WIN with Affordable Housing

Last night I attended Affordable Housing Accountability Night organized by the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN). WIN is comprised of a group of churches in DC dedicated to political action and the improvement of our city. Their Vote Neighborhoods First campaign centers around creating vibrant and livable neighborhoods that can be enjoyed by all residents regardless of income. The evening centered around a speech by Mayor Fenty about his commitment to affordable housing and his progress and plans for the creation of affordable units across the city.



With support from WIN, Mayor Fenty has embarked on a mission to provide 14,000 "Nehemiah" homeownership units, which are deemed affordable to residents with incomes ranging from $20,000 to $75,000. What was so impressive about the evening, was that the Mayor's plans were not just plans, they were already actions.



The vast changes in our city have caused many long-time residents to be priced out of the city. Through increased rents and property tax assessments, owners and renters alike have been forced to move to more affordable areas outside the District. This just isn't right, especially for those that have been DC residentss their entire lives.



There are some positive stories. though. For example, Ms. Brenda Jordan, who spoke at last night's event, started the Pleasant Park Tenants Association to organize neighbors and purchase their building when threatened with an owner who wanted to convert all the units into condos. But this is only one case, and not all residents can afford to do the same thing that Ms. Jordan and her neighbors did.



We must ensure that a certain percentage of all units in this city remain affordable and available for those with limited financial resources. Residents who do not want to leave our great city have the right to live here and participate in our urban renaissance.

The Tragedy of Temple Courts

Tonight I attended a meeting addressing problems at Temple Courts, part of the NW#1 development near North Capitol Street. For years, residents have been living in third-world conditions. Chronic infestations of rats, mice, bed bugs and roaches create living conditions that I thought could never exist here in the United States. The building's owner has ignored these issues and was fined $1.4 million by DCRA for maintaining unhealthy and unsanitary conditions. Finally, DCRA just gave up because enforcement proved impossible. It made me sick to see human beings living in the capital of the free world subjected to the conditions at Temple Courts.
The meeting was put together by first-year Councilmember Tommy Wells, who is making a valiant effort to improve the situation. Mayor Fenty showed his support to residents of Temple Courts by attending as well, and offering to let the tenants themselves decide the fate of their homes. Residents were given three options:

1) Remediate the issues while the tenants stayed in place
2) Relocate, remediate and return -- a process that would take approximately two years
3) Relocate, demolish, rebuild and return - a process that could take up to five years

While none of the solutions is perfect, and I'm afraid there are no perfect solutions, the fact that tenants were given the opportunity to control their own destiny really left me with hope.

I am writing this blog to bring problems that continue to lurk below the surface to the surface. Temple Courts is now moving in the right direction, but there are heartbreaking stories all around this city, and I hope that we can bring them to light here.

What/where are other public housing issues in DC needing to be addressed? Are certain neighborhoods east of the river being ignored? I urge you all to look for similar problems and post them here on District Matters for all to see. It's up to us to make a change.