November/December 1995

Shelter Shorts

Landlord Tastes Own Medicine

Williams may find the move a difficult adjustment from his upscale home "nestled in the mountains of western New Jersey." According to The Star-Ledger in Newark, while Williams' Newark property deteriorated, he and his wife enjoyed such amenities as central air conditioning, spacious rooms, and an outdoor deck overlooking the Watchung Mountains.

Newark's inspection manager, Pablo Fonsca, said Williams' sentence "sends a message that the city is serious about providing its residents with decent affordable housing." But excessive overdue taxes and fees also have something to do with Williams' arrest. Williams owes Newark a total of $150,000 in back taxes, water charges, and fines, The Star Ledger reported.

In his defense, Williams cited over-extended credit, biases in the banking system, and liens placed against his property by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. "I have tried to keep my property up," Williams appealed to the judge. "If you own property and you pay the fines, the tenants tear your place up. I'm trying to keep the building going, but it's impossible."

But Williams' plea apparently failed to sway the judge. "The tenants are required to be protected," Judge Daniele said. "It is my opinion that he should go to jail."

Housing Journalism of Note

The Wall Street Journal on November 15, 1995, featured an exceptional article by staff reporter Joseph Pereira on trailer park residents hit by a trend of park closings. "Far from the mainstream of an expanding economy, the lot of many trailer people is worsening," Pereira writes. "Many parks where low-income residents have lived since World War II are closing. New trailer parks are rare, and many that are being built cater to seniors and vacationers. Increasingly, too, they accept only new manufactured homes – costing up to $50,000, and unaffordable to those towing the poverty line. Those with old trailers often find they have to ditch them."

The article cites poor image, aging infrastructure, and displacement by discount stores, such as Wal-Mart and Office Max, as reasons for the surge in park closings. While estimates of the number of displaced trailer dwellers are rare, Pereira reports, anecdotal evidence puts the numbers in the tens of thousands. In Washington state, 22 mobile parks have closed since 1989; in Vermont, 18 have closed since 1988, and another 51 are for sale; California has lost 49 since 1991.

These figures are important to quantify the problem, but the heart of Pereira's article lies in the interviews with residents of Olivia Mobile Home Park, some of whom failed to find housing after the park closed last June. Some residents with nowhere to go continued squatting at the park. The park's owner left the water on as a "humane act" toward one remaining family whose mother was sick with cancer. The day after she died in August, the family was served a second eviction notice.

"'Some folks have it good, some don't,'" Pereira quotes one former Olivia resident who was packing up his things. "Trailer folk fall in the latter category."

Legislation to Create Tenants' Rights Ombudsman

SHAC reports that many tenants throughout the state are unaware of their basic rights and do not know where to turn for help in protecting themselves against violations. A Tenants Rights Ombudsman would provide a toll free information and complaint line for tenants.

Attempts to set up this position within the Illinois Attorney General's office have, so far, been unfruitful. SHAC would like to hear from anyone with experience relevant to this matter. Contact: Tracey Accomy, 202 S. State St., Suite 1414, Chicago, IL 60604; phone: (312) 939-6074; fax: (312) 939-6822; email: HN0341@handsnet.org.

Short Takes

• MEMORY LAPSE - that's what editors of HUD's policy journal Cityscape appear to have suffered while compiling their September 1995 issue commemorating HUD's 30th Anniversary. In that issue, a chapter titled "As They Saw It: HUD's Secretaries Reminisce About Carrying Out the Mission" includes a segment on Samuel R. Pierce, Jr.. Cityscape neglects to mention, however, that this Reagan appointee was indicted on criminal charges (later dismissed) for his activities while at HUD. The journal instead quotes Pierce listing the department's self-described "accomplishments" under his stewardship. Is the omission of the blot on Pierce's record a mere lapse of memory, or a blatant rewriting of history by HUD? 

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• DUBBED THE "CRA TWO," ACORN president Maude Hurd and former president Elena Hanggi were recently found guilty of "disrupting Congress" after attempting to testify at a House subcommittee hearing on the Community Reinvestment Act. Although the two had 30-day jail sentences suspended, they received 18 months of supervised probation plus 40 hours of non-ACORN community service for their misdemeanor offense. ACORN is appealing, arguing that the threshold for what constitutes disruption of Congress should be higher, and such a broad interpretation of the statute could have a chilling affect on First Amendment rights. Information: Carolyn Carr, 202-547-2500. 

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• "KEEP THE CAP" CAMPAIGN, recently launched by National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), Center for Community Change (CCC), ACORN, and National Housing Law Project, aims to preserve the Brooke Amendment, which would keep the cap on public housing rents at 30 percent of income. The Coalition, which held a press conference to announce the campaign in December, has designed painters' caps with the message "Keep the cap at 30%." For information or to order hats, contact Deborah Austin, NLIHC, 202/662-1530; or Deepak Bhargava, CCC, 202-342-0567. 

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• Professional Builder magazine featured 1995's HEROES OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING in its December 1995 issue. PB names Millard Fuller, president and co-founder of Habitat for Humanity, as Builder of the Year, and singles out six others for their achievements in affordable housing. Since Fuller and his wife founded Habitat 19 years ago, the organization has built 12,000 houses - 4,000 in the US and 8,000 abroad. Fuller is the first nonprofit builder named Builder of the Year since PB began granting the award in 1966. 

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• LOCAL HEROES, the Ramos family of Chicago, were honored by the National Puerto Rican Coalition for mounting a successful legal challenge against discrimination by their neighbors. The Ramos family's decision to stand up to the discrimination resulted in both a court order for the offending neighbors to move and the "Local Hero" award, presented at NPRC's fair housing summit in October. More information: NPRC Report, Communications Office, NPRC, 1700 K St., NW, Suite 500, Washington, DC 20006. 

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• REPLACING PLACE-BASED SUBSIDIES WITH TENANT-BASED VOUCHERS would result in a decrease in affordable units, housing advocates have long argued. A recent study from Community Action for Suburban Hennepin supplies more evidence to support that claim.The survey found Section 8 tenants in suburban Hennepin County, Minnesota, facing a shrinking market (more than 8,000 units that once accepted Section 8 no longer do) likely to become even tighter under changes proposed by Congress and HUD. HUD's own market analysis is used to show dramatic rent increases for tenants in some subsidized developments in Hennepin County, who would see rents rise to market levels under HUD's "Mark to Market" plan. Information: Community Action for Suburban Hennepin, 11 10th Ave S, Suite 150, Hopkins, MN 55343; 612-933-9639. 

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• "BANKING ON THE COMMUNITY MAKES $ENSE," in the fall 1995 issue of CUPReport (Center for Urban Policy Research, Rutgers University, P.O. Box 489, Piscataway, NJ 08855-0489) reports on an innovative program, begun in 1988, that helps banks opening branches in churches. The Huntington National Bank's Community Centered Banking Program in Columbus, Ohio, has grown to include 165 churches and has "booked over $60 million in market-rate mortgages." The bank-church partnership assists low-income families with homebuying counseling, budgeting, credit problem resolutions, and alternative underwriting criteria. Seven other states now have similar programs. 

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• THE FAIR HOUSING REPORT'S premier issue highlights the case of Pamela Hendrickson, a U.S. Navy Petty Officer and Gulf War veteran pursuing a civil complaint against Yarmouth Realty of Washington, DC. Ms. Hendrickson alleges that during her search for housing in Washington, a Yarmouth agent discouraged her requests to see certain apartments, and instead showed her others in poor condition and in predominantly black neighborhoods. After placing an application fee for one of her first choices, Ms. Hendrickson was told the apartment had been rented. Yet two weeks later, the apartment was still listed as available. Subsequent testing of Yarmouth by the Fair Housing Council revealed a similar pattern of "racial steering." Information: Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington, 927 15th St., NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC, 20005; 202-371-9744. 

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• Marshall Heights CDC, part of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Rebuilding Communities Initiative, is one of five CDCs across the country overseeing a comprehensive program that brings together nonprofits, corporations, government agencies and community residents. "Rebuilding A Community: Marshall Heights Community Development Organization," an article in the fall 1995 issue of A.E.C. Focus, A Report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, describes the activities of the 17 year-old Marshall Heights CDC, including housing and economic development, service delivery, and neighborhood organizing. For more information call the Casey Foundation, 410-547-6600, or see Shelterforce's Comprehensive Communities Initiative report.

Copyright 1995

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