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
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Northampton, MA Gets $500,000 to Help Homeless Veterans with Housing
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.
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
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
(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
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
(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
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
(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
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.
(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.
Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for The Atlanta Progressive News and may be reached at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.
Monday, May 12, 2008
'Taking Back the Blocks' in Huntington Station
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.
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.
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