Issues
WIN’s 2008 VOTE Neighborhoods First Victories
WIN’s Vote Neighborhoods First Investment Agenda to expand homeownership, preserve affordable rental housing, replace homeless shelters with permanent supportive housing, and to increase opportunities for youth to develop through positive activities drives WIN’s city-wide and local organizing. In 2008, WIN’s major accomplishments were:
Affordable Housing Preservation and Neighborhood Revitalization
· • Secured $200 million in new funding in the FY 2009 DC budget to put Neighborhoods First including $117 million for affordable housing/permanent supporting housing; $55.8 million for recreation center upgrades; $169 million capital improvements for libraries; and $45 million in new funding for art and music teachers, literacy and math coaches, social workers, extracurricular activities, and athletics in DC Schools.
· • Organized tenants and secured negotiated sale/redevelopment agreement to preserve 266-unit Parkway Overlook Project-based Section 8 complex on Robinson Place, SE that was in HUD foreclosure.
· • Secured financing for 184-unit affordable St. Martin’s Apartments rental development in NE.
· • Worked with DC government to secure HUD approval to redevelop a long-abandoned HUD multi-family site into 50+ units of Nehemiah housing in Ward # 7—Eastern & Dix Streets, NE.
· • Secured second stage pre-development financing ($1 million+) for two large scale neighborhood revitalization projects: 1) Beulah Baptist’s Intergenerational Housing (100+ units of senior housing) and Mixed-use Retail project in Deanwood Heights—Ward # 7; Emory UMC’s Mixed-use Retail and Transitional/Senior Housing development (90 units) in Brightwood--Ward # 4; Secured project financing ($1.5+ million) and zoning approval for Mt. Lebanon’s Affordable Housing (6 units) and Job Training Center (CVS Pharmacy Assistants & Photo Lab Technicians—starting salary $30,000) in NW # 1--Ward # 6.
Permanent Supportive Housing for the Homeless
· • Pressed Mayor Fenty to develop and to implement the first phase of the DC’s Housing First Strategy, resulting in 400 chronically homeless persons being placed in permanent supportive housing by year-end 2008.
· • Secured Councilmember Jack Evans’ commitment to fund fully Mayor Fenty’s Housing First/Permanent Supportive Housing Plan, to identify and to secure sites in Ward #2 for at least 150 supportive housing units, and to include $150,000 in the FY 2009 budget to pay the costs for the chronically homeless to receive ID’s free—a service expense previously underwritten by WIN churches.
Public Housing Tenant/Neighborhood Organizing
· • Organized Benning Terrace/Fletcher Johnson (Ward # 7) neighborhood leaders to initiate a community planning process (to be completed in Fall 2009) to build 100 Nehemiah homeownership units, to construct a full-service community/cultural center, and to renovate Nalle ES, starting in 2010. In addition, WIN/First Rock leaders won action on long-standing local issues: 1) Completed $400,000 renovation of the Benning Terrace football field, basketball courts and playground; 2) Repaired chronic housing code violations at Benning Terrace public housing project inventoried by WIN/First Rock/Benning Terrace leaders
· • Organized Potomac Gardens/Hopkins Public Housing complex tenants (Ward # 6) as well as with leaders from the widely respected city-wide drug rehabilitation organization Community Action Group (CAG) to hold an 800 person action get Mayor Fenty to commit that 1) 30% of the 3,500 new housing build at the Hill East development near DC General hospital will be affordable; 2) construction and permanent jobs with training will go to low-income residents in Wards 6, 7, & 8; 3) provide a site in Ward # 6 and financing for a new CAG headquarters; 4) walk and take action on housing code and safety violations at Potomac Gardens/Hopkins public housing complexes.
