November 12, 2008

13.60% Affordable Housing

Thanks Dave "Dewey" Zimage for sending me a link from the Worcester Business Journal showing the percent of affordable housing in each city and town in Central Massachusetts. Congrats Worcester, we exceed the state mandate to have 10% and are ranked number 3 in Worcester County.

Click here for the link.

Maybe after:
  1. May Street
  2. Burwick
  3. Piedmont Street
  4. Mason/Winfield
  5. City Builders
  6. Grand Street

We will be able to claim the number 1 ranking.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stocks plunge 400 points and United , Jet Blue,SouthWest,US Airways, Delta all post losses on the day even though gas prices dropped .
Allegiant posted a $1.34 gain.
Wish I had bought their stock at the IPO level.

John said...

Bill

Does this include section 8 housing?

Bill Randell said...

John:

I would think so?? Exactly what it covers I am not sure.

The point is that we have more then the state mandates and are number 3 in the Central Mass. Maybe someone should put the brakes on this type of development??

We always complain about PILOT every two years, maybe we should concentrate attracting non low to mod income people to Worcester to buy high priced homes to solidify our tax base?

Bill

Bill

Gabe said...

The fact of the matter is that these folks have to live somewhere. We should start putting the pressure on folks other than the city manager and the city council to make sure that the 8 border suburbs are holding up their end of the bargain.

West Boylston 4.9%
Holden 3.2%
Paxton 0.8%
Leicester 4.0%
Auburn 3.3%
Millbury 4.3%
Grafton 5.8%
Shrewsbury 6.5%

Only two of our border suburbs are over 5%, never mind the 10% they are supposed to be at.

As I have said before Worcester is carrying the load for affordable housing in Central Mass with only a handful stepping up to the plate.

More pressure needs to be put on these towns. Paulie always references the gentrification of Somerville. That gentrification wouldn't have happened like it did if the poor folks didn't have Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Chelsea, Revere, and Lynn to go to. If you are dependent on low income housing and live in Worcester you are stuck here unless you want to relocate. The neighboring towns need to step up to the plate and acknowledge this is a regional problem. Our state and federal legislators need to figure out how to accomplish this.

Either do that or do what most folks would rather do anyway. Just build a wall around the urban core of Worcester and let us all die in here. Symbolicly this was already done a long time ago.

Bill Randell said...

Gabe:

I have to say "I think the boy gets it." You are soo right, but herein lies the problem.

It would be one thing if we rejected every insane proposal to waive 50 parking spots, amongst other variances and then maybe then developers of "affordable" housing would look to the suburbs.

Gabe if you were an "affordable" developer and would be fought tooth and nail in the surrounding towns, but not only welcomed but given any variance that you want, free sidewalk upgrades and waived water and sewerage hook-ups. Where would you build??

We should put pressure on our elected officials but the tide is so against us, I do not see it happening.....

Bill

Anonymous said...

I know there is an organized effort in the city to oppose every new liquor license that is applied for.

Why don't the for-profit builders organize in the same way to oppose every variance that's applied for?

Anonymous said...

I read a piece in the paper awhile back....and I hope I understood it correctly ...maybe a boston paper.......... that said the 10 minimum % factor can be considered on a regional basis........so if the central Mass area (whatever that exactly means) had less then 10% in total then Worc could keep adding more Low income housing and it would count towrds the central Mass regions 10% factor.......kinda scarey huh............Paxton gets to use Worcs low income %'age and assert that they are meeting (or striving towrd meeting) the 10% factor b/c Paxton is part of the larger "regional" area.

I know I have the article here somewhere...........just cant locate it now.

what waste of city time, money fuel, etc I saw today ............leaf collection........the front end loader is being trailed by a parking enfocement officer who will , I assume, tag any cars that are in the way.........just call the local area cop and have him issue the ticket if need be..............let the meter maid patrol downtown where more ticket revenue can be had.

Kudos to Rushton for tackling this police freedom of information request...whilst the other 10 are silent on the issue...seems like all we're doing lately is tracking down stolen money and beetles......i cant wait for the spin out of WPD when all the dust settles on this issue.........just a mere bookkeeping error(S)....a la Spellane......AND one higher up will take the fall for the many???

Bill Randell said...

Steve:

This is not just about market driven developers versus affordable housing builders. It is much bigger then that in fact.

Common tax-payers in the City of Worcester need to realize the devestating effect this is having on the City of Worcester. An uproar from them, the voters, would actually make a difference.

Bill

Gabe said...

Like they say in the Wire though, these low income housing developments are being built in the wrong zip codes. People want Worcester to be a nicer city, but they don't REALLY want it.

I sometimes feel that the only outrage that exists over all this low income housing only exists right on this blog.

Anonymous said...

ORH is listed as having service to Myrtle Beach with Direct Air. Wonder why we didn't hear any announcement?

Anonymous said...

Direct Air is in the T&G about their new destination.

Anonymous said...

What isnt being said here is that this abundance of densely built low income housing is decimating the school dept finances. $11,900 per student and as I have shown on here before teh property taxes that are derived from thsi newly built, dense housing comes no where near covering the school dept costs and in my analysis I assumed 1.0 or 1.5 kids per apt..............could actually be more.

Of course the teachers union loves it and many of our councilors do too b/c it's very, very difficult to get on the council if the school dept vote isnt with you.

I was talking to a guy yesterday who was telling me even more stories about the incest that pervades the DPW and the school dept personnel.......God it's even worse then I thought. Welcome to La Familia, to lift a phrase from Pualie boy.

Anonymous said...

Bill,

I realize this affects all taxpayers, but the fact of the matter is that there is no uproar from the taxpayers.

If anyone is going to get the ball rolling, it's got to be those with a real stake in the outcome.

I simply mentioned the alcohol license opposition as an effective method.

Paulie's Point of View said...

"Paulie always references the gentrification of Somerville. That gentrification wouldn't have happened like it did if the poor folks didn't have Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, Chelsea, Revere, and Lynn to go to"

slow down Gabriel;

we did not kick out the less forunate we just have not built no-lo income on every cornah, wet & dry shelters on every cornah,Latino,Italian,Irish,Chinese & Mongolian drug centers on every corner....you need to check out the locales you mentioned..most doing very well today....I think they are coming to Worcester..every other city is saying whoaaaaaaa

Anyone wonder why our Congressman does not propose a 50 unit no-lo with no parking in Paxton????

Paulie's Point of View said...

it is happening slowly..I make a big stink down here now..I am all over the trouble houses in my hoods now..and the city is responding ever slowly but they are..it is as clear as my fat arse that business in Worceser grows as does the population..if we continue to saturate the urban core with no-lo income folks...City Square and similiar projects never happen!!

All the money the taxpayer has paid out to clean up Main South and Worcester puts another no-lo income right at the entrance at Main & Madison??

A entrance to downtown from Main South, Chandler & Madison and Worcester put's in a no-lo income project??? Ya think Young Park is aware of this..who puts up a huge no-lo income project on such a possible hot cornah and entrance to so many corridors in the city???

Anonymous said...

Sounds like good news Tim, but we'regoing to wait until the end of February to plan our golf extravaganza to Myrtle. If the news on Direct Air is positive we'll plunk down our greenbacks at that time. Sounds good so far though.


J. Thomas