Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today awarded $2,143,990 in grants to fight drug abuse and other crimes in public housing and HUD-assisted housing in 14 North Carolina cities.

The communities received the following grants:

Ayden	$52,500	New Bern	$173,700
Elizabeth City	$99,000	Oxford	$84,300
Farmville	$52,200	Roanoke Rapids	$50,000
Fayetteville	$313,500	Southern Pines	$50,000
Greenville	$214,200	Washington	$114,870
Hertford	$73,400	Whiteville	$240,000
Kinston	$239,700	Wilmington	$386,620

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The announcement was made at a news conference in Fayetteville by Congresswoman Eva Clayton, who represents the 14 cities, and Deborah Vincent, HUD's General Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing.

"These grants are good news for some of the poorest families in North Carolina and bad news for drug dealers who terrorize them," Cuomo said. "We will fight drug abuse with prevention and treatment programs and with a crackdown on drug dealers and other criminals. We are telling drug dealers in HUD housing to find another line of work or be sent to another type of subsidized housing - a prison cell."

Congresswoman Clayton said: "Decent and safe housing should be available to all of our citizens. These grants will help to make sure such housing is available to even the poorest of our citizens. Drug-driven crime is a scourge on our community that we can not and must not tolerate. These resources will be welcomed by residents of public housing and unwelcome to drug dealers. The funds will make a difference."

Cuomo said the recent Congressional approval of the Department's $24.5 billion budget for the 1999 fiscal year, which he called "the best HUD budget in 10 years," will speed the transformation of public and assisted housing.

"HUD is transforming public housing from isolated ghettos of poverty, drugs, despair and crime into safe and economically integrated communities of opportunity," Cuomo said.

Nationwide, HUD is awarding $305.2 million in Drug Elimination Grants this year - more than in any previous year. The grants will be distributed in the next several weeks in this way: $280.6 million to 749 public housing authorities; $8 million to 39 Indian Tribes; and $16.6 million to 143 privately owned housing developments that receive HUD assistance.

Another 53 privately owned HUD-subsidized low-income housing developments will receive a total of $11.7 million from a similar program called the New Approach Anti-Drug Program. Whiteville received a NAAD grant.

Vice President Al Gore, Cuomo and Attorney General Janet Reno announced a four-part enforcement and prevention strategy to fight crime and drugs in public housing in June 1997. The grants announced today are one element of that strategy.

The Drug Elimination Grants are awarded on a competitive basis, based on the seriousness of the drug and crime problem facing a housing authority or assisted housing development, and the strength of local plans to address the problem. About 900 housing authorities, 60 Indian tribes and 500 privately owned housing developments applied for the grants being awarded this year.

HUD has awarded more than $1.6 billion in Drug Elimination Grants since 1989, including the grants being awarded this year.

In public housing, the Drug Elimination Grants are used for: drug prevention, intervention and treatment programs; reimbursing law enforcement agencies for providing additional security; hiring security guards and investigators; resident anti-crime patrols; and physical improvements to housing developments to enhance security - such as fencing, lighting and improved locks.

The New Approach Anti-Drug Program (formerly known as the Safe Neighborhoods Grant Program) provides funds for improving security at HUD-assisted developments and in surrounding neighborhoods by: hiring security guards, paying for extra police patrols, assisting in the investigation and prosecution of drug-related criminal activity, and implementing security-related physical improvements.

HUD's budget for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 increases funding for HUD's key programs and renewals of Section 8 rental assistance by a total of more than $2 billion in the budget over 1998 levels. Spending was increased on most HUD programs and wasn't cut in any programs.

Legislation passed in the same bill as HUD's budget will:

• Transform public housing by reducing segregation by race and income, encouraging and rewarding work, bringing more working families into public housing, and increasing the availability of subsidized housing for very poor families. In addition, the bill improves living conditions in public housing, gives the poorest families neighbors who will be role models of working families, and reduces crime. The bill also allows HUD to continue to tear down the largest failed public housing projects and replace them with new townhouse-style developments.

• Expand the supply of affordable housing by enabling 90,000 more families to get Section 8 rental assistance vouchers that will subsidize their rents in privately owned apartments - the first increase in vouchers in four years.

• Increase homeownership by raising the limit on home mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration from the current range of $86,317 in low-cost housing areas to $170,362 in high-cost areas. The bill increases the loan limits to a range of $109,032 in low-cost areas to $197,621 in high-cost areas. The higher ceiling on FHA-insured home mortgages opens the door of homeownership to thousands of families needing FHA insurance to get mortgages, but locked out now because the current loan limits have not kept pace with rising home prices.

HUD ANTI-DRUG ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITIES IN NORTH CAROLINA

• AYDEN: $52,500 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Ayden Housing Authority for programs to add additional full-time police and establish drug education programs.

• ELIZABETH CITY: $99,000 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Elizabeth City Housing Authority to help residents build a drug-free community through law enforcement and drug education programs.

• FARMVILLE: $52,200 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Farmville Housing Authority for programs to hire a resident coordinator and more police.

• FAYETTEVILLE: $313,500 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Fayetteville Metropolitan Housing Authority for programs to eliminate the sale of illegal drugs and deter criminal activity.

• GREENVILLE: $214,200 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Housing Authority of the City of Greenville to enhance police patrol, cultural activities, tutorial programs and recreational activities.

• HERTFORD: $73,400 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Hertford Housing Authority to continue a police substation, police patrols and prevention programs for residents.

• KINSTON: $239,700 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Housing Authority of the City of Kinston to continue and expand current drug elimination programs, which include community policing and Boys and Girls Clubs.

• NEW BERN: $173,700 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Housing Authority of New Bern to operate a comprehensive "weed and seed" strategy to combat drug abuse and crime in the Craven Terrace and Trent Court developments.

• OXFORD: $84,300 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Oxford Housing Authority for programs to incorporate intervention, enforcement and security techniques and to make physical improvements.

• ROANOKE RAPIDS: $50,000 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Ahoskie Housing Authority for a comprehensive enforcement, preventive and treatment approach to reduce drugs and drug-related crime.

• SOUTHERN PINES: $50,000 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Southern Pines Housing Authority to re-route traffic and providing resident access to economic development opportunities.

• WASHINGTON: $114,870 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Washington Housing Authority to retain three additional police officers covering the six public housing developments and to make safety and security improvements.

• WHITEVILLE: $240,000 from the New Approach Anti-Drug program will go to private landlords of subsidized housing at the Columbus Court Apartments.

• WILMINGTON: $386,620 in Drug Elimination Grants will go to the Housing Authority of the City of Wilmington for resident organizations that use strategic educational programs to combat drug involvement among youth and their families.