I wish the Pulse article had done a better job of laying out the issues here. I've heard a lot of talk about this but don't have a clear understanding of all the twists and turns.
My impression is that most of the residents have lived in the houses for a long time and have strong ties to their houses and the neighborhood. The possibility of ownership has been held out to them for a long time. They see the 1999 restructuring as a further removal of that possibility. In terms of the effect on the residents, it's a little as if a bank was able to unilaterally change the terms of mortgages every few years. I believe that the CDC controls virtually all of the housing stock in the neighborhood. Saying "If you don't like the deal, then don't buy the house" means telling longtime residents, "If you don't like our terms, you can move." It's also my impression that the residents have a profound mistrust of the West Bank CDC. The ongoing lack of answers about the Dania Hall fire contributes to that mistrust. The Strib article from November 26 (that Ms. Heller referred to earlier) went into detail about how the long delay in sale of the building and lack of insurance came about, pointing fingers at Joan Campbell and at the WBCDC. Rosalind Nelson Bancroft neighborhood, Ward 8 Cara Letofsky wrote: > I am sorry to see the intense criticm of the West Bank CDC's > Transition Home Program. Seems to me that what they are trying to do > is provide people with opportunities to own their own homes and the > restrictions are an attempt to make them available to the next > families as well. In this way the community investment in the houses > that make them available to the first buyers are available to future > buyers. > > If you don't like the deal, then don't buy the house. > > What do you all think? > > Cara Letofsky > _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
