Two U.N. advisers labeled the planned demolition of four New Orleans public housing complexes as "discriminatory" even though neither visited the city to research the issue. The U.N. specialists now acknowledge that they haven't been to New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina and were basing their opinion largely on the views of activists who have waged an unsuccessful campaign to halt the demolitions.
Miloon Kothari of New Delhi, India, the U.N. Human Rights Council's specialist on adequate housing,
and Gay McDougall of Washington, D.C., the U.N. independent expert on minority issues, joined ranks with opponents of the demolitions already under way at the St. Bernard, C.J. Peete and B.W. Cooper complexes.
Although the duo say they released the statement to influence the U.S. Congress, the timing of their comments could have broader influence.
Here's the part that bothers me
"Yes, some people were consulted," Kothari said, "but the fact that people's property was destroyed.......
They are public housing units, Mr. Kothari.
In a related article in today's paper , the University of Texas at Arlington found in a survey they did that 70% of people who lived in public housing pre-K don't want to return
Federal and local officials reacted strongly last week to the pair's statement. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., called it "theater of the absurd."
HUD said Kothari and McDougall "are misinformed about the state of public housing in New Orleans," adding that the plans to demolish old, hurricane-damaged complexes is part of a wider effort to move to a mixed-income model that will help "minority and low-income Americans . . . live in a socially and economically integrated environment."
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