Merry Christmas from HUD

Merry Christmas from HUD
This Holiday Season, It's Bulldozers for the Poor, Huge Tax Credits for Wealthy Developers

By Bill Quigley



On the 12th day before Christmas, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is planning to unleash teams of bulldozers to demolish thousands of low-income apartments in New Orleans. Despite Katrina causing the worst affordable housing crisis since the Civil War, HUD is spending $762 million in taxpayer funds to tear down more than 4,600 publicly subsidized apartments and replace them with 744 similarly subsidized units " an 82 percent reduction.

HUD is in charge here, and a one-person HUD team makes all the local housing authority decisions. HUD took over the local housing authority years ago " all decisions are made in Washington, D.C. The agency plans to build an additional 1,000 'market rate" and tax credit units, which will still result in a net loss of 2,700 apartments to New Orleans. The remaining new apartments will cost an average of more than $400,000 each.

Affordable housing is at a critical point along the Gulf Coast in the wake of the 2005 hurricanes. More than 50,000 families still living in tiny FEMA trailers are being systematically forced out. More than 90,000 homeowners in Louisiana are still waiting to receive federal recovery funds from the Road Home program. In New Orleans, hundreds of the estimated 12,000 homeless have taken up residence in small tents across the street from City Hall and under Interstate 10.

In Mississippi, poor and working people are being displaced along the coast to allow casinos to expand and develop shipping and other commercial activities. Two dozen ministers criticized the exclusion of renters and low-income homeowners from post-Katrina assistance: 'Sadly we must now bear witness to the reality that our recovery effort has failed to include a place at the table ... for our poor and vulnerable."

The bulldozers have not torn down any buildings yet, and New Orleans public housing residents vow to resist. 'If you try to bulldoze our homes, we're going to fight," promised resident Sharon Jasper. 'There's going to be a war in New Orleans."

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Continued here.

I am meeting with Rep Keith Ellison, MN. tomorrow with other peace activist. He probably is already trying to help ... but will give it to him anyhow.
I did call his office this week to ask him to support to stop the bulldozing.

This is quite sickening.. and I have spread the article on Truth Out and Democracy Now to co-workers.

KEEP HOME ALIVE