MPHA has posted a video on their website titled “Pathways to Preservation” that attempts to mislead MPHA residents and the broader public about their plans for the future of public housing in Minneapolis. Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition (DG&PHC) has analyzed the video in order to demonstrate the ways MPHA lies, distorts, and omits the truth in order to push their privatization agenda. We have identified and documented 18 of the biggest lies and misleading statements presented in the short video. We encourage all residents and allies to use this document we have created to push back on the PR spin MPHA uses in their conversations with residents and the public. Continue reading →

On Monday, April 9, facing mounting criticism over privatization plans for Minneapolis public housing, Mayor Jacob Frey appeared at an “East African Community Forum on Housing.” To host the event, Mayor Frey had to bring in Asad Aliweyd, a political operative on the payroll of the Department of Homeland Security’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) anti-Muslim surveillance and community infiltration program, exposing Mayor Frey’s dwindling support in the Minneapolis East African community

While the event was clearly intended to rally support on the issue of housing, many in the audience felt let down by what they saw as more empty rhetoric.   Continue reading →

Glendale Townhomes is a public housing property managed by the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA). It is located in the Prospect Park neighborhood of Minneapolis and surrounded by many businesses, light rail and bus access, schools, green space, and community assets used by current residents. There are 184 units in Glendale Townhomes, distributed across 28 buildings on a 14.5-acre site. Inspired by Hubert H. Humphrey, Glendale Townhomes is one of MPHA’s most historic properties. It has been the home of many famous athletes, city leaders, and a University of Minnesota community extension education program in the 1960’s. These elements make Glendale Townhomes the perfect resident-driven candidate for the City of Minneapolis’ historic preservation designation. Continue reading →

March 5th, 2018 –  For months, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA) and its director Gregory Russ have insisted there are no current plans for privatizing Minneapolis public housing. However, a “portfolio strategy” document from December 2017, put together by MPHA contractor CSG Advisors, Inc. after months of analysis, includes detailed recommendations for privatization, redevelopment, and other measures. Continue reading →

If you haven’t yet heard, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is currently under fire for spending $31,000 of taxpayer dollars on a dining set at the same time HUD was proposing massive cuts to public housing and Section 8 programs. Observers have rightly pointed out the hypocrisy of his lavish spending at a time when HUD is proposing to cut critical programs that support and house the lowest income and most vulnerable people across the country due to “insufficient funds.” Continue reading →

On Friday, February 23 the Center for Urban & Regional Affairs (CURA) announced the findings of their research on gentrification in Minneapolis & St. Paul. They confirmed what everyone in the Twin Cities already knows: gentrification is happening here. Their research showed that neighborhoods in North, Northeast, and Phillips / Elliot Park in Minneapolis, along with the Hamline-Midway, West Side, West 7th, and Frogtown neighborhoods in St. Paul have gentrified. The researchers made a point to emphasize that they used a conservative measure of gentrification, based on data that ended in 2015. It is therefore likely that gentrification is happening in more communities than just those specifically highlighted by this study.

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Let’s compare what people’s rents would look like in public housing vs. AMI housing: Continue reading →

February 8, 2018 – Two weeks ago, the Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition (DG&PHC) sent a letter to Minneapolis City Council members, recommending the Council immediately review the activities of the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA). We included documents DG&PHC has obtained through public records requests – including contracts, invoices, and work products – proving that MPHA and its contractors have quietly undertaken extensive privatization planning for Minneapolis public housing over the past year. We called particular attention to MPHA’s request to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the authority to release two properties from legal protections known as Declarations of Trust (DOTs). DOTs are the foundation for public ownership of public housing, and releasing them opens the door to privatization. Continue reading →

On September 6, 2017, MPHA’s communications manager Jeff Horwich wrote an email to the McKnight Foundation about a then-upcoming event hosted by Rep. Ilhan Omar called “Coffee and Kulan: Affordable Housing.” He wrote, “It promises to be interesting–our first demonstration of what Rep. Omar’s support can mean as we move forward.”

Then, on September 15, Horwich sent an internal email to further highlight Rep. Omar’s event. He wrote, “It goes without saying why this is a particularly notable event and location.  Rep. Omar’s district includes both Glendale and Cedar-Riverside, two areas very important to us.  There will certainly be questions from the audience, and it could get interesting.  Rep. Omar has expressed her intent to help us move our conversation forward in this potentially most difficult of places, and this will be our first chance to see what her involvement could mean.” Continue reading →

Last week, the McKnight Foundation issued an email to Minneapolis City Council members implying the Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition’s (DG&PHC) December 8 public statement included a “mischaracterization” of its $1 million grant to the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority (MPHA). However, McKnight failed to specify for council members which part of our statement allegedly mischaracterized their grant, or explain how it did so.

In fact, our statement contained no mischaracterization, while McKnight’s rhetorical sleight of hand fits in neatly with MPHA’s longstanding pattern of downplaying and obfuscating its now well-documented privatization plans. Continue reading →