Below is my statement at last nights City Council meeting regarding Cambridge Housing: On December 17, 2014, the Housing Committee heard from Greg Russ, Executive Director of the Cambridge Housing Authority, and his staff. At that meeting, we received confirmation that for at least the next 24 months, the Housing Authority will be effectively freezing their waiting lists, as the CHA begins a large-scale renovation project on many of its properties. It was explained to the Housing Committee that the CHA feels it is necessary to keep as many units open and available as it can, to relocate those who will be temporarily displaced from their apartments while they are being renovated. These units would otherwise have been made available for people on the waiting list, but for the next 24 months, the waiting list is going to slow down significantly. This news is not welcome, of course, but my personal feelings do not change the reality of the situation: this is happening, this is going to impact many people who are desperate for housing, and we need to work together, as a community, to figure out how to best advise and assist those who are just not able to wait until 2017 for an affordable unit. We WILL be holding additional conversations with the CHA to help determine how to best work through this situation, and I have also brought forward a motion, which passed, that the Mayor convene a Roundtable as soon as possible to allow us to discuss this matter more in-depth as we figure out how to best assist our constituents who have immediate housing needs. I urge that we hold these conversations as soon as possible. I’ll propose that we bring in the various housing agencies operating in our city, and that we also look to our friends in neighboring communities, to get a better understanding of what options exist for those who have a dire and immediate need for housing. I will certainly be doing everything in my power to work on this issue, and to get more concrete answers for our constituents, in the days and weeks ahead. Thank you.
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 13:48:31 +0000
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