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| Short Takes
Putting "Housing First" |
Brought together by a common desire to bring in more money for housing and alter the city’s regulatory environment, a group of New York City banks, housing finance corporations, for-profit builders, community development groups, and tenant advocates have set aside their usual differences to create the “Housing First” campaign. Funded by foundations, along with Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Independence Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and Fannie Mae, the campaign aims to make housing a leading issue in this year’s mayoral election and next year’s gubernatorial race. Housing First proposes a $10 billion city investment over 10 years to create 100,000 new housing units. The coalition is also proposing using property tax lien sales, loan repayments to city housing programs, and real estate taxes to fund new housing. (City Limits, July/August 2001) |
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| No Place to Sit or Eat | Sometimes compassion can get you arrested. Members of the San Francisco chapter of Food Not Bombs (FNB) found this out when they were arrested in late April for distributing food to homeless people in a local park. The arrests were the culmination of police attempts to disperse homeless residents and FNB members after a television report in March claimed the park was overrun with dangerous drug addicts. The report also spurred Mayor Willie Brown to order all of the park’s benches removed. (The Homeless Grapevine, Issue #47) |
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| Government FOR the People? | The Pennsylvania legislature has passed a bill that overturns Philadelphia’s anti-predatory-lending ordinance, which was due to take effect in July. According to ACORN, the state bill was pushed through by an alliance of mainstream banks and subprime lenders over the objections of several Philadelphia representatives who withdrew their sponsorship and support after realizing the bill would repeal the popular ordinance. Jeff Ordower, ACORN, 215-765-0042. |
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| Nonprofits Are Employer Too | At a recent kick-off breakfast, one-third of the New York City Council pledged their support for a living wage bill that would apply to any employers receiving city money, whether through contracts or subsidies like tax abatements. The measure, which would cover about 100,000 workers, would increase wages to $10 per hour with health insurance or $12.50 without, according to the New York Living Wage Coalition. A large number of the affected employers are direct service nonprofits, but unlike most employers faced with proposed living wage laws, many of them are supporting the bill. Jon Kest, ACORN, 718-246-7900; Women’s News, www.womensenews.org. |
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| Job Training Center Victory | The Regional Employment Board of Hampden County, MA has voted unanimously to yank the reins of FutureWorks, a Springfield job training center, from Employment Training Institute, a for-profit company based in New Jersey. The board will hand the responsibility for the job training center to a local governing board that has yet to be assembled. The move was largely the result of organizing efforts by the Anti-Displacement Project (A-DP), a tenant advocacy group (see Shelterforce #117), which charged that the training center turned away hundreds of poor and unemployed people who sought help. A-DP staged protests and sent “moles” in to test the services at FutureWorks over several months. Many returned with stories of poor service and unfair treatment. (Springfield Union-News, 6/6/01) |
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| Award-Winning Design Lacks Developer | Gateway Landing is a great idea. The twin-structure apartment building, a mix of one-, two-, and three bedroom apartments above ground-level parking, would be located less than two blocks from a light rail station in downtown Oakland. It’s such a good idea that its creators – six University of California at Berkeley graduate students – took top honors at Bank of America’s (BOA) annual Affordable Housing Challenge. But it’s still just an idea. Although Frank Bravo, a member of BOA’s Community Development Banking Group, calls the plan “very feasible,” no nonprofit or for-profit developer has come forward to build the complex. (San Francisco Chronicle, 5/13/01) |
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| Back to the Center | More than 100 Chicago-area companies have signed a pledge to give a substantial edge to communities with zoning, building, and land-use policies that encourage affordable housing when deciding where to build or expand a plant or office. The pledge is being circulated by Chicago Metropolis 2020 (CM2020), a business-backed group examining long-range issues for the region. CM2020 also encourages employers to consider public transit access in their siting decisions. Supporters include Sears, Motorola, Allstate, Bank One, and the Chicago Bears. (Chicago Sun-Times, 6/4/01) |
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| Yes, This Means You | The Los Angeles City Council has unanimously voted to uphold a city law requiring that 15 percent of the units in new downtown-area residential developments be set aside for low-income residents. The vote came on the heels of a months-long attempt by a luxury apartment developer to seek an exemption from the rule. The developer, G.H. Palmer Associates, has clashed repeatedly with affordable-housing advocates over the requirement, and plans to file a lawsuit challenging the council’s decision. (Los Angeles Times, 6/26/01) |
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Copyright 2001 Back to July/August 2001 index
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