Over 100 Action Now members and Englewood residents are holding a “We Are Englewood” march and press conference to protest the lack of Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds allocated to the Englewood community to rehab vacant buildings June 4.
Englewood residents will march from 55th Street and Peoria Street to 61st Street where there are a large number of vacant and abandoned single-family and multi-unit buildings.
There will then be a short press conference in front of a large vacant building at 61st and Peoria at 1p.m. where Sen. Mattie Hunter of the 3rd District, Ald. Toni Foulkes (15th Ward), Ald. Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward) and Englewood residents will demand that some of the $58 million left in Chicago’s NSP funds be used to rehab vacant buildings and help restore Englewood to the vibrant community it once was.
The NSP was established for the purpose of stabilizing communities that have suffered from foreclosures and abandonment, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development website. Englewood is one of Chicago’s communities that has been hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis, caused by big banks that targeted low-income families with predatory loans. As a result, there are several vacant properties on almost every block in Englewood. Vacant properties attract illegal activity like drugs, sexual violence and killings. They are a safety hazard and an eyesore for the remaining families in Englewood, and they also bring down property values while increasing property taxes for surrounding homes.
Englewood should be a number one contender for NSP funds, yet most of the community is not even eligible to receive NSP money to rehab vacant buildings. In the tiny areas of Englewood that are eligible for these funds, not one vacant building has been rehabbed. In fact, only four buildings in the city of Chicago have been rehabbed and sold or rented using NSP funds. According to Action Now, Englewood residents are sick and tired of being forgotten and neglected by the city of Chicago.
