8/16 Tenant/Housing News Update

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The latest tenant/housing news starts with last
Fridays New York Times Op-Ed piece from Barbara Sard
of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The
rest of the news comes in from various parts of the
nation including, Oakland, Alameda, Tulsa,
Albuquerque, Selma, Bowling Green, North Adams,
Joliet, Washington DC, and Boston...

The grim housing news continues to come in from across
the country and it's apparent that things keep getting
worse rather than better under the present Republican
Administration that controls the Senate, Congress and
White House.

Locally, the landlords are again attacking Just Cause
Oakland...

Tenants face mass evictions in Oakland and Alameda,
others around the nation face threats of eviction for
asking for repairs, some fear reprisals for speaking
out against violence, many others face evictions due
to Hope VI projects that demolish public housing
units. Section 8 cutbacks continue to plague the
nations renters, with many locations no longer
accepting applications for housing vouchers that would
assist low-income families pay their rents...

Roll Back The Rents...

NEW YORK TIMES Op-Ed
Congress and HUD  
New York Times - Aug 13
In "A Housing Plan in Need of Repair" (Op-Ed, Aug. 6),
Alphonso Jackson, the secretary of housing and urban
development, claims that costs for the Section 8
program, which helps low-income families pay their
rent, are "out of control." This is incorrect.

Congress and HUD

Published: August 13, 2004

Housing
Congressional Budget Office
Renting and Leasing
Federal Aid (US)

To the Editor:

In "A Housing Plan in Need of Repair" (Op-Ed, Aug. 6),
Alphonso Jackson, the secretary of housing and urban
development, claims that costs for the Section 8
program, which helps low-income families pay their
rent, are "out of control." This is incorrect.

Section 8 costs have grown in recent years partly to
fill the growing gap between families' incomes and
rents, and partly because Congress voted to help a
larger number of families. The Congressional Budget
Office and other objective analysts project that costs
will level off in the years ahead, now that incomes
have begun to rise, the rental market has cooled
somewhat and Congress has stopped expanding the
program.

The House committee's increase in financing above the
administration's request was necessary only because
the administration's budget called for a $1.6 billion
cut, and shows the strong bipartisan support for the
Section 8 program.

Barbara Sard
Brookline, Mass., Aug. 6, 2004
The writer is director of housing policy, Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities.

Subscribe Today: Home Delivery of The Times from
$2.90/wk.

*********
Seniors see housing dilemma
By Laura Casey, STAFF WRITER
Alameda Times-Star (Alameda, CA)
August 15, 2004

OAKLAND -- The mood inside the Park Village Apartments
this past week has been tense.

The 80-plus residents of the senior housing complex
have received notices saying their landlord soon will
stop accepting housing vouchers from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development, which
they use to help pay rent.

Many worry they'll have to find a new place to live
once HUD's contract with property owner Mort Howard
expires in November.

"Already, two or three people have moved out. The rest
of us have been praying or whatever," resident Frank
Savage said.

Savage has lived in Park Village for seven years. Like
most of the other tenants, Savage has a fixed income.
He pays about $400 per month to rent a one-bedroom
apartment in the complex on Park Street, and HUD pays
the $800 difference.

According to letters Howard sent to tenants in recent
months, he objects to wording in paragraph 10 of HUD's
contract that reads: "The owner shall comply with all
applicable statutory requirements, and all HUD
regulations and other requirements, including any
amendments or changes in the law or HUD requirements."

Howard could not be reached for comment.

But tenants are certain Howard will not budge unless
someone steps in. They contacted Council President
Ignacio De La Fuente [Glenview-Fruitvale], who has
offered to negotiate with Howard and HUD to make sure
the apartments do not turn into market-rate dwellings.

"We are working to make sure the building stays the
way it is," De La Fuente told about two dozen
residents who gathered for a potluck dinner Wednesday
night. "We believe we have to preserve this building
not only for you but for the future residents."

Linda Nickell, whose 80-year-old mother, Nina Robels,
has been living at Park Village for nine years, said
she thinks a move will kill her mom.

"I don't want my mom to be put out on the streets,"
she said.

If the contract is not renewed, the Oakland Housing
Authority could issue vouchers to Park Village
residents, said Lupe Valdez, legislative analyst for
the City Council. But Howard would have to accept
those vouchers from tenants, something that has not
yet been worked out.

If he does not accept Oakland Housing Authority
vouchers, tenants who cannot afford to pay the full
rent will be left to find another home.

"There is a lot of anxiety in the building because of
this," Savage said.

*********
"400 eviction notices served/1,200 face eviction/2
update stories below"

Alameda Sun
Thursday, August 12, 2004

Harbor Island Tenants Clash with Complex Owners

By Ed Moser

Tenants from the Harbor Island Apartments got their
first chance – and what may be their only chance –
Tuesday (Aug 10) to talk face to face with the owners
of the complex and express their anger over the mass
displacement of low-income residents in the West End.

Around 200 Harbor Island tenants and other interested
people packed the auditorium at Woodstock Elementary
School and vented their frustrations while Harbor
Island owners Mark and Ian Sanders answered some
questions and quietly took in furious commentary from
the crowd with their attorney at their side.

“The purpose of the meeting was to make amends for the
way the notices were handled and to help everyone move
forward,” said Jason Keadjian, spokesman for the
Fifteen Asset Group, in a phone interview Wednesday.
“I think it was a very important meeting and I think
it was productive.”

Brothers Mark and Ian Sanders own the Miami-based
Fifteen Asset Group, which purchased the Harbor Island
complex in 1996, and now they plan to fix up the
property’s 615 units all at once. Current residents
will have to leave.

The owners are offering some concessions to the
tenants – assistance finding new housing, expediting
security deposit returns and a $750 moving stipend for
“residents in good standing” – but residents who
attended the meeting, many of whom receive Section 8
housing assistance, said the offerings were just
ceremonial.

“In every case we have responded to the needs we have
heard from the residents,” Keadjian said, noting that
the original 30- and 60-day eviction notices had been
extended to 90 days and that the idea for the moving
stipend came after a meeting with city officials and a
resident task force last Thursday. “I think there is a
recognition that these plans create a hardship and we
want to minimize that,” he said.

The crowd laughed when Ian Sanders announced the $750
stipend and several speakers called the amount an
insult.

Modessa Henderson, spokeswoman and advisor for the
Harbor Island Tenant Association, said the meeting was
not productive for the affected tenants.

“It’s the same rhetoric we heard last week in the task
force,” Henderson said. “They’re trying to take one
person at a time and work with them. It’s a divide and
conquer type of thing.”

Click below for full story...

http://www.alamedasun.com/local/081204local1.htm

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Not Many Options to Stop (1,200 Alameda) Evictions

By Marcus Tolero Thursday, August 12, 2004

When Harbor Island Apartment tenants received
evictions notices at the end of July, the notices
arrived just weeks after the city refunded all
vouchers for families living in Section 8 housing.

Although the city restored the vouchers and stopped
hundreds of families in public housing from being
homeless and having to move elsewhere, putting a halt
to the Harbor Island evictions is different.

One reason the evictions will likely go through is
that the property is privately owned by the Fifteen
Group, a real estate organization that operates in
Miami Beach, Fla.

Mike Pucci, executive director of Alameda Housing
Authority, said that the owners of the apartment
complex are “entitled to renovate” the property.
“These are privately-owned apartments. And they have
the right to do what they want,” Pucci said.

Click below for full story...

http://www.alamedasun.com/local/081204local2.htm

*********
Just Cause & PUEBLO Members accused of embezzeling
funds....Last week, info was provided to counter
charges against Just Cause that show the Just Cause
Campaign did pay for it's mailers to the voters...

Chip Johnson/Chronicle hit piece...

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2004/08/13/BAGAP87HEL1.DTL

PUEBLO accounting release...

http://www.peopleunited.org/PUEBLO/accountingletter/boardhank7-30.htm#hank


*********
Housing waiting list to be closed
GINNIE GRAHAM World Staff Writer
Tulsa World (Oklahoma)
August 13, 2004

The Tulsa Housing Authority board votes to quit taking
applications for assisted housing. The Tulsa Housing
Authority Board of Commissioners voted unanimously
Thursday to close the Section 8 waiting list after
Aug. 20.

More than 9,000 families are on the list, with a
waiting time of at least two years and as long as five
years, said LeDeanna Anderson, director of assisted
housing.

"We feel it is giving them false hope to keep taking
applications," Anderson said.

Currently, 4,161 Section 8 vouchers are available from
THA, and about 17,000 family members benefit from
them.

In the public housing units owned and operated by THA,
about 2,200 people are on the waiting list.

The last day THA will accept Section 8 applications is
Aug. 20.

About 500 families will lose their vouchers next year
if a recent change in the federal reimbursement
practice remains in place.

THA Executive Director Roy Hancock said the agency
will avoid cutting vouchers this year by using money
in a reserve account.

Other housing authorities across the country have
closed their Section 8 waiting lists, including
Wichita, Kan.; Nashville, Tenn.; Baltimore; New York;
Boston; and Miami-Dade County, Fla.

*********
Bush Sends Mixed Messages
Leslie Linthicum Journal Staff Writer
Albuquerque Journal (New Mexico)
August 13, 2004

President touts Indian housing program, but wants to
cut its funding.

President Bush invited Arnold and Debra Reano of Santo
Domingo Pueblo to join him at a campaign rally in
Albuquerque on Wednesday to promote an Indian housing
program that allowed them to get a loan to build a
home.

The president praised the federal program, saying it
showed that the American dream of home ownership was
"valid for everyone."

He didn't say that his administration has proposed
slashing money for the program for next year.

The chairman of an Indian housing advocacy group on
Thursday said the proposed Bush budget cuts will stall
the program just as it is gaining steam.

*********
City councilors working on resolution opposing HUD
cuts  
North Adams Transcript - Aug 12
NORTH ADAMS -- City councilors plan to invite North
Adams Housing Authority Executive Director Marlene
Walsh to a scheduled Aug. 24 council meeting to advise
them about the federal Department of Housing and Urban
Development subsidized rent funding cuts.

Councilor Marie Harpin said on Wednesday that she and
Councilor Richard Alcombright are working to draft a
resolution opposing HUD cuts that are affecting
Section 8 housing choice vouchers.

If the resolution is approved by a majority of the
city councilors, the resolution is expected to be
forwarded to HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, Harpin
said.

The city authority has joined about 400 authorities
nation-wide in filing an appeal to cuts already
initiated by HUD.

A delegation of state elected officials including
Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John F.
Kerry have written to Jackson opposing the cuts, and
U.S. Rep. John Olver and U.S. Rep. Barney Frank have
written individual letters to Jackson in opposition of
the HUD action.

Click below for full story...

http://www.thetranscript.com/Stories/0,1413,103~9049~2330249,00.html

*********
Parents concerned about violence at GWC

By Steven Jones
Times-Journal City Editor
Sunday, August 15, 2004 12:04 AM CDT

Editors note: The two GWC residents quoted in this
story declined to have their names in the story. For
purposes of clarity, we have assigned them names.
Again, for their protection, the Times-Journal
stresses that these are not their real names.

"It's always someone fighting, shooting," said Geanna.
"I don't feel comfortable letting my son go outside."

The neighborhood continues to suffer from frequent gun
blasts, two of which wounded a pair of 14-year-old
girls visiting a friend at GWC.

One of the primary causes for crime in any place is
poverty, and GWC has its share. Many of its residents
qualify for state and federal assistance from the
Section 8 HUD program. However, the GWC's
crime-infestation can't simply be explained away by
poverty.

Housing officials say none of the city's seven housing
developments - GWC, Felix Heights, Rangedale,
Rangedale Annex, Valley Creek, Magnolia Court and
Cloverdale - have a crime rate anywhere near GWC.

But, Moss is realistic enough to know the problem goes
deeper than location.

"It's a new generation," he said. "I can remember
growing up and we used to hang out at GWC homes, and
we didn't have that type of criminal element. That new
generation has no respect for society or themselves.
We're just going to have to roll up our sleeves and
help them."

Click below for full story...

http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/articles/2004/08/15/news/local/news900.txt

*********
Tenants tell of numerous problems at Northfield

Residents of Bowling Green apartment complex complain
about mold, disrepair, and receive threats of eviction
for speaking out!
 
Bowling Green Kentucky - Daily News - Aug 15
After a few months of living in Northfield Acres
apartments, Christina Baalke grew tired of dodging
streams of black crud from mildewed bathroom grout.

“The first time we tried to take a shower, black stuff
started to run down,” he said.

They also weren’t fond of cleaning up after
innumerable rodents.

“We have to clean our counters every single morning,”
Baalke said. “There for a while, we had to buy bread
every day. Then we finally got smart and bought a
breadbox.

Several renters besides Baalke and Layle said their
apartments are infested with persistent mold. More
complain of poor repairs and general neglect. But
almost all of them say they’re too scared to talk
publicly.

That’s because Annette Absheer threatens to evict
anyone who complains for “plotting against
management,” Baalke said.

Click below for full story...

http://www.bgdailynews.com/articles/stories/public/200408/15/0dZ1_top-news.html

*********
Joliet Illinois Public Housing Under Attack By Local
Cops

New owners for Evergreen Terrace?  
The Beacon News - Aug 14 16 hours, 34 minutes ago
New owners for Evergreen Terrace? Joliet city leaders
who traveled to Washington, D.C., on Friday to discuss
the future of Evergreen Terrace learned that national
housing officials have been working behind the scenes
to broker a deal that could result in new ownership of
the apartment complex.

HUD had some questions about the city's proposed
resident relocation plan, which seeks to redevelop the
site into mixed-income housing. The plan calls for
many current tenants to be given Section 8 vouchers to
rent available apartments in the region.

Evergreen Terrace is a 356-unit complex that (Joliet
Illinois) law enforcement officials have described as
a blight on the city.

Click below for full story...

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/heraldnews/top/j14et.htm

*********
Rent vouchers for soldiers' families $185 more than
Section 8
By Marc Heller
Watertown Daily Times/New York
August 12, 2004


WASHINGTON -- The federal government may pay almost
$200 more per month next year to put a Fort Drum
soldier's family in an apartment than to put a
low-income family in the same home, federal numbers
show.

The difference reflects two separate government
programs that try to gauge the cost of housing in
Northern New York's rental market. But neither may be
an accurate reflection, and the gap suggests poor
families could bear the brunt of a tightening housing
market near the post.

On Tuesday, the executive director of Lewis County
Opportunities Inc., Karl Reutling, predicted a housing
crunch based on the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development's proposed "fair market rent" for
next year in Jefferson County. But after taking a
closer look at the figures, he said the situation
could be more serious than he thought.

In a proposal for the year beginning Oct. 1, officials
at HUD barely raised the proposed "fair market rent"
for Jefferson County, which helps determine how much
landlords are paid for apartments rented through the
Section 8 voucher program. At the same time, local
housing advocates say rent is climbing in anticipation
of more than 4,000 soldiers arriving later this year
to fill a new brigade at Drum.

*********
SPIRITS SINK AT HIGH POINT TENANTS FEARFUL OF RENT
HIKES
By Martha Bartle, GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
The Boston Globe
August 8, 2004


When Molly Hannon heard a few weeks ago that the
subsidized housing she relies on to keep her family
above water might be in jeopardy, the 33-year-old
single mother of two recalled a term she'd heard in
high school lobbying.

"I don't know politics," she said at the beginning of
her campaign to preserve affordable housing at High
Point Village in Roslindale. "I'm not the smartest
person in the world, but I'm trying to let people get
their voices heard."

Now, after using every means she could think of
including circulating a petition around the
development Hannon says she is distraught and
indignant.

"This bill could have saved our housing for good," she
said last week, "and now who knows what will happen?
What's even worse to me is that we called constantly
and took off of work week after week to try and talk
to our representative, and we were ignored over and
over again."

Hannon's state representative, Angelo Scaccia, a
Democrat from the 14th Suffolk District, is the
chairman of the Rules Committee, where a bill the Home
Rule Petition to Save Affordable Housing has sat since
May 2003 and was untouched during the most recent
legislative session that ended late last month.
Scaccia did not return several calls to his home and
office.

The threat residents face at High Point is that the
development's mortgage expires in the next two years,
leaving the owner an option not to renew his Section 8
contract with HUD. In September 2006, the owner,
William Kargman of First Realty Management Corp., can
legally raise rents in High Point Village to market
levels and force out anyone who can't afford it though
he's said he won't..

"There's no protection at all for tenants that are
receiving Section 8 at High Point Village or any other
development like it when the mortgage comes to
maturation," said Michael Kane, the director of the
Massachusetts Alliance of HUD tenants, who helped
Hannon with the petition.

Kargman said in a phone interview two weeks ago that
he won't displace anyone living in his development and
accused Kane of using scare tactics to influence
tenants.

"High Point definitely has its place in the community
and we'll always rent to the community," he said. "All
the residents who live there will be allowed to
continue to live there, but when units become vacant,
I can't tell you who will rent those units."

Despite this assurance, Hannon and her fellow
residents stressed they want a guarantee.

"I don't know this guy," Hannon said of Kargman, "and
he can make all the promises he wants, but we need
something in writing. This is our lives we're talking
about here."

For the past eight years, Kane and his organization
have tried to gain approval of a Save Affordable
Housing home rule bill, which would give the city
regulatory tools to keep rents at privately owned
developments at their current levels and require
owners to renew expiring contracts, Kane said.

The Boston City Council approved the home rule
petition unanimously and in May 2003 it was filed at
the State House, where it has sat in the House Rules
Committee since, without so much as a bill number.

Although the campaign was focused on High Point
Village, Hannon said she wanted to be the voice for
affordable housing throughout the Boston area.

"It's not just us either," she said. "There are a few
other developments whose mortgages are coming up in
the next few years, and they will be in the same
position we're in, so it's important that we get this
legislation passed."

Built 38 years ago, High Point Village is a privately
owned HUD-subsidized complex that offers both Section
8 and subsidized housing in 540 units, but to the
residents, many of whom are the third generation of
their family living in the development, it is much
more.

At the State House one Tuesday morning in early July,
Hannon and nine other residents, including her
72-year-old father, arrived at Scaccia's office to
deliver their petition, which had 260 signatures.

"There's an 80-year-old woman with screws in her back
who lives down the street from me," Hannon said. "I'm
doing this for people at High Point like her who've
been there since the roads weren't paved and who can't
come down here to tell Scaccia how much this would
mean to us. My kids are like, 'Mom, you can't take off
work!' and I say, 'It's OK guys, I'm saving our
house!' "

The residents, most of whom took several days off from
work, requested a meeting with him and left contact
numbers. They repeated the procedure Wednesday and
Thursday. But none of their trips was fruitful, they
said, and their phone calls were not returned.

"All we wanted is five minutes of his time," Hannon
said. "We just want him to see our faces and see that
we're real, hard-working people who need this housing.
We're his constituents, and he can't give us the
courtesy to sit and listen to us?"
 
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