Enforcements Needed in Housing Programs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following the House Appropriations Committee’s approval of a measure to fund the nation’s housing programs today, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Democrat and Ranking Member of the Financial Services Committee, blamed Republicans today for undercutting important housing programs that protect our most vulnerable populations.

      The legislation, known as the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations bill, slashes or provides insufficient funding for a number of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) public and assisted housing programs. These include over $500 million in cuts to important rental assistance and anti-homelessness programs. The measure cuts HUD’s Public Housing Program below the fiscal year 2014 enacted level, while funding HUD’s Public Housing Capital Fund to its lowest level since the 1980s.

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Factually speaking, there is much fraud, waste, abuse, and discrimination allowed in the subsidized housing program.  Unless laws and HUD's Rules and Regulations are enforced, wastefulness and violations will continue. The Fair Housing Act and Discrimination Laws are useless without enforcements in place for legitimate and vulnerable tenants too often abused and denied protections while exercising their Constitutional Rights. Some corporate landlords and managers favor housing friends, relatives, and unusual businesses in place of those most needy.

    This blog recently received more information about some possible conflicts of interests regarding friends and/or relatives of Ms. Hamilton, who allegedly get special privileges other tenants do not.  We're not attorneys, but if true, it would be a violation of The Fair Housing Act and could also be considered a conflict of interest for Ms. Booth to serve on the Corporate Management team and to also share a position on the Tenants' Council at Clarendon Hill Towers (CHTTA).

      We're still attempting to get more information from other residents on this matter and any other.  You can send in some photos too, if you feel safe enough to be seen with a camera.   Do any vulnerable tenants under the Housing Program dare to speak out when the Legal Aid Program may not have an attorney available to defend you during a retaliatory eviction proceeding at the Housing Court?  You can write in anonymously, but then again, Americans lack much privacy nowadays.

Listening Sessions and Rights Education

The Human Rights Commission is scheduling listening session outreach as well as education activities in the Somerville, MA community.  They will be advertising in the community when they have something scheduled.  For example, this week the Director of The Human Rights Commission will be presenting a one-hour rights education at the coffee hour.  Commissioners will be providing Listening Sessions from the community at various public events. For further information:

Program of the Somerville Health Department

City Hall Annex, 50 Evergreen Avenue, Somerville, MA 02145

617.625.6600 x2406 --  (TTY) 1.866.808.4851

Abusive Patterns Ring Bells in HUD Housing

Recently we received more information from tenants in another subsidized housing complex managed by Cornerstone Corp., Connolly and Partners LLC, First Hartford Corporation (FHRC), and their Tenants Association. Like other tenants in other complexes, these tenants recognize they will be forced to endure frivolous eviction proceedings for speaking out if their names were exposed.  Considering the long history and patterns of retaliation attempts and abuse by owners, investors, and managers on these subsidized properties, tenants' fear of retaliation is very much justified. 

     One resident requested we write an article of interest on how Mr. Laham of McNeil Assoc., then Cornerstone Corp., allegedly made a deal with Clarendon Hill Towers at dinner with Bill Connolly and Linda Hamilton of Connolly and Partners LLC and FHRC prior to contracts being signed with Clarendon Hill Towers.  To be better able to do this, we would need more details and other information for better clarification. Some items of interest have already been written about.  Those articles can be found in our archives in the column to the left of this page.

     In the meantime, we continue to process the information received by tenants in various housing complexes.  There is most definitely a familiar pattern of abuse happening on these HUD-financed properties to do with favoritisms, drugs, serious unfair housing issues, deliberate harassments by corporate partners, interference in tenants organizations, conflicts of interests, unethical practices in regard to waiting lists and construction bids, etc. etc.   Stay connected!   

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2013/06/15/evictions-discrimination-complaints-raise-questions-clarendon-hill-complex-somerville/U9o77K1GBV9jI4lK2F0RTK/story.html

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After Corporate Landlords Get Billions in Funds
to Renovate at least two different housing complexes,
fires start from faulty materials. More than
$100,000 gets collected from Insurance Policies.

Here's a news item we missed from the Somerville Patch in January 2013.

     Somerville Fire Chief, Kevin Kelleher said a repair man who had been working on the generator was finishing up his work when the generator caught on fire.
      The fire broke out at about 10:30 a.m., and by around 11:15 a.m. firefighters had it under control. Kelleher classified it as a "small fire."
      There were no reported injuries, and "right now it looks like everyone's going to stay in the building," Kelleher said at that time. Had the fire and smoke been worse, the fire department may have been forced to evacuate the entire building.
     Clarendon Hill Towers is a large affordable housing complex .......
          Ward 7 Alderman, Robert Trane, who was on the scene, said neighbors had called him several times "to complain about this generator," which made lots of noise.
      The fire heavily damaged the generator and nearby electrical wiring and conduits, leading to more than $100,000 worth of damage, according to an email from Deputy Fire Chief, Charles Breen.
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And another item we missed for October 2006.

Location: Rockland Place/Spring Gate Apts., Hannah Way F , Rockland, MA 02370Fire Department: Rockland, MA 02370,  ID: 23251,  Incident #: 2187,  Station: 1,  Shift/Platoon: 2Incident Type: Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective or worn insulation.Alarm Time: 10/26/2006 22:28,  Arrival Time: 10/26/2006 22:32,  Last Unit Cleared Time: 10/26/2006 22:49Action taken: Investigate. Includes investigations done on arrival to determine the situation and post incident investigations; and collecting incident information for incident reporting purposes.