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.
Showing posts with label Atlanta City Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Atlanta City Council. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Moore, Maddox in Testy Dispute as Council Stalls Again on AHA
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.
(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.
City Council Stalls on Housing Task Force Resolution
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
(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
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.
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.
AHA Demolitions
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.
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.
Council Committee Approves Public Housing Task Force
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
(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
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.
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.
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