PHA joins call for stimulus consideration

    Members of the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation are calling on the department of Housing and Urban Development to consider more housing authorities for stimulus money.

    Members of the Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation are calling on the department of Housing and Urban Development to consider more housing authorities for stimulus money. Dozens of housing authorities across the state, including Philadelphia, have been left out of the competition for a billion dollars in stimulus funds.

    Listen:
    [audio: 090522tmpha.mp3]

    The funding from HUD is designed to help housing agencies in need of money, but Philadelphia and other major cities are being excluded because they don’t use HUD’s standard reporting practices. Philadelphia Housing Authority Executive Director Carl Greene says PHA is hoping for a reconsideration.

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    Greene: We have some of the most distressed housing conditions in the nation. We have a lot of scattered parcels that need to be rebuild or modernized a lot of older properties and it’s a cause for concern we want to have equal access to compete with other authorities in the country.

    Greene says PHA has enough work to use all of the billion dollars in stimulus funds and then some.

    HUD officials say they’re reviewing concerns from housing agencies.

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