Last year, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) threatened to freeze $50 million in federal funding for Philadelphia public housing. The department claimed that the money would be withheld because city properties were not accessible for people with disabilities. Like many programs in Philadelphia, the Housing Authority could not operate without a great deal of federal aid.
Carl Greene, the head of the Philadelphia Housing Authority, believes that the money was cut because he refused to approve a real estate transaction that would have benefited Kenneth Gamble, a real estate developer with a lot of political influence. Gamble wanted to the city to transfer him several plots of vacant of land worth $2 million. Greene refused and HUD said it would pull federal funding shortly after. PHA believes that the two were related. An e-mail exchange between two federal officials seems to back up that claim. From the Daily News:
The e-mail exchange between then-Assistant Secretary Orlando Cabrera and Assistant Secretary Kim Kendrick occurred on the same day, Jan. 12, 2007, that HUD notified the PHA that it was in violation of rules regarding accessibility for disabled residents.
In the e-mails, Cabrera, referring to Greene (though not by name), asked Kendrick: "Would you like me to make his life less happy? If so, how?"
Kendrick replied: "Take away his federal dollars?"
Cabrera responded: "Let me look into that possibility."
It's amazing to find out that funding decisions for something so vital-- housing for Philadelphia's poorest residents-- is whim to such political intrigue. It's unconscionable that federal officials would withhold funding to punish a local agency for refusing to approve a land deal to politically-connected developer.
It also really reinforces the fact that the federal government plays a huge role in what type of funding and services are provided by city government. Many of the important decisions about what happens in Philadelphia are made in Washington and elsewhere. There is only so much control that local officials have over the city budget-- and something are simple of upsetting the wrong person can make Philadelphia lose millions.
Comments (4)
Carl Greene refuses to make good on the deal because at the time of the agreement the land was worth quite less than it is now. He now wants Gamble to pay the current value even after an agreement was struck. Continue to watch Mr. Greene and his PR people squirm out of this, after all, with all of those employee's laid off he can spend a few hundred thousand on his own spin!
Posted by former Employee | March 14, 2008 4:32 PM
There are criticisms to be made of both PHA and Universal Companies, and the press hesitates to substantively critique either. Hence, you end up with an anything goes atmosphere.
But when comparing results for the dollar, PHA wins hands down. For all the gripes of "former employees" PHA is a fatty housing agency. BUT it's new developments are award winning, loved by both PHA tenants and the surrounding communities when they are complete.
Compare this rate of completion to Universal Companies, which has properties that it got 10+ years ago that it still has not broken ground on, and doesn't even try to do anything with them in the interim. One of the larger NTI beneficiaries was Kenny Gamble and Universal, because they hold so much vacant property in the form of various LPs and other nonprofit companies, making it hard for the uninitiated to track.
Fortunately, Ed Goppelt is on the problem -- Hallwatch.org has a type in owner feature that allows one to search city records and see what Universal properties are still vacant.
Their rate of completion mirrors the rate of completion they achieved with PHA. PHA says they completed about 86 of their scheduled, agreed upon properties, and left about 150+ undone. That is precisely what other groups are saying is their experience.
Pennrose, partner in Uni-Penn in several enumerated LPs, had to declare its partnership with Universal bankrupt. That was in the PMH papers, so is it really "amazing to find out" that affordable housing is "whim to such political intrigue"? It's been covered well -- check your archives. The press junket for the R&B entertainment complex in 2000 -- complete with music and food -- was covered by you guys. But where's your follow up? That vacant lot on Fitzwater and Broad where the tented event was held, that was supposed to be the HQ for the Universal vision, was part of the Uni-Penn bankruptcy, resulting in bank seizure, frenzied negotiations, and a result where Dranoff is to buy and build condos on the newly addressed 777 S. Broad St. Bravo Dranoff.
But the press hardly covered it except to understate the thing -- supposedly Gamble is a "partner" with Dranoff. But Gamble gets a lot of mileage out of being a minority do-nothing partner in exchange for credit, a trophy/award ceremony, and no questions asked about the specifics of his role. Ditto Symphony House.
The press is constantly "amazed" by things its own colleagues went to a lot of trouble to write about. How does that happen?
Posted by Anonymous | March 15, 2008 3:23 PM
It ASTOUNDS me that the local press is not seeing how this works -- Universal and Gamble are so far behind on all their projects, that neighbors in Hawthorne AND SWCC complained. The RDA condemned property to give to Universal, and neighbors complained that they haven't finished what they started, but to no avail. Johnny Doc creamed himself to effusively praise Universal, which likely got more results as a PAC contributor as Doc was Treasurer at the time of the Democratic City Committee.
The roles as actual affordable housing builder with accountability and performance metrics never interested Doc in his role as Chair of the RDA, however.
And this NEVER crossed the minds of the local press? No wonder the Washington Post had to break the emails with HUD hacks trumping up reasons to pull PHA money.
The thing the press won't see is the very thing that would build more actual affordable housing in real time -- that the city agencies really do get enough money to do the job of affordable housing.
But, drumroll, THEY WASTE IT. Because these are Dem contributors, that waste, fraud, and abuse is not interesting to your writers/Dem Ctte people.
You have to be honest to be a true journalist. The truth is that for every one of the lots that Universal's various companies sit on and do nothing with, for every failed project that Universal partners on, from Hawthorne to MLK Plaza, to 17th and Carpetner's failed partnership with UCH, SOSNA and PHA, to the long delayed affordable senior housing by the partnership of Odunde/Osun Village with Universal, to the failed strip of long vacant properties in the 1500 block of South St. that is supposed to have been the entertainment district that reused the Royal Theater and surrounding vacant lots -- those partnerships with the Reinvestment Fund writing a mortgage that Universal defaulted on, those redevelopment agreements that the RDA just ignored and rewrote several dozen times to make Universal not look like it's violating its contracts with the city -- all of it is is why there is not enough affordable housing.
But to just cry for more money is much easier than to research and read deed record info, redevelopment agreements, and to ask tough questions of all the pols that signed off on this fraud.
Universal Companies is a fraud. For every property it builds, 20 properties it promised to build are vacant lots that it pretends to not know what happened to the money it got to build.
PHA at least is more open accountable group that you can read an annual report for.
The fault is a triumvirate of neglect: Universal, Local Politicians who take those kickbacks, er, contributions, and the press for not digging for the truth, for not following up on tips, for not following up on your own work, for not having any real idea.
Specter and Casey leaked those emails to the Post and NOT the PMH because your rep as a party rag is so well-established.
Sad thing is, that is just as deadly as any neglect or divide created by the GOP. It's weird, because Specter, Republican, is a fan of public housing that is well run. But the local papers are so fawning that they can't decide for themselves why these well funded generous affordable housing builders aren't doing it.
What do YOU think Universal should do with all the vacant property it has now, besides not get still more of it to sit on and do nothing with from PHA?
Anyone gonna write about that?
Posted by Anonymous | March 15, 2008 3:39 PM
Kim Kendrick at HUD should not be holding the office she does. Her solution and response in the Philadelphia scandal speaks volumes about her character. She continues her threats and resolution of these threats by "donation" (much like Gov. Blagojevich's donation requests). Pay-to-Play is alive and well in DC, not just Chicago.
US Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Alphonso Jackson resigned in April 2008. Orlando Cabrera resigned next. Why is Kim Kendrick still at HUD?
Posted by Hag | December 14, 2008 10:13 AM