> On Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:47:11 +0200 (CEST), Not An Ape
> truth.com> wrote:
>

>>Colerain voices fear in swell of subsidized housing
>>By Gregory Korte
>>
>>Colerain Township residents, led by all three township trustees, came to
>>the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority meeting Tuesday night to
>>express alarm over the dramatic increase in Section 8 housing in their
>>community - 131 units in the past year alone.
>>
>>
>>The housing authority's response: Tell it to the feds.
>>
>>Colerain officials say the increase in Section 8 housing has contributed
>>to increased crime, more blight and lowered property values in
>>neighborhoods already battered by the foreclosure crisis.
>>
>>It's a burden not shared equally around the county. About 96 percent of
>>all Section 8 properties in Hamilton County are west of Interstate
>>71. Trustee Bernie Fiedeldey questioned whether that pattern was some sort
>>of "concerted effort" on the part of housing authority.
>>
>>But the authority says it has little influence over where Section 8
>>voucher holders go - that's a contract between the landlord and the
>>tenant. What it can control is what CMHA owns - 58 of about 530 subsidized
>>housing units in Colerain.
>>
>>"We are not, ourselves, purchasing property in the western part or
>>northwestern part of the county," said CMHA board Chairman Donald
>>Driehaus. "We are looking to expand our presence on the East Side."
>>
>>CMHA purchased 26 units in Hyde Park earlier this year.
>>
>>Though the Colerain contingent came with "constructive intent," the
>>discussion led to occasional sharp exchanges - as when Township Trustee
>>Jeff Ritter led off by telling the board: "To be perfectly frank, I've
>>never been a big fan of your product line at CMHA."
>>
>>Housing commissioner Lamont Taylor asked Ritter what he meant by
>>that. "I've never been a fan of subsidized housing as I've seen it
>>dispersed on the West Side during my lifetime," Ritter said. "It's my
>>opinion based on what I see now - with the crime and blight - as opposed
>>to what I saw growing up in the '70s."
>>
>>Taylor said low-income housing may have played "some small role" in the
>>West Side's decline. But he said too much of the debate was based on
>>perception.
>>
>>Still, housing officials said federal regulations limit what they can do
>>to the actual tenants - as long as they pay their share of the rent and
>>don't commit a crime. "Whether or not they're a good neighbor, whether or
>>not they take care of the property, that's not something that we
>>do. That's something the owner is supposed to monitor. That's just the way
>>the federal program is written," said executive director Richard Rust. "If
>>we are to be more aggressive, there's going to have to be a change in the
>>way the program is written."
>>
>>That wasn't good enough for residents like Judy Hinterlong.
>>
>>"I'm all for giving people a hand up. I know people make mistakes. But
>>we're rewarding bad behavior," said Hinterlong, a 41-year Colerain
>>resident.
>>
>>She brought pictures she took of Section 8 properties. "Those are Direct
>>TV satellite dishes. How is it that if you're so poor that you need
>>assisted housing, how can you afford a satellite dish?"
>>
>>Responded Taylor, "If you drive by a Section 8 property and you see a new
>>Cadillac Escalade with shiny new rims, there's nothing we can do about
>>that."
>>
>>http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20080820/NEWS0108/80
>>8200358

>
> A kiss of death for any neighborhood.
>
> ted