City Council observer John Marshall Lee who was instrumental in urging creation of a Fair Rent Commission had this to say to the legislative body Tuesday night about enacting a Fair Housing Commission.
My hat urges a viewer to LIVE THE QUESTION!! More importantly, what question concerns you? “Housing” questions surround you. As the largest City in the State of CT, we exceed others in the size and diversity of those residing in the Park City. How do we deal with their residence situations?
On Saturday I met a group of young people at the Black Rock Farmer’s Market. They were selling flower bouquets to raise money for the “homeless “. I gently asked: “Do you know how many ‘homeless people’ there are?” They did not. But do you? Where are accurate housing and resident numbers these days? How many people fill the roster for HUD grants in merely several days, a list that lasts for years? How many seek to own, rather than rent?
You know that past Mayors evaded, ignored, and failed to accomplish the maintenance of a Fair Housing Commission. By failing to name qualified citizens as successors to maintain a quorum, there have been no agendas, no minutes, in a few words, there have been no meetings to discuss the status of FAIR HOUSING in the City of Bridgeport for twenty years.
Thanks to Council action two years ago there is a current active Fair Rent Commission with a City employee staff member to deal with complaints. But where is the group approved as Fair Housing on October 3, 2022, two years ago? Do you have any word of a City Board that might know how many “homeless” reside on the streets of our City because the number is greater than social justice agencies and the City can offer direction or serve respite?
Where do citizens seeking fairness with home ownership or with self-governance issues in condominiums or coops find assistance for such “ownership” issues? Are courts their sole resort? I suggest that the City offer more instruction on citizen rights as well as responsibilities, augmented by your own personal instruction at regular neighborhood meetings as part of a solution. Success Village owner/resident troubles are historic examples of large City responsibility but little or no reporting from those bodies to the City, while City departments like Fire, Police, Tax collection, WPCA, Health and Social Services must respond to residents in trouble.
And there is more than one condo association, with elected members, ignoring responsibilities for Open, Accountable, Transparent, and Honest communication. Time will tell.
FAIR HOUSING COMMISSION language is in the books from October, 2023. No one has paid attention to the regulation which sits with our Charter and Ordinances. Why is that? Where is there a meeting to discuss the quality of life or self-governance challenges of condominium associations and co-ops in the City of Bridgeport. For all intents and purposes, a series of Democratic leaders allowed the original FHC to expire “in plain sight” more than 20 years ago, and current leadership sees no need to appoint qualified residents to look at “fair housing” issues, including State regulations that are not working to uncover failing “self governance” operations for which they can at least be knowledgable and accountable, as well as HONEST. Time will tell.