D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) will launch a “strike force” this summer to bolster Black homeownership, she announced Thursday — marking the city’s latest effort to help longtime residents amid growing disparities in who can afford homes in the District.
The strike force will be asked to form recommendations on how to use $10 million in funds Bowser allocated for Black homeowners in her proposed fiscal 2023 budget, she said in a news release. Its members, who will be appointed by Bowser in June, will include nonprofit leaders and community representatives with expertise in housing, real estate and finance, among other industries. They will have about four months to finalize proposals.
The announcement comes as Bowser seeks a third consecutive term as mayor in a city where displacement of longtime residents remains a top concern.
In a February Washington Post poll, 14 percent of D.C. residents called housing, or the cost of housing, the city’s top problem — second only to crime — although that number is down from 23 percent in 2019. More than 6 in 10 residents rated Bowser negatively for her performance in creating and maintaining affordable housing, and her opponents have criticized her administration’s efforts to prevent low- to moderate-income residents from being priced out of their homes.
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