Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has reintroduced her Choice Neighborhoods Initiative (CNI) authorizing legislation from the 111th Congress. H.R. 762, the Public Housing Reinvestment and Tenant Protection Act of 2011, contains provisions to revitalize housing units and neighborhoods; address one-for-one replacement issues; empower housing authorities to make reforms; and to create jobs, with support from Reps. Barney Frank (D-MA) and Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), her colleagues on the Financial Services Committee.
NH&RA HOPE VI/Mixed-Finance Council has been a leading advocate for the creation of the CNI and has provided feedback to both the Congress and HUD to make improvements to this important initiative. The following summary was recently issued by Representative Waters:
“Title I establishes a Choice Neighborhoods grant program. Under Choice Neighborhoods public and assisted housing developments, and the neighborhoods in which they are located, would be revitalized. When the Administration proposed its Choice Neighborhoods Initiative as the successor to HOPE VI, we worked to incorporate the principles of HOPE VI reform””including one-for-one replacement and tenant protections”” into that proposal.
“The resulting legislation strikes the right balance between preserving public housing and providing grantees with the flexibility to improve and stabilize neighborhoods devastated by extreme poverty by providing neighborhoods with critical community improvements, such as gardens, parks, public transportation, retail, and other amenities typically lacking in such neighborhoods.
“Title II of the bill would reform Section 18, the law that governs the disposition and demolition of public housing units. Currently, the law does not require that demolished units be replaced at all. Notifications to residents are lacking and, if any units are rebuilt, many residents find that due to restrictive rescreening criteria they are not able to move back in. The legislation corrects these problems.
“Title III of the bill, authored by Rep. Frank, addresses the capital needs in public housing by providing public housing agencies (PHAs) with the financial tools they need to preserve public housing, including one-for-one replacement. It also provides resources for PHAs to make energy efficiency improvements in public housing.
“Title IV, authored by Rep. Velazquez, would create job opportunities for public housing residents by establishing a program to train these residents to become in-home health care aides for elderly and disabled public housing residents.
“This bill represents a reinvestment in our infrastructure, our communities, and our citizens and is precisely the type of legislation needed to win the future.”
