| HUD No. 00-257 | |
| Further Information: | For Release |
| In the Washington, DC area: 202/708-0685 | Monday |
| Or contact your local HUD office | September 25, 2000 |
CUOMO ADDRESSES LONG BEACH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo addressed the Long Beach Chamber of Commerce today on the topics of affordable housing and economic development.
Cuomo was the keynote speaker at a Chamber luncheon during the second day of a three-day swing through 20 California cities.
In remarks to the group, Cuomo said, "It's a sad truth that at a time our economy is doing so well, many people are being squeezed out of the affordable housing market."
Long Beach has become a model for cities that are reinventing themselves to match the challenges in the 21st Century, Cuomo said. Over the past two years, the city has poured its energy and the combined resources of government and the private sector into turning a military-based economy into a tourism, technology, transportation and trade center.
Mayor Beverly O'Neill said, "HUD has helped change the face of Long Beach by giving us the tools we needed to transform our economy one block at a time, one life at a time. We are honored to have the Secretary here to witness the great strides we have taken in establishing an economic force in this region, turning the corner in transitioning Long Beach from an economy of the past to one focused on the future."
HUD has provided assistance to Long Beach through a variety of grants and loans as part of a comprehensive revitalization package created in close partnership with the city. Those projects include low-income housing, homeless assistance and economic development incentives.
Included in that package is a Section 108 Loan Guarantee for $40 million that has improved the infrastructure at Queensway Bay - a development located on 20 acres between the Aquarium of the Pacific and the Convention Center. Groundbreaking is expected on the project before the end of the year.
Cuomo also awarded a Long Beach organization $687,700 under HUD's Section 811 program to provide affordable housing for people with disabilites. Homeownership for Personal Empowerment will create six housing units and provide five years of rental assistance to people living in the apartments.
Cuomo's three-day tour of 20 cities concludes Tuesday in Los Angeles at Closing the Gap: Investing in America's Communities, an economic development conference that will focus on effective strategies, tools and resources for creating partnerships that address the needs of America's distressed communities.
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