THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 30, 1995 TAG: 9506010635
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MIKE KNEPLER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 129 lines
The way City Councilman Herbert M. Collins Sr. sees it, the biggest issues facing his public-housing task force are winning the confidence of tenants and helping them overcome their fears of demolition.
Those problems top the challenges of education, jobs, health care, substance abuse and other social issues being studied by the task force, said Collins, the panel's co-chairman and a critic of public-housing operations.
``Once people think you're genuinely trying to help . . . then the other things come easier,'' Collins said as he prepares for the task force's first public hearing, 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday in Ruffner Middle School.
The hearing, the first of at least three scheduled for this year, comes as the task force completes its third month of study on the future of Norfolk's public-housing neighborhoods.
Contrary to many rumors, the task force has not proposed demolition of any public housing or made other formal suggestions.
The panel's recommendations are expected in December or in early 1996.
In recent task force meetings, Mayor Paul D. Fraim and at least three tenant leaders on the panel proclaimed that there are no plans to raze public housing.
Collins notes that federal law prohibits tearing down any units without replacement. But he also says he personally favors some demolition if an equal number of homes are built elsewhere to promote socio-economic integration.
Yet fear of demolition continues to thrive, because of Collins' pronouncements, statements by other politicians and long-held suspicions by many public-housing residents.
``I learned that the fears permeated from the past history of total demolition of some black neighborhoods. I wasn't expecting the amount of fear I heard,'' Collins said when asked for the main insight he's had since the 37-member task force began its work in March.
So far, much of the effort has involved fact finding, such as population and income figures, public-housing history and an update on state and local welfare reform. The task force has subcommittees to study matters such as national legislation, education, substance abuse, neighborhood design and economic opportunity.
With months of work ahead, Collins said the panel has reached only one conclusion: ``We have to do something different with public housing, but we don't know what that is. No question, something needs to be done in terms of the upward mobility of the residents. ''
But to succeed, he said, the panel needs more help from tenants.
``I want them to make a good showing but also be open-minded, open and honest'' at the hearing, Collins said.
``That's the only way we could help them. If you go to the doctor and you don't tell him what's the matter, how can he help you?
``We need to hear from them about what they think should be done, how we should do it and where we should do it. This is an opportunity for them to participate fully in the process and to put down the fear of skeptics.''
Impetus for creating the task force began in September when the Planning Commission asked the City Council to study the future of public housing near downtown.
The commissioners cited two goals: protect investment in projects such as the $270 million MacArthur Center shopping mall and make sure tenants benefit from downtown revitalization.
Then Collins weighed in, suggesting that all alternatives be considered, including demolishing some units and scattering replacement homes citywide.
He also described the tenants as ``a subculture that's not acceptable'' and made other remarks that some interpreted as blaming public-housing residents for social, educational, unemployment and crime problems in their neighborhoods.
Collins later said he was only trying to raise awareness of the problems in public housing and support for making improvements.
However, he has not been able to shake the suspicions.
Collins blames much of the continuing controversy on Bishop L.E. Willis Sr., an influential black political, business and religious leader who has used his own radio talk show to attack Collins.
Willis has disagreed with creating the task force and has questioned the trustworthiness of some members, such as Collins. ``I think Herbert Collins is really expressing the desires of others,'' he said.
Without being specific, Willis said those ``others'' come from Norfolk's political and development establishment. He declined to say why he believed Collins was expressing such views.
But Willis said he was miffed at Collins for having ``criticized the people living in the projects. It was those statements that turned me off.''
The bishop also warned that scattering public housing would dilute black voting strength.
``It's ludicrous to talk about scattering people around the city. Norfolk is landlocked. Where are you going to scatter them?'' Willis said.
Willis demanded that Collins first say where and how new housing will be built. ``My problem is that history is crying out that they'll never do it,'' he said. ``I would be much more comfortable if they showed me that.''
Willis said he had little faith in federal laws that require one-for-one replacement for demolished public housing.
``I don't know of a law that can't be broken. There's always a way to get around a law that's written,'' Willis said.
Collins accuses Willis of using the public-housing issue for his own political agenda, a charge that Willis denies.
The councilman also said he has not changed his opinions about problems in public-housing neighborhoods and the need to scatter more units citywide.
``The housing needs to be scattered. The more I get into it, the more I'm convinced that's the way to go,'' Collins said. ``There's still too much warehousing, too much concentration. I still believe poor people need places to live, but they don't need to live right on top of each other. That has a domino effect . . . The ills just carry over from person to person, household to household. We all need to learn how other people live and learn from each other. We need a variety of incomes in all neighborhoods.
``You need to scatter your people so they can have more outside contacts'' for jobs and other economic, educational and social opportunities, Collins said.
Collins said he also wants a mix of incomes in public housing, too, to have ``more functional families for (role) modeling.''
But, by opposing scattering of public housing, Willis is ``encouraging segregated neighborhoods,'' Collins said.
``That's been the problem. Segregated schools come from that and all the other problems. We should have learned from the past.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Herbert M. Collins Sr.: Hearing is a chance for residents to
participate and to put down the fear of skeptics.
Graphic
FUTURE OF PUBLIC HOUSING
What: Public hearing
When: 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday
Where: Ruffner Middle School, 489 Tidewater Drive, Norfolk.
Why: To get more public participation in Norfolk's public housing
task force. The task force has, as its co-chairmen, City Councilmen
Herbert M. Collins Sr. and Dr. Mason C. Andrews.
by CNB