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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.
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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.
Thanks for this story !
Why is it so HARD to say certain things, when it's the Truth ?
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.
Absolutely. I have a dear friend in her late 60s (white) who had to retire about 20 years ago due to serious health issues (cancer). She was working at the time (had worked since age 18) but of course had to stop. Her health insurance did not cover all of her longterm medical costs, so she had to sell her house and move into an apartment. When she went to apply for Medicaid, she was told that because of her income level she would qualify for Section 8 (she didn't even know that) which would reduce her then $1500/month apartment rent by more than half. She was so taken aback by the very idea of being (as she considered it) "on a government handout" that she said she'd have to think about it before deciding! But when she looked at her financial situation she realized that it was the only way she could continue to stay on Long Island where she emotionally needs to be (her sisters and sons are here).
She later found out that there are several other Section 8 tenants in the garden apartment complex where she lives. A couple of them are minority but all the others are typical older white middle-income adults just like herself. I suspect that quite a number of Section 8 recipients in Smithtown and elsewhere are the same.
... 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.
Respectfully, I do not know the plaintiffs motives, but take a look at this from the link in the OP:
"By rules of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, towns may give preference to those who work or live within the jurisdiction. But when Smithtown exhausted its preferred list in 2006, the suit said, it re-advertised the voucher availability instead of reverting to the nonresidents on the waiting list.
In 2006, according to the suit, Smithtown issued Section 8 vouchers to 92 whites, seven blacks and two Hispanics, even though minorities made up more than half of the waiting list at the time."
The suit "appears" to be referencing the fact that, though the preferred list was exhausted, the town never went to the non-resident list. It's not clear whether this was standard practice or not, but what's the point of having a secondary list if they never use it?
Respectfully, I do not know the plaintiffs motives, but take a look at this from the link in the OP:
"By rules of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, towns may give preference to those who work or live within the jurisdiction. But when Smithtown exhausted its preferred list in 2006, the suit said, it re-advertised the voucher availability instead of reverting to the nonresidents on the waiting list.
In 2006, according to the suit, Smithtown issued Section 8 vouchers to 92 whites, seven blacks and two Hispanics, even though minorities made up more than half of the waiting list at the time."
The suit "appears" to be referencing the fact that, though the preferred list was exhausted, the town never went to the non-resident list. It's not clear whether this was standard practice or not, but what's the point of having a secondary list if they never use it?
The Town exhausted the preferred list in 2006; how old were the preferred and non preferred lists to begin with?
Is there a law which states that if a list is under X years old it must be used; or is there a law which states that once a list reaches X years old it needs to be updated?
Section 8 waiting lists can be up to 10 years long (I don't know if that's a hard limit, but I have heard of people waiting that long for a voucher).
What happened in California is more complicated than just Section 8. They basically moved sections of ghettos lock, stock, and barrel--South Central went to the Antelope Valley. They took their problems with them.
Section 8 waiting lists can be up to 10 years long (I don't know if that's a hard limit, but I have heard of people waiting that long for a voucher).
What happened in California is more complicated than just Section 8. They basically moved sections of ghettos lock, stock, and barrel--South Central went to the Antelope Valley. They took their problems with them.
NO WONDER, CA is in the shape they are in.
Between the Furlough Fridays, and San Francisco, that the rest of the nation has to pay for now, in the Porkulous-Stimulus Money, one nice idea making the rounds, is kicking them out of the Union to fend for themselves !
Section 8 waiting lists can be up to 10 years long (I don't know if that's a hard limit, but I have heard of people waiting that long for a voucher).
Waiting 10 years on the same list or periodically reapplying during the 10 year period?
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexisT
What happened in California is more complicated than just Section 8. They basically moved sections of ghettos lock, stock, and barrel--South Central went to the Antelope Valley. They took their problems with them.
I think this also had to do with too many non-professional landlord owners of individual homes in California they couldn't sell being desperate and short-sighted enough to accept Section 8 just to put money in their pockets and not understanding the responsibilities involved.
The suit "appears" to be referencing the fact that, though the preferred list was exhausted, the town never went to the non-resident list. It's not clear whether this was standard practice or not, but what's the point of having a secondary list if they never use it?
That is standard practice in Civil Service tests for government jobs, so why not for a government housing program? They may have 1000s of test-takers that make up a list, but they are not required to call from the same list for all eternity until the list of people who passed the test are exhausted. They can have another test any time they want for the same position(s) and start an up-to-date list.
As for the disappointed non-residents, were they all minorities or were there also some whites that were still on the secondary list that had never been called? If there were no whites left waiting to be called on the secondary list, yes that is suspicious. Somehow I doubt that. There were probably more disappointed whites on the secondary list than any other race.
Section 8 waiting lists can be up to 10 years long (I don't know if that's a hard limit, but I have heard of people waiting that long for a voucher).
Would you know whether they had to renew their spot on the list to keep current? I would hope that during the 10 years some people on the list might have had a good turn of events to warrant them coming off the list.
Here's a link I found about a company that will help you, learn to get grants from the Obama Administration. It even comes with a personal message from our President !
It BLEW MY MIND, but it shows that there is always someone around to teach you how to put your hand out, for a free ride...when someone gives the go ahead ! GOD help US !
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