U.S. Government T-Hud Public Housing Program

HUD

Department of Housing and Urban Development Analysis

Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was initiated on September 9, 1965, when Lyndon B. Johnson approved the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act into law (Home Zone, 2011). The Department of Housing and Urban Development is the Federal agency responsible for implementing national policies and programs that address U.S. housing needs, which improve and develop the Nation's communities, and enforce fair housing laws. HUD's business is helping create a decent home and suitable living environment for all Americans, and it has given America's cities a strong national voice at the Cabinet level (Home Zone, 2011).

HUD is administered by the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Shaun Donovan, a former New York City housing commissioner and former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, is the current Secretary, having been confirmed by the United States Senate unanimously on January 22, 2009 (HUD, 2011). Its headquarters is located in the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in Washington, D.C and represents a major employer in the area.

Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Housing Authority (PHA) is the nation's fourth largest public housing agency serving more than 74,000 residents in the city of Philadelphia (PHA, 2011). Philadelphia Housing Authority has been effective in altering public housing to a state-chartered authority; which means they are not subject to the normal city charter requirements. If had to deal with the city charter requirements, it could effectively make operations regulated by tedious regulations that would hinder city-managed capital-improvement projects. As a result the PHA is the largest landlord in the state. For the most part the PHA operates fairly efficiently and the PHA has also been referred to as one of the most successful housing assistance organizations in the country.

However, there was recently a scandal involving Executive Director Carl Greene who was alleged to have mismanages funds and to have sexually harassed several of his employees. Due to these allegations he was fired by the Broad of Commissioners (Huber, 2011). When all these allegations emerged, HUD conducted an audit and this time it was of the financial and management operation at PHA. The reason for the audit was that the agency has $60.7 million of outstanding capital funds obligations that were not being met. With all of these problems were going on for more than a decade it is difficult to believe that the Board of Commissioners were completely ignorant of what was going on in the organization.

New York

New York City Housing Authority has also been referred to as one of the most successful housing authorities in the country. It was rated as the number one housing authority in the nation at one point in time (Twyamn, 2003). Philadelphia has a state charter that allows it flexibility in operations and some freedom from political influence that New York City doesn't share. However, they have carved out a new niche to provide some level of autonomy. New York relies on a heavy use of civil service employees that is protected by union activity and offers a level of protection from any political party influencing the organization's operations. However, the disadvantage of this strategy is that is difficult to fire unproductive members of the staff.

New York City has also had a lengthy record of HUD scandals. Since roughly one in five of its citizens lives in poverty and HUD is a crucially needed organization for many families in the area. A disgusting result was obtained from a new audit from city Controller John Liu discovered that city bureaucrats paid out $11.8 million in rent subsidies in recent years to nearly 4,000 people too dead to enjoy them (Einhorn, 2011). Since the money obviously didn't benefit the deceased, instead relatives and landlords were using the funding for their own benefit. This represents a total lack of accountability by the city's housing authority.

Other problems identified in New York City regarding their local housing authority include not sending out their vouchers for section eight recipients causing them trouble with their rent status. The housing authority blamed a new computer and phone system for not being able to process the tenets requests. Several of the victims impacted have actually gone as far as to sue the New York City Housing Authority for the damages caused to them from this affair (Carder, 2011).

PHA vs. NYCHA Statistical Overview

PHA

NYCPA

Number Of Units

14,000

181,581

Individuals Helped

80,000

417,328

Vacancies

7,00

3,300

Waiting List

13,000

135,000

City Population

1,526,006

8,175,133

Conclusion