Kemp Pledges $137 Million for Housing, Jobs : Rebuilding: City officials question whether HUD chief’s figure is new allocation or part of riot package.

Pledging that the Bush Administration will cast aside politics to help rebuild inner cities, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Jack Kemp announced Saturday that the federal government will commit $137 million this year to refurbish public housing projects and create job opportunities in riot-ravaged South Los Angeles communities.

It was unclear to city officials, however, whether the money is a new allocation or part of federal funds that already have been committed to the city for riot relief.

“We had not heard that figure before Secretary Kemp’s speech, and I think the first thing we want to do is find out the source and whether it is money we had not previously counted on,” said Michael Bodaken, Mayor Tom Bradley’s housing coordinator.

Kemp made the announcement at a youth education forum in the Nickerson Gardens housing project that was also attended by Bradley, Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores, Compton Mayor Walter Tucker, who is a congressional candidate, and other politicians.

“One thing that I think we can all agree on whether we are Democrats or Republican, whether we are on the left or the right is that we must put aside politics if we are to go forward,” Kemp said in a speech to about 150 residents of the housing project in Watts.

“We need to rebuild not only Los Angeles, but every single city in America because otherwise we cannot save our children,” Kemp said.

As part of his commitment to the Los Angeles recovery effort, Kemp said, he has accepted an offer to join the board of Rebuild L.A., the official post-riot reconstruction team that is being headed by businessman Peter V. Ueberroth.

“I’ll be acting as the federal liaison with the group . . . to help coordinate all federal spending during the rebuild effort,” Kemp said after his speech.

The confusion surrounding the relief aid comes amid concern by many local officials about the slow pace of federal relief efforts. Bush has pledged at least $19 million in new money to help the city recover, but most of it is to fund the President’s Weed and Seed program, Bodaken said. Little of the money has reached the city.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), who refused to take the podium with Kemp, called the housing secretary’s visit a public relations stunt.

“Even if some of the . . . money does come to Los Angeles it is a drop in the bucket. We need a better response,” Waters said.

The Nickerson Gardens basketball courts were decked out with bright ribbons, balloons and about 75 T-shirt clad youngsters, lending the scene an almost festive air. But around the corner, in the burned-out hulls of stores and gas stations, there remained evidence of the community’s anger and frustration.

Three people were killed in Nickerson Gardens during a confrontation with police in the violence that erupted after the not guilty verdicts in the beating of motorist Rodney G. King.

During Saturday’s speeches, about 40 residents held a peaceful but noisy demonstration nearby, scolding the politicians and warning that further violence could be spawned if substantial changes are not seen in the community.

“We don’t want talk! We’re tired of all the rhetoric!” yelled one man who declined to give his name. He held a sign that said “Rebuild Our Lives, not Just Stores.”

Included in the money Kemp pledged was $2 million in grants to enable residents to manage their housing projects and eventually buy them from the government. The money is part of $24 million that will be distributed nationally as part of the Homeownership and Opportunity for People Everywhere, or HOPE, program.

But on Saturday, some residents dismissed Kemp’s home ownership program, which has been on the drawing board for years but has never received funding until now.

“What do we want to buy these dumps for?” asked Rufus Andrews, a 10-year resident of Nickerson Gardens. “What we need are jobs and money so we can move out.”

During his speech, Kemp agreed that the recovery initiatives must be rooted in the community.

“This time when we rebuild Los Angeles, the job has to start in the communities,” he said. “We need minority jobs, minority firms, that’s what we mean when we talk about empowerment.”

Addressing concerns raised by minority contractors that work arising out of the rebuilding effort is being funneled to outsiders, Kemp pledged that federal Community Development Block Grant money would be set aside to ensure that “minority contractors have an opportunity to get a share.”

But many of the secretary’s proposals Saturday were short on specifics, leaving it unclear how all of the $137 million would be used.

One of the modernization projects includes a joint venture announced by Bradley between a Korean-American development firm and public housing residents to train and employ youth in construction projects.

In a news release, Bradley called the project a “historic venture that demonstrates what positive things can be accomplished when people of diverse . . . backgrounds share a common goal and are prepared to work together to achieve that goal.”

Under the arrangement, the Housing Authority Resident Advisory Committee will retain a 51% interest in the new firm, which is expected initially to hire about 20 public housing residents.

The venture will be financed through a $500,000 construction contract from HUD.