Oakland Housing Authority commits another $15,000,000 to demolish public housing

Oakland Housing Authority commits another $15,000,000
to Tassafaronga Village demolition proposal

By Lynda Carson

Oakland -- A September 18, 2007 Oakland Housing
Authority (OHA) memorandum has been submitted to it's
board members in an effort to commit an additional
$15,000,000 of OHA housing funds to the Tassafaronga
Village demolition proposal.

The $15,000,000 is in addition to a commitment
of $3.5 million from the OHA's Section 8 Local Reserve
Funds, plus another $2.9 million in housing funds used
for the acquisition of the Alita Brand Macaroni
Factory.

With OHA staff feeling pessimistic about their chances
to be approved for a $20 million Hope VI grant, the
authority decided to commit the additional $15,000,000
and come up with a new plan to finance the
Tassafaronga demolition proposal and new mixed income
housing project to be built in it's place.

The proposal is to demolish 16 buildings of habitable
public housing units, and redevelop the project site
with 191 residential units, which includes townhouses,
apartments, and loft units in a rehabilitated
manufacturing building.

The OHA plans to displace the African-American population
residing in the existing 87 unit complex, and re-people it with
higher income residents in the proposed new mixed income project.

The Tassafaronga Village 87 unit public housing
complex is still habitable (remodeled as recent as
1991 for $7.4 million), and with the nations housing
shortage in such a critical stage, some believe it's
criminal to consider tearing down more GOOD housing
units that are still habitable.
http://tinyurl.com/294tgz

If the OHA follows through with it's proposal to
demolish the Tassafaronga Village public housing
complex and rebuild a new mixed income housing project
in it's place, the OHA will not gain anymore public
housing units than it already has in it's inventory.
It will actually lose the existing 87 habitable units
being demolished in the process, while it diverts
millions in funds away from it's other public housing
units that need to be repaired and maintained. It's a
losing situation for the tenants in Oakland's public
housing units who live in substandard housing.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit is still pending because the City
of Oakland sued the OHA for being a slumlord on Feb.
15, 2007, and City Attorney John Russo pointed out how
the OHA squanders millions of dollars on it's Hope VI
projects, rather than spending the money on it's
public housing units that need repair and maintenance.
Tenants in public housing units suffer as a result.
Click on link for details of lawsuit…
http://www.patkernighan.com/News/March07.htm#13

Since 1994, Oakland officials and the Federal
Government have targeted Oakland's poor with nearly
$84 million in federal funding through the Hope VI
program, in an effort to displace the low-income
communities from such housing projects known as
Lockwood Gardens, Chestnut Court, Westwood Gardens,
and the Coliseum Gardens. The above mentioned funds do
not include all the other funding sources that have
been used to dump the poor from their public housing
units and demolish their housing, in the name of the
Hope VI program.

It's all part of the old Weed and Seed program from
the late 80s, which uses Hope VI funding to displace
whole communities from Oakland as part of one huge
police action to solve Oakland's crime problems.
http://tinyurl.com/2galhv

In addition, documents reveal that in FY 2006 the OHA
lost between $7.1 million to $7.8 million in budget
cuts from the federal government, but despite the
budget cuts that shortchanged those in need, the OHA
decided to divert MILLIONS more to their Hope VI
proposal at Tassafaronga Village.

See the September 18 OHA memorandum below for details
on the latest attempt to grab $15,000,000 in much
needed housing funds for the OHA's Tassafaronga Hope
VI project.


**************
Executive Office

Oakland Housing Authority MEMORANDUM

To:
Board of Commissioners
From:
Jon Gresley, Executive Director
Subject:
Commitment of an Additional $15 Million to the
Tassafaronga Village Revitalization Project
Date:
September 18, 2007
This memorandum forwards for the Board’s
consideration a resolution
authorizing the Executive Director to pursue a
non-HOPE VI, Project-Based Section 8 Voucher strategy
to fund the revitalization of the Tassafaronga Village
Development Project (the “Tassafaronga Project”) which
would necessitate a commitment of an additional $15
million of Oakland Housing Authority (Authority) funds
to the Tassafaronga Project.

• Commitment of $3.5 million in Authority Section 8
Local Reserve Funds, June 8, 2005, Resolution 3707
• Acquisition of the Alita Brand Macaroni Factory for
$2.9 million, May/June 2005

Click below for full memorandum...

http://tinyurl.com/2wm2u9