Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 December 2003 — Page 3
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2003
THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER
PAGE A3
STATE REP. P- Continued from Page 1 candidate Peterson publicly vowed to keep Barton open and affordable. Peterson was elected that fall, and the Barton residents have remained undisturbed since. But despite the saving of the Barton, affordable housing in Indianapolis looms as an even larger concern at the end of Peterson’s first term than when he took office. Due to foreclosures on the private companies that operated them, hundreds of tenants of the federally subsidized Weyerbacher Terrace and Parkwood Apartments are being forced to move. The Weyerbacher building on Fall Creek and Illinois is being vacated this month, leading to a loss of296 units. Plans have begun to remove all tenants from the 264 units at Parkwood Apartments on East 38th Street. Displacement of low-income people is disturbing news in a city where the Coalition for Homeless Intervention and Prevention estimates that Aiore than 15,000 individuals are Already homeless each year. Rep. Crawford is a Peterson supporter and fellow Democrat, but the House Ways and Means chairman is candid with his concerns about affordable housing trends under the mayor’s watch. “There has not been a commitment for a replacement strategy when low-income units are lost,” Crawford says. “In the four years of the Peterson administration, there has not been a single unit of Affordable housing built in the entire city, much less downtown.” '« Crawford and other advocates fyorry that the “economic cleansJpg” of downtown initiated during the Goldsmith administration continues under Peterson’s watch, t>ow in the form of displacement 6f low-income residents from 3owntown and near-Northside Areas like Fall Creek Place. Crawford points out that the downtown amenities now enjoyed by higher-income residents are valuable to the working poor as well. “The number one advantage of Center Township is the availability of transportation,” he says. “And there are a lot of entry level jobs in downtown Indianapolis and Center Township, along with
social services and the health care that many folks need.” Most of the people who are displaced by the closing of Weyerbacher Terrace and renovation of Parkwood Apartments receive vouchers allowing them to find housing in the private rental market. A housing voucher usually allows the lowincome tenant to cap their rent payment at 30 percent of their monthly income, with the government subsidizing the rest of the cost. But residents forced out of Weyerbacher orParkwood cannot receive vouchers if they owe debts to the local housing agency or H UD, nor can they get vouchers if they have felony or drug convictions. The many families who are doubling up with relatives or friends in subsidized housing can only hope the Indianapolis Housing Agency (IHA) will hold, another lottery for places on the waiting list for vouchers. The last time a lottery was held, 12,000 people unsuccessfully applied to be put on the waiting list. Even receiving a voucher, highly prized in a city where thousands cannot afford mar-ket-rate rent, does not mean an end to the housing struggle. IHA executive director Rufus “Bud” Myers says Indianapolis residents with vouchers have generally been able to find housing that does not exceed the cap the IHA can pay, but the search is getting more difficult. A December 2002 study by the Indianapolis Neighborhood Hosing Partnership found that available housing for low-income residents of Indianapolis does not meet the demand. The supply is shrinking,” says Myers. “When you have Weyerbacher closing and Parkwood shutting down on top of it, it stands to reason that for many people with very low incomes, the situation is building toward a shortage of housing they can afford.” Which is why Rep. Crawford says he is so concerned about talk in the local real estate community that the Peterson admin-
istration will obtain control of Weyerbacher Terrace and then assist a for-profit developer in converting the building to housing for high-income residents. “I have expressed my concerns to Mayor Peterson’s staff and told them on this issue, I will have to draw a line in the sand,” says Crawford. There is no way they can reconcile the displacement of low-income people because the city could not afford to subsidize their housing and then turn around and subsidize high-end housing.” Angie Dye, a spokesperson for the city Department of Metropolitan Development, confirms the city has an interest in acquiring the Weyerbacher Terrace property, but talk about how the city may help develop it is premature since the property has not yet changed hands. Dye stressed, however, that the mayor takes Rep. Crawford’s concerns seriously. This administration is sensitive to the need for affordable housing downtown,” she says. But this time, Rep. Crawford says he is looking for more than expression of Peterson’s concern. “We lack a comprehensive affordable rental housing strategy in Indianapolis. The Blueprint to End Homelessness is an idea on paper, but the only thing that has happened on the Blueprint is that some people are getting salaries to remind the community of the need. Nothing else is being done because it will take funding to do more.” Crawford was a key supporter of last year’s “Just a Penny Will Help So Many” ordinance that would have dedicated some local property tax revenue to the Indianapolis Low-Income Housing Trust Fund. Peterson refused to support the ordinance, and the proposal never got a hearing at the City-County Council. “We have a low-income housing trust fund in this community, but the question is how do you find a permanent revenue stream to make the trust fund work,” Crawford says. That’s the vehicle, but there has to be the political will to fund it.”
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