Acorn’s Down… and Up Again?

ACORN, the 40-year-old, nationwide community organizing group has suffered more political fallout in 2009 than any number of shamed political officials embattling a public scandal, never mind the fact that the organization hasn’t exactly been a darling of the right wing over the years.

But when the group was stripped of its federal funding by way of a resolution passed overwhelmingly by the U.S. House of Representatives in the wake of an embarrassing incident where two right wing activists, dressed as a pimp and a prostitute, filmed themselves receiving home buying advice from a local ACORN chapter, a handful of Acorn supporters cried foul. And now a federal judge agrees. The move to ban federal funding was, indeed, unconstitutional, according to a ruling handed down in December by a U.S. District Court judge.

The Justice Department is reviewing the decision, and it will be interesting to see how the largely right-wing opposition to ACORN will respond. But perhaps it will be more interesting to see how one-time friends of ACORN will react, or if they will react at all. Is there any turning of the political tide for ACORN?

Starrett City Stays Affordable

Starrett City, the largest federally subsidized housing complex in the country, will remain affordable for another 30 years, easing the minds of residents worrying that a proposed sale would cause rents there to skyrocket. Earlier in 2009, owners of the 140-acre development sold the property that included affordability provisions for working- and middle-class families—provisions that capped a protracted fight between the owners, elected officials, and tenant advocates and residents worrying that the sale would result in elevated prices due to a high sale price (once thought to be in the $1.3 billion range) could encourage new owners to opt out of an affordable housing component, marketing units to a higher-income demographic.

The 46-tower, 5,881-unit Starrett City will remain affordable under the Mitchell-Lama Housing Program, a state housing subsidy program, following the propertys sale. In July, the current owners picked a final roster of four potential buyers. Most of the bidders are non-profits; tax-exempt groups who could finance the purchase of the Brooklyn property through the sale of bonds—a sale still considered one of the biggest real-estate deals of the year, despite the falling price tag that, according to The New York Times, is now in the $800 to $900 million range. The Brooklyn-based Christian Cultural Center is reportedly the lone remaining bidder on the property.

Permanent Mortgage Modifications Fall Short of Expectations

Only a very small fraction of mortgage modifications made under the $75 billion Making Home Affordable program have been made permanent, triggering some tough talk from the Obama administration, but clearly showing that the program, launched last spring, still needs work if it’s going to make a dent in the ongoing foreclosure crisis. With just over 100,000 homeowners receiving permanent changes to their loans, the administration contends that it is still on track to permanently modify 3 to 4 million loans over the next few years.

In related news, the oversight panel assembled to assess the progress of the Troubled Asset Relief Program released a report in December offering, in part, its own concerns on Making Home Affordable (whose funding comes from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), because banks that did receive TARP funds were not modifying loans as quickly as the government had hoped. “The Making Home Affordable Program has not yet shown that it has the scale, the scope, or the permanence to resolve the foreclosure crisis,” said Elizabeth Warren, who chairs the Congressional Oversight Panel.

A Roadblock in Manhattanville

Columbia University’s plan to expand its Harlem campus north into a 17-acre parcel currently occupied by warehouses and auto repair shops was put to a halt by the New York State Supreme Court’s appellate division, citing a misuse of the eminent domain law by the state on the universitys behalf. Specifically, the court ruled that there was no civic purpose behind the schools expansion plan. The school’s developer contends that the proposed project would offer civic value, citing education, community vitality, and increased job opportunities.

But the expansion has caused a good deal of strife among local businesses and residents, as well as the prospects outlined in a 30-year plan to enhance the urban campus that Shelterforce examined in 2008 (Will Columbia Take Manhattanville? Shelterforce #153), and the university is seen among many residents has having a history of neighborhood encroachment.

Columbia’s expansion efforts represent all the classic elements of a major institution in built-out environs, seeking to expand to remain state-of-the-art and competitive, all the while remaining in its original setting. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, considering that the New York State Court of Appeals recently allowed for the use of eminent domain in Brooklyn for the future home of the New Jersey Nets (another controversial project). Columbia has all but called the area intended for development “blighted,” so stay tuned for the schools next move—a move residents are already anticipating.

A New Approach to Youth Violence

Heightened awareness, new school programs, and increased police presence, are only some of the methods used to curb youth violence, but a new study underway at the University of Chicago that looks at different ways to tackle the issue is also looking at whether the public and private monies are, in fact, cost-effective.

The program, Becoming a Man—Sports Edition, headed up by World Sports Chicago and the University of Chicago Crime Lab includes a group-based youth intervention program spearheaded by Youth Guidance, a private counseling organization, as well as training in Olympic sports like fencing, judo, and archery. Then, university evaluators will use a research model similar to a clinical trial in medicine to gauge the efficacy of the program.

In 2008, Shelterforce took a look at various programs geared toward at-risk youth around the country (Trading Bullets for a Better Future Shelterforce #155), including a look at the clinical approach to crime prevention as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regards violence as a public health issue as it relates to physical and psychological harm.