Latest news with #HousingAuthorityofSavannah
Yahoo
18-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Update on Yamacraw Village demolition
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) — For over 8 decades, families have called Yamacraw Village home, but its demolition is one step closer to becoming reality. Community leaders say there's been no plans put in place to protect the people who live or serve here. 'It's not a project, a project. It's something that you work on. It's a community, and it's been here for a long time,' said LaRay Benton a community April 7, the Housing Authority of Savannah, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the City of Savannah agreed on the final required entities for the demolition of Yamacraw Village. Laray Benton, a community leader who grew up there, says there needs to be more conversation on how to rebuild the community that will be displaced.'That's the only plan that's been on the table is we want to demolish Yamacraw. But then there has been no explanation as to how right. You want to tear it down. But then how are you going to rebuild it? How are you going to make it better for the people, right? For the residents that are here now,' Benton memorandum of agreement states that the village will always be named Yamacraw, the site will always be used for deeply affordable housing, that the needs of First Bryan Baptist Church one of the oldest black Baptist churches protected under the National Register of Historic Places be met and that current Yamacraw residents be given the first right to return to new housing built in site.'We don't want anyone to lose their residency, but we want to make sure that we be in contact with HUD and our officials to make sure whatever is built there is built with the character of Savannah, is built to make sure that the people are continuing to be there. And the history of that area is going to definitely be there,' District Alderman Detric Legget only will residents be displaced once demolition starts, but the church may also be in trouble.'It could drastically damage our church because it's not on a concrete slab. It's actually built on wood and brick pillars,' Benton says no public plan has been put in place to ensure any of those things happen and he worries about the residents' futures who live there.'That's part of the community's concern is will the residents have the opportunity to come back and reside in this the same neighborhood in which they live in which they grew up in,' said Laray about a week, the environmental assessment will be published for public feedback. Then, in about five weeks, they'll get ready to send the completed application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. WSAV will keep you updated as we learn more. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Yahoo
City of Savannah facing lawsuit over public records requests
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – The City of Savannah is being sued for alleged failure to comply with open records requests related to public safety concerns at Housing Authority of Savannah properties. The complaint from the Mance law firm obtained by WSAV lists Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, the city's alderman, and the city attorney as defendants in the case. The complaint cites the defendants for, 'failure to timely provide public records in response to a lawful open records request.' 'The idea is, as the name suggests, that the public should have a preview into the dark places of government and should be able to get documents and information about the goings on of government relatively freely and without any obstructions,' Chad Mance, Owner of the Mance law firm, said. The Georgia Open Records Act is used by journalists, attorneys, and members of the general public to obtain records from public agencies. However, in this case, Mance said the City of Savannah has not been complying. 'We asked repeatedly for certain records over a number of years, and we believe there were a number of obstructions that were introduced in the process that should have never been present, and we have reason to believe that that may have been done to others as well,' Mance said. According to the complaint, the alleged obstructions include failure to provide timely access to public records, wrongful withholding of public records, and frustrating access to records. 'We sent a number of letters related to criminal activity, crime, and governmental findings in connection with that over years and years and years. Instead of getting met with complete productions or descriptions that were adequate of documents that existed or did not exist within a reasonable amount of time, we either were made to wait or had partial productions most of the time,' Mance said. Details of records requested by the Mance firm go back 5 years. They include incident reports, crime data, surveillance footage, and documentation of crime data and police activity around certain Housing Authority properties. 'There's a delicate balance between volume and expediency of disclosure to the public. What we want, is we want accountability and transparency,' Mance said. WSAV reached out to the City of Savannah for comment on this lawsuit and a spokesperson said, 'The city does not comment on active or pending litigation.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
