“Age is a question of mind over matter! If you don’t mind it really doesn’t matter” – Legendary baseball pitcher Satchel Paige.

Changes at Orchard Park, the for-sale, market-rate town homes built around the Flannery Homes Senior Towers continued at an accelerated pace over the summer.

Cement foundations for new town houses are all completed and building is now in progress. The cement foundations are water barrier-sealed, under the guidance of a new town-house contractor/ developer Tropic Construction. Superintendents David Graf and Mark Hawkins as well as foreman Carey Overstreet are showing they definitely know what building is all about.

Anita Scheer, sales manager for Garrison Partners, is handling the marketing of the new town homes. Read more »

With help from ABLA’s Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) committee, an agreement to guarantee that residents from Brooks Homes would be able to return after rehabilitation was completed. They secured funding from the CHA modernization heat-related damage fund to renovate one high rise for Brooks Homes residents.

During the rehabilitation process, some residents were even hired to work. Here’s an update to what’s happening: Read more »

In early December, I participated in the celebration of the installment of the late Major Robert Lawrence Jr. (a cousin) into the Astronaut Hall of Fame at the Kennedy Space Center in Orlando, Fla.

When I returned Dec. 8, I had a bag full of happy memories and dirty, sandy clothes. I needed to wash. But when I went into the laundry room one floor below my apartment, I saw some brand new machines. I was happy to see the new machines. Many tenants had long been disgusted with the old machines because they were in terrible condition when they worked at all.

But then I noticed a sign which said “insert card here.” I didn’t have a card; I and everyone in the building had been using tokens in the old machines. With no card, I had to drag my dirty laundry back to my apartment. Read more »

Here I am in Boston, anticipating to see low-income residents of public housing that have fought for safe, decent, sanitary, affordable housing as well as managing their own dwellings. My thoughts are: what a sight to see!!

As the cab drives along the streets, I see beautiful housing and businesses flourishing everywhere. I wonder: where is this public housing? As we slowly approach the area, I see high rises but they do not look like public housing to me.

As usual, my mind starts to think back on Chicago and the flight toward new mixed income communities. I wonder if I’ll see housing that compares to the idea of mixed-income communities in Chicago – the beautiful architecturally-designed housing with spacious rooms that will serve families with children. This vision is very much different from the housing as we now know it and live in it. A smile instantly comes upon my face – “Ahhh” – just the thought of safe, decent, sanitary housing, as well as quality. “My, oh my.”

But soon, the thoughts and the ideas that were set in my mind would be exploded. In Boston, Mass., I found a reality where quality housing is being carried out and managed by the most delightful residents of the Bromley-Heath Tenant Management Corporation, which is the nation’s oldest tenant management organization.

Read more »

I moved into a Chicago Housing Authority senior housing development on March 30, 1996. I had never resided in CHA housing prior to my move last year and the move was the result of my becoming disabled and needing to use a wheelchair in April of 1993. I was age 60 when this occurred and was 63 when I made the transition from regular private housing to CHA housing; I was no longer able to be employed and being in a fixed income status made me unable to afford the private housing lifestyle I had been accustomed to prior to my disability.

I received a referral to senior housing in early March 1996 and the building I was sent to only had vacancies on the 14th floor, which the manager of the building believed to be unsatisfactory because of my wheelchair situation. I was advised that when an apartment on a lower floor became available (and some were vacant but not ready for occupancy), I would be able to move into one of these. As it stands, an apartment on a lower floor could not become available on a timely basis and I was referred a few weeks later to my current development where a vacancy did exist on the second floor.

The purpose for a lower-floor occupancy for persons who use wheelchairs is that in the event of a fire, it is easier to remove such residents from the premises if they are on lower floors. But routine problems of elevators frequently being out of order are not being addressed on a timely, consistent basis. At the time of the writing of this story, there were breakdowns of both elevators in my Eckhart Park Greenview building twice over a period of less than 24 hours. Residents who are able to walk were forced to use the stairs, which are located at one end of the building and therefore inconvenient for a large number of residents who are unable to walk.

On July 24, 1997, at Navy Pier in Chicago, Access Chicago, the first exposition sponsored by the Mayor’s Office on People With Disabilities, was conducted between the hours of 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. While attending this exposition, I was able to visit several of the exhibit booths and obtain much useful information, including certain requirements for accessibility of CHA buildings. According to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidelines, all CHA buildings and residences are to be accessible to occupants who may be in wheelchairs or use other means to transport themselves. This applies to closet spaces and other storage areas in the apartments. It should also apply to other facilities in the housing developments and an example might be mailboxes, etc.

In a previous story, I revealed that in the area between the two buildings of the Eckhart Park development, there are no ramps to accommodate residents in wheelchairs who may be traveling between the buildings. At a residents meeting on Sept. 26, the development manager announced that improvements this fall will include the replacement of those missing ramps along with such other improvements as the installation of handicapped accessible doors for the entrances into the buildings.

Other ongoing problems of inaccessibility have been the lack of availability of appropriate vehicles to transport disabled individuals to various activities as sponsored by CHA, the City of Chicago or other agencies.

As cited in an earlier story, I discovered that the availability of accessible vehicles to transport wheelchair-using residents is limited and only available when requests for such vehicles is made by a sufficient number of disabled residents. I also discovered that CHA has only a single accessible bus available to residents and that this is only used to transport residents who use wheelchairs from one development to any other development for a particular activity.

In my first story for RJ in the winter issue, I related some unfortunate incidents I had experienced in using CTA Paratransit Operations and as I write this story, I continue to experience these less than satisfactory incidents.

In preparing for this story, I talked to two residents who use wheelchairs in my Greenview Avenue building on this subject of accessibility. The first resident expressed general satisfaction in her five years as a resident of the development but has had no need to use other than medical transportation since she only travels for this purpose. When asked about CTA Paratransit Operations, she said she has never used the service but that all she has heard about it is on the negative side.

The other resident, an occupant of more than 15 years, complained about not being able to ever reach a CTA Paratransit carrier during her attempts to call in order to schedule trips. The resident said that a busy signal was all that could be received on those failed attempts and that a telephone with the automatic redialing feature was not available to her.

I explained her the procedure I have been following for over 2 years which involves dialing the direct number to the carrier I use and pressing the automatic redial button back and forth with the dial tone button until I am finally able to get through to an operator to request my trips. I explained that this procedure sometimes will require up to about 40 minutes but that I will eventually reach an operator and then schedule my trips for the next day.

CTA Paratransit Operations does maintain a 1-800 number which should eliminate the need to call a carrier directly and receive a busy signal and even when such calls are made when the service opens at 5 am weekdays and 6 am weekends. I recently tried to use this number and all I received was a busy signal. Some obvious improvement is needed here and in the entire system.

Under threat of being forced to leave their homes, residents in Stateway Gardens and Rockwell Gardens are fighting the City of Chicago’s efforts to condemn their buildings.

There are many buildings in CHA developments which are in need of immediate and serious repairs, so much so that the City of Chicago recently filed building code violation suits against buildings in several developments in circuit court and won. The city complained that some of the residential housing units were in such a horrendous state of repairs that the residents’ health, welfare and safety were in danger. The city cases were based upon the official building inspection reports that were submitted by the inspectors of the city Building Department. Read more »

The residents of the Senior Twin-Towers Flannery Apartments and the surrounding single-family Town Houses of Orchard Park send out warm greetings to the closely neighboring CHA Cabrini Complex and all CHA communities throughout Chicago. We are still very much in here; alive and kicking, growing our veggies, Bar-B-Queing our slabs and living it up in our Golden Years as we have all our lives, as we have taught all you young ones to follow in our footsteps. Just as the CHA is attempting to bring rapid improvement and change in our important environment, so are we too caught up in striving to upgrade and improve. The Golden Years past retirement are supposedly guaranteed and insured to be forthcoming to us since the New Deal of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s administration in the 1930s. In reality, we residents of Flannery are not turning the magic page at age 62 into a splendid time of comfort and ease. To the contrary, we are still finding we still have to scrap HARD to get and hold onto what we manage to get. We do indeed welcome the help along the way. The CHA help toward the improvement started with private management in February 1997. Our last quarterly issue of the Residents’ Journal detailed the positive steps which private management began here at Flannery. The phases of improvement are continuing in somewhat dramatic circumstances. On Thursday morning, April 24, a general meeting of all Flannery residents was announced. Those interested residents of both buildings gathered in the community day room of 1507 N. Clybourn where representatives of the CHA announced, “The only people who need to stay for this meeting are the people below the age of 62. All others above age 62 may leave.” The representatives then announced, “You will be moved (all S.S.I. recipients) out of Flannery. You S.S.I. recipients have the option of: 1.) Taking a Section 8 and moving to other residences or 2.) You will be moved to Cabrini Green within 1 month.”

The representatives continued, “Make your decision NOW because you will be out of the two Flannery buildings within 1 month.” Read more »

I recently interviewed Artensa Randolph, who has been the chairperson of the Central Advisory Council for two decades. I talked to Randolph, 81, about H.R. 2, a new congressional bill that would require residents to volunteer 8 hours every month and would make other changes in residents’ lives.

“I don’t care for this H.R. 2 at all. We had meetings with some of the congressmen and I felt real elated to have the congressmen come to us. Which was Congressman Danny Davis, Congressman Bobby Rush, and Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.

“The congressmen came to us to explain this H.R. 2. Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. said he was going to add some amendments.”

Randolph said her staff had examined H.R. 2 and also did not like it. Randolph said that we residents have been volunteers all of our life.

“I don’t know what they mean about volunteering,” Randolph said. “They will not take me back into slavery. We couldn’t do anything, but do what – I hate to say it – the white folks told us to do but that day is out.

“I’m not going backwards and to volunteer to live in public housing, and we don’t have the luxury or anything that we need or want. Then they have people working in public housing.”

Randolph also was worried about what will happen to CHA employees.

“Then what will we do, knock them out of their jobs. Then everyone will be homeless and I’m not going to do it. If the residents want to follow me, we are not going to volunteer because I don’t have to stay here. That’s nothing more than a sophisticated depression and I’m not going for it.

Randolph said there are many role models in public housing, including Henry Horner Local Advisory Council President Mamie Bone, former Ida B. Wells LAC President Helen Finner and ABLA LAC President Deverra Beverly. 1971. Randolph said these role models and many other residents already volunteer much of their time but it would be wrong to force them to volunteer.

“They can’t make me get up and volunteer doing the people’s jobs that they have hired. I’m not going over there taking people’s jobs.

“So I’ll volunteer on my own time. Whatever I want to do, but they can’t make me do anything.”

“About the jobs for this program, no one has come out and said this is what we want you to volunteer for.”

Randolph said she’s very happy with the confidence residents have in her and the CAC. But Randolph said she was upset with the current heads of CHA, who took over the agency in 1995.

“Under this new regime, these are the worst times that we have ever had. We have no one that really listens to our complaints.”

Randolph said she wants a new board of commissioners. The old board oversaw the operations of CHA but was dissolved before the current regime came in.

“We don’t have anyone to go to and help us resolve some of these problems. So this is what I’m fighting for is to get a commissioners board back. When this happens, I’m going to resign and go into something else.

Randolph does sit on the Executive Advisory Council but she feels it doesn’t really help residents.

“We do have what we call an Advisory Council….but this Advisory Council to me, and I say it all the time, it’s for the birds.”

Randolph blamed the mayor for not stepping in to stop the board of commissioners from being dissolved.

“I don’t know what happened to Mayor Daley. I don’t know what he’s afraid of for he has not come out like he should.”

I asked Randolph whether there was any affordable housing available for residents displaced by demolition.

“About the affordable housing, today they say one thing and tomorrow it’s another.

“(Former CHA Executive Director) Vince Lane said that some of the developments have got to come down. But the only thing I hate is there won’t be any replacement housing and this is what I’m fighting for. But it seems like some of the members of the Central Advisory Council have forgotten what he (Vince Lane) said to the council.

“Sometimes, they (CHA and the residents) just let the buildings run down. They had a foresight; they didn’t try to do anything to fix them up. So they had to get in bad condition and then they tell me so much money…was needed to do the units. But I don’t know if it’s true or not. No one has come to me to say this is how much money it takes to do a unit. So now they’re tearing down but not rebuilding.

“Mr. Lane said that there is land all around where you could build these homes and then let the people move in, then demolish where you were living, because everyone wants to remain in their own neighborhood. No one wants to go out in the suburbs where the water is destroying everything.

“They think that we don’t have sense enough to see all of this but they want to put us out there. No one wants us out there so I don’t feel comfortable going where I’m not wanted.

“Affordable housing is our right. Some people think we live here and don’t pay any rent. We’re paying our just dues. While living in public housing, it should be decent and sanitary and a safe place to live. It was when they were just built in 1937 but now it’s different. It’s not safe, it’s not decent, It’s just a place to live.

Again I say it’s not like it used to be but through the years, I don’t know what happened.

In general, Randolph said conditions are worse for residents than in the past.

“It’s bad living for us now. We’re afraid for our lives. We don’t have enough security. Gangs have just taken over but I remember when Mayor Daley was the (Cook County) state’s attorney. We met with him and he said, ‘You all better get yourselves together because eventually the gangs are going to take over your apartment.’”

“We never heard that so we just didn’t believe him (Mayor Daley) but I swear he told the truth. Gangs have just taken over. Senior housing and family but it’s more in family housing but I don’t think that senior housing has enough security. They are still cutting back. So it will be only one security officer for two buildings.”

Randolph doesn’t agree with H.R. 2 and she is really trying to protect the residents.

“You are in the way!” Those words angered many residents like myself who live at the Henry Horner Homes Annex. We sat and listened to former Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Chairman Vince Lane boast that the residents of the Annex wouldn’t have a choice of where they would live. He intended for the Horner Annex to become a parking lot for the new United Center just across the street. The Annex is swallowed up in parking lots. I am sure that to the owners of the United Center and the yuppies that generally attend games, our building was an eyesore. But fortunately, Lane is no longer here and the Annex is. The Annex is still standing because of the consent decree resulting from a lawsuit against CHA and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) being won.

The consent decree gave the Annex residents a choice between revitalization or demolition. The residents were shown scattered site plans and a model of what the apartments could look like if the Annex was rebuilt. Read more »

With redevelopments ongoing in several communities, we thought it would be important to review the history of the four empty Lakefront buildings, which have been waiting for redevelopment for a decade. Using history books and her personal recollections, writer Izora Davis explores the past, present and future of the buildings’ residents.

The history of public housing, as we all have come to know it, has touched each and every one of us in such a way it feels as though we built the buildings ourselves!

I refer to this story as the dying hope because it was a dream for many people to live in subsidized housing. When the buildings were first built, it made the government look as though it really cared about poor people. People felt as if they were a part of a nation that cared. Oh! What a joy. So much happiness thrilled people’s hearts: these were nice houses, not rat infested, and with spacious rooms. But slowly the doom has come. What did we do wrong? Through the years, piece by piece, all that we thought we had was taken away. Even today, when big changes are coming, the hope is dying for residents of Washington Park. Read more »