Is Houston Building Low-Income Housing On Contaminated Site
At issue is a multimillion dollar, 400-unit housing project for low and middle income Houstonians at 800 Middle Street. On Wednesday, protesters greeted Mayor Sylvester Turner at an East-side gathering, but got no comment regarding the controversial Houston Housing Authority project being built adjacent to City's old Velasco trash incineration site.
"The Mayor's office decided to build this 400-unit low income housing project in the worst imaginable spot and the most contaminated property anywhere on Buffalo Bayou," said Alan Atkinson, a longtime critic of the project. Atkinson and allies have been fighting the project in court.
"They plan to put 400 low income families, full of kids, in a neighborhood that's surrounded with ash properties and contaminated properties on three sides. And that's not only violative of all federal rules about where you put low income housing, but it's morally wrong," said Atkinson. FOX 26 asked the Houston Housing Authority to respond, and the agency issued the following written statement.
"The Houston Housing Authority was made aware of complaints by activists claiming the presence of contaminants on site. InControl Technologies, under the supervision of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality conducted tests earlier this year and determined the material in question as non-hazardous."