CLPHA Advocacy

Sylvia Blanco, the chief operating officer of the Housing Authority of the City of Austin and Doug Guthrie, the president and chief executive officer of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles both spoke with the New York Times about the rule’s potential impact on their residents, communities, and PHA operations, for the article “Landlords Oppose Trump Plan to Evict Undocumented Immigrants.”

Blanco told the Times, “The housing authority would bear the brunt of the expense of having to completely evict and go through the court action of having to evict these families…We would be on the hook for having to pay for that.”

“You can imagine, if you’re forcing the eviction of nearly one-third of these very large public housing sites, the impact that has on households as well as the broader community,” said Doug Guthrie.

Guthrie also sat for an interview with KCRW radio’s Greater LA Podcast to explain the proposal and the toll its already taking on residents. “I really do think that this is cold hearted,” he said. “It truly hurts a lot of people that have been following the rules. Nobody here has done anything wrong. Nobody here is receiving a subsidy.” 

That’s a message Guthrie reiterated during a press conference yesterday in Los Angeles with city officials that was covered by theLA Times. “What sort of sense does that make?” he said. “These mixed-status households have played by the rules — they’ve done nothing wrong. There’s not one dollar of federal funding that is supporting an undocumented resident.”

Legislation to prevent carbon monoxide fatalities in public housing was approved by the House Committee on Financial Services today and now moves to the full House for consideration. The “Safe Housing for Families Act of 2019,” by Representative Jesus Garcia (D-IL) requires combination carbon monoxide and smoke detectors in public and assisted housing units and authorizes $300 million over a three-year period for installation and maintenance.

In a letter to Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA), CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman expressed support for the bill.

“Resident health and safety are paramount to CLPHA members, and measures taken to mitigate hazards such as those addressed by this bill are welcome,” wrote Zaterman. “We are pleased the bill authorizes commensurate funding to meet the requirements of installing and maintaining the carbon monoxide detectors at an amount of $300 million over a three-year period.”

Read CLPHA’s Letter in Support of the Safe Housing for Families Act of 2019

CLPHA Applauds Appointment of Greg Russ to Lead New York City Housing Authority
Greg Russ is the right leader at the right time to oversee NYCHA and tackle the unique challenges facing the nation's largest and oldest public housing authority.

WASHINGTON (June 19, 2019) - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of New York yesterday announced the appointment of Gregory Russ to serve as the next Chair of the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA).

Sunia Zaterman, Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) issued the following statement in support of the city's selection of Russ, who is the current CEO/Executive Director of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) and a member of CLPHA's Board of Directors:

"Greg Russ is the right leader at the right time to oversee NYCHA and tackle the challenges facing the nation's largest and oldest public housing authority. Greg is a distinguished public housing executive and proven change maker who has led with innovation to positively transform affordable housing for residents and communities. He is uniquely qualified for this position because of his experience as the Director of Troubled Agency Recovery and his work at the Chicago and Philadelphia housing authorities.

"Throughout his career, Greg has shown a commitment to preserving and improving the public housing stock while promoting self sufficiency and economic opportunities for HUD-assisted families in PHAs across the nation. In addition to his leadership in the field, Greg is considered a national expert on public housing policy.

"CLPHA applauds Mayor Bill de Blasio's selection of Greg Russ to serve as NYCHA's next chair and we look forward to supporting Greg in his new role."

About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA and follow @housing_is for news on CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative to better insect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.

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