This week the remaining residents were moved from the large homeless encampment underneath the Claiborne Avenue freeway overpass near Canal Street in New Orleans.

The once crowded and noisy tent city had become notorious, as an eyesore to some (in January New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called the scene “a mess”), as a health hazard to its residents and outreach workers, as a site of drug deals and theft, and as a stark symbol of the surmounting housing crisis in post-Katrina New Orleans.

The chaotic concrete settlement, where many student and church volunteers daily dropped off donations of food and clothing, saw a rotating group of more than 200 people, who according to the Times Picayune, lived in horrendous and unhealthy conditions “amid raggedy tents, scattered mattresses and rat-infested couches.” Many had come from abandoned houses and other smaller camps across the city. In fact the overpass encampment ballooned at the start of the year after state and city officials closed down a similar camp across the street from City Hall.

As the Times Picayune reported:

One of the difficulties of emptying the Claiborne camp with any haste was the level of illness there. Most of its residents suffered from untreated mental illness and life-threatening medical conditions, according to detailed surveys conducted by [UNITY of Greater New Orleans, a coalition of advocates for the homeless]. That same survey found that 86 percent of those living at the camp were from the New Orleans area, a statistic that surprised many and flew in the face of Nagin’s May tongue-in-cheek comment about solving the homeless problem with one-way bus tickets out of town.

Many of the frailest people interviewed under the overpass said they had lived with family before Hurricane Katrina, often a mother or sister. Many times, those family members were now dead or displaced, leaving them solo for the first time in their lives.

UNITY had spent the past couple of months gradually removing severely disabled people from the camp to shelters. The Associated Press reported that many from the overpass were taken to the city's Salvation Army facility, where they underwent checks for any physical or mental disabilities. They will be given a month at the facility, while they are provided housing vouchers that will buy them another three months of shelter in an apartment. Severely disabled people likely will be eligible for more long-term rental assistance and services.

Last month, Facing South reported that Congress passed an emergency war spending bill that included a provision providing $73 million for 3,000 subsidized housing vouchers to shelter physically and mentally disabled Hurricane Katrina victims. Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and Gulf Coast housing advocates had been pushing Congress for more than two years to provide additional relief to the Gulf Coast and worked tirelessly in last couple of months to secure this needed funding.

Despite the small victory on the housing voucher front, more than two and a half years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans’ lack of affordable housing remains one of the most pressing crises facing the recovery effort (rents have increased by about 40 percent since the 2005 disaster).

As Facing South has extensively reported, New Orleans is rapidly becoming a city with less and less space for its poorest. There are not enough beds for the homeless and there is a stark shortage of affordable housing (worsened by the fact that public housing complexes have been demolished without first providing enough replacement units.) The affordable housing crisis continues to contribute to New Orleans’ growing homeless population, one that has doubled to an estimated 12,000 since the 2005 disaster. Many of the city’s poor continue to live in substandard and overcrowded housing. Many of the city's homeless continue to live in shelters that are struggling daily to stay afloat financially.

Labels: affordable housing, Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, homelessness, housing, Hurricane Katrina, louisiana, new orleans

The Times Picayune reported that of the flooded areas in Louisiana’s St. Bernard and Orleans parishes, 62 percent of homes have been rebuilt or are under renovation, according to data from a University of New Orleans study released this week.

The findings show a large increase from UNO's 2007 flood zone survey, which found 35 percent of homes had been renovated or had work in progress, and their spring 2006 survey that found only about 15 percent of housing being rebuilt.

Yet, stark inequalities in the areas where housing is being built remain. The Times Picayune reported that the survey found the highest percentage of intact houses in a segment of New Orleans’ upper-class Carrollton neighborhood, where 95 percent of homes were renovated or being worked on. The least-renovated area in New Orleans was the 9th Ward. In the Lower 9th Ward, the survey counted houses in the 1700 and 1800 blocks of Delery and Tricou streets, and found that 26 percent of houses were being redone, 23 percent had been demolished and 51 percent were marked "derelict": gutted but nothing more, according to the Times Picayune.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

Economists say that recessions hurt African-American and Latino workers the most because they are "the last hired and the first fired."

James Sparks at the AFL-CIO blog has an eye-opening post this week arguing that the home foreclosure crisis is working the same way: while affecting everyone, it's been especially devastating for blacks and Latinos -- draining billions of dollars in wealth built up over decades.

First the numbers:

The Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies reports that the rate of subprime mortgages for Latinos and African Americans is about double the rate for whites. In 2006, subprimes made up one in four mortgages (26 percent) made to whites, 47 percent of those to Latinos and 53 percent of mortgages that went to African Americans.

As Southern Exposure found in our award-winning series on predatory lending four years ago, the disparate racial impact isn't a coincidence. Sparks shows other evidence of racial targeting:

[E]conomist Algernon Austin ... says in a study released last week that creditworthiness -- alone or in combination with factors other than race -- cannot account for the disparities in subprime loan rates. When the Federal Reserve and the Wharton School of Business conducted an analysis that took into account how many adults in a neighborhood were high-credit risks, they still found a link between the amount of subprime loans and the number of minorities in the neighborhood.

An analysis by the Center for Responsible Lending found that even after taking into account individual credit scores, Latino and African American borrowers were more than 30 percent more likely to receive higher-rate subprime loans.

The result? A shocking report by United for a Fair Economy this year estimates that the subprime mortgage crisis will end up stripping away $213 billion from largely African-American and Latino communities -- the greatest loss of wealth in U.S. history.

Labels: AFL-CIO, center for responsible lending, credit crisis, economic policy institute, housing, race and racism, subprime lending, united for a fair economy

Speaking of housing and health woes in the Gulf, an Associated Press report documents the serious health problems facing children whose families moved into Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers after the disaster. Many of the young trailer dwellers are suffering from respiratory problems that have been linked to formaldehyde, which has been detected in many of the units at dangerous levels.

The AP points out that the federal studies conducted so far into the health problems of children who lived in the contaminated trailers have drawn criticism for their design, limited scope and failure to do anything to actually alleviate suffering. Dr. Shama Shakir, a pediatrician in Bay St. Louis, Miss., said that before the storm she prescribed nebulizers -- devices that turn medicine into mist for inhaling -- about twice weekly. She's now doing so about a dozen times a week:

"You give them the most potent steroids, the most potent antibiotics, and still they have the symptoms," Shakir said. "I worry about what will become of these children long-term."

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) has introduced legislation mandating health exams for trailer residents who believe they were sickened by formaldehyde. That measure is expected to cost the government far more than a similar $108 million bill for those who worked in the rubble of the World Trade Center after 9/11. However, it would be less expensive than class-action lawsuits -- one of which has already been filed.

Labels: Bennie Thompson, FEMA, formaldehyde, Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, Hurricane Katrina, public health

We wanted to pass along the following message from the folks at the Katrina Information Network:

The House of Representatives passed a domestic supplemental spending bill, but it did not include much needed funds for affordable housing in the Gulf states. On May 22, the Senate voted for a domestic spending amendment that included Gulf States funding by a vote of 75-22.

Advocates in the Gulf Coast have worked long and hard to secure these additional funds for affordable housing. They have succeeded in convincing the Senate Appropriations Committee and full Senate of the immense need that still exists in areas affected by the 2005 hurricanes. Now they need your help to make sure the full House of Representatives follows suit.

Please use this toll free number, 1-877-210-5351, for the congressional switchboard and ask to be connected to the housing staffer for your representatives' offices. Or send them an email: http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/2114/t/2612/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=24693

Thanks for your continued support,

Katrina Information Network

As we've reported here before, homelessness in New Orleans has doubled since Katrina, and thousands of families across the Gulf Coast still live in temporary housing -- including FEMA trailers containing dangerous levels of toxic formaldehyde. More than two and a half years after the disaster, the region's lack of affordable housing remains one of the most pressing problems facing the recovery effort.

Labels: Congress, Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, Hurricane Katrina, Katrina Information Network

We've reported extensively here on allegations of cronyism and other problems with the Department of Housing and Urban Development's work in post-Katrina New Orleans -- problems that culminated in the resignation earlier this year of former HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who remains under criminal investigation for his role in questionable contracts in New Orleans, Philadelphia and the Virgin Islands.

This weekend, the Washington Post disclosed new problems with HUD's operations. They appear to be related to the agency's efforts to boost contracts awarded to minority-owned companies while disregarding concerns about qualifications raised by longtime HUD contracting staff:

The contract awards that staff members questioned took place within programs, heavily promoted by Jackson, to help small, minority-owned businesses get a bigger share of the roughly $1 billion in public contracts HUD awards each year. During Jackson's tenure, the proportion of contracts awarded to small black- and Hispanic-owned businesses, including under the Section 8(a) program, rose from 6 percent to nearly 35 percent. The proportion of contracts open to full competition decreased from 71 percent to 33 percent, federal records show.

The paper's examination of HUD contracts found three firms that won hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts under Jackson while career contracting staff repeatedly raised concerns about their qualifications. The firms, all based in the South, are:

* Harrington, Moran and Barksdale Inc. (HMBI), an Arlington, Texas-based company that's led by two former Reagan administration officials and has close relations with senior Republican appointees at HUD. In 2004, the company -- which had previously managed only a handful of apartment buildings and development projects -- landed $71 million in HUD contracts overseeing the upkeep and sale of defaulted homes.

* National Housing Group, a Miami-based property management firm that's contributed generously to GOP campaigns, won $50 million in contracts from 2003 to 2007. Its second-highest executive has been indicted for allegedly falsifying reimbursement requests to HUD.

* Drayton, Drayton & Lamar of Georgia had received about $1 million in HUD business through 2002. But since 2003, it landed $35 million in data-technology and information-management contracts at HUD despite concerns about its performance. "Its president has socialized with a HUD official," the Post noted.

It also appears that HUD brass retaliated against lower-level employees who voiced objections to the deals. For example, when veteran agency contracting specialist Gloria Freeman repeatedly raised concerns about HMBI, she was transferred to a policy job and later retired. And when Ed Girovasi -- a 33-year HUD employee -- was asked to review an NHG claim for $8 million, he concluded the firm had exaggerated and actually owed HUD $250,000. He too was transferred to a policy position and later retired.

Labels: Alphonso Jackson, contracting, housing, HUD

New Orleans residents who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina were five times more likely to experience serious psychological distress a year after the disaster than those who did not.

That's among the findings of a new study presented earlier this month at the annual meeting of the Population Association of America in New Orleans. The research was conducted by Narayan Sastry of the University of Michigan and Mark VanLandingham of Tulane University. They examined the mental health status of New Orleans' pre-Katrina residents one year after the disaster.

Blacks reported much higher rates of serious psychological distress than whites. Almost one-third of blacks were found to have a high degree of distress, compared to just 6 percent of whites. Those with higher incomes and more education were much less likely to experience serious psychological distress, while those born in Louisiana were much more likely to suffer serious distress.

"Our findings suggest that severe damage to one's home is a particularly important factor behind socioeconomic disparities in psychological distress, and possibly behind the levels of psychological distress," Sastry said. "These effects may be partly economic, because, for most families who own their home, home equity is the largest element of household wealth."

The researchers note that severely damaged or destroyed housing may also prevent people from returning to their community, which in turn affects social ties and employment. Given the magnitude and permanence of a housing loss, they say, the psychological consequences of the experience could be profound and lasting.

(FEMA photo of destroyed homes in New Orleans by Marvin Naumann)

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, Hurricane Katrina, mental health, new orleans

On Friday, President Bush announced his nominee to replace outgoing Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, who resigned while under investigation for illegal partisanship and cronyism in the provision of contracts. Jackson was also criticized by low-income housing advocates for pushing a plan to tear down public housing complexes in New Orleans that were barely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and replace them with mixed-income developments with less room for the poor -- a plan that's now faltering due to the credit crunch.

Bush's choice is Steven Preston, currently head of the Small Business Administration and a former executive with ServiceMaster and an investment banker with Lehman Brothers. Preston came to the SBA in 2006, at a time when the agency was under fire for its slow response to requests for loans from small businesses and homeowners impacted by Katrina. Shortly after he took over, the backlog of loan requests fell by 80 percent and its response times increased by 90 percent, as Bush noted during the press conference announcing the appointment:

Steve Preston is an experienced manager who knows what to do. He knows how to tackle a problem, devise a solution and get results. That's exactly the kind of leadership I was looking for.

The nomination was met with cautious praise from the U.S. Senators representing Louisiana. Democrat Mary Landrieu called Preston a "willing and able partner" and said she hoped HUD would be a "better partner" under his leadership, while Republican David Vitter said he was "encouraged" by Preston's "track record as a reformer and problem solver."

But others in Congress were less optimistic about Bush's choice. Noting that the United States faces the biggest housing crisis in recent history, Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat who chairs the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, said the nation needs a leader with expertise in housing issue, "yet the President’s choice has no apparent housing background, which raises questions." Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a New York Democrat who chairs the House Small Business Committee, was even less charitable in her assessment of the nomination:

Trading one troubled agency for another is short-sighted, and it could not come at a worse time for the American people. HUD’s crisis must be resolved without delay. But the fact remains the agency Mr. Preston has been responsible for leading is still plagued by serious problems of its own. Large businesses continue getting small business contracts, SBA’s Katrina disaster relief program is a failure, and morale of the agency’s personnel is one of the lowest in the federal government.

Indeed, while the President focused on Preston's achievement in reducing the backlog of Katrina-related loan requests, the SBA under his leadership was lax in preparations for future disasters. In a report on the agency released last February, the Government Accountability Office acknowledged improvements under Preston but noted that the SBA still lacked a timetable for completing a disaster management plan.

In an interview with Newsweek magazine, National Low Income Housing Coalition Director Sheila Crowley discussed the serious problems with housing since Katrina, including Jackson's poor handling of the region's federally assisted housing. She shared her wishes for what Preston's priorities would be:

I have high hopes he'll roll up his sleeves and dig into the Katrina mess, given that he has knowledge from another agency perspective. We'd also like to see immediate attention to issues related to getting adequate funding for public housing agencies. What HUD has lacked for the past eight years is an agency secretary who is an advocate for the agency's programs and who cared that the programs they worked for served the American public. And what we're looking for in a secretary is someone who has that commitment.

Will Preston be that someone? Time will tell.

(Photo of Preston and Bush from www.whitehouse.gov)

Labels: Alphonso Jackson, Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, HUD, public housing, Steve Preston

With the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approaching, it's becoming clear that many New Orleans residents displaced by the disaster won't be coming home any time soon. As Bill Quigley recently reported, half of the city's displaced working poor, elderly and disabled residents still have not returned, and demolition of the city's public housing stock continues despite the protests of international human rights officials.

Given that harsh reality, some of Katrina's displaced are stepping up organizing efforts in the communities where they live now. In Atlanta, for example, they recently created Network New Orlanta, a social networking community with a mission to connect the people of New Orleans who are now living in Georgia's biggest city:

The goal of the social network is to pool and identify financial resources, job placement and business opportunities, mental healthcare access and educational advancement programs that will assist in stabilizing families [affected] by Hurricane Katrina. Network New Orlanta further plans to serve as a watchdog organization that will advocate, lobby and demand accountability of elected officials and agencies fundraising on behalf of Hurricane Katrina families. Organizers are all natives and supporters of New Orleans who are dedicated to the rebuilding progress and process and the quality of life for those who remain displaced.

The first Network NewOrlanta mixer will take place on March 15 at Blaxx Entertainment Complex, 1245 Fowler St., from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. and will feature traditional New Orleans food and cocktails. Says ChiQ Simms, a publicist who's one of the event's organizers:

"It is important that we gather more frequently to effect change for ourselves. It is vital that we posture ourselves to be a part of the solution. Our message is about prioritizing New Orleans people, not the politics."

For more information about Network New Orlanta and the upcoming mixer, contact Sandy at sugathesoutherndiva [at] gmail.com. To make a financial or in-kind donation, call the group's offices at 404-816-6000 or e-mail divadend [at] bellsouth.net.

Labels: Atlanta, Georgia, Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, human rights, louisiana, new orleans, organizing, public housing

March 15 is the deadline for Mississippi residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina to apply for assistance for a home rebuilding and replacement program. But at a legislative hearing today in Jackson, some testified that the program denies aid to homeowners who need help the most.

Held by the state Senate Housing Committee, the hearing included testimony from advocacy groups including the NAACP, Oxfam American and the Mississippi Interfaith Disaster Task Force. The Associated Press reports:

John Joplin of the Mississippi Center for Justice Katrina Recovery Office said estimates show 18,000 storm-damaged homes aren't eligible for any of the federally funded programs being administered by the Mississippi Development Authority.

"It is very apparent the goal of affordable housing remains a distant mirage," Joplin said.

The program's first phase provided up to $150,000 each to homeowners who lived outside the federal flood plain. The second phase offers up to $100,000 for low-income homeowners who had storm surge damage, regardless of whether they were insured or whether the property was in a flood zone.

But homeowners who had wind damage don't qualify for either phase -- one of the concerns raised at the hearing. The advocacy groups asked the state to develop an assistance program to help homeowners with wind damage. However, Gov. Haley Barbour's administration is reluctant to do that since Congress didn't provide funds for wind damage, and since such damage extended far beyond the state's hardest-hit coastal communities.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, haley barbour, housing, Hurricane Katrina, mississippi

At the same time public housing complexes in New Orleans are being torn down and redeveloped into mixed-income communities with less space for the poorest families, Mayor Ray Nagin has announced his intent to push the homeless people who've been living under Interstate 10 near the French Quarter into a tarp-covered barrack.

The 120-foot-long, 30-foot-wide structure stands on the grounds of the New Orleans Mission in the city's Central Business District. The barrack was built by nearly two dozen volunteers from churches around the country and funded largely by First Baptist New Orleans and the Louisiana Baptist Convention. New Orleans' homeless population is estimated to have doubled since Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005.

The homeless relocation program is not voluntarily, according to a report from the Associated Press:

The city's public advocacy unit, unarmed officers with the New Orleans Police Department Homeless Assistance Collaborative, city housing department workers, and mission staff will usher people into the barrack as early as Thursday, [Nagin spokesperson Ceeon] Quiett said. Those who do not go elsewhere will face citations, and arrests could take place if drugs are found, city officials said.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, homelessness, housing, Hurricane Katrina, new orleans, public housing, ray nagin

Tasers, Pepper Spray, and Arrests in the Struggle for Affordable Housing in New Orleans

by Bill Quigley
Guest Contributor

In a remarkable symbol of the injustices of post-Katrina reconstruction, hundreds of people were locked out of a public New Orleans City Council meeting addressing demolition of 4,500 public housing apartments. Some were tasered, many pepper sprayed and a dozen arrested.

Outside the chambers, iron gates were chained and padlocked even before the scheduled start.

The scene looked like one of those countries on TV that is undergoing a people’s revolution -- and the similarities were only beginning. (See video here.)

Dozens of uniformed police secured the gates and other entrances. Only developers and those with special permission from council members were allowed in -- the rest were kept locked outside the gates. Despite dozens of open seats in the council chambers, pleas to be allowed in were ignored.

Chants of "Housing is a human right!" and "Let us in!" thundered through the concrete breezeway.

Public housing residents came and spoke out despite an intense campaign of intimidation. Residents were warned by phone that if they publicly opposed the demolitions they would lose all housing assistance. Residents opposed to the demolition had simple demands. If the authorities insisted on spending hundreds of millions to tear down hundreds of structurally sound buildings containing 4,500 public housing subsidized apartments, there should be a guarantee that every resident could return to a similarly subsidized apartment. Alternatively, the government should use the hundreds of millions to repair the apartments so people could come home. Neither alternative was acceptable to HUD. A plan of residents to partner with the AFL-CIO Housing Trust to save their homes was also ignored.

Outside, SWAT team members and police in riot gear and on horses began to arrive as rain started falling. Those locked out included public housing residents, a professor from Southern University, graduate students, the Episcopal Bishop of Louisiana, ministers, lawyers, law students, homeless people who lived in tents across the street from city hall, affordable housing allies from across the country and dozens of others.

Inside the chambers, Revered Torin Sanders and others insisted that the locked out be allowed to come and stand inside along the walls -- a common practice for over 30 years. No one could recall any City Council locking people out of a public meeting. The request to allow people to stand was denied. The Council then demanded silence from those inside. Those who continued to demand that the others be let in were pointed out by police, physically taken down and arrested. Ironically, some young men were tasered right in front of the speaker's podium.

This was a meeting the council had repeatedly tried to avoid. It was only held after residents (100 percent African American and nearly all mothers and grandmothers) got an emergency court order stopping demolitions until the council acted. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced long ago it was going to demolish 4,500 public housing apartments despite the Katrina crisis of affordable housing no matter what anyone said. HUD had no plans to ask the council or anyone else for approval. The judge said otherwise, so the meeting was scheduled.

Leaders of the U.S. Congress, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, asked that the decision be delayed 60 days so they could try to move forward on Senate Bill 1668 which would resolve many of the demolition problems. This request was backed by New Orleans Congressman William Jefferson, Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu and Presidential candidates John Edwards and Barack Obama.

Opponents cited the affordable housing crisis in New Orleans. Homeless people camped across from City Hall and for blocks under the interstate. The number of homeless people doubled since Katrina. Thousands of residents in FEMA trailers across the Gulf Coast were being evicted. More on the reasons to oppose demolition can be found here.

Solidarity demonstrations opposing demolition were held in Washington DC, New York, Oakland, Minneapolis, Houston, North Carolina, Maine, Philadelphia, Cleveland, New Jersey, and Boston. Thousands of people across the country contacted city council members. Dozens of community, housing and human rights groups petitioned the Council not to demolish until there was an enforceable requirement of one for one replacement of housing.

But hours before the meeting began, a majority of the council publicly announced on the front page of the local paper that they were going to approve demolition no matter what people said at the meeting. The paper, the developers and others were delighted. Residents and affordable housing allies were not.

Inside, the council started the meeting surrounded by armed police, National Guard and undercover authorities from many law enforcement agencies.

Outside, the locked out could see the people who had been arrested on the inside being dragged away to police wagons. A few of the protestors then pulled open one of the gates. The police started shooting arcs of pepper spray into the crowd. A woman’s scream pierced the chaos as police fired tasers into the crowd. Medics wiped pepper spray from fallen people’s eyes. A young woman who was tasered in the back went into a seizure and was taken to the hospital.

Inside and out, a dozen people were arrested -- most for disturbing the peace. They joined another dozen who had been arrested over the past week in protest actions against the demolitions.

The City Council meeting continued. Supporters of demolition were given careful, courteous attention and softball questions by council members. Opponents less so.

Despite pleas from displaced residents, dozens of community organizations and federal elected officials, the New Orleans City Council voted unanimously to allow demolition to proceed. In their approval the Council did promise to urge HUD to listen to residents and to work for one for one replacement of affordable housing. Several city council members read from typed statements about their reasons to support demolition: the deplorable state of public housing; the lack of available money for repair; the oral promises of all, the federal government and developers, to do something better for the community.

After the meeting, residents vowed to continue their struggle for affordable housing for everyone and to resist demolitions -- putting their bodies before bulldozers if necessary.

The struggle for affordable housing continues as does the campaign to stop demolition until there is a real right to return and one for one replacement of housing. Residents and local advocates applaud and appreciate the support of allies from across the nation. Critics label national supporters as "outside agitators" -- exactly the same charge leveled at civil rights activists historically. But people understand that injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Public housing residents and local affordable housing advocates welcome the humble participation of social justice advocates of whatever age, of whatever race, from whatever place, who join and act in true solidarity.

Residents vow to make sure that the promises made by the Council and the Mayor are enforced. For example, the Mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, announced that he would not allow HUD to demolish two of the four housing developments until HUD gave documentation of funded plans including one for one replacement of the housing demolished and details of the developments and their plans.

The Senate will continue to be lobbied to pass SB 1668 -- which would really guarantee one for one replacement of housing. It is currently stalled in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee because of opposition by Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter.

Litigation is still pending in state and federal courts to enforce Louisiana and U.S. laws that should protect residents from illegal demolitions. Investigations into the legality of locking people out of a public meeting, the legality of a law passed at such a meeting, the indiscriminate use of tasers and pepper spray, are all ongoing.

Padlocked and chained gates will only amplify the voices of the locked out calling for justice. Pepper spray and tasers illustrate the problems but will not deter people from protesting for just causes. Bulldozers may start up, but just people will resist and create a reality where housing is a real human right.

Stephanie Mingo, a working grandmother who is one of the leaders of the residents, promised to continue the resistance after the meeting: "We did not come this far to turn back now. This fight is far from over. We are not resting until everyone has the right to return home."

Those wanting additional information should look to www.justiceforneworleans.org or www.defendneworleanspublichousing.org.

Bill is a human rights lawyer and law professor at Loyola University New Orleans. Bill is part of the team of lawyers representing displaced residents of public housing. You can reach him at Quigley@loyno.edu.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

In an open letter sent Friday to U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin called on HUD to provide more details on its redevelopment plans before the city will grant demolition permits for two public housing developments. He wrote:

As you are aware, this has been a highly volatile issue, primarily because it most directly impacts an already vulnerable portion of our population that was made even more so by Hurricane Katrina and the resulting floods. These men, women and children rely upon public assistance for their basic housing needs. Many residents are distrustful that HUD will not move forward as promised and want assurances that there won't be delays in redeveloping the demolished complexes. Many also are concerned that they will not have a "voice" in the redevelopment processes and ultimately that they will be alienated from the communities that they love.

To that end, it is my responsibility as Mayor of this city -- and the responsibility of other local leadership -- to be true public servants and assure our citizenry that the principle established weeks after the storm that every public housing resident has the right to return to better housing will be upheld and that they indeed will have a "voice" in the redevelopment processes.

Nagin said that as a "demonstration of good faith" the city would let HUD proceed "without interruption" to tear down the B.W. Cooper and C.J. Peete developments, where demolition is already underway. But he called on the department to provide "by the end of the year or as soon as possible" redevelopment plans, executed development contracts, redevelopment and re-population timeline, and a signed redevelopment memorandum of understanding with the resident councils.

But before demolition may proceed at the St. Bernard and Lafitte developments, Nagin demanded the following by Feb. 28, 2008:

* that the HUD-controlled Housing Authority of New Orleans board be expanded from one to three members, including the mayor or his designee and a public housing residents;

* verification of full funding for the Tenant Protection Program;

* evidence of 4,534 actual units made available either through public housing units, affordable units consistent with the mixed-income model or home ownership vouchers;

* documentation of redevelopment financing plans, executed development contracts and signed MOUs with the resident councils.

* evidence of phased redevelopment for the complexes, with a minimum number of 75 interim units at St. Bernard and 94 units at Lafitte to be restored for occupancy within six months.

Nagin also called on Jackson to help the city secure funding to rebuild its affordable housing stock:

I have recently learned of FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund, or DIRF, as a source of already appropriated funds that the city can use to lessen this affordable housing crisis and burden on our citizens. No further congressional action would be required to access these dollars. This would be purely a policy decision made within FEMA’s leadership.

Secretary Jackson, your assistance in lobbying for these funds at the federal level and with the Congress will not only assist New Orleanians, but, as affordable housing is a critical issue in this nation, can serve as a model for affordable housing provision to other communities across this country.

Will an agency that's been hell-bent to tear down New Orleans' public housing complexes and replace them with mixed-income communities offering less space for the poor comply with the mayor's demands? We shall see.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (one of the most important books of 2007, in our opinion), offers her take on the decision to demolish four public housing complexes in New Orleans at Huffington Post:

The final showdown over New Orleans public housing is playing out in dramatic fashion right now. The conflict is a classic example of the “triple shock” formula at the core of the doctrine.

* First came the shock of the original disaster: the flood and the traumatic evacuation.

* Next came the "economic shock therapy": using the window of opportunity opened up by the first shock to push through a rapid-fire attack on the city's public services and spaces, most notably its homes, schools and hospitals.

* Now we see that as residents of New Orleans try to resist these attacks, they are being met with a third shock: the shock of the police baton and the Taser gun, used on the bodies of protestors outside New Orleans City Hall yesterday.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

Now that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Sen. David Vitter, Mayor Ray Nagin and the entire City Council have turned their backs on the struggle to guarantee adequate affordable housing for New Orleans' poorest residents, what happens next?

Protesters have vowed that the fight to demolish some 4,500 public housing units in the city -- where rents have skyrocketed and the homeless population has doubled since Hurricane Katrina -- will continue in the courts and in the streets. But the odds don't look good. It's clear the powers-that-be are committed to tearing down public housing complexes and replacing them with private developments offering fewer slots for the city's poorest residents.

This might be a good time to ponder the words spoken earlier this week by an unlikely hero for New Orleans: actor and French Quarter resident Brad Pitt. He appeared on The Charlie Rose Show on Monday to talk about his Make It Right charity, which is building 150 affordable and environmentally sustainable homes in the city's hard-hit Lower Ninth Ward. While the project cannot meet New Orleans' enormous need for affordable housing, it demonstrates the sort of spirit it will take to rebuild the city justly and equitably in light of the government's decision to abandon the neediest (thanks to People Get Ready for the transcription):

CR: Tell me about New Orleans for you.

BP: To me it's one of our most unique cities. I find it to be absolutely authentic. You can't attribute it to any era, or any trend. They are their own thing. There's just a great vibrant community, and I think it'd be a real shame for American culture to lose that.

CR: Do you think there's a risk that we lose it?

BP: Listen, they have such spirit, and they're such fighters, I really don't think so. But it seems to be the approach has been let 'em die on the vine. …

CR: What's the problem? Why haven't those in positions of power done more?

BP: I don't know. They've certainly taken their eye off the ball. It's certainly illuminated -- the actual event, the storm itself -- that there is a -- I'm going to be polite about it -- a portion of our society that is being undervalued, and still being undervalued. …

CR: Poor and minority?

BP: Absolutely. Absolutely. We can talk all we want about education, and health, but until we get it right down there, we're not going to get it right anywhere.

CR: Eliminate an underclass in America?

BP: Yes, or at least treat with a sense of fairness and dignity, instead of as an afterthought. And I thought there was something we could do about this. This is not as I like it. So, listen, I wish this would have been taken care of at a federal level, or a state level, even at a local level, but if this be the case, you know, where we gotta hit it at a grassroots level, so be it. I mean, this is where we Americans are great. Sometimes it takes us to make the call, and they'll follow.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

Violence broke out today at New Orleans City Hall as council met to consider the demolition of four public housing complexes. At 4:39 p.m., members voted unanimously to approve the tear-downs, the Times-Picayune reports:

"We have the opportunity to make our home a place that all New Orleanians can point to with pride," says Arnie Fielkow, the council president. "It's my hope that the word 'project' will never again be used in place of what should be 'transitional homes.' Every citizen deserves a safe and affordable place to raise a family."

Hundreds of citizens showed up for today's 10 a.m. meeting -- some three hours early -- but only 278 were allowed inside. When protesters who were shut out tried to force their way in through a gate, police hit them with chemical spray and stun guns, according to various news reports.

Bill Quigley, a Loyola law professor who sued on behalf of public housing residents to halt the tear-downs, was among the protesters locked out of the meeting this morning. He told the Associated Press that he would consider filing suit over the incident, which he says may have violated public meeting laws.

Among those who did not show up for today's meeting was Mayor Ray Nagin, even though his office is in the same building as council chambers. However, he submitted a letter asking the council to approve the demolitions with conditions, including redevelopment to take place immediately after demolition and the one-person board of directors for the Housing Authority of New Orleans expanded to three, including the mayor or designee and a public housing resident.

The demolition is part of a $750 million plan by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to replace about 4,500 public housing units with private, mixed-income neighborhoods that offer fewer slots for the extremely poor. The House passed legislation that would have mandated one-to-one replacement of all demolished public housing units, but similar legislation is stalled in the Senate due to the objections of Sen. David Vitter (R-La.).

(Photo of medics helping protesters hit with chemical spray by Darwin BondGraham/New Orleans Independent Media Center)

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

AP reports a disturbance at city hall:

Police used chemical spray and stun devices Thursday as dozens of protesters seeking to halt the demolition of public housing in New Orleans tried to force their way through an iron gate at City Hall.

Some were arrested as officers tried to establish order and an ambulance arrived on the scene. It was unclear whether there were injuries or the ambulance was a precautionary measure.

According to the article, the trouble started when the city council chambers reached capacity and the overflow crowd, there to protest council approval of a HUD plan to demolish public housing, took took their protest outside.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing

The plaintiffs who filed a lawsuit to block demolition of public housing complexes in New Orleans reached an agreement in court Friday with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-controlled Housing Authority of New Orleans that the teardowns won't proceed unless the City Council grants permits for the work. Council members are expected to take up the matter in their regular meeting this Thursday.

The agreement allows HANO to proceed with demolition work that was approved before Hurricane Katrina at the B.W. Cooper complex, while halting work at the C.J. Peete, Lafitte and St. Bernard developments. It also gives HANO a deadline of 5 p.m. today to provide the plaintiffs with legal proof that the agency has complied with Louisiana law in hiring companies for the demolition work. The lawsuit charges that HANO has ignored a statute requiring public bids for contractor selection.

Also on Friday, Congressional leaders weighed in on the planned teardowns, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sending a letter to President Bush asking for an immediate 60-day moratorium on the demolitions, which are being pushed by HUD despite the city's urgent shortage of affordable housing. Pelosi and Reid offered to work with the administration to craft a plan for replacement housing, writing:

Given the City's housing needs and the current availability of these affordable housing resources, we are extremely disappointed by the Department's insistence on moving ahead with this demolition despite insufficient resources to make up the clear loss of affordable housing. For the Federal government to reduce affordable housing units at a time when the City is desperate for this very type of housing is a misuse of taxpayer funds and runs counter to the mission of the Department, not to mention the core values that we share. Additionally, HANO has not completed a promised survey of displaced residents and has indicated that this important document now will not be ready until late January at the earliest. HANO has also not provided meaningful opportunity for residents to collect their belongings. The additional sixty days would allow for the resolution of these and other essential issues, including the completion of a comprehensive plan for HANO redevelopment of all affordable units, and replacement of any units proposed for demolition.

More than 100 organizations across the Gulf Coast and the nation have voiced opposition to the demolition plans; for a complete list, visit the website of Defend New Orleans Public Housing. Among those opposing demolition is Bishop Charles Jenkins of the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, who in an open letter to the New Orleans City Council called on members to "reclaim and renew existing Federal Housing Projects as temporary and dignified homes" until replacement housing is developed.

Demolition opponents are also battling HUD over the facts behind the teardown. For example, a story in yesterday's New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that "[f]ederal officials, in partnership with developers, are pushing a plan that will demolish 4,500 units of traditional public housing, replacing them with 3,343 units of public housing and 900 market rate rental units." But the plan's opponents point out that HUD's and HANO's own numbers state that fewer than 800 units of traditional public housing will be built to replace what's torn down. To get the 3,343 figure, HUD is apparently counting over 2,000 existing public housing units that are not yet slated for demolition.

A new PolicyLink analysis [PDF] of HUD's progress in restoring subsidized homes in New Orleans since Katrina found that the agency has approved resources to rebuild just over a third of those homes, leaving few affordable options for senior citizens, people with disabilities and the working poor. At the same time, the analysis notes, the agency has put forth no comprehensive plan for addressing the loss of affordable units.

Meanwhile, a federal criminal probe continues into HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson's role in awarding contracts for the redevelopment of New Orleans public housing. The National Journal reports that investigators appear to be focusing on Jackson's ties to William Hairston, a stucco contractor from Hilton Head Island, S.C., where Jackson has a vacation home. Hairston was paid more than $485,000 for working as a construction manager at HANO over an 18-month period that ended in June.

In interviews earlier this year, Hairston told National Journal that Jackson had helped him land the work in January 2006. But in testimony before Congress and in statements to the HUD Inspector General, Jackson said that he had no role in department contracting decisions. Concerns have also been raised over the award of one HANO redevelopment contract to Atlanta-based Columbia Residential, which owes Jackson somewhere between $250,000 and $500,000 for past work.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing

The federal government has known there were toxic levels of formaldehyde in temporary trailers provided to people displaced by Hurricane Katrina at least as far back as April 2006. That's when the Sierra Club released the results of tests it conducted on Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers in Mississippi showing that the cancer-causing chemical was present at dangerously elevated concentrations. The group also found similar problems in tests of FEMA trailers in Louisiana and Alabama.

Following heated congressional hearings in July, FEMA leaders said that they would work with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct their own tests of trailer air quality. But it wasn't until yesterday that the agencies announced they would begin air sampling in 500 trailers starting next Friday, Dec. 21. The testing is expected to take about five weeks, with the findings to be released some time in early 2008.

In a posting to the Toxic Trailers website, Becky Gillette of the Mississippi Sierra Club says that at this point in time more tests are not the answer:

Instead of another round of testing, FEMA needs to immediately purchase some formaldehyde free emergency housing. That type of housing is available. Since the problem has already been well established, why is FEMA being so slow to act to replenish the stock of housing needed for emergencies from manufacturers willing to use building materials that don’t make people sick?

Another issue is remediation. With FEMA having purchased more than $1 billion worth of these campers, it should be joining with the CDC to evaluate various remediation tools for reducing formaldehyde to safe levels.

Gillette also raises concerns about why FEMA -- after having promised it would undertake tests back in July -- waited five months to get started:

...[I]t is troubling that FEMA/CDC have decided to undertake this testing at the time of year when formaldehyde emissions would be expected to be at their lowest levels. Formaldehyde outgassing increases with heat or humidity, so it seems no "accident" that FEMA -- which promise[d] last summer to quickly begin a testing program -- has delayed and delayed until the coldest weather of the year.

While FEMA is just beginning to get a handle on a serious problem brought to its attention more than a year and a half ago, new problems with Katrina trailers are coming to light that also demand the agency's action.

In the Institute's August 2007 report titled "Blueprint for Gulf Renewal: The Katrina Crisis and a Community Agenda for Action," [PDF] Sharon Hanshaw, executive director of Mississippi's Coastal Women for Change, described how many of FEMA trailers have become infested with mold, compounding formaldehyde-related health problems and forcing cash-strapped survivors to continuously replace ruined possessions.

Last month, KNOE-TV in Monroe, La. investigated further, documenting a design flaw in FEMA's mobile homes that could lead to a buildup of potentially toxic mold levels. It also found that FEMA had been selling the flawed homes to the public in spite of the test results. One science building expert who examined the inside walls of two FEMA homes in Ouachita Parish, La. found one type of mold spore at up to 30,000 times the levels found outside, indicating a wall exposed to excessive moisture levels.

Formaldehyde and mold are not the only threats facing FEMA trailer residents, either. Another is fire.

An investigative report in New Orleans' latest Gambit Weekly newspaper found that trailer occupants face a high risk of injury or death due to fires and explosions that occur when gas fumes from propane burners build up inside the units and are accidentally ignited. The paper found that at least five Louisianans have been killed and nine injured by such incidents since January 2006. While trailer occupants are to blame for some of the fires, other incidents were caused by improper installation and maintenance by FEMA contractors:

A recent review of video-recorded meetings of the Louisiana LP Gas Commission (LPGC) Board shows prime contractors -- engineering firms such as the Shaw Group, CH2M Hill and Fluor Inc. -- also lacked sufficient understanding of propane systems when they received FEMA contracts worth several hundred-million dollars to install tens of thousands of trailers for storm victims. Setting up the trailers improperly increases the risk of explosions and fires, and LPGC regulations explicitly recognize this. ...

...It was before this board that the major three contractors for FEMA trailer installation and maintenance in Louisiana had to answer allegations they did not have the proper certification or permits to work on propane systems when they undertook no-bid, "price plus fixed-fee" federal contracts to provide housing for hurricane victims. Board records indicate none of the three had even applied for such certifications or permits until half a year later, after they were cited by LPGC inspectors. By that time, at least 80,000 trailers had already been installed. The violations were discovered after LPGC inspectors looked into the companies' operations in response to news reports about a surge in trailer explosions in the state.

One LPGC inspector told Gambit that working with the government contractors was "like dealing with used car salesmen on the seedy side of town." Are these really the kind of operators to whom taxpayers should be handing millions of dollars in no-bid contracts?

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, regulatory oversight

As demolition crews dispatched by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development began tearing down the 14 brick buildings that make up the B.W. Cooper public housing complex in New Orleans yesterday, about 500 protesters tried to block a crane while chanting, "Housing is a human right."

This morning protesters planned to rally at New Orleans City Hall and from there march to HUD's offices to voice opposition to the demolitions, which are scheduled to continue Saturday at three other public housing complexes across the city.

There is also a protest over the demolitions planned for this afternoon at HUD's offices in Washington, D.C. Among those involved in that action are the Advancement Project, Hip-Hop Caucus, Code Pink and New Orleans public housing residents.

New Orleans has been experiencing a serious shortage of affordable housing since Hurricane Katrina. While HUD says it will replace the demolished complexes with mixed-income developments, the new developments will offer fewer slots for the poor. Under the current plans, 4,600 public housing units will be demolished and replaced with only 744 low-income apartments, for a net loss of more than 3,800 low-income units, according to a demolition factsheet from the Defend New Orleans Public Housing website.

A political standoff over legislation to require replacement housing for the demolished units continues between bill sponsor Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and her colleague Sen. David Vitter (R-La.). In September, following months of negotiations, Vitter and HUD abruptly announced their opposition to Landrieu's proposal, which has the support not only of housing activists and faith leaders but also of business groups worried that the lack of affordable housing is slowing rebuilding efforts.

Meanwhile, HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson remains under investigation over whether he lied about his involvement in agency contracting decisions. Jackson helped to arrange high-paying contract work for friends and associates at HUD-controlled housing authorities in New Orleans and the Virgin Islands.

UPDATE: Those protesting the public housing teardown in New Orleans now have a presidential candidate on their side: Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) this week called on HUD to reverse its demolition plan.

"Knocking down historic and livable housing today that withstood the winds of Katrina with the bulldozers of Bush is counterproductive to the goal of giving residents a home to which to return," Edwards said in a statement. "Decentralizing poverty by encouraging new mixed-income [development] makes a lot of sense -- I've proposed creating 1 million new housing vouchers to do exactly that. But eliminating housing where people could live in a city where a desperate shortage of shelter exists makes no sense at all."

(Photo of B.W. Cooper demolition courtesy of New Orleans Indymedia)

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, new orleans

A New Orleans city committee yesterday refused to approve demolition of one of the four public housing complexes as part of a redevelopment plan being pushed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Times-Picayune reports. Though the Housing Conservation District Review Committee approved demolition of the C.J. Peete and B.W. Cooper complexes, it deadlocked over the demolition of the Lafitte development, which means the matter now goes before the City Council. The St. Bernard development is also slated for demolition.

More than 100 people crowded into a City Hall conference room for the meeting, with protesters holding a banner that said "Housing is a human right." Illustrating the intense emotions surrounding the demolition plans, posters have been appearing around the city threatening, "For every public housing unit destroyed, a condo will be destroyed." They are signed by "the angry and the powerless."

Meanwhile, HUD officials are blaming public housing defenders for the severe shortage of affordable housing in New Orleans, where rents in some neighborhoods have doubled since Hurricane Katrina, as has the city's homeless population. According to the Times-Picayune, HUD released a two-page statement Monday that said if the lawsuit seeking to halt the demolitions never occurred, "more housing could have already been built." The suit was brought by Loyola law professor and occasional Facing South contributor Bill Quigley.

For more information about the planned teardowns and the actions taking place this week to protest them, visit Defend New Orleans Public Housing, Justice for New Orleans and the People's Hurricane Relief Fund.

(Photo by Craig Morse courtesy of survivorsvillage.com.)

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, human rights, new orleans

About a dozen people gathered outside the offices of Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.) in Raleigh this afternoon asking her to support the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act (S. 1668). The action was one of many taking place across the nation today -- Human Rights Day -- as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development prepares to begin demolishing four large public housing complexes in New Orleans. A lack of affordable housing is slowing the Hurricane Katrina recovery and has contributed to the doubling of the city's homeless population since the storm.

The legislation is being blocked in the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee -- of which Dole is a member -- by Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) It would require that demolished public housing units be replaced by comparable affordable units or by vouchers to help low-income residents afford private-market rents, which have risen sharply since the disaster.

Among those who spoke at the event were Ajamu Dillahunt, an outreach coordinator with the N.C. Justice Center and an Institute for Southern Studies board member; Chris Kromm, the Institute's executive director; and Nana Nantambu, a displaced New Orleans resident who now lives in Durham, N.C. Nantambu blasted the top-down decision-making process behind the planned public housing demolitions.

"It's a violation of human rights guaranteed by the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement to not get the input of persons who were renters or who were displaced from housing developments," she said.

Following a brief press conference outside the Terry Sanford Federal Building, Dillahunt, Kromm and others went inside and visited Dole's office, where the senator's staff invited them to share their concerns about the housing situation on the Gulf Coast and the importance of passing S. 1668. A companion measure, H.R. 1227, passed the House overwhelmingly earlier this year.

Among those attending today's event in Raleigh were members of the N.C. Public Workers Union UE 150. They drew a connection between human rights violations on the Gulf Coast and a North Carolina law prohibiting collective bargaining for public employees, which they say is a violation of workers' human rights.

There are also protests and actions around the worsening New Orleans housing crisis planned this week in Oakland, Calif., Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, Denver, Cleveland and Boston, among other places. Details can be found here.

At a protest held last Thursday at a New Orleans City Council meeting, Bill Quigley -- an attorney representing public housing residents and an occasional Facing South contributor -- was hauled off in handcuffs after refusing to leave the premises, the Associated Press reports.

For more coverage of the Raleigh event -- including a video of Dillahunt speaking -- visit the Raleigh News & Observer's "Under the Dome" blog. There's also a story about the action on the N.C. Democratic Party's website here.

Labels: Gulf Coast Reconstruction Watch, housing, human rights, new orleans

MEDIA ADVISORY

For immediate release: Monday, December 10, 2007

For more information, contact:

Ajamu Dillahunt (856-3194; ajamu@ncjustice.org)
Chris Kromm (419-8311 x26; chris@southernstudies.org)

Katrina Victims, Allies to Hold Press Conference at Sen. Elizabeth Dole’s Office Demanding Homes for New Orleans!

Senate inaction on a key housing bill is worsening skyrocketing homelessness problem

RALEIGH, N.C. – Today, victims of Hurricane Katrina and local advocates will hold a press conference at Sen. Elizabeth Dole's (R-NC) office in Raleigh calling on the senator to take action to save homes in the still-devastated Gulf Coast region.

Homelessness in New Orleans has doubled since Katrina struck in August 2005, according to recent reports, and thousands of families still live in temporary FEMA housing. Yet despite a housing shortage, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has authorized the demolition of more than 4,000 units of public housing in New Orleans – most of it barely damaged by Katrina. The homes are slated to be razed this week, without provisions for replacing them with affordable units.

At the same time, Congressional legislation to help homeowners, renters and public housing residents hurt by Katrina – the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act (S. 1668) – has languished for months in the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, on which Sen. Dole sits. A bill with the same name (H.R. 1227) passed overwhelmingly in the House by a vote of 302-125 in March.

"I am asking Senators to find it in their heart and good conscience to support the public housing community in New Orleans and affordable housing for those renters displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita by allowing S. 1668 to move