By Kevin Aldridge
Enquirer staff writer

Marcia Battle, of North Fairmount, tidies up her daughter's room in their English Woods apartment Wednesday. Photo by ERNEST COLEMAN/The Enquirer

ENGLISH WOODS - U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson will arrive in Cincinnati today to tour the 948-unit English Woods apartment complex and listen to tenants' concerns.

Tenants said they want to show Jackson that English Woods is not the dilapidated, bare-bones housing project that the Cincinnati Metropolitan Housing Authority claims. They acknowledged the World War II-era complex has been neglected, but they think the units are salvageable.

"The (federal) government wants to get away from this type of housing, but the reality is it's needed," said Marcia Battle, a six-year resident and member of the English Woods Civic Association. "Congress has passed laws to demolish severely distressed public housing, but English Woods is not one of those communities they are describing."

The Bush Administration is phasing out funding to the Hope VI Program, which provided federal dollars for renovation of public housing complexes such as the City West project in the West End, formerly Laurel Homes. And though the government still is providing money for Section 8 vouchers, funding is not at the levels that some public housing advocates would like.

Federal housing officials plan to visit housing projects in nine cities this year to hear the issues and concerns of tenants as part of an agreement with the National People's Action Coalition. Cincinnati is the only destination Jackson will visit.

He is to arrive at English Woods between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Jackson could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

The housing authority wants to raze the barracks-style complex, which it owns, and build single-family homes atop the prime western Cincinnati land.

Cincinnati City Council, state lawmakers and neighborhood activists oppose demolition.

In October, HUD rejected demolition. Since then, the housing authority has done little marketing of the property.

Instead, English Woods tenants are being moved out of the area once targeted for demolition and into two additions.

"We want to show him (Jackson) that there is a strong preference among tenants to build English Woods up," said Marilyn Evans, a member of Working in Neighborhoods. "We want to show him that low-income people can live nice."

E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com