Latest news with #ChoiceNeighborhood
American Press
27-05-2025
- Politics
- American Press
Police Jury recognizes Taylor for 44 years of service
Ben Taylor is presented a plaque honoring his 44 years of service to the parish. (Special to the American Press) During the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury's most recent meeting, the panel recognized the retirement of Ben Taylor Jr., executive director of the Lake Charles Housing Authority. Taylor is retiring after 44 years of service. Tarek Polite, director of human resources for the Police Jury, presented Taylor with a brief summary of his accomplishments over the years and a plaque on behalf of the jurors. 'Throughout his 30-year tenor in this role, Ben has not only transformed the agency, but also emerged as a respected innovator in the housing industry — one of his significant accomplishments was the transformation of the Lake Charles Housing Authority's Public Housing Portfolio into the Rental Assistance Demonstration model, known as (RAD), this unique program prioritizes public housing,' Polite said. Additionally, Polite said Taylor successfully secured the 'Choice Neighborhood' initiative brand, which they expect will revitalize the mid-city area of Lake Charles over the next 25-30 years and bring in more than $200 million in investment. Ben's commitment to affordable housing and community development led him to serve in various capacities at the national, regional and state level with organizations such as the Louisiana Housing Council and the Louisiana Housing Corporation, Polite said. 'He's more than just 'the numbers guy,' he's a man with deep compassion for the citizens of our parish and has worked to secure disaster recovery funding during this time,' Polite said. 'There comes a time when you go, 'It's time' and 'It's time,' ' Taylor said. 'I've enjoyed what I've done, I'm proud of what I've done, I appreciate the support we've had from the Police Jury on all of our projects that we've done.' Police Juror Brian Abshire said it was a pleasure working with Tyalor. 'The twilight of your career has been a little rough on you, but you ended on a great note,' Abshire said.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
ABQ city councilor looking to rehab public housing in International District
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Trying to get more affordable housing in Albuquerque, the International District's city councilor is continuing the push to revamp three rundown properties; and, they could be on track to get a lot of help from the federal government to do it. 'It's really important to me, in this housing crisis. We haven't built any public housing in the city of Albuquerque I want to say, since the late 80s,' said Nichole Rogers, Albuquerque City Councilor for District 6, 'They're in desperate need of renovations. I'd like to see them all demolished and we can build more and better on these sites.' Story continues below Weather: Widespread snow & rain in northern New Mexico Crime: Video shows moments officers save baby in stolen truck in Rio Rancho National: Pause on federal grants sparks concern in NM Don't Miss: Santa Fe police, animal services rescue injured pelican That's what Rogers has in mind for three International District properties: 'We have Wainwright Manor that's on Gibson; we have Pennsylvania Apartments on Pennsylvania; and we have Grove Apartments, also on Grove,' Rogers says. Together, the properties have 98 units, and house hundreds of people. Rogers is backing a plan called the 'Choice Neighborhood Initiative,' in partnership with the city and the Albuquerque Housing Authority, which could rehabilitate the public housing through federal funds. 'Choice Neighborhood means taking a neighborhood folks don't want to live in and making it a neighborhood where people want and choose to live in,' Rogers said. Rogers said the city already has $150,000 in these federal grant funds to help build community gardens and cultivate a marketplace: 'Once we show success there and get that project done, then we can apply for the implementation grant. That's big money, that's $50 to $60 million dollars that then we can go and actually do the construction to reimagine, rebuild based on what the community planned and wanted, we can actually make that happen.' This week, they're inviting residents and neighbors to talk about what they'd like to see happen with the properties, 'Hoping that funding doesn't go away during this big transition that we're having in our country,' Rogers said, 'I've told myself I'm going to put my head down and focus on these neck of the woods but the bottom line is: these neck of the woods get a lot of funding from the federal government.' The community meeting happens Wednesday at Wainwright Manor on Gibson Boulevard near the Gateway Center at 5:30 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
