Report criticizes Housing Authority for demolishing public housing

The number of occupied public housing units in Baltimore has dropped 42 percent over the past 15 years — from 16,525 to 9,625 — as the Housing Authority of Baltimore City “is now in the demolition business,” according to a report from The Abell Foundation.

“With virtually no plans to replace the deteriorated units being razed or sold, tenant representatives and housing advocates have watched with growing alarm as they wonder if the Housing Authority has abandoned its mission to house the poor,” wrote Joan Jacobson, author of the recent report, “The Dismantling of Baltimore’s Public Housing.”

While more than a quarter of Baltimore families live in poverty, the Housing Authority is removing or demolishing 2,400 homes from its inventory, according to the report.

The report further states the Housing Authority is planning to spend almost twice as much on demolition, $24 million, as it will spend on redevelopment, $14 million, in 2007 and 2008.
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“Today’s demolition plans offer no sense of hope for Baltimore’s neediest,” Jacobson wrote.

In a lengthy response, the Housing Authority said the report failed to recognize the funding crisis and complex challenges that affect every public housing authority in the nation.

The Housing Authority plans to lease 2,500 new Section 8 units in the next year. The Housing Authority reported funding for public housing decreased 33 percent from 1999 to 2006.

While the number of public housing units has decreased over the years, the Housing Authority has said it has increased its Section 8 vouchers to make up for the loss of units, as reported in The Examiner’s “Housing Matters” series, Sept. 17 and 18.

“The Jacobson report is filled with inaccuracies, distorts the historical record and offers no useful recommendations to respond to the crisis caused by the steady erosion of federal support for public and other types of affordable housing,” the Housing Authority said.

The Abell Foundation is a Baltimore nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life in the city.

Recommendations

» The state should pass a fair-housing law that requires landlords to accept Section 8 vouchers, similar to laws in Howard and Montgomery counties.

» A “one-for-one” replacement policy for demolished units should be adopted.

» Developers, city officials and housing experts should study city public housing. (by Andrew Cannarsa, examiner.com)