Stephannie Stokes
90.1FM WABE
Atlanta, GA, United States
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Past articles by Stephannie:
East Point revives long-vacant public housing building
East Point is turning an old public housing building back into affordable units. The old, nine-story high rise stands only a few blocks from East Point’s downtown. The high rise, […] → Read More
How will Atlanta's next mayor keep the city affordable? Read the candidates' answers
As Atlanta grows, so does the cost of living in the city. The pressure on renters and homeowners may be one of the biggest challenges for Atlanta’s next mayor. Ahead of the runoff election on Nov. 30, WABE asked the city’s two mayoral candidates, Councilmember Andre Dickens and Council President Felicia Moore, to → Read More
A New Book Explores The Lost Political Power Of Atlanta's Public Housing Tenants
People often think of public housing as a failure in Atlanta. The city embraced the idea early on. It opened the first project in the country, Techwood Homes, in 1934. And after that, Atlanta kept building public housing. At one point, 50,000 tenants—10% of Atlanta’s population—lived in government-funded units. But → Read More
Atlanta Begins Effort To Turn Vacant Land Into Affordable Housing
The city of Atlanta is repurposing four properties it owns for affordable housing. The parcels are part of a larger effort to redevelop publicly owned vacant land throughout Atlanta. According to planning commissioner Tim Keane, there are more than 1300 properties in the city's name. With most, however, Keane told → Read More
Housing Advocates Seek 7-Day Waiting Period In Ga. Before Landlords File Evictions
Housing advocates, hoping to slow down evictions in Georgia, plan to push for a change in state law. The state's eviction process is one of the fastest in the country. As soon as tenants are late on rent, landlords can demand possession of the property and begin the eviction case at the courthouse. Bambie Hayes-Brown → Read More
She Treated COVID-19 Patients. She Got Sick. Then, Her Eviction Notice Came.
Fulton County has received more than 10,000 new eviction cases since the coronavirus outbreak began. In that number are the stories of this pandemic. People who have dealt with unemployment or became sick with the coronavirus. In Atlanta, that was the experience of one health care worker named Ray. Then, she fell → Read More
Investors Can't Pressure Homeowners Into Selling Under New Atlanta Rule
In Atlanta's gentrifying neighborhoods, the requests from investors can be relentless. Residents receive daily fliers, phone calls and text messages promising cash for their homes. The offers are a common strategy used by investors looking for properties at discount prices around Atlanta. But now they may be illegal. → Read More
As Federal Eviction Protections Expire, Tenants In Metro Atlanta Feel The Effect
A federal law protecting many tenants from eviction expired this week. Renters around Atlanta are noticing. For Jasmine Nelson, the letter came as she approached one year in her Lithonia apartment. “I was just really caught off guard with the whole thing,” she said. Nelson is a cosmetologist who does hair. The → Read More
Development, Unimpeded By Pandemic, Displaces Northwest Atlanta Community
There's a small park wedged behind Marietta Boulevard that's meant to represent diversity. It's named after Sara J. Gonzalez, a Cuban activist who once lived nearby. More than a third of the people in this slice of northwest Atlanta at the edge of Buckhead are Latino, according to recent Census surveys. Another → Read More
Peaceful Protests Take A Turn As Police Disperse Crowd
The city of Atlanta has extended a curfew starting from Tuesday at 9 p.m. and continuing through Wednesday at sunrise. Multiple demonstrations have been held in Atlanta over the past five days in response to the outcry over the death of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer. → Read More
How To Register To Vote In Georgia When You're Homeless
While it's raining outside, the basement of St. Anthony's Catholic Church in Atlanta's West End is warm with Mardi Gras decorations and music. People are getting lunch, having their feet washed and also registering to vote. The last day to register to vote in Georgia’s March primary is Monday, Feb. 24. Michael → Read More
Landlords Can't Turn Away Section 8 Tenants Under Adopted Atlanta City Council Legislation
It may soon be illegal for landlords to reject tenants who use low-income housing vouchers, or Section 8. The Atlanta City Council approved legislation Monday that would make those tenants a protected class under the city’s fair housing law. The current definition prohibits discrimination based on qualities like → Read More
Atlanta Mayor Halts Development Around $26 Million Westside Park
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has halted all development near the new Westside Park. The $26 million project is transforming the old Bellwood Quarry into the city’s biggest greenspace. The ribbon-cutting for the park is expected this spring. But as Westside Park’s opening approaches, nearby residents say real → Read More
A Forgotten Lynching In Atlanta
This story was produced in partnership with Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting. Listen to its podcast about Thomas Finch here. The first countrywide memorial to African American victims of lynching opened last year in downtown Montgomery, Alabama. While it’s called the National Memorial for Peace and → Read More
Georgia's Minimum Wage Is Still $5.15. That's Not Unusual In The South.
This story was produced in collaboration with the Ravitch Fiscal Reporting Program at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York. Around the country, many workers started the year off with a raise. The minimum wage went up in a total of 20 states. But not in Georgia. When it comes to the → Read More
How Atlanta Became The Capital Of Income Inequality
The latest analysis found those in the city of Atlanta’s top income bracket made nearly 20 times more than those at the bottom. And that’s not the only source for the city’s income inequality title. → Read More
Why Don't Landlords Take Section 8? HUD Asks
The nation's housing agency wants to know why more landlords aren’t accepting Section 8 vouchers. A recent report from the Urban Institute found many landlords reject the government funded rent subsidies before ever meeting their recipients. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has held listening → Read More
Loss Of Affordable Complexes Worries Buford Highway Community
Just a block off Buford Highway in Brookhaven, Rebekah Morris looks out onto an empty dirt lot. “It's just so sad,” Morris said. Morris is with Los Vecinos, a group that advocates for residents in the area’s older complexes. She said this property used to be the Park Villa apartments. You can see a thousand people → Read More
Gwinnett County To Vote On Joining MARTA In March
Gwinnett County’s Board of Commissioners has agreed to give voters the choice to join MARTA. The board’s chair called the decision, which earned the support of all five commissioners, historic. But some transit advocates weren’t so enthusiastic, and the reason has to do with the timing of the vote. Most expected it → Read More
Atlanta Researchers Help Cities Track Their Sidewalk Problems
A lot of cities struggle to maintain their sidewalks. And that can lead to legal trouble. Last month, a lawsuit argued Atlanta’s crumbling sidewalks violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. So researchers at Georgia Tech have developed a tool to help cities assess how problematic their sidewalks are. The tool → Read More