In 2019, MPHA laid out a series of financial documents that tell the real story of what will happen to the Elliot Twins after RAD privatization (which they call “conversion”). Here is an excerpt from one of their documents (https://tinyurl.com/Elliot-RADConversion-Overview, page 2): 

Key Facts:

●  The Elliot Twins apartments, located in Minneapolis Ward 6, have been public housing on public land, protected by a Declaration of Trust (DOT), since they were built in 1969

●     RAD conversion will eliminate the DOT and privatize the buildings

●     There are currently 174 units (87 per building): 50% studios and 50% one-bedrooms

●     Current residents are 100% low-income and poor, with the majority being elders/seniors, and disabled residents from East African and African American communities

●     The majority of current residents are on a fixed monthly income of $750 from Social Security, which is $9k per year and is below 10% of the current Twin Cities Area Median Income (AMI). They pay 30% of that income ($225 a month) for rent

●     10 additional units will be added after RAD conversion, and out of the resulting 184 units only 19 units (~10%) will be for residents that make 30% AMI ($30k year) or below

●     155 units (~84%) will be for middle-class residents that make 60% AMI ($60k per year)

●     10 units (~5%) will be for wealthier residents that make 61%-80% AMI  ($61K-$80k per year)

What Does This Mean?

The new residents that will move into the privatized Elliot Twins will not be public housing residents. These shocking figures show that over 90% of current residents will be displaced once the Elliot Twins are privatized. They do not make enough money to come back. The private subsidiary, Elliot Twins LP, that will take over the property will not be publicly accountable and can screen and discriminate against applicants for the remaining 10% of units available to people making less than 30% AMI.

Who is Responsible?

MPHA and the City of Minneapolis have worked hard for three years to silence and demonize the voices of public housing residents at Elliot Twins and leaders of DG&PHC who were organizing together to stop this privatization and displacement. Mayor Jacob Frey, Abdi Warsame (former CM of Ward 6 and now Director of MPHA), Andrea Jenkins (Ward 8), and the City’s Housing Policy & Development Committee – Cam Gordon (Ward 2), Jeremiah Ellison (Ward 5), Lisa Bender (Ward 10), Lisa Goodman (Ward 7), Kevin Reich (Ward 1) and Jeremy Schroeder (Ward 12) – ALL passed a resolution and Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to privatize Minneapolis public housing starting with Elliot Twins, and they ALL promised that no one would be displaced. Now their promises turned out to be false. They are responsible for over 90% of the current elders and disabled residents of Elliot Twins public housing being displaced from their homes and community as we are facing COVID19 Pandemic. What is their answer to this? 

Sources:

https://tinyurl.com/Elliot-RADConversion-Overview

https://shelterforce.org/2019/03/21/fearing-privatization-public-housing-activists-push-back-against-rad-plans/

https://metrocouncil.org/Communities/Services/Livable-Communities-Grants/2017-Ownership-and-Rent-Affordability-Limits.aspx

We are demanding that MPHA & the City of Minneapolis halt all evictions for Public Housing residents, Section 8 & PBRA Voucher holders. We also ask that MPHA creates a protocol for households who have lost income due to Covid-19, & house all the houseless members of our community NOW. Public Housing Authorities all over the country have announced moratoriums on evictions, and while HUD should be announcing details for a national moratorium soon, it is still unclear whether or not that will protect Section 8 residents and PBRA Voucher Holders. MPHA is the largest public housing authority in the state, & it is also one of the largest evicters in the city. Despite the pandemic, MPHA employees have continued to harass public housing residents for new lease signages. They will not protect the residents on their own. That is why the City of Minneapolis needs to protect all residents of income-based housing immediately. Among us are some of the most vulnerable to Covid-19; poor and disabled residents who cannot afford an eviction. MPHA must halt all evictions NOW.

Finally, the City of Minneapolis must house all the houseless members of our community immediately. Aside from the many vacant homes and apartments operated by MPHA, our city is full of vacant homes, apartments, & condos- many of which were developed using gov. subsidies. Give them up! There are vacant units right now that were developed using the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). There are people right now that are at risk of contracting a dangerous virus due to experiencing houselessness. Give them up. House the houseless in your city Jacob Frey! A public health crisis like the one we are currently experiencing is not only fixed through individual efforts. It requires collectivism & care for all in our community. Those of us who have homes cannot just stay inside, we have to make sure everyone has a home to go inside to. Call your city councilor, Mayor Jacob Frey, MPHA, and demand a stop to evictions, an immediate and urgent protocol to aid families who’ve lost employment and income, and housing for the houseless. We need these securities, and we need them today.

http://m.startribune.com/minneapolis-agency-director-scott-will-lead-chicago-s-housing-authority/568563742/;  In 2017, Interim Director Tracey Scott was hired by Greg Russ as Deputy Director for MPHA, where her mission became the ending public housing in Minneapolis. She moved from Atlanta after the Hope VI program she helped to implement left Atlanta with empty lots, a housing crisis, mass houselessness, and 50,000 public housing residents displaced from their homes and communities; https://www.dgphc.org/2019/11/04/who-is-tracey-scott-the-new-interim-director-of-mpha/. Just like Greg Russ moved from MPHA to NYCHA to end public housing in New York City, Tracey Scott is now being rewarded the Executive Director position at the Chicago Public Housing Authority with a salary of over $300k. 

In Minneapolis, Tracey Scott led a culture of:  

• Misinformation, lies, a general lack of transparency, and accountability regarding the Section 18 Demolition & Disposition which will privatize over 740 single- family homes known as scattered-sites.
• Along with Mayor Frey and Council President Lisa Bender, and Greg Russ and Tracey Scott pushed for Section 18 to be implemented in Minneapolis for the first time in this city’s history after President Trump and HUD Secretary Ben Carson gutted all resident protections allowing public housing agencies to end  public housing voluntarily; https://www.dgphc.org/2019/07/10/section-18-demolition-disposition-a-fact-sheet/.
• Intimidation: Under her leadership, public housing residents were intimidated with evictions and consequences if they don’t sign the Section 18 lease addendums. There was general confusion among residents, especially residents that don’t speak English that occurred under Tracey; https://www.dgphc.org/2020/03/01/mpha-forces-residents-to-sign-a-new-lease-for-section-18-disposition-demolition/.
• Under her leadership, MPHA staff targeted and harassed public housing leaders who organized to keep public housing public and protect their homes and community. 
• Neglect: During her tenure, five people died in a fire at Cedars Public Housing. The victims were elderly and disabled residents and were not moved to temporary safe housing until the fumes and toxins cleared. Residents are still suffering from health issues from the fire. 
• Bullying: Victims of the fire were bullied about talking to the media or activists about their state of affairs; https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/30/minneapolis-cedar-high-public-housing-fire .
• Lack of leadership and accountability: Tracey Scott knew that the Cedar along with the rest of the buildings needed sprinklers- it was stated in the MPHA annual report, but this was intentionally ignored even though MPHA received a 45% increase in their repair and maintenance budget from HUD; https://www.dgphc.org/2018/10/12/mpha-can-afford-to-keep-public-housing-public/.
• Under the leadership of Greg Russ and Tracy Scott, along with Mayor Frey and Council President Lisa Bender, MPHA stated that they didn’t have funds even though the 2019 Omnibus Bill increased funding for public housing.

In this letter, MPHA pushes residents to sign a new lease, where CHR (Community Housing Resources) will be their new landlord and not MPHA. This will complete the conversion process of over 746 homes from the public to private ownership through Section 18 Disposition & Demolition. CHR is the MPHA created nonprofit that will have .001% ownership of the properties once residents have signed the leases. Even though MPHA says it owns CHR, once the Section 18 conversion is complete CHR will be an independent non-profit private corporation that will bring private investors and lenders to own the properties with millions of affordable housing funds from the State and City. Once this takes place, the properties will no longer be under the protection of the Declaration to Trust (DOT) and will no longer be public. Rents will increase, and residents will face displacement.

1. In the letter, MPHA says, “You will not move and your benefits will not change” but MPHA does not guarantee that CHR will keep rents at 30% of residents’ income as it is now. This means the homes will be “affordable housing” and not public housing. As a result, rents will increase which will displace majority low-income Black and Black Muslim scattered-site families.
2. In the letter, scattered-site residents are told to come to the MPHA office on Tuesday, February 25th, Thursday, February 27th, and Friday, February 28th 2020 to sign the new lease that will make CHR the new owner of their homes.
3. Scattered-site residents received this letter/notice on Friday, February 21, 2020, and the letters were mailed Thursday, February 20, 2020, giving residents less than a week’s notice.
4. MPHA did not provide copies of the new lease beforehand, and it was not mailed to residents before they were told to sign.
5. Scattered-site residents were not given a 30-day notice to review the new lease which is a violation of state and city laws.
6. Somali scattered-site residents were called after the letter was mailed by MPHA staff and were told if they don’t sign the lease, “they will face evictions.”
7. Scattered-site residents were not given time to access legal support or advocates to help them understand the new contract they are forced to sign.
8. MPHA wants scattered-site residents to sign the new lease even if residents have language barriers, can’t read or write English or have an accessibility issue.
9. MPHA failed to provide this letter in all of the language residents speak at Minneapolis Public Housing such as Oromo, Hmong, Spanish, Laotian, etc. This is a violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
10. MPHA will use its own bilingual staff to interpret the letter.
11. MPHA has a long history of using their bilingual staff to misinform residents. As a result, residents will not have access to an independent and neutral professional interpreting service, which is in violation of their civil rights. In the letter, MPHA says it is “simple and easy to sign” which is not true.
    

Since all resident protections have been gutted from Section 18 Demolition & Disposition by Carson and Trump’s HUD; the City of Minneapolis, Mayor Frey and City Council refuse to pause Section 18; the MOU and resolution the City of Minneapolis passed allows MPHA to completely privatize public housing; MPHA began showing aggressive violations of residents’ rights; who will protect the rights of scattered-site residents? Who is accountable for MPHA’s violations? This is the first of many violations to come by MPHA’s privatization plans of public housing and public land as the City of Minneapolis and elected officials watch without any action.

Historic Public Land Grab: MPHA, Mayor Frey and Council President Lisa Bender move forward to sell 717 scattered sites of public housing and 104.67 acres of public land through Section 18 without public input or a city council vote.

What is the difference between Public Housing and Affordable Housing? Many allies have been asking us this question. Here is a fact sheet with cited sources that explain the difference. Please share!

When the government funds private affordable housing, it is giving money to private entities who are, in many cases, responsible for rents being so unaffordable, to begin including the houselessness and the current housing crisis. These private entities are given public money to provide housing that is not affordable to those who need it most, which will eventually be converted to market-rate housing, and that is not accountable to the public. This is NOT a good use of public funds; it is a giveaway to the private sector. Public housing is the only way out of our current crisis. City of Minneapolis their private investors with MPHA want you to think “affordable is public”. It is not. We call on elected officials to fully fund and expand public housing now! Now City of Minneapolis and MPHA are using Section 18 and RAD to privatize public housing.
#KeepPublicHousingPublic #StopSection18 #StopRAD

Dear Allies: Here is a statement and video shared by our coalition members Northside Neighborhoods Council regarding February 5th, 2020 City of Minneapolis Housing Policy & Development Committee’s meeting about the public housing. Please read NNC’s statement below, view the video, start at 11:30, and see how awful city council members talk about us, public housing residents. #StopSection18
———

“It is disturbing the way this meeting played out. Community members and Public Housing residents are talked about with disdain when what they are fighting for is to keep public housing public. There are real discrepancies and flawed statements coming from MPHA.

We have included the video here, start at the 11:30 mark: https://youtu.be/1G4moPB-zP0

Also, if you are curious about why we are asking to #StopSection18 the reasons are laid out in our letter to our Senators created with Defend Glendale & Public Housing Coalition. You can read that here: https://tinyurl.com/Sec-18-Response-to-DFL-Sen

Note that a motion brought by CM Gordon recommended a postponement to Section 18 ownership transfer and failed 5 to 1. https://tinyurl.com/Motion-to-Pause-Sec-18-Cam-G

The other was a staff direction related to recommendations about future funding for Public Housing. This would be a key first step to getting some city dedicated tax levy money to support (and influence terms of its use) for public housing which failed 3 to 3. https://tinyurl.com/MPHA-Public-Invest-by-Gordon

Tracey Scott also misled the Council to believe that State Senators retract their statement, of which they did not. You can read their original letter here: https://tinyurl.com/s4uffyh

And their latest statement here: https://tinyurl.com/MN-Senators-2nd-Letter-to-HUD

There is a lot of false claims going around. We encourage everyone to please read, learn, and educate yourself about the impact of privatizing these properties and what it will mean for public housing residents..”

Wedge LIVE is a Minneapolis media outlet popular among white urbanists and YIMBY’s that regularly silences & smears POC anti-gentrification activists and organizers. Their article: https://wedgelive.com/whats-the-truth-about-public-housing-in-minneapolis/ is 100% about us without mentioning our campaign and the citywide movement that is organizing to #KeepPublicHousingPublic and #StopSection18

Read and download our response below.

Today we are organizing a phone zap for Representative Ilhan Omar! We are asking that all of our followers and allies call her office and ask her to write a public letter to HUD to stop section 18! All the directions are in the photo below. Once you have called Rep. Omar’s Contacts, please post using the #StopSection18 tag. This application has gone on too long and too far. Let’s stop it together.  Please contact 10 of your friends, family, or coworkers to make the call and ask them to contact 10 people they know to make the call.  

What is section 18?:

Section 18 is a privatization program offered by HUD to public housing authorities. Minneapolis Public Housing Authority is using it to privatize 717 single-family homes, by removing the housing from the public trust and transferring it to a private entity. Once this occurs, the subsidy will change from public housing to section 8. Subjecting our public housing to the whims of the market could lead to devastating results for residents. It will risk long term affordability and rents may increase to 80% of AMI for new residents. 

What does this mean for Minneapolis?:

Minneapolis is currently in the midst of a major housing crisis, the city needs MORE public housing, not less. These homes will be sold for a dollar each to a non-profit, which will allow private market speculators to gain equity ownership in our public housing. This move will result in the gutting of resident protections and could result in tenant re-screening and potential rent increases for residents. These homes are spread out in different neighborhoods across the city, with a majority in North Minneapolis. Once these homes are privatized, the gentrification already taking place in Minneapolis could intensify, and the city will be forever changed.

How to Stop It:

We are asking for everyone to call Congresswoman Ilhan Omar’s office today Tuesday, February 11th and ask she writes a public letter to HUD stoping Section 18. Below is a sample script, and the number of her staffers. Once you have called, post on social media using the #StopSection18 tag.
#StopSection18 Sample Script:Hello, My name is [Blank] and I live in your congressional district. I am calling to ask that Ilhan Omar writes a public letter to HUD to stop the Section 18 Disposition of 717 single-family homes by Minneapolis Public Housing Authority. This conversion will privatize necessary public housing in our city, which could result in rent increases and the displacement of the most vulnerable families in our city. Rep. Omar needs to stop section 18 now. If she supports public housing, she needs to support it in her city. Stop Section 18 now!

Numbers to Call:

Ilhan Omar’s DC Office: (202)-225-4755

Ilhan Omar’s Minneapolis Office: (612)-333-1272

Connor Mcnutt, Chief of Staff: (507)-412-9461

Kendall Killian, District Director MPLS:  (651)-270-3832

Once you’re done, post to social media using the#StopSection18 tag.Thank you for supporting public housing! 

Council Member Abdi Warsame will be leaving his elected position as a council member for Ward 6 to head the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority; http://strib.mn/36BCS12. Jacob Frey and Abdi Warsame’s leadership pushed for MPHA’s privatization and displacement plans. Warsame authored the privatization resolution; https://tinyurl.com/Warsame-s-Resolution, and MOU https://www.dgphc.org/…/minneapolis-city-council-passes-me…/. In 2019, when seniors and vulnerable residents from his ward at Elliot Twins asked to meet with him several times to stop RAD privatization plans that will displace residents, he ignored them. After MPHA could not silence the voices of residents from Elliot Twins, MPHA sent Abdi Warsame. He met the residents in late April of 2019 and promised that he will support them and stop RAD. This was the last time Elliot Twins residents saw their council member. Abdi Warsame has a long record of misleading and oppressing the voices of low-income residents in his ward, especially within the East African community. Currently, no one supports him as a leader in his Ward or outside of his Ward. Abdi Warsame is not qualified to lead MPHA because he is not about the people. He and his best friend Mayor Jacob Frey have been very divisive and toxic in the East African communities of Minneapolis. They both have made extensive efforts to undermine the public housing leaders of DG&PHC which are many Black women from the Somali community. Abdi Warsame does not have any experience in housing policy at the federal, state or local level, but he will receive almost double his current salary of 170k per year. Jacob Frey appointed Abdi Warsame without any transparent process or public notice. This is the type of cronyism that is stifling Minneapolis

In their board report, https://tinyurl.com/Appt-of-ED-MPHA-Board-Report, MPHA claims they sent out surveys to 500 surveys to public housing and 5000 surveys Section 8 residents about the kind of leader they want. They claim that 101 surveys were completed. In addition, they said the surveys were available online. This process is questionable:
1. We don’t know anyone is scattered sites, in Glendale or high-rises’ that received surveys?
2. We asked around and we have not heard of any onsite MPHA staff aware of surveys. But MPHA claims all of their staff filled out surveys. How and why was Warsame chose even though he is not qualified?
3. Residents were not notified by staff or via mail that surveys were available online.
4. MPHA knows the majority of residents do not have computers so they are not able to fill out the surveys.
On Wednesday, January 29th at 1:30 pm @ 1001 Washington Avenue North, 55401, MPHA will hold a public board meeting where Abdi Warsame’s name will be the only candidate presented, and the board is expected to approve. If Abdi Warsame could not successfully lead Ward 6, how is he going to lead MPHA that is facing local and national controversies as they push to privatize public housing through Section 18 and RAD which will displace thousands Black, Black Muslims, seniors and people with disabilities?

https://www.dgphc.org/…/12/10/the-new-faces-of-displacement/

Please read this letter from DFL SD 63 elected officials who have heard the voices of public housing residents and their constituents that are demanding to halt Section 18 Demolition & Disposition privatization plans by MPHA and the City  of Minneapolis:

January 15, 2020 U.S. Housing and Urban Development Agency 451 7th Street S.W. Washington, DC 20410 

The members of the Minneapolis State Senate Delegation urge the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to pause the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s (MPHA) Section 18 Demolition & Disposition process, until MPHA is able to demonstrate that the agency has a short and long term protection plan for the thousands of residents that currently live in these buildings. 

On August 16th, 2019, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) approved the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority’s (MPHA) Section 18 Demolition & Disposition application to remove 640 ‘scattered site’ buildings from Federal-protected public trust (Section 9 Housing) and move them into Section 8, which has fewer long term protections for the properties. This disposition will affect 5000 public housing residents, the majority of which are low-income African-American and East African families with children. 

Questions have been raised about the Section 18 submission approval process. There was no scattered-site resident council to monitor the application process. The Resident Advisory Board (RAB) approved the application, but no scattered-site residents sit on the RAB. Were scattered-site residents given the opportunity to review and discuss the application and participate in the process? If not, the plan may not have full community input and support. 

HUD Secretary Carson’s administration’s recent changes significantly weakened Section 18 regulations meant to protect residents. MPHA Commissioners Tessa Wetjen called for pausing the Section 18 application process because there is a great deal of confusion regarding MPHA’s Section 18 Application. What was the process to engage with all MPHA tenants during the application process? What steps are being taken to address and clarify the confusion around the application process? 

We have been told the number of properties that MPHA is seeking to privatize via Section 18 is 25 times larger than the cumulative amount of disposed properties from the years 2001- 2018. This disposition will affect more than 98% of existing housing and land on which scattered-site housing is located. MPHA provided HUD a timetable of the number of days from when residents will be displaced, which is 180 days from approval. As a result, MPHA has the authority to displace all affected residents by February 16, 2020. We are concerned about this 

short timeframe and would like to know if residents have been properly notified. The impact of this change could have devastating consequences to many families. 

We ask HUD and MPHA to halt MPHA’s Section 18 Demolition & Disposition process until these concerns are further reviewed and resolved. We look forward to hearing from you to learn more about your plan to address these issues. 

Sincerely, 

Sen. Patricia Torres Ray Sen. Kari Dziedzic Sen. Jeff Hayden 

Sen. Scott Dibble Sen. Bobby Joe Champion 

cc: Representative Ilhan Omar, U.S. Congress 

Mayor Jacob Frey, City of Minneapolis 

Minneapolis City Council Members Colleen O’Kane, HUD Congressional Liaison Region V Jane Hornstien, HUD Director of the Special Application Center Lucia Clausen, HUD MPLS Director of Public Housing Kelley Lyons, HUD Regional Public Housing Director Tracey Scott, MPHA Interim Executive Director Sharmarke Issa, MPHA Chair Mikkel Beckmen, MPHA Commissioner Andrea Brennan, MPHA Commissioner Cara Letofsky, MPHA Commissioner James Rosenbaum, MPHA Commissioner Tessa Wetjen, MPHA Commissioner Faith Xiong, MPHA Commissioner Tamir Mohamud, MPHA Resident Commissioner Abdullahi Isse, MPHA Resident Commissioner