|
Info about Fair Housing in Maryland - including housing discrimination, hate crimes, affordable housing, disabilities, segregation, mortgage lending, & others. http://www.gbchrb.org. 443.347.3701.
|
Williams died May 8, 2023, in Baltimore. Born in East Baltimore, he grew up in the foster system and later in Baltimore, was a fierce advocate for the rights of the poor and unhoused. He focused on identifying the barriers people experiencing homelessness faced, what were the solutions, and how they could be implemented, while making certain that the conversation was led by those affected. “His impact was immeasurable,” said Rachel Kutler of Housing Our Neighbors (HON), a collective of people experiencing homelessness and their allies and advocates that Williams co-founded in 2012 and helped lead.
A writer, photographer and poet, Williams documented his early life on the streets and in the abandoned buildings in a play, “The King of Howard Street" based on the portraits he wrote of the people with whom he once lived. He also wrote of his journey of survival in composition notebooks, emphasizing the bonds and struggles of the homeless communities.
While living at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter in New York, he met Lewis Haggins Jr., and the two co-founded Picture the Homeless in 1999. The group aims to promote the voices and stories of unhoused people into mainstream media and policy discussions via collective organizing and sharing the stories of people experiencing homelessness.
In Baltimore, Williams regularly fought to include those who were or had been homeless in the decision-making processes of programs that affected unhoused people. He was co-chair of the city’s Lived Experience Advisory Committee. Williams also was an early participant in the New York City Continuum of Care and the Baltimore City Continuum of Care, a program set up by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to guide housing and homelessness spending.
During the coronavirus epidemic, Williams advocated for Baltimore’s unhoused, criticizing the homeless services’ office for he felt was not able to develop a comprehensive plan to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to move away from its system of congregate living facilities.
His longtime friend and fellow Picture the Homeless organizer, Lynn Lewis recorded hours of interviews with him for an oral history project.
Williams was honored at an August 22, 2023 celebration of life at St. Vincent de Paul in Baltimore.
*****
Read the January 15, 2024 Baltimore Sun obituary.
Read the December 31, 2023 Baltimore Brew article.
Read the September 5, 2023 Baltimore Beat article.
The noxious hate crime of antisemitism has surfaced yet again in Baltimore. Two signs at the front of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation on Park Heights Avenue in Pikesville were destroyed by being slashed multiple times on December 24th. The signs were replacements for the original ones that were vandalized on December 10th. The Baltimore Hebrew Congregation has displayed the two signs – "We Stand with the People of Israel" and "Bring the Hostages Home" at the corner of Park Heights and Slade avenues for just over two months.
"I am simultaneously deeply disturbed and not surprised at all," Rabbi Andrew Busch said. "Deeply disturbed that someone would impinge on our right to speak our mind. Deeply disturbed that anyone would object to a statement of bringing hostages home. Deeply disturbed that the property of a synagogue would be vandalized."
Congregation leaders said another nearby religious institution reported an Israeli flag was slashed Thursday. "Suburban Orthodox congregation right behind us had an Israeli flag that was also slashed with a knife or some kind of sharp object," Busch said. He also commented that they are not letting hate stop them from expressing their beliefs.
The congregation plans to launch a campaign to encourage people to report antisemitism. "We have new signs. They're going to be going up in schools and synagogues and across the community, telling (people) to go to our websites to report when acts occur to stand against hate," Busch said.
A camera was installed at the site after the first vandalism case, and Congregation leaders hope it captured the person or people who are responsible.
BHC filed a police report about the incident. Busch noted that the police responded quickly, as they did when the signs were vandalized the first time. According to Howard Libit, executive director of the Baltimore Jewish Council, Baltimore County Police have said that they are going to increase patrols around the area and review camera footage, especially from neighbors in the community who may have captured something about this crime. “It is gratifying to know how seriously Baltimore County Police are taking this,” Libit said.
BHC plans on replacing the signs again.
If you know anything about what happened, call Baltimore County Police at 410-307-2020.
*****
Read the December 29, 2023 WBALTV story.
Above photo of sign taken from cited WBALTV article.
Read the December 29, 2023 Baltimore Jewish Times article.
Baltimore City police said they are investigating.
The Baltimore Inclusionary Housing Coalition is continuing to lobby for a vote on a Baltimore City Council bill that would require affordable housing units to be created in certain residential projects. There are more than 20 organizations in the Coalition, which has been working on the inclusionary housing bill since before the 2007 expiration of an inclusionary housing policy.
The nonpartisan Coalition was formed by the Baltimore Branch of the NAACP, Baltimore Renters United, Beyond the Boundaries, BRIDGE Maryland, Inc., Citizens Planning and Housing Association (CPHA), Community Development Network, SEIU 1199, and the Public Justice Center (PJC), among numerous other Baltimore area nonprofit and community organizations, volunteers, and City Councilwoman Odette Ramos (District 14).
Council Bill 22-0195 is one of the two bills the coalition is advocating for. It would “eliminate the loopholes and waivers in the prior inclusionary housing law that made it a failure,” according to a webpage by the League of Women Voters of Baltimore City, a member of the coalition. The bill would require developers to set aside 10 percent of units as affordable housing in residential projects that receive city funding or rezoning and have greater than 20 units. Affordable is defined as a household earning less than 60% of Area Median Income (about $55,740 for a family of two) would pay rent that is no more than 30% of their income.
Courtney Jenkins, President of the Metropolitan Baltimore AFL-CIO, has said that with the average cost of housing in the City being around $1,200 monthly, renters are paying about $15,000 yearly on housing. Since 54% of Baltimoreans make less than $60,000 annually, housing costs are at least 25% of their income, if not more, he said. The National Equity Analysis estimates that more than 20,000 households in Baltimore City are behind on rent. Lack of access to affordable housing and an overabundance of inadequate housing especially hits people of color.There have been five hearings and 30 amendments to CB 22-0195 since its introduction in February 2022. The Coalition deplored the fact that the proposed law has not yet been brought before the full council for a vote. “I think any other amendments are active[ly] delaying this even further,” said Loraine Arikat, a member of the 1199SEIU Maryland/DC division, a union that represents healthcare workers. Once the law is passed, it will not go into effect immediately. The proposed law grants a six-month grace period before it goes into effect. That buffer gives time to gather advisory board appointees.
The Historic Sharp Leadenhall Community Association agrees with the Coalition that something has to be done immediately: “We cannot continue to have families not have decent shelter. We cannot continue not to have access to affordable food. We cannot continue to accept this as a people.”
The last inclusionary housing policy was passed in 2007 and expired in June 2022, according to an inclusionary housing study commissioned by the Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development and completed by Enterprise Community Partners. That policy solely led to the development of 34 affordable housing units due to loopholes and waivers. City Council President Nick Mosby said the proposed CB 22-0195 must create as many inclusionary housing units as possible across the whole city. At a Coalition rally, He said, “No matter your ZIP code, your socioeconomic status, new buildings - new quality buildings with affordable units - should be able to be available to you. You should have quality development in communities that you’re most comfortable with, that you have cultural competency with, and that you wanna grow and stay growing in age in.”
In 2021, Mosby introduced a legislative package “House Baltimore” to provide low-income residents with opportunities to buy and rehabilitate existing Baltimore homes. Advocates heavily criticized it, and he apologized after a hearing to discuss the bill ended chaotically.
Ramos has said she understands activists’ impatience but wants the bill to be done correctly. Although she said the bill has support from the Council, as of today there is not a date set for the vote.
If approved, C 22-0195 will create an advisory board that must approve the developers’ plans before they can obtain a permit. The advisory board will ensure the enforcement of the program. Members will be appointed by Mayor Brandon Scott, according to Matt Hill, an attorney for the Public Justice Center, a legal advocacy group and coalition member. Developers would not receive their subsidy until after completing the reporting procedures required by the bill. This is to make sure that too much subsidy might be going to the developers. The coalition will likely make recommendations for the board to the mayor, Hill said.
Another City Council bill, CB 23-0369, is coupled with the inclusionary housing policy to create a high-performance inclusionary housing tax credit. The tax credit would give eligible property owners a 15% abatement of city property tax.
For more information and to support the proposed law, the public can go to the Action Network's dedicated page.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott has signed into law "The Councilmember Mary Pat Clarke Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act," which aims to restore renters' ability to engage directly with their landlords who may be looking to sell their rental properties and provide easier pathways for renters to move to homeownership.
The bill was inspired by the continuous advocacy and previous legislation led by former Council President Mary Pat Clarke. As a Councilwoman representing Northeast Baltimore, she worked with St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center founders Vinnie Quayle and Frank Fisher on the original 'Tenant Right of First Refusal' legislation, which was the first legislation in the country designed to give tenants the opportunity to purchase the homes in which they live when the owner was ready to sell. Exemptions added by later legislation made former Council President Clarke's bill all but obsolete.
The Councilmember Mary Pat Clarke Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act repeals the exemptions that gutted the original legislation, and reestablishes that if an owner/landlord wants to sell their property, they must first provide their current tenant opportunity to pursue a purchase. With some exceptions, the tenant would have 14 days to make a decision to sign a letter of intent to purchase and enter a contract, or the owner can move forward in the process of selling the property to any potential buyer. The legislation also implements a number of reporting and data requirements.
The bill will make a significant impact for numerous families across Baltimore by eliminating substantial barriers to homeownership and prioritizing renters pursuing homeownership in Baltimore's housing market.
*****
Source: City of Baltimore Daily Digest Bulletin, October 17, 2023.
You're Invited to Civil Rights Week 2023! |
09/20/2023 |
We are excited to invite you to Civil Rights Week 2023 held by the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights (OECR)! We believe your presence and insights would greatly contribute to the success of Civil Rights Week. Your voice matters, and together, we can continue the journey toward a more just and equitable society. Image Transcript: A photo of Baltimore City. Text reads: Civil Rights Week 2023: A week of educational events, panel discussions and thought leadership, kicking off with the 30th Annual Civil Rights breakfast! October 30th-November 3rd. https:// ***** Source: City of Baltimore Daily Digest Bulletin, September 20, 2023. |
***** Source: City of Baltimore Daily Digest Bulletin, September 14, 2023. |
|
Update on Previous Fair Lending Post:
The following is a summary of a whitepaper by Josh Silver of the National Community Reinvestment Corporation (NCRC) entitled "A Maryland CRA Law Would Marshall Considerable Resources for Increasing Racial Equity and Reinvestment." In this article, Silver presents reasons why Maryland should adopt its own state Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This article was referenced in the June 23, 2023 NCRC Just News. Download the whitepaper.
Economic Action Maryland has released a Policy Brief that advocated a Maryland CRA Law. Economic Action Maryland, the NCRC, and other housing advocates plan to push for the legislature to pass a bill in the 2024 Session. Del. Melissa Wells (D-Baltimore City) introduced legislation this year to propose a state-level community reinvestment act, but withdrew it.
The Major Points of the Whitepaper & Policy Brief
(1) A Maryland CRA law would apply to banks and credit unions with about $46 billion in assets. It would cover mortgage companies that made more than 68,000 loans in three years. The assets and lending activity are considerable resources that should have a CRA obligation for reinvesting in underserved neighborhoods.
(2) A state CRA law would help narrow racial and equity gaps in lending. In Baltimore, for example, 33% of recent loans went to African Americans whereas they constituted 62% of the population.
(3) State law can plug gaps in the federal law. The federal CRA applies to banks, whereas other state laws in Massachusetts and Illinois also apply to mortgage companies and credit unions.
Impact of a Maryland CRA Law
A state CRA law would apply CRA to institutions with tens of billions of dollars which offer tens of thousands of loans. State-chartered banks have about $38 billion in assets and state-chartered credit unions have nearly $8 billion in assets. The top ten independent mortgage companies issued almost 68,000 home purchase loans in Maryland during 2018-2020.
Applying CRA to institutions with these large resources would channel significant increases in loans and investments to neglected communities in Maryland. A state CRA law is needed to address sizable racial and income disparities in access to loans. In all of Maryland, lenders made 20% of their single-family loans to African Americans in 2018-2020 while 29% of the population was African American. The gap is even wider in Baltimore, which is 62% Black but where only 33% of loans went to African American borrowers.
While some gaps have narrowed slightly, underserved communities continue to suffer. For the whole state, lending institutions made 32% of their loans to low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers during 2018-2020 while 31.6% of the population was LMI. A significant disparity is in Baltimore where LMI borrowers received 58% of the loans but were 73% of the residents.
A state law would complement rather than duplicate federal law, as the experience of other state CRA laws have demonstrated. It can address needs and neighborhoods not explicitly addressed by the federal CRA. A state law could authorize Maryland’s Commissioner of Financial Regulation to conduct separate exams for individual counties. This would enable examiners to assess performance more rigorously in Baltimore and underserved rural counties. In contrast, federal CRA exams usually rate performance on a metropolitan level that hides poor performance, which most often occurs in the underserved counties. In addition, a CRA law could require the examiners to assess the sustainability of lending by considering default and delinquency rates. This is very important for underserved communities and is frequently overlooked by federal CRA exams.
A Maryland state law could contain provisions designed to counter CRA ratings inflation and that would motivate improvements in performance to communities of color. On a federal level, the pass rate of banks on their CRA exams is 98%. A state law should counter this inflation by introducing a fifth rating and by requiring examination of performance in underserved neighborhoods, which are disproportionately communities of color. By law, banks that fail their exams cannot receive deposits from a state agency. The Commissioner could also adjust fees based on ratings received.
Studies have shown that the federal CRA has increased lending and banking services in modest income communities. A state CRA law would expand and widen this. The gains in wealth from a rigorously enforced CRA, driven by homeownership and small business ownership, would benefit Maryland through higher gross domestic output, higher tax revenues, and reduced dependence on the state safety net.
Sources:
Read the June 13, 2023 NCRC article.
Update on Previous Whitepaper:
The following is a summary of a whitepaper by Josh Silver of the National Community Reinvestment Corporation (NCRC) entitled "A Maryland CRA Law Would Marshall Considerable Resources for Increasing Racial Equity and Reinvestment." In this article, Silver presents reasons why Maryland should adopt its own state Community Reinvestment Act (CRA). This article was referenced in the June 23, 2023 NCRC Just News. Download the whitepaper.
Economic Action Maryland has released a Policy Brief that advocated a Maryland CRA Law. Economic Action Maryland, the NCRC, and other housing advocates plan to push for the legislature to pass a bill in the 2024 Session. Del. Melissa Wells (D-Baltimore City) introduced legislation this year to propose a state-level community reinvestment act, but withdrew it.
The Major Points of the Whitepaper & Policy Brief
(1) A Maryland CRA law would apply to banks and credit unions with about $46 billion in assets. It would cover mortgage companies that made more than 68,000 loans in three years. The assets and lending activity are considerable resources that should have a CRA obligation for reinvesting in underserved neighborhoods.
(2) A state CRA law would help narrow racial and equity gaps in lending. In Baltimore, for example, 33% of recent loans went to African Americans whereas they constituted 62% of the population.
(3) State law can plug gaps in the federal law. The federal CRA applies to banks, whereas other state laws in Massachusetts and Illinois also apply to mortgage companies and credit unions.
Impact of a Maryland CRA Law
A state CRA law would apply CRA to institutions with tens of billions of dollars which offer tens of thousands of loans. State-chartered banks have about $38 billion in assets and state-chartered credit unions have nearly $8 billion in assets. The top ten independent mortgage companies issued almost 68,000 home purchase loans in Maryland during 2018-2020.
Applying CRA to institutions with these large resources would channel significant increases in loans and investments to neglected communities in Maryland. A state CRA law is needed to address sizable racial and income disparities in access to loans. In all of Maryland, lenders made 20% of their single-family loans to African Americans in 2018-2020 while 29% of the population was African American. The gap is even wider in Baltimore, which is 62% Black but where only 33% of loans went to African American borrowers.
While some gaps have narrowed slightly, underserved communities continue to suffer. For the whole state, lending institutions made 32% of their loans to low- and moderate-income (LMI) borrowers during 2018-2020 while 31.6% of the population was LMI. A significant disparity is in Baltimore where LMI borrowers received 58% of the loans but were 73% of the residents.
A state law would complement rather than duplicate federal law, as the experience of other state CRA laws have demonstrated. It can address needs and neighborhoods not explicitly addressed by the federal CRA. A state law could authorize Maryland’s Commissioner of Financial Regulation to conduct separate exams for individual counties. This would enable examiners to assess performance more rigorously in Baltimore and underserved rural counties. In contrast, federal CRA exams usually rate performance on a metropolitan level that hides poor performance, which most often occurs in the underserved counties. In addition, a CRA law could require the examiners to assess the sustainability of lending by considering default and delinquency rates. This is very important for underserved communities and is frequently overlooked by federal CRA exams.
A Maryland state law could contain provisions designed to counter CRA ratings inflation and that would motivate improvements in performance to communities of color. On a federal level, the pass rate of banks on their CRA exams is 98%. A state law should counter this inflation by introducing a fifth rating and by requiring examination of performance in underserved neighborhoods, which are disproportionately communities of color. By law, banks that fail their exams cannot receive deposits from a state agency. The Commissioner could also adjust fees based on ratings received.
Studies have shown that the federal CRA has increased lending and banking services in modest income communities. A state CRA law would expand and widen this. The gains in wealth from a rigorously enforced CRA, driven by homeownership and small business ownership, would benefit Maryland through higher gross domestic output, higher tax revenues, and reduced dependence on the state safety net.
Sources:
Read the June 13, 2023 NCRC article.
New American Leadership InstituteMIMA Opportunity: NALI | |||||||||||||||
|
Free Public Celebration:
Free Immigrant & Refugee Resource Fair
| |||||||
|