Evening star., 1949-03-07
Prospective Home Buyer Rebuked

To the Editor OF The Star:
On February you published a letter
signed by Stanton Kolb, realtor, in which
he said, Remind me to tell you about a
prospective house buyer now occupying a
local Government subsidized low-rent' house
who wants to buy $4,000 house and has
the cash to pay for it but Only when
this good thing is over"
Assuming that Mr.. Kolb's request for a
reminder was addressed to me as we'll as
others, I reminded him twice. Assuming
also that Mr.. Kolb felt there was something
wrong about the situation-otherwise why
did he write as he did to The Star about it?
and assuming that the prospective home
buyer was tenant of the National Capital
Housing Authority ("occupying local Gov
ernment subsidized low-rent house~,
wrote to Mr.. Kolb asking him to give me
the tenants name and address because
NCHA seeks to graduate into private hous-
ing those of its tenants of low-rent housing
who can afford to pay for available proper
private housing
Mr.. Kolb's response is disappointing. While
he gives me the location of the property
where the prospective home buyer lives, he
declines to give me the name and address.
though he says he reported them to the
Real Estate Board. Why he reported to
the Real Estate Board, which has no re-
Sponsibility, but declines to give them to the
National Capital Housing Authority is any
body's guess.
The response also is disappointing for
another reason. The house now occupied
by the anonymous prospective home buyer
turns out to be not subsidized low-rent
house" It is one of the temporary dwell
ings in the Thirty fifth street war housing
development. The laws under which tempo
constructed
authorize the imposition of top income limits
for continued occupancy
NCHA, after consultation with veterans
organizations, did set top income limit for
admission. 1t had some difficulty doing
even that. But it has been informed that
it cannot set top income limit for con-
tinued occupancy of this temporary war
housing So, once veteran or war worker
Is in he may remain even though he can
afford to buy $4,000 house. But If he
does remain, he and his neighbors should
be conscious of the fact that he is enjoying
a good thing" at the expense of another
veterans family which cannot afford $15.-
900 house and is living under intolerable
conditions
BY being vague as to the tenant. Mr.. Kolb
makes other occupants of the Thirty fifth
street houses suspect. If others have enough
cash to buy $4,000 houses. there is no rea-
son why they should remain where they are.
Instead they should at once move out in
order that less well-to- families may take
their places While these houses were built
for war workers. vacancies in them are now
assigned only to low income veterans. There
are $500 lowincome veterans on NCHA's
waiting list. So it is rather callous of Mr..
Kolb's prospective home buyer to keep one
of them out in order that he may enjoy "a
good thing
In order that the prospective home buyer
and his neighbors may be fully conscious of
what his enjoyment Of "a good thing" is
costing another family. am sending copies
Of this to all the tenants of the Thirty fifth
street houses. JOHN IHLDER.
Executive Officer, National Capital Hous-
ing Authority.