Federal judge green-lights desegregation housing rule after Carson tries to block it

[babylonsister]

https://thinkprogress.org/federal-judge-green-lights-desegregation-housing-rule-after-carson-tries-to-block-it-58f03e55f20e/


Federal judge green-lights desegregation housing rule after Carson tries to block it
On January 1st, low-income people will have access to better affordable housing.
Amanda Michelle Gomez
Dec 24, 2017, 1:19 pm


The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) needs to implement an Obama-era rule on January 1, 2018 that enables low-income people to afford housing in high-opportunity areas with better schools, a federal judge ordered Saturday.

Under the leadership of Secretary Ben Carson, HUD announced in August it was delaying the rule for two years, saying the agency needed to further evaluate it. Several civil rights organizations — including the Legal Defense Fund — immediately filed a lawsuit against the agency’s decision. Chief Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled against HUD Saturday evening, saying it did not provide “notice and comment or particularized evidentiary findings” to substantiate delaying the rule.

Link to tweet

The Small Area Fair Market Rent rule would tweak the formula for public housing subsidies. More than 5 million people use “Section 8” public housing vouchers to afford rent on the private market; “Section 8” refers to the statute that created the subsidies. On average, voucher holders direct 30 percent of their incomes to rent, and the federal government pays the rest. The subsidy is currently based on metropolitan-wide rent; as of January 1st, the formula will change to a ZIP-code based approach.

The new formula empowers voucher holders — who are disproportionately African-American — to afford housing in more affluent areas, which see more job opportunities, lower crime rates, and better schools. The rule goes into effect in 23 metropolitan areas and should not cost the administration any more money, according to The Atlantic.

“This case is about more than just housing. Of course, they hope to live in a higher-quality residences, but it’s really about people who want to move to better and safer neighborhoods, but they can’t because of the value of their voucher. It’s about schools and transportation and doctor visits and grocery stores that people want to be able to access to support their families,” Senior Counsel with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund Ajmel Quereshi told The Intercept in October.

Civil rights activists have long been skeptical of HUD under Carson. In 2015, Carson labeled Obama-era desegregation rules “mandated social-engineering schemes.”

[pangaia]

1. Sick fucks come in all shapes, sizes and colors...

[Kittycow]

2. Break out of poverty while my heel grinds you down.

Great formula for success.

[mopinko]

3. section 8 is so fucked up in chicago.

cha is a ridiculous agency.
it is all but impossible to get a phone call through to anyone. and the field agents call from blocked id's so you cant call them back. they screwed up on an appt, and when we missed another, we ended up blocked.
i tried to get an apt certified for sect 8. the only flaw they found was 2 outlets w reversed polarity. but scheduling a follow up to check that we had fixed this awful flaw got hosed up, and we got turned down.
another 2 flat owner on the block had the same experience.

stupid. these units were exactly what they were supposed to be looking for.

dumbest thing is that the unit was certified before we bought the building, in spite of many maintenance problems. we spent a pretty penny fixing it up, but couldnt get it certified.

there is some deep rot there.

[Scurrilous]

4. K&R