Back in December, when the People’s Community Land Trust told the residents living at 379 Elm Street, a dilapidated, nine-unit multifamily apartment complex in Atlanta’s English Avenue neighborhood, that it would be lowering their rent, the immediate reaction was skepticism. “Everyone was like, ‘What’s the catch?’” Nikishka Iyengar, founder and ecosystem director for The Guild, […]
Money
Posted inHousing
Inside Atlanta’s ‘Highly Hazardous,’ HUD-Supported Fairburn & Gordon Complex
Trinae Ward dreams of moving her family out of their rundown West Atlanta apartment one day. But for now, she’s grateful her 11-year-old twin daughters no longer fear someone reaching up through the floor and grabbing them while they shower. Maintenance crews recently patched up several large holes in the walls and floor inside Ward’s […]
Posted inMoney
With Holidays Approaching, Charities Say Atlanta’s Food Insecurity Problem Is Getting Worse
Cleveland Brownlee estimates he’s lost 20 pounds over the last year or so—and not by choice. The 72-year-old retired security guard from Atlanta’s Pittsburgh neighborhood was one of many new faces at the Rosel Fann Recreation Center mobile food pantry on Oct. 27. Brownlee and many others at the giveaway said the cost of groceries […]
Posted inMoney, Wealth Gap
How Guaranteed Income Is Helping Black Women Battle Gentrification
Cepia Harper was already fighting a losing battle to move up Atlanta’s socioeconomic ladder when the manager of her Midtown apartment complex gave her a month to find a new place to live. The property owners had decided not to renew the single mother’s lease without telling her why, Harper said. “She just said she […]
Posted inHousing
City’s ‘Rapid Housing’ for Homeless Proposal Angers Many in Mechanicsville
Mechanicsville resident Maurice Killing has been living on the streets for about three years, a reality he wants and expects Atlanta leaders to help him change in the near future. “I’m just hoping I can get another place to stay,” Killing said Friday while sitting in a lawn chair outside the tent city near Cooper […]
Posted inHousing
Why Grove Park Residents Say This Housing Nonprofit Is Hurting Their Neighborhood
Grove Park residents are accusing a faith-based, affordable housing nonprofit of hindering Black homeownership in their community by buying up houses, refusing to sell them, and turning them into substandard apartments for rent. Grove Park Renewal’s stated mission is to “empower neighbors through quality, dignified housing.” Helping renters from the majority-Black, northwest Atlanta neighborhood become […]
Posted inCity Politics, Jobs, Public Services
Atlanta’s City Planning Leaders Are Struggling to Hire People. They’re Not Alone.
Could change be in store for Atlanta’s Neighborhood Planning Unit system? At a recent budget hearing for Atlanta’s Department of City Planning, leaders discussed the program aimed at giving residents a voice in how policy decisions affect their communities. Leaders of the department — responsible for long-term planning of how the city will look […]
Posted inCity Politics, Economy, Jobs, Public Services
What We Heard at the Budget Hearing for Atlanta’s New Department of Labor
Workforce development leaders from the office of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens are making final preparations to open the first city-run Department of Labor and Employment Services in July. Last week, Odie Donald II, Mayor Andre Dickens’ chief of staff, laid out plans for the new department during its inaugural City Council budget briefing. Donald has […]
Posted inBlack Businesses
What Business Owners Want to See in South Dekalb’s Future
This story was originally published by Canapy Atlanta, a community-powered journalism nonprofit. DeKalb exists as two counties in one. North DeKalb flourishes with the ongoing development of high-end restaurants, shopping centers, coffee shops, and theaters. South DeKalb, on the other hand, has experienced stagnant growth for decades. The area’s majority Black population have few options for necessities, quality […]
Posted inBlack Businesses
Why These Black Tech Rivals Are Joining Forces
This story comes from our partners at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Atlanta-based Greenwood, the digital banking services company founded for Black and Latino individuals, announced Tuesday it has acquired Kinly, a rival fintech firm also aimed at serving Black customers. Both companies’ missions center around closing the racial wealth gap in the U.S. For Donald Hawkins, […]
