Last month, I had the honor of testifying on the foreclosure crisis and its effect
on minority communities before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform,
chaired by New York Congressman Edolphus Towns. Our own distinguished Rep. Elijah
Cummings and Rep. Chris Van Holland are members.
The foreclosure crisis has hit African American and Hispanic families particularly
hard. Seventy-four percent of those Maryland neighborhoods with the highest concentration
of foreclosures were in predominantly African American and Hispanic communities.
We can expect this trend to continue as our economy continues to flounder. Minority
families are hardest hit by unemployment and under-employment.
I’m proud to note that DHCD has demonstrated that it is possible to open the door
for minority homeownership in a safe and sustainable manner. In 2007, 53 percent
of the 4,111 mortgage loans we financed helped minority households purchase a home,
dramatically outpacing the 30 percent financed by the private sector. At the same
time, we did a better job keeping households in their homes. As of March 31, our
active single family delinquency rate was 6.43 percent, compared to 8.8 percent
for the rest of the country.
Our success in facilitating greater financial access to minority households while
having lower delinquency rates is yet another way that Maryland, under the leadership
of Governor Martin O’Malley and Lt. Governor Anthony Brown, is setting an example
for the nation.
I’d like to share some of my recommendations on how the federal role can be strengthened
to help states cope with what Chairman Towns called “The Silent Depression.”
1. The federal Home Mortgage Disclosure Act must be strengthened to include data
on credit, FICO scores and borrower debt, to make it easier for states to root out
discriminatory lending.
2. Counseling for families participating in federally subsidized homeownership programs
must be increased and housing counselors should be given sustainable funding to
support their work.
3. Lenders and mortgage servicers should be required to participate in the Making
Home Affordable program, and standards and consequences must be developed for inappropriate
actions by servicers working to mitigate delinquency or foreclosure.
4. The federal government should require the Government Sponsored Enterprises (Fannie
Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks) to support State Housing Finance
Agencies through the purchase of bonds and provision of liquidity..
You can find my full remarks on the Department of Housing and Community Development
Web site at mdhousing.org
Raymond Skinner
Secretary
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FEATURE STORY
Maple Street Comes to Pine Street
Historic African American Community in Cambridge Becomes Focus of New Investment
in Housing, Streetscapes and Community Greening
By Kevin Baynes
Occasionally, Despite the national economic downturn, Cambridge’s Main Street business
district is holding its own and even attracting new and unique businesses. However,
the nearby Pine Street community – an historic African American community - has
not seen the same level of progress. The community conditions include vacant lots
and vacant and deteriorated housing. The neighborhood once boasted a bustling business
district of African-American owned businesses, but much of that area burned down
in a 1968 fire.
There are many long-time residents who want to improve the quality of life in their
neighborhood and enhance its marketability. Last summer, the Pine Street community
was granted the state’s new Maple Street designation, which provides a focus for
new community investment.
This has already led to significant new funding commitments. In particular, two
community studies have been undertaken in the last year with state support – a community
history and survey project funded by the Maryland Department of Planning’s Maryland
Heritage Areas program and a housing conditions analysis funded by the Community
Block Grant program. Also, $100,000 was awarded for street improvements through
the Community Legacy program.
This progress gained new momentum this summer when Governor Martin O’Malley designated
Cambridge one of 15 new Smart Sites statewide. The Smart Sites initiative in Cambridge
will bring a comprehensive approach to investing in workforce housing and neighborhood
revitalization. Secretary Skinner joined Cambridge officials and civic leaders on
a walking tour of the community on Sept. 29.
To get the ball rolling, DHCD is proposing the coordination of six internal programs
that will result in significant new housing investment in the Pine Street community,
including: green approaches to rehabilitation and energy conservation for approximately
50 homes for low- and moderate-income households as well as the building of two
new Green homes for affordable homeownership. The new Green homes will be some of
the first on the Eastern Shore for low- and moderate-income households through the
city’s partnership with the Talbot/Dorchester Habitat for Humanity.
It is proposed that DHCD resources be drawn from both housing and neighborhood revitalization
programs including: Community Legacy Program, Maryland Housing Rehabilitation Program
(MHRP), Community Development Block Grant, HOME, Maryland Mortgage Program (MMP)
and Down Payment program (DSELP) and the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP).
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BREAKING NEWS
CNN Report Highlights Maryland’s Use of Recovery Funds for Baltimore City Arts Housing
Project
BALTIMORE,
MD (Sept.22) - Secretary Skinner was interviewed by CNN reporter Sandra
Endo on City Arts, the first affordable housing project for young artists and their
families in the new Station North arts and entertainment district in Baltimore.
The project, financed through $2.6 million from the Tax Credit Assistance Program
and almost $1.4 million in annual low income housing tax credits, will feature 69
rental units and other amenities on what is now a vacant lot and community eyesore.
Just as importantly, it will “create jobs for plumbers, carpenters, electricians
and get money flowing into the economy again, which is critical,” Skinner says in
the broadcast.
Survey: 1 in 5 Marylanders Struggling to Meet Mortgage Payments
CROWNSVILLE, MD (Sept. 17) – One in five Maryland homeowners are struggling
to keep up with their mortgage payments, a new survey shows, with most of those
in financial trouble citing recent job loss as the cause of their problems. The
illume Communications survey was commissioned this summer by DHCD to determine how
homeowners, foreclosure prevention counselors and other clients felt about Maryland’s
efforts to keep people in their homes. The survey found that the state’s “Mortgage
Late? Don’t Wait!” campaign sent a “clear and compelling message that connotes a
sense of urgency.” Counselors reported that distressed homeowners appear to be getting
the message; they have been seeking help earlier in the foreclosure process.
Ceremony Marks Opening of New Affordable Housing in Howard County
ELLICOTT CITY, MD (Sept. 15) - Deputy Secretary Clarence Snuggs joined Howard
County Executive Ken Ulman and other officials for the opening of Ellicott Gardens,
the county’s newest multifamily community and the county’s only complex of its type
with its own power generating wind turbine, thanks to a donation from developer
Old Town Construction. The $17.4 million project was financed through a combination
of funds from Maryland’s Partnership Rental Housing Program, multi-family development
revenue bonds, federal low income housing tax credits, and Howard County’s rental
housing development program.
Close to 1,000 People Helped at Foreclosure Prevention Workshop
GWYNN OAK, MD (Sept. 12) – Secretary Skinner and Seventh District Congressman
Elijah Cummings were the keynote speakers and close to 1,000 people received face
to face counseling at a mortgage prevention workshop at Woodlawn High School. Sponsored
by Rep. Cummings, distressed homeowners worked with counselors, pro bono attorneys
and lenders to find alternatives to losing their homes. Last year, DHCD participated
in 154 foreclosure prevention workshops across the state, reaching more than 26,000
people.
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NEWS TICKER
MD Housing Secretary, Staff Tour City's Pine Street- Sept.
30, Star-Democrat
The Silent Depression- Sept. 25, The Nation
Housing Project for Homeless Wins State Grant- Sept. 23,
Gazette Newspapers
A Fresh Design for Howard Living- Sept. 13, Baltimore Sun
Land Contract for New Industrial park OK'd- Sept. 11, Delmarva
News
Frank Bemoans Pace of Housing Help- Sept. 10, Washington
Post
Bad News on Maryland Foreclosures- Sept. 9, The Daily
Record
CALENDAR
October 14
- BRAC Alliance Forum
Call Daisy Simon (732)532-7626
Host:US Army
Time:1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Location:Gibbs Hall, Fort Monmouth, NJ
October 15
- BRAC Alliance Forum
Call Daisy Simon (732)532-7626
Host:US Army
Time:8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Location:Gibbs Hall, Fort Monmouth, NJ
October 23
- Forest Park Legacy Project
Secretary Skinner scheduled to speak. Call Cristina Mazepink (410) 554-3727
Time:1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Location:4506 Kathland Ave., Gwynn Oak, MD
- BRAC Alliance Forum – Defense Information Systems Agency Fall Festival
Call Julie Woepke (443) 324-0861
Host:Office of Military and Federal Affairs
Time:10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location:DISA Headquarters, 701 S. Courthouse Rd., Arlington, VA
October 26
- Victory Forest Dedication
Deputy Secretary Clarence Snuggs will speak. Call John Spencer (301) 493-5507
Time:10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location:10000 Brunswick Ave. , Silver Spring, MD
- Foreclosure Solutions Workshop
Maryland homeowners facing foreclosure can get information and legal assistance.
Registration is required for those seeking legal counseling. Call Yvette Foreman
(410) 887-5969.
Host:East Side Community Development Corporation
Time:5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Location:Essex Library, 1110 Eastern Blvd., Essex, MD
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