Blyden Gives VIHFA Oct. 8 Deadline for HUD Suspension Records, Warns of Subpoenas

Senator Marvin Blyden has given the Virgin Islands Housing Finance Authority until 5 p.m. Thursday, October 8, to provide a detailed accounting of the effects of its federal suspension, warning that he will initiate subpoena proceedings if the agency fails to produce a complete and legally sufficient response.

The October 2 letter to VIHFA Executive Director Derek Gabriel represents a final demand for information first sought in July and August. Mr. Blyden, chairman of the Committee on Housing, Transportation and Telecommunications, said the absence of the requested details had already hindered lawmakers’ ability to consider local assistance for affected programs and nonprofit organizations during deliberations on the fiscal year 2027 budget.

The committee has also scheduled a meeting for 2 p.m. Friday, October 9, at the Earle B. Ottley Legislative Hall on St. Thomas to consider action concerning subpoenas for VIHFA officials’ appearance and the production of records. The meeting notice makes that step conditional on the authority failing to provide complete and satisfactory information by the previous afternoon’s deadline. If VIHFA complies on time, members will be told whether the meeting is canceled or its agenda amended.

Mr. Blyden wrote: “This letter constitutes the final opportunity for voluntary compliance.” The dispute centers on how much VIHFA must disclose about the practical consequences of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s suspension while the authority challenges the federal action and related investigative activity continues. Mr. Blyden’s latest demand was accompanied by an eight-page opinion from the Office of Legislative Legal Counsel concluding that VIHFA had not established a legally sufficient basis for withholding its full written response on confidentiality grounds.