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Empower DC Packs Council Hearing on Housing Authority Budget

By Grassroots DC, on May 5th, 2014

Cross-posted from the DC Independent Media Center
written by Luke

Empower_DC_4-30-2014On the 30th of April, Empower DC brought well over 100 DC public housing residents and supporters to pack Muriel Bowser’s hearing on the DC housing authority budget, which contains zero money for repair or renovation of traditional public housing.

Instead, the city applied to HUD for money to DEMOLISH three properties and thankfully these funds were refused. Almost all the attendees at the hearing were either residents or supporters of public housing, and for once witnesses did not have to sit through hours of testimony from developers before being permitted to speak.

A witness reported that Muriel Bowser was the only Councilmember present at the hearing, and she sat “stone-faced” through all testimony except when she was directly singled out for criticism. Several witnesses said they would not vote for her for Mayor even if she was the only candidate running.

Reverend Hagler called out the City Council for committing a “moral sin” by budgeting only $50 million for all the DC Housing Authority out of a total city budget of $11 billion while surrounded by massive wealth.

Click Here to view the entire hearing.

2 comments - (Comments are closed)   Gentrification, Public Housing   , , ,  

2014 Tenant Town Hall

By Grassroots DC, on May 2nd, 2014

Come see and feel the vibrant tenant movement for affordable housing in action at the 7th Annual Tenant Town Hall. Join LEDC, the CNHED Housing for All Campaign, and Empower DC as DC residents present their housing priorities and solutions to the directors of DC housing agencies and Council members.

Tenant Town Hall

Seven years running, the Tenant Town Hall is one of the best events of the year. Hear from tenants who are fighting for decent, affordable housing in the District of Columbia!

Comments are closed   Affordable Housing, Gentrification   , , , ,  

Code Violations and What You Can Do About Them

By Grassroots DC, on April 28th, 2014

The code violations in the video below are nothing in comparison to the violations that people find in most public housing complexes.  Shout out to Adrienne Lynch for producing this video.

Public housing residents have rights.  You should know what they are and how to make sure they’re honored.

·     Do you have maintenance issues that never get fixed properly?

·     Do you have questions about recertification?

·     Are you worried about evictions?

All of these issues and many more will be addressed in the workshop we call:

Tenant, Know Your Rights!
Wednesday, April 30
6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
700 12th Street, SE
Recreation Room

Snacks will be provided.  For more information contact Liane at liane@grassrootsdc.org or call 202-246-4597.

This event is sponsored by Grassroots DC, a resident-driven program under the support of the Potomac Gardens Resident Council.

Comments are closed   Gentrification, Public Housing

Confronting Gentrification: Part Two

By Grassroots DC, on April 15th, 2014

On February 18, a panel discussion on the critical implications of “urban renewal” in DC communities  took place at American University.  The first speaker was Johanna Bockman.   An Associate Professor of Sociology and Global Affairs at George Mason University, Bockman also runs the blog Sociology in My Neighborhood:  DC Ward Six.  We posted that video here a few weeks ago.

The second speaker in the series was Claudia Barragan a Master’s student at American University’s School of International Service.  She has worked as an urban planner and on the panel provides a critical look at gentrification through this occupational lens.

American University students Sophia YoshiMi and Luis Enrique Salazar organized the panel discussion.  Part three is Parisa Norouzi.  We’ll post that next week.

Comments are closed   Gentrification   , , , ,  

Can DC Develop Without Displacement?

By Grassroots DC, on April 11th, 2014

You like living near good schools, parks, well-stocked grocery stores, bars, restaurants, etc., but you believe that if one more high-rise condominium goes up in your neighborhood you’ll get priced out.   Is it possible to have development without displacement?

Are you concerned about how the DC Zoning Regulations Rewrite is going down and will affect you and your neighborhood for the next 100 years?

Are you upset by the fact that DC Library officials are considering putting luxury condos on top of our central public library downtown? 

Are you outraged by the purposely poor planning happening around our City because City officials have put a major corporate welfare program in place which gives away public property for pennies, offers tax gifts to mega corporations, and grants significant zoning entitlements to corporate developers without proof of need?

Are you shocked by the ever-widening income gap between the wealthiest and poorest DC residents?

Are you worried that you will be priced out of your DC neighborhood because rents and housing costs are skyrocketing?

If the answer is yes to any of these issues, and you want to find solutions together, please join the next gathering of

DC FOR REASONABLE DEVELOPMENT
Saturday April 12, 2014
1:30 PM to 3:00 PM
Meet at MLK Library Great Hall

Please RSVP by email: dc4reality@gmail.com  or call 202-810-2768
For more information go to http://www.dc4reality.org

One comment - (Comments are closed)   Gentrification   , , ,  
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