Hoping to Land Public Housing in D.C.? Be Ready to Wait 39 Years

"Those waiting for public housing in D.C. have become parents, they’ve become grandparents, they’ve had jobs, lost jobs, moved into nice apartments, been kicked out of bad ones. Some have even died while waiting, waiting, waiting for a place," writes Petula Dvorak. "The list is absurd, with more than 70,000 people waiting for one of 8,000 units."

"For the first time, that ridiculous waiting list closes on Friday. No new applicants. The D.C. Housing Authority plans to re-engineer and prune the list in an effort to make it more manageable and effective."

"Meanwhile, Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) offered some hope with a $100 million affordable housing plan, pledging to create or preserve 10,000 places to live for the elderly, the disabled and the working class. Only thing is, the plan calls for units to be built by 2020. There are lots of folks who need affordable housing right now."

"In all of the city’s giddy growth and $417 million in budget-surplus prosperity," she says, "we’ve completely forgotten to consider the housing needs of the workers who make this place run."