That sounds a lot like Hope VI, a valuable public housing program, created in the 1990's, that the Bush administration has attacked relentlessly.

Indeed, one of the precepts of the federal program known as Hope VI, which awarded Yonkers the $20 million grant in the spring, is reducing concentrations of poverty.

This has ultimately changed the demographic of the neighborhood; prior to the government intervention and development provided by Hope VI, the neighborhood was predominantly African American.

So a second goal of Hope VI is to ease tenants off Government dependence.

The federal funds are coming from a program called Hope VI, which requires that services also be added.

While Hope VI has successfully deconcentrated public housing sites, it has done little to deconcentrate poverty within poor neighborhoods in general.

While state and local funds for subsidized and low-cost housing continue to shrink, Hope VI has made 165 grants to private-public partnerships developing mixed-income communities in 98 cities.

Though conceived in 1993, Hope VI picked up steam only in the last three or four years.

YET many people contend that Hope VI is no panacea.

"Hope VI goes in the right direction," said Robert J. Rigby, executive director of the Jersey City Housing Authority.