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Point Breeze eminent domain bill passes, spurs debate on affordable housing (updated)
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Point Breeze eminent domain bill passes, spurs debate on affordable housing (updated)
Those speaking out against the city's plan, passed in Council this morning, to take by eminent domain 17 privately owned properties in Point Breeze (including some owned and supposedly set for ground-breaking by an active area developer) argued that the scheme represented a flawed and inefficient approach to affordable housing in Philadelphia.
"Bill 120755 is not a housing bill: It's a vacant property bill," developer Ori Feibush, who has said he owns some of the properties in question — but who is not on record as owning any of the properties, according to Yvette Ousley, director of communications at Councilman Kenyatta Johnson's office. "You keep saying the word, 'affordable,'" Feibush said. He told Council if they meant it they should attach a maximum sale value to the bill, ensuring the houses developed on the land would actually be affordable. He pointed out that four "affordable" houses in the neighborhood are currently on the market for $250,000 or more.
Several affordable housing builders and community activists spoke in favor of the legislation, as a step toward retaining affordability in the gentrifying neighborhood. The city's reason for taking the properties was to combine them with other vacant lots, in order to make more appealing plots for affordable housing developers. But those speaking out against it said rental subsidies or rehabbing run-down properties in the neighborhood — or building on what critics claim is a total of 311 city-owned lots in the area — would be a more effective way to provide affordable housing. Chris Sawyer, an activist on blight, says he's brought that issue up to city officials and been "met with silence as to why the city won't gut and rehab the vacant houses it owns."
Councilman Kenyatta Johnson, who sponsored the bill, said it was given to him by the administration and that some property owners whose land was being condemned did not respond to the city's attempts to contact them. Ousley says that Johnson's office did, however, meet with the owners of the majority of the properties in question, and removed five of Feibush's own properties from the list previously.
Ousley said she sees Feibush's claims that he has properties at stake and set to be developed — but that he won't identify because he "doesn't trust Council" — as a diversion enabling the developer to put forward his own vision for the neighborhood. "There are no properties that are set for groundbreaking that are on the list," Ousley said. "But saying so allows him to continue waging this online war against this affordable housing initiative and against Councilman Kenyatta Johnson. The reality is a lot of the statements he's making are untrue, and while others have refused to call him on it, we're going to."
Eminent domain to take property for....."affordable housing"? So, now any real estate that you own can be taken on the whim of Philly politicians. Bye, bye constitutional rights.— Falls Ed- Yet again, Johnson's people WILL NOT answer the question on why it has no plans to develop anything on the 311 vacant lots it already owns right now--today. They continue to dodge it. Repeatedly. Go ahead, ask them. They won't give you the answer. — EastChestnut
- Nothing like ghettoizing an emerging neighborhood.— LouDiamondPhillipsheadScrewdriver
- The "activists" are the Concerned Citizens of Point Breeze who are the most racist neighborhood organization in the entire city.— Fascism Rules
- Lets be truthful here. The reason behind this land grab is too many white people moving into the neighborhood. The democrat machine needs to maintain its voter base.— UncleJoe
- These same people have said in the past that they would rather see a black drug dealer on their corner than a white person tending a garden. Well, they just got there way. I swear I feel like we round up some of the most ignorant people in the entire metropolitan area and then vote them into City Council. Would you ever see this type of nonsense in downtown Boston, Chicago, Miami, etc?? No. This city deserves its absurdly high poverty rate.— knicks84
- There are plenty of ruined affordable neighborhoods all over philadelphia where houses can be bought for well under $50,000. IT IS CRAZY for this handout happy city council to even think about taking private property in a neighborhood that is on its way to improving. The city needs every dollar of revenue it can get in. Higher prices mean higher transfer taxes. If people are willing to make a commitment to live in Philadelphia and pay rising home prices, God bless them. Other than revenge against an aggressive developer, why in the world would they do this? They don't even have money to fix what they already own- just look all over the city and see the failing infrastructure, why should they be spending money they don't have? Another way to scare away investors from our once great city. Supreme Court on private rights? PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!— tseller
- @pbnewcomer267: Your comments are the most ignorant that I have ever read. Point Breeze has had its share of problems but who are you to proclaim that there were 40 years of blight, ignorance and filth? I am almost 50 and I had some of the best times of my life here in Point Breeze. Where did you grow up and why do you want to move in the neighborhood? I have pride in my neighborhood and the people I grew up with. Just because developers are rehabilitating properties doesn't mean that all will be swell. We have low income residents that need help and there is nothing wrong with that. I hope Councilman Johnson continues to fight for affordable housing.
— Mezike23 - LOL @ KJ fighting for affordable housing. You're lucky if even 50 units are built with the NSP2 disbursement and after that--there's no announcement that there will be NSP3, 4 or 5. The Obama administration is stuck on fiscal cliff for the next 2 months and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program being used to basically run-around PHA may be put to an end. Guess I'll be starting a campaign to our PA members of Congress and HUD calling for an audit of NSP2 disbursements in PY2011, 2012 and 2013 and also start filing IRS inquiry forms against all the non-profits who receive the funds in Point Breeze. Let's see who's honest and ensuring that each one of those dollars DOES go to affordable housing and which ones are using it to send their kids to college and getting a shore house and a new car. — EastChestnut
- its funny...when black people move into a white neighborhood its called diversity. When white people move into a black neighborhood its called gentrification LOL!!— mkmholla
- Bravo mkmholla, short but well-stated. — UncleJoe
- City "Neighborhood Transformation" funds used to keep the neighborhood untransformed and blighted.
NSP money from federal STIMULUS (AJA) being used to kill private sector construction jobs.
Crazy. Philly, you've always set the bar for dumb & corrupt pretty high but this Kenyatta Johnson is a real all-star.— PhillyNetTaxPayer - Its good to see so many coments from so many people who know so little about the actual topic. How much do any of you actually know about NSP? How it works? Who it benefits? The program benefits solidly middle class people. I actually think the advocates for affordable housing will be quite disappointed. The NSP advocates gentrification. The income limits are generous. 120% of the median area income. That means you qualify as a single person making up to $64k. Its a great program that allows middle class people buy in middle class neighborhoods. It requires that they stay in the home for 15 years or repay the subsidy or sell it to another person that qualifies. This ensures that the neighborhood is filled with people who are commited to it for the long term not just those looking for a nice investment. This program helps you have mixed income, stable neighborhoods and keeps an area from being ghettoized whether its a black or white ghetto.— kenyad
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