5825449 Public Roundtable on New Communities Initiative & The Right to Return

C O U N C I L  O F  T H E  D I S T R I C T  O F  C O LU M BI A

C O M M I TT EE  O N  H O US I NG  AN D  C O M M UNI T Y  D E V ELO P M EN T

N O T I C E  O F  P U BL IC  R O UND T AB L E

1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004

 

 

 

COUNCILMEMBER ANITA BONDS, CHAIRPERSON COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

ANNOUNCES A PUBLIC ROUNDTABLE OF THE COMMITTEE

ON THE ISSUE OF

 

NEW COMMUNITIES INITIATIVE & THE RIGHT TO RETURN

 

on

 

Thursday, January 28, 2016, at 1:00 PM John A. Wilson Building, Room 412 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20004

 

 

 

Councilmember Anita Bonds, Chairperson of the Committee on Housing and Community Development, will hold a public roundtable on the issue of New Communities Initiative and the right to return. The public hearing will be held on Thursday, January 28, 2016, at 1:00 PM in Room 412 of the John A. Wilson Building.

 

The New Communities Initiative (NCI) is a District of Columbia government effort that began in 2005 with the goal of revitalizing and rebuilding specific communities that have experienced high levels of disinvestment, crime and poverty. The NCI approach is two-fold: 1) to improve the living conditions of residents in the District, particularly those living in public and other subsidized housing, by providing access to quality affordable housing options; and 2) to empower residents by improving their access to workforce and economic development opportunities, educational opportunities, and health and wellness initiatives. NCI’s challenge and opportunity is to manage the physical transformation of public and subsidized housing while also preventing displacement, preserving affordability, and acting as a catalyst for additional affordable development in ways that other mixed-income projects and initiatives have struggled.

 

The New Communities Initiative (NCI) seeks to build new affordable housing with wraparound services adjacent to decaying complexes in order to provide tenants new homes that would simultaneously instigate mixed-income development. A key principle of NCI is the right of existing residents to return.  To date, though, eligibility requirements to return to redeveloped properties have varied and are often stricter than the requirements to enter traditional public housing, which can complicate NCI’s goals to prevent displacement in its redevelopment efforts. The roundtable seeks to clarify such issues in order to establish a safety net for our public housing residents against displacement and to clarify the tenants’ responsibilities as contributing members of the community and city.

Those who wish to testify are requested to telephone the Committee on Housing and Community Development, at [phone], or email [e-mail], and provide their name, address, telephone number, organizational affiliation and title (if any), by close of business on January 27, 2016. Those who wish to sign up other individuals for testimony are encouraged to inform those individuals to contact the committee clerk for confirmation. Persons wishing to testify are encouraged to submit 15 copies of written testimony. Oral testimony should be limited to three minutes for individuals and five minutes for organizations.

 

If you are unable to testify at the public hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record.  Written statements should be submitted to the Committee on Housing and Community Development, John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 112, Washington, D.C. 20004. The record will close at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, February 11, 2016.