Woonsocket Call: HUD balks at housing demolition

Published on July 14, 2010

An article by Russ Olivo in the July 13 Woonsocket Call  discusses the determination by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that 180 units of rent-subsidized housing the Woonsocket Housing Authority wants to demolish do not appear to meet the necessary criteria for the plan to move forward.

The article explains that WHA Director Bob Kulik was advised by  HUD's Special Applications Center in Chicago that it cannot grant his application for permission to raze the properties because they are still in decent shape – as the government defines it.

In a July 9 letter to Kulik, the SAC also raised questions about whether tenants had been properly notified of the WHA's plans and cited the concerns raised by a number of opponents, including NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley, St. James Baptist Church, Family Resources Community Action Program and Rhode Island Legal Services.