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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To view all of CLPHA's press statements, click here.
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February 2, 2021
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(Washington, D.C.) February 2, 2021 – Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, released the following statement upon President Biden's signing of an executive order regarding the public charge rule:
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds the Biden administration’s action today to begin unwinding the Trump administration’s patently unlawful Public Charge Rule that included housing assistance receipt against immigrants and their families when applying for an adjustment of residency status. Federal housing assistance exists to keep families together and to lift them up, not to be weaponized to tear them apart. The cruelty of the rule was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as it caused families to opt out of many critical safety net programs, including federal housing assistance.
"CLPHA looks forward to working with the Biden administration to ensure the equitable and compassionate treatment of immigrants and their families when seeking federal housing assistance.”
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
January 28, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) January 28, 2021 – Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, released the following statement upon the conclusion of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs’ nomination hearing for The Honorable Marcia L. Fudge, of Ohio, to be Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: “The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds HUD Secretary-designate Marcia Fudge’s forceful call for expanding emergency rental assistance at her Senate nomination hearing today for individuals who are facing housing instability due to lost income or are experiencing unemployment because of COVID-19, many of whom are people of color. She understands that the $25 billion allocated to emergency rental assistance in the most recent stimulus was not enough and only a down payment.
“Right now, in back rent alone, 10 million low-income renters have accrued an average of $5,600 in rental arrears, which totals $56.3 billion. The current stimulus package will help approximately 3.5 million renters pay back rent by February. The remaining 7 million renters who are unable to pay back rent will face eviction, compounding the strain on our nation’s economy and compromising our nation’s moral responsibility to address racial inequities among our most vulnerable individuals.
CLPHA calls for Congress to immediately pass President Biden’s American Rescue Plan which contains $50 billion in emergency rental assistance, and for the Senate to swiftly confirm Secretary-designate Fudge so that she can begin her imperative work.”
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
January 15, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) January 15, 2021 – Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, released the following statement on President-elect Biden’s American Rescue Plan:
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds President-elect Biden’s American Rescue Plan for including $35 billion in emergency rental and utility assistance and a significant extension of the eviction moratorium.
“The Biden-Harris proposal underscores the magnitude of the rental crisis facing the nation, and, when combined with the $25 billion in rental assistance from the December stimulus, finally begins to address the threat of housing instability that millions of low-income Americans are facing. To date, 11.4 million renters have accrued an average of $6,000 in back rent, totaling $70 billion in unpaid rent. President-elect Biden said last night that every day matters when keeping a roof over one’s head. The most effective model to deliver rental assistance immediately is the Housing Choice Voucher program. Its efficiency is proven, the infrastructure is in place, and it can rapidly expand to deliver the significant amount of relief proposed in the American Rescue Plan.
“CLPHA is committed to working with Congress and the Biden-Harris administration to ensure its swift passage so that Americans facing the threat of eviction don’t have to wait another day longer.”
About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) and partners cut the ribbon on the Residences at Hayes Street, a 150-unit affordable housing community constructed with help from a $2 million DCHA loan. DCHA will also provide nearly $241,000 annually in rent subsidies to residents.
The Charlotte Housing Authority has opened The Oaks at Cherry, an 81-unit affordable housing community with resident amenities such a playground, cyber café, and fitness center in Charlotte’s historic Cherry neighborhood. You can watch a video about The Oaks at Cherry community here.
Of the complex’s 68 units, 34 are funded by Section 8 project-based vouchers, and 15 of those apartments are set aside for individuals with disabilities. The construction of Key’s Pointe Residences is part of HABC’s massive revitalization plan for Baltimore’s O’Donnell Heights neighborhood.
At the CLPHA Fall Meeting earlier this month, Bruce Katz, former Centennial Scholar at the Brookings Institution and founding Director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program,discussed how housing authorities, cities, and other stakeholders can seize the opportunity of the new Opportunity Zone tax incentives. Below is additional information and resources for CLPHA members on Opportunity Zones, including a CLPHA analysis of public housing developments in Opportunity Zones for members and a policy prospectus from Katz on how to best leverage these new tax incentives.
Background
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 established the new tax incentive, which will
“Allow any taxpayer to defer paying tax on capital gains from the sale of property if those gains are timely invested in Qualified Opportunity Funds, which in turn must invest 90% of its assets in businesses located or property used in a low-income community. If investors invest for ten years, they also pay no capital gains tax on the appreciation on that investment.”
Following the establishment of the tax incentives, U.S. governors designated more than 8,700 “Opportunity Zones” in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; many overlap with locations where CLPHA members have public housing communities. Opportunity Zone incentives are unique because they rely on individual investment decisions instead of government distributions, can be utilized for all manner of projects (residential, commercial, industrial, or infrastructure), are not contingent upon pre-specified outcomes or metrics for success, and there is no cap to the amount of benefits investors can receive.
Current Status
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released a notice of proposed rulemaking and notice of a public hearing on Investing in Qualified Opportunity Zones. There are two provisions related to housing in the proposed rule: a working capital safe harbor for the acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of property for up to 31 months and also a provision stating that the basis attributable to land will not be taken into account when determining whether the building has been substantially improved. According to the rule, excluding the basis of land will help facilitate the repurposing of vacant buildings in Qualified Opportunity Zones.
CLPHA will be reviewing the proposed rule to understand how PHAs can take advantage of Opportunity Zones to further local housing goals. Comments on the notice are due December 28 and the public hearing will be held on January 10, 2019.
Resources for Members
CLPHA Analysis of Members in Opportunity Zones: Using the list of designated Qualified Opportunity Zones and HUD data on public housing buildings, CLPHA performed a comparison analysis to determine which public housing buildings are located in designated Opportunity Zones. We found that 57 CLPHA members had at least one public housing building in a qualified Opportunity Zone. In the attached spreadsheet, you can find a full list of properties, including census tract and geographic data, located in Opportunity Zones, as well as a quick-glance table that lists the housing authority and property development name. Click here to download CLPHA’s Analysis from our Dropbox.
Policy Brief – From Transactions to Transformation: How Cities Can Maximize Opportunities –Bruce Katz and Evan Weiss: This brief details a vision for the potential economic and social outcomes of the Opportunity Zone tax incentives and offers ten steps for cities to leverage local resources in order to take advantage of them. Download the brief from Drexel’s website.
Additional Resources:
Opportunity Fund Directory: The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) has released this new online resource that provides descriptions and contact information for publicly-announced Opportunity Funds. View the Directory on NCSHA’s website.
Opportunity Zone Explorer: Enterprise Community Partners has created this mapping tool to help those interested in opportunity zones determine which tracts in their regions have been designated and how they related to other federal programs. Use the Opportunity Zone Explorer on the Enterprise website.
The Tacoma Housing Authority (THA) and Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) were recognized for their work in addressing homelessness among community college students and other barriers to higher education in a recent article for Inside Higher Ed. THA’s College Housing Assistance Program began in 2014 in response to rising rents in Tacoma and Pierce Counties. High rates of homelessness among Tacoma Community College students created opportunities for partnership between the College and THA, which now serves 150 students — many of whom have children of their own — who are homeless and near homeless. With the help of a housing voucher and additional financial aid, students are able to continue pursuing their degrees.
CHA is taking a slightly different approach to a similar problem. In working with City Colleges of Chicago through a program known as Partners in Education, the housing authority covers tuition and other fees for residents. Over 600 CHA residents are currently enrolled in Chicago’s community colleges, and while many receive federal and state financial aid, additional assistance from the housing authority ensures continued enrollment. As Moving to Work (MTW) agencies, both THA and CHA are able to engage in postsecondary partnerships as a result of program flexibility.
THA and CHA will further discuss these partnerships with the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, and Louisville Metro Housing Authority at a postsecondary convening co-sponsored by CLPHA, Housing Is, and Kresge next month. CLPHA looks forward to discussing how initiatives like these can be replicated and brought to scale across the country.
From the State of Oregon's press release:
On her first full day in office, Governor Tina Kotek signed an executive order that set an ambitious housing production goal of 36,000 homes per year and established a council of leaders charged with developing an action plan to meet the new construction targets. Today, less than 60 days later, Governor Kotek announced her appointments to the Housing Production Advisory Council (HPAC).
“I know too many Oregonians are struggling to find stable housing or on the verge of losing it,” Governor Kotek said. “Employers, particularly in rural and suburban areas, are struggling to hire and keep staff because there is nowhere for them to live or they are commuting from hours away. This is not sustainable. We must build more housing.”
The HPAC will bring robust experience in a broad set of disciplines and represent Oregon’s diverse demographics and geography.
“We had an incredible list of qualified Oregonians interested in serving on the Council, which reflects not only a shared concern about our housing crisis, but more importantly, the dedication to solve it,” Governor Kotek said. “I am grateful for their willingness to serve and look forward to their recommendations.”
The order established an annual housing production goal of 36,000 additional housing units at all levels of affordability across the state to address Oregon’s current housing shortage and keep pace with projected population growth. That’s an ambitious target – about an 80 percent increase over current construction trends – and would set Oregon on a path to build 360,000 additional homes over the next decade. This goal was accompanied by the establishment of the HPAC to help get the job done.
The members include a range of housing leaders, local government representatives, bipartisan legislators, a Tribal member, and relevant state agency directors:
Gubernatorial Appointments:
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Co-chair J.D. Tovey - rural Oregon and an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation - land use, building codes and housing development
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Co-chair Damien Hall - Metro- land use, and affordable and market housing development
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Daniel Bunn - Southern Oregon - land use and financing market housing
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Thomas Cody - Metro area - affordable and market housing development
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Deborah Flagan - Central Oregon - market housing development and construction
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Ernesto Fonseca - Metro area - affordable and market housing development and financing affordable housing
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Elissa Gertler - Oregon Coast - land use and financing affordable housing
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Riley Hill - rural Oregon - land use and market housing development
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Natalie Janney - Willamette Valley area - land use, market housing development
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Robert Justus - Metro area - affordable and market housing development
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Joel Madsen - Columbia Gorge - affordable housing development and financing
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Ivory Mathews - Metro area - affordable housing development and financing
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Erica Mills - Southern Oregon - financing affordable and market housing
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Eric Olsen - Willamette Valley area - construction, market housing development
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Gauri Rajbaidya - Metro area - affordable and market housing development
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Karen Rockwell - Oregon Coast - affordable and market housing development
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Margaret Van Vliet - Metro area - financing market and affordable housing, and affordable housing development
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Justin Wood - Metro - construction and market housing development
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CLPHA is pleased to announce that 15 of our members received a combined more than $4 million in grants from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that will help bridge the digital divide for their communities! Earlier this month, the FCC announced funding approximately $66 million through the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program, as well target funding allocations for the Affordable Connectivity Outreach Grant Program–Pilot Program Grants (ACP Pilot Program Grants). The total amount of targeted funding for ACP Pilot Program Grants is $4,995,831 for the Your Home, Your Internet (YHYI) Outreach Grants, and $2,449,311 for the Navigator Pilot Program (NPP) Outreach Grants. These grants are intended to drive awareness and enrollment in the ACP, the country’s newest and largest broadband affordability program in the nation’s history. Three CLPHA members received ACP Outreach Program Grants, eleven received YHYI Outreach Grants, and one member, the Jersey City Housing Authority, received both YHYI and NPP Outreach Grants. Learn more about these grants and CLPHA members’ grant amounts below. PHAs are uniquely well-positioned to help bridge the digital divide given that they house and provide services to some of our nation’s lowest-income and most disconnected families, and CLPHA congratulates our members for winning these competitive funds that will help connect the families they house to the crucial resources and services that the internet offers. CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative has been working intentionally on increasing internet connectivity for disconnected households for many years, and we are excited to continue supporting members and working at the national level to advance digital equity. Learn more about how PHAs are at the forefront of advancing digital equity for disproportionately disconnected low-income families here. |
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ACP Outreach Grant Program These grants provide financial support to partner organizations nationwide to serve as trusted community messengers about the ACP and equip them with funding to pursue innovative outreach strategies to reach historically underserved and unserved communities. The following CLPHA members received ACP Outreach Program Grants:
ACP Your Home, Your Internet Pilot Program These grants provide funding for ACP outreach and application support to recipients of federal housing assistance. The following CLPHA members received YHYI Outreach Grants:
ACP Navigator Pilot Program These grants provide funding and selected applicants access to the National Verifier to help low-income households complete and submit their ACP application. One CLPHA remember received an NPP Outreach Grant:
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Last month, Gregory Russ stepped down as chair of the New York City Housing Authority’s (NYCHA) board of directors, as well as CLPHA’s board.
During his tenure at NYCHA Greg oversaw the launch of NYCHA’s ambitious Blueprint for Change, a groundbreaking plan to recapitalize NYCHA's housing portfolio and improve living conditions and resident services. Learn more about the Blueprint for Change in our July 2022 interview with Greg and our November 2022 episode of CLPHA’s To the Point podcast.
Greg is a well-respected leader and pioneer in the public housing industry, and he was first elected to CLPHA’s board in 2007 when he led the Cambridge Housing Authority. Greg also served on CLPHA’s board while he was the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s executive director from 2017 to 2019, and has previously worked at HUD and the Cambridge Housing Authority. Greg has long been an integral, innovative voice in our membership, and CLPHA is thankful for his decades of leadership and expertise on our board and wishes him well in his future endeavors!
From Jersey City, NJ Mayor Steven Fulop's press release:
Mayor Steven M. Fulop joins the Jersey City Housing Authority (JCHA) to announce the unprecedented vision to revitalize the Holland Gardens public housing complex with 50% affordable housing to be built on-site in the flourishing downtown area of Jersey City.
The announcement follows last night’s unanimous vote by the JCHA Board of Commissioners to select WinnDevelopment to carry out Jersey City’s ambitious plan for the redevelopment of the 80-year-old public housing complex, using input from Holland Gardens residents throughout the entire process.
The winning proposal expands the already ambitious plans to redevelop Holland Gardens into a model mixedincome, mixed-finance, and mixed-use community that not only preserves all 192 existing public housing units with a right of return for current residents, but also expands affordability by adding 74 new affordable units for seniors, 309 market-rate units, and 56 two-bedroom condos - half of which will be affordable for families earning between 60% and 120% AMI. In addition to the added on-site resident services, a brand new public library will be built to serve the entire surrounding community.
“As housing affordability and public housing shortages reach crisis levels across the nation, in Jersey City, we are punching above our weight once again to increase affordability and provide pivotal, life-changing opportunities to help our residents achieve financial stability and self-sufficiency,” said Mayor Fulop. “Nearly half of the new units will be affordable housing with the addition of on-site services that are designed to fit the needs of our underserved residents who traditionally have limited accessibility. This redevelopment project is all-encompassing, and it serves as the standard bearer for what innovative public housing initiatives can accomplish.”
The revitalization project will add a 14,000-square-foot community building with a brand new Jersey City Free Public Library branch inside. It will also house offices for the JCHA’s Resident Empowerment and Community Engagement (RECE) Department, which partners with dozens of community organizations to connect residents with resources and programming, including afterschool programs, workforce development, senior services, and a digital inclusion program that has garnered national recognition.
In addition, the redevelopment project will create approximately 1,000 jobs, with prioritization for local hiring and minority- and women-owned businesses.
Every unit will be built equally in terms of the design and finishes to ensure residents of all income levels can equally experience high quality, equitable living with amenities such as in-unit dishwashers, and washer and dryer units.
The plan, which includes green energy and sustainable building practices, will also transform the surrounding neighborhood by reconnecting 15th street, creating a vibrant pedestrian plaza to foster community by adding amenities for all residents and the surrounding neighborhood.
“The JCHA’s mission encompasses serving not just our current residents, but low- and extremely-low income residents throughout Jersey City. This groundbreaking project not only provides 1:1 replacement of all public housing at the site, but also significantly expands affordability, opportunity, and resource accessibility for residents citywide,” commended State Assemblyman Raj Mukherji, who has served as Chairman of the Jersey City Housing Authority for 15 years.
Read Mayor Fulop's press release.
From the Housing Authority of the City of Austin's press release:
Today the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA) was joined by Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman to announce that 300 project-based housing vouchers—including 100 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) vouchers for homeless veterans—will be provided to ten projects across the city in a significant long-term investment toward ending homelessness in Austin.
Combined, these 300 vouchers represent a commitment of more than $93 million over the next 20 years to provide Austin’s chronically homeless with stable housing and an array of case management and community-based health care, educational support, and job training services.
“We are determined to end homelessness in Austin, and this is an important step in that direction,” said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. “HACA’s allocation of 300 new vouchers worth $93 million will enable new housing to get built and existing units to be transitioned into long-term help for the homeless and especially our veterans.”
HUD Deputy Secretary Todman said she was impressed by the community’s work to coordinate its efforts and to tackle homelessness.
“I want to commend HACA and the City of Austin for their ingenuity and determination to make a difference for people who have fallen upon hard times,” Todman said. “The rental subsidies provided by HACA will create new affordable housing dedicated to those experiencing homelessness. This will help remove the complication of finding a place to call home.”
Projects receiving the vouchers include (in alphabetical order):
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Austin Housing Finance Corporation (City of Austin) - 10 VASH vouchers for veterans at the Country Inn Hotel Conversion, 7400 North Interstate Highway 35
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Caritas - 30 project-based vouchers and 20 VASH vouchers for use at its Cairn Point property, 7205 Cameron Road
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Elizabeth Properties - 25 VASH vouchers for veterans at Kensington Apartments, 3300 Manor Road
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Family Eldercare - 25 project-based vouchers and 10 VASH vouchers at Real Gardens, 2826 Real Street
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Foundation Communities - 30 project-based vouchers and 20 VASH vouchers for use at Burleson Studios, 7905 Burleson Road, and 10 project-based vouchers at Skyline Terrace, 1212 West Ben White
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Lifeworks - 25 project-based vouchers for The Works at Tillery, 701 Tillery Street
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Safe Alliance - 30 project-based vouchers at the Lancaster, 5111-5115 Lancaster, and 25 project-based vouchers for use at The Sasha, 1401 Grove Boulevard
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SGI Ventures - 25 project-based vouchers and 15 VASH vouchers at The Roz, 3435 Parker Lane
“HACA is fully committed to help end homelessness in Austin,” said HACA President Michael Gerber. “These 300 vouchers, coupled with our partnerships with housing providers and services agencies, are essential tools to securing stable housing and offering social and medical services to transform the lives of our most vulnerable populations.”