what kind of name is shakeefa anyway

CANKICKER

I'm speaking specifically about the apartment complex in the article... and it's not Free for Entitled people. It costs over 30% of a minimum wage monthly income.

So you are assuming that the people who get the 'low-income' apartments are not part of the poor working class?

I'm assuming that they are working and not earning enough for a decent apartment anywhere else. So, they got a great opportunity for an apartment at this new complex of mixed income tenants. Good for them. I'm jealous. I could buy a jet-ski with all that saved income.

You are absolute right that it is NOT fair for a hardworking person to fund someone else's lazy lifestyle. How could anyone argue with that, except for a teenager?

When you work for something you appreciate it. Why do you think the blocks of low income housing are so digusting? Why bother keeping a building you don't pay for clean, why plant flowers or pick up trash when you don't know the value of anything you have?

I'm not an expert on the subject, but clearly neither are 98 percent of the people who post here.

What percent of the federal tax budget goes toward welfare or housing assistance for the poor? I don't have the time right now to dig up the figure but I can almost be certain that it is ridiculously low. This idea that welfare or subsidised housing is what causes us to pay the admittedly staggering amount in taxes that we (the middle class) do is, in my humble opinion, hogwash.

If someone wants to argue against assistance from the perspective that it creates a cycle of poverty and does a disservice to those who recieve it, sure, I'll listen to that argument. Even though I disagree with it. But most of what we see here is just plain mean spiritedness, and/or, I believe, ignorance about the subject.

I can name about ten things off the top of my head that I contribute toward with my tax dollars that bother me. Governmental assistance is NOT on the list.

JSSQUARE

This has absolutley nothing to do with the poor working class .

This is all about our hard earned monies and how the Gov't is quick to hand it out to anyone who puts their hand out for a piece of the Pie .

Is it fair that some people who came from nothing and worked their way up to earn a good living to buy into the American dream that is to purchase a Home and w/o any handouts and to pay the tax bill ?

Or is it fair to give someone a Free house because they feel a sense of Entitlement .

When was the last time the gov't came to a middle class neigborhood, offerring subsidys so that life can be made a bit easier ?, of course not, because it's the middle class that gets up before the crack of dawn to earn the living that pays the taxes that pay for all these home subsidys .

CK

Regardless of how you might characterize yourself... liberal or conservative, democrat or republican, maxist or capitalist, pro-Bush or anti-Bush... whatever...

... I am simply appalled and disgusted at the demonstrated lack of compassion and understanding reflected by the many posts on this thread. Where is your decency?

Jersey City is a diverse community; show some respect for those less fortunate than ourselves. Count your blessings that you have a decent roof over your heads and food on the table and leave the new residents of Hope VI in peace.

If you have ever spent some time walking through and inside what passes for public housing in Jersey City, you would probably be speechless. Finally, consider doing some research on your own. You will find that the Hope Program delivers significantly better quality, affordable housing for those in need, at no cost to the city, and at much less cost than the other failed programs of the past.

Have a peaceful evening.

I wish I could make a little quote box.

You don't offend me Bdlaw. I oppose the handout mentality too as described on this thread, wherein the recipients are lazy, mugging thugs. I just wanted to point out that a lot of poor people work really hard and barely get by. Compassion, you know? Maybe I'm naive.

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More fuel for the fire- the Feds tax me 44% on about 1/3 of my gross because it's overtime. The harder I work the more I am penalized.

I'm sorry if it offends you but I oppose a handout mentality. It has nothing to do with racism or classism. I'm opposed to ridiculous tax abatements as well.

Ha ha ha. Maybe those people are working their asses off earning minimum wage and they can finally live somewhere safe for their own children.

Who doesn't want a nice, brand-new home to return to after a tough night of mugging?

Who decided subsidized apartments should be luxury?

Nice to see that a majority of us are all on the same page
with this one....


CK

A minimum wage job yields less than a thousand dollars, untaxed, a month. A $300 apartment takes up a good portion of that money... It's not a luxury, people need subsidized apartments!

I'm going to quit my job so I can live there. I guess we are all getting mugged twice.

I agree with you NNJR, it should come with a mortgage, not as a gift. So, if I quit my job and stop paying taxes, I can get a brand new townhouse too?

Mind quoting out the racist comments? I sure don't see any.

I find it amusing how quickly that card is played on these forums.


Back On-Topic.

I think this is a Good Thing. However, it shouldn't be considered a present to lower-income families. I believe they should work for the privilege to live in these homes.

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Ah, yes, the nice way of saying "her baby's daddy".

The "Hope VI" grant appears to be a US Dept. of Housing grant, not local.

Private investors paid for the other apartments.

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Not quite.

"We" believe that those with "less skill and education" should improve their "skill and education", or else they'll wallow in their "dangerous, run-down slums" for generations to come.

Helping them improve their education is a noble thing and I would be thrilled to see a part of my massive yearly tax bill help accomplish it.

I don't think building them new townhomes is necessarily the best way to go.

Scholarships to good schools and universities are MUCH better, because they will have a positive impact on whole generations.

InJC

Isn't it a bit funny that once you call it like it is, someone has to play that famous "Racism" card ???? Simply Amazing..

How nice would it be if someone would subsidize my utilities bill , or my tax bill or my grocery bill, and the list goes on and on.........I know you get my point .

Mercer :You need to face facts and reality, theres been and continues to be a "free lunch" program nationwide that is abused without any limits and guess who pays for it ?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Guess yet ?????

Thats right, the working slob who does the right thing everyday, goes to work , pays his/her bills & Taxes so that others can reap the social handout programs provided such as this one.

Maybe you don;t have a problem with this, but I and alot of "Tax payers" do and unfortunatley until we elect political leaders who actually have a set of balls between their legs and start putting the breaks on , this BS will continue.

Hey, I'm all for helping my fellow man who really needs it,hense the operative word is "really needs it", but unfortunatley a good portion of these recipients know too well how to play the game and get what they want while Suckers like us are stuck with the BILL !!!!

You can call it whatever you want, but this is totally wrong and as the saying goes, only time will tell and youll see what conditions these homes are in the nxt few years.

CK

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AMEN! See Acorn.org to help further with affordable housing in Jersey City


Jersey City ACORN

WELCOME to your local ACORN (The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) website. ACORN members are proud to organize for social justice and better neighborhoods. Join us, and let your voice be heard in your local community. Express your immediate concerns through e-mail or by contacting us by phone.

Jersey City ACORN
574 Newark Avenue
#204
Jersey City, NJ 07306
njacorn@acorn.org
Phone: 201-222-0100
Fax: 201-222-1199

Services

Free Tax Prep
ACORN is now providing free tax preparation for low and moderate income families in partnership with the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Preparation (VITA) program.

Housing Counseling
ACORN Housing provides one-on-one mortgage loan counseling, first-time homebuyer classes, and helps clients obtain affordable mortgages through our unique lending partnerships.

Community Services

ACORN provides services for its members, and low and moderate income communities and families.

Housing: ACORN members have fought for and won a programs to make it easier to get a fair and affordable home loan, The ACORN Housing Corporation established in 1986 provides one-on-one mortgage loan counseling, first-time homebuyer classes, and helps clients obtain affordable mortgages through our unique lending partnerships. ACORN Housing has assisted more than 45,000 families become first-time homebuyers and has rehabilitated more than 850 vacant and abandoned housing units. AHC currently provides a home ownership and counseling program in 30 cities, and also helps families avoid and fight predatory lending.

Tax Preparation: ACORN provides free tax preparation for low- and moderate-income families in 45 cities with plans to expand to 70 cities by 2006. ACORN provides Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs to help low- and moderate-income families, including informing them about the EITC and Child Tax Credit refunds.

Community Events: National Clean Up Day (June) and Slow Down for Kids Day (Sept.).

Other community services offered through local ACORN offices include lead paint screening, financial literacy education, leadership training, and voter registration.

===========================================
http://acorn.org/index.php?id=2716

ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the country's largest organization of low to moderate-income people. Since 1970, ACORN has grown to more than 175,000 member families, organized in 850 neighborhood chapters in 80 cities across the United States, Canada, the Dominican Republic and Peru.

ACORN's national campaigns include:

Hurricane Katrina - ACORN is working l gather together our displaced community members and organizing, across the country to secure the housing, community services, and our communities need to recover and rebuild.

Predatory Lending- Predatory lending means imposing unfair and abusive loan terms on borrowers, often through aggressive sales tactics, taking advantage of borrowers' lack of understanding of extremely complicated transactions, and outright deception. Predatory loans turn the dream of homeownership into a nightmare, in the worst instances ending in foreclosure. ACORN is campaigning to stop these abuses by promoting legislation and regulation, putting pressure on particular offenders, and education and outreach.

Living Wage- ACORN is campaigning at the local and state levels to pass living-wage laws. These laws set higher minimum wages for the employees of companies benefiting from public contracts, subsidies, or actions, and in some cases also for direct government employees. ACORN is also working to pass across-the-board minimum-wage increases at the local, state, and federal levels. A higher minimum wage law was passed in Florida in November 2004.

Better Schools- ACORN is campaigning to improve the quality of public schools in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods and increase the decision-making power of parents.

Affordable Housing- ACORN is campaigning to remedy the severe lack of affordable housing in the United States. We are working to increase production and rehabilitation through the creation of housing trust funds at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as establishing and demanding enforcement of affordable-housing requirements for developers. We are also promoting programs to help homeowners repair their homes and organizing tenants to demand an end to unjust treatment by landlords.

Community Reinvestment- ACORN is encouraging banks to reinvest in low- and moderate-income communities and minority neighborhoods. We are pressuring the federal government to collect sufficient data and to strengthen and enforce regulations on community reinvestment by banks.

Utilities- Low- and moderate-income families are facing incredibly high utility bills. ACORN is campaigning to impose moratoriums on shutoffs, so that families are not left without heat in the winter or refrigeration in the summer. We are negotiating programs to create lower rates and delayed payment schedules for low-income families. ACORN is opposing deregulation efforts and working to lessen the blow to consumers where deregulation goes forward.

Health Care Access- Millions of Americans do not have health insurance and those that do often do not have adequate coverage. ACORN is working hard to get affordable healthcare for all. Specific areas of interest include:

Preventing the closure of public hospitals and improving the status of Medicaid

Winning free care and discounted care programs for uninsured and underinsured patients at a number of hospitals around the country

Enforcing the federal requirement that hospitals have adequate translation services for non-English speaking patients

I agree, Mercer...but "classism" is perhaps the more appropriate term. Some of these same posters would be the first to advocate for much-higher-cost subsidized housing via the criminal justice system. Why not afford lower-income citizens an opportunity to achieve financial stability and live socially productive lives? Do they somehow believe that those with less skills and education only deserve to live in dangerous, run-down slums?

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I personally don't care what race Shaneefia is, or for that matter what race other public housing residents are.

What I care about, is that for MY MONEY, their kids better study at home, hit the books, not hit law-abiding citizens with heavy implements over the head, as well-documented on this board.

Get lost with your racism garbage.

the racism on some of these posts is unbelievable! i pay plenty of taxes too and i happen to think its a good thing to give people a hand up.

I would hope there is a strict application policy to prevent abusers of the system. It would also be nice to find tenants that will respect the property so future generations can have a nice place to live.

*wakes up*

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CK - and I thought I was the only one thinking exactly the same thing.... and more....


These "attractive three-story structures that look like private houses" probably cost $300K to build... For each unit...

I am glad Shaneefia is happy with her new home.

I pay the taxes (a lot of money, every year) so that she can be happy.

All I ask in return is Shaneefia's neighbors and fellow public housing residents not mug me when I walk the streets of Jersey City, to which I pay 10 grand/year in taxes, every year.

Is that too much to ask?

Doesn't this give you just a warm fuzzy feeling all over knowing that you get out of bed every day, make the trek to work, get yr balls busted and come home right before sundown just to pay taxes that will subsidize housing for everyone ?????

Simply Amazing...


CK

72 homes - new face of public housing
Thursday, July 27, 2006
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City Housing Authority held a grand opening yesterday for the Pacific Court Townhouses in the Lafayette section of Jersey City - 72 units of low-, moderate-and market-rate housing packaged in attractive three-story structures that look like private homes.

The homes come in various hues, from beige to blue. There are even sheds out back for storage.

"It's beautiful," said Shaneefia Franklin, who lives with her 4-year-old son DaQuan and DaQuan's father, Chris Thomas, in a two-bedroom unit for $300 a month.

"For him (DaQuan), it beats living over a liquor store or a Laundromat," Thomas added. "It's less violent."

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy praised the $20 million development, which opened this month and is fully occupied.

"It's a good afternoon for Jersey City," Healy said. "I'm very happy to have 72 very beautiful high-quality units like this."

Healy defied anybody to find a difference between the low-income, moderately priced, and market-rate units.

And there is virtually no difference, except when it comes to the configuration of the rooms, said Ava Goldman, senior vice president of the Marlton-based Michaels Development Co., the builder and now manager of the property.

The low-income units are on one level, while the moderately-priced and high-end units have two or three levels, she said.

Pacific Court, the second of seven phases of "Hope VI housing" to be built in Jersey City, represents the latest thinking in how to do public housing, officials said. Big, sprawling, foreboding developments are out, they said.

The project also gets the JCHA out of managing housing. Those duties fall to Interstate Management Company, a spin-off of Michaels Development Co.

Pacific Court was financed in part by a $34 million "Hope VI" grant received by the JCHA in 2001. The grant is being used to rehab buildings, demolish others, create new developments and provide "intense social services" for the public housing residents, said Joan Pollock, the JCHA's director of development.

The moderately priced units were financed by private investors who receive a tax break on their income, officials said.

For Maria Maio, JCHA's executive director, the day was bittersweet. Pacific Court is worth celebrating, she said. But she planned to spend today in meetings about the millions of dollars in federal cuts her agency has suffered. President George Bush even wants to get rid of the Hope VI program, she said