Evening star., 1953-11-29
Public HOUSING
Barred 10 Most
Area B Families
RIA Survey Finds
$3.50 Ineligible, Must
Get Privute Rentals
BY George Beveridqe

AAOADAAA6 oAAA WILL 14CCO
private housing elsewhere if
they are displaced.
The ability of these families
to pay rents in private housing
varies widely, with some able to
afford more than $50 a month
and many others only able to
afford less than $50 rents.
These facts were brought out
by the District Redevelopment
Land Agency last night in dis
closing partial results of an ex-
tensive door -to-door survey OF
the 76-acre section bounded by
Fourth, I. South Capitol streets
and the Pennsylvania Railroad
tracks.
Under the program, the RIA
intends to displace and find new
homes for all the residents, clear
the area of existing structures
and sell or lease the land to a
private developer for rebuilding
Big Job of Finding New Homes.
The survey was a necessary
first step to provide data to
guide the RIA in its job of find
ing new homes. No families will
be moved out until new dwellings
are found for them elsewhere.
And the displacement will not
begin until the agency acquires
title to the existing properties.
The easiest group to place-at
least in this first redevelopment
project-will be those eligible for
public housing. Officials have
said they will have priority. The
most difficult to place will be
large families. with incomes Just
high enough to make them in
eligible for public housing.
Paving the way for the relo-
cation, staff members have been
getting lines on new housing
scheduled for completion within
the next two years. They are
developing contacts to spot va
cant dwellings as soon as they
are needed.
Suit Challenges Legality.
One owner of seven Fourth
street business properties has
fled a suit challenging the legal
tty of plans to take his land. In
a move last week, the land
agency's board authorized pur-
chase of the first IA land parcels,
but none of the IA are involved
in the suit.
The new survey. supervised by
RIA Relocation Chief James G.
Banks. bore out in general
earlier estimates about the area
and its residents. On the basis
of less extensive 1851 study of
Area B. officials figured it con-
tanned 1,345 families, with about
half of them eligible for public
housing.
The new study reported on
1,216 families. but did not cover
business establishments or fam
flies living above commercial
properties. Mr.. Banks said the
excluded groups would raise the
total to near the 1,345 figure.
Many Families Quitting Area.
There have been reports that
many families have moved out
of the area. The owner of one
corner grocery told The Star he
has seen many houses vacated,
and said his business has dropped
between Is and 25 per cent"
since 1850.
Mr.. Banks said his survey and
observations showed no such
drop.
The land agency did not
release survey results showing
incomes of the 1915 families. 1t
did list monthly rents the fam
lilies could afford, however, based
on one-fourth of the monthly
family incomes.
The tabulation showed $40
families are eligible for public
housing by reason of low in
comes. Of the remaining 706:
The largest group, 275 families,
could afford rents of only $40
or less. Sixty families could af-
ford between $50 and $54.99: As
between $55 and 5000; IS be-
tween $50 and $64.99; 33 between
$65 and 5000; 27 between $40
and $74.99; 81 between S75 and
$79.99; "a between $50 and
$84.99; % between $85 and $89 go
and 1913 could afford $50 or more.
There was no report on four
families.
Can't Afford Above $50 Rent.
Thus, more than half of the
706 families indicate they could
not afford rents above $50 a
month. But the figures released
did not present an accurate pic
ture of the job which RIA faces
in finding new homes for them.
The reason is that the agency
did not relate family size to the
rents the families can afford.
Since some of the families con-
Sist of only one, two and three
persons. rents of $50 or below
would be adequate to find homes
for many of them.
In a different breakdown. the
agency showed that 233 of the
1915 families" consist of only
one person. There were 319
two-perSon families, 218 with
three. 144 with four. and pro-
gressively fewer families with
more members. Two families
reported as many as Is members
Mr.. Banks said this finding
was very encouraging" to staff
workers lining up new homes
since three-fourths of the 1.21e
families contain four or less
members. The toughest job fac
ing his staff. he said, will be tc
find home for large families
. requiring several bedroomS-ano
) having small incomes.
The largest number of fam
lilies, 593, showed no preference