July 14th, 2008 by Suzy Subways
When 200 residents of the Lindley Court Apartments in Logan lost their homes with two hours’ notice on Saturday, June 21st, the building’s fire alarm system didn’t work, raw sewage festered in the basement, putrid garbage piled up atop overflowing dumpsters, and there was no water because the copper pipes had been stolen. Reporters expressed shock at the conditions but didn’t ask the obvious question: Why were things allowed to get so bad that 50 families got evacuated?
“The Lindley was closed in 2002, and we’re convinced that they never eliminated the code violations before it was opened again,” says Phil Lord, Executive Director of the Tenant Union Representative Network (TURN). “Licenses and Inspections (L&I) just charges landlords $200 or $300 for an inspection, and it’s cheaper for them to pay that than to make repairs.
“L&I could fine landlords up to $2,000 a day,” he explains. “They could put a lien on the property and get things fixed so everyone can stay. Instead, they let it drag and drag, and then they put the tenants out. Tenants are afraid to complain about problems because they could end up on the street.”
And that may be the point. “Einstein Medical Center is coming down Broad Street, and Temple University Hospital is coming up Broad Street,” says displaced Lindley Court resident Stephen Von. “I’m assuming that’s the idea – kick us out, redo the building, and the young doctors and students get where we’re supposed to live.”
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Posted in Uncategorized, Policy, City government, Takings, Organizing, North Philly, Trends, Housing, Neoliberalism, Campaigns and Actions | No Comments »
July 11th, 2008 by zakiahjeffries
Check out this from Gihan Perera with the Miami Workers Center
Posted in Displacement/Gentrification, Trends, What's Happening Elsewhere | No Comments »
July 3rd, 2008 by Rachel
For 70 years, U.S. mayors have been gathering at an annual conference to discuss urban policy. For the first time, there was a major protest staged to issue a different message - one that puts the residents of cities first. The Right to the City Alliance organized a parallel conference and demonstration. I was not able to go but here are some reports that I found about the event:
Photos on flickr taken by the Miami Workers Center
Miami IMC article
From: Link
Max Rameau, founder of Take Back The Land, mused, “While the mayors’ conference was important because of what it did – allow the mayors and their staff to share ideas, best practices and common experiences – the peoples’ summit was important because it exposed what the mayors’ conference failed to do: Develop a comprehensive agenda with the people the mayors are supposed to represent.’’
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Posted in City government, Organizing, Neoliberalism, Events, What's Happening Elsewhere, Campaigns and Actions | No Comments »
June 18th, 2008 by Rachel
When these guys say ‘neighborhood activists’ who do they really mean? What are the interests of a bank?
Wachovia Foundation’s Neighborhood Planning Workshop (Jun 24)
The Wachovia Regional Foundation is again offering a series of workshops aimed at helping neighborhood activists through the steps of developing a neighborhood plan. Participants will learn how to identify the challenges, opportunities, and synergies that commonly emerge during a neighborhood planning process. Attending the workshop is particularly important if your organization is considering developing a neighborhood plan or applying for Wachovia Regional Foundation’s Neighborhood Planning Grant.
Workshops will be held in Philadelphia on June 24th and in Trenton on June 26th.<!–[if !vml]–> Read More
Posted in Displacement/Gentrification, Neoliberalism, Events | No Comments »
June 17th, 2008 by Rachel
More information at www.righttothecity.org
The People’s State of the City Conference
Discuss a people’s platform for the US urban agenda in 2008.
Thursday, June 19th
5:30pm - 9pm
Miami Dade College - Wolfson Campus
March on the Mayors: Day of Action
Assert your right to the city. Join us in taking the people’s urban
agenda to the U.S. mayors meeting with US presidential candidates.
Friday, June 20th
2pm-4pm
InterContinental Hotel
100 Chopin Plaza
For more information contact Miami@righttothecity.org
Posted in City government, What's Happening Elsewhere, Campaigns and Actions | No Comments »
June 17th, 2008 by Rachel
Demonstration/Rally in Harlem Against Displacement & Gentrification
Saturday, June 21, 2008
HARLEM TENANTS COUNCIL, Inc.
21 West 130th Street New York, NY 10030
Email:Harlem tenants@gmail.com
Contact: Nellie Hester Bailey 646-812-5188
Demonstration/Rally in Harlem Against Displacement & Gentrification
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Time & Location: 10 AM - Main Gathering: Marcus Garvey Park: Enter at 124th and Fifth Avenue. 10 AM Feeder March in East Harlem: Gather at 116th & 3rd Avenue: northbound on Third Avenue to 125th Street. Proceed westbound on 125th to Madison Avenue southbound to 124th into Marcus Garvey Park at approximately 11 AM
11 AM Main March begins: Leave Marcus Garvey at 124th and Madison Avenue northbound to 125th - proceed westbound to Broadway- northbound to 145th- eastbound to Frederick Douglass Blvd - southbound to 116th Street - westbound to Morningside Avenue to Morningside Park.
Route distance: approximately 70 blocks equivalent to 3 and ½ miles.
Sites to join march: 125th Street/Old Broadway; 135th Street/Broadway in front of 3333 Broadway; 145th Street & Broadway; 145th Street & Frederick Douglass; 135th & Frederick Douglass; 116th Street & Frederick Douglass Blvd.
2 PM: Rally begins in Morningside Park with speakers and performances.
–>
Posted in Organizing, What's Happening Elsewhere, Campaigns and Actions | No Comments »
June 13th, 2008 by Joyce S
Philadelphia like the nation is suffering from the devasting effect of the mortgage foreclosure crisis. This national crisis, which has left families and neighborhoods devastated, can partly be attributed to “subprime and predatory lending practices” in the banking and mortgage industry. A weak economy symptomic of high unemployment and rising interest rates fuels an already disparaging circumstance.
However, Philadelphia unlike the nation has a unique advocacy pilot program in place to help distressed families. With foreclosures surpassing a record high for homeowners across the nation Philadelphia Housing Advocates pushed city council, the sheriff and the court to intervene on behalf of strapped residents who are teetering on the brink of losing their most precious asset………their homes. In response, Common Pleas Court Judge Darnell Jones ordered a stop gap relief measure halting the sheriff sale of some Philadelphia homes and implemented the “Residential Foreclosure Diversion Pilot Program” (RFDPP) effectively postponing mortgage sales from April 2008 through August 2008.
This relief is exclusively for “Homeowner Occupied Residents” (HOR) facing mortgage foreclosure. (Homeowners who have subsequent foreclosures, but do not have sale dates yet, will also be able to participate in this pilot program). However, the program is due to end in December 2009. - more -
The RFDPP progam gives HOR the opportunity to do new loan workouts with their mortgage companies or apply for other homeowner retention programs - sometimes in a last ditch effort to reinstate their mortgage. Armed with their proposed retention strategy each homeowner is required to attend a mandatory court hearing. At the hearing homeowners will meet with their lender’s representative (more likely the mortgage company’s attorney) and try to hammer out an agreement.
HOW DO HOMEOWNERS KNOW IF THEY ARE CANDIDATES FOR THE DIVERSION PROGRAM? The court has massed mail HOR instructing them to call the “Save Your Home Philly Hotline” at 215-333-HOME. Most Hotline callers will be referred to a Housing Counseling Agency for assistance in working out home retention strategies to present at their hearing. “Pro Bono” (free) attorneys will be present at these hearings to help distressed homeowners navigate this daunting process.
HOW BENEFICIAL WILL THIS PILOT FORECLOSURE DIVERSION PROGRAM BE TO DISTRESSED HOMEOWNERS? Well the “judge” is still out on this ruling. This action honorable in its intent to give homeowners an opportunity to save their home, doesn’t and can’t address the root of this housing crisis. Furthermore, various home retention programs have strict criteria/guidelines that credit ridden and financially strapped homeowners will find hard to meet. Some homeowners, even with the help of the most seasoned Housing Counselors, who try to do loan revisions with their lenders will find that their mortgage company may not be compliant with the program or they may be resistant to affordable reinstatement plans. Can the courts force mortgage companies to be earnest in their negotiations? Are mortgage companies just “going through the motion” and do they just see this pilot program merely as an annoying delay in the inevitable. Time will tell. When the dust settles, hopefully at least some homeowners will be standing and still living in their homes.
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