The community is right to be suspicious of this deal. Iron Stone is a dirty developer and we spent years fighting them. For renters, their MO is to buy a place, start treating tenants like inmates, cut services, install abusive property managers, harass longtime tenants, and do active campaigns to change the demographics of their buildings. The community shouldn’t trust them, and the city government shouldn’t be making sweetheart deals to line the pockets of these developers.
We need public oversight of public land. Stop subsidizing landlords and developers with public money!
www.phillytrib.com/news/local_news/city-council-urged-to-stall-vote-on-former-provident-mutual/ar...
City Council urged to stall vote on former Provident Mutual site
phillytrib.com
Days before the City Council was expected to make a final vote on a bill to begin the transfer of the former Provident Mutual Life Insurance Co. property at 4601Next time you hear someone say that the solution to the housing crisis is just to "build more," think about Ireland. For every person in emergency shelter there, there are 27 empty houses.
27.
www.thejournal.ie/empty-houses-homelessness-3265373-Mar2017/?fbclid=IwAR1dJVQSdSy7NEp_kgX_P6bAfPR...
There are 27 empty houses for every one person in emergency accommodation
thejournal.ie
The Simon Communities want vacant properties to be used to boost social housing supply.Powerful.Today, David Blumenfeld was supposed to be awarded 'Developer of the Year' by the Philadelphia Inquirer, but apparently failed to show up! It's all good though, we still came out to the event to tell the attendees how this man is suing one of our classmates unjustly and has put countless people on the streets in Philadelphia.
Get ready. Join the union.
“In the coming months, the PTU will continue to advocate for housing reform, including expanded provisions for Good Cause, right-to-counsel, and ultimately rent control.”
planphilly.com/articles/2018/12/07/philadelphia-renters-win-new-protections-at-city-hall-with-pas...
"As families fought to keep homes targeted by the DA, the revenues from the forfeiture sales became a big moneymaker for local law enforcement – netting some $6 million annually in the best years. The proceeds turned into an unregulated budget split between the police and DA. The money made off of the seized homes went to buy wish list items ranging from new submachine guns to custom uniform embroidery."
"These seizures were notably focused in black and Latino neighborhoods with high rates of poverty. Forty-one percent of all forfeited properties were concentrated in just four ZIP codes in North Philadelphia and Kensington, all with majority black or Latino populations and poverty rates well above the city’s average. For comparison, other large swaths of the Philadelphia, such as Center City, never saw a single property forfeited. Ever."
Larry Krasner for DA has also done nothing to crack down on illegal evictions in the city, especially with Admiral & Dorsett Court Apartments where tenants were threatened with violence and locked out.
Who do you protect, who do you serve?
whyy.org/articles/inside-the-philadelphia-das-side-hustle-selling-seized-homes-to-speculators-and...
Inside the Philadelphia DA’s side hustle — selling seized homes to speculators and cops
whyy.org
The DA auctions off seized homes to the highest bidder, for cash that went back to the law enforcement agencies. The legal process is known as civil asset forfeiture.Minneapolis Just Passed the Most Important Housing Reform in America
slate.com
With one change, the city confronts segregation, high rent, and long commutes.As Rental Prices Rise, Women Stay In Bad Relationships to Survive
broadly.vice.com
With rental prices going up in major cities across the globe, a sizeable percentage of women report being in an unwanted sexual relationship to avoid homelessness.