Letters: Need to keep Phila. housing affordable

ISSUE | PHILADELPHIA DEVELOPMENT

Need to keep housing affordable

As leaders of the Philadelphia Coalition for Affordable Communities, we've worked with City Councilman Kenyatta Johnson for three years to ensure that the city's new prosperity is shared by all residents. We hope this month's court ruling against Johnson for blocking developer Ori Feibush's attempts to buy two city-owned properties ("Council on trial," May 15) will not negate the message that long-term residents have a right to stay in the communities we call home.

South Philadelphia is ground zero for market-driven development, and the neighborhood has seen severe displacement of longtime residents increase. In Johnson's district, according to a coalition study, half of all renters and one of every three homeowners are spending more than they can afford on housing; the median sales price of a home has increased 184 percent since 2000, more than triple the citywide rate; and the African American population has decreased in neighborhoods such as Point Breeze by 29 percent. This skyrocketing cost of housing is also causing a lack of affordable and accessible homes for our residents and seniors with disabilities.

Council must enact legislation ensuring that developers who are benefiting from the city's growth pay their fair share.

|Nora Lichtash and Thomas Earle, Philadelphia, thomasearle@libertyresources.org