George,

David Norris, the co-chair of Democrats For Change, asks us to be disturbed about several challenges facing the city. He cites genuine areas of concern, to be sure.

But I find more disturbing that the co-chair of a political movement that wants to be taken seriously, and I take seriously, is so uninformed about housing costs that he can characterize houses with a construction cost of $100,000 to $150,000 as "upper-income housing."

This is so far off the mark for upper-income housing, is so contrary to readily available figures, and displays such an uninformed picture about our housing market, that it calls into question the agenda of Democrats For Change. Does any more of their program rely on such misunderstandings?

A two minute phone call to the city tax assessor's office can reveal to Mr. Norris the correct range of values for low cost, middle cost, and upper cost housing in the city. It would save him the embarrassment of saying such wrong things as, "City tax dollars are being used to subsidize the construction of upper-income housing on Elliot Avenue." That housing is far from upper income.

The desirable goal of creating housing available to low income families is not advanced by mis-describing current housing efforts the city is making. We go forward only when we all pull in the same direction.

Rey Barry (electronic mail, February 5, 2002)