Residents in Cuney Homes uncertain about future as redevelopment process of Houston's oldest housing community stalls

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Residents in Cuney Homes, Houston’s oldest public housing community, have said that if they had a choice, they wouldn’t have chosen to live there.

“We’re not uneducated people, we just happen to be disabled, or down on our luck at the present time,” resident Mark Anthony said.

Longtime residents tell ABC13 that the community is plagued by violence and basic utilities.

“I stay hearing gun shots, I stay hearing the fights, I stay hearing people dying over here,” resident Pauletta Bullock said.

In 2023, the Houston Housing Authority announced a major overhaul of the complex that would require tenants to vacate for an unspecified period.

According to the housing authority, residents would receive help with moving or funds to help them coordinate their own affairs.

Originally, the housing authority planned to build new apartments ahead of the overhaul so displaced residents could move in. But with several of those projects falling through or no longer existing, residents are growing concerned.

The complex is now set to be redeveloped into a mix of affordable and market-rate housing as well as commercial space.

“Well, it’s basically gentrification, let’s rebuild Cuney homes into a beautiful, ecstatic neighborhood, but let’s shuffle the old out,” Anthony said.

In 2024, Eyewitness News reported that the Housing Authority purchased land to build housing for Cuney residents, but our partners at the Houston Chronicle have recently found that the land has been sold and is no longer owned by the city.

Another complex under construction in the East End was stalled when a federal investigation found the property was being built on land filled with toxic ash.

Residents said the stalled projects and changes of plans are one disappointment after another in what they feel is an unclear path forward.

“They don’t care, they don’t care about us,” Bullock said.

For more news updates, follow Lileana Pearson on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Residents in Cuney Homes uncertain about future as redevelopment process of Houston’s oldest housing community stalls

Tags: