city limits magazine, november 1978 issue

8/3/2019 City Limits Magazine, November 1978 Issue

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CITY LIMITSCOMMUNITY HOUSING NEWS

NOVEMBER 1978 VOL. 3 NO.8

HOMESTEADING IS . JOLTEDBY LABOR FUNDS CUTBACKYes, She Does Wi ndowsFloors and Doors, Too. by Bernard CohenThe steady pace of housing rehabilitation under a variety of urbanhomesteading programs could be

substantially slowed next yearbecause of an unexpected cutback injob training fU.nds.

The labor money (CETA) hasbeen seen as a crucial element of thesweat equity program in whichunemployed community residentsreceive a modest salary while theyrehabilitate abandoned buildingsand learn construction skills.

Since 1975, according to figuresprepared for City Limits, an estimated $8 million to $9 million inCETA Title I funds have been spent


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DOE Assistant Commissioner Michael Rubinger saidCETA I has been cut from $73 million to $60 million inNew York City. He blamed a combination of an acrossthe-board 10 per cent cut imposed at the federal levelplus higher minimum wages that have to be paid underthe program.

"What it means is that some of you will not berefunded," Rubinger told a group of ~ E T A I sponsororganizations, housing groups among them. "Everybody has got to anticipate a reduc tion."

He said proposals, which were due in mid-November,will be evaluated by DOE on content, capacity of thesponsor organization, cost and service to specific target"populations.What the overall effect of the funding cutback will beon housing rehabilitation is hard to know. "W e had justreached the point where we had broken through, wherebarriers had been broken down and then BAM!, thedollars are gone," said Charles Laven of the UrbanHomesteading Assistance Board, adding that community management and other housing programs that relyon CETA I funds for rehabilitation CQuid also bejeopardized.Many housing organizations are exploring ways ofstitching together other CETA programs that could beused in conjunction with a reduced Title I contract. LosSures in Brooklyn is trying to combine Title I with Title

VI (public service employment) while the Banana KellyCommunity Improvement Association in the SouthBronx is trying to meld Title VI and Title III (youthemployment).However, since the various titles have differentpurposes and conflicting regulations ; manyorganizations regard this CETA amalgamation asundesirable at the least and potentially a complex mess,much like a badly designed puzzle in which the pieces do

years ago," DiRienzo said. "W e should have had all thecommitments-CETA, Citibank, HPD-tied up already so that we could get started. We need to do theroofs and replace the beams. These buildings can't lastthe winter."

He said the continuous stumbling blocks hurt morale,but "we're not about to stop now. We have too much ofan investment. "Also affected by the drop in funds is the proposedextension of a federal homesteading demonstration program into two additional neighborhoods, both inBrooklyn.One is in the Williamsburg section where DouglasMoritz of Los Sures said scaling down his CETA Iproposal leaves too few workers to meet Los Sures'sobligations under the proposed HUD homesteadingcontract to rehabilitate eight buildings totalling 50 units.Los Sures needs 60 participants but can only apply for24 under Title I. The rest will have to come out of TitleVI unless another source can be found, he said.CITY LIMITS has learned that high HUD officialsbelieve the funding cutback imperils the key multifamily homesteading program and that efforts areunderway between HUD and the U.S. Labor Department to analyze the problem and seek a remedy.Asked if housing might suffer a larger share of thecuts because of its history of difficulty in placingconstruction trainees in jobs after the training period,Rubinger said no. However, it is known that there wasconsiderable pressure from DOL to cut housing out ofthe jobs . program entirely because of the placementproblem. D

CITY ANTICIPATESSAME CETA VI LEVEL


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AUCTION MORATORIUM VOTEDby Susan Baldwin

Opponents of the city's auction sales of tax-foreclosed (In Rem) property won a round in their year-longfight when the City Council in mid-November called onthe Board of Estimate to impose a four-month moratorium on such sales.The Council vote came on the heels of a new study byan Upper Manhattan councilman that shows taxarrears piling up on recently auctioned multiple dwellings in what he called a "landlord giveaway."

More than 90 per cent of all the In Rem city-ownedproperties sold at public auction during the first fourmonths of 1978 are already in tax arrears, according tothe survey conducted by the office of CouncilmanStanley E. Michels (D-L). The study also revealed thatmore than two-thirds of these properties are more thansix months behind in their payments.

Under current law only one year's grace is allowedbefore the city begins foreclosure action against taxdelinquent properties.Commenting on the city's program for tax-foreclosedproperties, Councilman Michels said, "Their regulations are outrageous. They allow delinquent landlordstwo years to correct major violations that normallywould have to be corrected in 90 or 30 days or 24

hours."In addition to the existing city housing programsgeared to handling the ever-growing number of cityowned properties, Michels supports plans that wouldcall on the city to consider such alternate plans as landbanking, long-term leasing of city-owned property, orselling of f large parcels of land at true value andchanneling this revenue into the maintenance of other

arrears, up to a maximum of 32 quarters or eightyears," said Sandy Bayer, a member of the task forceand special assistant to Councilwoman Ruth Messinger(D-Man.).Prior to the bill's passage, Bayer explained, theredemption agreement with the city required thelandlord to pay 25 per cent down of the arrears owed,and gave him only the same number of quarters that hewas in arrears to pay up the balance.Also, under the old regulations, once the city hadtaken the property the owner had to pay back all thetaxes, all the interest and a penalty of up to five per centof back taxes, but not to exceed $500.Now, for the first four months after the city has takentitle to a building, the owner can redeem it simply bypaying 25 per cent down and the remainder over threeyears."The whole redemption process is a mess," Bayerasserted. "In addition to making the terms easier for theowners to grab back the buildings and milk them again,what they have proven here is that there is a completelack of coordination between HPD and DRP [Divisionof Real Property] in dealing with this situation."Bayer cited the recent confusion that occurred whentenants of a West 48th Street apartment building inManhattan organized and entered into HPD's newinterim lease program, even as the landlord, takingadvantage of the new 15 per cent redemption law, madearrangements unknown to the tenants and HPD toreclaim his building. The case is still unresolved, butHPD officials fear that the landlord's redemption claimwill prevail.


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PUBLIC VS. CON EDCAN WE DO BETTER?

by Bernard Cohen

I t took two tries, but a City Council committee hasapproved a study of why New Yorkers pay such highrates for their electricity and whether ConsolidatedEdison and Long Island Lighting Co. should bereplaced by a publicly owned utility.The full City Council approved the resolution 40 to 1

on November 14 despite the opposition of MayorEdward Koch, who dislikes the idea of a public take. over, and a lack of enthusiasm by the Council majorityleader, Thomas Cuite.The political maneuvering that delayed approval ofthe study is expected to shift now to the makeup of thenew nine-member Public Utility Review Board, whichwill conduct the probe."The struggle will be who is going to be on that

board," said Richard Schrader of the New York Citycoalition POWER (People Outraged with EnergyRates), which advocates public power as a way to reduceconsumers' utility bills.

projections had underestimated its revenues andsuggesting limiting the earnings on Con Ed commonstock to 12.5 per cent instead of 13.5 per cent.Many major cities, including Los Angeles, Memphis,and Jacksonville, Fla. have public power systems. Atpresent, there are 49 publicly owned utility companies inNew York State, most of which are operated bymunicipalities.Proponents of public power say government figuresshow that it offers residential rates that are 10 to 50 percent lower. Why?Primarily because there are no dividend payments tostockholders, no federal income taxes, more efficientmaintenance and lower interest rates on borrowedcapital.

According to the statewide Peoples Power Coalition,a comparison of the November, 1977 rates of theUpstate utility Niagara-Mohawk Power Corp. and twolocal municipal systems showed the following


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work, for the committee went back and drafted a verysimilar bill on November 3."There are no substantive differences" in the tworesolutions, said Councilwoman Jane Trichter, (O

Man.) a strong advocate of the study. "The changes arereally cosmetic. "Trichter said the two-pronged focus of the study wasvery important because a public takeover of Con Edisonis, at best, a long-range possibility and ways need to befound of providing faster relief to consumers."The city is not a reasonable vehicle" for a takeover,Trichter said, because of its continuing fiscal problems .

Con Edison puts a $13 billion pricetag on its facilities,although POWER argues it is closer to $7 billion.Among some of the longer-term options that have beensuggested instead of the city have been a takeover by thestate (through the New York State Power Authority), orcreation of an authority with public accountability orperhaps the establishment of a special district by theState Legislature.

"In the meantime, we have to come up with a swordto hang over Con Ed," Trichter said.In a brief statement issued after the council

committee action, Con Edison said, "The real solutionto the problem of high electric and steam bills is to cutthe exorbitant taxes and outrageously high fuel coststhat comprise almost 60 per cent of those bills."Con Edison's energy strategy for New York City forthe 1980s offers realistic methods for achieving thosegoals and requires no public funding for a review

board."Although the committee chairman, Eugene Mastropieri, O-Queens, said a public takeover of utilitieswould occupy "only a small part" of the board's work,others said the agenda would be determined by theboard itself and predicted a political battle over how it

The campaign to shift to public power began a yearago with the formation of POWER, a coalition of some30 religious, housing, senior citizen, energy, union andother groups. The organization has received a $3,000grant to intervene on behalf of consumers in rateincrease cases." I t has really been a struggle. We've had to convincepeople to give their support, that it wasn't pie in the

sky," Brennan said. "We've had to debunk mythspropagated by Con Ed as to the nature of publiclyowned systems. We've had to get past the total inertia ofthe democratic process."So few people know anything about it, they automatically think of it as Communist," he added.To build support, POWER began organizingconsumers, collecting petitions, meeting with electedofficials and holding rallies, always stressing that onefourth of all Americans get their power from publiclyowned systems.The Public Utility Review Board is to submit itsreport to the City Council by June 30, 1980. 0

CETA VI continuedsalary.As a result, the maximum salary will be $13,200. Thatreflects a $10,000 base, a 20 per cent raise for high wageareas (to $12,(00) and a 10 per cent employer supplement (to $13,2(0).Eligibility criteria have been changed. To qualify fora job, a participant must be unemployed 10 of the 12previous weeks and have an income no higher than theU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics "lower living


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CAB APPOINTMENTS, POLICIESFOUND WANTING FOR TENANTSby William Rowen'

A recent vote by the New York City Council assuresthe city's 800,000 rent stabilized tenants that the slightprotection the law affords them will not improve in theforeseeable future; the housing conditions of tenants inolder structures especially may worsen.On September 26, the City Council confirmed two

controversial mayoral reappointments to the Conciliation and Appeals Board, those of Jacob Ward andRobert Weaver, both purported "tenant" members ofthe board.The Conciliation and Appeals Board (CAB) has themandate under the Rent Stabilization Law (RSL) toadjudicate complaints from tenants concerning reducedservices, rent overcharges, and others, and landlords'applications for major capital improvement and hard

ship rent increases. The board is composed of ninemembers: four landlord and four tenant representatives,and an impartial chairman, all supported by a staff ofover 90 employees.The reappointment of Ward and Weaver is consistentwith the overall policies of the CAB in the last fouryears during which the stabilization system has grown toinclude under its jurisdiction more than 400,000 units ofthe city's older, pre-1947 housing stock.

These policies include: (1) refusing to implemententire sections of the RSL and Code, (2) carrying on thebusiness of the CAB with unlawful secrecy regardingits files and information that would be helpful to

finally provides that the CAB may revoke rent increasesthat tenants are already paying if it is found that thetenant was deprived of some service.The result of the CAB's refusal to implement thisprovision of the law is that rents are never reduced tocompensate a tenant for a loss in service, and services

are neither registered, certified, nor verified within thestabilization system. Thanks to the CAB, no landlordneed ever fear being punished for depriving his tenantsof their services. .The CAB's performance is as one-sided when itcomes to overcharges. By refusing to ensure that theprovisions in the Code that give all new tenants the rightto be informed in writing of the rent and name of theprior tenant, and the prior status of the apartment, andthat tenants have the right to challenge their rentswithout fear of reprisal, the CAB is protecting landlordswho rent gouge as they did in the vacancy decontrolperiod from July, 1971 through June, 1974.

The September 26th City Council vote confirming thereappointment of CAB "tenant" members Ward andWeaver, who have never raised a finger to see thattenants obtain the full protection of the law, was thesecond time around for both appointees. Only fiveweeks earlier, on August 15th, because of intenseopposition from tenant groups, Ward and Weaver wererejected by the Council when the leadership failed to


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$4 MILLION AWARDEDTO HOUSING GROUPSThe State of New York has announced over $4 million

in grants to 118 local neighborhood organizations underthe 1977 Neighborhood Preservation Companies Act.Th e grants will be used to pay salaries andadministrative costs of the groups.Seventy of the 118 groups are located in the fiveboroughs of New York City: 28 of them in Manhattan,20 in Brooklyn, 14 in the Bronx, seven in Queens andone in Staten Island. An additional grant of $52,000 isbeing made to a Brooklyn anti-blockbusting programsponsored by the Department of State.Forty-eight groups in 23 other counties are in line forfunding, including four in Albany, four in Rochesterand four in Westchester County. Fifteen Erie Countyorganizations, 14 from Buffalo and one from Lackawanna, will get a total of $600,000. Two of these, st .Augustine's Center and the Community PlanningAssistance Center of Western New York, are the onlyones receiving $100,000 grants, the maximum yearlyfunding allowed under the statute. The next latgestgrant is $70,000 to the Central Bronx Local CommunityDevelopment Corporation.More than 150 organizations submitted proposalsworth $13 million to the State Division of Housing andCommunity Renewal, which administers the program.The program is currently funded at $5 million. SharonLauer, Neighborhood Services Coordinator for DHCR,stated that the approximately $800,000 not committedto the 119 grants will be used primarily to providetechnical assistance to the groups, and perhaps toincrease contract funding for some of them during theone-year grant period.

REDLINING HEARING1ST UNDER NEW ACTA new anti-red ining law is being tested, apparently

for the first time in the country, by a Brooklyn community organization in its long-standing battle with theGreater New York Savings Bank.The law, enacted by Congress last year, is intended to"encourage" banks to meet the credit needs of theircommunities, including low and moderate incomeneighborhoods.Specifically, the Community Reinvestment Actrequires federal regulatory agencies to assess the locallending records of banks when considering applicationsby the institutions for branches or mergers.When the Greater New York Savings Bank, which isbased in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, appliedlast spring to open a branch in Manhattan, it met stiffopposition from Park Slope residents.

Park Slope has an active anti-redlining organizationcalled Aid Investment Discrimination (AID) which hasbeen trying for nearly two years to squeeze moremortgage money out of GNYSB.Herb Steiner, chairman of AID, contends that despitean agreement signed last year, the bank has not liberalized its tough mortgage terms and the number ofmortgages in several Brooklyn neighborhoods rangesfrom a few to zero.AID filed an objection to the GNYSB branch application before the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and ahearing was held in October with representatives of thebank, AID, and the Washington and regional offices ofFDIC attendipg.

"The FDIC was not at all pleased with what the bankhad to say," Steiner said, adding that AID was willing


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.CITYLIMITS'published monthly by the Association of Neighborhood HousingDevelopers Inc. , Peoples Housing Network, Pratt Center for Com-munity and Environmental Development ; and the Urban Home-steading Assistance Board.Editorial Office: 115 East 23rd Street, New York, New York 10010

(212) 674-7610Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bernard CohenAssistant Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Susan BaldwinContributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............... Michael McKee

George BrzozowskiDesign and Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louis FulgoniCopyright 1978. Al l rights reserved. No portion or portions of thisjournalmay be reprinted without the express written permission of thepublishers.

CITY ISSUESNEW HANDBOOKSTwo new publications that contain maps, director

ies, and a narrative description of the city's 59community boards are forthcoming from the Community Board Assistance Unit.The pamphlets, entitled You and Your CommunityBoard and Lend a Hand in Your Community Board,will be distributed to 7,000 neighborhood leadersthroughout the city through ~ r a n t s from the 1.M.Kaplan Fund.You and Your Community Board is an 80-page publication prepared by the League of Women Voters. Itcontains maps and directories of each communityboard.Lend a Hand in Your Community Board is a 16-pagepamphlet produced by the Citizens Committee for New

LETTERSTo the Editor:

I want to let you know that I find City Limits informative and well written. I t is a good source for housingactivists. Keep up the good work.In your September 1978 issue you had an article on

Page 6 about Cuando's solar wall. The first paragraphstates "O n the Lower East Side, a large pane offiberglass is bolted to the south wall of an abandonedbuilding that has been taken over by a youth serviceorganization called Cuando . . . "For the record and in the interest of historicalaccuracy I wish to point out that this was not an abandoned building. I t' was a community settlement housecalled Church of All Nations which had activities

including a 65-child Day Care Center for neighborhoodparents, 'an after school program for hundreds ofyouths, a summer camp for neighborhood youngstersand two functioning churches, one Hispanic and theother Polish. The activities of the Church of All Nationswere disrupted by Cuando, who eventually forced outthe entire operation and took over the building,effectively eliminating all of the above mentionedservices to the community.Instead, we have a solar wall. Sincerely yours,Frances Goldin


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DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

RELOCATIONOPERATIONS

ASST.COMM.Manuel Mirabal6465Urban Renewa' andProperty ManagementPublic ImprovementRelocationEmergency HousingActivities

IADMINISTRATION

DEPUTY COMMISSIONERSusan Gallney ' 2293IFISCAL AFFAIRS

ASST.COMM.Sleven Fredericks6502

IOFFICE OFPROPERTY MANAGEMENT

DEPUTY COMMISSIONERCharles Raymond 6456

MANAGEMENTOPTIONSASST . COMM .Philip SI. Georges2395

Community ManagementSalesInterim lelse Program

IMGT. SERVICESIINFO. SYSTEMS

DIRECTORAndrew Cooper 2356

IN REM PROPERTYMANAGEMENTASST. COMM .Charles J. Poidomani7512

In Rem Property (IS of 9/1/78)Manaoemenl

CITY LIMITS/November 1978

IINSPECTORGENERALGeorge Dole5454

REHABILIATION

ASST. COMM.Jell Heintz0620Participation loans,SHIP. Section 312 LoansJ51 Tn Exemptionlr-x Abatement421 Tilt exemption

COMMISSIONERNathan Leventhal566+ 2324

OPERATIONSDEPUTY COMMISSIONERRobert Dav is 6841

IOFFICE OFDEVELOPMENT

DEPUTY COMMISSIONERPeter Joseph 6557

COMMUNITYDEVELOPMENTASST. COMM.Barry Light5146

Community ServiceNeighborhood PreservationAr . OfticeProject PlanningProjecJ Deve lopmentLand Acquisition andAppraisal sOemo I SealUp In takeSit. Improvement

HOUSING DEVELOPMENT1-- - -- I CORPORATION IHDC) II I EXEC . DIRECTOR I__ ____ __ __ ________ __ _ J 4801203I:-----1 REHABILITATION MORTGAGE IINSURANCE CORP.IREMIC)I EXEC . DIRECTOR Neal J. Hardy 'I 4259351

POLICY AND GOVERNMENT LIAISONDEPUTY COMMISSIONERMarvin Markus 5035

IGENERAL EQUAL PROGRAM &COUNSEL OPPORTUNITY MGMT. ANALYSIS

Robert Robbin ASST. COMM. EXEC . DIRECTOR2310 Laila Long 6125 Bruce Gould 6520

IRENT STABILIZATION ASSOC. OFFICE OFRENT GUIDELINES BOARD RENT AND HOUSING MAINTENANCECONCILIATION & APPEALS BD . --Iindependent Bod ies)

HOUSINGSUPERVISIONASST. COMM.Ruth Lerner8478

Management Superv isionRent.1 Subsidies andSection 8 ContractsSupervl.lonMltchell L.ma RefinancingTechnical Service. Bureau

EVALUATIONAND COMPLIANCEASST. COMM.Carl Callender5800

Article 8A LOinsVoluntary AgreementsRecelver.hipHousing Litigation BureauERP RecoupmentMan.gement AlternativesOwners Counseling Unit

DEPUTY COMMISSIONERDaniel Joy 1037

CODEENFORCEMENTASST. COMM.Frank Dell'Aira6974

Hou.ingCode and OtherIn.pectionsCentr.1 Compl.lntEmergency Repair ProgramDemolition I SealUp

IRENT CONTROL

ASST. COMM.Barbara Cohn5076Maximum Base RentTraditional RentAdjustment.EvictionsH.rdshlp and RentStructuringProtestLltlg.tionEnforcementSenior Citizen RentIncrease ExemptionRecontrol and lateEnrollmentResearch and Survey


10/16

Women Give 'Green Hope'To Abandoned Buildingby Susan BaldwinI t stands abandoned next to a rubble-strewn lot.Small and empty, it looks like the doll house cast out inthe street when the playing stopped and the children all. moved away.But better days are in store for 328 East 120th Street.

In a matter of months, this tiny dwelling in East Harlemwill become home to four women ex-offenders who areparticipating in its rehabilitation and donating part oftheir labor in a program called "Building for Women."The program, sponsored by Project Green Hope,operates from a nearby one-time convent that nowserves as a residence for women ex-offenders. Withfunds from a contract under Title VI of the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA), GreenHope trains women in non-traditional light constructionskills.Founded in 1975 by Sister Mary Nerney, an energetic,purposeful, independent nun associated with theCongregation of Notre Dame, Project Green Hopeprovides temporary housing, work counseling, and,through the CETA contract, .work experience forwomen recently released from prison. The residence,located next to Holy Rosary Church at 448 East 119thStreet, between First and Pleasant Avenues-a blockthat would have slipped into deeper decay if these twoinstitutions were not there-can house up.to 25 womenat a time. The women are encouraged to stay in this"halfway" house for up to four months while they learnto re-adjust to life outside prison.

" I f you look around here, everything is abandoned,"

tation of housing for low-income families.Project Green Hope's is the second Direct Loanapplication to be approved by HPD. The first project,at 991-993 Columbus Avenue on Manhattan's UpperWest Side, is nearing completion of its demolitionphase. There are at least a dozen other Direct Loanproposals in the HPD pipeline, and, according tocommunity housing observers, there may be as many as30 more projects identified that meet the program'srequirements.Under the Direct Loan agreement, which covers 100per cent of the rehabilitation costs and is payable over30 years at this minimal rate of interest, tenants do thedemolition work at the beginning of the job. Majorconstruction is done by professional contractors, andthen the tenants return to complete the finishing toucheson the project. The more finishing work tenants can dofor themselves, the lower will be subsequent rents.

Noting that Green Hope is new to the housing rehabilitation field, Nerney emphasized the importance oflearning the experience which comes from living atGreen Hope and doing projects like 328 East 120thStreet." I f a woman finds that four months is not longenough and that she needs a longer time here with us, welet her stay on," Nerney said. "Her problem may besimply that she has no place to go, that she has few or

no skills, and less education and more problems [thanother women in the program]. In short, she needs moretime to establish her own independence.


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justice issues in the women's prisons led her to SisterNerney and the founding of Green Hope. The coordinator starts the typical day assigning work and urgingthose workers not otherwise assigned to get out in theneighborhood and find repair jobs."Our main objective is to keep up the momentum andinterest in the work by keeping busy," said Roach.

"This is why we try to have a full schedule every day,but, unfortunately, we are frequently held back bybureaucratic delays. This is why we always have to belooking for more work in the neighborhood, sort ofinventing it for ourselves."She explained that the CETA crew finds out aboutpossible repair work not only by talking to neighborhood housing organizations but also by seeking out thefew remaining visible landlords and the many tenants inlandlord-abandoned buildings."I go from door to door , building to building, apartment to apartment trying to help the people as best Ican," said Cortez, the member of the work crew who isresponsible for lining up the neighborhood repair jobs."But we really have problems getting people to takethe help," she was quick to add. "Some people-in

fact, a lot of people-are afraid to take help. What Ireally want to accomplish is to teach them not to beafraid, but this is hard."The CETA construction crew was organized lastApril. Demolition at 328 East 120th Street began in Mayand was completed ahead of schedule in late summer.Essential masonry improvements scheduled next,however, have been held up while the group waits forseed money and a letter of commitment from ChemicalBank, the construction lender for the project.

Beth Parker, project coordinator for the Participation and Direct Loan programs at HPD, said recentlythat she hopes the project's construction financing willbe in place by early December."We agree with the Green Hope people, and weunderstand that they are concerned about the presentdelays," Parker said. "We are hoping to iron this outand get them started . . . They received HPD's letter ofcommitment late in September, and we are certainlypushing for Chemical to issue their commitment letterright away so they can get their seed money for themasonry work."The group is to receive a seed money loan of $10,000from the Fund for the City of New York, to be repaidwhen the construction loan contract is closed.According to Parker's figures, the cost per apartmentunit to be paid to the general contractor is $18,545,while the labor and ownership-equity contribution fromthe CETA contract is $4,350 per unit. The estimatedtotal cost of each apartment unit, including architect'sfees, incorporation papers, and all finishing touches is$26,000."I know we're dealing with snags and delays as

usual," said Charyl Edmonds, the project coordinatorat the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (UHAB)who is serving as a technical assistance adviser to thegroup."They [Green Hope] purposely selected a building

that was small so that they could see the projectcompleted quickly, and I am hoping that we will beunderway in a month's time. I think there is a realchance that the girls will be living in their little rehabilitated doll house by March." 0


12/16

HPD'S 'CHILD' MATURES: REHABS SET TO STARTAfter five years of an awkward and seemingly endlessinfancy, HPD's Community Management program is

about to grow up, a city official announced this month.According to Philip St. Georges, HPD's new assistantcommissioner for alternative management programs, $5million will be spent during the next ten months torehabilitate 646 units of community-managed housingin eight deteriorated neighborhoods throughout thecity. Cost of the rehabilitation is expected to range from$4,000 to $11,750 per unit.Community Management (CM) was designed for thecity to contract with non-profit community groups forthe maintenance and rehabilitation by locally recruitedlabor of tenanted tax-foreclosed properties. After twoyears of CM treatment, the city intends that thebuildings be bought by tenant and community groupsand returned to the tax rolls.

To date, however, only CM's maintenance component has functioned, and even this with far fewerthan the authorized number of housing units.St. Georges's announcement reflects the city's decision to expand the program both to its authorizedvolume and promised scope.

"This new dimension will complement [the work of]the groups that have already been involved with sweatequity in their neighborhoods," he continued. " I t willalso be an incentive to all 20 groups that are now in theCM program to start developing plans for groups ofbuildings in their neighborhoods that can be fixed upwith a moderate rehabilitation grant."

buildings at .about $11,750 per unit; West HarlemGroup Assistance, seven buildings at about $6,500 perunit; Adopt-A-Building, four buildings at $7,500 perunit; Los Sures, four buildings at $6,500 per unit; WestHarlem Community Organization, five buildings at$8,000 per unit; South Bronx Community Housing Corporation, four buildings at $6,000 per unit.St. Georges said that the MVDC allotment issubstantially higher than the other groups because itsbuildings are badly deteriorated. They have been vacantfor the past nine months, following an HP D directive tovacate.In addition to rehabilitating the apartment units, the$5 million grant will cover expenses for steam-cleaningthe facades of the buildings and for remodeling and,where necessary, rebuilding lobbies and front doors.

"When I came into this program," St. Georgesexplained, "there were only 1,100 units of housing inthe entire $10.5 million program. We already haveincreased this number to 2,600 units and are aiming for3,000 by the end of the year."I really want to see this rehab program turnedaround to develop some meaning," St. Georgesconcluded. "Rehab by the city has traditionally beenknown as an endless series of broken promises." 0

CAB continuedRental Housing that is studying the rent laws now inexistence with an eye to recommending changes to thestate legislature. As chairman he cast the deciding voteseveral months ago that elected landlord memberEdward Sulzberger to be his own vice-chairman, an act


13/16

NEW CD GUIDELINES ISSUEDNew York City has issued a new Citizen Participation

Plan that provides some improved procedures withoutmaking any major structural changes in the way spending of Community Development Block Grant funds isdetermined.The revised plan names the 59 community boards asthe primary mechanism for citizen input in the $723million (1978-81) federal CD program for New YorkCity's low and moderate income neighborhoods.The document continues the advisory role of individuals, community and business groups, primarily atCommunity Board and City Planning Commissionmeetings and hearings on the planning, implementationand assessment of the CD program.Although the plan does break some new ground, itsmajor overall contribution is that it is more explicitabout the role of community boards and the need toencourage the involvement of citizens, according toSusan Heller of the Department of City Planning'sOffice of Community Development. "There wereprovisions in the former plan, but they were not spelledout," she said.The need for meaningful citizen participation isheightened by the fact that community boards will nowbe recommending projects for the next three years. I fselected, the projects will be funded in one of thoseyears.Among the major changes in the new citizen participation plan are: borough as well as citywide CD hearings; added responsibility of community boards toassess their major CD needs and priorities, irrespective

for CD funds.Earlier this year, the city was ordered to revise itsdefinition of low and moderate income after communityorganizations charged that the existing guidelinesenabled the spending of CD dollars in less needy neighborhoods.As of August 1, 1978, New York and other cities hadto accept the definition of low and moderate as no morethan 80 per cent of the median income within themetropolitan area.The thorny issue, which will ultimately determinewhat neighborhoods will qualify for CD funding, hasstill not been settled, however. Two unresolved issuesappear to be devising an accurate data base, sincecurrent figures are based on the 1970 census, and agreeing on a policy for measuring income.On the second point, HUD and City Planning havereportedly been unable to agree on whether incomeearned by so-called "unrelated" individuals should beincluded with "family" income in determining the eligi

bility of a census tract."We hope to have this settled very soon," a HUDofficial said. "We are giving it top priority."A lot of the success of the CD program will depend onhow well the community boards carry out the mandateto improve representation of low and moderate incomegroups and minority groups and to insure meaningful

participation of citizens in the planning process.To do that, according to Heller, the city will providetechnical assistance to the boards and to citizens groups


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FOUR NYS GROUPSWIN HUD CONTRACTS

HUD Secretary Patricia Harris has announced thefirst nationwide awards to neighborhood organizationsunder a new program aimed at supporting and strengthening self-help groups and their revitalization efforts.The $2.5 million program will assist 21 neighborhooddevelopment organizations representing 17 cities acrossthe country, HUD announced on October 20.Joseph McNeely, director of HUD's Office ofNeighborhood Development, described the program asone "designed to identify the most sophisticated groupswhose housing programs and development activities canfit into local community development plans and whoseabilities and experience can be passed on to smaller andless experienced groups in the form of technicalassistance.' ,New York City neighborhoods received the largestshare of the funds with organizations in South Williamsburg, Bedford Stuyvesant and the Lower East Sidereceiving contracts totaling more than $350,000.Upstate, a group in Buffalo received a grant of$115,000. Los SuresThe Southside United Housing Development FundInc. (Los Sures) received $122,440 for the start-up anddevelopment of four new programs that will include thefinancial packaging of Caribe Village, 110 units of newconstruction. I t will also assist residents in planning usesfor vacant lots located near current development sites."Many of these lots are regularly maintained by blockassociations who are eager to see them recycled as openspace areas that will benefit their neighborhood," said

" A feasibility study is now being conducted whichwill survey neighborhood organizations to determine asensible mix of commercial, residential and commoncommunity space."The study is expected to be completed by fall, 1979,when BSRC will be looking for project financing.Adopt-a-Building

On the Lower East Side, Adopt-a-Building received$123,000 to begin plans for an In Rem rehabilitationand interim management program in conjunction withthe New York City Housing Authority. New construction plans for vacant sites on four streets, a commercialrevitalization plan for A venue C and continued rehabilitation of abandoned buildings in homesteading areasare included in the outlined plans.

Fillmore-Leroy Area Residents, Inc.The Fillmore-Leroy Area Residents, Inc. received$115,000 to develop a home repair industry in Buffalo.In addition, they will use the grant to do a feasibilitystudy dealing with the creation of a special assessmentdistrict as an anti-displacement strategy. They will alsoconduct an evaluation of home sales to determineowner-occupant patterns. .

"I was pleased with the organizations that wereselected," McNeely told City Limits. "I am confidentthat these projects will succeed and expand the level oftechnical assistance the neighborhoods must have."Funds for the program were allocated by Harris fromthe Discretionary Fund Account of the CommunityDevelopment Block Grant Program. McNeely believes


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UNEMPLOYED YOUTHSTO SEAL UP BUILDINGS

A unique, first-time cooperative venture between thefederal and city governments to hire chronicallyunemployed urban youth to seal up unsafe buildingswill begin early in March, 1979, with South Brooklyn asthe testing ground.The program, first scheduled to begin this fall, willcost $282,799 and will employ 23 young people from theSouth Brooklyn community.South Brooklyn Community Corporation, an antipoverty agency, will administer the program. It isexpected to cover the seal-up of at least 25 city-owned(In Rem) buildings in specifically targeted areas ofSouth Brooklyn.The program will be conducted under two coordinated one-year contracts: one for $206,858 in FederalComprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA)funds under Title III, administered by the city's Department of Employment (DOE), and one fQr $75,941 inFederal Community Development funds, administeredby HPD.The Board of Estimate has approved both contracts.

Stanley Boczek, Manpower director of the SouthBrooklyn Community Corporation, commented on thedelay of the contract. "It's really too bad we couldn'tget started this fall, but we are aiming for March 1 as astarting date", Boczek said. "But we had no otherchoice. This job is to be complete seal-ups which meansthat it will be a block and mortar seal-up. It was too latein the season to run an uninterrupted seal-up program,because cold weather is coming on and this is not goodfor masonry."Neighborhoods included in this targeted area,covered by Brooklyn's Community Board No.6, are

Park Slope, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Red Hook,Boerum Hill, and Gowanus.The city-owned buildings selected for this programwill be chosen after Borough President Howard Golden,Community Board No.6, and other community groupshave been consulted.The program is for 18- and 19-year old youths whoare out of school and whose families' incomes are wellbelow average. D


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City Limits115 East 23rd Street New York, N.Y. 10010

IN THIS ISSUE CETAI Project Green Hope Tax Arrears Law Fight Community Development V P.O.W.E.R. C.A.B.

city limits magazine, november 1978 issue

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