40 Acres and a Lie

 40 Acres and a Lie tells the history of an often-misunderstood government program that gave formerly enslaved people land titles after the Civil War. A year and a half later, almost all the land had been taken back. Read more here and listen to a three-part audio investigation here.

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/06/40-acres-reconstruction-freedmen-bureau-stolen-land/

Inspector General Report finds no wrongdoing by HOC executive director

...It stated that Simon, when she was chair of the commission, awarded Spann a salary increase and bonus in late June 2019 “without … quarterly performance review meetings taking place.”

Carr also alleged the commission violated the state’s Open Meetings Act multiple times, but Limarzi said the state’s Open Meetings Compliance Board had already ruled on those matters.

Carr also alleged Spann was withholding information about the contracts between the HOC, Simon and her son from the public, unless the agency received over $700 for retrieving those records. Carr said the forms were “in the public interest,” making the fees excessive.

Limarzi’s report said her agency did not look into Spann not waiving fees because the state’s Public Information Act allows agencies to charge to gather and produce records...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/government/report-finds-no-wrongdoing-by-housing-agency-executive-director/

A Black family's beach property in California was taken during the Jim Crow era. The county is now giving it back, and it's worth millions [See Tobytown in Montgomery County, but land not being given back.]

 

Los Angeles (CNN)A century ago, a Black couple owned a beach resort in Manhattan Beach -- a Southern California town known for its scenic expanse. An inviting soulful energy and the songs of Black entertainers radiated throughout the corridors of the dance hall and lodge.

But the music and good times would not last due to the strict racial segregation that dominated American life then. Harassment from White neighbors and the Ku Klux Klan tore away at the dreams of owners Charles and Willa Bruce.

The final blow came in 1924 when the city took the property through eminent domain and paid the couple a fraction of what they asked for. The city wanted the land for a park. The Bruces left and died just five years later.

Now, there's a move afoot to provide justice to their descendants. Los Angeles County officials on Friday said they are working with state lawmakers on legislation that would return the property -- worth perhaps $75 million -- to the family...

...One option the family is considering is leasing the land back to the county. If they go this route, the descendants would be landlords and the county would pay rent to use the property to maintain the existing park and lifeguard facility, for example.

The Bruce family is weighing an offer to accept an outright payout from the county, the family spokesperson told CNN. Details of that specific amount have not been disclosed. The family also has the option to simply reclaim the property and do as they wish with developing plans, a move that would require various steps to achieve local officials' approval...

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/12/us/bruces-beach-los-angeles-county-black-family/index.html

MD House Committee to Discuss Transparency of Mont. Co. Housing Opportunities Commission Today

The Montgomery County House Education, Elections, and Housing Committe (EEH) committee meets today at 11am  to discuss the a bill to require the Montgomery County Housing Opportunities Commission to provide transparency to the meetings of its committees. It 

The meeting will be streamed on the Montgomery County Delegation's YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/cKUVOpHibx4

Education, Elections, and Housing Committee:

This committee works on all local legislation and policy positions related to public education and school financing.
Delegate Emily Shetty, Chair
Delegate Vaughn Stewart, Vice Chair
Delegate Kumar Barve
Delegate Julie Palakovich Carr
Delegate Bonnie Cullison
Delegate Pam Queen

MD Lawmakers also might pursue transparency mandate for Housing Opportunities Commission

 

Bill limiting landlords’ eviction powers considered by Montgomery County delegation

...Lawmakers reviewed other bills at a similar public hearing a week earlier.

During Tuesday’s hearing, a measure forcing the Housing Opportunities Commission and its committees to hold more meetings in public drew support from speakers critical of the entity’s handling of meetings and a controversy involving the Bethesda African Cemetery Coalition.

Several members of the coalition were particularly pointed in their criticism, saying the HOC refuses to talk to them about their attempts to preserve a historically Black cemetery in the Westbard community.

Del. Al Carr (D-Kensington), the bill sponsor, was more specific in describing the intent of the legislation, saying that more than 100 private HOC meetings in five years had violated the state’s Open Meetings Act. He called the openness requirements in the bill an attempt “to restore public trust.”

The HOC is a government-funded entity that works on affordable-housing issues. Carr said it has about $300 million in annual revenues...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/government/bill-limiting-landlords-eviction-powers-considered-by-montgomery-county-delegation/

Did you know that one of the largest land developers in Montgomery County is a government agency called the Housing Opportunities Commission?

From Maryland Delegate Al Carr's Facebook:  

SUNLIGHT IS THE BEST DISINFECTANT
Did you know that one of the largest land developers in Montgomery County is a government agency called the Housing Opportunities Commission? HOC's roots are in administering federal housing funds - but their mission has grown over the years. With annual revenue of around $300M, HOC is also a landlord for a large number of both market-rate and subsidized housing units. I've heard complaints in recent years from constituents about the lack of transparency and communication from the HOC. A state panel ruled earlier this month that HOC violated our open meetings law more than a hundred times over the past 5 years. One way to strengthen housing is to boost public confidence in this organization by improving transparency. I have introduced MC 7-21 to encourage HOC to conduct its business in public. It is based on a law that has been on the books for decades for the Annapolis Housing Authority. The virtual public hearing is at 7pm on December 8th.

 

SUNLIGHT IS THE BEST DISINFECTANT Did you know that one of the largest land developers in Montgomery County is a...

Posted by Al Carr on Sunday, November 22, 2020

Dumais, Feldman, King, Fraser-Hidalgo, and Qi Push Law that will take about $308,700 annually from Mont. Co. revenue. And the rich get richer!

(Note the Glenstone Museum was able to route a Ride On bus through their property without any public discussion.  That change in the Tobytown Ride On bus line requires riders to ride through the Glenstone property everytime they use the Ride On to get to and from Tobytown and Rockville.  The Ride On bus enters the locked Glenstone gates to pick up at the private Glenstone Ride On bus stop.  Who else in Montgomery County has a Ride On bus stop on private property behind locked gates and inaccessible to the public?)

...The bill would allow Glenstone to seek property tax exemption for all parts of the land that are used for museum purposes so long as Glenstone remains open to the public and doesn’t charge admission.

Montgomery’s county council and county executive submitted testimony opposing the bill, citing lost revenue.

Right now, state law allows Glenstone to exempt up to 100 acres. If the bill passes, the whole property could eventually be eligible and there are plans to use the entire acreage for artistic purposes. The county’s revenue loss would be about $308,700 annually if the whole property is exempted.

“The cost of this exemption would force the County to either absorb the revenue loss or shift the tax burden to its other taxpayers,” the county Office of Intergovernmental Relations wrote in a letter to the Ways and Means Committee.

The state’s property tax loss would be an estimated $34,800...

https://www.marylandmatters.org/blog/some-montgomery-lawmakers-balk-as-house-passes-museum-tax-break/

Senator says he has received complaints about HOC operations. Oversight of HOC LONG OVERDUE!

...Sen. Ben Kramer said he introduced a bill in the Maryland legislature after receiving complaints from constituents and HOC employees alleging waste, fraud and mismanagement in the department.

“There tends to be a sentiment that HOC rides roughshod over the community. And I have heard with enough frequency that this was something we should take a closer look at, and it seems the best way is to empower Montgomery County’s inspector general over HOC in the same way they do over county government,” said Kramer, a Democrat who represents parts of Rockville, Aspen Hill and Wheaton...

https://bethesdamagazine.com/bethesda-beat/government/bill-would-give-county-the-authority-to-place-hoc-under-inspector-generals-authority/

Berliner Gets Tobytown a Gate. Cemetery Fence to Be Removed. No Acknowledgement of Unmarked Graves.

HOC proposed gate to nowhere.

On February 23, 2017, Councilmember Roger Berliner asked the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) of Montgomery County to restore the cemetery in Tobytown “to a dignified state and to develop a plan for its on-going maintenance.”

In response to that request, HOC presented plans to the residents of Tobytown on May 23, 2017, for a gate for the Tobytown cemetery.  A drawing of the proposed gate is shown in the image to the left and the plans for the gate are shown in the documents below.  

In addition to a gate, HOC staff announced that the existing fence around the Tobytown cemetery would be removed.  The gate structure would not be connected to anything and the boundaries of the cemetery would no longer be marked under this proposal.

Many of the graves in the cemetery are unmarked and HOC staff did not present any plans to mark the graves or memorialize those that are buried in this historic cemetery.  

HOC did not present the residents with any plans for ongoing maintenance of the cemetery. 

When asked about the administration of a cemetery, the HOC staff at the May 23rd meeting refused to discuss the permitting or oversight process for Maryland cemeteries.

  2017 May 23 Tobytown Handouts by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd

Audit: HOC of Montgomery Co. 405 housing quality standards violations, including 89 violations that needed to be corrected within 24 hours because they posed a serious threat to the safety of the tenants. HOC to Reimburse $44,887 to HUD

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General audited the Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) of Montgomery County, Maryland in 2016.  Below are the findings of the HUD Inspector General and a link to the full audit. (Note: This audit came out one month after the Silver Spring explosion.)

and

and

Click the link below for the full audit report and the HOC of Montgomery County response.

https://www.hudoig.gov/sites/default/files/documents/2016-PH-1008.pdf

Tobytown residents asked to weigh in on 2nd bus route option

WASHINGTON — During a hearing next week, another option will be presented for a proposed bus route serving a historic community in Montgomery County, Maryland.
Tobytown, a neighborhood in Potomac, was founded by freed slaves in 1847. Residents have expressed a sense of being left behind when it comes to county services.
Phil McLaughlin, chief of operations planning for Montgomery County’s Ride On bus service, said his department got feedback from residents after the first route was proposed for Tobytown earlier this month. As a result, the county is offering the new option along with the first version at the upcoming hearing, which is scheduled for July 28.
In interviews with WTOP earlier this month, several residents have said the one thing they wanted was bus service that would pull into the neighborhood, so that residents don’t have to stand and wait along busy River Road....

http://wtop.com/montgomery-county/2016/07/tobytown-residents-asked-to-weigh-in-on-2nd-bus-option/

In a wealthy Md. suburb, some residents have waited more than 30 years for a ride

...Many local governments, including Montgomery County, are investing in public transportation as a way to focus population growth and attract economic development. But as the county and other auto-centric suburbs become poorer — the number of children in the county who qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school has jumped over the past decade, to about 35 percent — they’re also exploring new ways to serve more residents who can’t afford to drive...

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/in-a-wealthy-md-suburb-some-residents-have-waited-more-than-30-years-for-a-ride/2016/04/30/5ecfb218-00f6-11e6-9203-7b8670959b88_story.html?wprss=rss_story-local-traffic-stream&tid=sm_tw_pl

Fuzzy Math Keeps Opposition to Tobytown Ride On Bus Alive

Last year, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation estimated that a Monday - Friday daytime Ride On bus route running every 60 - 75 minutes to Tobytown would draw 100 patrons.

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/council/Resources/Files/agenda/cm/2015/150424/20150424_TE1.pdf

This morning, at the County Council's Transportation Commitee meeting, Council staffer Glenn Orlin said that the Tobytown route would draw 48 patrons daily.  He said the line would draw 30 patrons during peak hours, and an additional 18 during the day.

But, Councilmember Tom Hucker apparently only heard the number 18 and said:

"I am struck by the cost per rider, if 18 is correct that's $10,000 per rider...it would be cheaper to buy them a car, right?"

No one in the room corrected Councilmember Hucker and he voted against the proposal to add all day Ride On bus service to Tobytown.

No one in the room explained why the Department of Transportation estimate of 100 patrons daily was not being used to discuss this proposal. 

Navarro: Ride On service "would improve the quality of life for residents of Tobytown."

The image on the left shows the location of Tobytown, an isolated community in Potomac, Maryland and the location of the closest Ride On bus stop (red marker) to their community. 

The residents of Tobytown would like Ride On service to be extended to their community so they can take advantage of public transportation through out Montgomery County. 



Currently, the residents WALK the 3 miles from their homes to the closest Ride On bus stop on Travilah Road. 

The next image shows some of the Ride On bus routes that the Tobytown residents use once they walk the 3 miles to the closest Ride On bus stop.

Councilmember Nancy Navarro does not represent this part of the county, but nonetheless, she has written a letter to the Council's Transporation Committee requesting that Tobytown receive Ride On bus service.  

   2016 April 5 Navarro Tobytown by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

How the Descendants of Freed Slaves Lost their Land in Montgomery County #Tobytown

In 1969, the residents of Tobytown in Potomac owned the land that they lived on.  The land had been passed down since 1875 from their ancestors, the founders of Tobytown.

History from Maryland Historical Trust

But, then Montgomery County Government came in, demolished their homes, and replaced their homes with townhouses that the residents were forced to rent for 40 years before they could buy just the homes back from the Housing Opportunities Commission.  They could not get back the land. 

The land owners had lost their land. 

All of the land that had been in these families for almost 100 years was either taken by condemnation or transferred to Montgomery County Government.

Some of the land was taken by a condemnation proceeding, and some was transferred in processes that current relatives describe as based on threats.  Current relatives remember that the Tobytown landowners of the 1960's did not necessarily know how to read or write, and did not want to give up their land.

Montgomery County land records tell the tale.  Below are copies of all of the Deeds to Tobytown land that were transferred or taken by condemnation from 1970 to 1999.  The last names in these deeds are many of the same last names as the current residents of Tobytown. 

It is 2016, and the current residents of Tobytown, who lost their land to Montgomery County, have asked that their community be included in the County's public transportation system.  They just want a RideOn bus to serve their neighborhood. 

To this day, Montgomery County Government still owns over 5 acres of original Tobytown land.  The land around the Tobytown townhomes is owned by the Housing Opportunities Commission.

The RideOn bus service for Tobytown would cost between $200,000 and $300,000 a year.  The County has consistently denied the Tobytown residents normal RideOn Bus service.

Washington Post

From a 2010, Washington Post article:

...In 1972, the housing authority used federal housing funds to build 26 duplexes and single-family homes and a small community center. The goal was for the low-income residents to eventually purchase the inexpensive dwellings.

Florice Martin, 49, a longtime resident who is now raising her grandchildren in Tobytown, grew up in the shacks and vividly remembers when the development was unveiled to great fanfare.
"All the rich people were here, the people that mean something," she said. There were journalists on hand, and a big reception. It was the first time she had seen caviar.
The glowing promise of the day was never fully realized. Over the years, 17 families purchased their own homes for about $16,000. But nine units remain in the control of the housing authority, which also maintains the community center and grounds.
"It seems like they forgot us," Martin said. "It seems like we're not here."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/12/AR2010111201997_3.html?sid=ST2010111202147

   1970 - 1999 Tobytown Deeds by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland

Berliner to Tobytown: Normal Bus Service Does not Make Economic Sense

Note:  RideOn bus service does make sense in other parts of Montgomery County with similar average ridership numbers to Tobytown's. 
A Tobytown RideOn bus route is already predicted to generate 100 patrons.   That is more or similar to other currently running RideOn bus routes.  See page 28 of this Council information packet.

-----------------------------------------------

Berliner Announces Potential Transit Service for Tobytown Residents at HOC Meeting

 

Montgomery County’s Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC) held a meeting with Tobytown residents on Monday night at the community’s recreation center. While HOC initially limited the event to the Tobytown community, residents from surrounding areas and the media were able to join local officials at the meeting.

Montgomery County Council Vice President Roger Berliner stopped by the meeting and discussed Tobytown’s request for public transit.

Berliner announced his plans to support a shuttle route proposal, that would include Tobytown, at a Council meeting to be held on Thursday. He said that the proposed all-day transit service would connect residents to Metro, schools, and jobs...

Video of Councilmember Roger Berliner's statement at this link.
 http://www.mymcmedia.org/berliner-announces-potential-transit-service-for-tobytown-residents-at-hoc-meeting-photos/

mymcmedia: Tobytown Residents in Need of Bus Service

http://www.mymcmedia.org/tobytown-residents-in-need-of-bus-service-video/

Tobytown: No RideOn Bus or Access to Computers Yet, But Service Fair with Refreshments

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2015/11/apple-ballot-keeps-historically-black.html

Berliner: "colleagues and I will do right by Tobytown and provide them with more bus service"

Tobytown resident James Martin testified at the Council’s April 6th budget hearing about the need for Ride On bus service to his community in Potomac.
According to Martin, it is about a 45-minute walk to the nearest bus stop on Travilah Road.
“It’s a pretty dangerous walk,” he said, noting there is no sidewalk and the shoulder along the roadway is small. Martin told the Council that a lot of people in his community don’t have a car.
“We would like access for Ride On to come out so we can be able to get out of Tobytown and get jobs; our kids can go to after school programs, and medical appointments and quality leisure activities,” Martin said.
He is asking for a bus stop at River Road and Travilah Road, and noted how nice it would be to have a ride to the C & O Canal. He stressed how important it is to have work/life balance.
“Tobytown needs a ride to get out to the world and that brings the C & O Canal closer to the Ride On stop,” Martin said, and his testimony was followed by applause from the crowd in the room.

Tobytown residents would like a Ride On stop at the corner of River Road and Travilah Rd.

Tobytown residents would like a Ride On stop at the corner of River Road and Travilah Rd. pic.twitter.com/S8R5OzRByu

— Maureen Chowdhury (@MediaMaureen) April 8, 2016