HUD CLEARS WAY FOR FASTER EVICTION OF CRIMINALS
FROM PUBLIC HOUSING IN NORTH CAROLINA

Cuomo said HUD cleared the way for faster evictions by eliminating a requirement that housing authorities in North Carolina go through a time-consuming administrative grievance hearing process before evicting tenants under HUD's One Strike and You're Out policy.

One Strike, which was signed into law by President Clinton last year, is designed to keep criminals from moving into public housing and to evict those already there.

Cuomo said HUD has the authority under One Strike to eliminate housing authority administrative hearings in North Carolina because the state already allows tenants to receive a court hearing before they are evicted. The court hearings safeguard the rights of tenants to due process of law, making administrative hearings unnecessary, Cuomo said.

"Drug dealers and other criminals are entitled to only one kind of public housing -- a prison cell," Cuomo said. "The faster we can get them out of public housing, the better."

Sen. Lauch Faircloth of North Carolina said: "I'm pleased to work with HUD on this ruling to evict those who prey on the innocent. These changes will improve the safety of women, children and the elderly who have been held hostage in their homes by criminals who bring drugs and crime into public housing."