Philadelphia Daily News from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 4

THE PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS MONDAY. SFPTFMRFR OCi 1 QQ1 PAGE 4 Can Rendell, Street White on familiar ground magic on public housing? by Dave Davies and Paul Maryniak Daily News Staff Writers Walking down a City Hall corridor last week, Mayor Rendell ticked off the reasons why it wouldn't be a burden assuming the leadership of the Philadelphia Housing Authority in an effort to turn the beleaguered agency around in the next two years. "Number one, I am somewhat familiar with the issues," he said. "Number two, I put in a lot of time prior to the agreement being signed with VS. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Number three The list went right up to five. by Dave Davies PHA meeting scheduled for to- i 4 I I ill iii i liilin ii ii. i i mi ir if nil morrow, they will significantly But will he and City Council President John Street be at a loss for time when they take command of PHA? When Rendell and. Street assume two top board positions at a Daily News Staff Writer In the 1980s, John F. White Jr.

was a political comer in Philadelphia. Intelligent, smooth and articulate, he was courted more than once as mayoral material, White takes on a new challenge next month handling day-to-' day operations as director of the Philadelphia Housing Authority. As he prepares to assume the post Oct. 1, White already is meeting regularly with Mayor Rendell and City Council President John 5 Street, who will become board members at a meeting scheduled for tomorrow. He is meeting with tenants and picking his top aides for a job that may pose his biggest challenge yet.

"Nothing is more important than the 24-month plan," White said, referring to the timetable Street and Rendell have set to turn around the beleaguered agency. If White has any experience relevant to the daunting task of revitalizing PHA, it CHALLENGES is not nis achievements as state legislator, councilman or Demo-cratic ward leader. The best i yardstick of his ability comes from his ten-ure as welfare Pennsyl 1 LaTjO White alter the shape and scope of their jobs for the next two years. And they will be putting their political careers in some jeopardy although experts disagree on the degree of risk. Hands already futl Rendell didn't need this headache.

He has dozens of management initiatives in the government to fret over, worries about the city's economy, ongoing financial problems and so on. Street also has a lot on his plate. Besides maintaining a solid majority on Council that works with the administration on the city's problems, he is co-chairing the commission that is trying to overhaul the city charter. But everyone agrees that public housing will work in Philadelphia only if the city's leadership is committed to it. "The housing needs of the city and the problems of PHA are so great that it is impossible for city officials to avoid dealing with them," observed Ron Henry, executive director of the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA) which oversees city finances.

So Rendell is in, as is Street. Several members of Street's high-powered technical and legal staff have been told they'll be working on PHA matters soon. Rendell's chief of staff, David L. Cohen, said last week he spent "a decent amount, but not an overwhelming of time on PHA lately. Five, 10 percent? he was asked.

"Natl, more than that, 25 percent" Under an agreement with federal officials, Rendell and Street have 30 days to detail their goals and how they will achieve them. In return, HUD officials are promising money and other assistance. To help the more than 80,000 poor people who depend on PHA for shelter, the agreement calls for PHA to develop a 24-month "action plan" to renovate and fill vacant units, improve maintenance and security, and get major modernization projects under way; City Controller Jonathan Sai- del, who chaired the PHA board from 1990 to 1992, warned that' See HOUSING Page 25 Mayor Rendell and City Council President John Street have 30 days to set specific goals for their 2-year tenure on PHA's board. Here are the primary challenges: REHABILITATION Begin the long-delayed overhaul of Southwark Plaza, a South Philadelphia development of three high-rises and dozens of townhouses. Complete rehabilitation of Richard Allen Homes in North Philadelphia, which will cost more than $50 million.

Demolish eight high-rises at Raymond Rosen in North Philadelphia and replace them with 814 new units. VACANCIES Of PHA's 22,000 housing units, about 4,601 are vacant. Nearly 9,000 families are on the waiting list for housing. HUD has promised to cut the red tape that has hindered PHA's rehabilitation attempts. Already 1,000 units are due to be fixed under a special program that uses trade union workers and tenant trainees.

MAINTENANCEREPAIR Years of neglect and mismanagement have taken their toll. Repairing broken plumbing, electrical wiring, sewage drains, roofs and walls will be one of the biggest challenges. SECURITY Even PHA Police Chief Chi-co Cannon acknowledges that his 221 -member force isn't enough to protect PHA's 43 developments and 7,400 scattered sits. Incoming director John F. White Jr.

is negotiating with city police for some assistance. ALEJANDRO A. ALVAREZ DAILY NEWS Mabel Abrams, resident of a PHA townhouse, shows gaping hole in her dining room ceiling caused by poor plumbing 'I'm just fired of living like this' fry Anthony S. Twyman Daily News Staff Writer T7 Mabel Abrams couldn't care less that Mayor Rendell and City CouncU President John Street will be joining the Philadelphia Housing Authority Board tomorrow. What she wants to know is who's going to fix the 4-foot-wide hole in her ceiling.

"I've been after those people IPHA1 for two years to fix it," said Abrams, who lives in a PHA-owned townhouse on Cecil B. Moore Avenue near 24th Street in North Philadelphia. The hole, she said, was caused by leaking water from old, corroded plumbing. The water leaks from her third- and second-floor bathrooms into the dining room, where Abrams keeps four 5-gallon buckets to catch it Last year, she had to throw out most of her dining room set because of water damage. Abrams, 70, said that at her age she sometimes needs to soak her limbs in a hot bath, but she's often afraid to use the tub for fear the bathroom floor, which has rotted, will give way.

Three years ago, she said, PHA repaired the hole in her ceiling. Trouble was they didn't fix the plumbing, she said, so it wasn't long before the hole reappeared. "I'm just tired of living like this," she said. Abrams' dilemma is just one piece of the massive tasks ahead for Rendell, Street and John White PHA's newly hired executive director. v.

PHA tenants are cautiously optimistic about the new administrative line-up. For SO years, PHA hasbeeh on one long roller-coaster ride. The agency has been a dumping ground for local politicians. It's been vania's largest and most troublesome agency, which he managed for four years, from 1987 to 1991. White emerged from the experience with his reputation intact, and that is no small tribute.

With more than 30,000 employees, two strong unions and a multibillion-dollar budget, welfare secretary is known as the state-job that chews people up. The Welfare Department tends to the commonwealth's most needy families on public assistance, the mentally ill, abused and neglected children, mothers in need of day care. To be sure, controversies occurred during White's tenure at Welfare. The closing of Philadelphia State Hospital, known as Byberry, Philadelphia and other coun- ties also sued over state reim bursement for child The suit was subsequently settled, but remains a source of tension, HealthPass, an experimental system to provide health care for 80,000 welfare recipients in Penn sylvania, generated controversy. See TENANTS Page 24 about levels of care, finances and See WHITE Page 24' v..