November/December 1997

Shelter Shorts

500 New Homeowners; One Dead Housing Program

Hundreds of western Massachusetts tenants became homeowners this past summer because of their work through the Anti-Displacement Project, which has organized tenant associations and targeted HUD bureaucrats and Massachusetts' most powerful politicians to leverage buyout money from HUD. The group particularly credits its success to its relationship with US Senator John Kerry, who influenced HUD to pay attention to direct sales to tenants, rather than taking its usual course of dealing only with nonprofits. The group's organizing convinced the federal and state governments to invest $27 million in helping tenants of Spring Meadows, Pufton Village, and Greenfield Gardens – more than 500 families in all – purchase their buildings.

These complexes were among the best HUD-subsidized housing, developed with low-interest loans in the 1970s. The Low Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act (LIHPRHA), a 1990 federal law, provided assistance for the tenant buyouts. Because the Clinton administration killed LIHPRHA this year, only four of seven such sales nationally went through, and no more sales of this kind will happen again.

In what one leader called a desperate last stand to save one of the buildings, children living there drew a poster of what homeownership would mean to them. The poster was sent to Washington while tenants faxed hundreds of postcards to HUD. HUD found $6 million more to help with the purchase.
 

Court Says Landlords Must Accept Vouchers

Landlords must accept Section 8 vouchers as rent from existing tenants, a New Jersey state appeals court ruled in October. The court held that a real estate partnership violated state laws prohibiting discrimination in the source of a rent payment when it rejected a tenant's attempt to use a Section 8 voucher as payment.

The ruling involved a 64-year-old woman resident of a West New York apartment complex, according to the October 23, 1997, Record, a New Jersey newspaper. Unable to work, the woman had a monthly income of $521.80 from Social Security and $100 to $200 in food stamps. Her rent was $425. The West New York Housing Authority approved her for Section 8 housing assistance in April 1996. When she tried to use the voucher to pay rent two days later, the landlord refused.

A lawyer for the landlord said this decision opens the door for tenants to claim the right to rent anywhere using a voucher. The lawyer also commented that the landlord would rather charge less for rent than deal with federal housing inspections and other requirements of the Section 8 program, the Record reported.

But according to Gregory Diebold, housing director for Hudson County Legal Services Corporation, which defended the tenant, the ruling applies only to tenants who begin using vouchers for apartments in which they already live. Further, he said Section 8 imposes no more burdens on landlords than typical local building regulations. Some landlords use their Section 8 opposition as an excuse to discriminate against minority tenants, he also noted, although he did not suggest Franklin Tower was guilty of bias.

Hudson County Legal Services Corporation, 201-792-6363.

Wellstone Winds Up "Poverty Tour"

During a seven-month, cross-country "poverty tour" of America, US Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN) found continuing poverty and disproportionate poverty among people of color. But Wellstone said he also found some things he didn't fully anticipate: "programs that work, people who make a difference, possibilities for change, and productive spending of tax dollars."

Retracing Robert Kennedy's journey of 30 years ago, Wellstone launched his tour in the Mississippi Delta in May, the Associated Press reported. Wellstone toured ghettoes, barrios, and rural shacks in Chicago, Los Angeles, Appalachia, and elsewhere.

While Republican critics attributed the tour mainly to Wellstone's presidential aspirations, Wellstone said it was unrelated to his interest in running for president in 2000. But if he decides to run, he said, he will use his campaign to raise poverty issues.

Wellstone said the most important thing the tour taught him was: "You can have all the social services in the world, but the whole house of cards collapses if you don't have the jobs." He said government should ensure jobs that pay living wages – enough to feed, clothe and house a family – for everyone who wants to work. While entrepreneurs and community-based organizations can provide some jobs, he said, many must be publicly financed. He envisions the government subsidizing employment – including jobs in child care and elder care, housing construction, and environmental clean-up – through programs similar to the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps.

Wellstone promised to introduce job-creation legislation when Congress reconvenes in January, although he acknowledges this will be a tough sell in the current political environment.

Senator Paul Wellstone, 202-224-5641

Short Takes
 

NJ Tenants Win

Though landlords in Fort Lee, NJ, tried to prove the 'irrationality' of the town's rent control laws, the Federal District Court and Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Bergen County recently upheld the constitutional basis for rent control. A New York-based company with property in Fort Lee and backing from New Jersey landlord groups had claimed the town had no "housing emergency" and therefore could not impose rent control. The Fort Lee Tenants' Association (FLEET) entered the suit as a defendant. Then Fort Lee's council passed an ordinance effectively ending local controls, which FLEET managed to invalidate by proving conflict of interest within the council. This, in turn, led to the election of a more tenant-friendly council. The recent appeals court ruling held that a municipality does not need a housing emergency or vacancy-rate test to establish rent control. Contact the New Jersey Tenants Organization, 389 Main St., Hackensack, NJ 07601.

Census Sampling

Individual counting in the U.S. Census has resulted in undercounting of certain populations, including the homeless, other low-income individuals, and people of color. But, after a protracted partisan battle over methods for the year 2000 Census, Congress has approved a measure directing the Census Bureau to use statistical sampling methods for the first time. The Bureau and advocates for low-income people hope that sampling, combined with traditional census techniques, will result in a more accurate count. Republicans fear sampling will result in Congressional redistricting that favors Democrats. Contact the Center for Community Change, 202-342-0567.

Public Housing Residents Get Wired

To help welfare and low-income residents develop job skills, all future public housing units in Oakland, CA, will be equipped with computer terminals, under an initiative by Mayor Elihu M. Harris and the City Council. One existing housing project will soon get 100 PCs, all networked, with educational software to teach residents basic computer skills such as word processing, spreadsheets, and the Internet. Educational software for children will also be included. Contact Oakland Housing Authority, 510-874-1500.

$75 Billion Promised Under CRA

There has never been a bigger community reinvestment pledge than the $75 billion Washington Mutual Bank has promised over ten years, if its acquisition of California-based Great Western Bank takes place. The commitment will cover the bank's service areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Oregon, along with Washington state. The $75 billion consists of loans and investments to community development projects, low-income housing, tax-exempt housing revenue bonds, minority financial institutions and community banks targeting racial and ethnic minorities. Contact Washington Reinvestment Alliance, 206-443-9935.

Low-Income Elderly Often Ignored

While the popular image of aging in Florida includes retirement centers with tennis courts and golf courses, the state's elderly in government-subsidized housing are more likely to be frail, ignored, or subject to the whims of apartment managers, according to a study underway by Stephen Golant, a University of Florida gerontology professor. The 19-month statewide study aims to help elderly residents of low-income housing remain in their homes, rather than ending up in nursing homes at taxpayer expense, Golant recently told the Associated Press. Nationally, about 25 percent of older people in low-income housing suffer from frailty, making it difficult to take care of themselves. Given Florida's sizable elderly population and the wave of aging baby boomers, Golant said, the findings could provide guidance for the rest of the nation. For more information, call 352-392-0494, or read the article by Golant in Shelterforce #109.

Targeted Lending is Low Risk

New evidence suggests that loans made under specially targeted-lending programs are no riskier than traditional products available to lower-income families, according to a recent lead story in Secondary Mortgage Markets, published by Freddie Mac. High default patterns were found instead to result from excessive layering of risks among lower-income applicants. Research confirms that the same layering of risk would produce similarly elevated default rates in any loan category. SMM is available from Freddie Mac, 703-903-2000; www.freddiemac.com

Plant a Tree for Peace

A study by researchers at the University of Illinois has concluded that trees have a calming effect on city residents, and thus create a safer atmosphere. Housing projects landscaped with trees had markedly lower incidents of domestic violence, the report says, and trees and grassy areas also encourage more creative playing among children. Researchers attributed these tranquilizing effects to the aesthetic appeal of greenery, which causes physiological changes such as lower blood pressure and improved heart rates. Contact the Human-Environment Research Lab, U. of IL. at Urbana Champaign, 217-244-1374; www.herl.uiuc.edu

One-Stop Shopping

A new, 250-bed Regional Reception Center in San Jose – which bills  itself as "one stop shopping for the homeless" – offers shelter, job placement, storage space, health care, shuttle service, private rooms for families and play areas for children, and even an "online school" for children. To aid in record keeping and service delivery, the center is issuing cards with magnetic strips to local homeless people. The facility is a collaboration among public, private, and nonprofit organizations in San Jose's South Bay area. Contact the Emergency Housing Consortium, 408-291-5440; www.homelessness.org

Copyright 1997
 
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