Segregated Tax Credit Housing

    Does the title of this post sound like an oxymoron? Although this does not hit home for most Americans, no pun intended, it defines home for millions of Americans in subsidized housing. If you have been seriously affected by loss of employment and retirement fund, segregation continues to rear its ugly head. It is not so much a lack of rules and regulations, as it is the will to enforce them.  If you're thinking, "... not with my tax dollars," here is a link to a ProPublica article, part of a series entitled, "Living Apart."  http://www.propublica.org/series/living-apart.

     Living in tax-credit housing is eye-opening. For example the LIHC where I rent, seems a reasonable alternative to Section 8 housing. In fact it is segregated housing. Residents of this development have no access to the common areas and amenities of the development's "luxury" side. At one point a few of us asked whether we could pay dues, to use the exercise facility at Broadway Station. Others asked whether they could take their children to the swimming pool. The response was swift and negative.

     A neighbor and I personally visited the HUD Regional Fair Housing Office in downtown Denver, complaint in hand. A representative met with us. She swiftly dismissed us but not before a HUD representative handed us fair housing booklets. A natural smart-mouth, I said, "Thanks. We have these ... problem is, we took the regulations seriously." The representative asked whether she could keep our complaint on file. The government loves generating files, so we said, "Knock yourself out!"  Last, but, by no means least, she advised us not to bother taking the complaint to the public housing authority, CHFA, as they would be unable to help. 

“Research experts want to know what can be done about the values of poor segregated children; and this is a question that needs asking. But they do not ask what can be done about the values of the people who have segregated these communities. There is no academic study of the pathological detachment of the very rich...” --Jonathan Kozol, Savage Inequalities:  Children in America's Schools

    The separation between residents of Broadway Station and Broadway Junction would be legally defensible, but for the concept of disparate impact. Broadway Station residents are predominately single, upwardly mobile, younger and white.  Broadway Junction residents, by contrast, are primarily ethnic minorities, disabled and/or elderly. As is so often the case, tenants of Broadway Junction have no representative organization and little desire to "rock the boat." People are grateful, in most cases, not to be living in nasty housing and more dangerous locations.

     One thing is believe happens in all subsidized housing is that tenants don't commonly know their rights, don't want to stand up for themselves, don't know or don't want to know their immediate neighbors. Some tenants face illnesses and disabilities that are emotionally paralyzing, or must be represented by others. Reasonably healthy tenants struggle against overwhelming financial limitations, to feed, clothe and transport themselves and/or their children, not to mention accessing medical assistance. For many the struggle just to get to work and stay employed is a challenge. For others, it is a full time job applying and continuously re-certifying for (often meager) government assistance.

     Here's the kicker: Trammel Crow Residential, which developed Broadway Station and Broadway Junction, took millions in tax breaks, took the money and ran. Perhaps you'd bet the Dallas-based company is unwelcome in Denver. No, Trammel Crow Residential is now developing a new, high-end apartment complex, not a block away from Broadway Station. Rent rates on that property will drive market prices up. The end result? Rents on the tax credit property will go up. Ah, but you knew that. So did the new owners of Broadway Junction. Who are they? Why, Archdiocesan Housing, Inc., a subsidiary of Catholic Charities, of course. Would one of America's largest non-profits support segregation in their housing. I'll let you guess.

     Observe tax credit development in cities, where it is the new trend. First you will have to go to parts of your city, you would not dream of calling home. Visit with residents in the developments -- it will change the way you see wealth, poverty and race in this country. I've said it before, as have so many before me, America hates her poor.