Editor
NY Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036
RE: “Sorrow…in Killer’s Housing Project” (Metro, 1/25/2007)
To The Editor:
Once again, public housing supposedly shares the blame for the killing of two police officers by a tenant of the Stapleton Houses on Staten Island. The troubled background of Ronell Wilson, including family difficulties and probable lack of education and job skills, are disregarded and the blame is placed on the environment of “violence and crime” that exists in the projects. It is important to remember that a half million of the City’s very low income families and individuals live in public housing, and that the crime statistics in public housing are probably not much greater than in other distressed housing and neighborhoods. It is critical that public housing be supported and preserved and that the residents living there receive services, including educational skills, job training, and above all police protection against gun owners and drug dealers. We must stop stigmatizing public housing and its residents.
Sincerely,
Clara Fox
NY Housing Conference
The New York Housing Conference is a regional affiliate of the National Housing Conference.
