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| National CAPACD E-Newsletter February 2007 |
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Contents:
1) National CAPACD ACTION TA Program Welcomes Chhaya CDC/NEDAP Collaborative
2) Agreement Reached on Kukui Gardens
3) 110th Congress Hearing on Hurricane Katrina Recovery
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1) National CAPCD ACTION TA Program Welcomes Chhaya CDC/NEDAP Collaboration
National CAPACD is excited to add Chhaya Community Development
Corporation (CDC) and the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy
Project (NEDAP) to our ACTION Technical Assistance program.
Established in 2000, Chhaya CDC is the only community development
corporation providing homeownership education and counseling to the
South Asian community in the New York Metropolitan Area. NEDAP is
a recognized expert in the intersection of immigrant rights with
consumer and privacy rights – a particularly important confluence
in a post 9/11 environment.
In this partnership, NEDAP will develop a unique financial justice and
homeownership education curriculum for Chhaya CDC’s upcoming
immigrant homeownership program, spearhead ‘Train the
Trainers’ sessions for Chhaya CDC staff members, provide ongoing
technical assistance and continually update the curriculum over the
course of the collaboration.
The curriculum and ‘Train the Trainers’ sessions will
deepen, institutionalize and tailor Chhaya CDC’s homeownership
and financial literacy education efforts to the South Asian
community’s needs.
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2) Agreement Reached on Kukui Gardens
Residents of Kukui Gardens in Hawaii, the
nation’s largest 221(d)3 low-income housing project, recently
reached a promising agreement with buyer Carmel Partners. Located
just outside of Honolulu’s Chinatown, Kukui Gardens residents
have faced the threat of sale to a private owner since January
2006.
The new agreement allows local organization Faith Action for Community
Equity (FACE) and the Kukui Gardens Residents Association to purchase
nearly half of Kukui Gardens’ units (415 of the 857 units) and
maintain their affordability. FACE and the Residents Association
plan to build an additional 400 units for residents of Carmel
Partners’ units before rents increase in 2011. To carry out
the plan, however, FACE and the residents need $55 million in funding
from the state legislature, many of whose members have expressed both
support and concern for the residents’ efforts.
Kukui Gardens provides affordable housing for nearly 2500 Asian
American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian families and seniors,
more than half of whom have incomes under 50% of the median income of
Honolulu. When owners of the project tried to circumvent contract
provisions with HUD that keep Kukui Gardens affordable until the
mortgage expires in 2011, residents and advocates organized, eventually
bringing their complaints to court.
Expiring use projects exist in many communities of color across the
country, but limited information and preservation resources restrict
the ability of nonprofits and community development organizations to
acquire these properties and maintain their affordability.
National CAPACD will continue our efforts to support Kukui Gardens
residents in their fight to maintain their affordable housing.
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3) 110th Congress Hearing on Hurricane Katrina Recovery
The House Financial Services Committee began the 110th
Congress with a daylong hearing on the federal housing response to
Hurricane Katrina. The panel explored a number of issues,
including the loss of affordable rental housing units, housing
assistance for displaced families, the return of residents to public
housing, efforts to provide grants to homeowners, and the prevalence of
housing discrimination in the region since the hurricanes.
During the hearing, Congressman Al Green (D-TX), Chair of the
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus’ Housing Task Force,
highlighted the importance of language access for the more than 66,000
Asian Americans impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, of which 17
percent are limited English proficient.
Congressman Green noted, “Whether it is access to disaster
assistance or participation in the rebuilding process, we must work
hard to ensure that language barriers are not an issue for Vietnamese
American and immigrant communities in the Gulf Coast.”
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