Welcome back to The Weekly Wrap, our Friday roundup of stories that explain the problems oppressing people in cities and elevate the solutions that bring us closer to economic, environmental and social justice.

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Trump’s Move To Axe All CDFI Fund Staff Draws Bipartisan Backlash

On Friday night last week – just as a three-day weekend began – the Trump administration quietly terminated the entire staff of the CDFI Fund, a Treasury Department agency that supports federally-certified community development financial institutions (CDFIs).

A federal judge has temporarily blocked these and other terminations, saying: “It is also far from normal for an administration to fire line-level civilian employees during a government shutdown as a way to punish the opposing political party. But this is precisely what President Trump has announced he is doing.”

The CDFI Fund has been a longtime target for this administration, as Next City has previously reported. The move is drawing ire from both sides of the political aisle, Bloomberg Law reports. Unlike some other agencies, it enjoys bipartisan support and even support from industry groups. “There’s a bipartisan CDFI Caucus for a reason, and that’s because entrepreneurship has been a backbone of the US economy,” says Association for Enterprise Opportunity head Natalie Madeira Cofield.

City Housing Agencies Sue HUD Over Anti-DEI Funding Requirements

On Friday, the Chicago Housing Authority filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development over new, anti-DEI requirements for grant funding. The agency says the new conditions could affect 13% of its annual budget in the next few days.

To receive federal subsidies for public housing units, HUD is now requiring grant recipients to certify that none of the funds will be used for “diversity, equity and inclusion mandates, policies or programs,” or to promote illegal immigration, “gender ideology” or “elective abortion.”

Housing authorities in other major U.S. cities — including San Francisco, San Diego, Baltimore, Los Angeles and Salem, Massachusetts — also filed a joint federal lawsuit over these conditions this week.

L.A. County Has Declared a State of Emergency Over ICE Raids

Los Angeles County voted to declare a state of emergency over federal immigration raids this week, the L.A. Times reports. The declaration allows the county to support communities that have been impacted by the federal government’s crackdown on immigration.

Passed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in a 4-to-1 vote, it will also give officials the ability to eventually vote on protections such as an eviction moratorium for tenants who are struggling to pay rent because of ICE raids.

Officials say many immigrants cannot work because they fear being detained if they go outside. Some families in L.A. have had to rely on their children for errands and to keep their small businesses.

NY Governor Signs Bill Banning Landlords From Using Algorithms To Set Rents

This week New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law policies to address discriminatory home appraisals, security deposit returns, and landlords using algorithmic software to set rental prices.

It’s one of the first statewide bans on such technology. Just this month, California passed a broader ban on algorithmic pricing tools, set to take effect in 2026. These two statewide bans follow local ordinances passed in cities including San Francisco, Berkeley, Minneapolis, San Diego, Philadelphia, Jersey City and Seattle.

New York’s law, an update to the state’s antitrust laws, prevents building managers and property owners from using tools like RealPage, which can inflate rents by sharing non-public data (including vacancies and lease renewal rates) to set prices. The U.S Department of Justice sued RealPage last year, saying it “deprives renters of the benefits of competition on apartment leasing terms and harms millions of Americans.”

Democratic Governors Have Formed a Public Health Alliance

In defiance of the Trump administration’s attacks on health and science, a group of governors have formed a public health alliance, the Associated Press reports.

The Governors Health Alliance – comprising governors from 14 states plus Guam — is being framed as a way to share health data, share emergency preparedness and rebuke the current president. It’s not the first such alliance; during Trump’s first administration, some states formed regional groups in the hopes of better addressing Covid-19.

Though the group is bipartisan, all members are currently Democrats. Advisers include Dr. Mandy Cohen, the CDC director under former President Joe Biden. The initiative is supported by Governors Action Alliance (GovAct), a nonprofit nonpartisan initiative that focuses on how governors can work across state lines for progressive initiatives.

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MORE NEWS

• Cincinnati public schools open up safe “sleeping” lots for unhoused students and their families. WLWT5

• A Chicago man was fined $130 by ICE for not carrying identification with him. NBC Chicago

• This community in Texas will vote to form a city to stop a crypto mining operation. Texas Tribune.

• U.S. measles cases continue to climb, with outbreaks across the country. CityLimits

• Communities in Pennsylvania are pushing officials to restrict data center development. Inside Climate News

• Manhattan is seeing a surge of office to housing conversions compared to this time last year. Elite Agent

• A $30 minimum wage and other money topics on the ballot for New Yorkers in the upcoming mayoral election. Gothamist

• SEPTA trains catch fire, and other complaints from commuters who want a better transit system. Philadelphia Inquirer

OPPORTUNITIES & RESOURCES

• DEADLINE TODAY: Envision Resilience is offering funding to university-affiliated design studios to support curricula centered on adaptive design solutions to the challenges of a warming planet in their communities. Apply by Oct. 17.

• The Community Economic Development Association of Michigan is hiring 10 community growth fellows to help design strategies for workers support and build economic resilience. Apply by Oct. 22.

• Voqal Partners is accepting applications from community social justice leaders who are passionate about solutions for inequality throughout the U.S. Apply by Oct. 31.

• The Black Solidarity Economy Fund is open to applications for Black-led and Black-serving organizations building regional solidarity economy ecosystems controlled by the people they serve. Apply by Nov. 3.

• Check out Next City’s jobs board for new opportunities.

EVENTS

• Oct. 22 at noon Eastern: American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education is hosting a webinar on the future of greenhouse gas emission controls, based on a legal analysis of the EPA’s proposal to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding.

• Oct. 23 at 1 p.m. Eastern: Join authors Michaela M. Leslie-Rule and Jennifer Breheny Wallace as they discuss the challenges young people in the country face as they transition into adulthood.

• Check out events from Next City and our partners here.

This post was originally published on Next City.