Press Release: Councilmember McDuffie Announces Plan to Convene a Roundtable with the Chief Financial Officer on DCHA’s Long-Term Capital Needs and Facility Condition Assessments

News Release — Ward 5 DC Council member Kenyan McDuffie

For Release: Tuesday, October 18, 2022

Contact: Jonathan McNair

Washington, DC – Today, Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie, Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia’s Committee on Business and Economic Development issued the following statement on the state of DCHA:

Councilmember McDuffie said:

“The DC Housing Authority provides housing for some of the District’s most vulnerable Black and brown residents and the unfortunate reality that many of those residents continue to lack safe and quality housing, with no end in sight, is deeply disturbing and unacceptable. It is further vexing that in a city with thousands of people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity, we are now the home to the lowest occupancy rate of any large public housing authority in the country. The HUD assessment echoes what my team and I have seen in walkthroughs of public housing developments throughout Ward 5.”

“We all know that affordable housing is one of the District’s most pressing challenges but there is simply no excuse for DCHA’s inadequate management of housing programs and its non-compliance with longstanding HUD rules and regulations. Today’s emergency legislation will help address some of the immediate needs identified by HUD; however, it does not go far enough to address the underlying issues that concern the health and safety of public housing units. To truly address these pressing issues, we must lay the groundwork for DCHA to reach a state of good repair and vastly improve occupancy. That is why I will be convening a roundtable with the Chief Financial Officer who will brief the public on DCHA’s long-term capital needs and facility condition assessments.”

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