proposition 98 Backing Proposition 99

Some of the groups opposing Proposition 98 on the June 3rd ballot, have sponsored and support passage of Proposition 99 instead, which deals with the issue of local government taking owner occupied homes and transferring it to a private party or business. It makes no mention of rent control. If both ballot initiatives passed, a provision in Proposition 99 would prohibit Proposition 98 from taking effect if Proposition 99 received more votes.

Accessible and Affordable Housing Seen As Critical To Disability and Senior Rights

Accessible and affordable housing is considered by many advocates and policymakers as a major foundation of the rights of people with disabilities, mental health needs, seniors and others under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the subsequent landmark 1999 US Supreme Court Olmstead Decision. That decision requires the states to take steps to avoid the unjustified or unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities, mental health needs and seniors. Accessible and affordable housing costs have been one of the barriers identified by advocates and some policymakers in keeping people with disabilities and seniors in community-based settings or moving people out of institutional facilities.

The Schwarzenegger Administration has identified housing as a critical need for persons with disabilities, with the Department of Developmental Services, which oversees the operations of 21 non-profit regional centers that coordinate community-based services and funding for over 230,000 children and adults with developmental disabilities, identifying housing as a key priority - especially in addressing the crisis of persons with autism spectrum disorders. In the Legislature, two bills related specifically to people with disabilities and affordable and accessible housing are pending, including SB 1175 by Sen. Darrell Steinberg (Democrat - Sacramento, 6th District) dealing with regional centers and creation of non-profit housing foundations. Other affordable housing bills are also pending.

Opponents Say Proposition 98 Will End Rent Control and Laws Protecting Renters

Opponents say Proposition 98 on the June 3rd ballot is a "bait and switch" that talks first about private property rights, but is meant to eliminate rent control saying that "landlords could raise rents as high as they want" and would wipe "out basic protections for all renters" including they say, laws requiring fair return of rental deposits and laws protecting renters from unfair evictions.

The measure is opposed by many advocacy groups including AARP, League of Women Voters of California, League of California Homeowners, California Disability Community Action Network, California Police Chiefs Association and others.

SUMMARY OF JUNE 3rd PROPOSITION 98

The constitutional amendment would do several things related to limiting state and local government from transferring or taking private property for public use, Proposition 98 on the ballot for June 3 would:

RENT CONTROL
• * Would impact and eventually abolish all existing rent control measures now in place and prevent new controls from being enacted. Over a dozen cities in California have some form of rent control laws including cities of Berkeley, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, San Jose, and Santa Monica. Over 100 cities and counties have laws limiting or controlling the rents that mobilehome park owners can charge people who lease space.

• Local governments would be prohibited from enacting any new rent control measures

• Any rent control measure that was enacted AFTER January 1, 2007 would end (upon passage of this ballot initiative)

• Other rent control measures enacted BEFORE January 1, 2007 would be phased out on a unit by unit basis after an apartment unit or mobile home park space is vacated. Once a tenant vacates an apartment or mobile home space, property owners can charge higher rents (market rate rents) for the next person - and that housing would not be subject to rent control again.

OTHER HOUSING MEASURES
Legislative Analyst Office believes, while wording in the proposed constitutional amendment is not clear, it appears that other affordable housing laws could be prohibited, such as local mandatory "inclusionary" housing laws (ordinances) that require developers to construct affordable housing on part of their land or contribute funds for such housing.

TRANSFERRING PRIVATE PROPERTY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING
• Proposition 98 on the ballot June 3rd, would prohibit local government from taking ownership of private property and transfer it to a private party (such as a non-profit organization, business or person. This includes when local government seeks to reduce high crime or urban decay in a certain area by transferring substandard apartments to a non-profit organization to renovate and manage for affordable housing for low income people and families (that include people with disabilities and seniors).

• Would prohibit local government from taking a private property and transferring it for use that was "substantially similar" to how the original private owner used it.

• None of these restrictions apply if local government was addressing a public nuisance or criminal activity or as part of a "state of emergency" declared by the Governor.Proposition 99 Similar To 98 But Does Not End Rent Controls

• One other proposition, Proposition 99, is also on the June 3rd primary ballot and is similar to Proposition 98, but does not contain any provisions dealing with rent controls. It was placed on the ballot by some of the groups in strong opposition to Proposition 98.

• Proposition 99 has a clause that if both Proposition 98 and 99 were approved by voters, and if Proposition 99 received more votes than 98, then the provisions of Proposition would not take effect.

• Proposition 99, like Proposition 98, is a constitutional amendment would prohibit state and local government from using their power (called "eminent domain") to acquire an owner-occupied home and transfer it to another private person or business entity. It creates an exception for public works or improvements, public health and safety protection and crime prevention.

• It is similar to Proposition 98 in that it would prevent local government from transferring a substandard apartment building, for instance, to a non-profit organization to renovate and manage affordable housing. Proposition 99 is supported by the California Alliance for Retired Americans, the League of Women Voters of California, the League of California Homeowners and the California Police Chiefs Association among other groups who say that Proposition 99 "is real eminent domain reform" with "no hidden agenda" of eliminating rent controls. Many voters may be confused about the upcoming primary electionEarlier on February 5th, California held its presidential primary election which did not include any state races, except one special Assembly election to fill a vacancy.

The June 3rd primary election is for all 80 Assembly seats and 20 (seats from odd numbered districts) of the 40 State Senate seats. In addition all 53 California congressional seats are up for election.

In the Assembly, 24 members are termed out. In the State Senate, 10 members of the 20 seats up for election.

Proposition 98 on the ballot for June 3, is also the same number of a more famous 1988 state constitutional amendment with the same number that imposed a public school funding guarantee. Deadline to Register for June 3rd Primary Coming Up

Voter registration must be postmarked no later than May 19, 2008

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For additional assistance with voter registration, please contact your county registrar of voters or the California Secretary of State's office at the following toll-free numbers:

English: 1-800-345-VOTE
Chinese: 1-800-339-2857
Japanese: 1-800-339-2865
Korean: 1-866-575-1558
Spanish: 1-800-232-VOTA
Tagalog: 1-800-339-2957
Vietnamese: 1-800-339-8163

The California Disability Community Action Network, is a non-partisan link to thousands of Californians with developmental and other disabilities, people with traumatic brain injuries, the Blind, the Deaf, their families, community organizations and providers, direct care, homecare and other workers, and other advocates to provide information on state (and eventually federal), local public policy issues.

1930s Design Gets Thumbs-Up as City-Owned Housing Project

2008-05-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

ANDREAE DOWNS - From Boston.com - May 11, 2008

Brighton - A condominium project designed with a 1930s feel was the first pick of the Brighton Allston Improvement Association board for a highly visible, city-owned site. Three other proposals with fewer total condos, but more subsidized units for lower-income buyers, are still on the table as the city's Department of Neighborhood Development prepares a recommendation for 1501 Commonwealth Ave.

"We felt this was the better proposal," said Lorraine Bossi, a member of the association's board. The $18 million proposal that the board endorsed would offer 57 one-, two-, or three-bedroom condos spread out over four stories, and two stories of parking, said developer Merrill Diamond. Currently, a three-story former nursing home, now vacant, occupies the spot near the Brighton Marine Health Center and a wooded city park.

The runner-up preference at the association's meeting on May 1 was from the Allston-Brighton Community Development Corporation, which has built or rehabilitated more than 500 units of housing in the neighborhood.

Diamond, who noted his role in building housing in the former Waterworks buildings near the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, expressed his preference for designs other than what he called "squat, flat boxes" built on Comm. Ave. since the 1930s. He and several nearby residents said that the neighborhood has more than enough affordable units and needs more of the market-rate variety.

"Allston-Brighton has a lot of affordable housing," said mechanic Harry Nesdekidis. "It's bringing down our quality of life, while the taxes we pay are going up."

But Charlie Vasiliades, a development corporation board member, disagreed, saying that with Allston-Brighton at 13 percent, only West Roxbury, Hyde Park, and Back Bay have smaller percentages of affordable rental units.

The developers now await analysis from the Department of Neighborhood Development, which will accept community input for another week or two, according to spokeswoman Kerry O'Brien. In about a month, the department will send its recommendation to the Public Facilities Commission, which will tentatively designate a developer. Depending on the timing of the financing, shovels could be in the ground by next year, O'Brien said.

Comments may be sent to the Boston Department of Neighborhood Development at 26 Court St., Boston 02108.

National Low Income Housing Coalition Reports from the Capitol

2008-05-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

Foreclosure Prevention Bill Passed by Financial Services Committee: On May 1, the House Committee on Financial Services, chaired by Representative Barney Frank (D-MA), approved H.R. 5830, the FHA Housing and Homeowner Retention Act. The legislation would allow the Federal Housing Administration to refinance at-risk borrowers into viable mortgages.

H.R. 5830 would provide a voluntary program to permit the FHA to provide up to $300 billion in outstanding loan guarantees to help refinance at-risk borrowers into viable mortgages. The program would require a participating lender to accept a substantial write-down of principal in exchange for a “short payment” (i.e., a payment for less than the outstanding balance as payment in full) from the proceeds of a new FHA-guaranteed mortgage. The new loan would have terms that the borrower can reasonably be expected to pay, and the borrower would agree to share future home appreciation with the federal government.

The program is available only to borrowers who occupy the residence subject to the refinancing and such borrowers cannot own any other homes. The existing loan must have been originated on or before December 31, 2007. The program would be overseen by a “Refinance Program Oversight Board,” consisting of the Secretary of Treasury, the Secretary of HUD, and Chairman of the Federal Reserve.

The bill would also authorize $210 million for foreclosure counseling, including counseling to veterans recently returning from active duty in the armed forces, with at least $30 million targeted to low income and minority homeowners and $35 million to assist with legal aid.

Floor Action on Foreclosure Crisis in House on May 7-8: The House is expected to spend at least one day and possibly two in the coming week to move major legislation to address the foreclosure crisis.

H.R. 5818, the Neighborhood Stabilization Act of 2008, will be considered as a stand-alone bill. This bill, sponsored by Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA), chair of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Housing and Community Opportunity, would establish a $15 billion loan and grant program for the purchase and rehabilitation of owner-vacated, foreclosed homes, with the goal of stabilizing and occupying them as soon as possible. Half of the grant funds would be required to support housing for very low income families (VLI, families at or below 50% of AMI) and half of that amount—25% of the total—would be for extremely low income families (ELI; families at or below 30% of AMI) (see Memo, 4/25). This bill has drawn a veto threat from the Administration due to its price tag.

H.R. 5830, the FHA Housing and Homeowner Retention Act, will also be considered, most likely as an amendment to H.R. 3221, the housing stimulus bill that passed the Senate passed on April 10 (see Memo, 4/11). (The Senate actually added its provisions as an amendment to a bill, H.R. 3221, that the House had already sent to the Senate. The Senate then sent it back to the House.)

Additional amendments to H.R. 3221 could include H.R. 5579, the Emergency Mortgage Loan Modification Act of 2008, which makes it easier for servicers to modify troubled mortgages without threat of liability to investors (see Memo,H.R. 5720, the Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008, which makes several changes to the Low Income Housing Tax.

Credit and Housing Bond programs and provides a tax credit for first-time home buyers (see Memo, 4/11); H.R. 1427, the Federal Housing Finance Reform Act of 2007, which reforms the regulatory system for the Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) and would provide funding for a National Housing Trust Fund (see Memo, 10/12/07); and H.R. 1852, the Expanding American Homeownership Act of 2007, which reforms the FHA program (see Memo, 9/21/07). 4/25);

By amending a Senate-passed bill, the House will set the stage for a conference between the House and Senate on the various initiatives and programs passed by the House. H.R. 1427 and H.R. 1852 previously passed the House; H.R. 5830, H.R. 5579 and H.R. 5720 have been reported out of committee, but have not been considered by the full House.

Senate Letter Supports Funding for Current and New Vouchers: Twenty-five senators, led by Senators Russell Feingold (D-WI) and Susan Collins (R-ME), sent a letter to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies on April 28, urging “the highest fiscally responsible increase in funding for the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program” in FY09.

“We ask that you include funding sufficient to renew existing vouchers as well as fund new vouchers in fiscal year 2009,” the letter to Subcommittee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) and Ranking Member Christopher Bond (R-MO) said. The letter commends the Subcommittee for is support for the voucher program in FY07 and FY08.

Committee Consideration of Asset Management Bill Delayed: The House Committee on Financial Services this week postponed the scheduled mark up of H.R. 5829, the Public Housing Asset Management Improvement Act of 2008. This bill, which was introduced by Representative Albio Sires (D-NJ) April 17, is the second version of the asset management legislation. The first version faltered on February 26 on the House floor when an unexpected amendment threatened to send the bill back to the Financial Services Committee. (see Memo 4/18). A new markup date has not yet been scheduled.

National Housing Trust Fund / Senate Committee Postpones Consideration of GSE Bill: The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, chaired by Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT), has rescheduled a mark-up of pending legislation that would restructure Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the housing-related government sponsored enterprises (GSE). The mark- up was scheduled for Tuesday, May 6, and now is tentatively set for Thursday, May 8. The delay will allow additional time for Chairman Dodd and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL) to work out solutions to several areas of disagreement.

The Committee will also at the same time take up legislation to use the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to prevent foreclosures. The GSE provisions and the FHA provisions are expected to be two titles of one bill.

The Senate’s GSE overhaul is expected to include provisions to establish an Affordable Housing Fund, modeled after S. 2391, the Government Sponsored Enterprise Mission Improvement Act of 2007, introduced by Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) on November 16 (see Memo, 11/19/07). The NHTF campaign is working to have S. 2523, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act, included in the overall bill. Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Olympia Snowe (R-ME), the lead sponsors of S. 2523, sent a letter to Chairman Dodd and Ranking Member Richard Shelby urging inclusion of S. 2523.

New Cosponsor of S. 2523 (National Housing Trust Fund): Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) cosponsored S. 2523, the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act of 2008, the week of April 28. There are now 18 cosponsors of the bill, in addition to Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who introduced the bill in December.

NLIHC Submits Comments on Proposed PIH Rent Study: In comments submitted to HUD on April 28, NLIHC raised two areas of concerns in a study of rents and rent flexibility being proposed by HUD’s Office of Public and Indian Housing.

According to the Federal Register notice (FR-1594-N-06), the stated purpose of the study is to “review possible reforms and alternative rent structures to the current income-based approach for calculating rental subsidies in [the Public Housing and Housing Choice Voucher] programs.” The study is designed to survey housing authorities, households on waiting lists, and those admitted to public housing or the voucher program in the past year.

NLIHC’s first area of concern, as raised in the letter, is that the study’s sample for survey research appears to be too limited to achieve its purpose. Despite its stated broad purpose, HUD does not propose to collect information from either private landlords or longer-term residents. Not only are these two large constituencies likely to be affected by any reforms to the program, but they are also likely to provide valuable insight, particularly on past changes to rent policy and the impact of the existing alternative rent programs already in place at some housing authorities. NLIHC’s comments conclude that “omitting the perspectives of landlords and longer-term residents will make the sample unrepresentative for the purposes described and will seriously bias the results.”

The second concern raised in NLIHC’s comments is that HUD’s Paperwork Reduction Act submission states that there are no plans to publish the results of the $2 million study. NLIHC commented that a study of this magnitude should have a public purpose and inform the public debate.

NCH Report Calls For Action to Break the Foreclosures to Homelessness Cycle

2008-05-11T12:45:00.000-07:00

Washington, DC – The National Coalition for the Homeless released a report today forecasting an increase in homelessness due to the foreclosure crisis. The report, Foreclosure to Homelessness: the Forgotten Victims of the Subprime Crisis, summarizes the findings of a national survey of state and local homeless coalitions conducted in winter 2008 to ascertain whether their communities were seeing an increase in homelessness due to the foreclosure crisis.

Among the survey findings:

61 percent of survey respondents reported an increase in homelessness in their communities since the foreclosure crisis began in 2007.
Respondents reported a variety of living arrangements among the newly homeless victims of the foreclosure crisis, including stays with family and friends, in emergency shelters, and on the streets.

The report criticizes state legislatures and Congress for their inattention to homelessness prevention initiatives in their response to the foreclosure crisis. “Nearly forgotten in the foreclosure crisis are the thousands of homeowners and renters who have become homeless once their equity is exhausted,” said Bob Erlenbusch, President of the National Coalition for the Homeless. ”We hope this report will sound an alarm and inspire policymakers to take proactive measures that prevent more Americans from falling from foreclosure to homelessness.”

Among the policy recommendations offered by NCH to break the foreclosure to homelessness cycle is an infusion of funds into the federal Emergency Food and Shelter Program, a highly effective program already in place to provide rental and mortgage assistance to persons at risk of homelessness. At the request of NCH and other organizations, Congress is now considering action on this recommendation as part of foreclosure relief measures.

Foreclosure to Homelessness: the Forgotten Victims of the Subprime Crisis, is available on the NCH web site here.

The National Coalition for the Homeless, is the oldest national organization advocating with and on behalf of persons experiencing homelessness. Our mission is to end homelessness. The National Coalition for the Homeless engages in public education, policy advocacy, and grassroots organizing. We focus our work in the areas of housing justice, economic justice, health care justice, and civil rights.

April 23, 2008 Contact: Michael Stoops
(202) 462-4822 x19 voice (202) 277-3782 mobile
mstoops@nationalhomeless.org

Seniors, Resident Leaders Ask HUD to Postpone Demolition Review

2008-05-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor - The Atlanta Progressive News - May 02, 2008

(APN) ATLANTA – Resident leaders at Palmer House senior highrise and the citywide Resident Advisory Board for public housing have sent emails, letters, and resolutions to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development requesting a delay in their consideration of demolition applications currently under review, until residents and association leaders have a chance to review the demolition applications, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

"Atlanta Housing Authority submitted to you demolition applications for several communities on February 4, 2008, without letting resident leaders and officers see or review the applications for comments before the were submitted. I would think that since they want to demolish our home that we should have been included in what they were doing to us," Eleanor Rayton, President of the Palmer House senior highrise, wrote in a letter to Ainars Rodins, director of HUD’s Special Application Center, dated March 30, 2008.

"We want a chance to review the application! We are senior citizens and we will need more time at least two or three months to review the application. It’s a very thick book and it will take some time for me to read all of it, and my officers want to read it also, we want to know how and why they justify their plans, what are their plans, and why didn’t they speak with us about their plans to see if we want to move or stay," Rayton wrote.

"I have a lot of seniors that are going through a lot of emotional changes about this moving, some of them are afraid that they will be homeless, and have had to up on nerve medication, they are seniors and they are afraid," Rayton wrote.

"We support Ms. Rayton’s request for a 60-90 day extension on HUD’s review of demo applications so residents have a chance to review them and respond," leaders of the RAB Board, wrote in a resolution dated March 23, 2008, which was also mailed to HUD.

Rayton has not received written replies to either her email or letter to Mr. Rodins, she says, and she has also left him several voice messages which have not been returned.

"Please do not shut us out of this process; this is our Home and the seniors want to have a voice, they’re afraid. Let’s be honest and truthful with our seniors, most of the seniors have lost their confidence in AHA. They don’t trust them, they come to me daily wanting to know they are being truthful with [sic], and will they end up homeless," Rayton wrote.

Seniors Adamant They Do Not Want Move

"My residents are still saying they don't want to move. They don't want to go anywhere. We're going to stay right here," Rayton said.

"Me and several of my residents talked today, including my Vice and we were talking about it. We think it’s really wrong how they doing us, how they wanting us to move. We stayed here during the time it was so bad you couldn't walk the streets. Why can't we be here to enjoy the beautiful location of Techwood now?" Rayton said.

Palmer and Roosevelt House are located near Centennial Park, where Techwood/Clark Howell was demolished by AHA in the 1990s under HOPE VI and was replaced with Centennial Place.
"We went through all that bad times here and now they want us to move and it's just not right. We want to enjoy all this beautification. It's for the rich people. Either for like the people that have to drive maybe 50 to 60 miles to get to work, the people that live out in the suburbs and they don't to spend all that time coming down to Atlanta, that's what we feel like," Rayton said.

Palmer House Building in Good Condition

Atlanta Progressive News reviewed the architectural report for Palmer House by Praxis 3 architectural firm for the Palmer House demolition application.

The report shows Palmer House, like Hollywood Court and possibly other communities, is "structurally sound." APN has only had time to review Hollywood Courts’s full application [around 1000 pages] and only portions of other applications thus far. Palmer House is reported by Praxis 3 to be in good physical condition.

The only two physical issues with Palmer House are that discoloration on the roof suggests standing water, which can be fixed for $7500; and that refurbishment is needed for the glazing on the exterior walls, which can be fixed for $75,000. Thus, the total refurbishment cost is $82,500 to address physical issues listed in the report.

However, AHA has apparently made a fraudulent claim to HUD that Palmer House, like Hollywood Courts, is physically obsolete, a claim not even supported by the architectural reports they commissioned.

Residents Scared by AHA Relocation Teams

Relocation teams have been approaching senior citizens at Palmer House and Roosevelt House since February 2008, resident leaders say.

"The first time when they came out here I did not know they was coming. They were on the floor and some of the residents had called me saying they had signed a letter and people wanted their social security numbers," Rayton told Atlanta Progressive News.

"I said who are these people? Where are they from? They said they're from Housing. I said, do they have a business card to give y'all? They said no they didn't want to tell us their name. I said this wasn't right. I was in a lot of pain that day," Rayton said.

"I went to a couple of seniors’ apartments and looked at the paper. I talked to my Vice and said I can't go door to door. So I went on the intercom. I said people who say they're from AHA are here, I don't know who they are. And I don't know where they come from. I said those papers, you might be signing your life away or you might be signing yourself outdoors. So don't sign any more papers," Rayton recalled.

"The people got mad and came to the management office and wanted to know who said that," Rayton said.

"I went down trying to block them by the water fountain as people got on the elevator," Rayton said.

"One lady she said I'm not going to sign this. I said y'all don't sign anything til I go out and find out what's going on. [AHA’s] Mr. Simms called my office and my VP said I wasn't there," Rayton said.

"He called downstairs to management. I asked them, did they have any business cards and they said they didn't. I said we'll just wait until we find out about you all," Rayton said.

"Mr. Simms called management to come get me to the phone. He tried to explain what was going on. I said that wasn't right because we didn't know what was going on. And he should come down here himself," Rayton said.

Rayton's Visit to Local HUD

Determined to find answers, Rayton visited federal HUD’s Atlanta office on Marietta Street.
"I went down to HUD to find out. Down on Marietta Street. I spoke with [Onri Harvey]. She was somebody on staff. We went up and I sat and talked with her. We took the papers and asked was those papers correct? She said yes. They had to do that now because last year they had a lot of drama with AHA coming and saying to move in 90 days, and that's not enough time for us to be able to move," Rayton said.

From the way the letters are described, they are likely letters which were included the various demolition applications. The letters let residents know that applications have been submitted to HUD and that if they are approved, then the residents will be displaced.

"They said it's for us to sign to receive them so we can't say you only gave us 60 days."
Rayton asked Harvey why her building was proposed for demolition, she said.

"She told us it was gonna have to go because it's so old and they can't keep putting money into it and fix it up the way they should be fixed up for us to live in here. But my residents don't want to go," Rayton said.

When told in recent days by APN that Palmer House is not physically obsolete and can be refurbished with funds AHA has already set aside for relocation: "Well I think what they said was wrong. They just lied," Rayton said.

"I wanted a copy of the developers. She told me they don't have a copy of that because they don't have any developers," Rayton said.

Rayton also asked HUD for a copy of the demolition application.

"She said they don't have a copy of it. She told us we couldn't get one," Rayton said.

Rayton's Email to AHA and HUD

When local HUD would not provide Rayton a copy of the demolition application, after AHA never provided Rayton a copy, she emailed AHA director Renee Glover and carbon copied HUD officials in Chicago.

"I've ask [sic] several times for a copu [sic] of the demolition application, I would like to also know what will be did with this building and will some of the residents get to move back it they want to, I would like to know who are the developers that will get this building," Rayton wrote in an email dated March 10, 2008.

"I'm the resident president of the palmer house senior high rise and we're very concern that AHA didn't send us a copy of the demolition application before they submited [sic] it to HUD, we have serious concerns and questions about the demolition application that was submited to HUD on February 1, 2008 we feel that we be included in everthing [sic] that has to do with the Palmer House Senior High Rise because this is our home, this is where we live, we never had a chance to see the copy of the demolition application, my residents are asking me to see it and I don't have it to show them," Rayton wrote.

AHA’s Barney Simms responded to Rayton’s email on March 12, 2008.

"Ms. Glover forwarded to me your e-mail dated March 9, 2008 in which you requested a copy of the demolition application for Palmer House," Simms wrote, according to an email obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.

"I was not aware that you had requested a copy of the application before; however, I think it would be great for you and other Palmer House residents to have access to the application. Therefore, I will make sure that you receive a hand delivered copy of the application before the close of business on Friday of this week. I will also make another copy available so that it can be kept in the property management office so other Palmer House residents will have access to it," Simms wrote.

"In fact, I think your idea to provide the applications to the residents is such a wonderful idea that I will make available copies of the demolition applications for each affected community. One copy will be provided to the resident association president and another will be made available for residents' access within the property management office of the community," Simms wrote.
Rayton received her copy Friday of that week, she said.

Rayton believes it is unfair AHA did not involve the resident association in their planning.
AHA claims it has held over 20 meetings with the various resident associations, but these meetings typically involve AHA telling residents their plans.

"They made the plan by themselves. We didn't know anything about it. We really should have. If they didn't want to include the residents, I think the officers should have been included. When they did HOPE VI for Techwood/Clark Howell, they gave them the plans and everything. They sat down and talked with them about it," Rayton said.

Rayton is currently hopeful she will hear back from Mr. Rodins regarding her request. She is actively seeking support from various community leaders for her request as well, APN can report.

Rayton, along with other RAB Board members, has requested a sit-down meeting with HUD in Chicago and is waiting to see if HUD is willing.

"I would just like to ask them, could they just come back, reevaluate this building and let us stay here? This is our home. This is where we want to stay. We don't want to move out of Atlanta. We don't want to move out of Downtown Atlanta. We want to stay here. And if there's anything wrong with the building, could they just repair it and let us continue to live here? We have some residents live here 30 something years and they don't want to go anywhere," Rayton said.

About the author:
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for The Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.

US Representative John Lewis Disappoints Public Housing Residents

2008-04-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (April 05, 2008)

(APN) ATLANTA – Public housing resident leaders and advocates are disappointed with US Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) after a recent meeting in his Atlanta office, where they said he repeated Atlanta Housing Authority slogans and failed to question the agency’s planned mass displacement of thousands of Atlanta families.

The meeting held March 25, 2008, included US Rep. Lewis and his staff; Diane Wright, President of the Resident Advisory Board and Hollywood Courts; Shirley Hightower, President of Bowen Homes; Anita Beaty, Executive Director of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless; Lindsay Jones, private attorney for the RAB Board and Hollywood Courts; Carl Hartrampf of the Task Force; Renee Glover, Executive Director of Atlanta Housing Authority; Barney Simms, Vice President for External Affairs for AHA; and Jeffrey Walker, President of Bankhead Court who was brought by AHA.

"He declares it an arbitration," Jones recalled of US Rep. Lewis. "He leans to their [AHA’s] side and starts taking their arguments: Aren’t these high crime areas and don’t people want to get out of them? He sat on the other side of the room with them."

"They [Lewis and AHA] came in together. John Lewis was falling asleep," Wright told Atlanta Progressive News after the meeting, adding that his behavior appeared erratic, and that he kept waking up in outbursts.

"John Lewis was sitting there like he was tired to death. That man didn’t want to hear what Lindsay [Jones] had to say," Wright said.

"His aide always talk for him," Wright added. "It’s like that’s the Congressman and John Lewis just a shell."

"John Lewis asked Shirley [Hightower] if she thinks the Mayor and Housing Authority are doing this [allowing the crime in Bowen Homes] purposely? Shirley said yeah. John Lewis shouted I can’t believe that," Wright said, adding she believes AHA told him that to try to discredit the residents.

"Then he asked another question toward Shirley again, do you want your people to be in safe, affordable, sanitary housing?" Wright replied, adding that is an AHA slogan.

"The meeting was a serious disappointment," Beaty said. "We had asked for the meeting in order to get relief from Congress at the federal level for displacement and lack of due process the Housing Authority has engaged in this last year and a half."

The residents and leaders, including, for instance, City Councilwoman Felicia Moore, have already attempted arbitration with AHA.

"It is very difficult to negotiate with powerful forces who are interested in profit and land exchange and gentrification which is the declared value of the AHA," Beaty said.

"The casualties of gentrification are low-income individuals and families, who have a multiplicity of issues which keep them from competing in the marketplace," Beaty said.

"It seems so simple, to have looked at the documents and seen the blatant disregard for justice and fairness," Beaty said.

"In the past, ten to fifteen years ago, I felt clear that we did have a friend in Congress. I think now he seems to be very concerned about his election. The folks around him are concerned about being as noncontroversial as possible," Beaty said.

"He's being steered into avoiding issues where he has to take a side," Beaty said.

"When his district director announced the purpose of the meeting, I made it clear we wanted intervention, we had not asked for mediation," Beaty said.

"He announced it was a meeting to preside over whatever we could do to come together. In walked Renee Glover and Barney Simms and it was clear they'd been there," Beaty said. "I was shocked of his seeming lack of knowledge about homelessness. He completely accepted their argument that all those residents are criminals. He also seemed to believe that homeless people are mostly Black men who have addiction issues or mental illness," Beaty said.

Lewis’s Office alerted AHA and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper of their activities with the residents before they happened. APN knew about the meetings but did not report on them beforehand so that the AJC would not have time to bully him before Lewis decided what actions, if any, to take.

"Somebody in his office, probably the press secretary, has been alerting the press about his meetings with us almost to ensure it's not going to result in anything," Beaty said.

"They were almost trying to protect the meeting from appearing to be confrontation. It was just appalling, it made us all sick to our stomachs. I want him [Lewis] to do something to justify his [progressive] reputation and I want him to do it now. We so desperately need leadership in this City," Beaty said.

Congressman Lewis is being challenged in the Democratic Primary to be held in July 2008, by Rev. Markel Hutchins, who was a spokesman for the family of Kathryn Johnston, a 92 year-old woman who was killed by Atlanta Police last year. Hutchins criticizes Lewis for his previous endorsement of US Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) for President of the United States, arguing Lewis should have supported Obama.

Another possible contender has made their interests known to APN and is currently exploring fundraising for a challenge to Lewis. This person hopes to make an announcement by April 15, 2008.

RESIDENTS, ADVOCATES REACH OUT TO LEWIS - Resident leader Diane Wright was the first to reach out to Lewis in late February 2008.

"We have treid [sic] to reach out to the housing authority here but! to not avail they have shut an deaf ear to the residents the assocations [sic] to the fact of relocation plan, Congressman Lewis our rights have been volated [sic] and no one seen to but us, We know there is not enough housing in the merto [sic] Atlanta area to house these residents," Wright wrote in an email [spelling errors left for accuracy] to Ruth Fletcher, an assistant to Congressman Lewis’s Office, on February 29, 2008.

"We had no in put in the plan what so ever and hud is not helping us either. We sent resoltion [sic] in to hud with our resident saying they had no say but! it seem like we are the only persons that hears us is us, We thought this was America you know the great USA,But! there seem to be a war on poor people in America... We are asking for help because we need to live and keep a roof over our children too. Mr. Congressman we are asking if you would to meet with the remaining resident presidents of the assocations [sic] so you will really understand our concerns."

Wright never received a reply.

Then, State Rep. "Able" Mable Thomas suggested at a legislative hearing on March 07, 2008, that she and other lawmakers write a letter to Mr. Lewis urging his intervention.

"We are writing to you as a state legislative delegation over fair housing and due process concerns that were recently brought to our attention by constituents whom we share with you and reside in public housing in the City of Atlanta," State Rep. Thomas and others wrote in a letter to Lewis dated March 10, 2008.

Attached to the letter were statistics showing a lack of affordable housing in Atlanta and a recent report by Deirdre Oakley, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Georgia State University, showing voucher-leasing opportunities tend to be clustered in majority Black and high poverty neighborhoods.

Then, Anita Beaty of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless requested a meeting with US Rep. Lewis on March 12, 2008, working with Jared McKinley in his office.

Congressman Lewis’s Office agreed that he would visit a monthly coalition meeting convened by the Task Force, visit some of the remaining public housing communities, and would meet with residents and leaders.

Mr. Lewis did visit the Task Force meeting on Thursday, March 20, 2008, at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, where witnesses say he listened to a presentation by attorney Lindsay Jones, made a brief speech where he told residents "You have a friend," listened to testimony by two residents having problems with their vouchers, watched a video of resident testimony, and then quickly left to visit the communities.

"He did the dog and pony show. He said I'm down with the program. He spent five minutes in each community [Bowen Homes and Hollywood Courts]," Jones said.

When John Lewis arrived at Bowen Homes, Barney Simms from AHA showed up with police, Beaty said.

Hightower insisted Simms leave and eventually he did, Beaty said.

Lewis then visited Hollywood Courts where he gave a five minute speech to about 25 residents, Wright said. Lewis told the residents he wasn’t promising them anything, Wright said.
In all, Mr. Lewis never did take the time to learn the issues from the resident leaders and advocates before convening his mediation with AHA.

The AJC ran two news articles on the Lewis/AHA story, including one about a paragraph long, in addition to one opinions article. Mr. Lewis’s re-election campaign posted links to two of the articles on his website.

After the meeting, Lewis told the AJC he decided that he would support affordable housing tax credits in Congress, which does not in any way respond to the concerns of residents in danger of being displaced.

Mortgage Bill Passed by Senate Contains Little for Borrowers

2008-04-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

A Message from the Coalition on Human Needs:

On April 10, the Senate passed The Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008, H.R. 3221, a bill that favors lenders and builders and does precious little to address the plight of struggling borrowers in danger of foreclosure. The bill passed overwhelmingly by a vote of 84 to 12. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) said, “Quite candidly, what we’ve done here doesn’t quite live up to the title.” Provisions in the bill include:

· allowing homebuilders and other money-losing businesses to apply money lost in 2008 and 2009 to tax returns filed as far back as 2004 and claim immediate refunds at a three-year cost of $25 billion;

· creating a $7,000 tax credit for buyers of foreclosed homes;

· providing a standard deduction of $500 for single filers and $1,000 for joint filers for homeowners who are non-itemizers who pay property taxes;

· permanently raising the value of homes that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is allowed to insure to $550,000;

· providing $4 billion through the Community Development Block Grant program to communities to buy vacant foreclosed properties to rehabilitate for sale or rent;

· providing $150 million for community groups to offer housing counseling and $30 million for legal service attorneys to help borrowers;

· authorizing $10 billion in new tax-exempt bond authority for state and local housing agencies to refinance troubled mortgages.

During bill consideration an amendment supported by many advocates to allow bankruptcy judges to renegotiate the terms of mortgages on primary residences was rejected. Some opponents of the measure contend that any such negotiations should occur directly between homeowners and lenders. However, in many cases the mortgages have been packaged and resold numerous times and the current mortgage holder is not accessible.

Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ) and other analysts point out that that the most expensive tax provisions in the bill are likely to help large corporate homebuilders and yet do little for ordinary Americans who are affected by the dramatic downturn in home values. Some of the provisions are ill-designed, like the standard deduction for non-itemizers which provides no help to families without taxable income. The $7,000 tax credit for people who purchase foreclosed homes is likely to lead to higher prices for these homes. Some analysts are concerned that the bill’s provisions may provide some incentives for lenders to foreclose rather than negotiate new terms to enable owners to avoid loss of their homes.

Next, the bill will move to the House where last week the House Ways and Means Committee approved an $11 billion tax package that rejects help for home builders and offers a $7,500 tax credit to first-time homebuyers rather than buyers of foreclosed properties. The House Financial Services Committee hopes to add to legislation passed by the Senate a provision allowing the FHA to insure and guarantee an additional $300 billion in refinanced mortgages that have been restructured by mortgage holders and lenders to a level that the borrower can reasonably be expected to pay. Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-MA) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) both support this provision.

HUD Presents 2nd National Report to Congress on Homelessness in US.

2008-04-16T14:21:00.000-07:00

Following is the Executive Summary of the report with footnotes omitted and reformatting for copying purposes. The report can be viewed in it's entirety at: http://www.hudhre.info/documents/2ndHomelessAssessmentReport.pdf

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is pleased to present this second national report to Congress on homelessness in America. The first Annual Homeless Assessment Report (AHAR) was submitted in February 2007. These reports were developed in response to a series of Congressional directives beginning with the FY 2001 HUD Appropriations Act. In that year, Congress directed the Department to assist communities to implement local Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) and required every jurisdiction to have client-level reporting within three years. Senate Report 106-410 noted that HMIS data could be used to develop an unduplicated count of homeless people and to analyze the use and effectiveness of homeless assistance services. To that end, Congress further charged the Department with collecting and analyzing HMIS data from a representative sample of communities in order to understand the nature and extent of homelessness nationally.

The second AHAR makes use of two primary data sources. The first source is HMIS data on the number, characteristics, and patterns of shelter use among sheltered homeless persons— or persons who used emergency and transitional housing—during a six-month period from January 1 through June 30, 2006. The data were obtained from a nationally representative sample of communities. A total of 58 sample sites participated in the second AHAR, including 49 communities that participated in the first AHAR and 9 new sample communities that were not able to provide data for the first report. Because some sample communities are still working to secure the participation of homeless assistance providers in HMIS, not all could provide data for this analysis (or could provide only partial data). As a result, the estimates provided in this report have large confidence intervals (i.e., sampling error).

In addition to the sample communities, 16 communities, or “contributing communities,” that were not part of the original sample met the minimum requirements for participation and volunteered to provide their data for this second report. These communities, or “contributing”
sites, have advanced HMIS systems, and several had participated in the first AHAR. Their data help to improve the reliability of the national estimates.

The report also makes use of data provided by all Continuums of Care (CoCs) as part of their 2006 HUD application for funding. The CoC application data contain information on sheltered and unsheltered homeless persons on a single night in January 2006. While only for a single night, these point-in-time (PIT) data complement the HMIS data because they provide information on the number of unsheltered homeless persons and on the national inventory of homeless shelter beds.

The remainder of this Executive Summary reviews the key topics addressed in the AHAR:

l The number of homeless persons based on point-in-time counts;
l The number & characteristics of sheltered homeless persons based on longitudinal HMIS data;
l The nation’s capacity to house homeless persons;
l Where homeless persons receive shelter; and
l The patterns of shelter use in emergency shelter and transitional housing.

The Number of Homeless Persons at a Point in Time - According to CoC application data, the total number of homeless persons reported on a single night in January 2006 was 759,101. At this point in time, more than half of the nation’s homeless population (56 percent or nearly 428,000 persons) were sheltered, while 44 percent (331,000 persons) were unsheltered. Overall, these numbers represent a slight decrease when compared to the PIT data reported by the CoCs in 2005 (from 763,010 in 2005 to 759,101 in 2006)

This change is comprised of a decrease (-13,700) in the total number of unsheltered homeless persons, offset somewhat by an increase (+ 9,800) in the number of sheltered homeless persons. Of the nearly 428,000 people in shelter, approximately 52 percent were persons in households without children, while approximately 48 percent of the sheltered homeless were persons in households with children. By contrast, unsheltered homeless persons were more than twice as likely to be in households without children. Nearly 70 percent of unsheltered persons were in households without children, while approximately 30 percent were persons in households with children. Compared to data reported in the first AHAR, we find that the distribution of sheltered and unsheltered persons by household type remains essentially unchanged.

Point-in-time data from CoC applications also provide information about sheltered homeless subpopulations, including the number of persons who are chronically homeless. Ending chronic homelessness has been a goal of the Administration for several years. A chronically homeless person is defined as an unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who has either been continuously homeless for a year or more or has had at least four episodes of homelessness in the past three years. To be considered chronically homeless, a person must have been on the streets or in emergency shelter (i.e., not in transitional or permanent housing) during these stays.

Based on their PIT counts, CoCs reported a total of 155,623 chronically homeless people in their jurisdictions in January 2006. This represents approximately 21 percent of the total sheltered and unsheltered homeless population. Approximately 66 percent of chronically homeless individuals in January 2006 were unsheltered homeless persons, and 34 percent were sheltered homeless persons. Compared to 2005 data reported in the first AHAR the number of chronically homeless persons declined by 11.5 percent (from 175,914). The decline could be partially attributed to HUD’s ongoing efforts to address the special needs of this subpopulation by developing permanent supportive housing and providing local communities with technical assistance guidance for developing effective interventions. It may also be attributed to improved techniques among local communities to capture this information accurately.

The HMIS data provided by the AHAR sample allow for estimation of the number and characteristics of people using homeless services over time. The population of people using homeless services over time is different from the population at a single point in time. Point-in-time estimates capture a higher share of homeless individuals and families who use shelters or transitional housing for long periods of time and underrepresent people whose homelessness is episodic (cycling in and out of shelters) and people who have single, brief episodes of homelessness. Thus, HMIS data can provide a more accurate picture than point-in-time estimates of the characteristics and shelter use patterns of people who experience homelessness over a period of time.

Based on the HMIS data provided by the national AHAR sample, more than 1,150,000 total persons used emergency shelter and/or transitional housing nationwide from January through June 2006. Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of all shelter users during the six-month time period are homeless as individuals or in households without children. About one-quarter (27 percent) are members of households with children. By comparison, a much larger proportion of the nation’s poor (65 percent) and the total U.S. population (55 percent) are persons in households with children.

Other key findings about sheltered homeless persons based on six months of HMIS data include:
The majority of all shelter users (53 percent) are single adult males. By comparison, single adult men constitute just 23 percent of the U.S. population and 16 percent of the poverty population.

Children represent roughly 20 percent of all people who use the shelter system. This includes unaccompanied youth and children in households with adults. Although this is a lower percentage than that of children among the U.S. poverty population (35 percent), the number of children who not only are poor but also become homeless is a cause for concern.

Homelessness disproportionately affects minorities, especially African Americans. Minorities constitute one-third of the total U.S. population and about half of the poverty population, but about two-thirds of the sheltered homeless population. African-Americans are heavily overrepresented in the sheltered homeless population, representing about 44 percent of the sheltered homeless population but 23 percent of the poverty population and only 12 percent of the general population.

Fourteen percent of all homeless adults who accessed a shelter during the six-month time period are veterans. While underrepresented among the poverty population, veterans are overrepresented in the homeless shelter population when compared to the general population.

A significant proportion of the sheltered homeless population is disabled. Sheltered homeless adults are more than twice as likely to have a disability when compared to the general U.S. population. Approximately 38 percent of adults who used a shelter between January 1 and June 30, 2006 had a disabling condition compared to 30 percent of the poverty population and 17 percent of the total U.S. population.

The Nation’s Capacity to House Homeless Persons

According to 2006 CoC application data, there are approximately 406,586 emergency and transitional year-round beds nationwide. About one-half of the total year-round housing inventory (206,877 beds or 51 percent) is in emergency shelters, and the remaining inventory (199,709 or 49 percent) is in transitional housing programs. The mix of available year-round beds differs slightly across household types. There are more family beds in transitional housing (about 103,743 beds) than in emergency shelters (95,301 beds), and conversely, there are more individual beds in emergency shelters (111,576 beds) than in transitional housing (95,966 beds).
The 2006 inventory also includes approximately 21,769 seasonal beds and 55,047 overflow/voucher beds, which are used sporadically throughout the year depending on weather conditions and demand. If these beds are added to the total number of year-round shelter beds in emergency and transitional housing programs, the nation’s peak bed capacity for homeless persons is about 483,402 beds.

In addition to funding emergency shelter and transitional housing beds, HUD continues to encourage communities to develop permanent supportive housing for formerly homeless persons. Overall, there are about 196,626 permanent supportive housing beds in the nation’s bed inventory. Approximately 56 percent of the beds (109,351) are in projects serving unaccompanied individuals, while the rest (87,275) are in projects serving families.

Where Homeless Persons Receive Shelter - Homelessness is, in general, concentrated in central cities. Based on data from the 2006 AHAR sample, approximately 75 percent of homeless persons are in central cities rather than in suburban or rural areas. This is roughly double the proportion of the poverty population in central cities and three times the proportion of the U.S. population in central cities.

Mobility patterns among homeless people most likely account for much of these differences. A 1996 study of people using homeless assistance services indicates that only 28 percent of homeless persons began their homeless spell in a central city (which is only a little higher than the share of the population living in central cities), and 44 percent of homeless persons left the community where their current homeless spell began. The AHAR data suggest that much of this mobility among homeless persons consists of moving from suburban or rural areas to central cities. There are many possible reasons for such mobility, including movement to more densely populated areas to find jobs, to be closer to relatives who may provide support, or to access the greater variety of homeless residential and supportive services that may be available in a larger city.

Patterns of Shelter Use in Emergency Shelter and Transitional Housing - More than three-quarters of all those served by homeless residential programs between January and June 2006 used emergency shelters only. About 18 percent used transitional housing programs only, and a small share (3.5 percent) accessed both types of residential services.

The length of stay in emergency shelters and transitional housing is very different for families with children than for individuals. For emergency housing only, about 19 percent of the persons in households with children stayed a week or less compared to 40 percent of unaccompanied females and 45 percent of unaccompanied males. At the same time, 7 percent of persons in families stayed at an emergency shelter every night (181 nights) during the study period compared to less than one percent of unaccompanied individuals. The median length of stay in emergency shelter for persons in families was 37 days compared to 17 days for unaccompanied females and 12 days for unaccompanied males.

There are also differences in length of stay between individuals and households with children who were served in transitional housing during the six-month reporting period for the second AHAR. The median length of stay for persons in households with children was 135 days compared to 94 days for unaccompanied females and 72 days for unaccompanied males. Transitional housing programs usually allow clients to stay for up to two years while working toward a permanent housing solution, so it not surprising that many people stayed there during the entire six-month (or 181 days) reporting period. Almost one-third (30 percent) of persons in families stayed in transitional housing the entire study period compared to only 13 percent of unaccompanied males. The share of unaccompanied females staying the whole period was close to that of persons in families (27 percent).

Looking Ahead - Participating communities have made much progress since the start of the AHAR 2 data collection period in early 2006, but additional work is needed to increase the precision of the estimates and the breadth of information reported. HUD is continuing outreach and technical assistance activities to help communities increase the number of providers participating in HMIS and improve the quality and usefulness of data for local needs. These efforts will also enable more communities to participate in AHAR. Simultaneously, HUD continues to provide technical assistance to communities on conducting one-night street and shelter counts, which will continue to be the source of information on the unsheltered homeless population in future AHAR reports.

HMIS implementation has progressed to the point that communities should now be able to provide data for an entire year. Since the third AHAR will cover a one-year period (October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007), HMIS data will also be able to provide more detailed patterns of service use for people experiencing homelessness. This will help clarify the picture of current homeless service use and the needs of people experiencing homelessness.

Editor Note: Added the 1st report for review

The Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress(February 2007, 98 pages)

State Committee Convenes Hearing on Public Housing

2008-04-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

By Jonathan Springston, Senior Staff Writer, Atlanta Progressive News (March 10, 2008)

(APN) ATLANTA – The Housing and Economic Development Committee of the Georgia State House of Representatives met Friday, March 07, 2008, to listen to testimony concerning Atlanta’s campaign to demolish all remaining public housing in Atlanta.

"We all knew we had to do something," State Rep. Mable Thomas, Chair of the Committee, said. "We all sort of came together to see what we could do."

Several legislators, including State Reps. Margaret Kaiser and Pat Gardner, joined Thomas to hear hours of testimony about the Atlanta Housing Authority’s (AHA) deceptive practices in dealing with public housing residents.

One purpose of the hearing was to document, with a court reporter and video recording, resident and community concerns regarding the demolition applications for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Also, the legislators are considering possible actions they can take to prevent residents from being forcibly displaced and possibly made homeless.

APN’s News Editor, Matthew Cardinale presented an analysis of the demolition applications AHA has drafted for Hollywood Courts, to raise concerns about AHA’s claims that the buildings are obsolete, question where is AHA’s evidence that there are adequate voucher-leasing opportunities for residents, and show that there was a lack of consultation with residents and the public. See: http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0303.html

APN is offering an opportunity to our readers to submit their written comments on the demolition applications to HUD. Please email them to demolitioninput@gmail.com. APN will bundle them together on April 01, 2008, and forward them to HUD, seeing as how AHA never solicited public input regarding the applications.

The applications are online for review at: http://www.homelesstaskforce.org/demolitions.html
"The burden that is about to be placed on [public housing residents] is overwhelming," Boubacar Sarr, Arts Director for the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, said at the hearing.
The AHA is calling for the relocation of 9,600 public housing residents and demolition of over 3,000 units of permanent public housing.

Once gone, this land will be turned over to private developers for redevelopment.

Sarr and Tony Thomas, Public Relations Coordinator for the Task Force, went to Bowen Homes and Hollywood Courts and taped interviews with numerous residents who said they have no idea where they are going, are confused by the process, and are not ready to leave.

"The Housing Authority has been misrepresenting to HUD... that they have consulted with tenants," Lindsay Jones, an attorney working with public housing residents facing eviction, said.
HUD has yet to approve the AHA’s demolition and relocation plans for the last remaining large family developments in Atlanta as well as two senior highrises: Bankhead Courts, Bowen Homes, Hollywood Courts, Herndon Homes, Thomasville Heights, Palmer House, and Roosevelt House.
APN reported months ago that the AHA included falsified documentation in its application to HUD, including sending in fabricated meeting notes showing they had properly consulted with residents.

While the AHA claims 96 percent of all public housing residents want to move out, Jones said he has collected numerous affidavits from residents of Bowen Homes and Hollywood Courts saying they want more consultation from the AHA.

Also, as previously reported by APN, AHA’s claim is based on AHA asking residents to fill out a 4 inch by six inch card, with the question, "Would you like the opportunity to receive a Housing Choice Voucher?" Residents, who were already told AHA was planning to demolish their homes, likely thought this was their opportunity to sign up for a voucher, not that they were telling HUD they wanted the demolitions to proceed.

Jones urged the Committee to draft emergency legislation calling for a moratorium on all public housing demolition and relocation plans.

THE VOUCHER MYTH - The AHA claims every resident that wants a voucher will receive one and, in turn, be able to find another place to live anywhere they want.

Jones noted vouchers have a life of 90 days, meaning once a resident receives a voucher, she has 90 days to find another place to live or lose the voucher.

He also pointed out that there is only a year-to-year obligation to fund vouchers and a landlord can opt out of accepting vouchers after one year.

“The Housing Authority says it has the authority to extend the life of a voucher beyond 90 days [but] they refuse to put any of these promises in writing that is legally enforceable,” Jones said.
“If the Housing Authority is saying you can move to Buckhead and Druid Hills, it ain’t gonna happen,” Deirdre Oakley, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Georgia State University who focuses on urban development, said.

Oakley noted that voucher holders are moving into housing primarily in the southeast and southwest portions of Atlanta, which she added are racially segregated with high poverty levels.
"Voucher housing does little to deconcentrate poverty," she said.

Jones noted moving residents into such neighborhoods could be a violation of the federal Fair Housing Act, which prohibits racial steering in housing opportunities.

"They have treated us almost like we are not human," Shirley Hightower, President of Bowen Homes resident association, said of the AHA. "They have no respect for anybody."

Much of the public housing scheduled for demolition rests on land targeted for redevelopment under the Beltline initiative, Jones said.

AHA proposes that private developers receive publicly subsidized land transfers and other public subsidies to assist them in financing and building privately owned mixed-use developments. This includes a recent request to the City of Atlanta for over $250 million.
Jones also urged the Committee to draft legislation that would call for mandatory inclusionary zoning laws that would force developers to set aside 10 to 15 percent of the units in these new developments for low-income residents.

THE HOUSING GAP - It is unclear where public housing residents are expected to live once they are removed from public housing. Atlanta is facing a serious crisis when it comes to affordable housing.

Atlanta currently has an 81,000-unit shortfall for families making under $22,000 and a 137,000-unit shortfall for families making under $40,000, according to a recent study conducted by Georgia Tech.

The AHA has yet to address how it will provide replacement housing that is consistent with the Fair Housing Act.

"What matter of people are we dealing with," Hightower asked. "Somebody’s got to put these people in check. Somebody must put an end to this demolition plan until we know where we’re going."

"It’s sad I have to come before you and beg for help," Hightower told the Committee. "We’re asking you for your help to do all you can. We need someone to step up so we can have some security."

Dr. Larry Keating, a former Professor of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech, said that the history of public housing demolition in Atlanta has been about gentrification and continued segregation.

Keating suggested the State could provide Housing Authorities with funds directly for housing repairs, as well as restrict any funding to Housing Authorities that actually house low-income people.

ANALYSIS: AHA Demolition Applications Raise Questions

2008-04-16T13:52:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (3/09/08)

(APN) ATLANTA – Public housing demolition applications to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for all the remaining large family developments in Atlanta raise serious questions about Atlanta Housing Authority’s arguments that the buildings are physically obsolete, about where the displaced residents would be going, and about the agency’s lack of resident and public consultation, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

APN intensively reviewed the demolition application for Hollywood Courts, about 1,000 pages long, having obtained a copy of that and two other applications, for Bankhead Courts and Bowen Homes, from City Councilwoman Felicia Moore.

APN is offering an opportunity to our readers to submit their written comments on the demolition applications to HUD. Please email them to demolitioninput@gmail.com. APN will bundle them together on April 01, 2008, and forward them to HUD, seeing as how AHA never solicited public input regarding the applications.

The applications are online for review at: http://www.homelesstaskforce.org/demolitions.html -

Moore received the three applications for about one month of review from AHA after the City Council of Atlanta approved last month a resolution, overriding a veto from Mayor Shirley Franklin, asking AHA to provide Moore the applications for review and comment. Moore introduced the legislation after APN fought to obtain five previous applications in 2007 from AHA and HUD, who would not release them voluntarily. Those applications showed, among other things, Mayor Franklin had been signing off on the demolitions without Council knowledge, review, or input.

About two weeks ago, Moore also sent questions about the applications to AHA, which they will answer at Tuesday’s Community Development and Human Resources Committee meeting of the City Council, March 11, 2008 at 1230pm. Moore said the meeting was scheduled even though she will be out of town that day.

As to whether the answers will be satisfactory, “I don’t know. I will have to watch the tape and I understand Ms. Glover sent some information to me Friday afternoon. They waited to the very last second to respond to me. They didn’t leave me any time to do anything about it and I’m not happy about that,” Councilwoman Moore told APN.

APN submitted a 19 page letter about the applications, including 82 questions and several comments, to AHA, Friday, March 07, 2008; APN copied HUD on the letter. Councilwoman Moore also forwarded these to AHA. AHA has not yet responded.

AHA BY-PASSED COUNCIL ON FOUR APPLICATIONS - APN can reveal that AHA has already submitted demolition applications in early February 2008 for two senior highrises, Palmer House and Roosevelt House, and two family developments, Herndon Homes and Thomasville Heights. APN will be discussing the senior highrise situation further in an upcoming article.

However, AHA appears to have submitted the applications to HUD improperly, while at the same time deceiving the City Council that the CD/HR Committee would receive copies for review at least three weeks prior to submission to HUD.

On February 04, 2008, the Full Council unanimously approved a resolution incorporating the following promise by AHA:

"AHA will provide to CD/HR Committee of city council a draft copy of any proposed demolition/disposition application, that, when implemented, would result in the permanent relocation of the majority of the affected families from an AHA development, at least three weeks before AHA submits the application to HUD," (AHA Letter to Felicia Moore and City Council, 2/4/08).

One of the four applications was received by HUD on February 05, 2008, according to HUD’s website, after the resolution, which incorporated the above letter, was approved unanimously by Council. The others were received on February 01, 2008, while AHA was still in negotiations with Felicia.

"I think it goes to good faith. They were negotiating this, but I don’t know if they did anything other than what they intended to do," Lindsay Jones, private attorney for the residents, including the Resident Advisory Board and Hollywood Courts resident association, said. "Everything they did appears to be for political cover."

Eleanor Rayton, President of the Palmer House resident association, said she was left stranded by the Office of Councilman Ivory Lee Young, who has publicly made many comments concerning the senior relocations, after AHA sent representatives to Palmer House, asking them to sign letters the seniors did not understand.

"It was an assistant to him, the lady who I talked to. I called his office and she called me back. She said, they did not have anything to do with what Housing do. And Housing didn’t have to come through them for nothing," Rayton told Atlanta Progressive News.

"Well I feel like that was a let down to the residents and I felt like we just didn’t have nobody to help us,” Rayton said, adding she was surprised “and I was very disappointed."

Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who is on the CD/HR Committee and exploring a run for Mayor in 2009, did not return a voice message left by APN over a week ago concerning the senior citizens.

BOGUS JUSTIFICATION FOR DEMOLITIONS - Justification for the demolitions is one of the major problems with the application for Hollywood Courts, reviewed by APN.

In order to justify the demolition of Hollywood Courts, AHA argues the demolition meets the Two Part Obsolescence Test, and certifies that "the project... is obsolete as to physical condition, location, or other factors, making it unsuitable for housing purposes, and no reasonable program of modifications is cost-effective to return the public housing project or portion of the project to useful life," (Application Form, Pages 4-5).

AHA provides a report by Praxis 3 architectural firm to argue that it is more cost effective to tear down and completely rebuild Hollywood Courts (HC), than to refurbish the existing structures, in order to provide the figures on Page 5 of the application.

AHA and Praxis 3 argue that it would cost 1.9% more to refurbish HC than to completely tear it down and start anew, aside from the fact that Hollywood Courts residents would not be living at the new site in the latter scenario.

AHA and Praxis 3 state it would cost $32,858,073 to refurbish HC and $32,248,700 to tear it down and rebuild.

This argument is extremely problematic based on how Praxis 3 calculates the cost of refurbishing HC as well as the "obsolescence report," which states that the buildings are structurally sound.

As to the obsolescence report, AHA claimed in its resolution to demolish HC on January 17, 2008, that "the Hollywood Courts buildings continue to deteriorate steadily and are in a condition of severe physical distress."

AHA claimed in its attachment for Section 6, Line 1: "The report details the physical obsolescence of the property."

However, Praxis 3's report states "The buildings, with exceptions noted below, are structurally sound," (p. 3). The only structural issues raised are pest infestation and "that the storm sewer system is overflowing during heavy rains," the latter of which is not an issue with the buildings but an issue with the City which would affect any rebuilt property as well (p. 3).

Praxis 3 does not even use the term physical obsolescence. They use the term "market obsolescence."

Praxis 3 indicates what they mean by market obsolescence when they describe their recommendations for bringing HC up to market standards. "Local Market studies indicate that each unit should have dedicated water heater and HVAC systems with air conditioning," instead of wall units, (p. 2).

"Market analyses indicate the existing units are too small. An addition to the rear of the units provides for the inclusion of the new mechanical room, enlargement of kitchen/dining areas, rearrangement and enlargement of bedroom/closet areas, and an additional bathroom," (p. 2).
A closer examination of the numbers reveals that AHA's submission highly inflates the cost of refurbishing Hollywood Courts, thus making its cost-comparison to demolishing HC fallacious and deceptive.

HUD requires AHA undertake an analysis of the cost of refurbishing, it asks for a "reasonable program of modifications... to return the public housing project or portion of the project to useful life;” not market conditions, but "useful life"; not a list of ideal add-ons, aesthetics, and luxury amenities, but "a reasonable program of modifications."

In order to argue the buildings are physically obsolete and deteriorating, AHA said they would forcibly displace residents because AHA could not afford about $338,350 for landscaping, $60,600 for play areas, $25,000 for new site furnishings, $330,000 for new swimming pool, $25,000 for new athletic amenities, $15,000 for vehicular gates when these already exist, $194,000 for a new perimeter fence when this already exists, $171,000 for adding concrete patios, $303,000 for privacy fences and gates, $404,000 for upgrading existing exterior finishes, $707,000 for new roofing, $2,727,000 for new front porches, $300,000 for a new management center, when this already exists, $190,000 for new community center, when this already exists, $931,826 for new carpet, when carpet not mentioned in report, $487,830 for new doors inside, $397,940 for new doors outside, $401,576 for door hardware, $1,272,600 for new glaze windows, $202,808 for new mini blinds, $404,000 for new stair treads and railings, plus new walls, kitchen and bathroom renovations, new closet walls, constructing additions to the rear of units, central air and heat, new water heaters, and washer/dryer hookups.

When subtracting items in Praxis 3's analysis that appear to be unnecessary and unreasonable towards addressing the minimal physical issues laid out in its analysis, the actual cost to refurbish HC is only a fraction of the cost to develop a new property, and is likely less than the cost of relocating residents.

AHA appears to have put all of these expenses in there to make it seem like it's more expensive to fix it up than tear it down, to make a false case for obsolescence to HUD.

RELOCATION PLANS: WHERE ARE THEY GOING? - The main question that is not addressed in these relocation plans is: Where is AHA's evidence that there are available voucher-leasing opportunities for the residents who would be displaced?

HUD asks a Housing Authority in the relocation plans to "describe, generally, the availability of rental housing to voucher holders in the metropolitan area over the planned period of relocation. What is the vacancy rate? Is there a shortage of such housing?"

In AHA's answer they write, "Atlanta has experienced a soft rental market for the past several years.

According to REIS Rental Market Data, there were approximately 3,564 property vacancies in the Atlanta/Fulton submarket, and over 28,767 vacancies in the metro Atlanta area as of mid-year 2007," (Relocation Plan, Page 10).

However, this data gives property vacancies, not, as HUD inquires, "availability of rental housing to voucher holders." A listing of vacant properties does not even mean that those units are affordable, and therefore able to be covered under the limits on the vouchers established by AHA under the voucher program.

In a meeting AHA held with resident leaders in December 2007, City Councilwoman Felicia Moore requested copies of "studies" that AHA alleged having from their developer partners showing that there are available housing opportunities.

"Your comment was the developers have insured [sic] you that there are enough units within the city of Atlanta. Well, I'd like to see that documentation from developers. You said you've done these studies. I'd like to see those studies," Councilwoman Moore said on December 18, 2007.

"All right. Well, we'll work with you on that and I'm sure you can get some closure," AHA Director Renee Glover said.

Councilwoman Moore has still yet to receive those studies that AHA promised regarding available units.

Deirdre Oakley, an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Georgia State University has produced a report, of which APN has obtained a copy, showing that those landlords in Atlanta who do accept vouchers tend to be spatially clustered in regions that are almost all majority Black, have high poverty rates, high unemployment rates, and high rates of single mothers.

Oakley's research is based on data from HUD regarding voucher leasing-opportunities contained in a 2000 HUD report called Picture of Subsidized Housing. This counters AHA's claims that residents have the "choice" to stay in the City and move where they want. Also, it contradicts the notion that any substantial de-concentration of poverty or "quality of life" improvements are occurring for public housing residents.

Oakley found that in the geographical clusters in Atlanta where there's high percentage of voucher housing: 94% of the clusters are majority Black, poverty rate is 35%, 61% female headed households, 19% unemployment. The majority of the vouchers are in Southeast and Southwest Atlanta.

"All of the Section 8 opportunities are within the African American community. Demolishing... only reinforces the segregated policies of the past. They haven’t demonstrated how they’re going to promote and secure Fair Housing Opportunities. That’s what their relocation plan is missing," Jones told APN.

"They certify this plan is going to be consistent with the Fair Housing Act. Based on Deirdre’s analysis, that doesn’t appear possible," Jones said. "They’re going to steer those tenants, based on the market, back into those communities. You cannot require landlords outside these areas to take those vouchers. If you offer incentives to landlords who aren’t interested in affordable housing, because of social concerns, they’re maintaining discriminatory practices. Those incentives aren’t enough to overcome this."

While AHA argues there is available rental housing in Atlanta, "There’s been a surplus in more affluent apartments, of $1500-2000 per month. The question is whether the landlords will take in Section 8 certificates. First, they’d have to come down in rents," Jones said.

"Are the management companies and investors that built them going to have the political will to put people of low-income who have been marginalized for some time in the same buildings with people who pay cash for their rent? And driving people with discriminatory fears out of those complexes, turning those apartments into Section 8 rental? I don’t think they’re going to do that historically. Why would that change? Because the Housing Authority wanted to happen?" Jones said.

There is a lack of affordable housing available in Atlanta, according to a study by David Sawicki at Georgia Tech University City and Planning Department. "The City of Atlanta has a deficiency in affordable housing of approximately 137,191 units. Fifty-nine percent (81,191 units) of this housing deficiency represents units having rents less than $600 per month," the Sawicki report states.

AHA writes that public housing residents with a criminal background will not be eligible for a voucher but will receive a one-time payment, the amount of which is not disclosed in the application.

AHA does not address what will happen to residents with poor credit who are not able to obtain a lease in the private market, except to say that they will receive counseling. However, counseling may not be enough if people truly have bad credit that cannot be repaired in a short time.

AHA also states residents will have 90 days to find a place to live with the voucher, but does not specify what will happen to a resident who does not find a place to live within that time frame.
AHA stated during the consultation with resident leaders at the Loudermilk Center on December 18, 2007, that it currently uses hotel rooms for residents who are not able to be successfully relocated. It is unclear how many hotel rooms AHA has booked for displaced residents so far and at what cost to taxpayers.

LACK OF RESIDENT CONSULTATION - As APN has reported previously in depth, AHA continues to proceed with its plans without having had meaningful consultation with residents.
According to AHA: "During one of these [consultation] meetings, AHA polled the residents as to their preference to either remain at Hollywood Court or to receive a Housing Choice Voucher to relocate. One hundred percent (100%) of the 22 residents attending the meeting and participating in the survey expressed their desire to receive a voucher to relocate out of the community."

However, the survey consists a 4 inch by 6 inch card which states: "Please check your answer to the following question: Would you like the opportunity to receive a Housing Choice Voucher (HCV). Yes. No."

Thus, it is completely deceptive of AHA to state as it does in the application to HUD that it polled residents whether they want to stay in HC or move. Staying in HC was not an option included in AHA's so-called survey. The poll did not even ask them if they wanted to move.

"We did the surveys, these four by six cards, do you want an opportunity? We’ve been brainwashing you about the demolitions. Do you want a lifeline or not?" Jones said of AHA and the cards. "They create events and then they interpret them."

However, only two cards were provided in the applications and Diane Wright, President of Hollywood Courts and the RAB Board, says her residents left the cards on the floor when they came in April 2007. She says they did not come in July 2007, although AHA claims they did.
A vast majority of residents of Hollywood Courts have signed a petition stating that they do not want to move and support legal action to prevent them from having to move, which have already been sent certified to HUD. APN obtained a recent copy of the petition with 115 signatures.

AHA promised to provide the resident leaders with copies of the demolition applications and transcripts from the meetings in the various public housing communities at a December 18, 2007, meeting. AHA has failed to provide these documents to the resident leaders.

As previously reported by APN, AHA states they consulted with the RAB Board on February 14, 2007. However, as APN has already documented to HUD, the minutes provided by AHA are not the actual minutes of the RAB Board. AHA’s Barney Simms has already admitted this. However, AHA included the fabricated Minutes again in this round of applications to HUD.

AHA provided the following description as a summary of all comments and concerns received by HC residents: They wanted to know exactly how the voucher program works. They expressed concern for paying utilities. And "Hollywood Court residents expressed a desire to move earlier than AHA's proposed relocation start date."

A review of the applications for Bowen Homes and Bankhead Courts shows that AHA used the exact same language to summarize the alleged three concerns of all three resident associations.
That there would be no variation at all between the three is highly unlikely.

AHA did not include a copy of the RAB Board resolution opposing the demolitions in the application.

AHA stated they would submit the demolition applications after March 10, 2008, to HUD. It usually takes HUD between two and four months to review an application. Residents are currently working with their attorney to file for an injunction. Meanwhile, the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless has been collecting video statements and written affidavits from residents.

Foreclosed Homes Occupied by Homeless

2008-04-16T11:06:00.000-07:00

By THOMAS J. SHEERAN - Associated Press Writer - Monday, February 18, 2008

The nation's foreclosure crisis has led to a painful irony for homeless people: On any given night they are outnumbered in some cities by vacant houses, and some street people are taking advantage of the opportunity by becoming squatters.

Foreclosed homes often have an advantage over boarded-up and dilapidated houses abandoned because of rundown conditions: Sometimes the heat, lights and water are still working.
"That's what you call convenient," said James Bertan, 41, an ex-convict and self-described "bando," or someone who lives in abandoned houses.

While no one keeps numbers of below-the-radar homeless finding shelter in properties left vacant by foreclosure, homeless advocates agree the locations — even with utilities cut off — would be inviting to some. There are risks for squatters, including fires from using candles and confrontations with drug dealers, prostitutes, copper thieves or police.

"Many homeless people see the foreclosure crisis as an opportunity to find low-cost housing (FREE!) with some privacy," Brian Davis, director of the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, said in the summary of the latest census of homeless sleeping outside in downtown Cleveland.

The census had dropped from 40 to 17 people. Davis, a board member of the National Coalition for the Homeless, cited factors including the availability of shelter in foreclosed homes, aggressive sidewalk and street cleaning and the relocation of a homeless feeding site. He said there are an average 4,000 homeless in Cleveland on any given night. There are an estimated 15,000 single-family homes vacant due to foreclosure in Cleveland and suburban Cuyahoga County.

In Texas, Larry James, president and chief executive officer of Central Dallas Ministries, said he wasn't surprised that homeless might be taking advantage of vacant homes in residential neighborhoods beyond the reach of his downtown agency.

"There are some campgrounds and creek beds and such where people would be tempted to walk across the street or climb out of the creek bed and sneak into a vacant house," he said.

Bertan, who doesn't like shelters because of the rules, said he has been homeless or in prison for drugs and other charges for the past nine years. He has noticed the increased availability of boarded-up homes amid the foreclosure crisis.

He said a "fresh building" — recently foreclosed — offered the best prospects to squatters.
"You can be pretty comfortable for a little bit until it gets burned out," he said as he made the rounds of the annual "stand down" where homeless in Cleveland were offered medical checkups, haircuts, a hot meal and self-help information.

Shelia Wilson, 50, who was homeless for years because of drug abuse problems, also has lived in abandoned homes, and for the same reason as Bertan: She kept getting thrown out of shelters for violating rules. "Every place, I've been kicked out of because of drugs," she said.

Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, hasn't seen evidence of increased homeless moving into foreclosed homes but isn't surprised. He said anecdotal evidence — candles burning in boarded-up homes, a squatter killed by a fire set to keep warm — shows the determination of the homeless to find shelter.

Davis said Cleveland's high foreclosure rate and the proximity of downtown shelters to residential neighborhoods has given the city a lead role in the homeless/foreclosure phenomenon.

Many cities roust homeless from vacant homes, which more typically will be used by drug dealers or prostitutes than a homeless person looking for a place to sleep, Stoops said.
Police across the country must deal with squatters and vandalism involving vacant homes:

- In suburban Shaker Heights, which has $1 million homes on wide boulevards, poorer neighborhoods with foreclosed homes get extra police attention.

- East of San Francisco, a man was arrested in November on a code violation while living without water service in a vacant home in Manteca, Calif., which has been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis.

- In Cape Coral, Fla., a man arrested in September in a foreclosed home said he had been living there since helping a friend move out weeks earlier.

Bertan and Wilson agreed that squatting in a foreclosed home can be dangerous because the locations can attract drug dealers, prostitutes and, eventually, police.

William Reed, 64, a homeless man who walks with a cane, thumbed through a shoulder bag holding a blue-bound Bible, notebooks with his pencil drawings and a plastic-wrapped piece of bread as he sat on a retainer wall in the cold outside St. John Cathedral in downtown Cleveland. He's gone inside empty homes but thinks it's too risky to spend the night.

Even the inviting idea of countless foreclosed empty homes didn't overcome the possible risk of entering a crack house.

"Their brains could be burned up," said Reed, who didn't want to detail where he sleeps at night.
Sometimes it's hard to track where the homeless go.

In Philadelphia, the risk is too great to send case workers into vacant homes to check for homeless needing help, said Ed Speedling, community liaison with Project H.O.M.E. "We're very, very wary of going inside. There's danger. I mean, if the floor caves in. There's potential danger: Sometimes they are still owned by someone," Speedling said.

William Walker, 57, who was homeless for seven years and now counsels drifters at a sprawling warehouse-turned-shelter overlooking Lake Erie, has seen people living in foreclosed homes in his blue-collar neighborhood in Cleveland. He estimated that three or four boarded-up homes in his neighborhood have homeless living there from time to time.

Sometimes homeless men living in tents in a nearby woods disappear from their makeshift homes, Walker said. "The guys who were there last year are not there now. Are they in the (foreclosed) homes? I don't know. They are just not in their places," Walker said.

AHA Defrauds, By-Passes Council, Fails to Answer Questions

2008-04-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (April 13, 2008)

(APN) ATLANTA – Atlanta Housing Authority’s Vice President for External Affairs, Barney Simms, made a fraudulent claim to the City Council of Atlanta, on Tuesday, March 11, 2008, about its promise to consult with the Community Development and Human Resources Committee regarding demolition applications.

"I wanted to point out that the Atlanta Housing Authority has already submitted the applications to HUD for Palmer House senior high rise, Roosevelt House senior high rise, Herndon Homes, and Thomasville Heights," the present writer told Council during public comments lasting about fifteen minutes."

The residents, resident leaders were not notified that they were sent. And the reason that is a problem is the date that they sent the applications... Remember how AHA made those voluntary measures and those were incorporated into Felicia Moore’s second resolution which replaced the ordinance? I wanted to tell you about one of those voluntary measures," the present writer said.

On February 04, 2008, the Full Council unanimously approved a resolution incorporating the following promise by AHA:"AHA will provide to CD/HR Committee of city council a draft copy of any proposed demolition/disposition application, that, when implemented, would result in the permanent relocation of the majority of the affected families from an AHA development, at least three weeks before AHA submits the application to HUD," AHA wrote."I’m sure that the Committee will be troubled that they did not have the opportunity. Obviously they couldn’t have had three weeks cause they were sent... one of them was received by HUD a day after this resolution passed, first of all. Second of all, the other three were received on February 1st, three days before the resolution passed, but that basically means that AHA was in negotiations with Felicia and the other Members of the Council... and then sending those applications into HUD without doing that," the present writer said.

"One of the things I wanted to make certain that you and your Committee understood, the Housing Authority never promised we would not submit the applications forward to HUD. We promised we would not submit the three applications that include those in Felicia Moore’s District," Simms said.

Simms’s statement was fraudulent, however.APN obtained a second copy of the resolution directly from the Clerk’s Office, minutes after Simms’s remarks, and distributed copies of the resolution to all Committee Members and personally informed Maddox of the documentation as well.

Anita Beaty of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless told the Committee in her remarks that AHA’s statement had been verified as false and that AHA had indeed by-passed Council.

AHA DEFLECTS APN’S QUESTIONS

After promising to Council that they would respond to APN’s 82 questions about the demolition applications, which were hand delivered to Renee Glover’s Office on March 10, 2008, and presented to CD/HR on March 11, 2008, AHA’s response was more of a non-response.

"Thank you for your comments and questions regarding Atlanta Housing Authority’s (AHA) draft demolition applications for Bankhead Courts, Bowen Homes, and Hollywood Courts. AHA has reviewed your comments and will consider them as we finalize those demolition applications to be submitted to... (HUD). We will also share your questions and comments along with a copy of this response as part of the submission to HUD," Simms wrote in a letter to Atlanta Progressive News dated March 12, 2008.

Dozens of Hollywood Courts residents have signed a petition, which will be sent to HUD, demanding, "WE WANT REAL ANSWERS!"

AHA’S RESPONSE TO FELICIA MOORE QUESTIONS

"I don’t have a formal presentation," Simms told the Committee. "I just wanted to... share with you and your Committee that the Housing Authority has addressed and answered all of Councilwoman Felicia Moore’s questions regarding demolition applications for Bankhead Courts, Bowen Homes, and Hollywood Courts."

Simms stated that Renee Glover was absent because she was in Washington, D.C.."I’m also happy to report to you that we have completed Phase One of the AHA Quality of Life Initiative and that ended February 29th and we moved a total of 694 families successfully. The projects that we moved the families away from were Inglewood Manor, Jonesboro North, Jonesboro South, Leila Valley, and U-Rescue..."

It is unclear whether the families were moved “successfully,” however, as AHA has admitted many residents end up in hotel rooms; AHA has provided no evidence of available voucher leasing-opportunities; and such opportunities have been concentrated in poor, Black neighborhoods.

Diane Wright, President of Hollywood Courts and the Resident Advisory Board, said she has heard residents were told AHA didn’t care where they went, even if they had to go live with relatives, but that they had to leave.

"And I believe we shared with you answers to those questions we received from the Councilwoman," Simms said."We did receive the questions and the answers that you all provided to [sic]. And I sent a letter or memo to Ms. Moore who is unable to be with us today to ask her to review it. And to, if she’s satisfied with the answers or she has further answers, of course she can get back in touch with you all," Chairman Jim Maddox said."I have not heard back from her from that memo, pointing out any one that she’s, one way or the other, whether she’s satisfied or not quite satisfied, I really haven’t heard back," Maddox said.

Maddox asked Council Members if they had questions and none did.

AHA ABSENT FOR PUBLIC TESTIMONY, BRIEFLY RETURNS

At that point, Simms and AHA staff and attorneys prepared to leave."I would suggest that you hang around because we have some other people have signed up and they may have questions for you, I don’t know," Maddox said.

"All right, thank you, Ms. Glover is not in the office today so I will step out for a moment and I’ll come back," Simms said.AHA staff and attorneys then left.

Cheri Mitchell, of People First of Georgia, then spoke about her concerns regarding the disabled.The present writer, Matthew Cardinale, spoke next, presenting an analysis of the demolition applications for Bankhead Courts, Bowen Homes, and Hollywood Courts.For more information about APN’s analysis of the applications, please see: http://www.atlantaprogressivenews.com/news/0303.html

"First, I would like to point out that AHA has left the room," this writer said."I think we all knew that and they said they would be back. They had to go out and make some calls," Maddox said. "I just spoke with him [Simms] and he said he may be back but that is not his intention. He’s taking his contingent towards the highway," activist Ben Howard interjected.

"And I just think that this is... We’re going to be sending this videotape to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and I’m sure they fill find that this is very disrespectful to the residents, very disrespectful to the public and those of us who have concerns, and this is part of their pattern so I just wanted to put that on the record," this writer said.

"Let me ask, if Mr. Simms is out there, please ask him and his delegation to please come back in. Because these people are raising questions, and I think they should be in here to answer them, not to leave the building at this point," Maddox said.

Simms and his contingent returned during APN’s and Ben Howard presentations and then left again after Simms made two sets of remarks.Mr. Howard asked whether Councilwoman Moore’s questions and AHA’s answers could be sounded for the public, as well as APN’s questions and AHA’s answers to those."Mr. Simms, do you want to go through those at this point?" Maddox asked.

SIMMS’S REMARKS TO APN AND BEN HOWARD

"Mr. Maddox, I don’t want to be disrespectful to you or your Committee. I was not coming here for a Town Hall Meeting. I was not prepared. I can certainly read those questions, the 82 questions I received from APN. They came to the Office on Friday... It’s my responsibility to address those questions," Simms said.

"I would assume you all gonna respond to the person who sent the questions," Maddox said."Yes sir..." Simms said. "Much of what was said, and I have to say, that what we’ve been doing is under the cloud of suspicion and those kinds of things. It really is disconcerting," Simms said."

First of all, with the applications, we have to get a third-party objective bias [sic] from engineers to certify what we’re suggesting to HUD. HUD also has been here, and all of the properties that we’re recommending for demolition, none of them, not one of them, passed the HUD’s REACT inspections," Simms said.

The REACT inspections are comprehensive and include items above and beyond and physical condition of the buildings, Wright said, adding Hollywood Courts did not pass REACT inspection because the maintenance room was unclean.

"And when we send these applications, if any of you know anything about HUD or the IGA system or anything, they’re gonna be on the ground. They’re gonna be doing their due diligence. We’re doing the application and they will do their due diligence," Simms said. "And I just want folks to be engaged and involved in that."

"And even with the resident consultation, we have done numerous consultations. We’ve had some of those consultations that have included HUD officials to be part of the act and the situations," Simms said.AHA’s idea of consultation, however, telling residents their plans and taking questions."And I understand clearly what it means when you give someone a questionnaire, are you for it or are you against it? They can be biased and I admit that, if you’re only presenting one side of it. Do you agree, check here? But just as we’ve done our surveys and they’ve done those," Simms said.

"But at the end of the day, if you would at, judge the merits of the applications, and HUD has approved Phase One of those applications and the properties all kind of mirror one another," Simms said."We are where we are and I just want everybody to understand when we submit an application, we’re submitting an application for HUD’s approval. And HUD has to approve that application based on a variety of facts. HUD is aware of the conditions of the properties because they inspect those properties annually... So this is not news coming to HUD that something is wrong," Simms said.

"And I was not aware I was coming for these presentations or have the appropriate staff to be joining me for the presentations," Simms said."Other folks that come before this Committee and come before the Council, to make presentations come prepared to do just what that person said he did not come prepared to do," Howard said.

"In addition, they subject themselves to questions by people like me, Dave Walker, Carrie Duncan, and others. But the Atlanta Housing Authority somehow feels that they’re an exception to the rule. That they can come, that they can make what they call a presentation. And not stay to provide any substantiation for their claims except that smattering that he chose," Howard said.

OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS

Public comments were also made by Lindsay Jones, private attorney for various residents’ groups; Assistant Professor Deirdre Oakley of Sociology at Georgia State University, who presented her maps showing voucher leasing opportunities are concentrated in poor, Black neighborhoods; Shirley Hightower, President of Bowen Homes; and Anita Beaty, Carl Hartrampf, Boubacarr Sarr, and Tony Thomas from the Task Force for the Homeless, the latter of whom presented a video of residents from Bowen Homes and Hollywood Courts.

MOORE UNSATISFIED WITH AHA’S RESPONSE

"I wanted to come and sort of close the loop for now... Unfortunately, I think it would have been helpful and beneficial to citizens in my communities who were concerned who couldn’t make it down, who were watching to see what some of the answers to the questions were that I posed, but they were not required to sort of reiterate those," Councilwoman Moore told CD/HR Committee on Tuesday, April 01, 2008.

"I will say... that I’m not satisfied with the answers that was given by the Atlanta Housing Authority. They were very generic and didn’t really speak to the answers I’ve been trying to get, in one question in particular that they have still yet to answer," Moore said.

The one question is: where are these residents going?"I guess I’m coming to the realization that the only reason you don’t answer is either you can’t or you don’t want to. I’m not sure which one they’re guilty of, maybe it’s a bit of both," Moore said.

"So I just wanted to let you all know that I’m not happy at all with Atlanta Housing Authority. I’m not happy with how they operate. I have for years been a very big supporter of Atlanta Housing Authority. I’ve been a big defender of the Housing Authority with other elected officials, members of my community, and others," Moore said.

"And frankly I feel foolish. Having so vigorously went against those people or try to work and put myself in the way of those people and the Housing Authority to try to work out issues. When in fact I guess it only took a matter of time for me to realize what their real concerns were because I have the same ones now," Moore said.

"So I just wanted to... let the public know that I am not at all happy with the Housing Auhority, I’m not happy with the response that we get. And that’s putting it politically correct. I could be much more frank than that," Moore said.

"I have not figured out yet what I’m doing to do. But I’m determined in the back, in my spirit, that the Housing Authority is going to have to make some changes. I’m just not clear on how I’m going to make those happen. But I did want to come and at least express that to you in case I take up more of your time in the future dealing with Housing Authority issues."

"If this Committee can do anything to assist, we’d be happy to help," Maddox said.

Moore also complained AHA didn’t respond early enough to where she could seek follow-up, before they sent the applications to HUD.

"They waited until the very last minute... to attempt to answer the questions. Why? Because they knew if they gave it to me two weeks before, which they had plenty of time to do it, I probably would have asked for follow-up," Moore said.

"It’s the height of arrogance. I think that they are operating the way that they wish to operate. And that’s why I’m here to let you know I’m not comfortable with them, and I don’t care for them frankly at this point. I don’t think that they’re being the way that they should be, particularly since we as a Council and the City support their endeavors," Moore said.

"But I’ll deal with them one way or the other. What goes around comes around, and it will come back around," Moore said.

City Council Overrides Veto of Public Housing Oversight

2008-04-09T09:08:00.000-07:00

By Jonathan Springston & Matthew Cardinale - Atlanta Progressive News (February 04, 2008)

(APN) ATLANTA – The City Council of Atlanta voted Monday, February 4, 2008, 10-5 to override Mayor Shirley Franklin’s veto of a resolution that asks the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) to consider putting on hold the demolition of Bankhead Courts, Bowen Homes, and Hollywood Courts, until the Council and the public have a chance to thoroughly examine demolition applications sent to US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The Full Council approved the resolution on January 22, 2008, but Mayor Shirley Franklin vetoed it on January 30, 2008.

Voting yea were Council Members Ivory Lee Young, Natalyn Archibong, Howard Shook, Clair Muller, Felicia Moore, C. T. Martin, Joyce Sheperd, Caesar Mitchell, Mary Norwood, and H. Lamar Willis.

The five votes against overriding the veto were Carla Smith, Kwanza Hall, Cleta Winslow, Anne Fauver, and Jim Maddox.

Ten votes had been required to override the veto. Had Mr. Willis not rushed in late, the resolution may not have passed, Moore told Atlanta Progressive News.

Mr. Young changed his vote from nay when the resolution was originally approved by Council, to yea on the override. Young originally supported the bill in CDHR Committee.

Ms. Fauver and Ms. Smith changed their votes from yea when the resolution was originally approved to nay on the override. The resolution had initially passed 11-1, with several Members absent or abstaining. Council President Lisa Borders did not vote either time.

Members of the CDHR Committee and others were particularly well informed about the issues after months of testimony from residents, advocates, and the public.
"There is no reason for the Mayor to have vetoed this resolution," Councilwoman Felicia Moore (District 9), author of the resolution, said.

Moore noted that a veto was not necessary because the resolution is not legally binding and the AHA could simply choose to ignore it.

Several members of the public spoke before the vote and urged the Council not to bow under executive pressure.

"My name was put on a document that was supposed to be signed for me not being at a January 9th meeting of the RAB Board, and... I left some literature for all Board Members to have that’s a retraction letter. My signature that was supposed to go on... it was put on something saying I said one thing when it wasn’t that," Elaine Olsby, President of Cosby Spears senior high rise told the Council.

AHA submitted to Council at its last meeting a letter signed by Olsby and others saying they supported the demolitions. However, as exclusively reported by Atlanta Progressive News, she states that AHA misled her as to what she was signing and did not give her time to read the letter. APN obtained a retraction letter from her today; Olsby has asked APN to send the letter to HUD.

"The Council has already made its position known," Joe Beasley, the Southeast Regional Director of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, said. "I hope you will hold your ground."

Beasley accused the AHA of using "insidious moves" to remove Atlanta’s poor population outside the City. "There’s something wrong with that," he said.

"Every time AHA states that these residents are ready to go, that is not true," Diane Wright, President of Hollywood Courts resident association and the RAB Board, said. "I have 112 signatures from my community alone because they’re uncertain of where they’re going."
"All we’re asking for is a fair chance…to be able to sit down with the AHA to learn where we’re going."

"I really hope you will override the veto. I think deciding where thousands of people are gonna go or not go is too important for one person to sign off on. I think many more people need to be involved in that process. And in fact I think the money that’s being used to tear down and rebuild for people other than low-income people, that money needs to spent to fix up what’s available and to build more because we don’t have enough housing," Amy Hastey, Atlanta Jobs with Justice, said.

"Why wouldn’t we insist on a one-for-one replacement? That’s a local decision we can make. These are our local tax dollars, and we should at least get a one-for-one replacement, maybe a two-for one," Carl Hartrampf, Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, said.

"We spent an hour today in meetings with the Mayor’s [Commission on Homelessness], to find housing for mothers and children, and yet we’re tearing down housing right now we could place those mothers and children in," he said.

"I want Renee Glover and Barney Simms, all them not to demolish the building, put the poor people out the community, like they did the Cheyenne, like the Ku Klux Klan was doing the Black people, running them out of the community. I want the Black folks to live in the community," "General" Larry Platt, resident of Palmer House senior high rise said.

SECOND RESOLUTION AFFECTS ALL DEMOLITIONS

The Council also voted to file a separate City ordinance crafted by Felicia Moore that seeks to give the Council more oversight of AHA initiatives.

While the Council voted to file the ordinance for now, Members unanimously signed off on a new resolution accepting to a process outlined by the AHA in two separate letters to Council.
Council Members had voted January 22, 2008, to table the ordinance, which the AHA had spoken out loudly against. They accused Moore of crafting such an ordinance to protect her own political standing.

The AHA also argued the Council had no jurisdiction over what the agency does, even when HUD requires consultation with all appropriate local government officials in demolition applications.
Both sides spent the past several days attempting to create a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) negotiating several points.

Moore had initially been unsatisfied with an offer in the form of a letter by AHA’s director Renee Glover dated February 1, 2008, to hold two public forums on housing issues annually and submit quarterly reports to Council on its initiatives.

That letter had also promised to provide Moore with copies of the demolition applications for review three weeks before submitting them to HUD.

The second, dated February 4, 2008, extended that promise to providing the CDHR Committee with copies of any demolition applications.

"AHA will provide to CD/HR Committee of city council a draft copy of any proposed demolition/disposition application, that, when implemented, would result in the permanent relocation of the majority of the affected families from an AHA development, at least three weeks before AHA submits the application to HUD," according to a copy of the letter obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.

The letter went on to note that Moore would file her ordinance as a result of AHA’s voluntary actions.

Even though filing an ordinance essentially kills the bill, Moore told Council she would continue working on this issue until solid legislation passes.

"The Council has legal authority to set policy," Moore maintained. "We’re not through with this issue yet," she said in her remarks.

"I think there's still a long way to go in dealing with the issues that surround public housing," Moore told APN in a phone interview. "This is a small step. There's a lot of issues that need to be addressed... To make sure we have notice and opportunity for input, at least we got that for now."

About the authors: Jonathan Springston is a Senior Staff Writer for Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at jonathan@atlantaprogressivenews.com.
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.

A Shelter Is Built Green, to Heal Inside and Out

2008-04-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

By CAROL POGASH - New York Times - Published: January 28, 2008

OAKLAND, Calif. — Although he will not be moving from the dilapidated homeless shelter here for another week, Paul McClendon, 55, has his oversized baby-blue garbage bags packed. Sitting on his bed in a winter jacket, he talked Thursday about the new, so-called green shelter with the central heating that he will be moving into.

With its distinctive exterior, the state-of-the-art $11 million shelter is already a landmark in Alameda County.

For a man who has lived on the streets, the prospect of the new facility was hard to fathom.
“It’s going to be one beautiful place,” Mr. McClendon said, smiling. “It has respect for the environment, global warming and saving trees.”

The facility, Crossroads, which will accommodate 125 residents, may be the only “green” homeless shelter built from the ground up. It has a solar-paneled roof, hydronic heating, artful but practical ceiling fans, nontoxic paint, windows that can be opened to let in fresh air, and desks and bureaus made from pressed wheat.

It will be a big change for residents, who are used to the old shelter with ratty couches, small and inadequate space heaters, floors and walls pocked and blackened with dirt, broken lighting, electrical cords snaking along floors and a leaky ceiling.

The residents are waiting for beds to be delivered to Crossroads so that they can move in.
When Wendy Jackson, executive director of the East Oakland Community Project, began searching for financing for the project, she said some people told her, “ ‘They need a good place, but that’s going too far.’ ” People, she said, “didn’t get it.”

But, Ms. Jackson, a social worker who graduated from Bard College and worked at a homeless shelter for young men in the East Village in Manhattan, said, “There’s a larger issue than just sheltering people.” Most of her residents have asthma, allergies, H.I.V. or diabetes, she said, and they need a healthy environment in which to heal.

Ms. Jackson “had this holistic approach,” said David Kears, the director of the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. Her attitude, he said, was “ ‘The building has to be healthy to make people healthy.’ ”

Ms. Jackson spent 10 years, seven of them raising money from government and private agencies, replacing the decrepit facility with a state-of-the-art $11 million building. It is about a mile from the old shelter, in one of the poorer parts of town: there are more than 6,000 homeless in Alameda County, nearly half of them in Oakland.

Most homeless shelters opened in the 1980s in churches, synagogues and abandoned warehouses, said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington. Mr. Stoops, who has worked in the field for 35 years, said he believed Crossroads was the first green homeless shelter and should be “a model for others around the country.”

“The homeless care about the environment,” Mr. Stoops said. “If they can be part of a facility that is reducing energy costs and saving the planet, homeless folks are all in favor of that, just like most Americans.”

Over time, Ms. Jackson convinced critics that an old warehouse was not good enough for her residents.

At Crossroads, each resident will have his own locker closet and storage drawers built into his bed. A day room provides durable wooden chairs and computer carrels.

The dorm-like structure painted crayon colors has angled exterior walls that make it an instant landmark. Ms. Jackson said she wanted a building that was “dignified,” adding, “People in crisis need to see things are under control.” Ms. Jackson said she hoped to lure volunteers with the clean, well-lighted place. Crossroads has an examining room for medical volunteers, a wing for homeless families, with bathrooms and tubs for toddlers who otherwise must shower with their parents, a private dining area and kitchen.

One dorm room and bathroom is set aside for transgender residents. Another will serve as an infirmary for those just released from the hospital.

As Ms. Jackson gave tours of the facility on a recent afternoon, sunlight poured through the windows. “People will be sleeping in a cozy environment and waking to sunlight,” she said.
“This is the intersection of environmental and social justice issues,” said Dr. Mini Swift, the board chairman of the East Oakland project.

Periodically during the afternoon the newly installed security alarm blared — another matter Ms. Jackson would have to resolve.

“We’re asking people to focus on serious issues in their lives,” Ms. Jackson said during a quiet moment. “It’s easier to do that when the place is functional.”

So Many Places to Live, but So Far Out of Reach

2008-04-09T09:04:00.000-07:00

By LESLIE EATON - New York Times - Published: January 27, 2008

NEW ORLEANS — Thousands of people are looking for a place to live in this city. Many thousands of houses are vacant or for sale, and acres of land sit empty.

A new three-story home stands next to abandoned houses and empty lots, a situation residents call the jack-o’-lantern effect.

But turning potential housing into inhabited homes is proving to be a major challenge, even for a city that survived the fury of Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the levees. For those who need shelter the most, these houses are out of reach.

More than 8,800 houses are for sale in the New Orleans metropolitan area — almost as many as were sold in the last 12 months, according to one of the city’s leading real estate brokerage firms. High insurance costs and the crash in the mortgage market nationwide have slowed sales here, whether people are moving out of town or opting to relocate to a different neighborhood.

Thousands more damaged houses — probably 6,000 within the city limits — are being bought by the State of Louisiana through its Road Home program, which compensates homeowners for their losses in the 2005 hurricanes. These properties will be turned over to local governments for redevelopment or resale. (By one estimate, as many as 20,000 buildings in the city are derelict.)

Meanwhile, 27,500 families, mostly from New Orleans, are still living in tiny, tinny government-issued travel trailers across the state, waiting for their homes to be repaired or for some kind of affordable housing to become available. Many other people remain in faraway cities. And hundreds — by some accounts, thousands — live on the city streets.

The housing situation in New Orleans varies almost block by block. Some areas are hotter than before the storm; others are wastelands. In some neighborhoods, new or rebuilt houses are scattered among empty lots and boarded-up homes, a phenomenon known here as the jack-o’-lantern effect.

By Lake Pontchartrain, in a middle-class neighborhood called Vista Park, a resident, K. C. King, can see a little of everything: new houses raised 10 feet above sea level to surpass new flood regulations, abandoned ranch houses with moldy furniture inside, bald lots, for-sale signs, travel trailers and one renovated house — not popular with the neighbors — that has been turned into a rental. There is even a swimming pool still full of what people living nearby say is filthy floodwater.

“In this neighborhood,” Mr. King said, “the jack-o’-lantern effect is in 3-D.”

Many reasons figure into the mismatch between the need and availability of housing, including history, geography, lingering storm damage and the impact of government programs, intended and unintended. The factor most obvious to economists is price.

“At the very low end of the income strata, we do have a shortage of housing,” said Ivan J. Miestchovich, director of the Center for Economic Development and Real Estate at the University of New Orleans.

Demand for expensive property, however, is low. “On houses more than $350,000 in price, your marketing time is 18 months,” Dr. Miestchovich said. “Over $1 million, it’s two years and more.”
Housing prices, which spiked after the 2005 storm, have been declining. The average sale price in the city dropped to $159,000 in November, the lowest level in years (though it increased in December to an average of $222,000). Even so, sales numbers have been weak for the last few months.

Part of New Orleans’s allure used to be that it was possible to live well on little because a lot of cheap, if rundown, housing was available — a result of years of slow migration from the city. Much of that housing was destroyed; many remaining properties need expensive repairs.
Construction and insurance costs have soared, and borrowers need better credit records to get a housing loan because of problems in the national mortgage market, said Mtumishi St. Julien, executive director of the Finance Authority of New Orleans.

Before Hurricane Katrina, most people in the city were renters, not owners, and more than 50,000 rental units in the metropolitan area were damaged or destroyed when the floodwaters rose. Rents at the remaining apartments shot up by almost 50 percent; a two-bedroom apartment that might have rented for $660 a month in 2004 now costs close to $1,000 a month, according to federal data.

Efforts to help replace rental housing got off to a slow start. Melissa Landry, press secretary for the Louisiana Recovery Authority, said state programs were helping to build 25,000 apartments that would be affordable for low-income residents.

The state, the city and private civic organizations like the Jeremiah Group are hoping eventually to turn those renters into homeowners, by providing subsidies, reducing construction costs and finding a way to cut the price of insurance.

Local and federal officials said they did not expect an increase in homelessness after recent decisions to demolish public housing projects and to close trailer parks run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

But people who work with the families in question are not so sure. The Rev. Marshall Truehill Jr., pastor of the First United Baptist Church, said he was so concerned about an influx of homeless families that he asked the city to convert several former school buildings into shelters.
Based on the turnout at recent forums and public meetings, one question on the minds of many people here is what will happen to all the houses, most badly damaged, that the Road Home program is buying from people who are not rebuilding.

In the city, the properties will be handled by the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority, which before the hurricanes was supposed to deal with blighted properties, and by most accounts failed. Joseph Williams, a former banker who became executive director of the agency a year ago, said it had been underfinanced and understaffed in the past but was gearing up to deal with both the Road Home properties and abandoned sites.

Progress has been slow. Last fall, the agency sold 27 blighted properties for redevelopment pilot projects; a nonprofit group called Assisting Hand will break ground Friday on the first of these, in the Seventh Ward.

But what the agency will be able to do with the Road Home properties remains unclear. For one thing, it does not yet know all their locations. In addition to proposals to encourage developers to build or rebuild housing that could be made affordable, the agency is actually planning to reduce the amount of potential housing by allowing neighbors to buy adjacent properties to, for example, expand their yards.

That is what Mr. King would like to do with the house next to his in the Vista Park neighborhood — or rather, next to where his house will be when he rebuilds. He and his wife, Kathi, are still trailer-bound. But many details remain to be worked out, like how much the city will charge for the property.

“I’d just as soon buy it and split it with the neighbors,” he said. “But I’m not sure I can afford it.”

Council Committee Approves Oversight for Public Housing Demolitions

2008-04-09T09:03:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (1/15/08)

(APN) ATLANTA – After seven hours of debate, the Community Development and Human Resources Committee of the City Council of Atlanta today approved two bills offered by Councilwoman Felicia Moore, District 9, to codify their oversight role in the Atlanta Housing Authority’s mass eviction and demolition plans for all remaining public housing in Atlanta.
Moore’s first bills seek to ensure the City Council has to approve of any demolition applications sent to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

As revealed in documents obtained by Atlanta Progressive News through the Freedom of Information Act weeks ago, Mayor Shirley Franklin had signed off on five demolitions applications in 2007 without Council approval, consent, or awareness.

HUD requires AHA document in any demolition application how they consulted with all relevant local government officials.

Moore’s second bill asks AHA to hold off on demolitions for Bowen Homes, Bankhead Courts, and Hollywood Courts--three communities in the Councilwoman’s District which are family developments--until residents, Council, and the public could review and comment on the demolition applications.

Days after APN reported exclusively on this pending legislation, the Atlanta Housing Authority unleashed a campaign on Monday against Moore’s legislation.

Moore told APN she was furious that AHA’s spokesperson, Rick White, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, in their words, "Moore's motivation is that she mistakenly fears that the Housing Authority's plan will take voters out of her district who are likely to re-elect her in 2009."

Several Committee Members criticized White’s comments, in addition to Council President Lisa Borders and Mayor Franklin’s Chief of Staff, who also spoke at the meeting.
In addition to attacking Moore in the AJC, AHA hired a high-priced law firm, McKenna Long and Aldridge, to issue a nine page letter outlining why the City Council should not pass the legislation because they have no jurisdiction over AHA.

At the beginning of the meeting Chairman Maddox told the public their comment time would be limited to two minutes. This had not been past practice of the Committee. Also, no Committee rules have been set, so that the rule was completely arbitrary.

APN asked Chairman Maddox if the Committee had approved those time limits. He said that they had and that if anyone else blurted out comments they would be escorted out by police.
Later, Members Ceasar Mitchell and Lamar Willis took issue with Maddox’s rule, arguing that it was unfair to introduce the rule only when an issue was on the table that was of great concern to the public.

The Committee voted to allow the public to speak without time limit.

Before public comment, private attorneys hired by AHA as well as attorneys for the Mayor’s Office made presentations arguing why the bills were in their view problematic.

Attorneys for AHA and the Mayor argued that AHA is an independent agency and that the Council has no jurisdiction over the agency.

In regards to the letters Mayor Franklin has been sending in to HUD, the attorneys argued the Council was impinging on her authority to do that unilaterally.

Councilwoman Moore responded that she did not disagree with their contentions about AHA’s independence, but that AHA was still required by HUD to seek approval from local government officials.

The letters sent by the Mayor purported to express support on behalf of the City of Atlanta.
Moore stated that the Council had previously passed resolutions supporting HOPE VI demolition applications in the 1990s. Moore also cited the New Orleans City Council, which a judge ruled had to approve the demolitions before plans there could go forward.

The present writer distributed to Council Members copies of a document recently obtained by APN, showing where AHA has requested over $243 million–almost a quarter of a billion dollars–from the City for “revitalizations” of public housing communities during 2007 to 2015.

The source of these funds include Tax Allocation District (TAD) money, sewer bonds, General Fund, Opportunity Bonds, and other City funds which have to be approved by Council.

It is an apparent conflict of interest that AHA’s Executive Vice President Barney Simms also sits on the Atlanta Development Authority, which is asked to approve the TAD funds for AHA.

The present writer remarked to Council Members that Councilwoman Moore’s bill really was only asking AHA to do what HUD requires them to do already, that is, consult with residents, Council, and the public.

APN also informed the Council that according to a source familiar with the matter, HUD’s Inspector General contacted HUD to learn more about fabricated documents AHA sent to HUD purporting resident consultation in the 2007 demolition applications. APN discovered these documents weeks ago.

During the meeting, Councilman Willis asked why the Council should approve of funds for AHA projects if they are asserting they do not need approval from the Council.
Diane Wright, President of the Resident Advisory Board, read a resolution from the RAB Board opposing the demolitions, and condemning the lack of consultation with the residents and AHA’s previous actions.

Anita Beaty, Executive Director of the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, reviewed a letter by Lindsay Jones, a law professor at Emory University representing the residents on an individual basis. Jones argued there is nothing legally inappropriate about Moore’s bills and that they are consistent with HUD regulations.

After much cross examination of the various City and AHA attorneys by Council Members, the attorneys admitted that the laws do not in fact prohibit the Council from seeking to have a voice in the demolition applications and that HUD allows cities to determine consultation processes on their own.

Chairman Maddox moved the first bill be held, then scratched that. He then moved the first bill be sent to Full Council without recommendation by the Committee, but this motion did not pass.
Councilwoman Moore urged the Committee not to hold the bill but to give the legislation an up or down vote.

The bills will come up again on Tuesday’s Full Council meeting.

If the current seven cosponsors on the first bill–Felicia Moore, Ivory Lee Young, Mary Norwood, C.T. Martin, Natalyn Archibong, Joyce Sheperd, and Ceasar Mitchell--plus Lamar Willis, who supported the bill in Committee, vote yes on the bill Tuesday, it will pass. If the first bill passes, it is likely the second one will as well. However, the Mayor and AHA will continue to push behind the scenes to prevent that from happening.

Resident Board Opposes Demolitions

2008-04-09T09:01:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (January 09, 2008)

(APN) ATLANTA – The Resident Advisory Board representing Atlanta public housing tenants citywide voted today unanimously to oppose the mass evictions and demolitions proposed by Atlanta Housing Authority.

The resolution will be sent to US Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Special Applications Center so they are aware of residents’ opposition to the plan, and of AHA’s lack of consultation with residents even though consultation is required by HUD.

Atlanta Progressive News discovered a few weeks ago that AHA fabricated meeting minutes of the RAB Board from a February 14, 2007, meeting, where AHA represented to HUD that these minutes showed consultation by AHA with the residents.

In order to prevent any such misrepresentations again, the RAB Board formally resolved their opposition to the demolitions.

The RAB Board also passed two resolutions supporting recent bills presented by Members of City Council.

One RAB Board resolution supports the recent bills introduced by Councilwoman Felicia Moore. One bill, requiring the City Council to first approve any demolitions before Mayor Shirley Franklin signs off on them, has gained 6 co-sponsors, Moore told Atlanta Progressive News.
The co-sponsors are Natalyn Archibong, C. T. Martin, Ceasar Mitchell, Mary Norwood, Joyce Sheperd, and Ivory Lee Young. The bill and others will be considered in CDHR Committee meeting next Tuesday, January 15, 2008, beginning at 12:30pm.

Another RAB Board resolution supports a bill introduced previously by Council Members Ivory Lee Young and Kwanza Hall to create a Housing Relocation Task Force to study the effects of the demolitions on residents, with the stipulation that AHA not appoint members to the Task Force.
The full text of the RAB Board resolution opposing the demolitions is below:

The Jurisdiction-Wide Resident Advisory Board Of the City of Atlanta Hereby RESOLVES:
The resident leaders of public housing are OPPOSED to the demolition of our communities.

WHEREAS we disagree that the buildings are obsolete and have not yet had an independent assessment of this.

WHEREAS we believe that even though some residents are ready to go, the property still would be viable for people that are homeless.

WHEREAS we have a concern about seniors and persons with disabilities that are ill and have no families and who's going to make sure they're going to be taken care of and not put in a nursing home without them having any input.

WHEREAS we are concerned seniors and persons with disabilities won't be able to move somewhere where they can get transportation to their medical appointments and to get their prescriptions.

WHEREAS we haven't had the proper consultation with AHA, nor have we had any input in the decision-making, as required by HUD.

WHEREAS the resident association meetings at the senior highrises have been interrupted by AHA, whereas they can't have visitors in their meetings because they don't want the seniors to learn what is going on or have input.

WHEREAS AHA falsified sign-in sheets, minutes, and the agenda for the February 14, 2007, RAB Board Meeting in demolition applications they sent in to HUD.

WHEREAS we haven't been offered the opportunity to purchase the properties ourselves, as required by HUD.

WHEREAS AHA did not hold public hearings before sending the application in.

WHEREAS AHA refused to show us the applications before and after sending them in.

WHEREAS AHA asked the Court reporter not to release transcripts of recent meetings called by AHA in the communities.

WHEREAS we're concerned about residents being pre-moved without AHA having approval of a HUD application. Also, we're concerned relocation teams are already meeting with residents in some communities where no applications are submitted.

WHEREAS we have a concern of residents moving into homes and two or three months later, they're foreclosed on.

WHEREAS they have a high rate of evictions since the Quality of Life initiative has been put into place because they're refusing to issue vouchers to residents with criminal backgrounds up to 30 years in the past.

WHEREAS we're not sure of the extent of the vouchers, if there's any money on the vouchers, because Congress does not guarantee funding and must decide every year whether to fund the vouchers. Therefore, we are concerned voucher-holders will have to pay market-rate rent if the vouchers run out.

WHEREAS we've been told conflicting information about the vouchers.

WHEREAS there is no listing of landlords that's going to take vouchers. We don't even have an understanding of where are we supposed to be moving.

WHEREAS we're concerned about options for families with more than three or four children.

WHEREAS we're also concerned about the decrease in unit sizes.

WHEREAS we're also concerned about the utility allotments because AHA has terminated vouchers for families who don't pay their utility bills and has not provided all families with sufficient utility allotments.

WHEREAS we're concerned about how residents on vouchers will pay their security deposit, first month's rent, and/or last month's rent where applicable.

WHEREAS much of the crime reported in Bowen Homes is coming from outside of the community.

WHEREAS we’re concerned the lack of transportation from outskirts to Atlanta where they have their jobs, to be noncompliant with work requirements.

WHEREAS AHA has been terminating vouchers for loss of income after 16 days, or for people who can’t pay rent from their own income even if receiving outside help.

RESOLVED, this 10th day of January, 2008. [sic: actually January 09]

About the author: Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for the Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.

WSB-TV Misreports on Public Housing Eviction Status

2008-04-09T08:59:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (12/31/07)

(APN) ATLANTA – WSB Channel 2 television news program misled the public on the status of evictions for the Bowen Homes public housing community in two reports on December 27, 2007.
"Residents have until May 2008 to move so the City can demolish the complex," anchor Amanda Rosseter said after a daytime report by John Cater.

However, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has not approved any applications for Bowen Homes, or several other communities in Atlanta, and thus no residents should be told at this time that they will be forced to move.

HUD spokeswoman Donna White reiterated to Atlanta Progressive News in a recent interview that AHA cannot pursue evictions and demolitions without HUD approval.

WSB repeated the false claim in its evening report. "Residents have until May of next year to move so the City of Atlanta can demolish the complex," Jovita Moore said.

AHA ALSO MISLEADS

WSB may have gotten the misleading information from AHA. "In the face of the delays caused by the opponents, families are scheduled to begin leaving the property in May 2006 [sic]," AHA spokesman Rick White, of the private Alisias corporation, wrote in a recent email to media obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.

Rick White appears to have made a typo writing 2006, which would be in the past, and likely meant 2008, which is AHA’s target date should applications be approved. Still, AHA does not have the authority to schedule evictions without approval from HUD.

RESIDENT LEADER RESPONDS

"They [WSB] don't know what the hell they talking about, do they? They are something else. I think they should cover the truth. And I think they should look deeper into what AHA's doing. And they don't have any applications in to even tell residents they should have to move," Diane Wright, President of the Resident Advisory Board told Atlanta Progressive News.

"They [residents] believe it, and it puts fear in them," Wright said.
Several residents from communities all over Atlanta called Wright asking questions about the WSB report, she said.

"Some of the presidents were saying, if they did that to their site, what will they do to ours?" Wright recalled.

AJC ALSO REPORTED UNAPPROVED EVICTIONS

Unfortunately, WSB is not the only organization improperly stating that residents have to move at this time.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper, which like WSB is also owned by Cox Communications, repeatedly stated that residents of Palmer House were to start moving in January 2008, even though no applications are in for that community either.

AHA USING RELOCATION TEAMS EARLY

Moreover, the Atlanta Housing Authority has also stated they will be meeting with individual residents living in communities that they would like to demolish, beginning in January 2008, to prepare them to move. Barney Simms and Renee Bentley explained this to residents at a meeting they called at Hollywood Courts community attended by APN.

If they follow through on this plan, they would do so without approval from HUD.
"They're [AHA] doing business as usual, defrauding the people. Telling them, they have to move, and not telling the truth about there's no application in. They haven't had public hearings, they're not doing what they supposed to do. That comes from HUD's regulations, not ours," Wright said.

"They should be able to have consultation with the residents. They're not doing that. They pull us together and tell us it's a consultation and tell us to do what they want us to do, which is to get out," Wright said.

2007 YEAR END UPDATE

APN previously reported that AHA sent in fabricated documents to HUD for applications for five communities in 2007. HUD promised APN’s report would be forward to the Director of Public and Indian Housing as well as the Office of the Inspector General.

To this date, APN has not received any communication from HUD about the information, nor a request for the supporting documents.

APN also made the documents available to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and faxed them to NBC’s 11 Alive News, although they have not reported the information to date.

APN has provided the documents to Council Members Moore, Ivory Young, and Mary Norwood.
City Councilwoman Felicia Moore and Ms. Wright tell APN that HUD did have representatives in Atlanta at a recent meeting between AHA and resident leaders, a sign they have increased scrutiny of the agency.

At least one HUD official told AHA in that meeting they were not doing enough to consult with the residents and they improperly already had their plans in place, Moore and Wright told APN.
Resident leaders and advocates are preparing to file an injunction in the new year against the AHA, based in part on the information discovered by APN.

Also, Councilwoman Moore plans to offer at least one resolution to the Council concerning public housing in January.

Pending in the Council’s CDHR Committee is a resolution by Members Ivory Lee Young and Kwanza Hall to create a task force to study the public housing demolitions.

Young has moved to hold the bill several times now, even though it already passed Committee. Part of the problem now is that Mr. Hall appears to have symbolically backed out of the resolution in his initial plans to offer a different bill as a substitute. Hall’s bill, which passed Committee separately, is to find affordable housing for the seniors who would be evicted in his District.

Moore, Maddox in Testy Dispute as Council Stalls Again on AHA

2008-04-09T08:57:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale & Jonathan Springston, Atlanta Progressive News (12-16-07)

(APN) ATLANTA – Atlanta City Council Members Felicia Moore and Jim Maddox engaged in a testy dispute on Tuesday, December 11, 2007, as the Community Development/Human Resources (CDHR) Committee voted to hold a resolution that would create a Task Force to study the effects of relocation on public housing residents.

It is unclear how many Members voted to hold the resolution, but could be few as three, as Council Members Ivory Lee Young and Mary Norwood had walked off the floor just prior to the vote.

About 20 public housing residents and advocates spoke against AHA’s proposed public housing demolitions, including several high school students who are current or former residents, in addition to Chioke Perry, John Timberlake, Terence Courtney, Dave Walker, Ted Brodek, APN’s Matthew Cardinale, Ben Howard, Shirley Hightower, Diane Wright, Ronnie Galvin, Carl Hartrampf, and Anita Beaty.

APN’s News Editor distributed copies of the documents forged by AHA in recent demolitions to HUD, to Council Members Young and Norwood [due to limited number of photocopies on hand]. APN reviewed the lack of consultation with residents, the Council, and the public as part of the demolition applications. APN also reviewed many problems involved with the voucher program and explained AHA has other options than demolishing all public housing.

Mayor Shirley Franklin’s Chief of Staff also made a presentation to the Committee asking that the Mayor’s name be removed from legislation to appoint a Member to a proposed Housing Relocation Task Force which would study the impacts of demolitions and evictions. Franklin does not want to participate in the Task Force.

MOORE, MADDOX DISPUTE SPEAKING PRIVILEGES

Moore, who represents the communities where Bankhead Courts, Bowen Homes, and Hollywood Courts are located, approached the microphone to address the Committee after it bizarrely voted to hold the resolution which had already passed Committee in its last meeting.
Maddox, Chairman of the CDHR Committee, had not allowed Shirley Hightower, President of Bowen Homes, to address the Committee before the vote beyond her initial public comments.
"I do want to say something because Ms. Hightower is a... respected member of my community," Moore said.

"We respect her here but we have to run it orderly," Maddox replied. "We have to run the meeting orderly, Ms. Moore. We have to run it orderly."

"When Mr. Maddox is ready to let me have the floor, I’ll go. Are you through, Mr. Maddox?" Moore asked.

"I know, but I’m saying the meeting has to be run orderly," Maddox said.

"Then let’s have order and allow me to speak," Moore said.

"I know but don’t, this Committee hasn’t disrespected anybody," Maddox said.

"Mr. Maddox, are you giving me the floor to speak?" Moore asked.

"Well, not if you’re going to talk about that. We have already voted on that issue," Maddox said.
"So you’re gonna now tell me as a Member of Council what I can talk about? If you talk about somebody getting out of order, we’re about to go way out of order in just a minute... You’re messing with the wrong person, Mr. Maddox," Moore said. "So now I’m a Council Member elected by the citizens of the City and you’re not gonna allow me to speak and say what I choose to say?" Moore said.

"We’re going to move on with the agenda, that’s what we’re gonna do," Maddox said.

"And then you’re going to move on the agenda and you’re not gonna let me as a Council Member... But if you were to come to any Committee as a Council Member you would be able to speak your mind and then move on," Moore said.

"After we’ve passed the issue, you want to go back with the issue... If you wanted to speak on this issue, we could’ve spoke before we voted," Maddox said. "Are you going to speak on the same issue?"

"I’m gonna speak on what I choose to speak on... Now if you gonna tell me... you’re not going to be allowed to speak, you say that. Is that what you’re saying?" Moore asked.

"No, I’m just saying the motion has already passed," Maddox said.

"But you’re not gonna tell me what I can say and what I can’t say. So you just let me know, are you going to censor my comments?" Moore asked.

"No what I’m saying to you, if you wanted to speak on that issue, you’ve been around here for over an hour. You could’ve spoke on that issue. But we have voted, now you want to speak on that issue, I’m not gonna let you do it... No, I’m not gonna let you speak on that issue because that issue has already passed," Maddox said.

"Well you’re not gonna have a rest of the meeting because I’m gonna stay here and disrupt the hell out of it," Moore said.

"Mr. Chair, it is not uncommon, though, that we allow Council Members to come and speak even if we dispose of an issue. And I think in the interest of moving this meeting forward, I think it’s all right if Ms. Moore speaks her mind," Councilman Ceasar Mitchell said.
"We’ll take a vote..." Maddox said.

"You need a quorum... So now as a Council Member, I need a quorum of a Committee to vote to allow me to speak... I don’t even think we need a vote. I think it’s disrespectful that I’m an elected official of this City and I require a vote in order to speak," Moore said.

"All right you go ahead and speak. I’ll be right back," Maddox said.

MOORE'S REMARKS

In her comments, Moore took issue with Young and Hall’s claims that there is not much the City Council can do to control what the AHA does or does not do.

"Yes, the Housing Authority is a state-ran Authority. But many things the Housing Authority does, they need local approval. They don’t operate in a vacuum. They don’t operate on another planet. We approve or disapprove of millions and millions of dollars to go to the Housing Authority. We partner with the Housing Authority on many things," Moore said. "So we do not totally have no say... We have a heck of a lot of influence... Because if they didn’t care, they wouldn’t be sitting here today... So I wish we could get away from... taking the power out of our own hands that we actually do have."

"I think there are some very clear things that we’re gonna do. So I’m gonna roll up my sleeves and I will be coming back the first of the year with a resolve and with some legislation. And I want to see if we’re really committed as a Council to doing those things that we can do. So I’ll be working on some legislation that I think is going to address some of the issues, maybe not all of them... that concern me," Moore said.

Moore also took the chance to call out the AHA on its communication problem while AHA’s External Affairs officer Barney Simms and contracted spokesman Rick White were in attendance.

"If I talk to you on one day, and you know you’re working on something else, don’t wait to make a decision. Then I have to hear from someone in the news media to find out that something’s going on in my own community. Or to find out you’re going to be meeting with my very people in my community... You shouldn’t step foot in District 9 without letting me know your foot’s coming. Ever. Again," Moore said. "That’s the kind of thing that adds to the problem."
Councilman C. T. Martin made remarks in support of Moore’s ability to have the floor.

THE HOUSING RELOCATION TASK FORCE RESOLUTION

The Committee made no further changes to the Housing Relocation Task Force resolution, coauthored by Councilmen Ivory Lee Young, Jr. and Kwanza Hall, that the Full Council voted to amend and send back to Committee on December 03, 2007.

Young said the resolution needed more work; however, in explaining his decision to hold the resolution–which already passed the last CDHR Meeting–Young did not list any specific issues which needed work.

"I heard these mixed statements, to say well Task Force but if it is it should be this, others say no Task Force, other want us to do something that’s not legislatively on the table right now. A moratorium is not before us today... The Task Force could result in that decision but it does not say that’s what the decision ought to be. I can guarantee you many of your concerns are not the desire of many of my colleagues to address. No one Council Member does anything by themselves," Young said.

Young was referencing comments by Courtney and Hightower when he said that some members of the public spoke against the Task Force, although these comments need to be seen in context.

"We find ourselves very skeptical about where this Task Force is going. We want to say, the community, the students, the residents of public housing are the Task Force, and those are the people who need to be consulted. We don’t need to create any new bodies," Courtney said. "Cancel the creation of a new Task Force."

"You all said you would set up a Task Force to watch over what AHA is doing. And then you decided to put AHA on that Task Force so then whatever they’re doing, they’re going to continue to do it. We’re asking that that Task Force with AHA being on that Force is not gonna work. We are the Task Force. We’ve been watching our back for the longest," Hightower said.
"Something is before us today... that could be morphed, could be changed, could be amended to make a meaningful impact... It’s nice to hear flowery statements by those that would call themselves advocates on the Council. We can sound real articulate. But what are we doing? What are we going to do? And that’s what this Council Member wants to know, what are we gonna do, Committee? The issue is bigger than just senior housing... We can start somewhere," Young said.

One issue raised in the Full Council meeting was how the Task Force would be appointed and who would be a part of it. Council Members Martin and Moore took issue with Young’s amendment that would give Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) Executive Director Renee Glover and the AHA’s Board of Directors each one choice for the Task Force.

Hall introduced his own legislation proposing that the Atlanta Housing Authority work with the Old Fourth Ward Master Plan process to come up with affordable housing for seniors who would be displaced from Palmer House and Roosevelt House senior highrise communities. This bill passed the Committee unanimously.

"My colleague [Mr. Hall] has offered to introduce legislation that at first was to be a substitute to what’s before us, to deal just with seniors. And now he graciously, what I’m hearing is, you’re agreeing to introduce it independent of this legislation as a separate piece... I still say there could very well be a place for the Task Force that’s in front of us," Young said.

"We do have a problem, we do have issues that have to be resolved," Young said.

The CDHR Committee will not meet again this year. The Full Council will convene again on January 07, 2008.

AHA Deceives Residents, Prepares Evictions without HUD Approval

2008-04-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, Atlanta Progressive News (December 16, 2007)

(APN) ATLANTA – Having moved up the demolition dates of three family projects serving mostly poor, Black families, Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) has begun notifying residents of their eviction plans and are deceiving them in the process, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

The senior high-rise demolitions for Palmer House and Roosevelt House were postponed to 2009, while Bankhead Courts, Bowen Homes, and Hollywood Courts, were moved up to 2008.
"They didn’t want the City Council to go against [them] because remember the whole issue was about the seniors. Because the resolution was gonna be drawn up for seniors, not for the family developments. I think all of it should have been taken into consideration because we have children," Diane Wright, President of the Resident Advisory Board (RAB), told Atlanta Progressive News.

"Most of the public housing is predominantly Black, and we’re the ones they’re trying to move out," Wright said. "The Council came up with this resolution because these are seniors and they feel that they vote. They say it’s not enough of the family developments [are] voting."
AHA’s Barney Simms told residents at Hollywood Courts apartments on Wednesday, December 12, 2007, "No," when asked if it was possible that funding for vouchers would be cut.
The resident–named Nicole according to Wright–asked, "How long will the voucher last?"
"They don’t end," Simms replied. "If you follow Congress, the funding trend is with the vouchers."

"Is it possible you could run out of funds?" Nicole later asked.

"No," Simms replied. "We know they’re going to continue, but they have to approve them every year."

Nicole then asked, "What if HUD decides they no longer want to fund the vouchers, where are we going to go?" It is actually US Congress, though, not HUD, which funds the vouchers.
"They might freeze them," Simms replied. But they won’t go below current levels, Simms asserted.

City Council Member Felicia Moore said she remembered the exchange.

"You can't ever guess what Congress will do," Moore told Atlanta Progressive News in a phone interview. "To give anybody the indication the money for vouchers will always be there, is not something you can do because you just don't know."

"It's a yearly thing. It's not a guarantee. I heard that they were about to cut some vouchers. I think they need to make it clear to residents that it's based on an annual appropriation. So they can anticipate that the funds are going to continue, but can't guarantee that the funds are going to be there. So if they do cut the funding for the vouchers, at least they've provided correct information," Moore said.

Linda Couch, Deputy Director of the DC-based National Low Income Housing Coalition, said Simms’s statement was untrue as well. Couch added that 150,000 vouchers were cut between 2004 and 2006 and that the current budget in US Congress would cut 25,000 vouchers.
"Barney Simms is purposely misleading residents, and that’s a part of their tactics to get the residents on board to take vouchers. I think it’s a outright lie. Because Mr. Simms read the paper just like everybody else. and remember, he said he follows the trend of Congress. So if you follow the trend of Congress, you already know those vouchers have no value to ‘em," Wright told APN by phone.

AHA had a court reporter present from Steven Ray Green and Associates. The court reporter offered APN a copy of their transcript. However, the next day, Mr. Green told Atlanta Progressive News AHA did not want the transcript released.

"Because they don’t actually want the public to know that residents are not pleased with what AHA is doing to them. They want everyone to think that residents are going along with the program. And not that residents are asking questions about where are they going to live," Wright said.

The court reporters have gone to the Georgia Board of Court Reporting to get their opinion on whether the transcript can be released.

And that wasn’t the only problem. AHA also admitted sending in "not complete" versions of the minutes from previous resident association meetings to HUD. Atlanta Progressive News recently broke the story that AHA sent in forged meeting minutes to HUD to show what they purported to be resident consultation.

AHA had no relocation plans available for the residents to inspect. AHA admitted they would be meeting with residents individually to "prepare" them for the upcoming move even though no applications were in to HUD for the demolitions.

Additionally, AHA ignored the demands of residents that they be allowed to return to the properties.

AHA ADMITS "INCOMPLETE" MINUTES

Wright stood up at the meeting, with documents obtained from Atlanta Progressive News in hand, and asked, "First of all, these are the documents that came from HUD. Who typed up the meeting minutes? These are not ours," Wright said.

"These are not the complete minutes. These are the minutes that impact what we did," Simms said. In doing so, AHA admitted sending in "incomplete" documents. Implicitly, they also admitted sending in their own version of the minutes, even though this was not specified to HUD and they presented in the application that they were the official minutes.

Also, "incomplete" is a bit misleading because the fabricated minutes are not based at all on the real minutes from the association, and contain completely different language that appears to contain agency legalese.

AHA ADMITS PREPARING RESIDENTS TO MOVE WITHOUT HUD APPROVAL

AHA’s Renee Bentley told residents in her presentation that they would begin working with the residents in January 2008 to "prepare" them for relocation. "Human service providers are going to begin working in January to begin reaching out to help prepare for relocation," Bentley said.
In response to questions from Wright and the Hollywood Courts Parliamentarian–who Wright says is named Ann–Bentley explained that the January meetings were to "prepare residents for relocation," but in August the relocation would start.

Wright then asked why the relocation teams would begin work in January 2008 without HUD approval.

"Because we anticipate submitting an application in December [2007]. It takes 60 days. We expect them to approve it. And we want the residents to be ready," Bentley said.

"It’s illegal," Wright told APN by phone. "Because first of all, it don’t have approval. It’s an intimidation tactic. It’s like I’m saying you’ve gotta move. They said you have 60 days to move, if HUD okays it, even if you don’t want to move. How are we going to know if it’s been passed or not if they got the okay from the application to tear down these properties, because they’re not gonna let us see it."

Wright also predicted they would begin evicting residents for other reasons because many won’t qualify for the vouchers, including those with criminal backgrounds, poor credit histories, and those who are unemployed.

"They’re gonna weed the ones out they want to weed out. They’re going to start evictions. It’s intimidation, but it’s also about the criminal background checks, it’s about their rental [credit] checks, and it’s about several things. And the main thing, it’s about those [lease] addendums, they weed ‘em out from that, check and see if they got jobs... That’s what they’ve been doing on every site," Wright said.

Simms told residents during the meeting that there were "special programs" to assist residents with those kinds of issues. However, Simms did not specify what the programs were.
Wright tells APN that she understands that some residents with those issues may qualify for a one-time cash payment, but no voucher, and she does not know how many eligible residents would receive the assistance.

DOES AHA HAVE A PLAN?

Attorney Lindsay Jones, who was only there for part of the meeting, asked whether AHA had a relocation plan for residents.

"We have the brochure and the applications," AHA’s Renee Bentley replied.

Therefore, no, AHA did not have any relocation plans available for residents to inspect at the meeting.

And while a brief pamphlet explaining some basics of the relocation process was distributed, AHA did not have a copy of the demolition application available for the residents to inspect either.

Simms also promised the residents could have a copy of the application in the future.

AHA IGNORES RESIDENT CONCERNS

Despite the fact that AHA will likely send these applications in to HUD as evidence that residents are on board with the demolition campaign, AHA did not take resident concerns into account as part of their purported "consultation" with residents.

For example, one resident asked, "Will we have the opportunity to return?"

"This is not HOPE VI. No, I don’t know what will be," done with the properties to say whether residents will be able to come back, Simms replied.

"Why we got to move if you don’t have a plan for this property? We want them to tell us. I want to be able to return," the resident said.

Simms ignored this resident’s concern.

AHA has been holding meetings last week and will hold some next week--announced at the last minute–for Bankhead Courts, Bowen Homes, Herndon Homes, Hollywood Courts, Palmer House, Roosevelt House, Thomasville Heights, and the RAB Board. However, AHA has called many of these meetings themselves and are not meeting with the actual associations in some cases, including Hollywood Courts and the RAB Board.

"We got a flyer Monday evening about a quarter to five [pm]. I didn't get it, the office did and security passed them out. We're the representatives for the residents, we speak for the residents, and it's like they disrespecting us. They're acting like there's no association at all. They should notify the Chair, and the officers of the resident association should be able to come and talk and let the residents know what's going on [at these meetings]. It's more of a demand from them. They act like they're the Gestapo, they're coming in with scare tactics," Wright said.
"This is our meeting!" Simms reminded residents who wished to make statements at the meetings inconsistent with the agency's message.

In New Orleans, Plan to Raze Low-Income Housing Draws Protest

2008-04-09T08:53:00.000-07:00

By LESLIE EATON - New York Times - Published: December 14, 2007

NEW ORLEANS — At a moment when the shortage of low-income housing in the city is causing significant hardship, the federal government is beginning this week to tear down thousands of apartments in the city’s four biggest public housing projects.

The plan is producing sharp opposition, which has escalated to include raucous demonstrations and, perhaps, threats of arson and other violence.

On Thursday, outside City Hall and opposite a park where homeless people are living in dozens of small tents, about 100 demonstrators chanted “Stop the demolitions now!” A few were displaced public-housing residents; most were activists and public housing advocates from here and cities from New York to California.

Though local and federal housing officials say the storm-damaged projects were inhuman places to live and should not be rebuilt, some protesters accused the government of a darker motive behind the demolition plan. They contended that the government’s real aim was to keep the poor, mostly female, almost entirely black residents of public housing from returning to their city, to their homes.

“They don’t want this city to be for the poor, working-class people,” said Sharon Sears Jasper, a former public housing resident who says she is now living in a “slum house.” Government policies favor the wealthy and tourists, she continued after the demonstration. “Everyone else, kick them to the curb.”

Meanwhile, James Bernazzani, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation office here, confirmed that its domestic terrorism unit was investigating the source of small posters reading “For Every Public Housing Unit Destroyed a Condo Unit Will Be Destroyed.”
Lawyers for former residents continued to ask the courts to stop the plan, by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, to demolish buildings containing 4,500 units, about 3,000 of which were occupied before Hurricane Katrina.

The government said private developers would replace them with about 3,300 subsidized housing units in developments that will also include homes for people with higher incomes, but others said there would not be that many low-cost units.

The debate over the plan has become a political issue. On Wednesday, John Edwards, the former North Carolina senator who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, urged the government to build replacement housing before bulldozing the projects.

Demolition began on Wednesday night at one housing project that had been scheduled to be destroyed before the storm and will begin on two other projects this weekend.

Federal officials say the barracks-style complexes were substandard before Hurricane Katrina and were badly damaged by the storm. New subsidized housing, and vouchers for existing and new apartments, will ensure that no one who lived in the demolished projects will be left homeless, they said.

“The goal was to rebuild it, build it better, and move people into new homes,” said Jereon M. Brown, a spokesman for the housing department.

Mr. Brown said of the protesters: “Ask how many of them have lived in public housing, have been to public housing other than to protest.”

But the protesters, including some former residents of the projects, say the sturdy apartment buildings could be rehabilitated, especially at a time when little low-cost housing is available in New Orleans.

Hurricane Katrina destroyed more than 50,000 rental units here, and damaged thousands more apartments, affecting two-thirds of the city’s rental stock. Rents have soared for the apartments that remain habitable.

Adding to the pressure on the rental market, almost 3,000 families living in government trailer parks in Louisiana must find a new place to live in the next few months, as the Federal Emergency Management Agency closes the sites it manages. By the end of the year, it will stop paying for 3,700 trailers in private trailer camps.

Some residents of the complexes and many who lived nearby said that they were delighted the projects were going to disappear and that they believed they would be replaced with something better.

Stacy S. Head, a City Council member whose district includes two of the complexes, said she had heard from many who welcomed the new plan.

“The vast majority do not want to go back to the way it was,” Ms. Head said, adding that the old projects were run-down and dangerous, and that the new buildings would help the working poor.
As for the protesters, she said, “I wish that all these people, particularly from out of town, would just leave us alone and let us improve our city.”

Some advocates for the residents said they did not oppose changes or improvements but wanted a guarantee that there would be a place for former residents in the new developments, a promise that they said had not always been kept in previous redevelopments of public housing here.

“Many residents are not against redevelopment but want an interim housing plan that gets them home,” said Judith Browne-Dianis, a director of the Advancement Project in Washington, a civil rights group that is involved in the legal fight against the demolition plan.

At the project where demolition has begun, the B. W. Cooper Apartments, not far from the Superdome, residents were almost unanimous in wanting the government to finish tearing down some of the four-story blond-brick buildings that had been erected in the 1950s and closed before the storm.

“I know people need places to stay, but these places aren’t for living,” Trina Davis said, as a group of women sitting on a nearby porch talked of their hopes of moving into the new buildings that are to replace the old ones across Erato Street.

But Gertrude Luster, who was moving in nearby, said that public housing was needed for people of her age living on fixed incomes. She is 79 and receives $643 a month.

“I don’t think they should tear none of it down,” Ms. Luster said. “People need a place to come back to.”

Tenants in 2 AHA buildings get more time

2008-04-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

By Eric Stirgus / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution / Published on: 12/12/07

Housing Authority won't tear down Palmer, Roosevelt until 2009 to give residents more time to adapt to change.

Tenants in two Atlanta Housing Authority buildings for the elderly and disabled will have more time before they'll have to move. The authority will push back the demolition dates of the buildings to 2009 "so that we have additional time to help seniors feel more at ease with the transition," AHA president and chief executive officer Renee Glover wrote in a letter Tuesday to Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders.

Housing authority officials announced plans earlier this year to demolish the Palmer House, located near the Georgia Aquarium, by January. They planned to raze Roosevelt House, which stands a couple blocks north of Palmer House, in 2009.

AHA spokesman Rick White said Tuesday the agency will now move up the demolition date of other developments, such as Bowen Homes. AHA officials say there have been five slayings at the northwest Atlanta apartment complex since July. Agency officials say crime is out of control there and want to move residents to safer communities. Bowen Homes is now scheduled to come down in May, White said.

The new schedule still must be approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Some tenants and community activists have criticized the authority's plan to demolish 12 older apartment complexes, called the "Quality of Life Initiative." Critics say many tenants will be forced to move to neighborhoods where it is tougher to get to public transportation and health services. AHA officials say most tenants have welcomed the plan and the residents will have the first opportunity to move into whatever is built afterward.
In response to the complaints, councilmen Kwanza Hall and Ivory Lee Young penned legislation urging the AHA to halt the demolition so a task force can study the process and make sure tenants find suitable housing. The council last week postponed a scheduled vote on creating the task force.

Hall said Tuesday he welcomed the revised plan and is working with AHA on other options for tenants in the two developments, which are located in his district. Young said he is still worried about the initiative.

"We've done great things in public housing, but we've left some people out," Young said during a meeting of the council's Community Development/Human Resources committee.

Eight students from South Atlanta High School's law and government program met with Young last week and asked to speak at Tuesday's meeting. They complained that AHA officials don't fully consider the impact demolition has on students who have to move during the school year. Sometimes, said ninth-grader Jermaunte' Lamar, students move with their families to areas where it is more difficult to get to MARTA and they have longer commutes to school.

The students also said some displaced tenants don't get federal vouchers to subsidize rent, called Section 8, and wind up homeless.

Brachell Kemp, 15, talked about the emotional toll. She said some of her relatives were forced to leave Jonesboro South, one of the properties in the Quality of Life Initiative. "Being a student and seeing my family not having anywhere to go was hard on me," the 10th-grader said.

AHA Whistleblower Corroborates Document Forgery

2008-04-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News / 12/08/07

(APN) ATLANTA – Exclusive testimony by a whistleblower who formerly worked for the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) corroborates the case that AHA seems to have deceived the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) regarding its consultation with the Resident Advisory Board (RAB Board) regarding their demolition applications for Jonesboro North, Jonesboro South, Inglewood Manor, U-Rescue Villa, and Leila Valley, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

HUD’s demolition/disposition applications under the "Section 18" program–different from HOPE VI–require a Housing Authority certify and explain how they consulted with resident groups and advocacy groups, particularly the RAB Board. To make a case for how they met this requirement, AHA sent in the fabricated meeting minutes and other documents.

The whistleblower, Anthony Bostic, was cited in the forged documents [and the real ones, also obtained by APN] and was the individual who presented to the RAB Board AHA’s demolition plans in general, and also put together the relocation plans for AHA for the applications to HUD. Bostic previously blew the whistle on other agenda wrongdoing in a previous APN exclusive about widespread voucher terminations.

APN first reported to the City Council of Atlanta in a public comment on December 03, 2007, that AHA had forged meeting minutes, sign-in sheets, and meeting agendas for the Jurisdiction Wide RAB Board’s February 14, 2007, meeting, in the five applications. APN published an article regarding the matter on December 04, 2007.

On December 05, 2007, APN notified the Deputy Assistant Secretary of HUD, Jereon Brown, as well as the director of the Special Applications Center which received the applications, Ainars Rodins, of the misrepresentation to HUD by AHA. Brown thanked APN for the information and said he forwarded it to the Program Director for Public and Indian Housing.

As Atlanta Progressive News has reported for some time, AHA did not consult with the RAB Board. Indeed, a copy of the February 14, 2007, RAB Board Meeting minutes, prepared by Louis Amey, Secretary, obtained several months ago by APN, state Barney Simms and Anthony Bostic of AHA made a presentation regarding the demolitions to the RAB Board.

"At Antoine Graves [senior high-rise] we did have a meeting, I believe it was on February 14th. I did go through the standard Quality of Life Initiative (QLI) presentation. It did not call for a vote nor did it call for any meaningful resident feedback," Bostic recalled in an interview with Atlanta Progressive News.

"All of our presentations invite residents to ask questions, but it wasn't really anything where we took any of their thoughts into consideration. Or take any of their thoughts to brainstorm about them and get back to them. The meeting was not designed to incorporate any of their feedback into the plan. It was more of an announcement and trying to convice residents it’s a good thing,” Bostic said.

"It wasn't that it was in draft form and we're trying to incorporate [their concerns]. It was to alert the residents of what is going on. But the plan had already been finalized. By February 14th, we'd already met with Concerned Black Clergy and had a meeting at Pascale's restaurant with local elected officials," including several City Council Members and State Rep. "Able" Mable Thomas, Bostic said.

"When we met with them [the RAB Board] the plan was in place. If we had gone back into serious revisions we would have had to have gone back to the political officials to make an announcement of what we were doing. The [QLI] plan was already announced, promoted, and disseminated," Bostic said, adding that the demolition applications themselves were not ever made public to his knowledge.

Bostic made an analogy to illustrate AHA’s presentation to the RAB Board. "I'm inviting you to my house, we're having steak, shrimp, and salad. And it doesn't matter that you're a vegetarian. I told you what was on the menu. But [you say] there was no opportunity for me to voice my opinion that I'm a vegetarian," Bostic said.

Did AHA ever go back and consult with the RAB Board about the applications? "I didn't and I don't believe it was done." Bostic left the agency in May 2007 after apparently being fired for exposing agency wrongdoing. "To my knowledge, there was not a time that we actually went to the residents and said, what do you think about this? Our position is to demolish the properties, and put the residents in a better situation," Bostic said.

"Our plan was around how do we meet basic HUD requirements? They would probably use [the meeting minutes] to show consultation but again that wasn't an opportunity for consultation," Bostic said. "It's kind of an undertone, we have to involve the residents because HUD tells us to do so, but they don't get it. They're complacent. They want the status quo even though it's not best for them."

According to the real minutes from the February 14 meeting, after Bostic’s presentation, the floor was opened to questions. "Some of the questions or concerns were: Doesn’t AHA need approval from JWC [Jurisdiction-Wide Council also known as the RAB Board] to move forward? (Answer:) AHA doesn’t need approval from JWC and they only need approval from HUD. They are just letting us know what the plan is so we can tell our Residents what to expect," the real minutes state.

"I remember the question coming up. Barney [Simms] probably gave the answer. That was the sentiment: we're not seeking your approval," Bostic told APN.

However, the demolition applications contain a different version of the minutes from the same meeting, apparently composed by AHA. These minutes are only one page, instead of two pages, and they contain completely different descriptions of what went on that day. They do not include AHA’s assertion of only needing to tell residents their plans but not consult with them.
Who typed up the fake RAB Board meeting minutes?

"I know I did not and I probably know who did. Probably someone on his [Simms’s] staff but I don't know. I knew we had to have evidence to submit to HUD. It [putting together the demolition applications] didn't fall under my realm, so I didn't pay attention to it very much. It actually fell under real estate management," Bostic said.

"We [AHA] did type them up. We had a staff person there on Barney's team that was there to type the minutes for the purpose of the application and not necessarily working with the Secretary [of the association]. I have no knowledge that we ever reached out to the Secretary of the body to get their notes," Bostic said.

"If they also seem very rote, standard, they're all part of the same format... You're not gonna have 5 or 6 public housing residents using the same legal language," Bostic said. "All 6 communities have their own Secretaries and their own set of minutes."

The demolition applications also contain typed-up sign in sheets, which RAB Board President Diane Wright says are not the RAB Board’s actual sign-in sheets. The sign-in sheets sent to HUD were typed, whereas the AHA sign-in sheets contain handwritten names.

The demolition applications also contain copies of the agenda from that meeting, although Wright says it is not the actual agenda. APN has actual RAB Board agendas from other months and they are not in the same format nor font, nor on the same letterhead, as the agenda AHA sent in to HUD.

Residents, press, advocates, and local officials have been trying to see copies of the applications for months. Wright told City Council in a July 2007 Work Session that AHA refused to let her see the applications, a Channel 26 video shows.

Attorney Lindsay Jones, also of Emory University, helped residents with a public records
request to AHA including a request for the applications, where AHA never responded to the individual items.

City Councilwoman Felicia Moore also requested the applications several times, she told APN. Wright also hand delivered to AHA’s director, Renee Glover, a second public records request at the November 2007 AHA Board of Commissioners and never heard a response, she said.
AHA’s spokesperson, Rick White, first told APN they would be happy to share the documents, but about one hour later said it would have to go through with public records. APN finally obtained them from HUD’s Freedom of Information office after six weeks of attempting to view them.

AHA also told HUD they received no written comments on the applications but the problem is that they were not made available to the public for such comment.

Residents and advocates are continuing to pursue an injunction against AHA, and are also interested in possible criminal charges against relevant AHA officials. The City Attorney recently told Council that AHA is liable for its own damages.

About the author: Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

Atlanta Housing Authority:2 Ways of Life

2008-04-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

By ERIC STIRGUS / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution / Published on: 12/06/07

If all goes as planned, the one-bedroom Atlanta apartment 88 -year-old Sarah Beach has called home for the past eight years will fall to the wrecking ball next year.

Grounded in the familiarity of longtime neighbors and people who drive her to the grocery store and church, Beach doesn't want to leave the 500 -square-foot space she calls home.

"I can't be happy about going somewhere until I see it and try it out," Beach said last week, sitting on a folding chair sandwiched by her bed and a dresser drawer. Atlanta Housing Authority officials say they will help Beach move and believe she'll be fine in her new surroundings. Some community activists and tenants doubt the agency.

AHA officials announced plans earlier this year to raze a dozen older and crime-plagued apartment complexes under what it calls a "Quality of Life Initiative." The authority has leveled or redeveloped about a dozen properties since 1994, but for the first time, demolition plans include buildings exclusively for senior citizens. The two senior developments eyed for destruction are Roosevelt House and Palmer House , where Beach lives.

Currently, 364 seniors live in the two buildings. The Palmer House originally was scheduled to be torn down in January, but AHA officials say the work has been delayed, largely due to questions from City Council members and community activists.

Some Atlanta City Council members want to create a task force that will come up with ways to ensure tenants like Beach land in good situations after the demolition. Critics complain that housing authority's plan has pushed some tenants into the suburbs, where it is tougher to get to public transportation, health care and other services.

AHA Executive Director Renee Glover defended the plan after Monday's City Council meeting. "We stand by all the work we have done on affordable housing opportunities for the poor, the elderly and the disabled," Glover said.

Palmer House is near the Georgia Aquarium. Opened in 1966 during the first term of Mayor Ivan Allen, it stands 17 stories high and overlooks the street that bears the former mayor's name. AHA officials say it would cost $20 million to renovate Palmer House, largely because the building's insulation has some asbestos, which can cause cancer. An AHA spokesman said the asbestos is not endangering the tenants.

Housing authority officials point to other problems. Voices are difficult to hear over the intercom. Efficiency units are only 300 square feet in size. Hallways have tile floors and are dimly lit. Apartments have no bathtubs, just showers. AHA officials say the displaced tenants will have the first opportunity to move into whatever housing is rebuilt where they are now. But first, they must find new places to live.

Bertha Dukes, 91 , has lived in an efficiency apartment since 1999, when she moved from the West End. She doesn't know where she will go. Her bed, sofa and living room chair are within a few feet of each other. To make up for the one small closet near her bed, Dukes has a plastic dresser filled with clothes next to her window.

Dukes has mixed feelings about moving. She knows her new place will be larger, but it will be unfamiliar. Her apartment is not. "It's home," she said.

City Council Stalls on Housing Task Force Resolution

2008-04-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

By Jonathan Springston, Senior Staff Writer, The Atlanta Progressive News - 12/05/07

(APN) ATLANTA – The Atlanta City Council voted Monday, December 03, 2007, to first amend and then send back to Committee a resolution that would have created a Task Force to study the effects of the Atlanta Housing Authority’s (AHA) Quality of Life Initiative on public housing residents.

It was thought the Council would take definitive action on the resolution that also would have asked the AHA to halt the demolition and renovation schedules of two senior high rises, Palmer House and Roosevelt House, until adequate alternative housing could be found for the affected seniors.

AHA’s plans, thus, are currently unaffected. AHA had told residents at Palmer House that relocation teams would begin moving residents in January 2008, even though Atlanta Progressive News reported this week HUD has not signed off on such a plan. AHA’s director Renee Glover told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper that those plans are now on hold.
The Community Development and Human Resources Committee (CDHR) unanimously sent the resolution to full Council on November 26, 2007, including a provision stating that information about how big the task force would be and who would appoint those members would be developed by the bills’ co-sponsors over the weekend. The co-sponsors are Councilmen Kwanza Hall and Ivory Lee Young.

During that CDHR meeting, Councilman Young, Jr. noted that the bill had been in Committee “for quite some time now,” leaving one to wonder why details of how the Task Force would be appointed had not been worked out sooner.

Young also urged his colleagues that day to "aggressively move this forward” and “quickly fill the seats of the Task Force."

But Young doomed his own legislation when he offered a controversial amendment addressing who would appoint the Task Force.

Some Members raised objections to a provision in the amendment that AHA Executive Director Renee Glover and the AHA Board of Commissioners would be among those who each get to appoint one member.

"The Task Force can’t make any forward progress without input from the Housing Authority," Young said in defense.

Councilman Clarence T. Martin said the parties in question have already had a chance to solve the relocation problem and have failed.

"It’s important we have the AHA at the table," Councilman Kwanza Hall, coauthor of the resolution, said. "It’s important that we have some mediation."

Martin and Councilwoman Felicia Moore said they would be willing to support the amendment if Young agreed to remove the parties in question but Young did not.

Members generally did not appear to have a problem with the other parties who would get to appoint one representative apiece: Mayor Shirley Franklin, President of the City Council Lisa Borders, the American Association of Retired People (AARP), the Fulton County Council on Aging, and each of the affected public housing communities.

The City Council would appoint a total of three members with each vote divided equally among council districts. For example, districts one, two, three, four, and post one at large would vote as a group.

Councilwomen Mary Norwood and Joyce Sheperd suggested adding, respectively, a geriatric specialist and a member from the Atlanta Commission on the Aging.

Martin suggested adding a representative from Atlanta Legal Aid, a group that has worked closely with public housing residents who are facing eviction.

Ultimately, the Council approved the amendment without making any changes.
But Young said the legislation had been drafted “rather hurriedly” and inexplicably moved to send the entire resolution, as amended, back to Committee for further consideration.
One source familiar with the matter told Atlanta Progressive News that Atlanta Housing Authority had engaged in intensive backstage lobbying with the City Council and that Young had already agreed to send the bill back to Committee before the Meeting occurred.
"We will thoughtfully look at the legislation [and] bring closure by the end of January," Young said.

Neither the City Council nor the CDHR Committee meet again this year, ensuring residents at Palmer House will be on their own come January.

About the author: Jonathan Springston is a Senior Staff Writer for Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at jonathan@atlantaprogressivenews.com

City won't postpone demolition

2008-04-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

By Eric Stirgus / The Atlanta Journal-Constitution / Published on: 12/04/07

The Atlanta City Council won't delay the housing authority's plan to demolish some of its older apartment buildings. At least, for now.

Council members decided Monday to wait before making the demand. They want to create a task force that will study the demolition's effect on elderly tenants and make sure those residents have adequate housing.

Councilman Ivory Lee Young, one of two co-sponsors of the legislation, asked for more time to map out what the task force will study and who should serve on it. He pledged to bring the legislation back to the council by late January.

"We're trying to hurriedly and haphazardly go through this," Young said. "It deserves a lot more thought."

Shirley Hightower, president of the Bowen Homes resident association, one of the buildings scheduled to be demolished, was disappointed by the council's decision.
"I wanted some results today," she said.

The Atlanta Housing Authority has announced plans to demolish 11 apartment complexes it says are old and in poor condition. The apartments include two high-rise buildings for the elderly. One of them, the 250-unit Palmer House, is scheduled to be demolished early next year. The other, Roosevelt House, is set for April 2009.

Displaced tenants will get federal housing subsidized vouchers they can use to offset rent in other public housing, privately-owned apartment buildings or homes elsewhere in the region.
Some tenants and community activists have complained that the residents will have to go to areas where it is tougher to get to public transportation and health care. About two dozen residents spoke about the issue Monday. Most were in favor of a task force.

The council did hire a fire chief. Kelvin Cochran, fire chief of Shreveport, La., since 1999, was appointed unanimously Monday to lead Atlanta's 1,045 firefighters and emergency medical service workers.

Cochran, 47, will make an annual salary of about $160,000. He has said his tasks will include assessing the condition of Atlanta's 37 fire stations and possibly pushing for raises. The average starting annual salary for a city firefighter is about $35,000.

New Orleans Hurt by Acute Rental Shortage

2008-04-09T08:39:00.000-07:00

By SUSAN SAULNY - New York Times - Published: December 3, 2007

NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 2 — Inside trailer No. 27 here at the A. L. Davis Playground, where the government set up a camp last year for displaced residents of Hurricane Katrina, Tracy Bernard’s meager possessions are all packed up, even though she has nowhere to go.

About a month ago, workers for the Federal Emergency Management Agency swept through her trailer park, a bleak tableau of housing of the last resort, taping eviction notices on the flimsy aluminum doors. Thousands of other trailer residents across Louisiana were informed by FEMA last week that they too would be evicted in the next six months.

But few of them will be able to return to the city from which they were flooded out 27 months ago.

More than two years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is suffering from an acute shortage of housing that has nearly doubled the cost of rental units in the city, threatening the recovery of the region and the well-being of many residents who decided to return against the odds. Before the storm, more than half of the city’s population rented housing. Yet official attention to help revive the shattered rental home and apartment market has been scant.

In some core middle- and lower-income areas, blighted dwellings stretch for blocks on end, and the city has been slow to come up with ideas for what to do with those that have been abandoned. Last week, the city housing authority approved the demolition of 4,000 public housing units at five projects damaged by the storm. In their place, the authority plans to build mixed-income projects, large parts of which will not be affordable to previous residents.
Although repairs are being made and more housing is available now than a year ago, demand is still outpacing supply.

Ms. Bernard, a veteran worker for the local public transportation agency who has to move by Monday, has been scouring the city for a place to rent. Properties in her price range, if they exist at all, routinely come without finished walls or stoves. In New Orleans, decent affordable housing remains a casualty of the storm.

“A lot of the city is still boarded up,” said Ms. Bernard, who rented a one-bedroom house in eastern New Orleans for $300 a month before Hurricane Katrina. “Where are we supposed to go?”

One of the more striking changes to appear lately in New Orleans is the highly visible number of homeless men and women living under bridges and in parks. Social service groups say about 12,000 homeless people are living in the city, about double the number before the storm.
The sense of an impending housing crisis grew stronger last week with FEMA’s announcement on Wednesday that it would close all the trailer camps it runs for victims of the 2005 hurricanes on varying schedules by the end of May. More than 900 families are living in FEMA trailer parks around the city.

The agency said its action was intended to hasten the move of residents to permanent housing from trailers. It said counselors would assist every resident in the transition. “We’re with them every step of the way,” Diane L. W. Perry, a FEMA spokeswoman, said Wednesday.

But in interviews at trailer parks last week, a reporter found that some residents had not spoken with a caseworker in weeks, even though they were scheduled to be evicted within days.
“The caseworker is very hard to get in touch with,” said Martin Blossom, a pizza cook who lives in a trailer and who is not sure where he will move in the next few days. “I haven’t talked with the caseworker for two weeks.”

Others said the information they got from caseworkers was useless. Ramona Jones said her counselor gave her several listings, but some of the apartments were not ready for habitation by her eviction date — or they were, in her words, “rat holes.” Landlords are asking $1,100 a month or more. Though Ms. Jones and others are eligible for financial assistance to help pay the high rents, many are reluctant, knowing that, like the trailers, the assistance could disappear, leaving them stranded with huge bills.

“We done been through so much with FEMA till where it’s easy for the federal government to back out on their word,” Ms. Jones, a factory worker, said. “They did it before. Everybody’s looking at, ‘What if?’ ”

Time has already run out for some. Ms. Bernard, 40, and her two daughters got the final word on Friday that they were evicted, cast out of the only home they have had since the storm to whereabouts unknown. And they were not alone.

“I don’t know what’s going to become of us,” said Tiffany Farbe, who lives in a trailer park near the Mississippi River in the Uptown part of New Orleans with her son and mother. “They said get out. I’ve explained to them over and over again our situation. FEMA just makes you feel like dirt.”

The agency objects to that characterization, and says it is only trying to help.
“It’s the next step in the recovery,” said Ronnie Simpson, a FEMA spokesman. “It’s the individual’s responsibility to go out and find what’s suitable for them.”
While the agency provides listings, Mr. Simpson said it did not necessarily endorse the properties or know much about them beyond their locations and the basics, such as the number of bedrooms.

“We know it’s a tough decision, and that’s not lost on us,” he said, but “more and more housing becomes available every day, that’s a fact. The sooner you begin the process, the better. You want to start early and pick what’s right for your family.” He added: “We’re very sensitive to the fact that this isn’t an easy move. But it’s a necessary move.”

Before the hurricane, housing advocates estimated there were about 6,300 homeless people in New Orleans and neighboring Jefferson Parish. Today, the count is 12,000 and growing. Experts said it was hard to ignore the link between the housing situation and homelessness.

“FEMA and the federal bureaucracy seem oblivious to the fact that virtually no new affordable rental housing has yet appeared in New Orleans to replace what was lost,” said Martha J. Kegel, executive director of Unity of Greater New Orleans, a group of 60 agencies that house and feed the homeless. “It will take a long time for enough replacement affordable housing to be built. To withdraw housing assistance to the neediest people is a shirking of federal responsibility for the design failure of the federal levees in New Orleans, which was the cause of most of the destruction of affordable housing here.”

In the past several months, a homeless encampment has sprung up on the steps of City Hall — partly because it is a safe open space and partly because it is a political statement. Tents and sleeping bags are aligned in rows. The crowd of hundreds is a mix of young and old, white and black.

Michael Reeves, 45, sleeps on the grass outside City Hall. He used to rent a one-bedroom in the Ninth Ward for $350 before the storm. “Ain’t nothing left but the ground,” he said. “We didn’t have nowhere to go so we came here.”

Not everyone in the park is a native of New Orleans. Some people came here after the storm to do construction work without realizing they would not be able to find a place to live. Some sleep on-site in unfinished buildings; others have taken up residence in abandoned buildings or in parks.

Ken Cimino, 48, sleeps outside of City Hall, too. He does odd jobs at the Superdome, mostly picking up trash after Saints football games. Mr. Cimino drove to New Orleans recently from New Haven, Conn.

“I came here for construction work, and found the situation wasn’t quite what I expected,” he said. “I thought I’d live out of my car for a few weeks until I found a place. Used up my savings. I just got caught off balance.”

Now, Mr. Cimino says he cannot afford to drive back to Connecticut. He is just one of many laborers who find themselves without options.

Ms. Bernard said she might end up on a friend’s mother’s couch until she wears out her welcome. Then what?

“I know I’m going to find something,” she said. “I have faith. I know God’s going to work something out for us.”

AHA Falsified Applications to HUD

2008-04-09T08:37:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, Atlanta Progressive News (December 03, 2007)

(APN) ATLANTA – The Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) sent in five demolition applications to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) containing falsified documents, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

APN notified the City Council of Atlanta of this troubling revelation during the public comment period of the December 03, 2007, full Council meeting.

APN obtained the documents through the Freedom of Information Act from HUD, after both AHA and HUD’s press offices refused to disclose the documents voluntarily. HUD’s Donna White said the documents would have to come through AHA or public records since they were produced by AHA, but did not explain why. AHA’s Barney Simms had Rick White from the Alisias PR firm return a phone call from APN. White said he would be happy to provide the documents, only hours later saying they would instead have to come through public records, meaning it would cost around $300, contain several redactions, and take several weeks.

APN received expedited processing from HUD. HUD granted expedited processing because APN was able to show that not having the documents could lead to the loss of safety of others, particularly since the public has not seen the relocation plans for residents being evicted. In all, it took about six weeks to get the documents. The applications were for the Jonesboro North, Jonesboro South, Inglewood Manor, U-Rescue Villa, and Leila Valley communities. Donna White from HUD told APN they were approved in June 2007.

In addition to obtaining forged documents, the applications also raise other serious issues. Mayor of Atlanta Shirley Franklin has been sending letters to HUD expressing the approval of the “City of Atlanta” of the demolitions. However, this has been done without the consent of the City Council.

Also, the applications state that no written comments from the public were received on the applications. However, AHA never held public hearings on the applications, Diane Wright, President of the Resident Advisory Board, told APN. Also, if the applications were not made public, being that they could only be obtained through public records requests for a fee, it’s not clear how the public would have been able to comment on them.

FORGED DOCUMENTS REGARDING RESIDENT CONSULTATION

One of the most important requirements of the application process to HUD for each demolition/disposition application is to demonstrate how the residents were consulted with, particularly the RAB Board.

As Atlanta Progressive News has reported for some time, AHA did not consult with the RAB Board. Indeed, a copy of the February 14, 2007 RAB Board Meeting minutes, prepared by Louis Amey, Secretary, obtained several months ago by APN, state Barney Simms and Anthony Bostic of AHA made a presentation regarding the demolitions to the RAB Board. Incidentally, Bostic is now an AHA whistleblower who has shared with APN other instances of AHA wrongdoing, as APN has already reported.

After this presentation, the floor was opened to questions. "Some of the questions or concerns were: Doesn’t AHA need approval from JWC [Jurisdiction-Wide Council also known as the RAB Board] to move forward? (Answer:) AHA doesn’t need approval from JWC and they only need approval from HUD. They are just letting us know what the plan is so we can tell our Residents what to expect."

However, the demolition applications contain a different version of the minutes from the same meeting, apparently composed by AHA. These minutes are only one page, instead of two pages, and they contain completely different descriptions of what went on that day. They do not include AHA’s assertion of only needing to tell residents their plans but not consult with them.

The demolition applications also contain typed-up sign in sheets, which Wright says are not the RAB Board’s actual sign-in sheets. The sign-in sheets sent to HUD were typed, whereas the AHA sign-in sheets contain handwritten names.

The demolition applications also contain copies of the agenda from that meeting, although Wright says it is not the actual agenda. APN has actual RAB Board agendas from other months and they are not in the same format nor font, nor on the same letterhead, as the agenda AHA sent in to HUD.

LETTER FROM MAYOR FRANKLIN

Mayor Franklin wrote five letters to HUD supporting each of the applications on January 29, 2007. "The City of Atlanta supports The Housing Authority of the City of Atlanta’s (AHA) plan to submit a demolition application to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development relating to the Englewood Manor [or respective] community," Franklin wrote.
Franklin insisted the City was a partner in the demolitions. "As a partner, The City of Atlanta is committed to working with AHA to promote more effective and efficient operation of low-income housing, to better serve the needs of these residents, and to reduce the concentration of poverty in Atlanta neighborhoods," Franklin wrote.

However, one Member of City Council told Atlanta Progressive News that the Council has not voted to approve the demolitions. Some Members of Council, particularly Ivory Lee Young, have stated that the Council has no jurisdiction over the AHA in regards to these demolitions. However, the City Council does have a say as relevant local government officials through the demolition application process.

HUD’s Donna White told APN that traditionally, HUD prefers for the letter to come from the Mayor or County Chair, where applicable.

Yet, that does not mean the letter should be written by the Mayor on behalf of the City without consultation with the legislative body whose role it is to set policy and represent citizens.
Atlanta Progressive News will inform top HUD officials of the issues, including the apparent fraudulent documents, related to this application. Residents and advocates have already made a civil rights complaint to HUD, which HUD is investigating, stating they were not consulted as well.

At this point, residents and advocates are interested in pursuing a legal injunction preventing AHA from relocating residents and demolishing the properties.

About the author: Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

AHA Demolitions

2008-04-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

BY DENNIS MALCOLM BYRON JR. / ATLANTA VOICE / Managing Editor

The City Hall of Atlanta had over 200 citizens head up its marble steps leading to the second floor main meeting room on Monday, December 3, to take part in a community gathering of great importance. The stage was set for City Council members, led by President Lisa Borders, to vote on passing a resolution to create a Task Force to review the implications of Atlanta Housing Authority demolitions throughout Georgia ’s capital.

The resolution, proposed by Councilmen Kwanza Hall (District 2) and Ivory Lee Young (District 3), would, at the very least, postpone the AHA’s plans to demolish two significant senior citizen residences.

Reportedly, the Palmer House and its 250 units, located on 430 Centennial Olympic Park Drive, is slated to see the wrecking ball in the early part of 2008; the other, the 257 unit-Roosevelt House -- based near Georgia Tech on 582 Techwood Drive -- is planned to be demolished in a little over a year-and-half in April of 2009. Needless to say, both residences are sitting on prime real estate.

The meeting’s attendees included a racially diverse audience who created an aura of concern for their future. They included a group of seniors clad in purple baseball hats and T-shirts with the acronym, P.O.S.S.E. on their backs; residents of Bowen Homes (which is also a candidate for demolition), Palmer House and Roosevelt House; members of the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department to support the appointment of new Chief Kelvin Cochran; and media.

The AHA’s reasoning for demolishing the complexes includes them being in bad condition and dated. Systematically, those housing residents who would be displaced will be granted federal housing subsidized vouchers. These vouchers -- which also brew controversy due to their stipulations – are presented to counterbalance the rent of alternative apartment buildings – both public and private – or homes throughout the city of Atlanta .

With a microphone set up at the front of the general seating, the City Council allowed attendees who signed up before the meeting’s commencement to state their current addresses followed by two minutes to voice their concerns. Called up three at a time, the majority of the speakers expressed resentment for relocation without the resolution’s guidelines.

One Atlanta resident, who did not live in either the Palmer or Roosevelt buildings, still articulated grave concern for what was transpiring throughout the city. She said, “I want to encourage the Council to stand in support of the many of thousands of people in this city who earn [low] wages or fixed income. I want them to support this resolution that investigates how it can be that thousands of units of affordable housing have been torn down over the last decade.” She continued, “What have been put in place are units that are not even affordable to middle-income workers. There are instead million-dollar penthouses that are being built all over town in the places where the working people have raised their families… Take the time to find out how the shift of the housing is going to go to those with millions of dollars, and the people who make this city run – the sanitation workers, the nurses, the waitresses and others -- are being put outside of the perimeter.”

Other comments came from people who were homeless or on the brink of homelessness. Some felt that the relocation would only postpone the inevitable – especially if they violated some of the rules the vouchers stood by in order to be valid. They also stressed how they were content in their current environments, and disrupting this “comfort zone” would create difficulty in finding adequate attention for special needs including, as one speaker said, no longer being in close proximity to a dialysis center.

Conversely, one gentleman in a wheelchair had expressed strong support for the voucher system and AHA’s involvement in relocating citizens. He said, “I have heard the horror stories and some of it I can accept… I want to tell you about the magnificence of the Atlanta Housing Authority relocating my people. I am very satisfied where I am. I am so happy and so proud that I am going through the Atlanta Housing Authority. My rent is now about $12 dollars less. Through the voucher program, I have survived within my needs.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, the resolution was referred back to the community development committee for further discussion. All in all, no concrete actions were taken.

Councilman Young proposed that there should be more time to solidify exactly who would make up the Task Force and what the unit would actually study. The vote on the resolution was postponed until at the earliest, January 7 at 1 p.m.

HUD Has Not Approved Palmer, Roosevelt House, nor Other Demolitions

2008-04-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (12/02/07)

(APN) ATLANTA – The Atlanta Housing Authority has not made an application to, or received an approval from, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, for several remaining public housing communities in Atlanta, including Palmer House and Roosevelt House, Atlanta Progressive News has learned.

A City Council resolution proposed by Council Members Ivory Lee Young and Kwanza Hall, and two articles in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper state that Palmer House is stated for demolition beginning in January of 2008, in just one month, with Roosevelt House to follow in 2009. One of the articles, an AJC editorial argued the City Council’s possible approval of a Housing Relocation Task Force would impede the plans already in place.

However, if AHA indeed already planned to demolish, or begin the demolition process next month, that would be illegal.

AHA has to receive approval from HUD before they begin any demolitions, Donna White, head spokesperson for HUD, told Atlanta Progressive News.

HUD prepared a list for Atlanta Progressive News several weeks ago of approved demolitions in Atlanta upon request from the news service. HUD later deemed the list “proprietary” and would not issue it to APN voluntarily, but answered questions about specific properties on the list and the dates and number of units of approvals.

Neither Palmer nor Roosevelt House were on the list. Donna White confirmed to APN on November 30, 2007, that Palmer House had still not been approved. Neither again did Palmer nor Roosevelt House appear on a public list of applications under consideration on HUD’s website for the Special Applications Center in Chicago, Illinois, which receives applications for demolition/disposition.

Eleanor Rayton, President of the residents’ association for Palmer House, confirmed to APN that AHA told her and the Palmer House residents that relocation teams would be beginning the process of relocating residents in January 2008.

There is nothing wrong with AHA offering vouchers to public housing residents in communities where demolitions have not been approved, Donna White said.

However, most residents and members of the public encountered by this writer believe the demolitions are a done deal.

The residents believe that they have to take the vouchers because they believe they have no other choice, Diane Wright, President of the Resident Advisory Board, told Atlanta Progressive News.

AHA has not informed most of the residents nor the public about the application process to HUD. Indeed, the City Council and AJC appear to believe Palmer House was slated for demolition next month.

Councilman Ivory Lee Young has suggested the HRTF could prepare brochures and other materials for public housing residents explaining their rights. "Could a brochure have helped to mitigate it? And for me personally, I think some of this is just getting the information to people impacted in an efficient way. Knowing the challenges that seniors have in attending meetings and getting information, going the extra mile," Young said in comments at Thursday’s Community Development and Human Resources Committee meeting of the City Council of Atlanta.

However, when community groups have attempted to make presentations to the senior residents at Palmer House, AHA has shut down their meetings, as reported previously in APN.
When Terence Courtney from Jobs with Justice was a planned special guest at a Special Call Meeting of the Palmer House resident association, AHA’s Barney Simms showed up with security and had him escorted off the property.

Therefore, AHA has not only failed to provide senior residents with information about their rights, but they have actively prevented them from receiving information inconsistent with the agency’s message.

Council Committee Approves Public Housing Task Force

2008-04-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (12-01-07)

(APN) ATLANTA – On Thursday, November 27, 2007, the Community Development and Human Resources Committee (CDHR) of the City Council of Atlanta approved a resolution to create a Housing Relocation Task Force (HRTF) to study the impact of public housing demolitions on residents and ask the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) to suspend the demolitions until the study is completed.

The resolution passed unanimously. The other co-sponsor of the resolution is Councilman Kwanza Hall. The full City Council will vote this Monday, December 03, 2007, on the resolution.
"We are a legislative body that represents all of the citizens including Housing Authority citizens who have come before us, expressing the best way they can, that this ain’t right. There’s a problem," Councilman Ivory Lee Young, cosponsor of the resolution, said during the meeting.

"Those who have been watching have seen this resolution sit in Committee for quite some time and some of us have waited very patiently to hear what we thought would be appropriate responses to the needs of our senior citizens," Young said.

"When the seniors were relocated from John O’Chiles many concerns were brought to this Committee, and at our last Committee meeting a litany of issues were presented to us by compassioned, impacted seniors who really just want an opportunity for fair, equal opportunity, equal access for accessible, safe housing," Young said.

The resolution states, "A resolution to create a Housing Relocation Task Force to study the effect of the Atlanta Housing Authority Quality of Life initiative on those residents who are to be relocated and requesting that the Atlanta Housing Authority suspend the demolition and renovation schedules of those senior highrises in which the displacement of seniors is anticipated, until adequate alternative housing is found for each resident who will be displaced, and for other purposes," according to a copy of the resolution obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.

"Many of them would prefer not to be relocated, but if they were relocated, there are a lot of issues that surround the relocation of a senior citizen. Many of them have been in these very comfortable environments for a long time. And so to ask them to move is traumatic in and of itself," Young said.

In response to a question from Councilwoman Joyce Shepherd, Young clarified that although the resolution specifically calls out Palmer House and Roosevelt House, two senior highrises, that all public housing communities slated for demolition are indirectly referenced in the full text.
The resolution had apparently sat in the CDHR Committee for quite some time while the Committee sought answers from AHA.

"I was confident that after John O’Chiles, and all of the stories that we had heard from seniors and their testimony before this Committee, I was confident that we would not have a repeat when it came with a discussion of Palmer and Roosevelt and those senior highrises. And here it is, business as usual," Young said.

Young also complained that AHA did not keep the promises it made during the public housing demolitions which began in Atlanta in the 1990s.

"The reality is, when before [sic] a single public housing unit was demolished, before the Olympics, it was a fact that the presentation that was being presented to public housing was that inside the fence there would be a certain percentage of what they called, deemed affordable housing, inside the fence of public housing developments. And that there was an affirmative plan to go out and find outside of the fence in a scattered site housing concept, replacement housing in order to supply adequate housing for the residents that were displaced from public housing," Young said.

"This was the presentation, this was what got the buy-in in old Techwood Homes. And old John Hope Homes. These were the things that were presented," Young said. "And we know a fact, many folks that lived in those housings no longer live, many of them in the city limits, many of them do not live anywhere in the environments they are accustomed to."

The HRTF, if approved by the full Council, would possibly be the first real effort of the City Council to consider information on the public housing demolitions not provided by the Atlanta Housing Authority itself.

The City Council held a "Work Session" on the public housing demolition plans several months ago, although only AHA was allowed to make a presentation at that time.

Young and Hall planned to develop the criteria for how Task Force members would be selected in time for Monday’s meeting, Young said in response to a question from Councilwoman Shepherd, and the resolution was approved on condition that the criteria be developed.

About the author: Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

Atlanta officials want Housing Authority to Halt Demolition of Developments

2008-04-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

By ERIC STIRGUS - The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionPublished on: 11/27/07

Council members want further study of impact on tenants

A group of Atlanta City Council members wants the Atlanta Housing Authority to halt demolition of its developments until a task force they want to create can study the impact on tenants.
The council's community development committee voted unanimously Tuesday on the resolution, which was the brainchild of councilmen Ivory Lee Young and Kwanza Hall. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the resolution Monday.

The resolution came largely in response to questions and complaints two weeks ago from more than a dozen AHA tenants and community activists about the demolitions and its potential impact on seniors.

"We have to go above and beyond the call of duty to help the most valuable resource we have, which is our seniors," Young said in an interview. "Quite frankly, there are too many unknowns."
AHA officials say they have tried to answer all questions and concerns from council members.
Although the City Council has no legislative power over the Housing Authority, council members argued the AHA should cooperate because council members represent the tenants. An AHA spokesman said the agency will continue to cooperate with the council, but couldn't say if the authority would participate in a task force.

Council members want the task force results before the AHA demolishes the 250-unit Palmer House in January and the 257-unit Roosevelt House in April 2009. The demolitions are part of a $15 million project called the "Quality of Life Initiative" to demolish more than 3,000 units to redevelop its aging housing stock, some of which was built in the early 1970s. The plan will affect about 9,600 tenants, who will get federal rent-assistance vouchers, commonly known as the Section 8 program, to move anywhere.

Once the buildings are demolished, the AHA will seek bids from developers and determine what plans are best for the properties.

Since the mid-1990s, the AHA has renovated about one dozen apartment complexes into mixed-income, mixed-use properties. The effort has drawn national praise from public housing advocates. Critics complain such efforts have pushed some tenants into the suburbs, where it is tougher to get to public transportation, healthcare and other services.

Young said he wants the AHA to more thoroughly address where these tenants will go after the demolitions and whether their new housing is adequate. The councilman says there is a lack of communication between the AHA and tenants. The resolution suggests creating brochures with frequently asked questions for tenants about the process and offering tenants legal assistance about their rights.

AHA spokesman Rick White stressed the need for the Quality of Life Initiative to move forward, saying that 96 percent of tenants — most of whom are single mothers — want to leave the developments. He noted that six people were shot and two others were stabbed at one development, Bowen Homes, in the past 90 days.

"It would be a shame to see these young mothers prevented from leaving with their children while a committee deliberates," White said.

The size of the task force or the length of time they would have to come back with solutions has not been determined. Young said those details would be settled by Monday.
Story so far:

Previously: The Atlanta Housing Authority wants to raze several of its public housing developments and potentially rebuild them as mixed-income communities.

The Latest: Some Atlanta City Council members want to stop the demolition of any AHA complexes as a task force studies the impact of the authority's plan on senior citizens who will be displaced.

What's Next: The City Council will vote Monday on the plan.

HUD Civil Rights Investigation of AHA Continues

2008-04-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale, News Editor, The Atlanta Progressive News (October 27, 2007)

(APN) ATLANTA – The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has officially processed two complaints made by resident association leaders, Diane Wright and Shirley Hightower, of Hollywood Courts and Bowen Homes public housing communities, respectively, according to documents concerning the investigations obtained by APN.

What was originally a joint complaint by the two resident leaders, both officers on the Resident Advisory Board (RAB), has been split into two separate complaints on behalf of each individual, APN has learned.

Wright’s complaint has its own case number and is called “Wright, Diane v Atlanta Housing Authority.” HUD prepared its own two-page summary of Wright’s complaint, according to a copy obtained by APN.

Additionally, each of the complaints is being investigated by two separate offices: both HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity and the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity.

"Your complaint, alleging one or more discriminatory housing practices, was officially filed on 09/20/07 as a complaint under the Federal Fair Housing Law... Additionally, the complaint was filed under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964... that prohibits discrimination on the ground of race, color, or national origin in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance," James Sutton, Regional Director of HUD FHEO, Region IV, wrote in a letter to Wright dated September 20, 2007.

The respondent, AHA director, Renee Glover, had the right to respond within 10 days, the letter says.

"Our responsibility under the law is to undertake an impartial investigation and, at the same time, encourage all sides to reach an agreement, where appropriate, through conciliation,” the letter says. “We will conduct an impartial investigation of all claims that the Fair Housing Act has been violated."

Law requires the FHEO to complete the investigation within 100 days, the letter states.
"If the investigation indicates there is not evidence establishing jurisdiction, the case will be dismissed. At any point you can request that our staff assist you in conciliating (or settling) this complaint with the respondent(s)," the letter states.

"If the case is not resolved, we will complete our investigation and decide whether or not the evidence indicates that there has been a fair housing violation... The Department will issue a determination as to whether there is reasonable cause to believe a discriminatory housing practice has occurred," the letter states.

"If our investigation indicates that there is reasonable cause to believe that an unlawful discriminatory housing practice has occurred, the Department must issue a charge... In either event, you will be notified in writing," the letter states.

"If the determination is one of reasonable cause, the notification will advise you and the respondent(s) of your rights to choose, within 20 days, whether you wish to have the case heard by an Administrative Law Judge, or to have the matter referred for trial in the appropriate US District Court," the letter states.

"Under federal law, even if the Department dismisses the complaint, you still have the right to bring an individual suit under the Federal Fair Housing Act," the letter states.

A second letter to Wright dated September 24, 2007, states that under the Fair Housing Act, the complaint is being investigated by the Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity (CEO).
The letter does not specify, but implies that this means a second investigation is occurring with the Georgia CEO, on top of the investigation under the HUD FHEO.

Wright says she has not spoken directly with HUD or the CEO since the complaint was filed, but that this is the understanding conveyed to her by her pro bono attorney, Lindsay Jones, of Emory University School of Law.

"They have their own separate process, but it [originally] was put into one package. They broke it up," Wright told Atlanta Progressive News in an interview.

APN previously reported that the complaint was on behalf of the RAB Board, because Wright and Hightower’s names were at the top of the complaint, listing their leadership titles on the RAB Board: President and Treasurer, respectively.

"I asked him [Jones] if he did the complaint for all the communities, and he said yes," Wright said.

However, Wright and Hightower stopped working together several weeks ago after they had personal disagreements and differences over strategy.

At one point, Jones notified Wright that she and Hightower would have their own individual complaints, Wright said.

The RAB Board still has an opportunity to file its own complaint, Wright said.

HUD has already told APN they will not comment an on ongoing investigation.

Wright had to send in to HUD a signed form attesting her complaint was true, which she has now sent in, she said. She also signed a release of information so Jones can speak with HUD on her behalf, she said.

About the author: Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for The Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com

Evictions Averted so far for Unemployed Families in Bowen Homes

2008-04-09T08:24:00.000-07:00

By Jonathan Springston, Senior Staff Writer, The Atlanta Progressive News
October 6th 2007

(APN) ATLANTA – None of the two dozen or so families who were expecting to be evicted from Bowen Homes public housing community on Thursday, October 04, 2007, were evicted as of yet, and they appear safe for the moment.

Previously, Atlanta Progressive News broke the news that these families could be evicted as early as Thursday morning.

The article prompted actions by a local attorney, as well as lobbying by many parties, to stop the evictions. City Councilwoman Felicia Moore and Resident Advisory Board President Diane Wright had both pleaded on the residents’ behalf to the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA). Meanwhile, advocates with the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless mobilized for a possible protest.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper (AJC) also reported on the incident Thursday.
Attorney Lindsay Jones, of Emory University Law School, who has worked closely with the residents, sent a letter on Tuesday to Fred Joseph Rushing, Jr., an attorney who represented the Lane Company, an agent for AHA, according to a copy obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.

Rushing had worked to commence and prosecute dispossessory actions involving about 25 families from Bowen Homes on September 25, 2007, in Fulton County Magistrate Court.

The Lane Company, which manages Bowen Homes on behalf of AHA, filed dispossessory motions against these families last month claiming the tenants failed to pay their rent on time, in some cases by three or four months.

Jones argues that after speaking with several families, many "have explanations with merit that warrant consideration that was not afforded to them prior to or during the proceedings before the Magistrate Court."

Jones also writes that residents told him they did not hear from social workers that would review each family’s situation for possible exemptions or extensions before being evicted, even though such a review by a professional AHA social worker was promised by AHA Director Renee Glover in a letter to Atlanta City Councilwoman Felicia Moore.

Several residents also provided Atlanta Progressive News with consistent accounts last weekend.

A judge issued a writ of possession at the September 25, 2007, hearing, and the families were ordered to vacate their homes by October 02, 2007. Residents had seven days to file an appeal.
Several affected residents met with two attorneys from Atlanta Legal Aid Thursday to discuss their cases and ask questions about what to do next.

J.C. Hillis said residents should have filed an appeal within seven days of the September 25, 2007, hearing and informed residents they could file a pauper’s affidavit that would waive the expensive appeals filing fees.

Appealing this decision "stays" the writ of possession until the management company files a motion to have the rent paid to court.

If the resident does not pay his or her rent to court or cannot make a successful argument for obtaining an extension or a payment reduction, then the judge can rule the writ of possession is back on.

The writ of possession is processed by the court clerk and sent to the county’s marshal department for execution.

The marshal department contacts the management company to set up a date and time to be on site to keep the peace while the management company hires an eviction service to remove the belongings from a resident’s apartment.

However, even after the management company and marshal department have made these arrangements, the management company could still decide not to evict the resident and cancel arrangements with the marshal.

Jones goes on in his letter to request Rushing ask the Lane Company to "voluntarily [forego] the issuance of writs of restitution and ejecting the families onto the street until we can attempt a mediated resolution to the twenty-five cases."

Five families have been able to resolve their disputes this week with public housing officials and APN learned several more families appear to be working with management to resolve their situations but it is unclear how many are doing so.

It is also unclear what the terms are of any agreement entered into between residents and management, such as if anyone will have more time to pay or if the amount owed will be reduced.

"Someway or another, we are going to win this," Shirley Hightower, President of the Bowen Homes residents association, said.

Public Housing on the Chopping Block in the US

2008-04-09T08:21:00.000-07:00

By Matthew Cardinale / ATLANTA PROGRESSIVE NEWS

ATLANTA, Aug 30 (IPS) - Even as people around the United States and the world recall the horrors of Hurricane Katrina two years ago, which displaced tens of thousands of the Gulf Coast's poorest residents, government-subsidised housing has come under increasing attack by policymakers in the U.S.

Starting in the 1990s, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) encouraged the demolition of 100,000 units. Since then, local authorities across the country have destroyed at least 78,015 public housing apartments under HOPE VI, with another 10,354 planned for demolition, according to HUD data, Linda Couch, deputy director of the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, told IPS.

There are currently about 1.2 million public housing units in the U.S., HUD spokesperson Donna White told IPS.

Couch estimates the HOPE VI demolitions are only half of the total demolitions so far.
Under that programme, public housing communities were torn down and replaced with "mixed-income communities". However, the mixed-income communities often include high-priced houses, luxury condos, upscale shopping, and very few housing units affordable to low-income families.

For instance, in 2002 in New Orleans, after the St. Thomas project was demolished, only 9 percent of the units in the redevelopment were affordable to the people who used to live there, even though the community was originally promised that half the new units would be affordable, according to a report by Brod Bagert, Jr., the son of a prominent New Orleans lawyer and politician who wrote his master's thesis for the London School of Economics on the issue.

The campaign to tear down public housing communities has employed an argument that came out of social science, called the "concentration of poverty". Officials argue that having too many poor people living in close proximity to each other was the cause of unemployment, low school achievement, and neighbourhood crime.

However, residents and advocates say it was the deliberate under-funding and mismanagement of public housing which allowed it to get run down. They say the real reason for the demolitions is to help private investors make money off the properties, to destroy the welfare state, and to leave no alternative to the private rental market.

In 1998, Congress did away with the one-to-one replacement rule, Couch said, which required rebuilding one unit for each unit torn down.

"Demolishing the most severely distressed -- that was their goal in 1996," Couch said.
Now, under a new programme, "Section 18" or demolition/disposition, "They have the ability to demolish or sell off their housing by completing a simple application form. They don't have to seek a grant. They have to say this is what we think is best for our agency," Couch said.
In Atlanta, the housing authorities are pursuing a plan that would destroy all low-income housing in the city, including high-rise apartments for the disabled and senior citizens.
"Atlanta now wants to get rid of all of its public housing," she said. "Atlanta definitely represents an extreme. We also think there is a lack of will on behalf of some communities to figure out ways to replace those units," Couch said.

While Atlanta plans to offer vouchers to the residents they would displace, many serious problems with the vouchers have arisen.

First, the vouchers have to be renewed by the U.S. Congress every year. Between 2004 and 2006, the Republican-led Congress de-funded 150,000 vouchers. And with the welfare state on the Congressional chopping block, it may be politically easier to quietly de-fund vouchers than to tear down public housing and send people into the street all at once.

Local housing authorities also terminate people's vouchers for dozens of reasons. One whistleblower who worked for the Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) told IPS that the agency attempts to terminate as many vouchers as possible.

For example, AHA terminates vouchers if people don't pay their electricity bills, but does not provide the utility subsidies required by HUD, another AHA whistleblower said.

Atlanta is also disqualifying many public housing residents for vouchers even before tearing down their homes. Atlanta won't issue vouchers to residents with poor credit histories, and is telling residents who they allowed in years ago that they can't get a voucher because of some item on their criminal background check, two local attorneys told IPS.

Landlords don't have to accept vouchers. The vouchers only cover low-income housing, often leading to new concentrations of poverty. AHA has steered residents into site-based vouchers, which prevent residents from moving again if they want to keep their voucher. Residents also have to re-certify every year, another barrier.

One untold consequence of the U.S. mortgage crisis is that many families with vouchers have been evicted because their landlords have not been paying their mortgages, even though the tenants have been paying their rent. AHA has reportedly been neglectful in responding to these emergencies.

Resident leaders Diane Wright and Shirley Hightower in Atlanta say they have not been consulted regarding AHA's demolition plans. Section 18 requires resident leaders' signatures on AHA's application, and it remains to be seen whether they will be able to stop the demolitions.
Wright and Hightower recently filed a civil rights complaint with HUD, alleging that AHA's actions violate the Fair Housing Act by discriminating against African Americans, who are the majority of public housing tenants in Atlanta.

People of colour make up the majority of low-income renters in Atlanta too, so they will end up paying higher rent as public housing is destroyed and those renters are sent into the low-income housing market.

After the devastation of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, residents have complained that officials with Housing Authority of New Orleans used the calamity as an excuse to destroy public housing in the city.

"Following Katrina, although this brought untold suffering, the majority of the elite saw this as an opportunity, the silver lining to cleanse New Orleans of the poor, change racial and class demographics, privatise everything," said Dr. Jay Arena, a community activist in New Orleans.
"Most of the public housing was closed. Iberville was reopened because of the agitation we had done before the hurricane and after. Four major developments remain closed: St. Bernard, the Lafitte -- which barely got any water -- the BW Cooper, only a few of those are open, and CJ Peete," Arena said.

"But there's been a lot of struggle. We've marched and been arrested and protested and denounced what has happened," he told IPS.

"We broke in, we led people back into their homes. We broke through the police lines. We highlighted the contradictions of what the government was saying -- people had a right to return, and the government was blocking people's right to return.

"HANO [Housing Authority of New Orleans] put fences around the development. At Lafitte, they spent millions of dollars putting these steel doors on there. A group of us from C3, people from Common Ground, we occupied. We went into the second story through a ladder. We knocked down the steel door from the inside. The cops came and they arrested nine of us, The Lafitte 9," Arena said.

In June, advocates from public housing communities across the country met at the U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta to begin coordinating a national movement. This week, the groups will meet again in New Orleans for the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina to formalise their plans.
"In America, it's urban and economic cleansing. [HUD Secretary] Alphonso Jackson should be tried for crimes against humanity. Is it not a crime to destroy the only tool to deal with homelessness?" asked J.R. Flemming of the Chicago-based Coalition to Protect Public Housing.

"What's going to happen to these other cities? They're gonna fall as we fall? Right now we think we have a better chance fighting together than fighting as individuals," Flemming said.