Empower DC packs Council hearing on housing authority budget

On the 30th of April, Empower DC brought well over 100 DC public housing residents and supporters to pack Muriel Bowser's hearing on the DC housing authority budget, which contains zero money for repair or renovation of traditional public housing.

DC Government video-entire hearing

Instead, the city applied to HUD for money to DEMOLISH three properties and thankfully these funds were refused. Almost all the attendees at the hearing were either residents or supporters of public housing, and for once witnesses did not have to sit through hours of testimony from developers before being permitted to speak.

A witness reported that Muriel Bowser was the only Councilmember present at the hearing, and she sat "stone-faced" through all testimony except when she was directly singled out for criticism. Several witnesses said they would not vote for her for Mayor even if she was the only candidate running.

Reverend Hagler called out the City Council for committing a "moral sin" by budgeting only $50 million for all of the DC Housing Authority out of a total city budget of $11 billion while surrounded by massive wealth.