Crystal Towers residents plead:
‘Save our homes’
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
The residents of Crys
tal Towers have called on
the City of Winston-Sa
lem to use funds from the
American Rescue Plan Act
(ARPA) to make repairs to
the 11-story public hous
ing development located
on West Sixth Street.
During a press con
ference held outside the
building last week, resi
dents and members of the
local activist organization
Housing Justice Now talk
ed about the dreadful con
ditions inside the build
ing, including rodents,
roaches, bedbugs, faulty
equipment, and little to no
communication with man
agement. In response they
are asking the City ofWin-
ston-Salem to step in and
spend $7 million to make
repairs to the building.
Crystal Towers is a
public housing unit for
seniors and those with
disabilities and it’s main
tained by the Housing
Authority of Winston-
Salem (HAWS). HAWS
announced the sale of the
building located at 625
West Sixth Street, citing
the need for $7 million in
repairs as the reason for
the sale. A year later, The
Chronicle reported that
HAWS had made a deci
sion on a buyer but they
were waiting on approval
from the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban De
velopment (HUD).
Since then, Mayor
Allen Joines and several
members of the city coun
cil have said they don’t ap
prove of the sale because
it would displace 200
people and reduce afford
able housing opportuni-
Photo by Tevin Stinon
Last week tenants of Crystal Towers and Housing Justice Now held a press conference to ask the city to step in and make repairs to the 11-story
public housing unit for seniors and those with disabilities.
ties in the downtown area.
Phillip Carter, president of
Housing Justice Now, said
they received a letter from
Councilmember Jeff Ma
cintosh saying the sale of
Crystal Towers was text-
book gentrification.
“We’re hoping that he
still feels the same way
and that he will join forces
with the mayor and other
council members to come
up with the money need
ed to make repairs to the
building,” Carter said.
Residents and their
supporters suggested that
the city use funding they
received from the Ameri
can Rescue Plan Act,
which was signed into law
by President Joe Biden
earlier this year, to make
the repairs. The city is ex
pected to receive $51 mil
lion in ARPA funding.
Carter also suggested
that the city make the re
pairs over time instead of
spending $7 million at one
time. “It all doesn’t have
to be done at one time
and that’s why we believe
the city should provide
the funding to repair this
building so the residents
can continue to live in this
community,” Carter said.
When discussing the
sale of Crystal Towers,
Kevin Cheshire, executive
director of HAWS, said
there will be no transfer of
ownership until every resi
dent has been permanently
relocated. Once the sale
is approved, LAWS will
offer residents the option
of moving into another'
one-bedroom apartment at
another HAWS location
or a voucher for a one-
bedroom apartment, which
can be privately owned or
outside the city or state.
In February Cheshire
said HAWS planned to use
some of the proceeds from
the sale to create about 90
mixed-income multifamily
replacement units in the
downtown area, includ
ing 40 that will be true
replacement units for resi
dents from Crystal Towers.
HAWS is expected to re-
purpose the Lowery Build
ing (current HAWS central
office) for the new units.
The space is also expected
to include retail space on
Ihc ground floor.
HAWS is also consid
ering using a portion of the
proceeds from the sale to
jumpstart stagnant rede
velopment in the Happy
Hill community.
No timetable has been
set on when HAWS can
expect the sale to be ap
proved. Since there have
been changes in admin
istration since the origi
nal paperwork was filed
with HUD, Cheshire said,
“Honestly, I don’t know
where HUD is on this now,
given the change in admin
istration.”
Following the press
conference last week,
tenants and members of
Housing Justice Now had
a meeting with Mayor
Joines in the lobby of
Crystal Towers. Kathy
Holland, who has called
Crystal Towers home since
2018, said she wants to see
the mayor take a tour of
the building.
“I challenge the mayor
to walk through the build
ing ... there’s rats, mold,
rust, leaks... the elevator is
full of roaches right now,”
Holland said. “Don’t just
come into the lobby where
they’ve cleaned everything
up, really walk through the
building and see the condi
tions we’re being forced to
live in.”
District Attorney’s Office launches DRIVE Program
BY TEVIN STINSON
THE CHRONICLE
Last week Forsyth
County District Attorney
Jim O’Neil announced the
launch of DRIVE (Driver
Restoration Initiative and
Vocational Extension), a
new program designed to
help residents get their li
cense back.
The District Attorney’s
Office initially began a
driver’s license restora
tion program in 2015 with
the purpose of giving the
city’s financially chal
lenged or low-to-moderate
income citizens an oppor
tunity to have their driv
er’s licenses restored. The
program helped hundreds
of people restore their li
censes, until funding for it
ended. O’Neil said when
the program launched,
they had no idea so many
people were in need.
On the first day the
program was offered in
2015, more than 200 peo
ple showed up.
“When people came
back that we helped to
Photo by Tevin Stinson
Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neil (left) fist bumps a participant in the
DRIVE Program. The program helps residents get their license back.
show us their driver’s li
cense and there’s tears
coming out of their eyes
it’s a great feeling to know
that you can help some
body improve their way of
life,” O’Neal said.
The new Forsyth
County DRIVE Program
was made possible by a
partnership with the City
of Winston-Salem. Ac ¬
cording to O’Neal, about
two years ago Councilman
James Taylor, who is pub
lisher of The Chronicle,
reached out and wanted to
help expand the program.
To expand the program
and help reach more peo
ple, last year city officials
voted to allocate $275,000
to fund the program. The
funds will be used to pay
staff for the program and
marketing.
“I credit Councilman
Taylor with understand
ing that if we had the re
sources, we could help
that many more people in
this community,” O’Neal
said. “He got everybody
on board and everybody
could immediately see the
benefits of such an oppor-
See Drive on A8
www.wschronicle.com