Thank you to City Desk ABQ for sharing with the community the work about the International District Choice Neighborhood Plan.
Read online article here (10/23/2024):
Residents of Albuquerque’s International District often find themselves navigating challenges that aren’t always as prevalent in other areas of the city: a proliferation of people living on the streets, dilapidated properties, shuttered businesses, open drug use, vandalism and other crimes, and dwindling options to fill prescriptions and buy groceries.
For those on fixed incomes living in public housing — including seniors and those with disabilities — the option to move isn’t always easy or even possible as rents remain historically high and affordable housing options historically low. Those without a vehicle or convenient access to public transit are even further constrained.
Josiah Fowler moved to the International District in November 2023 and is a tenant at Wainwright Manor, a 60-unit public housing complex at 5601 Gibson Blvd. SE. He receives a housing subsidy of about $600 a month for his one-bedroom apartment, added to his $260 share.
Fowler, 52, said he’s grateful to be living at the complex. He said it’s economical and spacious with a big closet and a nice kitchen, living room and bathroom.
“It’s very decent; I don’t have any complaints, except for, you know, the bad activity that happens,” Fowler said. “The area isn’t as good as I want or wish it was.”
Fowler said he witnesses drug-related activity most days and that tenants contend with unauthorized visitors who access the complex — issues that pose various security concerns.
Many of the unauthorized visitors are those experiencing homelessness who are looking for a place to crash for the night, he said. Others are dealing or using drugs — most often fentanyl. Noise disturbances in the form of people knocking loudly on doors and yelling take place mostly after 3 a.m. when shifts end for security personnel.
“That’s the part that’s sad,” Fowler said. “There’s people that are in even worse shape than I am, like in a wheelchair. They have to wear an oxygen mask and they don’t want somebody banging on the door in the morning asking for a coat.”
Fowler worked for many years as a landscaper in El Paso and Las Cruces, but health issues now limit him to the occasional side job with a buddy, he said.
Hope on the horizon?
Fowler is one of a handful of public housing residents on a steering committee for an initiative that could bring a lot of money — and hope — to Wainwright Manor and other properties in the International District.
The city and the Albuquerque Housing Authority (AHA) were awarded a $500,000 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant last year that targets not only Wainwright Manor, but the nearby Grove and Pennsylvania Street apartment complexes — all in significant need of redevelopment.
If the plans residents and officials come up with are strong enough to be chosen for an implementation award, it could result in up to $50 million to be designated for the International District through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development.
AHA officials have a little more than a year left to confer with residents and stakeholders in the area for ideas on improvements ranging from landscaping to redevelopment and new development.
Officials have carried out a series of events this year to gather feedback from community members, tally surveys, and brainstorm everything from what improved housing options would look like to needed neighborhood services and other aspects that would improve community well-being.
The planning and steering committees have also been working with consultants to assist with the process, including Borderless Studio, Collabo Planning and the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture’s Design and Planning Assistance Center.
In addition to residents like Fowler, the steering committee includes members of East Central Ministries, Endorphin Power Co., the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness and the SW Indigenous Housing Justice Collaborative.
The most recent meeting took place Oct. 19 in Wainwright Manor’s lobby with the UNM architecture students. They’ve been looking at ways to best improve the landscaping of the property, which falls squarely in Fowler’s wheelhouse.
“We go and sit in and watch, listen, and then we have ideas,” Fowler said. “It just blows my mind. These young people, they’re all in their 20s, and they’re doing awesome.”
To stay up to date on the Choice Neighborhoods initiative, including information on future meetings and to subscribe to a mailing list, click here.