tagged w/ Public Housing
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A weekly alternative source for public housing info featuring real stories by current and former housing project residents with unconventional, entertaining, thought-provoking videos and bold commentary.A weekly alternative source for public housing info featuring real stories by current... more
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On its front page, the New York Times reports that public housing "is falling apart around the country, as federal money has been unable to keep up with the repair needs of buildings more than half a century old." Public housing authorities "need $22 billion to $32 billion to rehabilitate their buildings, said David Lipsetz, a senior adviser in the Office of Public and Indian Housing with the Department of Housing and Urban Development -- an average of $25,000 for each of the 1.175 million public housing units. But that figure is based on a 1998 study, he said; an updated report is in the works."
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/25/nyregion/25repairs.html?_r=1&hpOn its front page, the New York Times reports that public housing "is falling... more
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Gun rights advocates scored a victory Thursday as the House Financial Services Committee adopted an amendment to allow guns in public housing projects.
The amendment, by Tom Price , Ra?`Ga., would bar any housing authority from restricting legal ownership of guns. It was adopted, 38-31, as the committee continued its markup of a housing bill (HR 3045) that the panel is expected to approve next week.
“Seniors and other individuals have the right to protect themselves,” said Joe Baca of California, one of 13 Democrats who voted for the amendment. “Those guns would be registered, and those individuals have a right, in public housing or any other place, to protect themselves.”
While the Department of Housing and Urban Development does not have a specific policy concerning guns in public housing, several local agencies have banned them in an effort to reduce violent crime in housing projects. Major urban centers began to adopt gun bans in the 1990s, and advocates of such steps argue that the bans have improved the safety of public housing.
“There was a time during the ’70s and ’80s when public housing developments were considered killing grounds,” said Emanuel Cleaver II , D-Mo., who grew up in public housing. “It is just foolhardy to place guns in developments of poor people, many of whom are unemployed, and place these guns around children. . . . Why would we try to put guns in the most densely populated areas in the urban core? It’s just unbelievable.”
Only two Republicans — Peter T. King of New York and Michael N. Castle of Delaware — voted against the amendment.
Carolyn McCarthy , D-N.Y., a longtime gun control advocate, said opponents of the Price amendment would try to remove the language from the bill at a later point in the legislative process, without subjecting the issue to a recorded vote.
“What we’re trying to do will not involve votes,” McCarthy said.
Several Democrats also backed a separate Price amendment that would require anyone applying for Section 8 rent vouchers to produce a photo ID card that meets REAL ID standards, such as a passport or other identification approved by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. The committee adopted the amendment, 37-31.
Opponents of the amendment argued that the measure, if intended to weed out illegal immigrants, was redundant, as they are already prohibited from receiving public housing assistance.
“This just hurts Americans,” said Baca, who said the measure would likely keep those who cannot afford to pay for such identification, such as the chronically poor and homeless, or the eligible relatives of uncooperative applicants, from getting the public subsidy vouchers.
Democrats blocked a series of GOP amendments aimed at reducing the supply of 150,000 additional Section 8 vouchers authorized under the bill, or requiring offsets before such new vouchers can be issued.
The last remaining hurdle to the bill is resolution on the Moving to Work program, an incentive-based initiative to get people into jobs that would in turn move them off Section 8 housing vouchers.
Democrats have resisted making broad expansions to the work incentives program, opting for a 10-year reauthorization with new initiatives limited and closely monitored under the bill. Republicans want time limits and back-to-work conditions on Section 8 vouchers in an effort to reduce what they criticize as unchecked dependency on the program.Gun rights advocates scored a victory Thursday as the House Financial Services... more
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Guilty untill proven innocent?? Not when it comes to public housing.......
No conviction, yet labelled as a criminal. Some people do not have any other choice but to live in these housing programs, yet they are refusing to let intact families participate.....Guilty untill proven innocent?? Not when it comes to public housing.......
No... more
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Donna Quinter, 54, and wife of Monkee's star Mickey Dolenz pleaded guilty Friday to charges that she defrauded a public housing program in New York City.
She illegally received $136,866 in government rental subsidies for an apartment on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
The subsidies that she received are alllocated to middle-income families in danger of being forced out of a rent-regulated apartment building that was being converted into luxury condominiums.Donna Quinter, 54, and wife of Monkee's star Mickey Dolenz pleaded guilty Friday... more
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Thanks to daarinamarie for her comments on "Katrina Victims vs. HUD", a pod all about New Orleans housing project resident's protest against the razing of their homes for high priced condos. Here's a link to the pod: http://current.com/items/88870558_katrina_victims_vs_hudThanks to daarinamarie for her comments on "Katrina Victims vs. HUD", a pod... more
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Residents of Lafitte housing projects in New Orleans gather together at a town hall meeting to protest the razing of their homes for high priced condos.Residents of Lafitte housing projects in New Orleans gather together at a town hall... more
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Miss Pussycat, a New Orleans Artist/Puppeteer/Musician, went to Duncan Plaza to get the story on Homeless Pride, an encampment of homeless residents popping up red tents, and settling in on the steps of City Hall in New Orleans. For more videos go to DNOVIDEO.com.Miss Pussycat, a New Orleans Artist/Puppeteer/Musician, went to Duncan Plaza to get... more
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New Orleans' City Council voted today (Thursday) in favor of demolishing 4,500 public housing units in order to balance "its heritage and its hurricane rebuilding efforts."
It obviously was not an easy vote, the unanimous vote "followed hours of debate and periodic clashes in the street."
New Orleans' City Council voted today (Thursday) in favor of demolishing 4,500... more
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