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July 06, 2006
Who is the Worst Slumlord in NYC? The Feds!
The Village Voice, an alternative news daily based in NYC, held a contest for the dubious honor of being the worst slumlord in New York. Guess who won? Why the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) that’s who. And they won hands down too. How’s that you say?
“The current HUD scandal”, says the article, “is rooted in an earlier one. In the 1990s, corrupt real estate investors exploited HUD's 203(k) program, taking huge mortgage and renovation loans based on inflated building values. As landlords, they then spent the rent and let their buildings rot. James Lewis, who founded Harlem Operation Take Back to press HUD to rehab the 203(k) buildings and who now works for a low-income-housing developer, estimates that speculators defrauded the government out of close to $200 million in the city. After City Limits exposed the scandal, HUD started large-scale foreclosures on the buildings. Rick Echevarria, associate director of Bushwick Housing Independence Project, estimates that around 3,000 people across New York City have been directly affected by the 203(k) implosion.”
Greed, corruption, politics, bureaucratic agendas, and powerful monied interests all came together to make this festering pus.
Posted by Ali Massoud at July 6, 2006 12:38 AM
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