Seriously fucked up--Fake officials "reopen" New Orleans public housing [View All]

[tjwash]

Fake officials "reopen" New Orleans public housing

By Peter Henderson and Matt Daily

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A prankster posing as a federal housing official took center stage at a New Orleans event with the city mayor and the governor of Louisiana, controversially promising to throw open closed public housing to thousands of poor former city residents.

The stunt, which the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development called a "cruel hoax," was the latest by an activist group known as "The Yes Men" who have previously masqueraded as World Trade Organization officials announcing they were disbanding the body.

Activist Andy Bichlbaum, pretending to be HUD "Assistant Deputy Secretary Rene Oswin," told hundreds of businesspeople at a forum the agency would reverse policy and reopen housing units now targeted for replacement by mixed-income development.

He promised to "fix New Orleans, not just for the benefit of a few but for everyone."

The audience applauded the speech and the moderator thanked "Oswin" for the "dramatic announcement."

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