Section 8 vouchers should give low-income people the opportunity to live outside poor communities. But discriminatory landlords, exclusionary zoning and the federal government’s hands-off approach leave recipients with few places to call home.
HARTFORD – Most of the candidates looking to be Hartford’s next mayor agreed Tuesday that they would try to pressure neighboring suburbs to offer more affordable housing and services for the homeless.
Patrick Skahill / Connecticut Public Radio
The Metropolitan District Commission alleges that the city of Hartford and the Hartford Housing Authority owe more than $1.3 million combined in unpaid water bills, but both dispute the charges. And, in one case, the authority said it sent a check, which the MDC never cashed.
In a letter dated June 18, MDC CEO Scott Jellison and District Chairman William DiBella said about $816,000 of the past due balance is tied to city accounts and about $561,000 in overdue charges is tied to the Hartford Housing Authority.
“This is a significant past due balance,” the MDC wrote in the letter addressed to Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, “which negatively impacts the District’s cash flow, which in turn affects all our member towns.”
Best of 2020: How wealthy towns keep people with housing vouchers out
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originally published on January 9, 2020.
Hartford On a sweltering Saturday afternoon last June, Crystal Carter took a deep breath as she walked toward the red “for rent” sign.
Separated by Design
Shaded by tall oak trees, the three-story duplex looked cozy. The first floor siding was painted yellow, with white railings leading to the front door. The windows appeared new, the lawn freshly cut.
Although the property was in Barry Square, on the edge of a struggling area in southern Hartford, the family outside buoyed Carter’s spirits. Four children giggled in a recliner in the front yard, singing along to the radio while their father packed a moving truck. Across the street were Trinity College’s dignified brick pillars, the entry to the elite school’s 100-acre campus.