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NBRES, YOU TALK ABOUT DIVERSITY, I DONT CARE HOW MUCH MONEY you have or what color you are if you can afford to live here fine but when you start bringing in section 8 comon !!!!they always point to color and minorites give me a break.. When is someone going to stop , this backward ,uneducated thinking and stop it...
The issue wasn't about bringing in Section 8, section 8 was already there. It was about minorities being limited in getting the section 8 housing that existed on Smithtown due to residency restrictions in the Town which is 93% white.
The issue wasn't about bringing in Section 8, section 8 was already there. It was about minorities being limited in getting the section 8 housing that existed on Smithtown due to residency restrictions in the Town which is 93% white.
These are the same people who contributed to this Economy, and here they are being rewarded for their "contribution". The joke is, these Section 8's don't have ANYTHING to offer the community, other than costing it, even more, in terms of MORE MONEY and LOWERING EVERYONE'S property values !
I really, really hope you never need any help, with an attitude like that.
Not everyone on Section 8 is some kind of "welfare scum"; especially in NY, you can be employed and still need help with your rent. People on welfare didn't get us into this mess anyway. Especially not ones with rent subsidies: they weren't buying toxic mortgages.
The number of vouchers is set, by the way. There's a cap, and in New York, there's usually a waiting list; sometimes it's for years. The only thing at issue here was whether you had to be an existing resident of the Town of Smithtown, or whether you could apply from outside the town. And, if there are no landlords who will accept Section 8 tenants (a problem in NYS since it's legal to decline a tenant solely for this--not legal in many states, including NJ) it's irrelevant who they give the vouchers to.
It was an imperfect program, based on altruistic intentions, that "went wrong".
In a effort, NOT to bore anyone, let me just give you some interesting "highlights" of one segment of the overall program.
Do you know, what some of the basic regulations for Section 8 housing is, according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Developement ?
Here's something from the intro paragraph explaing this for the internet saavy.
"What are housing choice vouchers?
The housing choice voucher program is the federal government's major program for assisting very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe, and sanitary housing in the private market. Since housing assistance is provided on behalf of the family or individual, participants are able to find their own housing, including single-family homes, townhouses and apartments."
"The participant is free to choose any housing that meets the requirements of the program and is not limited to units located in subsidized housing projects."
"A family that is issued a housing voucher is responsible for finding a suitable housing unit of the family's choice where the owner agrees to rent under the program. This unit may include the family's present residence."
A housing subsidy is paid to the landlord directly by the PHA on behalf of the participating family. The family then pays the difference between the actual rent charged by the landlord and the amount subsidized by the program. Under certain circumstances, if authorized by the PHA, a family may use its voucher to purchase a modest home.
Am I eligible?
Eligibility for a housing voucher is determined by the PHA based on the total annual gross income and family size and is limited to US citizens and specified categories of non-citizens who have eligible immigration status. In general, the family's income may not exceed 50% of the median income for the county or metropolitan area in which the family chooses to live. By law, a PHA must provide 75 percent of its voucher to applicants whose incomes do not exceed 30 percent of the area median income. Median income levels are published by HUD and vary by location. The PHA serving your community can provide you with the income limits for your area and family size.
During the application process, the PHA will collect information on family income, assets, and family composition. The PHA will verify this information with other local agencies, your employer and bank, and will use the information to determine program eligibility and the amount of the housing assistance payment."
Tell me...if YOU had a choice, would you stay in your own residence in the middle of HELL, or get a townhouse in the suburbs ?
With their "flight" TO the suburbs, came some of their, "funny", Inner City ways ! It isn't, just being not saavy to suburban life, I am talking about bringing the Inner City Vices into good, healthy neighborhoods, like a life-sucking virus !
One Example...Using the homes as locations, or centers to commit criminal acts, and engage in criminal activity.
I present this article, from a, generally, respected and long time US periodical, the Atlantic ...
I don't think Smithtown discriminated against minorities ...
... and by caving in and handing over almost $1M without even going to trial they are setting an incorrect precedent.
These minority applicants were attempting to use their race to get preferential treatment and to jump the line by crying racism.
There are no regulations prohibiting municipalities from giving their own residents or giving applicants who work in their municipality preference when distributing Section 8 vouchers. This preference in and of itself was not based on racism and did not solely affect minorities.
As I said above, the nonresident and people who don't work in Smithtown applicants affected were not solely minorities: WHITE nonresidents and whites who did not work in Smithtown were also given non-preferential treatment. Where is their recourse in this lawsuit? There is none. Yet whites who were not already connected to Smithtown by residence or workplace were adversely affected also. It was not just minorities that were affected, yet they are the only ones getting anything.
There was a simple remedy available to the plaintiffs before bringing a lawsuit. If they wanted to get into the preferential treatment category for Smithtown Section 8 vouchers, they could (a) move to Smithtown and then apply or (b) get a job in Smithtown and then apply. Now if having done that, they can prove that white applicants who moved to or got work in Smithtown at the same time or after they did were treated preferentially, then I could see the grounds for a lawsuit.
I hope those who live in Smithtown let their displeasure be known at their government's tossing money to unscrupulous plaintiffs (and their attorneys) instead of defending themselves against this lawsuit.
Last edited by I_Love_LI_but; 02-07-2009 at 09:08 AM..
From the tough streets of Oakland, where so many of Alice Payne’s relatives and friends had been shot to death, the newspaper advertisement for a federally assisted rental property in this Northern California suburb was like a bridge across the River Jordan.
Ms. Payne, a 42-year-old African-American mother of five, moved to Antioch in 2006. With the local real estate market slowing and a housing voucher covering two-thirds of the rent, she found she could afford a large, new home, with a pool, for $2,200 a month.
But old problems persisted. When her estranged husband was arrested, the local housing authority tried to cut off her subsidy, citing disturbances at her house. Then the police threatened to prosecute her landlord for any criminal activity or public nuisances caused by the family. The landlord forced the Paynes to leave when their lease was up.
******
This story includes another class action lawsuit based on "racism." What I see is the police, the housing authority, and the landlord responding to bad behavior, NOT harassing people because of their race.
... and by caving in and handing over almost $1M without even going to trial they are setting an incorrect precedent.
These minority applicants were attempting to use their race to get preferential treatment and to jump the line by crying racism.
There are no regulations prohibiting municipalities from giving their own residents or giving applicants who work in their municipality preference when distributing Section 8 vouchers. This preference in and of itself was not based on racism and did not solely affect minorities.
As I said above, the nonresident and people who don't work in Smithtown applicants affected were not solely minorities: WHITE nonresidents and whites who did not work in Smithtown were also given non-preferential treatment. Where is their recourse in this lawsuit? There is none. Yet whites who were not already connected to Smithtown by residence or workplace were adversely affected also. It was not just minorities that were affected, yet they are the only ones getting anything.
There was a simple remedy available to the plaintiffs before bringing a lawsuit. If they wanted to get into the preferential treatment category for Smithtown Section 8 vouchers, they could (a) move to Smithtown and then apply or (b) get a job in Smithtown and then apply. Now if having done that, they can prove that white applicants who moved to or got work in Smithtown at the same time or after they did were treated preferentially, then I could see the grounds for a lawsuit.
I hope those who live in Smithtown let their displeasure be known at their government's tossing money to unscrupulous plaintiffs (and their attorneys) instead of defending themselves against this lawsuit.
It's been a different world since the November election.
But REMEMBER...it's NOT about "color" ! It's going to get REALLY bizarre in this country !
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I don't think Smithtown discriminated against minorities ...
