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Fwd: CPPH Support of CAC call for study From: Grant ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Message: 1 Date: Wed, 2 Oct 2002 09:36:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Grant Subject: Fwd: CPPH Support of CAC call for study The Coalition to Protect Public Housing supporters to join with us in supporting the Central Advisory Council's (CAC) call for HUD to fullfill its promise to conduct an annual market study to know if Chicago's housing market can absorb those displaced by CHA. We are sending you a sample of our letter [attached, and in text below this message] which supports the call for the study with our additional demand that demolition stop until the results of a study show that there is available affordable housing. We are asking that you send a letter to Deputy Secretary Jackson on your letterhead in support of this effort. It would be great if you can send a reply letting us know that you will do a letter so we can keep track. Copies of CAC's letter are available if you request and will be faxed. Thank you, Coalition to Protect Public Housing For more information contact: Carol Steele 312-280-2298 or Stacey Flint 312-663-0960 (JCUA) ______________________________________ THE COALITION TO PROTECT PUBLIC HOUSING 984 N. Hudson Street Chicago, IL 60610 phone (312) 280-2298 fax (312) 280-4526 September 30, 2002 Alphonso R. Jackson Deputy Secretary U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 451 7th Street, S. W., Room 10100 Washington, D.C. 20401 Re: Chicago Housing Market Study Dear Deputy Secretary Jackson: The Coalition to Protect Public Housing supports the CAC’s (Central Advisory Council) call for a 2002 market study to determine if the Chicago region is able to absorb residents from public housing into the private market. In addition, the Coalition demands a moratorium on demolition until this study is complete and clear evidence is shown that affordable housing is available. The Coalition began in 1996 and is comprised of residents and support organizations dedicated to protecting the right of low-income residents to have decent affordable housing, and was one of the lead advocates for the 1999 market study. Since the Plan for Transformation was announced in 1999 the Coalition has implored CHA to make sure there is enough housing in the private market or to speed up building replacement housing and hold off on demolition. Instead, CHA has consistently and vigorously pursued demolition of units and vouchering out residents into a tight and hostile market. The 1999 market study showed that Chicago is a tight market with a vacancy rate of 4.2 percent and 153,000 units short for households with the lowest incomes. Recent studies show that voucher holders (especially minorities and those from CHA housing) are denied housing by landlords over 70 percent of the time (Lawyers Committee on Better Housing Study April 2002). Since the Plan, the CHA’s waiting list has grown from 38,000 to 51,000 and Section 8 from 30,000 to 38,000. Unable to find housing, residents are finding themselves constantly on the move with their families interrupting children’s education and a chance at self-sufficiency. CHA must understand that it is being watch and be held accountable. We know that though the CHA asserts that it is building units as promised under the Plan that the information is not clear. While CHA says it built 699 units by 2001 (for families) 643 of these units were required to be built under consent decrees prior or outside of the Plan for Transformation, in reality this leaves only a total of 56 truly new units (Resource: National Center on Poverty Law). These few units pale in the light of over 7,300 demolished units. Public Housing residents have too long been the subjects of social research and need to be treated with the same dignity that is afforded a resident of Chicago. No developer would be given a chance if they did not know where they were going to get funding for their project, yet CHA is allowed to continue disrupting residents lives while uncertain of how over $1.3 billion for their plan will be secured. The Coalition also urges that a new market study include a land analysis to give CHA a better understanding of what amount of land is needed to fulfill its goal of 25,000 units. Researcher from the University of Illinois at Chicago Voorhees Center estimate that CHA could need as much as 150 acres (equivalent to half the downtown Loop) to provide for the numbers of residents who say they want to return to public housing after rehabilitation. The Coalition believes a new market study is imperative for the protection of residents and the survival of the plan. We hope that a market study will be conducted yearly as it states in the Moving to Work agreement thus allowing for more careful planning, pacing, and attention to making sure residents are not falling through the cracks but rather landing in stable affordable housing. Sincerely, Carol Steele CoFounder Coalition to Protect Public Housing __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New DSL Internet Access from SBC & Yahoo! http://sbc.yahoo.com [This message contained attachments] ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/