Chicago Tribune (CT) - SUNDAY, December 24, 1995; Edition: CHICAGOLAND FINAL Section: METRO CHICAGO Page: 1 Word Count: 951
Sabrina L. Miller, Tribune Staff Writer.

But bad timing, the wrong location and politics proved him wrong.

"There is a great need for AIDS housing in this community," said Lopez, executive director of CALOR, an advocacy group for HIV- and AIDS-infected people in the Humboldt Park area. CALOR is a Spanish acronym that means warmth. "The time to act on this is now."

But a vocal group of Humboldt Park activists, along with support from Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th), have effectively blocked the project, a 17-unit structure that was to be built at the corner of West Crystal Street and North Kedzie Avenue.

The Humboldt Park residents said they were tired of their neighborhood being a dumping ground for social programs and federally subsidized housing. A recent influx of scattered-site housing and broken promises by housing officials, residents said, have made them leery of any new development.

"We have a lot of problems in this community. The way to solve some of them is with economic development," said resident Jimmy Lugo. "And we're not getting any of that."

The debate has left people on both sides, many of whom have known each other for decades, pointing fingers and accusing one another of playing politics. Lopez's group, in particular, has publicly blasted Ocasio for ignoring constituents with AIDS and bending to political pressure from a small, vocal group of critics.

"In the meantime, we have to send people with AIDS who need housing out of the community to get it," Lopez said. "Politics shouldn't come into play here. We're talking about a life-or-death issue."

If it hadn't been for a $300,000 shortfall, it wouldn't have been an issue at all.

The Anixter Center, an organization that assists disabled people with jobs and housing, secured a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development three years ago. The grant was earmarked for disabled housing.

The Anixter Center, with then-Ald. Luis Gutierrez's help, bought the corner lots at Crystal and Kedzie several years back. The combination of the grant and the property were ideal, said Anixter Center Executive Director Stuart Ferst.

But by the time all the paperwork between HUD and the Anixter Center was finished this year, the project cost had risen to $1.6 million. In August, the Anixter Center and CALOR approached the city's Housing Department for the additional $300,000. Officials told them they needed the support of the local alderman before the proposal could be brought to the City Council for approval.

"I always thought Billy would support it. All the documentation was there, all the information about it was there," Lopez said.

Several town meetings were held, and petition drives were conducted in September and October. Each side claimed that it had strong support for its position. In the end, Ocasio followed the lead of his vocal Humboldt Park constituents and gave the project a thumbs down.

Unless the Anixter Center can find the $300,000 and another place to build, the decision means that the Anixter Center most likely will be forced to relinquish the grant in January.

Said Ocasio: "It's a great project, but the location is bad. . . . I can't take another stand against the people."

Ocasio's stance has left Crystal Courts supporters wondering why, on this issue, he listened to the critics, when he had developed a reputation for taking controversial stands.

"I think he has shown a tremendous amount of inconsistency in the way he deals with these issues," Lopez said. "This decision has to do with life and death, not just with following what the people want."

Everyone agrees that the concept was good, said Kathy Phelps, co-chair of the West Humboldt Park Fair Housing Coalition, just the timing and location were bad.

"There is no major grocery store in Humboldt Park, no shopping, no economic development," she said. "There is only subsidized housing. We want a balance."

Others who agree with Phelps added that there are not adequate support services to accommodate the existing subsidized housing tenants and social programs.

"Every time an agency comes up with an idea for a great cause, they come in here and they have no services to back it up," said Elida Cruz of the United Blocks of West Humboldt Park, a block club organization. "Our schools are overcrowded, we don't have any stores. . . . We're just tapped out."

But Ferst sees critics of the project as selfish, contending that they are violating the civil rights of people with AIDS.

"This is not an appropriate way to treat the problem," Ferst said.

In Humboldt Park, Logan Square and West Town, there are 974 diagnosed AIDS cases, according to recent city Health Department statistics. The only single neighborhood with a higher number is Lake View, with 1,250. A Health Department study released last year showed that 97 of every 1,000 Puerto Ricans in Chicago had been diagnosed with AIDS.

The Chicago Eligible Metropolitan Area released a report detailing the lack of housing for people with AIDS and offered a five-year plan for correcting the problem. The report said 63 percent of the people surveyed reported being forced to move because of their HIV status, and 44 percent were homeless.

It would take $5 million over the next five years to carry out a program that would solve the problem.

"These are families who need this housing now," Lopez said. "Many of them won't need it next year because, by then, they'll be dead."

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