Welcome to CLPHA's Press Room
CLPHA experts welcome interview requests from print, radio, television, and online reporters and are happy to provide their insights on issues of public housing and related legislation and policy.
For media inquiries, please contact:
David Greer
Director of Communications
(202) 550-1381 or dgreer@clpha.org.
*Please let us know if you are working on deadline.
To view all of CLPHA's press releases, click here.
To view all of CLPHA's press statements, click here.
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Thanks again for your interest in CLPHA!
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
March 10, 2021 |
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities is a national non-profit organization that works to preserve and improve public and affordable housing through advocacy, research, policy analysis and public education. CLPHA’s 70 members represent virtually every major metropolitan area in the country. Together they manage 40 percent of the nation’s public housing program; administer more than a quarter of the Housing Choice Voucher program; and operate a wide array of other housing programs. Learn more at clpha.org and on Twitter @CLPHA .
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative
The Housing Is Initiative, led by the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, helps build a future where sectors work together to improve life outcomes. Housing stability is a critical first step to improve life outcomes for low-income children, families, and seniors; CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative is based on the premise that sectors can better meet needs when they work together. Housing Is establishes, broadens, and deepens efforts to align affordable housing, education, and health systems to produce positive, long-term results. Learn more at housingis.org and on Twitter @housing_is.
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
March 4, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) March 4, 2021 – Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, released the following statement urging the swift passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in the U.S. Senate: “The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities calls for the Senate to pass the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which includes desperately needed $30 billion in emergency rental assistance, $5 billion in single-use vouchers, and a significant extension of the eviction moratorium. “This legislation is critical to addressing the rental crisis facing the nation. The situation has only grown more dire since the Biden Administration announced the American Rescue Plan in mid-January. Renters have continued to accrue past-due rent at an alarmingly high rate. While the eviction moratorium has provided important protections for renters financially impacted by the pandemic, the moratorium has meant that millions of renters have accumulated significant arrears. Economists estimate that unpaid rent at the end of January 2021 totals $52 billion, which amounts to $5,600 for the average renter. “The $5 billion in emergency housing vouchers will help transition persons-at-risk and homeless persons to stable housing. Emergency rental assistance is not only vital to renters, but its impact on the economy and public health is far-reaching. The Senate must act swiftly to provide emergency rental assistance and prevent a wave of evictions and housing instability that will tragically disrupt the lives of millions of Americans.” |
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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(202) 550-1381
For Immediate Release
February 27, 2021 |
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(Washington, D.C.) February 27, 2021 – Sunia Zaterman, executive director of the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities, released the following statement upon tonight’s passage of the American Rescue Plan Act in the U.S. House of Representatives:
“The Council of Large Public Housing Authorities applauds the House of Representatives' bipartisan passage of the American Rescue Plan Act, which includes $35 billion in emergency rental and utility assistance and a significant extension of the eviction moratorium.
“This legislation is critical to address the rental crisis facing the nation. The situation has only grown worse since the Biden Administration announced the American Rescue Plan in mid-January. Renters have continued to accrue past-due rent at an alarmingly high rate. While the eviction moratorium has provided important protections for renters financially impacted by the pandemic, the moratorium has meant that millions of renters have accumulated significant arrears. Economists estimate that unpaid rent at the end of January 2021 totals $52 billion, which amounts to $5,600 for the average renter. With the March 31 moratorium on evictions rapidly approaching, additional rent assistance is urgently needed to help renters stay in their homes by addressing back rent. The Senate must act swiftly to provide emergency rental assistance and prevent a wave of evictions that will tragically disrupt the lives of millions of Americans.”
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About the Council of Large Public Housing Authorities
About CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative |
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Fort Worth Housing Solutions (FWHS)President Mary-Margaret Lemons penned an op-ed in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about FWHS’s efforts to increase the city’s affordable housing options, such as their utilization of the RAD program.
The District of Columbia Housing Authority (DCHA) and partners cut the ribbon on the Residences at Hayes Street, a 150-unit affordable housing community constructed with help from a $2 million DCHA loan. DCHA will also provide nearly $241,000 annually in rent subsidies to residents.
The Charlotte Housing Authority has opened The Oaks at Cherry, an 81-unit affordable housing community with resident amenities such a playground, cyber café, and fitness center in Charlotte’s historic Cherry neighborhood. You can watch a video about The Oaks at Cherry community here.
Of the complex’s 68 units, 34 are funded by Section 8 project-based vouchers, and 15 of those apartments are set aside for individuals with disabilities. The construction of Key’s Pointe Residences is part of HABC’s massive revitalization plan for Baltimore’s O’Donnell Heights neighborhood.
At the CLPHA Fall Meeting earlier this month, Bruce Katz, former Centennial Scholar at the Brookings Institution and founding Director of the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program,discussed how housing authorities, cities, and other stakeholders can seize the opportunity of the new Opportunity Zone tax incentives. Below is additional information and resources for CLPHA members on Opportunity Zones, including a CLPHA analysis of public housing developments in Opportunity Zones for members and a policy prospectus from Katz on how to best leverage these new tax incentives.
Background
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 established the new tax incentive, which will
“Allow any taxpayer to defer paying tax on capital gains from the sale of property if those gains are timely invested in Qualified Opportunity Funds, which in turn must invest 90% of its assets in businesses located or property used in a low-income community. If investors invest for ten years, they also pay no capital gains tax on the appreciation on that investment.”
Following the establishment of the tax incentives, U.S. governors designated more than 8,700 “Opportunity Zones” in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico; many overlap with locations where CLPHA members have public housing communities. Opportunity Zone incentives are unique because they rely on individual investment decisions instead of government distributions, can be utilized for all manner of projects (residential, commercial, industrial, or infrastructure), are not contingent upon pre-specified outcomes or metrics for success, and there is no cap to the amount of benefits investors can receive.
Current Status
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has released a notice of proposed rulemaking and notice of a public hearing on Investing in Qualified Opportunity Zones. There are two provisions related to housing in the proposed rule: a working capital safe harbor for the acquisition, construction, and rehabilitation of property for up to 31 months and also a provision stating that the basis attributable to land will not be taken into account when determining whether the building has been substantially improved. According to the rule, excluding the basis of land will help facilitate the repurposing of vacant buildings in Qualified Opportunity Zones.
CLPHA will be reviewing the proposed rule to understand how PHAs can take advantage of Opportunity Zones to further local housing goals. Comments on the notice are due December 28 and the public hearing will be held on January 10, 2019.
Resources for Members
CLPHA Analysis of Members in Opportunity Zones: Using the list of designated Qualified Opportunity Zones and HUD data on public housing buildings, CLPHA performed a comparison analysis to determine which public housing buildings are located in designated Opportunity Zones. We found that 57 CLPHA members had at least one public housing building in a qualified Opportunity Zone. In the attached spreadsheet, you can find a full list of properties, including census tract and geographic data, located in Opportunity Zones, as well as a quick-glance table that lists the housing authority and property development name. Click here to download CLPHA’s Analysis from our Dropbox.
Policy Brief – From Transactions to Transformation: How Cities Can Maximize Opportunities –Bruce Katz and Evan Weiss: This brief details a vision for the potential economic and social outcomes of the Opportunity Zone tax incentives and offers ten steps for cities to leverage local resources in order to take advantage of them. Download the brief from Drexel’s website.
Additional Resources:
Opportunity Fund Directory: The National Council of State Housing Agencies (NCSHA) has released this new online resource that provides descriptions and contact information for publicly-announced Opportunity Funds. View the Directory on NCSHA’s website.
Opportunity Zone Explorer: Enterprise Community Partners has created this mapping tool to help those interested in opportunity zones determine which tracts in their regions have been designated and how they related to other federal programs. Use the Opportunity Zone Explorer on the Enterprise website.
Investment Made Possible Through MTW Flexibilities
From the Oakland Housing Authority's press release:
On Thursday, October 3, 2024, city, state, and nonprofit leaders convened at Palo Vista Community Gardens, a public housing community in East Oakland, to announce a series of complementary investments in broadband infrastructure and digital access aimed at bridging the digital divide in Oakland’s most underserved communities. These initiatives, spanning multiple sectors and funding sources, represent a coordinated effort to ensure that every resident, regardless of income or location, can access reliable, high-speed internet and the devices necessary to thrive in today’s digital world.
These investments will expand access to many of the least connected neighborhoods in urban Alameda County—communities that many advocates had feared would be excluded from the State’s once-in-a-generation digital equity investment, and where internet performance is—on average—ten times slower than in higher income, predominantly White communities. Speaking on the dialogue that prioritized Oakland’s highest poverty communities, Assemblymember Bonta shared, “I have to say that we had courageous conversations. They weren’t easy…There was certainly consternation, but at the heart of that was love. Love for the city. Love for the concept of justice and equity and a recognition that connectivity in this day and age is a civil right.”
Oakland Housing Authority Free Internet Initiative
In December of 2023, the Oakland Housing Authority’s Board of Directors unanimously approved $2.5M to fund the first phase of the OHA Free Internet Initiative. OHA Executive Director Patricia Wells announced that service installation is currently underway. This initiative will provide free WiFi to nearly 2,000 residents in OHA’s four largest properties through at least 2027. Director Wells emphasized the importance of this initiative, stating, “The internet is a 21st-century necessity - essential for all aspects of life, including learning, banking, economic opportunity, and health and social services access. With this commitment, OHA deepens its pursuit of an Oakland undivided, where students, families, and residents have access to the internet as a utility.” The goal is to deploy at the remaining sites by Fall 2024.
The City of Oakland’s $15M FFA Last Mile Broadband Infrastructure Grant
Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao formally announced the $15M Oakland Connect grant awarded by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). In July, the CPUC voted unanimously to fund Oakland Connect—the City of Oakland’s $15 million grant proposal to expand access to reliable, high-speed internet in Oakland. Mayor Thao expressed that she is "extremely proud of the team that worked on this and wants to thank the CPUC for selecting our project and providing this opportunity to invest in the most underserved communities in East and West Oakland." The Oakland Connect project will pave the way for the city to expand high-speed internet access to thousands of unserved and underserved families in East and West Oakland while also connecting 14 community anchor institutions and 9 public safety buildings.
The California Department of Technology $20M Middle Mile Investment in Oakland
The California Department of Technology (CDT) is building the largest public broadband network in the United States—8,000 miles of fiber optic cables that connect entire communities to high-speed, reliable internet. The CDT shared that installation is underway on these “internet superhighways” along every eligible state right-of-way in Oakland, including I-580, I-880, and I-980. This state-driven project in Oakland will be a cornerstone of the Statewide network, providing the bandwidth needed to build last-mile networks, including the City of Oakland’s Oakland Connect FFA Last Mile project.
Oakland Public Education Fund’s $1M Student Connectivity Fund for Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)
Supporting student connectivity, OUSD Superintendent Dr. Kyra Johnson-Trammell lauded Oakland Public Education Fund’s announcement of a $1M Student Connectivity Fund that will provide home devices and internet access to students in need in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). In her remarks, she highlighted OUSD’s dedication to ensuring students have the tools they need to thrive and expressed her gratitude “...the partnership through Oakland Undivided is invaluable to this effort, and now the Oakland Public Education Fund’s $1M Student Connectivity Fund will help us carry on the mission to provide all students in need with a computer and home internet access for the fifth consecutive year.”
These four initiatives represent a bold new era for digital equity in Oakland, where collaborations will bring connectivity and opportunity to underserved residents for generations.
From CBS News Los Angeles:
City and state leaders celebrated the groundbreaking of a South Los Angeles 800-apartment-unit complex to be built above a new Costco, with 184 units dedicated to low-income housing.
The developer, Thrive Living, said it's the first new housing in Los Angeles to move forward under state law AB2011, which aims to streamline approvals for apartments and mixed-use projects that include low-income housing.
The 5-acre lot near the intersection of Coliseum and La Brea, will be home to the first mixed-use development in the nation to have Costco as the anchor retail tenant.
"The status quo is over, waiting around for projects to get started and to fail, and for opportunities to die. Los Angeles is moving forward with unprecedented action, driven by urgent collaboration in both the public and the private sector, " Mayor Karen Bass said.
The 5035 Collesium project will feature a new Costco at the street level and 800 apartments above, with 184 dedicated to low-income housing. The remaining units will be offered as nonsubsidized, affordable and workforce housing.
According to Cielo Castro, LA Housing Authority board chair, the affordable housing units will be available to families earning $41,610, at a rental rate of $1,040, including utilities.
Read CBS News Los Angeles' article "A mixed-use Costco, low-income housing development breaks ground in South LA."
From the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority's website:
As the school year begins, teachers and school social workers are reminded of the serious toll housing instability can have on students—students’ school attendance, academic performance, and emotional state can be negatively impacted. That’s why Stable Homes Stable Schools (SHSS) was created: to reduce homelessness among families with elementary-aged kids in Minneapolis.
Stable Homes Stable Schools is a program taking on the homelessness crisis among Minneapolis families through an innovative partnership between MPHA, the City of Minneapolis, Hennepin County, Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), and the YMCA of the North. The SHSS program addresses homelessness among Minneapolis Public Schools students’ families through various levels of support: emergency short-term assistance, multi-year rental assistance, and case management. For nearly 1,900 families, SHSS has been a lifeline.
Knowing safe and stable housing is the most significant out-of-school factor for predicting student success, the leaders from the various organizations teamed up to create a wholistic approach to addressing student homelessness. The SHSS program works to improve families’ housing stability, students’ school attendance, and students’ educational outcomes through rental assistance and wrap-around supportive services. All told, nearly 1,900 families have been supported by SHSS since its launch in 2019, with more than 4,500 children benefitting from the program.
Read MPHA's website article "As School Year Begins, Stable Homes Stable Schools Brings Housing Supports to MPS Families."
Santa Clara County Housing Authority Executive Director Preston Prince Quoted
A recent NPR article by Jennifer Ludden spotlights the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) call for research on and establishment of potential pilot programs that would give low-income renters cash for housing rather than vouchers via a policy called direct rental assistance (“DRA”). The article discusses challenges that voucher holders often face in securing and utilizing vouchers, including long waitlists and rejection by landlords due to red tape and source of income discrimination, that could potentially be addressed by providing cash instead.
Preston Prince, executive director of the Santa Clara County Housing Authority (SCCHA), is quoted in the article expressing support of this exploration. SCCHA, a CLPHA member, is also planning to participate in a DRA pilot designed by research group MDRC. Prince notes that this shift in policy could cause housers like himself to ask some tough questions about the status quo of the voucher program, telling NPR, “I've dedicated 35 years of my career to housing. Asking that question of, like, ‘Have we been doing it wrong?’ is a little scary.”
At present, only PHAs with Moving to Work (MTW) authority are able to initiate direct rental assistance programs. Researchers hope to learn whether direct rental assistance could help families find housing quicker, save money for both tenants and housing authorities, prevent recidivism or returns to homelessness, and enable families to move to areas of higher opportunity. However, the article concludes with Solomon Greene, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for HUD’s Office of Policy and Research, reiterating that more data is needed from research and pilot programs, in addition to congressional authority, before HUD makes substantial changes to its current rental assistance models.
Dr. DuBois-Walton to Lead The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven
Dr. Karen DuBois-Walton, CLPHA board member and Elm City Communities (ECC) president, has been named the next president and chief executive officer of The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. Her last day with ECC and on CLPHA’s board will be November 1.
Dr. DuBois-Walton was elected to CLPHA’s board in 2019. She has served for 16 years as president of ECC, which provides housing opportunities for more than 6,000 families and 14,000 individuals and includes the Glendower Group, LLC (the development affiliate of ECC) and 360 Management Group, Inc. (the property management affiliate). At ECC she has spearheaded initiatives to address systemic inequities in housing and community development, education and economic access and opportunity.
Under Dr. DuBois-Walton's leadership ECC has pioneered numerous cross-sector partnerships with education sector organizations that together offer programming that helps ECC residents pursue educational advancement. ECC’s groundbreaking work that helps improve education outcomes for low-income New Haven residents has long supported and informed CLPHA’s Housing Is Initiative, and her move to The Community Foundation underscores the importance of philanthropic organizations to cross-sector efforts to address the needs of low-income families.
“CLPHA and our board have greatly benefitted not only from Karen’s intelligence and expertise, but also her warmth and compassion,” said Jeffery K. Patterson, CLPHA board president and CEO of the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority. “We are heartened to know that she will take her passion for helping low-income families find housing stability, economic opportunity, and improved health and education outcomes into her new role. We wish Karen the best of luck as she embarks on this new opportunity.”
“Karen’s leadership at ECC and on the CLPHA board has always been centered on the needs of low-income families, and particularly families of color.,” said CLPHA Executive Director Sunia Zaterman. “She has shaped our thinking and practices on how to develop and sustain effective cross-sector partnerships to improve life outcomes for those we serve. She will no doubt continue to champion safe, stable, and affordable housing as foundational to improved life outcomes in her new role at The Community Foundation. While we will miss Karen in our industry, we wholeheartedly congratulate her on this new opportunity to continue her work serving the people of New Haven.”