HUD scheduled to demolish 5,000 units of public housing, preventing thousands from returning to New Orleans
Emergency Action Alert (by GGJA)
New Orleans, LA -- The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is scheduled to demolish over 5,000 units of public housing in New Orleans- a move housing advocates in New Orleans say is the latest in a long string of bad policy decisions that defy common sense and have left more than 12,000 people homeless.
The demolitions planned for Monday December 18th appear to contradict the city's slogan following the storms of 2005, �Bring New Orleans Back.���According to the Stop the Demolitions Coalition- a broad national alliance of advocates, residents, and supporting groups, over 3,400 families, most of them African American, will be prevented from returning to New Orleans as a direct result of the destruction
of the public housing units. Instead of a place to live, the thousands of families whose homes will bedemolished will be offered rent vouchers that do not cover security deposit, first months rent, or moving costs.
"The city of New Orleans, HUD, and HANO have left these units to rot instead of repairing them and bringing the families that used to live there home," says Kali Akuna, an organizer with the Coalition. "These demolitions are a disgrace. They need to re-open the units so all New Orleans residents can come home, not just those who can afford it. Vouchers aren't the answer. There's a better way."
Advocates say the answer is Senate Bill 1668: The Gulf Coast Recovery Act, which preserves pubic housing units where feasible, requires replacement where preservation is not feasible, and provides additional resources for the enforcement of fair housing laws. The bill has been blocked by Louisiana Senator David Vitter, but could be voted out of committee and onto the senate floor if the Senate Committee on banking, housing, and urban affairs takes immediate action.
The decision to demolish the five largest public housing developments in New Orleans was finalized lastThursday, when the Housing Authority followed HUD�s June announcement of the demolitions with the approval of nearly $31 million in redevelopment contracts to tear down the public housing units to make room for what it calls �mixed income� neighborhoods.
"Everybody knows that mixed income means getting rid of New Orleans' poorest to make room forfolks with money," adds Akuna. "Demolishing public housing is like putting black families in front of the wrecking ball. The city has a responsibility to stop the demolition and use the public housing it has to place families in stable, affordable housing now."
The Stop the Demolitions Coalition says they will do whatever they can to prevent the demolitions from taking place.
"Take it from a resident who was there 27 years, there were such good things about publichousing," says Kawana Jasper, 27-year resident of St. Bernard Parish. "We lived like normal people who own homes, on holidays we got together as a family. We'd barbeque, we'd have block parties to watch movies and have DJs spinning. Around the holidays it was always decorated. We had our differences but we were a community, a family. We have to fight to protect that."
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Sample Letter
Senator David Vitter
United States Senate
516 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
VIA FACSIMILE (202) 228-5061
Senator Vitter,
Grassroots Global Justice (GGJ) is a national alliance of 60 community and labor organizations working for social justice and human rights. We represent thousands of people in 21 states, including Louisiana, and the District of Columbia.
We are outraged to learn that this week 4 large public housing complexes are to be destroyed in the city of New Orleans. We understand that this represents the demolition of over 4600 homes, while only 744 units are expected to be rebuilt. This comes at a time when 52,000 families throughout the Gulf Coast region are about to be forced out of trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
For two years, federal, state and local governments have not lived up to their responsibilities to the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Hundreds of thousands of people are homeless or exiled. Instead of receiving the infrastructure and services to allow for the safe return of Gulf Coast residents, the region remains in ruins, peoples’ livelihoods destroyed and entire communities displaced. Thousands of people in the Gulf Coast will not celebrate this holiday season, but confront the specter of once again being forced into the streets. This is simply unjust. Our members will be taking actions throughout this week to support the demands for preservation of peoples’ homes.
Passage of the Gulf Coast Recovery Act (SB 1668) could be a crucial first step in realizing a just reconstruction of the region, it could also prevent the destruction of public housing in New Orleans. We understand that the bill is in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and needs your support.
We strongly urge you to exercise your leadership and influence to help make this bill law and to intervene to prevent the destruction of public housing. It could mean that thousands of families in New Orleans will not become homeless in the coming weeks. Poor and low-income people of the Gulf Coast have suffered enough. It is time for them to have a home. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Michael Leon Guerrero
On behalf of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
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