Rating HUD and FEMA, post-hurricane
Everyone remembers former New York City Mayor Ed Koch with his famous phrase, "How'm I doin'?" I don't know how many actual New Yorkers on the street got a chance to tell their mayor to his face what they thought of his work, but at least I like the theory of direct accountability.
So how have the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) performed so far in the aftermath of the hurricanes that have brought so much devastation to the Gulf Coast? The National Multi Housing Council and the National Apartment Association, which frequently team up on legislative and government matters, were quite critical of the federal government last month, particularly in the way those agencies have dealt with -- even ignored -- the apartment industry. Apartment owners and managers across the country, but especially in Texas and other states directly surrounding the worst-hit areas, went above and beyond the call in providing immediate shelter to storm evacuees, often with the expectation the federal government would rely on their market expertise and available units when implementing a long-term solution.
What did they get instead?
* They got to watch a widely criticized effort to place refugees in mobile homes. Good for the mobile home and manufactured housing industries, yes, but a perceived slap in the face to all of the apartment owners in the area with ready-and-vacant units.
* They watched the government pay millions of dollars a day to put other refugees into hotel rooms.
* They watched the government announce plans to jump-start redevelopment of the storm areas with that crowd-pleaser, homeownership.
So now we're hearing some apartment industry folks are wondering why they're being treated as the ugly stepchildren instead of the businesspeople on the frontlines of helping out, which is what they are.
What's your experience? Are HUD and FEMA responsive to your apartment needs? And if you work for either agency, let us know what you are doing and whom our readers should contact to offer their own help and to get direction from the federal government about where this relief effort is heading. We're all in this together, after all.
Either post a comment below or send me an e-mail.
So how have the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) performed so far in the aftermath of the hurricanes that have brought so much devastation to the Gulf Coast? The National Multi Housing Council and the National Apartment Association, which frequently team up on legislative and government matters, were quite critical of the federal government last month, particularly in the way those agencies have dealt with -- even ignored -- the apartment industry. Apartment owners and managers across the country, but especially in Texas and other states directly surrounding the worst-hit areas, went above and beyond the call in providing immediate shelter to storm evacuees, often with the expectation the federal government would rely on their market expertise and available units when implementing a long-term solution.
What did they get instead?
* They got to watch a widely criticized effort to place refugees in mobile homes. Good for the mobile home and manufactured housing industries, yes, but a perceived slap in the face to all of the apartment owners in the area with ready-and-vacant units.
* They watched the government pay millions of dollars a day to put other refugees into hotel rooms.
* They watched the government announce plans to jump-start redevelopment of the storm areas with that crowd-pleaser, homeownership.
So now we're hearing some apartment industry folks are wondering why they're being treated as the ugly stepchildren instead of the businesspeople on the frontlines of helping out, which is what they are.
What's your experience? Are HUD and FEMA responsive to your apartment needs? And if you work for either agency, let us know what you are doing and whom our readers should contact to offer their own help and to get direction from the federal government about where this relief effort is heading. We're all in this together, after all.
Either post a comment below or send me an e-mail.
posted by John Zipperer at 11:58 AM
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