November/December 1999

Short Takes

Mixed Progress for African-Americans

 The supposedly "strong economy" hasn't left blacks out, says the National Urban League's The State of Black America 1999. Employment and income levels are rising for black Americans, though many question the value of more very low-wage jobs and fear losing gains made in a recession. Other indicators, such as educational attainment, healthcare access, and incarceration, still show disparities black/white disparities. Hugh B. Price, the league's president, says items like decreasing black out-of-wedlock births and rising black high-school completion rates show that the black community is actively improving its future but is stymied by vestiges of discrimination in areas like bank lending and public school spending. National Urban League, 212-310-9202.

All Vouchered Up

 While public and subsidized housing stock continues to shrink, advocacy groups across the country also report a shrinking market for tenant-based Section 8. HOME Line, in its 5th annual survey of suburban Hennepin County, MN, found that tenants could use their Section 8 vouchers in less than 5 percent of the units surveyed. Other units had rents above HUD's qualifying fair market rent, didn't accept Section 8, and/or had minimum income requirements. Likewise, in Missouri, Housing Comes First's report "Still Vouchered Up and Nowhere to Go II" finds that despite a 2-3 year wait for tenant-based Section 8, 50 percent of St. Louis County vouchers are returned because they can't be used. HOME Line, 612-933-0017; Housing Comes First, 314-367-2993.

Scandal Forces BRA to Enforce Law

 After the Boston Globe exposed the purchase of a subsidized condo by Boston Redevelopment Authority's (BRA) $91,789-a-year chief of staff, the BRA has agreed to a radical step: enforcing the law. Housing units built with city money or on city land must be sold or rented only to low- or moderate-income families, and it is the BRA's duty to purchase and resell those units when sellers can't find a qualified buyer. Shortly after the scandal, the BRA finally set aside money – $700,000 – to carry out those purchases (Boston Globe, 11/11/99).

Chicago Tenants Become Aware of Rights

 Seventy-five percent of renters in Chicago don't know any of their rights under the city's tenant-landlord ordinance. Rents Right, a new city-sponsored education program prompted by tenant groups, is trying to educate both tenants and landlords about their rights and responsibilities. 5,000 informational brochures are being distributed, and the Rents Right referral hotline got 3,000 calls in its first three weeks of operation – 2300 from renters, 700 from landlords. Pamela Alfonso of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO) hopes to use the publicity to target recent increases in illegal lockouts and rental discrimination. And, she says, more familiarity with the existing ordinance will provide a foundation to work on improving it. Brendon Shiller, MTO, 773-292-4980 x227.

Financing Small Multifamily Renovations

 Bank lending policies favor large loans. Government subsidies are complicated and favor homeownership. What about small multifamily properties? In NJ, where these properties make up 26 percent of the central-city housing stock, and where high taxes, old buildings, and low rents can discourage maintenance, a group of bankers, nonprofit and for-profit housing owners, and governmental officials have been meeting to discuss solutions. This Multifamily Housing Preservation Committee, hosted by the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Philadelphia, is advocating approaches like mortgage insurance for permanent loans, a new source of renovation capital targeted to low-income neighborhoods, a property owners technical assistance program, changes in real estate tax policy, and expeditious rent increases for capital improvements. Robert Riggs, New York FRB, 212-720-5912; or Dede Myers, Philadelphia FRB, 215-574-6482.

Childcare Woefully Underfunded

 Despite spending all available Child Care and Development Funds and some TANF funds on childcare subsidies, states were only able to meet the childcare needs of 15 percent of eligible families in 1998, shows a study from the Department of Health and Human Services. Most states made their eligibility criteria stricter than the federal ceiling, so subsidies reached only 10 percent of families eligible under federal guidelines. Recent studies in Florida and North Carolina found that increased child care subsidies result in increased employment rates and earnings for low-income working families. However, parents on the waiting list for child care support are seven times more likely to rely on public assistance than those receiving a subsidy. www.acf.dhhs.gov/news/press/1999/cc98.htm

Silicon Valley: Trouble in Paradise?

 The average household in Santa Clara County, home of Silicon Valley, makes $85,005 – $30,000 over the U.S. average. Three percent – triple the national average – of Valley households make over $250,000. Not surprisingly, there's an epidemic of aspiring "next Silicon Valleys." But beware, says Sam Pizzigati, editor of Too Much, a newsletter on excessive wealth. Santa Clara has also become America's most expensive place to live. Less than a third of Silicon Valley households can afford to buy a house there. Forty percent can't afford to rent there either. Silicon Valley's average household debt is over $90,000, the highest in the nation, and the poverty rate has jumped 2 percent since 1989. Even top earners, says a local therapist, "suffer from a terrible sense of insecurity about keeping wealth." United for a Fair Economy, 617-423-2148.

THE TOP!

 Top influence on American Cities for the Past 50 years: 
Highways and Cars
Top influence on American Cities for the Next 50 years: 
Income Disparities
From "The American Metropolis at Century's End: Past and Future Influences," Fannie Mae Foundation, 202-274-8004.
Copyright 1999

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