PHA Problems in SWCC

[mprams]

Have those responsible for oversite of the church properties been invited to neighborhood association meetings so that they can be made aware that the neighborhood has grown tired of their tennants? Not saying this will result in any good, but if SOSNA (or one of the otther associations) starts regularly calling the church to the carpet as a perpetuator of criminal activity, I suspect the church might feel obligated to do something.

[topogigo]

HUD is currently conducting a forensic investigation of PHA as their initial investigation revealed so many inconsistencies in spending. Yet, although HUD will be thorough, they will undoubtedly bury the findings and refuse to disseminate it adequately for any action. Therefore it is imperative that we contact House Representative Darrell Issa at the following email address:

Contact Darrell Issa

He's in charge of ferreting out government waste, fraud, and abuse. He's asking the new House for greater subpoena powers, which will hopefully force them to follow up on HUD's audit.

The local politicians have proven that they are completely incapable of overseeing PHA spending and management. Our one hope is to inform Issa of the corruption that has existed and will continue to exist unless HUD and PHA are completely restructured.

[philly77]

It's hard to get anything done in the political/legal arena when all one side does is play the race and class warfare card in response to any logical and fair approach and their constituency gobbles that puke right up. That's why this needs to get personal down the PHA and HUD employees - names, photos, addresses - the only way something will get done in an expedient manner. They need to be made to think about this stuff as they are going to bed and waking up, put right in their face like they put the neighborhood blight in ours.

[Gladys]

Have those responsible for oversite of the church properties been invited to neighborhood association meetings so that they can be made aware that the neighborhood has grown tired of their tennants? Not saying this will result in any good, but if SOSNA (or one of the otther associations) starts regularly calling the church to the carpet as a perpetuator of criminal activity, I suspect the church might feel obligated to do something.

Is that church even open? it looks as blighted as the properties them selves.

[topogigo]

Is that church even open? it looks as blighted as the properties them selves.

Holy Trinity Baptist Church is located at 1818 Bainbridge and is one of the most historical congregations in the neighborhood. From the information I've found, Cliff Williams is the Executive Director and can be contacted at:

Tel: 215.546.5400
Fax 215.235.0475

The church does own several properties which are managed by Opportunities Services Corporation and the Director can be contacted at:

Mr. Bernardo Coles
1415 N. Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA., 19122
Tel: 215.236.4500
Fax: 215.236.0793
email: BMC278@aol.com

The 2200 Fitzwater house owned by HTBC, and managed OSC has been, for many years, involved with the local drug trade. Stephan Allen, a legal tenant of 2200 Fitz., was arrested at the same time with Ryemel Edwards, a known drug dealer by the street name of Meek, and Joshua Davis, now on trial for murder. Drug dealers continue to use the property as a storage facility and a sales point within the neighborhood. Kenyelle Worrel, who was arrested for attempted rape, has a last known address of 2200 Fitzwater.

HTBC and OSC both refuse to oversee this property and many others that are owned and managed by them and they must be accountable for all of the tenant's illegal activities. Their Housing Assistance Program must be terminated.

[Gladys]

thank you. The building looks deserted, is it still operational on a weekend basis. If I were in that church i would suggest selling the properties to fix the church. Seems pretty obvious.

[Gladys]

was this article today and thought it was relevant.

Former PHA worker sues, says he was unfairly fired | Philadelphia Inquirer | 12/31/2010

[topogigo]

Please feel free to copy and paste the letter below and attach it to the "whistle blowers" page of Rep. Issa's website:

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Dear Rep. Issa:

Please cut HUD. This single audit found $18.6 million in waste according to HUD OIG auditors in Philly.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/oig/repor.../ig1031011.pdf

This is a HUD audit of the Philadelphia Housing Authority Housing Quality Inspections of Section 8 HCV housing, July 8, 2010.

Audit Report No. 2010-PH-1011 states, “Of the 67 units inspected by HUD’s OIG, 62 or 93% had 483 housing quality standard violations” (p. 5) in the PHA HCV or Section 8 program.

PHA falsified documents. The audit states, “The Authority asserted that it performed 414 quality control inspections from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2009. However, we reviewed the documents that the Authority provided … and determined that only 266 inspections were completed” (p. 12).

The audit states, “The Authority assigned responsibility for conducting quality control inspections to members of its police department” (p.12). No wonder PHA Police don't investigate drug complaints!

In our small neighborhood there were two separate fires in PHA where a child died in each case, both due electrical wiring problems.

The fines for these lapses on what HUD’s OIG estimated to be a loss of potentially $18.6 million? Only $70,000 (pgs. 14, 16). This negligible finding makes it less costly for PHA to NOT do the work and pay the fine!

43% of PHA Section 8 or Housing Choice Voucher units FAILED materially in a randomized sample of the housing to meet basic housing standards in this audit. That’s several thousand apartments of slummy taxpayer funded blight in Philly alone.

Please simply cut HUD’s $1.8 billion budget. Subpoena the HUD OIG audits and use these ignored audits to make the case that HUD = waste.

[torts]

Even though I could predict a 93% failure rate, this makes me sick. Millions squandered (and that's just millions accounted for); housing violations; lying re inspections; drug dens; filth; crooked bosses; crooked everything. I wish someone would drop an atom bomb on PHA.

[nostradamamamos]

Even though I could predict a 93% failure rate, this makes me sick. Millions squandered (and that's just millions accounted for); housing violations; lying re inspections; drug dens; filth; crooked bosses; crooked everything. I wish someone would drop an atom bomb on PHA.

Do I need to mention again that the PHA was THE SINGLE LARGEST RECIPIENT locally of "STIMULUS MONEY"; something to the tune of $150 million.

I'd say that whomever assigns scattered site housing is on the take, and that it is an organized narcotics distribution affair.

[torts]

It's bad enough we're getting f-ked. Now with +100 mm in federal funds PHA gets to f-k residents of Iowa and every other state in the Union. Nice. Oh, I forgot -- it's "the multiplier effect." Good god.

[stampy88]

Please feel free to copy and paste the letter below and attach it to the "whistle blowers" page of Rep. Issa's website:

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Dear Rep. Issa:

Please cut HUD. This single audit found $18.6 million in waste according to HUD OIG auditors in Philly.

http://www.hud.gov/offices/oig/repor.../ig1031011.pdf

This is a HUD audit of the Philadelphia Housing Authority Housing Quality Inspections of Section 8 HCV housing, July 8, 2010.

Audit Report No. 2010-PH-1011 states, “Of the 67 units inspected by HUD’s OIG, 62 or 93% had 483 housing quality standard violations” (p. 5) in the PHA HCV or Section 8 program.

PHA falsified documents. The audit states, “The Authority asserted that it performed 414 quality control inspections from Oct. 1, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2009. However, we reviewed the documents that the Authority provided … and determined that only 266 inspections were completed” (p. 12).

The audit states, “The Authority assigned responsibility for conducting quality control inspections to members of its police department” (p.12). No wonder PHA Police don't investigate drug complaints!

In our small neighborhood there were two separate fires in PHA where a child died in each case, both due electrical wiring problems.

The fines for these lapses on what HUD’s OIG estimated to be a loss of potentially $18.6 million? Only $70,000 (pgs. 14, 16). This negligible finding makes it less costly for PHA to NOT do the work and pay the fine!

43% of PHA Section 8 or Housing Choice Voucher units FAILED materially in a randomized sample of the housing to meet basic housing standards in this audit. That’s several thousand apartments of slummy taxpayer funded blight in Philly alone.

Please simply cut HUD’s $1.8 billion budget. Subpoena the HUD OIG audits and use these ignored audits to make the case that HUD = waste.

Done!

[lbphilly]

Please feel free to copy and paste the letter below and attach it to the "whistle blowers" page of Rep. Issa's website:

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

I wouldn't object to seeing HUD de-funded because it has fostered a lot of projectes with pernicious unintended consequences. Folks might want to adapt their letters to include recognition that PHA is indeed on Grassley's radar screen already. See today's daily outrage about Greene spending from the Daily News ($795 duffel bags for senior staff, bought in quantity by Greene). Grassley has choice words to say about that:

Carl Greene got a brand-new bag(s) - and taxpayers carried the load | Philadelphia Daily News | 01/07/2011

If you'd like to contact Grassley, here's the form:

http://grassley.senate.gov/contact.cfm

[topogigo]

You may also contact Senator Grassley through his Aide on Finance Oversight at Brian_Downey@finance-rep.senate.gov. HUD is only one of the many federal agencies overseen by this office whose focus is to deal with and investigate complaints about government waste, fraud, misspending, etc.

Your emails should be direct and focus upon the immense waste and abuse of funds by PHA as HUD oversees the agency.

Under HUD's supervision, the Philadelphia Housing Authority has been allowed to misuse and have misappropriated funds for decades. HUD is incapable of discovering the mismanagement of the agency and funding should be discontinued as a means of saving taxpayer money and lowering the deficit. The misuse of these monies can be seen in throughout the city, especially among the Scattered Sites homes that have become a plague and have continued to create blight. Many, like 1518/1522 Catharine, 2221 SAS, 2133/2135 Fitzwater are just a few of the many prime examples. HUD, along with PHA continue to support what have become federally funded drug dens.

Upload short videos on youtube of the exteriors of the properties illustrating their condition and their desperate need of repair. Any attachments showing drugs, drug dealing, should also be included.

Urge Sen. Grassley to compel HUD to sell PHA owned buildings where the money can then be used to support legitimate housing programs throughout the city. PHA must be required to accept and sell these properties at a fair market price.

PHA has completely cut the funding for their own police force thereby placing the burden and cost of monitoring these crime ridden properties upon the local tax payer. This is unacceptable, and PHA must sell the properties in order to establish a local property management who will be willing to work with the not only law enforcement, but the tax paying public as well.

You may address all of these issues and illustrate how PHA, with the oversight of HUD, has created a continued atmosphere of blight throughout the city.

[topogigo]

Here's yet another video found on youtube of 2221 St Albans St., a Scattered Sites home and, until recently, a center of drug activity--the tenants have been evicted, and many of the dealers are now working out of 2200 Fitzwater, an HCV house, and 2133 and 2135 Fitzwater, two additional properties owned by PHA. The non-exterior grade lumber used on the facade (still unpainted after two years) is what a representative of PHA told me was a complete renovation.

YouTube - Philadelphia Public Housing Scattered Site 2221 St. Albans Street

[govtstatistic]

Does anyone know why our own pa. congressman and swenators are ignoring these out right thefts from taxpayers??????????
paid officials?

[lbphilly]

Does anyone know why our own pa. congressman and swenators are ignoring these out right thefts from taxpayers??????????

Is this a serious question?

[topogigo]

Additional information to use when drafting your letter to Sen. Grassley, Brian Downey and Rep. Darrell Issa. You may also want to attach the link to this thread, and include it within the letter as it references many examples of waste, fraud, and misuse of funds as was exposed in several articles in the local papers.

Rep. Issa's particular interest is abuse of the stimulus funds, and a nice example of that is the 1000 block of S. 20th.

Dear Rep. Issa:

Here is an example of the abuse of stimulus money. As the Philadelphia Public Housing Authority was falling apart, with corruption and abuse, Obama awarded PHA stimulus funds.

One of those projects that got stimulus funds was in the 1000 block of S. Kimball St., Philadelphia, PA, 19146. It’s unfinished and no one knows where the money went.

The community opposed the stimulus project because it is right across the street from PHA housing that IS STILL windowless, blighted wrecks, after a decade, that PHA left untouched:

YouTube - PHA Housing left as vacant windowless wrecks for years -- but is getting Recovery Act Funding

It’s prima facie proof that this stimulus money would be wasted just like the money was before it.

So how did PHA get stimulus money to fund what were projects that had died on the vine, as a grand jury was investigating PHA and scandals were daily in the press?

It was partisan politics. PHA’s HUD money benefits Dem law firms, unions, and supporters in Philly.

Here’s a news clipping dated today -- the FBI and HUD’s OIG have uncovered that the former Executive Director of HUD used HUD money to buy designer bags for his staff at a cost of $1,000 apiece. He bought $16,000 worth of designer handbags:

Carl Greene got a brand-new bag(s) - and taxpayers carried the load | Philadelphia Daily News | 01/07/2011

HUD funded housing in Philadelphia, in my neighborhood especially, is a druggy, slummy, blighted mess:

YouTube - pha blight

Please cut HUD’s $1.8 billion in funding and dismantle HUD. The Depression-era “Housing Authority” model of big government has failed.

[Gladys]

just how corrupt IS city government???

i know naive.

[topogigo]

If the money used to purchase these bags did not come from the $345 Million of Federal Money given to PHA, and it didn't come from taxpayer money, where did it come from? Why can't anyone at PHA tell us? One would think that, under the circumstances, PHA would like to absolve itself of any charge of misuse of funds, and would give an honest answer. Yet another thing PHA seems incapable of doing.

PHA Disputes Part Of Luggage Expose