Monday, July 29, 2019

Industry and compassion? Hardly. Jeff Gahan refers to public housing as a "compound." He has prisons on the brain, not affordable housing.


The Courier-Journal has provided an object lesson about the utility of journalism.

By covering a story Team Gahan dearly wished to be kept hidden ...

Does a New Albany homeless encampment by Silver Creek exist if a blind mayor can't see it?


 ... Louisville's newspaper (not the N & T, which is predictably MIA) has New Albany city officials scrambling to put lipstick on their "quality of life" pigs by contriving a "policy" on homelessness (and by direct extension, non-affordable housing) that didn't even exist prior to the past weekend apart from frequent denials over Bud Light Mang-O-Rita at the Roadhouse.

If you've followed New Albany for any length of time, you'll find this headline at the city's propaganda organ absolutely hilarious. 

Mayor Gahan Provides Information About Homeless Assistance in New Albany

Really? Irony-free Nawbany.

Dear Leader wrote the article himself after eight years of refusing to comment publicly on the very same topic?

Constipation, indeed.

Is it an election year?

But okay; fine. We'll take them at their dubious word, and as such, here's a Freudian slip of epic dimension.

"The city of New Albany is the host of the largest public housing compound in the state of Indiana, outside of Gary, Indiana."

The Genius of the Flood Plain should know that the noun "compound" in this instance is defined as such:

Compound: a fenced or walled-in area containing a group of buildings and especially residences
  • a prison compound
  • an embassy compound

As Major Winchester once noted on television's M*A*S*H, "out of the mouths of babes comes drollery."

For Gahan and his generational cohort, surely vivid images of walls have always crowded their minds as it pertains to their absolute certainty that if public housing (read: nasty poor people) could be removed from this fair city, we'd be enriched to the point of Persian Gulf sheikdom.

It then follows that Gahan wouldn't miss another opportunity to repeat his mantra about the city's commitment to its less fortunate citizens.

New Albany is doing more than its share to provide for the homeless.

Wow.

Gahan has sought for eight long years to avoid publicly mentioning those aspects of human society he finds unclean and distasteful, including homelessness, opioid addiction, non-living wages, petty crime and the like.

Now, even in this PR release masterpiece of sidestepping, avoidance and subterfuge, Gahan can't avoid repeating the unexamined bromides of his generation's upbringing, devoid as they are of substantive intellectual content.

Now, called out by the C-J, he becomes a towering figure of "industry and compassion" (a phrase probably cribbed from this hotel awards release). But actions speak more loudly than mere words, and it's simple.

With enthusiastic support from local Democrats riding the political patronage gravy train, and ignoring their own party platform, Gahan has done nothing in eight years to assist those in this community who are in greatest need. 

Period; full stop. 

The Gahan Bait and Switch has been elevated to an art form -- that's why the pig is wearing lipstick and those levers remain unseen. No civic problem is too great to be hidden behind the Wizard of Disney's network of fake computer-generated facades, and when necessary, out-and-out lying.

This fib-fest about "compassion" for the downtrodden is just the latest example, although it's a unique insight into the brain of New Albany's worst ever mayor and the resulting C-minus student's paradise.

Here's the insipid PR release in its entirety.

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Mayor Gahan Provides Information About Homeless Assistance in New Albany

July 28, 2019

New Albany has a long history of being a city of industry and compassion, and we are well positioned to carry these traditions forward. Today’s Courier—Journal brings to light the situation of two people who are in need of support and a safe and secure roof over their heads. As always, the city will work with Homeless Coalition members, the New Albany Housing Authority, and other affiliated organizations to meet their needs.

Link to Courier Journal article: https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/indiana/floyd/2019/07/27/homeless-camp-remains-after-new-albany-nearly-clears/1846883001/

We appreciate and hear the concerns of organizations mentioned in the Courier-Journal article, including Exit 0 and Hip Hop Cares. However, building codes, zoning ordinances, and other laws do not permit the construction of unsafe structures to be used for shelter in the woods, in parks, or in the public right-of-way.

The city of New Albany is the host of the largest public housing compound in the state of Indiana, outside of Gary, Indiana. For a city our size, it is one of the largest in the United States. With over 1100 units, the New Albany Housing Authority dwarfs all others in southern Indiana, having more than Jeffersonville, Clarksville, Charlestown, Sellersburg, and Corydon combined. New Albany is doing more than its share to provide for the homeless, even while facing budget cuts from the federal government. Due to those federal cuts, the New Albany Housing Authority has been shorted over $130 million in maintenance costs alone.

If you, or someone you know, lives in New Albany and needs help finding shelter, please contact one of the following partner agencies to receive assistance:

Homeless Coalition of Southern Indiana: (812) 913-5179

New Albany Housing Authority: (812) 948-2319

New Albany Township Trustee’s Office: (812) 948-5498

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