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Tenant Leaders Call Out HUD at Metropolitan Tenants Organization-Sponsored Town Hall


MTO Town Hall 2016 at St Paul Church
CHICAGO–(ENEWSPF)–August 16, 2016.  On June 29, 2016, the Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO) brought together tenant leaders from throughout Chicago to voice their concerns directly to officials from the Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.  The HUD Town Hall is an annual event sponsored by MTO to allow citizens to present their grievances directly to HUD officials.
Hosting the Town Hall this year was the Kevin Ford and the congregation of St Paul Church at 4550 South Wabash.  Representing HUD were Daniel Burke, Sylvia Davis, Gerald Smith, and John Meade.  Moderating the event was H. Demetrius Bonner, Executive Vice President of Region V of the National Association of HUD Tenants, and Vice-President of MTO’s Board of Directors.
Nearly 100 tenants and tenant leaders, representing 19 HUD buildings (big and small) in the city were present to provide testimony; they were joined by 3rd Ward Alderman Pat Dowell.
The list of grievances presented was wide reaching: respect and communications issues with the staff employed by property managers; building security; repair issues involving appliances and laundry equipment; the paramount safety issue of broken elevators; neglected repairs including window replacements & weatherization; bed bugs and other rodents; and issues with HUD’s own responsiveness.
And while many of the issues were familiar and some were lingering, there were also some successes to report on since last year’s meeting, particularly at Concordia Place Apartments where the Tenants Organization, working with MTO and HUD, succeeded in getting its gestapo-like security firm replaced.
The procedure at the MTO Town Halls is for detailed notes to be taken by MTO, and relayed to HUD as a list of issues to be addressed.  MTO then meets with HUD and relevant tenant leaders quarterly during the year to follow-up on HUD’s response to the issues raised.

Source: Metropolitan Tenants Organization

 

 

 


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