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CHICAGO--This time last year neighborhood organizations were pressuring the Federal Housing Administration to fire Intown Property Management, the corrupt and incompetent contractors HUD paid to maintain and market their 1,000-plus abandoned buildings in much of the Midwest.

At the end of August more than 60 residents came out to a meeting at Nobel Neighbors in Chicago to tell HUD's new management contractor, Golden Feather Realty Services, that they are not doing much better than their predecessors.

Nobel Neighbors leaders took turns Wednesday night confronting two Golden Feather vice presidents with stories about HUD's un-boarded buildings that have been taken over by gang members and drug dealers. As a result of Golden Feather's poor property maintenance, neighbors are forced to deal with mounds of rotting garbage, rats, and drug dealers having free access to neighboring abandoned buildings.

To make matters worse, the emergency phone number provided by Golden Feather misdirects neighbors' complaints and is often not accessible after regular business hours.

Golden Feather agreed to all of the residents' demands, including sending their local inspectors to attend meetings at Nobel Neighbors, improving their inspector oversight procedures, and immediate boarding and cleanup of all properties recorded by residents. Golden Feather signed an agreement including these and nine additional demands, and agreed to a follow up meeting at Nobel Neighbors in October.