Organizations Look For Sustainable Solutions to Address Housing Crises

BY EllE lovE

Tina Murray remembered sitting on grime-covered stairs with the mother of two.

The apartment building they sat in had just been condemned by the city of Omaha. Mice, mold, a leaking roof, no heat in the winter and more problems made it easy in early 2022 for the city to justify vacating the Flora Apartments, which had been on Omaha code inspectors’ radars for years. But while the city counted it as a win holding landlords accountable, it was anything but for the residents who were given a day’s notice to leave their homes.

“She told me sitting on those stairs, as gross and disgusting as they were, that it was better than living in her car,” said Murray, senior director of crisis engagement programs with Omaha nonprofit Together. “That’s just unacceptable.”

A lack of affordable housing pushes Omaha’s poorest to accept unsafe living conditions. But when it comes to holding landlords accountable, the city often has too few tools until problems escalate and condemning buildings becomes the only option. Some high-profile examples include Yale Park Apartments in 2018, Flora Apartments in early 2022 and recently Legacy Crossing in December 2022. Nonprofits — which end up responding to the emergency by raising money and finding housing — say this pattern can’t continue.

“We need to start holding people’s feet to the fire so that way… [we don’t] see violations happening for five years then all of a sudden somebody says we’re pulling the plug and we’re gonna ask everybody to move in 24 hours,” said Mike Honerak, CEO of Together.

The most common tool city code enforcement has is a $125 inspection fee. But for some that’s not persuasive. David Carney, a local activist, released emails on Twitter alleging property owners for Legacy Crossing would rather pay inspection fees than fix violations.

Recently the city started a landlord registry, getting a list of all rented properties and inspecting them once every de- cade. Properties with violations must pass two years of clean inspections before returning to a decennial schedule, said Dave Fanslau, city planning director, in a news release. City of Omaha Chief Housing Inspector Scott Lane did not respond to a request for comment.

Murray said while the registry is helping, particularly in educating the community more about tenant rights and how to report code violations, there needs to be more accountability.

“The education is great, but if you don’t have the enforcement piece to hold the landlord accountable, the landlord will get away with not fixing the code violations or responding to complaints filed by tenants,” Mur- ray said. “ Because they know there’s 100 more people sitting there that are willing to live in those conditions and pay for it, because it’s better than living in a car.”

The urgency for a solution is underscored by Omaha’s shortage of affordable housing.

To meet the demand for affordable housing over the next two decades, Omaha needs $17.4 billion to produce 80,000 to 100,000 new units, according to a study by the Omaha Community Foundation. Much of the current stock also needs investment. According to United Way of the Midlands, of the 325,000 calls it received to its 211 bad break on hotline, 72% were rent and/or utilities related.

When buildings are condemned, it increases the need for nonprofits to raise money to keep people housed and fed. If nothing changes, they’re left to wonder when the next mass condemnation will be — the next time they’re forced to raise money, move furniture, check people into hotels and try to pick up the pieces in a chaotic situation.

“It’s not an immediate fix,” Murray said. “You take people from their housing and place them in hotels, it takes months to get people housed … You have [some] people with felonies, evictions, low income, etc. Those are the harder people to house so it takes more resources than that.”

February 2-April 2

Christian Rothmann: ColoR Fields

Garden of the Zodiac Gallery

The bold colorism of Berliner Christian Rothmann will be on full display at his return engagement to the Garden of the Zodiac Gallery, with an opening of his lively paintings on Feb. 2.

At work on a group of dynamic new material in oil, ink and watercolor, Rothmann is exploring the inspiration of mountain landscapes. Radiant color is at the forefront, used geometrically as a structural element, with gestural markings forming the suggestion of topography and movement in space. The works recall the lushness of his characteristic botanical imagery with the romantic sublime often associated with the landscape.

--Janet L. Farber

February 3-25

With love

Ming Toy Gallery

The Little Gallery has returned to Benson First Friday in 2023 under owner Teresa Gleason’s guidance but with a new identity, purpose and inaugural exhibit. Renamed Ming Toy, which translates to “daughter of happiness,” the gallery will open “With Love” Feb. 3, from 6-9 p.m., featuring artists from the Omaha nonprofit Gotta Be Me.

“We hope our gallery, dedicated to exploring the creative potential of new, nontraditional and established artists, will bring happiness to all who visit and all who display their work with us,” Gleason said. “With Love” will be on display through Feb. 25 at 5901 Maple St. in Benson.

For more information, go to mingtoygallery@gmail.com.

--Mike Krainak

February 3 – March 31

Human, curated by Alyssa schmitt

Petshop Gallery interpretations of the human experience.

Regular viewing hours are by appointment.

--Kent Behrens

February 7-12 To Kill A Mockingbird The Orpheum Theater

BFF Omaha and Petshop Gallery will host an opening reception for “Human,” its latest exhibit in the Benson neighborhood, on Feb. 3 from 7-10 p.m.

The group show, curated by Alyssa Schmitt, gathers work by nine local figurative artists and examines the unique and varied ways in which humans interact with one another and themselves.

Through a variety of mediums, including drawing, painting, printmaking and photography, the exhibition hopes to emphasize the connections between different

“To Kill a Mockingbird” tells one man’s harrowing experience of racial injustice and false accusations in a town and courtroom of racists eager to convict him. The story also follows a girl and boy, the children of lawyer Atticus Finch, who happens to be the attorney committed to saving the life of Tom Robinson, the innocent man on trial.

Tickets are $35-$115 before fees, for eight performances, starting at 1, 2, 6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

— Matt Casas

February 10 lost & Found Bockelman Multi-Media Project Project

Jen Bockelman’s multi-media exhibit weaves together currents in life’s found objects, opening Feb. 10 from 6-9 p.m. at Project Project. Her installations and collages continue her exploration of a Nebraska identity imagined from not only ordinary social means but “the accidental narratives that we leave in recycling bins, in the trash, or at the thrift store.”

Bockelman is interested in this “play between the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. Not who we are, but who we tell ourselves we are. In this way we are … perpetrating a facet of regional identity by repeating it to each other and by passing the story down to our children.”

--Mike Krainak

February 10-11

Tchaikovsky: Romeo and Juliet OvertureFantasy

Holland Center

February 10-26

Godspell

Benson Theatre

Attendees will learn how to make lamp-work beads in this free niche glass-blowing class at the Crystal Forge shop. You can even try your hand at glass-blowing if you wish.

The art of glass-blowing beads and lamp work has been around since the first century B.C., which means it’s one of the oldest art forms. Israel is thought to have been one of the first countries to originate this beautiful and ancient trade.

Join the fun and learn about glass blowing, and give it a go if you’re inspired.

— Matt Casas

February 17 - May 14

February 19

STRFKR The Waiting Room

Ankush Kumar Bahl and the Omaha Symphony will bridge two arts — classic storytelling and classical music — at the Holland Center for two nights.

“Romeo and Juliet” has been re-imagined for centuries to the point where adaptations just 30 years apart are strikingly different in tone (see the infamous Nineties film).

But the 19th century Russian composer Tchaikovsky has been just as enduring, owed partially to his love for Bill Shakespeare, whose work inspired Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet fantasy overture.

Experience the next re-imagination. Tickets are $20-$81 before fees for the 7:30 p.m. performances.

— Matt Casas

“Godspell” will visit the Benson Theatre for a run from Feb. 10-26.

“Godspell” draws from several ancient and modern sources, making for a surprisingly rich stew of source material for the stage. It’s a musical that has been around since the Seventies, with religious music and dramatized sections from the Bible. Stephen Schwartz composed the musical score for the play, decades before he wrote the music for the enduring “Wicked,” ubiquitous in the theatre world.

Tickets start at $35 before fees. Friday-Saturday shows start at 7:30 p.m., while Sunday shows begin at 2 p.m.

— Matt Casas

February 11

Bead Bash Days

Crystal Forge

Hot Shops Art Center