Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) leaders applauded the decision of the Mayor and City Council to finalize $957,000 for demolition of condemned houses and $25,000 to support job training in the 2014 Budget.

OTOC advocated for increased demolition funding in the 2013 budget and as a result, approximately 93 structures will be demolished this year, nearly triple the number from 2012. OTOC expects that the $957,000 in demolition funding in the adopted budget will allow the city to demolish over one hundred dangerous, condemned buildings in 2014. "These demolitions will heighten the quality of life for neighborhoods, businesses, and nearby institutions like churches and schools like the one where I work " said OTOC leader Karen McElroy.

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"Interviews with current and former public officials, real estate experts and citizen activists suggest that Austin has simply lacked the political will to do things differently.

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"The roar of a bulldozer will prompt a celebration in an Alief neighborhood whose residents have waged a four-year battle to get rid of an abandoned, burned-out condominium complex....The Metropolitan Organization of Houston, along with determined neighbors, thought the disintegrating structure was so dangerous that the city of Houston should spend money to bulldoze the darn thing, but legal and budgetary impediments precluded quick action..... The machinery, which will demolish the public nuisance known as the Winfield I, represents a triumph..."

Civic Activists Win Fight Over Eyesore Condos, Houston Chronicle

Northern & Central Louisiana Interfaith Sponsoring Committee leaders Reverend John Henson (left) and Father Rothell Price (right) led a celebration of the passage of their "'Minimal Living Standards Amendment,' which now requires landlords to provide a modicum of upkeep on the property they rent out."

Leaders also leveraged commitments from their council members to to visit their labor market intermediary, NOVA, in Monroe.

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After 3 years of raising the issue, leaders of Omaha Together One Community (OTOC) are pleased with the decision of Mayor Suttle and the Omaha City Council to invest a total of $500,000 in new funding to demolish condemned buildings in 2013. Total funding for demolition in 2013 will be $840,000, up from $340,000 in 2012.

"Many of the speakers advocating the demolition of rundown homes were representatives of Omaha Together One Community....'The first speaker from OTOC showed a variety of pictures of rundown houses. The number of such condemned houses has grown from 400 to 742 in three years,' said Karen McElroy. 'We understand that this is a tight budget year, but the mayor and City Council need to make the tough decisions to preserve our urban neighborhoods,' she said."

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