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23-684: In the federal government model of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), BHA is a public housing agency . As such, BHA administers federal government assistance programs and monies for locally subsidized housing. With 70 developments, and serving almost 26,000 people across over 12,600 public housing units, it is the largest public housing authority in New England . It also offers partial subsidies for private housing, assisting another 32,000 people, and administers federal Section 8 vouchers. The agency's performance

46-550: A failed policy are killing the neighborhoods around them". HUD Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing Roberta Achtenberg has been quoted as saying "HUD walks a tightrope between free speech and fair housing. We are ever mindful of the need to maintain the proper balance between these rights." Libertarian critic James Bovard commented that, "The more aggressive HUD becomes, the fewer free speech rights Americans have. Many words and phrases are now effectively forbidden in real estate ads... Apparently, there are two separate versions of

69-610: A member of the president's Cabinet , and thirteenth in the presidential line of succession . The post was created with the formation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development on September 9, 1965, by President Lyndon B. Johnson 's signing of ( Pub. L.   89–174: The Department of Housing and Urban Development Act ) into law. The department's mission is "to increase homeownership , support community development and increase access to affordable housing free from discrimination." Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

92-513: Is appointed by the President and subject to Senate confirmation. He or she is responsible for conducting and supervising audits , investigations, and inspections relating to the programs and operations of HUD. The OIG is to examine, evaluate and, where necessary, critique these operations and activities, recommending ways for the department to carry out its responsibilities in the most effective, efficient, and economical manner possible. The mission of

115-537: Is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government . It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the secretary of housing and urban development , who reports directly to the president of the United States and is a member of the president's Cabinet . Although its beginnings were in the House and Home Financing Agency, it was founded as a Cabinet department in 1965, as part of

138-555: Is periodically reviewed by a nine-member council, the BHA Monitoring Committee, which reports to the mayor. The BHA was established on October 1, 1935 by the mayor and city council of Boston under Massachusetts General Law allowing cities and towns of Massachusetts to establish housing authorities. According to Massachusetts law, its mission was to be responsible for providing decent, safe and sanitary housing for families unable to afford housing without public subsidies. BHA

161-467: The " Great Society " program of President Lyndon B. Johnson , to develop and execute policies on housing and metropolises. The idea of a department of Urban Affairs was proposed in a 1957 report to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, led by New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller. The idea of a department of Housing and Urban Affairs was taken up by President John F. Kennedy, with Pennsylvania Senator and Kennedy ally Joseph S. Clark Jr. listing it as one of

184-462: The BHA oversees 70 developments across 13 Boston neighborhoods . Of them, 38 are designated for elderly and disabled housing (two of which contain additional family units) and 32 are designated for families (one of which contains additional elderly and disabled units). United States Department of Housing and Urban Development The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ( HUD )

207-471: The Bill of Rights -- one for private citizens and the other for federal bureaucrats and politicians". In 2006, The Village Voice named HUD "New York City's worst landlord" and "the #1 worst in the United States" based upon decrepit conditions of buildings and questionable eviction practices. In September 2010, HUD started auctioning off delinquent home mortgage loans, defined as at least 90 days past due, to

230-487: The Boston Public Housing Tenants Policy Council. The decree listed a series of improvements that BHA was supposed to make over the course of three years. The master, responsible for monitoring BHA's compliance with the consent decree, gave approval for all major decisions made by the BHA board and administrator. In 1979, the judge ruled that BHA had failed to satisfactorily fulfill the terms of

253-578: The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is to: The OIG accomplishes its mission by conducting investigations pertinent to its activities; by keeping Congress, the Secretary, and the public fully informed of its activities, and by working with staff (in this case of HUD) in achieving success of its objectives and goals. The Honorable Rae Oliver Davis, who was appointed on January 23, 2019, is the current Inspector General. The Department of Housing and Urban Development

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276-610: The city, moving black families into the development at Columbia Point while reserving developments in South Boston for white families who started refusing assignment to the Columbia Point project by the early 1960s. In 1962, upon receipt of a lawsuit filed by a civil rights group, the West Broadway Housing Development was desegregated after having been designated by the city for white-only occupancy since 1941. In

299-595: The completion of a special study group report on the federal role in solving urban problems. HUD is administered by the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development . Its headquarters is located in the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building . Some important milestones for HUD's development include: The major program offices are: The United States Congress enacted the Inspector General Act of 1978 to ensure integrity and efficiency in government. The Inspector General

322-453: The consent decree and BHA was placed in receivership, with its board of commissioners and administrator replaced by a court-appointed receiver. Since 1990, when the receivership ended, BHA has been directed by an administrator whose activities are reviewed by a nine-member monitoring committee appointed by the mayor of Boston. Kathryn Bennett was named Acting Administrator in July 2019. As of 2014,

345-663: The department's lax oversight of their program allowed the fraud to occur. In 1997, the HUD Inspector General issued a report saying: "The program design encourages risky property deals, land sale, and refinance schemes, overstated property appraisals, and phony or excessive fees." In June 1993, HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros admitted that "HUD has in many cases exacerbated the declining quality of life in America." In 1996, Vice President Al Gore , referring to public housing projects, declared that, "These crime-infested monuments to

368-461: The highest bidder. It sold 2,000 loans in six national auctions. In 2012, this sale was massively increased under a "Distressed Asset Stabilization Program" (DASP), and the 100,000 loans sold as of 2014 have netted $ 8.8 billion for the FHA, rebuilding cash reserves that had been depleted by loan defaults. The second stated and eponymous objective is to stabilize communities, by requiring purchasers to service

391-427: The loans in a manner that stabilizes the surrounding communities by getting the loans to re-perform, renting the home to the borrower, gifting the property to a land bank or paying off the loans in full. An audit published August 2014 found "only about 11 percent of the loans sold through DASP [were] considered 're-performing'". "Rather than defaulting—[FHA] keeps many of the properties they’re tied to from going through

414-571: The same year, the Mission Hill project had 1,024 families (all white), while the Mission Hill Extension project across the street had 580 families (of which 500 were black), and in 1967, when the city government agreed to fully desegregate the developments, the projects were still 97 percent white and 98 percent black respectively. The management and governance of the BHA is different from that of other housing authorities since 1975, when BHA

437-429: The top seven legislative priorities for the administration in internal documents. The department was established on September 9, 1965, when Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Department of Housing and Urban Development Act into law. It stipulated that the department was to be created no later than November 8, sixty days following the date of enactment. The actual implementation was postponed until January 14, 1966, following

460-401: The typical foreclosure process. As a result, the FHA might actually be diverting housing stock from first-time homebuyers, the very group it was formed to serve..." United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary ) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development ,

483-472: Was also charged with clearing substandard, decadent or blighted open areas and urban redevelopment, although this responsibility was later transferred to the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) in 1957. The first BHA housing projects were opened between 1938 and 1942. Under the tenure of Boston Mayor John F. Collins (1960–1968), the BHA segregated the public housing developments in

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506-527: Was authorized a budget for Fiscal Year 2015 of $ 48.3 billion. The budget authorization is broken down as outlined in the following chart. A scandal arose in the 1990s when at least 700 houses were sold for profit by real estate speculators taking the loans; at least 19 were arrested. The scandal devastated the Brooklyn and Harlem housing market, with $ 70 million in HUD loans going into default . Critics said that

529-485: Was sued in Boston City Housing Court by a group of BHA tenants, represented by Greater Boston Legal Services, regarding poor conditions in housing projects under the authority's control. As a result of the ruling which was in favor of the tenants, a court-appointed master prepared a report listing recommendations that provided the basis for a consent decree signed in 1977 by BHA, Greater Boston Legal Services and

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