CUOMO ANNOUNCES $20 MILLION IN HUD SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD GRANTS FOR 73 COMMUNITIES AROUND NATION

WASHINGTON - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo today announced $20 million in Safe Neighborhood Grants to 73 communities across the nation to fight illegal drug activity and other crime in HUD-assisted low-income housing and in surrounding neighborhoods.

The grants will be used to:

• Enable housing developments to hire off-duty police officers to patrol neighborhoods around the developments to deter and investigate drug-related criminal activity.

• Pay for security-related capital improvements around low-income housing developments, such as fences and lighting.

• Fund community-based crime-prevention programs, including: neighborhood watch patrols by security guards and residents, drug abuse education programs, self-defense training and home security training.

• Fund education, employment and training programs designed to deter people from crime, as one part of wide-ranging anti-crime programs.

"These grants will save lives by preventing crime," Cuomo said. "They will offer new protection to some of the most vulnerable Americans living in neighborhoods with some of the highest crime rates."

"All Americans - no matter how poor, no matter where they live - want to live in safe neighborhoods," Cuomo said. "We will not allow drug dealers and other criminals to terrorize innocent residents of public and assisted housing."

Safe Neighborhood Grants are limited to $250,000 each. Several housing developments in the same city can each receive grants.

The grants are designed to reduce crime in whole neighborhoods where there is low-income housing - not just on the grounds of public and assisted housing. Owners and operators of properties receiving grants must work in partnership with local government agencies, police departments, prosecutor's offices, and other local groups interested in creating safe communities.

The Safe Neighborhood grants can be combined with grants from other HUD anti-crime programs - along with Justice Department and Health and Human Services Department grants --as part of a coordinated attack on gangs, drugs and other crime. Other HUD crime-fighting initiatives include:

• Drug Elimination Grants. HUD has awarded more than $1.3 billion in these grants since 1989 - including $217.3 million in November - to fight drug dealers and other criminals in public and assisted housing.

• Operation Safe Home. Since this initiative was created in 1994 to attack crime in public and assisted housing, it has been responsible for executing more than 1,600 search warrants and making more than 13,400 arrests. Operation Safe Home has seized $25.5 million worth of illegal drugs, 1,860 weapons including 200 assault weapons, and $3.6 million in drug money. Operation Safe Home task forces have been set up around the country, made up of state and local law enforcement officers and the following federal agencies: HUD's Inspector General's Office; the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; the Secret Service; the U.S. Marshal's Service; and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Local district attorneys and U.S. attorneys prosecute cases for the task forces.

• "One Strike and You're Out." President Clinton announced One Strike guidelines in March, 1996. One Strike adds provisions to public housing leases that make involvement in drugs or serious criminal activity a basis for barring people from moving into public housing and for eviction. Housing authorities across the nation have used One Strike to keep tens of thousands of lawbreakers out. The initiative is popular among the vast majority of law-abiding public housing residents, who have pleaded for years for help in reducing crime in their neighborhoods.

The nation's crime rate has dropped by 10.3 percent since 1992 -- including a 16.3 percent drop in violent crime. No separate statistics exist for crime in public and assisted housing, which have historically suffered some of the highest crime rates. However, law enforcement officials in the nation's largest cities say rates for violent crime and drug-related crime in public housing have come down even more sharply in the past five years than in communities at large.

HUD SAFE NEIGHBORHOOD GRANTS

LEAD APPLICANT	CITY	STATE	GRANT AMOUNT
Hsng Auth. of the Birmingham District	Birmingham	AL	$250,000.00
Housing Auth, City of Prichard	Prichard, AL	AL	$250,000.00
Grant Park Apartments	Phoenix	AZ	$250,000.00
Paradise Shadows LP	Phoenix	AZ	$250,000.00
City of Wasco Housing Authority	Wasco	CA	$250,000.00
Casa Community Assoc.	Los Angeles	CA	$250,000.00
Los Angeles Gardens Community Assoc.	Los Angeles	CA	$250,000.00
Hsng Auth. of the City of LA	Los Angeles	CA	$250,000.00
New Wilmington Affordable Hsng, Inc	Compton	CA	$250,000.00
Imperial Valley Housing Authority	Brawley	CA	$250,000.00
Vacaville Community Hsg.	Vacaville	CA	$193,813.00
Northridge Cooperative Homes	San Francisco	CA	$250,000.00
Lincoln Dakota Woods Assoc.	Fresno	CA	$250,000.00
East Village Company	Denver	CO	$250,000.00
City of Greeley	Greeley	CO	$250,000.00
San Juan del Centro Ltd Ptnr.	Boulder	CO	$92,300.00
Engewood Terrace Preservation	Washington	DC	$250,000.00
Hsng Auth. of the City of Lakeland	Lakeland	FL	$250,000.00
Housing Authority of Sarasota	Sarasota	FL	$250,000.00
Housing Authority of Avon Park	Avon Park	FL	$155,600.00
Community Service Foundation	Clearwater	FL	$224,527.00
Pinella County Housing Auth - Lealman	Clearwater	FL	$111,048.00
Pinella County Housing Authority - GRC	Clearwater	FL	$111,048.00
Demco Management, Inc.	Jacksonville	FL	$250,000.00
Ft. Walton Beach Housing Auth	Ft. Walton Beach	FL	$250,000.00
Holly Brook Homes, Inc.	Jacksonville	FL	$249,659.00
Martin Luther King, Jr., Village	Atlanta	GA	$250,000.00
Gartrell Court Apts	Atlanta	GA	$250,000.00
Homes of Oakridge	Des Moines	IA	$125,000.00
Housing Authority City of Alton	Alton	IL	$250,000.00
Granite City Housing Authority	Chicago	IL	$184,806.00
Quinn I Limited Partership	Indianapolis	IN	$249,605.00
Housing Authority of Louisville	Louisville	KY	$249,890.00
Hollywood Assoc.	Springfield	MA	$250,000.00
Market Mill Assoc	Lowell	MA	$249,635.00
Mishawum Park Assoc.	Charlestown	MA	$234,635.00
Marken Properties, Inc.	Holyoke	MA	$119,600.00
MLK Limited Divident Hsng Assoc	Detroit	MI	$250,000.00
Interfaith Homes of Kalamazoo	Kalamazoo	MI	$250,000.00
Sault Ste. Marie, Tribe of Chippewa Indian Hsng Auth	Sault Saint Marie	MI	$250,000.00
Valleyview Apts	Kansas City	MO	$249,861.00
Englewood Assoc/Englewood Apts	Kansas City	MO	$250,000.00
Housing Authority of St. Joseph	St. Joseph	MO	$250,000.00
City of Topeka H.A.	Topeka	KS	$250,000.00
Thetford Property Management	Burlington	NC	$246,654.00
Wade East Apts	Millville	NJ	$218,378.00
Hsng Auth. of the Township of Neptune	Neptune	NJ	$250,000.00
Housing Auth., City of Union	Union City	NJ	$250,000.00
Asbury Park Hsng Auth (Northeast)	Asbury	NJ	$250,000.00
High Park Gardens Coop Corp	Newark	NJ	$250,000.00
Delsea Village Apts	Millville	NJ	$218,378.00
Asbury Park Hsng Auth (Southwest)	Asbury	NJ	$250,000.00
Hsng Auth. of the City of Los Cruces	Los Cruces	NM	$133,639.00
Baisley Park Gardens	Jamaica	NY	$250,000.00
Harlem Congregation for Community Improv, Inc.	Upper Manhattan	NY	$217,500.00
Jackson Terrace Assoc.	Hempstead	NY	$250,000.00
The Municipal Hsng Auth. of Yonkers	Yonkers	NY	$250,000.00
Mount Vernon Housing Authority	Mt. Vernon	NY	$250,000.00
Northshore Plaza Assoc.	New York	NY	$250,000.00
Utica Community Action, Inc.	Utica	NY	$250,000.00
Lark Livingston Housing	Albany	NY	$195,901.00
Coshocton Metropolitan Housing	Coshocton	OH	$250,000.00
Tuskegee Alumni Hsng Foundation	Columbus	OH	$250,000.00
Tulsa Housing Authority	Tulsa	OK	$250,000.00
Chaparral Townhouses Ltd	Oklahoma City	OK	$250,000.00
Normandy Apartments, Ltd	Tulsa	OK	$249,983.00
Franciscan Enterprise of Oregon	Portland	OR	$250,000.00
Housing Authority of Salem	Salem	OR	$250,000.00
Hillrise Mutual Housing Assoc.	Lancaster	PA	$250,000.00
South Carolina Regional HA #3	Barnwell	SC	$250,000.00
Swift Creek Apts	Hartsville	SC	$81,820.00
Volunteers of Amer	Columbia	SC	$250,000.00
Knoxville Community Dev. Corp	Knoxville	TN	$250,000.00
Townview Terrace I & II, Ltd & Townview	Knoxville	TN	$249,600.00
Lulac Village Park Apts	Corpus Christi	TX	$250,000.00
Hsng Auth. of the City of Seguin	Seguin	TX	$250,000.00
Bonilla & Smith Ltd (Northside Apts)	Corpus Christi	TX	$250,000.00
Hsng Auth of the City of Dallas (Roseland)	Dallas	TX	$250,000.00
Diocesan Charitable Trust - Colonia Tepeyac Apts	Dallas	TX	$250,000.00
Hsng Auth of the City of Dallas (Park Manor)	Dallas	TX	$250,000.00
Hsng Auth of the City of Dallas(Frazier)	Dallas	TX	$250,000.00
Beaumont Housing Authority	Beaumont	TX	$250,000.00
Alexandria Redevelopment H.A.	Alexandria	VA	$229,440.00
Armory Square Limited Partnership	Windsor	VT	$157,680.00
Seattle Housing Auth	Seattle	WA	$250,000.00
Hsng Auth of the City of Tacoma	Tacoma	WA	$250,000.00
TOTAL			$20,000,000.00