HUD calls for Philadelphia Housing Authority board to resign

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development called Friday for the Philadelphia Housing Authority's entire five-member board to quit, saying PHA's "recovery will proceed much faster" if they leave.

HUD Deputy Secretary Ron Sims said there was a need "to restore confidence in the agency and to protect the funding for the residents" in the aftermath of the firing of longtime executive director Carl R. Greene and ensuing federal investigations.

Two board members said they had no plans to comply.

"I will serve as long as I can," City Councilwoman Jannie L. Blackwell said. "I hope that we can get through this. As long as I have the option, I'll stay."

Debra Brady, wife of U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D., Pa.), said: "I don't think we're going to do that. We're going to put this place back together."

The board's chairman, former Mayor John F. Street, said he had not reviewed Sims' statement but would have more to say during the weekend.

Two other board members - tenant leader Nellie Reynolds and Philadelphia AFL-CIO leader Patrick Eiding - could not immediately be reached for comment.

HUD's call for removal of the board is the latest upheaval at the nation's fourth-largest housing authority, which houses 81,000 people. The agency, funded with $371 million from HUD, has been under intense scrutiny from the FBI and other investigative agencies for its spending and personnel practices.

HUD's action drew quick applause from Sen. Charles E. Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The Iowa senator has been asking about PHA operations since the agency fired Greene in September.

"This is the strongest evidence yet that HUD finally is paying attention to what's been happening in Philadelphia," Grassley said. "I hope this is a turning point in HUD's work to improve housing for residents and protect taxpayer money at one of the nation's biggest housing authorities. I'll continue to push hard for HUD to do its job."

Virginia Wilks, president of the Richard Allen Homes/Gladys B. Jacobs Manor Resident Council in North Philadelphia, called it a "good move by HUD."

"It's been a long time in coming," she said, and will help to "get to the bottom of what's happening at the agency and make it better."

Jereon M. Brown, a HUD spokesman, said his agency wanted all members of the board to leave to give the PHA a "clean slate." He said new members would be appointed after the PHA was considered to be on stable footing.

Sims avoided any criticism of the board.

"We believe the Philadelphia Housing Authority's recovery will proceed much faster if the current board steps aside and allows HUD to step in temporarily to work in concert with its interim executive director," Sims said, referring to Michael P. Kelly.

The deputy secretary's statement said Kelly's Dec. 6 appointment to temporarily replace Greene was a first step.

"The next step is an oversight authority not burdened with responsibility for actions of the past," Sims said.

"I remain committed to restoring the public's confidence in PHA and its mission," Kelly said. "We are working hard to build a culture of respect and an organization that operates with transparency and accountability. The citizens of Philadelphia and the residents who depend on us should expect nothing less.

James Stockard, who ran a HUD-mandated training session for PHA board members in 2002, said the federal agency often removes boards when housing authorities are in serious trouble.

Stockard, an affordable-housing specialist at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design, said HUD typically wanted to give a new executive director a freer hand to make needed reforms.