Welcome to CLPHA's Press Room
CLPHA experts welcome interview requests from print, radio, television, and online reporters and are happy to provide their insights on issues of public housing and related legislation and policy.
For media inquiries, please contact:
David Greer
Director of Communications
During the COVID-19 quarantine, David can be reached at (202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.
*Please let us know if you are working on deadline.
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Thanks again for your interest in CLPHA!
Announcing the New CLPHA.org
(WASHINGTON) January 7, 2019 - The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) is pleased to announce the launch of our newly-redesigned website.
The new CLPHA.org showcases our member PHAs and offers industry news and updates with a bright, modern look and dynamic, user-friendly content that is easy to navigate on a desktop computer or a mobile device.
DYNAMIC: A carousel of stories and the latest news on the front page keeps the content fresh. CLPHA.org is a website to bookmark and visit regularly.
INFORMATIONAL: At the new CLPHA.org, you will find articles and information about the latest developments on Capitol Hill and from HUD, facts and updates about programs important to public and affordable housing, and news from CLPHA about our work on behalf of our members.
USER-FRIENDLY: The new CLPHA.org features sections on each of CLPHA's priorities: Public Housing, Housing Choice Vouchers, Moving to Work, RAD, and our cross-sector initiative Housing Is. Plus, dedicated sections for Legislation & Policy, Press, News & Events, and Membership.
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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.
Experts to Present First National Snapshot of Health Partnerships in Public Housing
Free Webinar Aug. 29, 12 PM ET
WASHINGTON (August 28, 2018) - Half of the nation’s public housing authorities (PHAs) are engaged in a resident health initiative, most with a health organization partner according to Health Starts at Home: A National Snapshot of Public Housing Authorities' Health Partnerships, the latest report released by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) and the Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation (PAHRC). The report provides the first national snapshot of PHA efforts to address residents’ health care needs and emphasizes opportunities for collaboration between the health and housing sectors.
Report authors Steve Lucas, MPH, CLPHA Health Research and Policy Manger for the Housing Is Initiative, Keely Stater, PHD, PAHRC Director of Research and Industry Intelligence, and Kelly McElwain, PAHRC Research Analyst III, will present their analysis during a free webinar on August 29, 2018 at 12:00 PM ET.
“Housing and health systems need to work together,” said Lucas, who designed and implemented the original survey that led to the report. “Public housing authorities are significant providers of housing to those in need, offering the health sector scale and expertise. We found that PHAs across the country are engaged in a wide range of partnerships with different health organizations that address various target populations and health priorities. Though there are barriers to housing-health collaboration, such as funding and staffing capacity, these can be overcome with cross-system partnerships that seek to address these needs.”
Lucas published the initial survey findings in an issue of CityScape, a research publication of the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development. The article, “Connecting Fragmented Systems: Public Housing Authority Partnerships with the Health Sector,” is posted to the HUD User website.
What: Free Webinar: Building PHA Health Initiatives and Cross-Sector Partnerships
When: Wednesday, August 29, 2018, 12:00 PM ET
WEBINAR RECORDING: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5-jm5eF_YU&t=24s
Webinar Presenters
Steve Lucas, MPH
Health Research and Policy Manager, Housing Is Initiative,
Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
Keely Stater, PhD
Director of Research and Industry Intelligence,
Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation,
HAI Group's Research Division
Kelly McElwain
Research Analyst III,
Public and Affordable Housing Research Corporation,
HAI Group's Research Division
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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 26 percent of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA.
About Housing Is
CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative helps establish, broaden, and deepen efforts to align affordable housing, education, and health systems to produce positive, long-term results. We are building a future where systems work together to improve life outcomes for low-income people. Learn more at HousingIs.org and on Twitter @Housing_Is.
CLPHA Opposes Administration Proposal to Increase Rent Burden on Lowest-Income Residents
WASHINGTON (May 14, 2018) - The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities (CLPHA) strongly opposes the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) recently announced proposal to increase rent burdens on low-income residents residing in public housing and assisted housing.
The core of HUD’s rent reform proposal is to shift the burden of chronic federal underfunding of assisted housing to low-income residents who can least afford it. While there are advantages to a proposal that simplifies rent calculations and reduces administrative burdens for public housing authorities (PHAs), this proposal requires that PHAs raise rents in order to benefit from common sense rent simplification. Even with the benefit of housing assistance, many public housing residents are already spending more than 30% of their income on rent. A 2017 HUD study reported that the average Housing Choice Voucher recipient had a rent burden of 37% in 2015. Nationally, we represent PHAs serving residents in the most expensive housing markets in the country, where voucher holders are especially likely to have to incur high rent burdens to gain access to higher opportunity neighborhoods of their choice.
Given existing rent burdens, this proposal raises serious concerns about the negative impact the proposed rent calculations would have on residents. Through changes to 35% of unadjusted income for families and 30% of unadjusted income for the elderly and disabled, many assisted households would see significant rent increases. For example, the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA) estimates that public housing residents would see an average 36% rent increase while Housing Choice Voucher households would experience an average 23% rent increase. With an average annual household income of $21,000 for public housing residents and $16,000 for voucher holders served by HACLA, these increases represent substantial burdens that may interfere with a household’s ability to afford other necessities.
Beyond concerns regarding the fairness of further cost-burdening residents, there is some evidence to suggest that increased rents do not financially benefit PHAs and may have the opposite effect. When the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) implemented a HUD-mandated flat rent increase in 2014, impacted residents experienced an average rent increase of 46%. NYCHA saw their rent collection rate decrease among those impacted by the increase. NYCHA’s experience reflects the reality that increased rent payments only exacerbates affordability issues and puts more residents at risk of delinquency and eviction, resulting in more challenges for PHAs and less predictable revenue.
In addition to our concerns about the impacts of the proposed rent calculations, we note that the timing of these proposed changes are problematic for two reasons. First, some components of the proposal contradict important changes to housing assistance made through the recent federally enacted Housing Opportunity Through Modernization Act (HOTMA) in 2016 by unanimous vote of the House and Senate. HUD has yet to publish implementation regulations for some of the key provisions in the bill. For example, HOTMA increased the deduction of medical expenses for elderly and disabled families and tied the deduction to inflation, while HUD’s proposal eliminates these deductions entirely. A significant number of elderly and disabled households currently use medical deductions, many of whom have substantial medical costs. We question the elimination of this deduction particularly when it is already undergoing a very different set of changes through congressionally-mandated HOTMA.
We also question the timing of these proposed changes given the fact that in 2012, HUD commissioned a four-site demonstration from MDRC to study several rent reform elements included in the proposal, including triennial recertification, elimination of income deductions, and ignorable asset limits. One of the research questions the demonstration is explicitly testing is whether these reforms reduce work disincentives and increase family self-sufficiency among families receiving vouchers. With results expected in 2019, HUD should use insights from the study to inform design of a rent reform model that most effectively promotes self-sufficiency.
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
CLPHA, headquartered in Washington, D.C., is a non-profit organization working to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. It represents most of the nation’s largest public housing authorities.
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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FY20 Funding Bill from the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Includes Robust Funding Increases and Legislative Language to Prevent HUD from Evicting Mixed-Status Immigrant Families
WASHINGTON (May 22, 2019) - In preparation for a subcommittee markup on the morning of May 23, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) today released their FY20 funding bill. According to the subcommittee proposal, the discretionary funding level for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) totals $50.1 billion, an increase of $5.9 billion above the FY19 enacted level, and $13.4 billion above President Trump’s request.
The Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, Sunia Zaterman, issued the following statement in support of the bill:
“In a familiar pattern and reprise of repudiating Trump Administration budget proposals, the House THUD budget reflects Congress’ continuing commitment to fund critically important housing and community development programs the Administration proposed rescinding, cutting, or eliminating in its budget request.
“CLPHA is pleased that under the leadership of THUD Subcommittee Chairman David Price (D-NC) and Ranking Member Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), the THUD proposal increases – in several instances substantially increases – or level funds programs critical to communities served by public housing authorities.
“In addition to robust funding increases, such as the doubling of Choice Neighborhoods to $300 million and fully funding the Section 8 account, the proposal includes legislative language to prevent HUD from evicting mixed-status immigrant families from public housing, and to prohibit HUD from unilaterally changing the public housing annual contributions contract without public input and following the administrative procedures act process. Importantly, mandatory rent increases and work requirements were not included in the subcommittee’s bill.
“We applaud the subcommittee for its ongoing commitment to public and affordable housing and look forward to working with the Chair and Ranking Member in support of this bill.”
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 intersect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
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WASHINGTON (May 9, 2019) – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will formally propose a new rule tomorrow that would disallow undocumented immigrants from living in federally subsidized housing. The proposed rule, which will be published in the Federal Register for a 60-day comment period, would impact tens of thousands of immigrant families that include U.S. citizen children and other family members who are eligible for assistance.
The Executive Director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, Sunia Zaterman, issued the following statement in response to the proposed rule:
“CLPHA is strongly opposed to HUD’s punitive proposal that would make it harder for public housing authorities (PHAs) to serve their communities.
“The consequences are significant. Well over 10,000 mixed-immigration status family members currently served by one PHA, plus tens of thousands more around the country, would be impacted by the rule, making them more vulnerable to housing instability. HUD’s proposal would create more challenges for an already underfunded homeless services and prevention system.
“This policy is antithetical to the mission of the federal public housing program – to provide housing that is safe, decent and affordable to low- and very low-income families, children, seniors, and people with disabilities, and administer the housing choice voucher program.
“We are housers, not ICE agents, but that is exactly what HUD’s proposed rule is asking public housing authorities (PHAs) to become by requiring PHA staff to determine the immigration status of every household member and report it into a federal database.
“CLPHA will be submitting public comments in opposition to the proposed rule during the comment period.”
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 work to better insect the housing field and other areas of critical importance such as health and education.
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In yesterday's article "Trust in Public Housing at Stake Over Looming Government Shutdown," YES! Magazine quoted CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman and CLPHA members Kurt Wiest, Bremerton Housing Authority Executive Director, and Mark Gillett, Oklahoma City Housing Authority Executive Director, on how another government shutdown could continue to sow mistrust in public housing authorities (PHAs) and HUD.
Zaterman, who noted that landlords could shy away from participating in voucher programs if there is concern that PHAs will not pay them, asked, “Just the prospect of payments not being made will have a very disruptive impact—will the federal government contract be honored?”
Wiest stressed the importance of PHAs maintaining a good rapport with landlords. “We work really, really hard to have good relationships with local landlords. And if there’s the slightest hint that they won’t get their subsidy payments as promised, it erodes trust,” said Wiest. “And this program operates on trust.”
Gillett added that if PHAs cannot pay their landlords, there could be dire consequences for tenants. “There is a provision in the law saying if a housing assistance payment isn’t paid, it shouldn’t be grounds for eviction,” Gillett said. “But it’s never been tested.”
On January 31, HUD, the City of New York, and the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) announced an agreement to address longstanding issues at the housing authority’s properties. The agreement establishes specific requirements and milestones for property improvements and establishes a federal monitor who will be selected by HUD and the Southern District of New York, with input from the city.
On Tuesday, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio appointed Kathryn Garcia, the city’s sanitation commissioner, to succeed Stanley Brezenoff as interim chair until a permanent head of the authority is selected.
Brezenoff, who also serves on CLPHA’s Board of Directors, called the job as NYCHA’s interim chair and CEO, “one of the toughest and most rewarding jobs in America.” In Tuesday’s press release announcing his successor, Brezenoff said, “I will leave this interim role knowing that we are putting NYCHA in very capable hands. I am confident that Commissioner Garcia is the right person to continue our efforts to improve the quality of lives for residents, and preserve public housing for generations to come.”
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman in an article about the government shutdown's impacts on Section 8 Voucher holders if the shutdown continues beyond March 1.
Zaterman said, “Without a guarantee from HUD that funding will be available in March, many [public housing authorities] will need to notify landlords and residents next month that delayed payments are a possibility. Anxious residents and landlords fearful of missed payments, combined with other cascading impacts due to lack of staffing at HUD, including program grants not being renewed and affordable housing development deals not being approved, amount to an unmitigated disaster for millions of low-income families.”
Today, Gray News Bureau published a comprehensive article "SNAP, WIC, Section 8: Separating fact from fiction in the government shutdown" featuring a quote about the shutdown’s effects on HUD programs from CLPHA Executive Sunia Zaterman. Gray News pulled the quote from CLPHA’s January 16 joint press release with the Campaign for Housing & Community Development Funding (CHCDF), of which CLPHA is a member of the Steering Committee.
On the shutdown's effect on housing authorities' future rental assistance payments, Zaterman said, "Without a guarantee from HUD that funding will be available in March, many Public Housing Authorities will need to notify landlords and residents next month that delayed payments are a possibility. Anxious residents and landlords fearful of missed payments, combined with other cascading impacts due to lack of staffing at HUD, including program grants not being renewed and affordable housing development deals not being approved, amount to an unmitigated disaster for millions of low-income families.”
You can read the article via Gray News Bureau TV affiliates:
CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman spoke to the Pew Charitable Trust's Stateline blog about the looming crisis facing public housing authorities (PHAs) if the shutdown continues. In today's article "Cities Scramble as Shutdown Leaves Families in Federal Housing Vulnerable," Zaterman warned that if the shutdown is still in effect by the end of February, many PHAs will not have enough funds to continue rental assistance payments for March and beyond.
“It’s definitely an all-hands-on-deck, high-urgency red alert for agencies that don’t have sufficient reserves for a sufficient amount of time,” Zaterman said. “And most don’t.”
From Forbes:
Once, these edifices were the bulwarks against illness. Today, they're part of the cure for the malaise afflicting housing availability. Nationwide, vacant hospitals, mental institutions and sanitariums are being recast as newly-opened apartment buildings. In communities from Los Angeles to New York City, and from Charlottesville, Va. and Washington, D.C. to Denver, the doors of shuttered healing centers are swinging back open to admit residents.
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One Chicago-based developer is taking the hospital-to-housing trend one step further, to offer affordable housing to those who need it most. It is transforming old and abandoned hospitals into multifamily structures offering affordable housing for low-income seniors. In Aurora, Ill., a far western suburb of Chicago, Evergreen Real Estate Group acquired the former St. Charles Hospital, an historic Art Deco structure, and brought it back to life as Aurora St. Charles Senior Living, a 60-unit independent living facility near downtown Aurora that includes 44 units affordable for seniors at or below 50 percent of Area Median Income (AMI), and six units each for those earning 30 and 60 percent or less of AMI.
Read Forbes' article "Vacant Hospitals Help Address Ills Of Limited Affordable Senior Housing," featuring the Chicago Housing Authority.
From Lawndale News:
The Chicago Housing Authority received a $2.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Friday for the JobsPlus program that supports job readiness and connect public housing residents at Dearborn Homes with employment, education and financial empowerment services. CHA is one of nine Public Housing Authorities (PHA’s) that received a total of $20 million in JobsPlus grants from HUD to help public housing families increase their earned income and become self-sufficient. HUD’s investment will leverage an additional $4,355,700 working alongside key partners such as the City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Department of Family & Support Services, Chicago Park District, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, Centers for New Horizons, FamilyWorks and East Lake Management.
Read Lawndale News' article "CHA’s Dearborn Homes Receives Grant that Supports Work Readiness," featuring the Chicago Housing Authority.
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP), a Moving to Work (MTW) agency, has been working in partnership with the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Middle Atlantic Region (NNLM MAR) to improve digital and health literacy within their public housing communities. Through their Mobile Computing Lab initiative and grant funding from NNLM MAR, HACP has expanded their outreach to vulnerable public housing residents, including children, seniors, and refugees, to provide greater access to health and wellness information, improved awareness of diseases and illness, and improved access to treatment and preventative health measures. As an MTW agency, HACP is provided with additional flexibilities around operations and funding, which allows the agency to pursue innovative strategies and partnerships to improve life outcomes for residents.
Akron Metropolitan Housing Authority (AMHA) Executive Director Brian Gage participated in Northeastern Ohio radio and multimedia news source ideastream’s The Sound of Ideas Community Tour to discuss AMHA’s efforts to decrease evictions among residents and voucher holders. The tour’s Akron stop, recorded for radio in front a of a live audience, consisted of panels featuring local experts and stakeholders that discussed Akron’s eviction rate and strategies to reduce it. While taking questions from the panel moderator and the live audience Gage discussed AMHA’s resident services that endeavor to prevent resident evictions and the housing authority’s work with Akron’s local evictions task force.
Gage’s participation begins at the 1:14:00 mark. Watch the video here.
In a new YouTube video, Fannie Mae highlights the Housing Authority of the City of Austin’s (HACA) comprehensive rehabilitation of its Gaston Place community, a 100 unit property for low-income seniors and disabled individuals. HACA partnered with Fannie Mae and Bellwether Enterprise to employ the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) program as a tool to help finance Gaston Place’s repair backlog of nearly $8 million. The full-scale renovation of the community’s apartments included asbestos and mold remediation, remodeling kitchens into open floor plan spaces with modern appliances, and expanding accessibility for Gaston Place’s disabled residents.
“[T]he RAD program is one of the best ways to preserve and improve our existing public housing stock,” said Fannie Mae Director of Multifamily Affordable Housing Angela Kelcher. “By bringing these financing tools, we are able to improve quality of life for these residents and create affordable housing that is really the fabric of our society. It’s an investment in our communities that Fannie Mae wants to continue to make.”
