City Limits Magazine, May 1981 Issue

/
LIMITS,
MAY 1981 THE NEWS MAGAZINE OF NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AND N'EIGHBORHOODS $1.50
What Future for Rent Regulations?
CO-OPS COME TO FLATBUSH

HOW THE FUEL BUYING PLANS FARED
Arson Prevention Conference Targets Legislation
Some 150 representatives from nonprofit community-
based organizations in the Northeast attended a two-day
arson prevention conference in Brooklyn's Northside
section and learned that groups must organize from the
grassroots in order to save housing in older deteriorat-
ing neighborhoods.
Held April 11 and 12, the special weekend meeting
was the first in a series of three planned by the Boston-
based National Arson Prevention and Action Coalition.
The two other conferences will be held in the Midwest
and on the West Coast at later dates. The People's Fire-
house hosted this event.
"It was a very successful occasion for community
groups because it was the first time so many people got
together to exchange very valuable information," said
Felice Jergens of the People's Firehouse. "Everyone
went away agreeing on one thing - that the Reagan ad-
ministration was not going to take any social responsi-
bility for arson crimes against communities. People who
live in the neighborhoods have to organize and take the
responsibility themselves."
In the series of nine workshops, participants heard of
alternative strategies for taking deteriorating housing
away from private landlords, ways to challenge in-
surance companies for refusing coverage in low income
areas, and methods for securing community funding for
research and eventual computerization of arson infor-
mation.
A highlight of the conference was a guided tour to the
fire-ravaged Charlotte Street section of the South Bronx
followed by visits to parts of Brooklyn where commun-
ity groups are embarked on innovative arson prevention
programs.
The conference participants were also encouraged to
study local, state, and federal legislation dealing with
arson prevention in an effort to challenge as a national
coalition liberally written laws that are permissible in
the prosecution of arson suits.
For more information about NAPAC's future plans,
call Ernie Garneau at (617) 482-4477. 0
Fire Commissioner Charles Hynes at arson prevention conference in Northside. Brooklyn.
CITY LIMITS May 1981
2
EDITORIAL LIMITS
Needed: A State Housing Strategy
The newly appointed State Housing Commission-
er, Richard Berman, has announced his intentions
to pursue a vigorous housing program for New York
State and has held many meetings with various pri-
vate and nonprofit housing sector participants. We
hope this is a sign of better commitment by the
state to begin to address and fulfill the housing
needs of its low and moderate income residents.
Heretofore, the state has not taken on the role of
providing housing. In effect, there has been no state
housing strategy.
In the earlier years of the state-sponsored Urban
Development Corporation, housing needs were ad-
dressed. But UDC abandoned its mandate which
clearly called for it to produce low and moderate in-
come housing. Instead, it devolved into a conduit for
tax shelter schemes for large-scale developers and
moved on to classier enterprises, such as the new
Convention Center. This left a large vacuum which
the state took no responsibility for filling. The state
then took the attitude that, since it could not suc-
cessfully address the problem, it could presumably
be ignored and would either go away or be solved by
someone else. The City of New York, recognizing
the overwhelming problem of in rem housing, took
some initiative and developed a host of programs to
directly address the situation. Although not nearly
enough, it is far more than the state has done.
The state has many mechanisms for generating
funds for the financing and production of housing
_ Rehabilitation Mortgage Insurance Corporation
(REMIC), State of New York Mortgage Association
(SONYMA), Housing Finance Agency (HFA) - to
name a few. But what it has lacked in the past is the
commitment and creativity to focus these mechan-
isms into meaningful programs to produce afford-
able housing for New York State residents. In our
opinion the state is no less responsible than the
federal government or the City of New York for the
housing needs of its citizens. With rymors of the
creation of a State Housing Block Grant Program
3
(which program raises a host of other questions),
there is much to be done if the state is to be able to
take advantage of the program. We remain skeptical
over the workability of such a program at the state
level based on past performance, but it is clear that
the task of providing housing must be carried by the
state if the federal government withdraws its com-
mitment. With this recognition, we urge the state to
proceed without delay or. the preparations of a set
of comprehensive housing programs which can
assist municipalities to serve the housing needs of
low and moderate income citizens.
New York State lags far behind most other states
in housing and must set a rapid pace to catch up.
Get to it, Mr. Commissioner. 0
TABLE OF CONTENTS ON BACK COVER
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......................... Susan Baldwin
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NY Rental Housing Regulations
Are Up for Another Look
Rent regulations, which present an almost bewlldering array of laws, wllI be re-
viewed by the state legislature this session and next. Both landlords and tenants are
pushing for major overhauls, and the status quo may be hard to find.
by Susan Baldwin
I
t has been called the third most controversial issue,
ranking only slightly behind abortion and the death
penalty in the passion and acrimony its mentioning can
bestir. Rent regulation, a topic almost studiously
avoided by most office-seeking politicos, both because
of the voting strength of its proponents as well as the
financial clout of its sworn enemies, is back on the polit-
ical agenda this spring in New York. While no final reck-
oning is expected to be produced, the shape of future
legislation could be discernible once some of the smoke
begins to clear.
Although created by local and state lawmakers, albeit
under headings declaring the laws "emergency" and
"special," national and state commissions appointed to
study rent regulating legislation have abhorred it and
praised it. Last winter, a recommendation by a Reagan
advisory group that every federal nickel be withheld
from localities that have rent control laws on their
books raised the storm anew. Academic studies, de-
pending on which are consulted, endorse or repudiate
their effectiveness; exonerate or blame them as the cause
of numerous social ills.
Opponents have pinned on it the basic guilt for urban
decay and abandonment, as well as citing rent regula-
tion as the single biggest roadblock to the new construc-
tion of rental housing and the root cause of lenders' un-
willingIiess to make mortgages. Buttressing arguments
have been devised which insist controls lead to tax fraud
and racial discrimination.
Advocates of strengthening existing tenant protection
laws have been only slightly less cosmic in justifying the
need for strong legislation: to them, rent regulation re-
presents the thin line between low, moderate and middle
income renters and rapacious, profit-hungry owners.
Applied properly, it is said, they could be the salvage of
the poor and the average wage earner; cast aside, ig-
nored or eliminated, their loss would be the coup-de-
grace to the tenuous toehold of all those who cannot af-
ford to, or prefer not to, purchase their own housing . .
The battleground of the dispute is, by any calcula-
tion, already littered with casualties: vacancy levels in
New York City are at a post-war low of one to two per
cent, and in many areas are zero. Conversions to coop-
eratives and condomuniums claimed 15,867 formerly
4
rental apartments in 1980 alone in the city; owner aban-
donment another 20,000 units. Nor is anything save lux-
ury apartments being created. According to the state
housing department, new rental production has
dropped to virtually nothing.
In the resulting apartment squeeze, rents have esca-
lated severely, pricing tenants out of larger and larger
areas of the city. Tenant complaints on rent overcharges
to just one of the oversight bodies, the Conciliations
and Appeals Board, the arbiter for apartments in the
rent stabilization system, have increased as well: from
an average of 2,500 complaints per year between 1974
and 1978, the number jumped to 3,500 in 1979 and shot
up again in 1980 to 5,000. And that figure represents on-
ly those formally protesting their rents. Tenant advo-
cates estimate the number of tenants currently paying
rents above the legal maximum to be far higher.
At the other end of the rent check, the Rent Stabiliza-
tion Association, a landlord group that achieved a kind
of quasi-official status in 1969 when it was charged with
regulating its members and funding the Conciliation
and Appeals Board, has insisted that without legal relief
from controls, building abandonment will swell. A re-
cent RSA survey found that three-quarters of the city's
landlords are owners with no more than four buildings
with 60 units or less. Thirty-nine per cent of these
owners, the RSA said, have threatened to abandon at
least one of their buildings over the next five years if
Albany does not pass legislation more favorable to
them.
N
Ow, as the state legislature begins a debate on the
future of two of the four laws which comprise the
state's rent and eviction systems which are up for
renewal, all sides appear to agree that current regula-
tions are a snarled and confusing morass. Both sides,
however, are sharpening their arguments and seeking
allies to increase or pare back the level of controls of-
fered in the state's laws.
With the close of the legislature less than two months
away, tenants throughout the state are worried about
their rents if current rent protections are not renewed by
June 30. The picture in New York City is particularly
bleak. At present, there are approximately 900,000 rent-
stabilized, 300,000 rent-controlled, and 300,000 decon-
trolled apartments in New York City, according to
figures provided by the city's Department of Housing
Preservation and Development.
The greatest potential danger apartment dwellers see
is the expiration of the Emergency Tenant Protection
Act on June 30. Created in 1974 to protect tenants from
eviction and rent gouging, the ETPA is part of the
state's rent regulatory system with jurisdiction over New
York City as well as three suburban counties - Nassau,
Rockland and Westchester. If this legislation is not
renewed in June, more than one million households will
be decontrolled. But most observers predict that it will
be extended again as it was in 1977. Said Assemblyman
Jerrold Nadler, Democract of Manhattan, "I think
there's no question that ETPA will be extended. The big
question is whether it will be accompanied by weakening
or strengthening amendments."
State Rent Control
Also expiring June 30 are state rent control, which
covers some 60,000 apartment units in six counties out-
side New York City (Nassau, Westchester, Albany,
Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Erie) and cooperative
5
Photos by Robert Wersan
conversion legislation for New York City and the three
suburban counties covered by ETPA. New York City's
rent control and rent stabilization laws are in effect until
April, 1982.
"I am sure that ETPA will pass pretty much as it is,
but it must be remembered that this is emergency legisla-
tion, temporary legislation, and not a solution to the
housing problem," said Edward Wallace, longtime ten-
ant lawyer who is a Democratic Councilman-at-Large
for Manhattan. "Housing is not exactly a commodity.
It's people's homes. But the trend by speculators is to
treat it more as a commodity. Housing is incidental to
them."
Wallace is joined by other pro-tenant legislators who
are concerned that the extension of ETPA may mean
sacrificing other needed protective legislation, such as
the inclusion of small buildings (under six units) in
ETPA's jursidiction, a moratorium on vacancy decon-
trol and illegal rent hikes, and a halt to speculative co-
op conversion plans.
A major piece of tenant-protective legislation first in-
troduced four years ago by Assemblyman John C.
Dearie, Democrat of the Bronx, is being revamped for
this legislative session. Known as the Flynn-Dearie bill,
it asks that landlords' requests for rent increases be
reviewed on a building-by-building basis, setting a five
per cent rent increase as a "cap" or maximum. Its
Republican sponsor is State Senator JohnlFlynn of
Yonkers. Designed to strengthen protections for tenants
who are now existing under rent control and rent stabili-
zation, Flynn-Dearie has been called an "administrative
nightmare," but its repeated appearance on the legisla-
tive calendar has served as a perennial rallying cry and a
good organizing tool to build strong tenant coalitions.
For the past four years, it has died in the Assembly'S
Ways and Means Committee. Supporters hope that it
will make its way to the negotiating table this year.
"We have no intention of abandoning the five per
cent cap. This is crucial. We are sticking by Flynn-
Dearie all the way," said Bertha Hellman, co-chair of
the Coalition Against Rent Increase Passalongs
(CARIP), a citywide tenants coalition and longtime sup-
porter of the bill. "It's a good bill and quite frankly, the
worst opposition to it comes from our liberal West Side
6
legislators who are tied into gentrification."
Not all critics of the current rent regulations are as
severe as Hellman, but most agree that there is a need
for a major overhaul of the legislation.
Cut Back
"We are asking government to negotiate housing at a
time when people want to cut back on government,"
Wallace explained. "What we should do and what gov-
ernment can do is give tenants the power to insist that
landlords bargain. As it stands now, he continued,
"the real estate industry is in the cat bird seat, and p r o ~
fiteering, particularly in coop conversions, is the name
of the game."
I
n an effort to secure the rental market and protect
tenants, AssemblYman Alexander ("Pete") Grannis,
Democrat of Manhattan and chairman of the Assem-
bly's Housing Committee, is supporting legislation that
expands on ETPA and provides for the following
changes:
The creation of a statewide rent adjustment board
appointed by the governor to establish separate annual
rent adjustments for ETPA - covered units in New
York City, Nassau, Westchester, and Rockland Coun-
ties.
Assumption by the New York State Division of
Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) of the
duties of the Conciliation and Appeals Board, the nine-
member board appointed by the mayor, which adminis-
ters the rent stabilization law under ETPA in New York
City. DHCR already administers ETPA in the suburban
counties.
Transfer of the Division of Rent Control from
HPD as a separate unit within DHCR, and the estab-
lishment of joint rent stabilization and rent control of-
fices on the district level.
Rent registration for all units covered by ETPA and
rent stabilization.
Enactment of a two-year statute of limitations on
over-charges, coupled with rent registration base date,
exact rent figures for individual apartments, and rent
rolls for entire buildings to be carried out within the
next two years.
Institution of treble damages for willful over-
charges.
Development by DHCR of a workable hardship
formula for landlords to be presented to the 1981-82 ses-
sion of the legislature.
Grannis Legislation
If approved by the legislature, the Grannis legislation
will cause the defunding of the city's Rent Stabilization
Association (RSA) as the administrative agency of the
rent stabilization law. Senate Minority Leader Manfred
Ohrenstein, Democrat of Manhattan, is the Democratic
co-sponsor of the bill. State Senator John D. Calandra,
Republican-Conservative of the Bronx, is expected to be
the main Reupublican sponsor of the bill.
Asked about the possible elimination of RSA, public
relations officer Morty Matz said, "We're not worried.
That process would not do anything to solve the prob-
lems. All they're doing is just shifting things around in-
to other bureaucracies. It does nothing for housing or
severe abandonment."
The RSA plans to lobby against the extension of
ETPA and will be focussing its energies on instituting a
policy of vacancy deregulation and fair- or open-market
rents, elimination of three-year leases, and removal of
buildings of 12 units or less from the rent stabilization
law. Others real estate interest groups, headed by Sey-
mour Durst, a prominent real estate magnate who chairs
an ad hoc landlord lobbying group, are also inviting
landlords to lobby in Albany for vacancy decontrol.
"Who's going to say, 'Vote for me and I'll increase
your rentals.' That's just not going to happen, but we do
need vacancy decontrol to keep rental housing," said
Durst, adding, "The housing situation is very desperate,
. and I think the only way we will solve it here is by get-
ting some legislation from Washington ... Otherwise,
the non-urban population will be supporting our hous-
7
ing." Durst's comments recall the Reagan administra-
tion's admonitions against extending Community Devel-
opment Block Grant monies to cities with rent control
legislation. Durst contends that the legalization of va-
cancy decontrol, at least for the vacant city apartment
stock, will protect the rental market and, at least for the
present, make it possible for landlords to provide this
housing.
Vacancy Decont'rol
E
TPA was enacted in 1974 because vacancy decon-
trol had taken over the market place. There were no
controls on the rents set by landlords for apartments as
they became vacant. Apartment ren.tals were out of
sight, and tenants were bearing the burden because there
was no other choice in a tight housing market.
"I'm sure the same thing is happening now," said
Michael McKee, legislative representative for the New
York State Tenant and Neighborhood Coalition
(NYSTNC). McKee hopes that legislation will be devel-
oped to cap spiralling rent levels, while new protections
are developed to cover occupants of small buildings.
But, he added, "I hope the end to this nightmare is in
sight."
NYSTNC has developed a detailed omnibus study bill
that deals with the problems of small buildings and va-
cancy decontrol as well as many other issues, but it is
not scheduled to be introduced during this year's legisla-
tive session. This organization has been very active in its
lobbying efforts for the basic philosophy behind the bill
- namely, that "rental housing should be regulated as a
public utility for the public good in the public interest."
C
aIling for the creation of serious permanent tenant
protection laws, the NYSTNC document stressed
the important of rejecting "the bankrupt 'market' theory
of rental housing. We reject the popular fiction," the
study bill declares, "that after four decades of regula-
tion, tenant protection laws are simply temporary mea-
sures in response to a short term scarcity during which
the 'market' fails to function 'normally' ... Housing is
not a simple consumer commodity such as soap or lip-
stick; it touches all areas of personal and economic
life."
McKee had hoped that the protective measures for re-
sidents of buildings with five units or less would be in-
cluded in the proposed Grannis legislation, and is. still
working to find strong Republican backing for their in-
clusion. According to a study made by the United States
Bureau of the Census in 1978, only 31,000 tenants of
small buildings (three to five units) were still under rent
control, while 4,700 were rent stabilized, and 95,000
were paying rents with no ceiling on what can be charged.
The Rent Stabilization Association has sought to up the
level to exempt all buildings with 12 or fewer apartments
from the law. Matz, RSA's spokesman, said that his or-
ganization was promoting this exemption primarily to
stem further landlord abandonment of this housing
stock.
It remains to be seen if the legislature will pass any
significant legislation to protect tenants. A number of
advocates are concerned that certain tenant rights will
be extracted just to maintain the status quo. Some main-
tain that, if encompassing, permanent legislation is not
drafted; eviction rates could reach a record high - out-
distancing the level of the 1970's before ETPA was
enacted, when vacancy decontrol was used effectively to
"blockbust" in sections of Brooklyn and Queens.
"People have to address themselves to the possible
elimination of rental housing in New York City," said
Chuck DeLaney, a member of the steering committee of
8
the Lower Manhattan Loft Tenants Association. "This
legislation is about to expire, and most people don't
know what it means. But people are like cockroaches.
They will live anywhere and they don't complain no
matter how miserable their living quarters are until
they're out on the street.
"The real estate industry is creating two classes of
people - those who own and those who rent. They
would prefer to sell you a piece, no matter how small,
rather than rent you anything. In no time, New York
will be like Europe where they sell you tiny little slices of
real estate worth nothing, and nobody will be better
off." 0
The Laws That Regulate the Rent
New York State's rent regulatory system is com-
plex,. currently consisting 0/ four separate sys-
tems: two state laws which must be extended/rom
tim8 to time by the State Legislature. and two New
York City laws enacted pursuant to state enabling
legislation.
EMERGENCY TENANT PROTECrION Aer.
First enacted by the State Legislature in 1974 in
to organized pressure by tenants in New
Yorlc: City protesting three years of skyrocketing
aad harassment under Vacancy Decontrol
by telUmts of post-I947 buildings in the sub-
i":,_ ... around New York City demanding protec-
DdS is DOW the largest of the four rent systems
":ru_,tlv in effect. It applies only to New York Ci-
toWDS, villages and cities in NaSsau, Rock-
lMld'JiDdWestcbester Counties that have voted to
thtt system. Currently covers approxi-
units in the three suburban coun-
ties. W'bere it is administered by the state Division
of Ilousiq and Community Renewal; and some
SGOsOOO apartment units in New York City, where
LeaisJaturc folded its administration into the
preoexistjaa real eswe industry-run rent stabiliza-
1ioluystem. In the communities in which ETPA is
in etfect, decontrolled apartments in pre-I947
buiktinas with six or more units are picked up
stabilization after the initial decontrol;
BTPA is thus a mechanism designed by the State
1:eaiaJature to continue the phase-out of state and
city rent control begun by the 1971 Vacancy De-
COJd:rol Law.
STATE RENT CONTROL. The Emergency
HoUliDa Rent Control Law, which now covers
some 60,000 apartment units in six counties out-
side New York City: Nassau, Westchester, Al-
bany, Rensselaer, Schenectady and Erie. Applies
.oaJ.y to pre-I947 buildings where the tenant has
been in occupancy since before June 30, 1971 (the
effective date of the state's Vacancy Decontrol
Law). Beina phased out by Vacanct Decontrol; in
those Nassau and Westchester County municipal-
ities which have since 1974 opted into the ETPA.
the .decontrolled units in buildings with six or
more units are picked up under rent stabilization
after the initial decontrol em the four upstate
counties which are not covered by ETPA, the units
are permanently decontrolled).
At this point. it is necessary to describe the two
New York City rent laws which do not expire this
year. They were both enacted and have been per-
iodIcRIIy reenacted by the City Council pursuant
to 1962 state enabling legislation. This statute was
GIlICkd without a sunset and there/ore does not
IuJlIe to be extended/rom time to time by the Leg-

9
Co-ops Come to Flatbush
All the elements are there for co-op conversions in F1atbush: spacious apartments,
a bank happy to provide financing, and the beginnings of a market. But ways to
avoid resulting displacement are not yet in hand. by Michael Powell and Tom Robbins
C
o-op conversion, long associated with the wealthier,
trendy neighborhoods of Manhattan, is beginning
to define the terms of the housing situation in numerous
less likely neighborhoods. Hailed by some as a saviour
for middle income housing, and condemned by others
as a death knell for low income tenants, the sale of
apartments as co-ops is laced with controversy. While
some applaud the "upgrading" effects of co-ops upon a
neighborhood, and a number of pioneering efforts have
been made to provide a co-op option for low and mod-
erate income tenants, private conversions frequently
awaken the twin7headed dragon of displacement and
gentrification.
Flatbush, the traditional heart of Brooklyn, is one
"transitional" neighborhood soon to be confronted
with the uneasy choices and trade-offs created by con-
CITY LIMITS May 1981 10
versions. For many years a largely white, middle class
neighborhood, a rapid influx of American blacks and
West Indians in the 1960s and 70s changed the ethnic,
racial and economic face of Flatbush. A wide variety of
factors, including disinvestment, racism, and fear led to
a decline in Flatbush's housing stock and commercial
strips.
In 1976, Citibank stepped into what it described as a
"deteriorating situation" in Flatbush. The bank would,
it said, test the "hypothesis that. .. by positioning itself
as a community bank ... and concentrating the applica-
tion of various resources [the bank] could improve its
economic and market base, enhance its public image
and favorably affect its long-term profitability."
Since that time, the bank has received high marks
from many in the community as a concerned and deeply
involved partner in neighborhood revitalization, extend-
ing its ample resources to enterprises and areas where
other banks have feared to tread. After helping to pio-
neer stretch (long term) mortgages, and participation
loans using low interest federal funds in combination
with its own, Citibank's Flatbush Pilot Project is pre-
sently readying itself to playa large role in assisting the
creation of co-ops in the community. As with earlier
projects, Citibank is working along with the Flatbush
Development Corporation, a locally based nonprofit
housing group.
Neighborhood revitalization, however, is a two-edged
sword. Along with the economic shot in the arm that
new investment and better-off residents bring, comes
rising real estate prices and a new precariousness for
lower income residents.
A working group on community reinvestment at the
Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility has been
considering just that dilemma. The 180 Catholic and 17
Protestant congregations which are members of the
Center employ their extensive corporate holdings to in-
troduce stockholders' resolutions on issues ranging
from disinvestment in South Africa to nuclear power
and plant closings. The resolutions are meant, in the
words of staff member Keith Rolland, to "spark discus-
sion within the corporations, garner concessions, and
heighten public awareness."
The Center's reinvestment group came to the conclu-
sion some time ago that when neighborhoods are revi-
talized, existing residents "should be part of the deal.
We pushed for reinvestment," said Rolland, "but the
people shouldn't be pushed out. We see displacement as
a real social injustice."
Concern over the possible ramifications of Citibank's
co-op effort led a member congregation, the New York
Province of the Society of Jesus, to use its 1,500 shares
of Citicorp, the bank's parent group, as the launching
pad for a stockholders' resolution at the corporation's
April 21st meeting. Noting that "The conversion of
apartment buildings to cooperatives has caused signifi-
cant displacement nationally," the resolution asked that
Citibank develop three programs: that the bank make
short-term loans to qualified community groups; devel-
op along with the city, a program for the rehabilitation
of cooperatively owned housing using the sweat equity
labor of the residents to reduce the rehab costs; and,
develop a program to offer" co-op loans carrying a low
down payment and low interest rate.
But even well before the April meeting, Citibank's
response to the requests in the resolution was a polite
"No." Norma Jarbo, director of the bank's Flatbush
Pilot Project stated, "I feel we are already meeting the
terms of the resolution. We refuse, as such, to be locked
into a paper policy position."
As expected, the resolution was resoundly defeated,
but not without gaining slightly over three per cent of
the votes - enough to guarantee that the resolution can
be reintroduced at the next meeting in the fall. The bank
did, however, agree to join an ad hoc committee made
up of equal representation from churches, the bank,
and the community which will study the effects of the
conversions. The committee's task will be a tough one,
and its ultimate effectiveness, in the face of growing
market forces, is up for question.
S
itting along the southern border of Prospect Park,
Flatbush is ideally suited for city dwelling. Two
separate train lines, and a grid-pattern of buses serve the
area. There are several large shopping strips and many
of the apartments are set along graceful, tree-lined
blocks. The building stock, with wide, ornate entrances,
hedges, marble lobbies and spacious apartments, was
once among the finest in New York. Even now, despite
the rising crime rate, and the problems with city services
endemic to all boroughs, Flatbush provides one of the
more pleasant neighborhoods for low and moderate in-
come people in the city. The question that Citibank's
co-op plan raises is whether or not these same people
will be able to enjoy the fruits of Flatbush's growing
prosperity"
416 Ocean Avenue is the planned site for Citibank's
first Flatbush co-op. The building recently underwent a
conventionally financed rehabilitation. Because the
91-unit building rehabilitation was financed by Citi-
bank, it will have a non-eviction plan and the co-op
loans will be written by the bank. Four or five other
buildings are also under consideration.
Under current state legislation, a co-op offering can
include an eviction plan for those who do not wish to
purchase, or a non-eviction plan which allows non-buy-
ing tenants to remain in place as renters. Thirty-five per
cent of the tenants must agree to purchase apartments
before the owner can evict the non-buyers.
Jarbo stressed that Citibank intends to offer only
non-eviction co-ops, but she cautioned, "We cannot
create a static world - the neighborhood will eventually
change. And if the neighborhood wants an eviction co-
op, we would support them." Or, in the words of Jim
Dunn, Citibank's Public Affairs officer in Flatbush.
"We can try to change it, but come hell or high water,
you're going to have co-oping in Flatbush."
No one, however, is presently pushing to create co-op
apartments in Flatbush aside from Citibank. And the
availability of financing from the bank creates a "chick-
en or egg" situation: should large-scale conversions get
underway in the area - with or without eviction plans
- the impetus will clearly have come from Citibank's
efforts.
The bank's present decision to finance only non-evic-
tion plan offerings is an apparent turn-around from an
earlier bank position that it needed to do both kinds of
co-ops.
The final terms of the co-op plan at 416 Ocean Ave-
11
nue are still unresolved. The figure of approximately
$25,000 has been suggested to tenants as the cost of a
one or two bedroom apartment.
Under Citibank's stretch mortgage plan for co-ops,
tenants in buildings where Citibank provides the majori-
ty of the financing are eligible for housing loans of up to
$150,000 with a ten per cent down payment. The loans
carry market-level interest rates, plus a fairly high four-
and-one-half per cent one time fee. "What tenants are
facing under this plan," remarked Father Michael
Donahue of the New York Province of the Society of
Jesus, "is a combined interest rate of around 21 per
cent. As long as this remains true, any further talk
about low income co-ops is academic."
Norma Jarbo and Jim Dunn basically agree with
Donahue on the subject of financing. Cautioning that
government subsidies might make the terms more af-
fordable, Jarbo estimated that "a family making less
than SIS,OOO or S19,OOO a year would probably en-
counter large problems with the payment schedule."
Richard Marans, director of development for FDC,
said "the project is not a low income deal- 416 Ocean
Avenue is basically not a low income building. But, the
non-eviction plan makes it fairly non-harmful. We're
talking about providing co-ops for middle income peo-
ple, civil servants etcetera." According to Marans, the
importance of the role of FDC in the effort is to
monitor and watchdog the developments, assuring that
displacement does not occur. Contrasting Flatbush with
the Clinton neighborhood of Manhattan where he
worked with another housing group until recently,
Marans said, "We haven't seen a lot of upper middle in-
come people coming looking for co-ops - some solid
middle class folks, yes. But that's a lot better than the
crazy scene in Manhattan, where the market has no
limits, and there are loads of people willing to pay it."
According to Jarbo, "We are asking FDC to target
buildings because we will have a greater chance for suc-
cess in buildings previously organized. We are not tar-
geting anyone ourselves. We want those people who
want to stay, to stay, and those who want to leave, to
leave."
S
ome of the tenants at the 416 Ocean Avenue have al-
ready left, said Geraldine Fendall, president of the
tenant association. Fendall said that after tenants
received a "red herring" - the initial, informal co-op
offering - concern began to mount. She said the associ-
ation had decided to hire an engineer to do its own study
of the building'S plant, as well as an attorney to repre-
sent them. "He (landlord Norman Krischner) is not go-
ing to get a soul to vote for the co-op" said Fendall.
However, there, are currently numerous vacant apart-
ments in the building, and Fendall expressed fear that
the landlord could gather enough votes from outside
would-be purchasers, who would pay around S35,OOO
per apartment, to swing the vote. Fendall also expressed
12
dismay that neither the landlord nor Citibank have at-
tempted to meet with tenants personally to explain plans
and options. George Danes, an organizer for FDC, who
has met with tenants a number of times, concurred that
there was substantial opposition from most of the ten-
ants to the co-op plan. And, contrary to Jarbo's asser-
tion, the building wasn't organized by FDC until after
tenants, concerned over the co-ops, sought the group's
assistance.
The Flatbush Development Corporation is in the dif-
ifcult position of pursuing two paths simultaneously. On
the one hand it is working to secure the position of low
income tenants and on another, to encourage outside, mid-
dle income interest.
Judy Flynn, former executive director of FDC noted,
"Flatbush is a neighborhood moving in two directions
- we have tried to encourage both routes. Certainly we
are concerned with attracting upwardly mobile young
couples to Flatbush. We need their investment. And, as
the housing market tightens in Manhattan, more and
more people are looking at Flatbush." Flynn insists,
however, that this process will, not take place at the ex-
pense of low income residents. "We need a mixed neigh-
borhood:' sbe said. "FDC cannot do the middle income
HWe need a mixed neighborhood. FDC
cannot do the middle income co-ops
without doing the low income as well."
co-ops without the low income as well." Flynn is con-
vinced that, with careful targeting, large displacement
problems can be avoided.
Among the tools FDC will push for tenant protection,
Flynn said, are "strong resale restrictions on the co-ops,
and the proper enforcement of the maintenance clause."
On a Sunday late in April, FDC sponsored its first
apartment house tour for prospective residents. The
tour complements the long-time house tour which FDC
has used successfully to attract new middle income fam-
ilies to the many handsome, brick, frame and brown-
stone homes in the rieighborhood. The apartment house
tour was advertised in the Vii/age Voice with the slogan:
"End Shoebox Living'" The ad promised a tour of
"spacious apartments" with "marble lobbies" in "a
vibrant tree-lined community."
W
hen Citibank first embarked on its Flatbush ex-
periment it outlined a five year plan. for itself.
The first couple of years would be devoted to educating
itself about the community, creating strong relation-
ships with residents, groups and businessmen, and get-
ting its stretch mortgages for homeowners off the
ground, as well as setting up the participation loans for
apartment rehabs. During the following 2 to 3 years, the
plan called for beginning co-op conversion financing.
So far, the plan has moved along effectively, and ac-
cording to schedule.
In order to gauge community receptiveness to conver-
sions, the bank commissioned a survey from the Lieber
Attitude Research company. The company polled num-
erous Flatbush residents on their thoughts and plans
regarding their neighborhood, and found that 43 per
cent of renters polled indicated a willingness tobuy their
apartments. But the study included a caveat that the
company was not able to obtain much low income in-
put: young blacks and West Indians, they reported,
were difficult to speak to.
Some of the opinions held by those it did poll were
that: "Anything that can hold down the welfare popula-
tion will be considered stabilizing," and, that the bank's
activities should be aimed "at keeping 'them' from tip-
ping out the middle class."
In a comment on its own duties, a Citibank report
stated, "The job of Citibank must be to isolate events or
conditions most relevant or visible to upper/middle in-
come residents."
"Those of us who formulated the stockholders' resol-
ution," said Michael Donahue, "got the distinct impres-
sion that Citibank wanted to attract more 'stable'
tenants to the community." There exists some question,
however, as to how 'stable' is defined by the bank.
The option put before Citibank in the resolution, as
well as in programs initiated by FDC, is to take affirma-
tive steps to help finance low income co-ops. According
to Judy Flynn, FDC "hopes eventually to become a

developer of low and moderate income co-ops with Citi-
bank providing the equity."
"We're working with some low to moderate income
projects," said Marans. "We want to put together a
program which will end up in co-ops, not tax shelters."
The bank, however, has so far balked at participat-
ing. Norma Jarbo insists that "Citibank cannot subsi-
dize low income co-ops. That is simply not something a
bank can do."
Michael Donahue agrees with Citibank. "We never
asked Citibank for giveaways. As stockholders that
would not be in our best interests. Rather, we would like
to see them develop something analagous to the partici-
pation loan program for low income co-ops."
At the stockholders' meeting, that argument appar-
ently fell on deaf ears, but both the church, through the
Interchurch Center, and FDC, will be pushing to make
some version of the plans a reality, with Citibank's par-
ticipation. In the meantime, however, the bank will con-
tinue on its agenda, with co-op conversion at the head
of the list.
"Down the road," said Jarbo, "who knows where the
neighborhood is going. This cannot be our concern. If
market forces come in, they are beyond our control." 0
Michael Powell is a tenant organizer in Brooklyn and a
frequent contributor to City Limits.
Number 416 Ocean Avenue, slated to be thejirst Citibankjinanced Co-op in Flatbush. Tenants there are wary oj high costs down the road.
13 CITY LIMITS May 1981
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IN THE LIFE OF AN ORGANIZER
Monday:
by Patricia Smith
"Now don't you dare give me a run around, young
lady, or I'll go to Mayor Koch .... "
"Yes ma'am. May I get that number for you?"
The caller was a senior citizen demanding answers on
how to get repairs done for her apartment. My offer to
give her Koch's number was not meant to be flip. Rath-
er, it was a sign of my total frustration, for at that point
I had mentioned several ways to go about getting repairs
and none suited this impatient caller. As my patience
waned, the organizers in my office sensed my despair. I
heard occasional expressions of support from my co-
workers. All of us have received these calls. They wear
you down. They sap enthusiasm.
"I don't think that you know what you're talking
about."
'''Yes, I do know. But there aren't any instant solu-
tions."
You are talked at by someone who feels that they too
have always been talked at - and they will stand for it
no longer. When the caller hung up, my head ached. I
felt shaky and short-tempered. My zeal had vanished
and I felt like a bureaucrat.

As I drove the office car this evening straight into the
slippery, wet night, various buildings along the way felt
as if they were reaching out to me. I am organizing in
several of these huge, brick hulks. They sweat in the
summer and shiver in the winter - as I do.
A certain sadness overcame me as I sped on; I was
reminded of the awe I felt when first encountering these
buildings and the shock I experienced upon discovering
that many slowly die. After having lived in so much
cardboard in California, I have become an ardent ad-
mirer of solid dwellings.
The buildings I passed are often subjected to a syste-
matic reduction of services. Repairs and maintenance
are incidental concerns compared to the focus on rent
monies. When repairs are attempted, only symptoms
are treated. A tenant can wait months to have a wall
fixed, for example. What it might mean is that plaster-
ing and painting is pone, but a leak behind the wall re-
mains untouched. These buildings are old, and they are
treated like senior citizens - usually with contempt.
Not all these vast dwelling places tell sad tales. I
swung by one which harbors a strong tenant association
which negotiates well with the landlord. The tenants'
concern was getting an intercom system. One was
recently installed. I zipped by another which had been
orphaned. Tenants now manage the building. They buy
oil and make repairs with their rents. The building and
its tenants are now engaged in an intimate link. They are
survivors.
As I tried to find a parking space before meeting time
tonight, three tenants saw my car pass their building.
The contingent met me as I emerged from the vehicle.
These three women insisted upon walking me to and
from the building. They laughed and then explained to
me that the color of my skin makes me an easy target.
Rumor had it that I glow in the dark.

After my tenant meeting tonight, an old lady named
Goldie took me by the hand and led me up to her
apartment. We sat at her kitchen table to discuss the
problem concerning the door through which we had j.ust
entered. During a recent fire, it had been broken by flre-
fighters. It did not close properly, so Goldie held it shut
15
as best she could with a piece of rope. Anyone could get
through the door with miniinal effort. The landlord had
promised to fix it - a week ago.
Tuesday:
While at Housing Court this morning, I called the
Emergency Repair Program so that Goldie's door could
be replaced by the city. The bill, of course, would go the
the building'S owner. Yet ERP said that they must give
the landlord time to fix the door himself. I naively ex-
plained that the landlord has known about the door for
over a week. Still they are giving the man time. Goldie,
it occurs to me may not have time ...

I was assisting a group of women who were taking
their landlord to court. In the midst of various degrees
of decay, they fight for their building, their children,
and their lives. This is their fourth time in court and the
complications, at times, seem overwhelming. Some are
on rent strike, and some are participating only in the
tenant-initiated action. Others who are on public assis-
tance receive two-party checks which have expired and
which must be reissued. The tenants refused to pay rent
until repairs are done. The landlord refused to make
repairs without all rent monies. So once again, we stood
before the judge: the landlord, the landlord's counselor,
the HPD attorney, ten women, five children, and one
organizer. At one point, the tenant leader exploded and
yelled at the judge. The HPD attorney sniffed and
directed a dirty glance at me as if I were a shepherd who
had lost control of a sheep. The judge looked disgusted,
but as if he had heard this all before. Suddenly, he
stood. He made his way to the courtroom door without
a word. But before leaving he turned and bellowed, "I
refuse to let you allow Brooklyn to turn into another
South Bronx."
As the judge completed his melodramatic departure, I
realized that his comment had been directed toward the
tenants. My mouth dropped. I was incredulous. The
landlord's attorney thanked the judge. The case, need-
less to say, was adjourned.

Once back in the office, I gave Goldie's landlord a
call in order to urge him to replace her door immediate-
ly. I stressed that the city would do it for him if he didn't
act soon. "On no, that won't be necessary," he assured
me, "It will be fixed tomorrow."
Wednesday:
I was just thinking about housing court ... being
neither tenant, landlord, nor attorney, my role as an
organizer there is not always clear. In fact, it is precari-
ous. I thrash about, at times, in an anguished state of
judicial puberty.
I don't speak for tenants, rather I try to clarify the ac-
tions taken by the court hierarchy. Of course I negotiate
with landlords, but I find that tenants are often at their
best when doing this. When before a judge, I often try
to slow the process down so that both tenants and or-
ganizer have a chance to think, and to have tenant argu-
ments heard. The lawyers are trained for and accus-
tomed to the pace. It is a matter of being able to hurry
up and wait.
In front of the judge, one must compete. We vie for
attention. We are tattletales.
"Now be good," the judge seems to be saying, "if
you would only be good you wouldn't have to be here."
Sometimes I think that judges are of another species.

As I left housing court today, I heard chants. Think-
ing that tenants had organized and were protesting their
treatment, I approached the door. Upon seeing Ameri-
can flags, though, I became suspicious. It is as if the
flag has become a tool of the Right. And sure enough, a
group of landlords were demonstrating against the
length of time that it takes to evict a tenant. Life is
unfair ....

"Hello?"
"Hi, Goldie. Has your door been fixed?"
"No."
"Oh, Goldie .... "
Thursday:
Again, I called ERP. They are still giving the landlord
time to fix Goldie's door. I called the landlord to inform
him that I know that his word is worthless. He didn't
care ....

In a quest for information that could not be given by
phone, I traveled into the bowels of the District Office
of Rent Control today. It was like entering a time warp.
One waits but not in the midst of a bustling office.
Everyone moves slowly there as if to echo the lingering
death of rent-controlled apartments in this city.
I am called from the waiting area and allowed to enter
the inner sanctum. It is a large room with many unoccu-
pied desks. Yest even the desks at which people were sit-
ting looked unused. There were hardly any papers on
them.
The man assisting me lumbers into a smaller room in
search of the information which I request. As I settled
in, preparing for a wait lasting at least three years, I
notice that phones are constantly ringing. Realizing how
many times that I have called Rent Control only to wait
endlessly for someone to answer, I try to see how many
people are handling phone calls.
In a corner sits one, tiny woman talking on the phone.
She gives the caller information as well as advice. "Just
complete the form, ma'am," she explains in a paradoxi-
cally droning yet cheerful voice. "Don't look for prob-
lems where they don't exist." Indeed.
Friday:
"Hello?"
"Yeah, This is Goldie's landlord. I won't be able to
get anyone over to fix that door. Go ahead and have the
city do it."

I did some research on a multiple dwelling at the
Municipal Building today for tenants with whom I'll be
meeting, for the first time, next week. The first step is to
get the block and lot numbers. With that information, I
can do anything: I can find the owner of record, the
mortgage holder and the terms of the mortgage, and the
owner's tax status. In order to get the block and lot
numbers, I gave the building's address to the man
behind the computer. He punched in the address but
with no results. The man referred to a massive book. He
then looked up into my eyes and said, "We don't have a
building with that address. Sorry."
Darnmit, I think, I had better call my tenant contact
and get the correct building address. Yet when I reach
her, she says that I already have the correct informa-
tion.
On no, I think, a phantom building. Next week, at
meeting time, I'll walk into a twilight zone. Yet, the
thought intrigues rather than frightens me for I know
what's outside. 0
Patricia Smith is a VISTA tenant organizer working in
the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn, who, seven mon-
ths ago, was a "nice, rather shy college student in the
West." Today, she says, she is "not as nice, and certain-
ly less shy."
Association Moves
The Association of Neighborhood Housing
Developers has moved. Its new address Is 424
West 33rd Street, New York, N.V. 10001.
.
..
..
Guides for Tenants
Managing Money and Keeping Records - For Ten-
ants Who Manage Their Own Buildings. A guide for
tenants who are embarking on the awesome task of run-
ning their own buildings, this booklet includes a glos-
sary of financial terms as well as sample ledger sheets
for proper accounting techniques for keeping the rent
roll as well as the cash receipt and cash disbursement
journals. It also explains how to deal with monthly bank
statements and checking account reconciliation forms.
This excellently produced 83-page manual is available to
tenant associations' of TIL buildings and other groups
enrolled in the city's alternative management programs.
This homesteader's handbook was prepared by the
Urban Homesteading Assistance Board and the city's
Department of Housing Preservation and Development's
Tenant Interim Lease program. Available in .limited
quantity. No bulk orders filled. $6.00 each plus postage.
Please write to U-HAB, 1047 Amsterdam Ave., New
York, N.Y., 10025, for this organization's publication
list, which includes this manual as well as other housing-
related booklets.
Tenant Survival Guide - A Self-Help Manual For
Tenants Witbout Services. Prepared by the Task Force
on City-Owned Property. A practical common sense
guide for tenants running buildings abandoned by land-
lords, this publication deals with the subjects of organ-
izing tenants in buildings, purchasing fuel oil, hiring pri-
vate contractors, and making the city's Emergency
Repair Program (ERP) and 7-A Management work for
tenants. It also discusses rent strikes, rent collection, .
court experiences, lease agreements, and basic financial
records. Available in limited quantity. Please call the
task force at (212) 966-6998 or write to: Task Force, 40
Worth St., Room 1215, New York, N.Y., l00l3, for
more details.
Another tenant self-help booklet, How To Organize
Your Building, A Step-by-Step Guide For Tenants, com-
piled by the city's Neighborhood Stabilization Program
under the Commission on Human Rights, continues to
be available free of charge at 52 Duane St., Sixth Floor,
New York, N.Y. 10007. For more information, call
Roger Martin, (212) 233-3984, or Joyce Morris, (212)
233-3985.
The Community Reinvestment Act - A Citizen's Ac-
tion Guide. This 48-page pamphlet explains what CRA
is, the regulations governing it, and community
groups can use this legislation to obtam mortgage
home improvement loans as well as loans for small.busI-
nesses and economic and job development. AVaIlable
from the Center for Community Change, 1000 Wiscon-
sin Ave., N.W., Washington, D.C., 20007. 0
17
Federal Budget:
Co-op Bank Reprieve?
The National Consumer Cooperative Bank may
have been snatched back from the brink of fiscal
oblivion into which the Reagan administration
and the Senate Budget Committee had recom-
mended it be consigned. The House Budget Com-
mittee moved in early April to fund the bank at
$86 million for Fiscal Year 1982. Representative
Fernan St. Germain, Democrat of Rhode Island,
also introduced a bill to reauthorize Title II of the
bank, which supplies low interest loans for low in-
come self-help activities, as well as to provide $50
million for the bank in 1983 and 1984.
Hearings began April 29th in the Senate on bud-
get matters and a Senate subcommittee was sched-
uled to hear a bill introduced by Senator Jake
Gam, Republican of Utah, which would revoke
the bank's charter. A national coalition to support
the bank called "Friends of the Co-op Bank" has
been formed to build and coordinate regional
backing.
Several other housing and community develop-
ment programs were recommended for higher
levels of funding than those included in the admin-
istration's budget. The House Budget Committee
recommended funding of 250,000 units of HUD-
assisted housing. That figure is a return to the
levels sought by the Carter administration and re- .
presents a substantial increase over the 175,000
proposed by President Reagan, and 150,000 pro-
posed in the Senate.
Also in the House, an appropriations subcom-
mittee on HUD and independent agencies voted to
. make the low interest Section 312 rehabilitation
loans a revolving loan fund, rather than ending it
altogether as both the Reagan administration and
the Senate Budget Committee had recommended.
This would allow loan repayments to be used to
fund new loans by localities and would provide
approximately $30 million in loans this year and
$60 million in 1982. .
. The Neighborhood Self-Help Development
Program, which has made grants to
organizations for project development, failed to
gain any support in the HOli"se subcoDunittee, thus
leaving its chances of being revived as almost non-
existent. 0
.'
Winter In Review:
Bow the Fuel
Buying Plans Fared
This past winter joint fuel purchasing plans operated on the
biggest scale thus far in New York City, providing
substantial savings to low income tenants and
small homeowners. There were problems and
snafus, but three major groups are gearing
up for an even bigger season next winter.
18
by Mark Levy
The sweet breath of spring brought sighs of relief
from tenants, co-op members and homeowners squeezed
tight by winter fuel bills. The twin blows of Reagan's oil
price decontrol and a frigid Christmas crushed many
buildings' fuel budgets. This past winter, a number of
ambitious fuel buying projects were established. All
took the cooperative approach to energy purchasing.
Yet, each, reflecting the nature of its sponsor, took a
different form and, ultimately sought a different goal.
The Housing Energy Alliance for Tenants (HEAT) is
following a classic co-op format. The Association of
Neighborhood Housing Developers (ANHD) formed a
fuel consortium to aid its members. The New York Citi-
zens Alliance joined together homeowners and small
businesses into its Fuel Buyers Group.
HEAT is closely associated with the Energy Task
Force, a pioneer in energy conservation and solar ap-
plications in low income neighborhoods in New York.
Their aggressive style and innovative brand of technical
advocacy made ETF a natural base for HEAT. VISTA
Volunteers Risa Breckman and Margaret Styx first de-
veloped the concept of HEAT in 1978. They envisioned
a fuel buying co-op as the groundwork for a neighbor-
hood based co-operative business that could supply the
entire scope of energy materials and service. HEAT's
potential membership was buildings in one of the city's
Alternate Management programs. Its seed money came
from a variety of government and foundation grants.
By the winter of 1980-81, HEAT was ready to roll.
Roy Battiste, a street-wise community organizer and
energy consultant came on to direct this first winter's
operation. HEAT received commitments from about 60
buildings to represent them and negotiated with a fuel
oil dealer a favorable price for oil delivery and service.
They were able to obtain a lower price than any single
building could because of the volume the 60 buildings
represented. HEAT eventually bought over one million
gallons of fuel oil this past winter. A number of dealers
bid for HEAT's business. After lengthy negotiations,
Burns Brothers, a medium-sized dealer, was selected and
HEAT embarked on what was to be a rocky first year.
HEAT employed a budget system which spread pay-
ments out into year-long equal monthly amounts. This
system, familiar to many oil and gas customers, has the
dual advantages of avoiding huge winter fuel bills and
establishing an interest-earning balance during the sum-
mer months.
In order to join, buildings had to put up a deposit
equal to an estimated monthly fuel bill. Many buildings,
faced with low rent rolls, erratic rent collection and ris-
ing maintenance costs couldn't scrape up the deposit.
Others had trouble keeping up with their payments and
dropped out. However, amongst the core of HEAT
members, the on time payments averaged over 85 per
cent.
The biggest problem HEAT reported was dealing with
the fuel oil companies and dealers. Three months after
they signed their contract with Burns Brothers, Battiste
and HEAT strategists were stunned to learn that Burns
Brothers had been sold. Their #2 fuel oil contracts were
acquired by Petroleum and Heat Power, which in turn
sold this contract to Mystic and the #4 and #6 contracts
were sold to Original Consumers. Battiste later discov-
ered that not only was Burns Brothers on the block dur-
ing the HEAT negotiations, but that they used the
HEAT contract to enhance its value to potential buyers.
According to Battiste and HEAT members, these new
dealers placed a low priority on delivery to HEAT mem-
bers. Original Consumers was Particularly slow in re-
sponding to delivery calls and service requests. Battiste
described some ofthe HEAT service as a "quagmire."
Don Yules of Original said that neither he nor any
other executive was aware of the problem but that if del-
iveries were slow it may have had to do with late pay-
ments and small orders. Yet, even he thought that
"working together as a co-op was the way to go."
HEAT's ability to force the dealers to live up to their
contract was limited to either legal action or negotia-
tions. "Litigation wasn't really a viable option", ex-
plained Battiste, "The oil companies have this fraterni-
ty. If you threaten one of them with litigation, they'll all
stick together and we could wind up cutting our own
throats." Tony Carrasquillo, a HEAT board member,
says, "we really learned the ropes about the oil compan-
ies this year ."
Despite these problems, 35 buildings stuck with
HEAT throughout the winter. They were able to average
savings of 15-20 a gallon, which would translate to
$300 for a 1500 gallon delivery. Battiste, Outreach
Coordinator Manuel Martinez and HEAT loyalists are
gearing up to expand for next year. They've installed
computer equipment to modernize the billing; they're
planning to offer free energy audits through ETF, are
increasing their education and outreach efforts and are
working with the National Consumer Co-op Bank on
marketing and financial planning. HEAT members are
doggedly optimistic for the future. "We founded HEAT
as more than a money saving tool."says Battiste but,
more importantly as a "force for neighborhood revitali-
zation". HEAT saw the fuel buying projects as the first
step towards offering a comprehensive array of energy
services to community groups and tenant co-ops. Roy
Battiste calls HEAT, "A working experiment in partici-
patory technology." Next winter their experiment will
try to work again.
If HEAT seeks to fulfill a vision, then the Association
of Neighborhood Housing Developers Fuel Consortium
exists to fulfill a need. ANHD represents over 40 mem-
ber and affiliated community housing groups in New
York. As part of its technical assistance function,
ANHD began developing joint purchasing groups to
lower costs for its members. Each of these groups was
developed as a consortium and ANHD offers consortia
for liability, fire and health insurance as well as fuel oil.
A consortium differs from a co-operative in that a con-
sortium's members join together for a single purpose,
are represented by an agent as a service, and can join or
leave as they wish. A co-op's membership has all deci-
sion making, planning and policy is in their collective
hands, usually represented by a Board.
This was the ANHD Fuel Consortium's second win-
ter. Last year, guided by Technical Assistance Director
Anne Hartwell, the Consortium started small with 25
buildings. Savings averaged 5-13 a gallon. This year's
Consortium, coordinated by Dick Hochwald, a cheerful
graduate of ANHD's CETA program has about 150
buildings participating and purchased close to 2 million
gallons of fuel oil. The Consortium's structure was, in
many ways, similar to HEAT. They requested bids from
dealers and ultimately negotiated contracts with Smiles
for #4 and #6 oil and Heatmaster for #2. Because of the
wildly fluctuating oil prices, the price to Consortium
members was tied to the wholesale price, published daily
in the Journal of Commerce. ANHD, with the help of
outside grants, supplied most of the overhead costs and
19
a bank loan helped the Consortium get rolling. Its mem-
bers were also on a monthly budget system with accrued
interest being returned to the building. The contracts
called for a maximum wait of 48 hours and Hochwald
pronounced himself pleased with the level of service
and speed of delivery.
ANHD Executive Director Betty Terrell and Hoch-
wald see the Fuel Consortium as primarily a service to
its members and other housing groups. Hochwald
notes, "If our buildings suddenly discovered that they
needed a food co-op, we'd probably set up a food pur-
chasing consortium." But ANHD also has a wider strat-
egy and long range goals. "The whole idea, besides sav-
ing money," said Terrell, "is to try to generate income
to help support ANHD, which in turn, will help support
its members." Even the meager government and foun-
dation support of recent years is drying up and true self-
reliance is a real goal for many community based organ-
izations." Terrell sees the Consortium as the beginning
of a chain of economic development and employment
strategies. ANHD is looking around at other services
and products widely used by housing groups.
The problems that the Consortium did face this
winter were familiar ones to many in the housing move-
ment: pinched building budgets, inefficient systems and
overworked staff. Next year Hochwald expects to use a
computerized billing system and expanded quarters to
enable the Consortium to double its membership to 300
buildings and its volume to 4 million gallons.
Another fuel co-op, The N.Y. Citizens Alliance Fuel
Buyers' Group, was founded to help the masses of small
homeowners and businesses equally beseiged by soaring
fuel prices. The Citizen's Alliance is an offspring of the
New York Public Interest Group (NYPIRG), one of the
scores of state-based organizations around the country.
The groups try to combine student enthusiasm with
solid research to spur grassroots action. NYPIRG has
concentrated on such diverse issues as bank redlining,
mass transit, nuclear dangers, truth in testing, energy
policy and consumer protection. The sponsorship of a
Fuel Buyers Group was a natural response to these con-
cerns.
Sandra Washburn, a long time PIRG staffer, spent
more than a year researching the intricacies of such a
venture. The Group negotiated a contract with a small
fuel dealer to deliver fuel and servi<:e to its members at a
price pegged to the wholesale level. Delivery and billing
was between the dealer and the customer, and payment
was usually cash on delivery (or the budget plan). The
Group has over 400 members in New York and on Long
Island. They were able to average savings of lOCI: a
gallon for #2 oil, and 14-16C1: for #4 and #6. A key
feature of the contract was a 2 per cent commission on
the gross revenues paid to the Citizens Alliance by the
dealer. The 500,000 gallons purchased this winter added
up to a $10,000 fee that went towards staff and over-
head. Delivery and service were closely monitored by
Washburn and problems were minor.
Despite the efforts and optimism of these projects,
only the small percentage of potential buildings or
homeowners joined. Many were only vaguely aware of
their existence (often confusing HEAT with a fuel bill
assistance program called HEAP). Others were over-
whelmed with the sense of crisis management that often
pervades community groups. And others simply
couldn't pay the deposit or the summer budget pay-
ments. Doug Moritz, Administrator of Los Sures in
Brooklyn's Williamsburg, said that his group didn't
join because even the negotiated co-op prices couldn't
meet the price of their local fuel dealer. Los Sures' 60
buildings have over 1,000 apartments and consume
close to 500,000 gallons of fuel a year. This gives them
some clout of their own. "We think that the key is to
establish a good relationship with local vendors," said
Moritz. "We've been doing business with our dealer for
nine years and he's done right by us."
For many fuel consumers, the biggest concern isn't
the price of the fuel oil, but the promptness and reli-
ability of service. When its below freezing, a gallon at
$1.23 today is worth more than a gallon tomorrow at
$1.10. Another problem might be. competition
among the groups in attracting members.
"Not really," says Betty Terrell, "there are more than
enough potential members to totally swamp each of us."
Roy Battiste agrees, saying, "Compete?, no actually we
work together. Much of the initial research into cooper-
ative fuel buying was done by ANHD and-they were
generous at sharing it with us. We need from our mem-
bers more than just the need to save money, although
that's the initial drawing card. A building doesn't join I
HEAT, in a sense 'it becomes HEAT, and we need our
members energy, wisdom and experience."
As the groups grow, the reaction of the larger fuel
wholesalers and the major oil companies will be critical.
Their hostility could become a major problem.
Expansion can mean more than recruiting more mem-
bers. It means linking up with similar co-ops and buying
groups that are forming in Newark, Westchester, Con-
necticut and forming a regional network. It means join-
ing alternative means of supply as well as distribution.
The future of these co-operative ventures will depend
on their ability to fmd the elusive balance between .
business acumen and community responsivness. 0
To contact the fuel-buying groups: HEAT, Roy Battiste,
675-1920; ANHD, Dick Hochwald, 477-9070; NYPIRG
(Citizens Alliance), 349-6460, Michael Gordon.
Mark Levy is a former editor of Alternate Currents, and
presently works for the city's community management
program.
Tax Abatements to be Reined In
A proposal supported by Mayor Koch and the leader-
ship of the City Council that would eliminate luxury
housing conversion in parts of Central Manhattan was
expected to pass the full Council late in April.
"This is no great reform," said Gail Brewer, the hous-
ing aide to Manhattan Democratic Councilwoman Ruth
Messinger. "They may be excluding Riverside Drive,
Central Park West, and Fifth Avenue (south of 96th
Street), but Broadway, Columbus, and Amsterdam are
wide open for speculation. They are not part of any
abatement plan. There is no provision [in the Mayor's
proposal] to protect our [Manhattan] neighborhoods on
the West Side, Clinton, and the Lower East Side."
Under the mayor's proposed amended J-51Iegisla-
tion, other streets between 96th and 42nd Streets where
these conversions would not be permitted are West End,
Park, Madison, York, and East End Avenues.
Instituted in 1955 as an incentive to help owners of
cold water tenements to comply with the city's new
building codes, J-51 currently permits those owners who
upgrade apartment buildings or convert non-residential
buildings or hotels to residential use to receive a 20-year
abatement on all or part of their real estate taxes. In ad-
dition, they can receive a 12-year tax exemption on the
increase in the building's value which results from the
improvements.
The other legislation proposed by the mayor and ap-
proved by the housing committee of the Council is the
bill known as the B-to-B or Intro. 951, which would
reward owners for improving SROs (Single Room Oc-
cupancy) by permitting them the same J-51 tax incentive
advantages presently allowed for Class A residential
conversions. Referred to frequently by critics as "too
little, too late" or "window dressing," it also is expected
to receive the Council's approval.
Calling for a moratorium on all J-51 conversions
below 96th Street, Councilwoman Messinger charged,
"The mayor has proposed some valuable changes in the
J-51 legislation . .. But no one should be fooled by these
amendments. There is almost no renovation left to be
done in the areas in which abatements are denied, and
none are substantial.
"It is precisely in those areas of Manhattan where
development is proceeding apace - the West Side, the
Village, Soho, Yorkville, Clinton, and the Lower East
Side - that the mayor has refused to curtail J-51. In
these neighborhoods, developers will continue to
displace people and businesses, destroy the remaining
SRO housing stock, create luxury apartments and
coops, and benefit from the most generous combination
of tax exemptions and tax abatements that exists any-
place in the United States."
Messinger is joined by some 120 community organiza-
tions, politicians, and residents as well as the Catholic
Charities and the Archdiocese of New York in her effort
to limit these tax benefits for luxury renovations that
result in displacement of long-time low and moderate
income residents of neighborhoods.
Addressing the problem of future displacement,
Terence Cardinal Cooke said, "I encourage support for
a moratorium on J-51 conversions of SRO facilities, for
the strengthening of tenants rights, relocation require-
ments and services for those threatened with displace-
ment by conversions and for new initiatives on the part
of the state and city governments to assure adequate
shelter for all our homeless brothers and sisters."
A recent study by the Community Service Society of
New York City revealed that at least 36,000 city resi-
dents are homeless because of the constantly shrinking
affordable housing stock. D
Travelers Insurance
'Urban Focus' Launched
21
A corporate support program aimed at channeling
funds to urban neighborhoods has been announced by
the Travelers Insurance Companies. The insurer's
pledge to provide investment capital, insurance avail-
ability and technical assistance to neighborhood groups
working on specific projects was made at the close of a
three-day conference in New York City on gaining pri-
vate sector investment in urban neighborhoods.
Dubbed "Travelers Urban Focus", the program
comes after more than a year of negotiations between
the firm and community organizations around the coun-
try. Leading the community groups in their talks with
Travelers was Gale Cincotta, president of National Peo-
ple's Action and head of the National Training and In-
formation Center which co-sponsored the conference
where the announcement was made.
No fixed dollar amount is attached to the corporate
effort, and Travelers president Edward H. Budd said no
direct grants to neighborhood groups will be made. In-
stead, Travelers will attempt to work along with groups
on individual projects "applying our many corporate
resources", said Budd.
Locally, one tangible example of that support is a
pending loan Travelers will make to a private landlord
in the Kingsbridge Heights section of the Bronx. The
loan, of approximately $150,000 for window replace-
ment and boiler repair in a 73-unit building, was
negotiated by the Northwest Bronx Community and
Clergy Coalition which last spring won agreement from
Travelers to provide insurance for area buildings. D
Short Term Notes
Ironing The Kinks Out Of
Community Contracts
A federal grants program for local community groups
which has suffered in the past two years from what re-
cipients said were unnecessarily stringent reporting re-
quirements, will be streamlined and expedited in the
coming year, to the city housing department
which administers the program.
The program, known as the Community Consultant
Contracts, extends grants ranging from $20,000 to
$80,000 of federal Community Development funds to
neighborhood housing groups for such services as
surveys of local housing stock rehabilitation loan
packaging for building owners. It also supports plan-
ning for the creation of new parks and playgrounds on
vacant land, as well as tenant organizing and dissemina-
tion of information about city housing programs for
owners and renters.
Last year, 45 local groups received funding under the
program, but many contract recipients failed to actually
receive funds until late spring because of administrative
delays. In those cases, groups were forced to borrow
funds to pay staff or to delay program activities for
months while awaiting completion of all contract
details.
Manuel Mirabal, Assistant Commissioner for Com-
munity Development, has admitted the existence of
problems, but has insisted much of the delay exists out-
side the housing department and in the city Comptrol-
ler's office. Mirabal expects this year that all contracts
will pass the Board of Estimate by June or July, thus al-
lowing contracts and funding to commence September 1.
A broader problem reported by the groups receiving
the funds has been characterized as "attitudinal" by
some. The housing department, they say, tends to view
groups as working for the department, almost in an
employer-employee relationship. A new city description
of the program describes it as "complementary to, and
supportive of, HPD's program and goals of preserving
and upgrading the housing stock of New York City." 0
Toby Sanchez
Rehabilitation Commissioner
Appointed
Andrew M. Chertoff, former counsel to the Office of
Development at the city's Department of Housing Pre-
servation and Development, is the new assistant com-
missioner of rehabilitation. He replaces Jeffrey Heintz,
who left this post after two years for a position at Citi-
bank.
Chertoff, 31, will be in charge of the Participation
Loan Program, Sweat Equity, and Section 8 Moderate
Rehabilitation, in addition to the "1-51 Tax Exemption
and Abatement and the Section 421 Tax Incentive pro-
grams.
Prior to joining HPD, Chertoff was an attorney with
the Manhattan law firm of Stroock, Stroock, and
Lavan. His salary will be $41,000.
Former counsel to the Office of Property Manage-
ment, Valerie Asciutto has been appointed HPD's gen-
eral counsel, the position formerly held by Robert Rob-
bin, who now is with the state attorney general's office.
o
Cable TV - Programming Your Community Channels:
May 22-23, 1981: The National Federation of Local
Cable Programmers/Mid-Atlantic & Northeast Regions,
the Tri-State Telecommunications Advisory Com-
mittee, the Riverside Church and the Channel L Work-
ing Group are co-hosting a two-day conference, "Cable
TV - Programming Your Community Channels" at
the Riverside Church, 490 Riverside Drive at 120th
Street in New York City. For registration information,
contact Chuck Sherwood, (212) 964-2960 for write c/o
CLWG, 51 Chambers St. , Rm. 532, New York, N.Y.
10007.
Tenant Protection March
A demonstration for increased tenant protec-
tion legislation will be held Saturday, June 6, at 12
P.M. at the Helmsley Palace Hotel at 45S Madison
Avenue and East 48th Street. Sponsored by the
Mobilization Against Displacement, the rally will
call for: strengthening enforcement of rent regula-
tion; extension of protections to tenants in small,
city-owned and rehabilitated bUildings; abolition
of the Rent Stabilization Association; an end to all
rent surcharges and passalongs as well as termina-
tion of vacancy decontrol and stronger protections
for tenants faced with co-op conversions. For
more information, call: Ray Rodriguez at
636-3486 or Felice Jergens at 388-1501. 0
Broader State Housing
Role Urged
A special committee of the Community Service Soci-
ety studying the city's overwhelming tax-foreclosed pro-
perty empire has called on New York State to develop a
statewide financial program to fight housing abandon-
ment.
Known as the In Rem (tax-foreclosed) Housing Task
Force of CSS's Committee on Housing and Urban
Development, the group, which includes members from
various city organizations combatting urban decay, is
asking the state's Housing Finance Agency to issue
bonds expanding the city's participation and 8A rehab-
ilitation loan programs that have traditionally been
covered by federal Community Development Block
Grant funds. If adopted as state policy, this proposal
would free up the CDBG monies to underwrite rehabili-
tation in buildings in low and moderate income neigh-
borhoods that are in serious disrepair, while the state
funds would be used for early intervention in buildings
which do not require such extensive work.
Critics of the two loan programs have argued for
some time that the federal funds concerning them which
should be earmarked for low and moderate income
neighborhoods are being used to displace poorer resi-
dents and provide rehabilitated housing for non CD-
eligible elements.
"Everyone admits that New York City has a housing
abandonment problem, but no one ever mentions Ro-
chester and Buffalo. They certainly suffer from the
same dilemma," said Jonathan Erlitz, the fiscal analyst
at CSS who helped compile the report. "The state
doesn't do much in housing now. It should be made to
do more."
In addition to advocating the state's involvement in
floating bonds, the report makes the following policy
recommendations:
early intervention strategies by the city to stem the
flow of distressed properties into the in rem pipelines.
establishment of a seed money account for com-
munity groups to take over in rem housing.
timely vesting of properties following the city's one-
year foreclosure proceeding known as Public Law 45.
provision of federal and private funds to cover
weatherization of in rem buildings, thus reducing oper-
ating costs for this housing stock.
development of a uniform and expeditious sales
policy and citywide price tag for tax-foreclosed housing
for tenant and community groups.
inclusion of economic development and job incen-
tive programs for local residents.
Stressing the importance of adhering to a uniform
citywide sales price, the report asserted that this "uni-
form policy would dispel residents' fears, help the city
avoid a role as speculator and facilitate economic inte-
23
gration of neighborhoods" and "would insure that
neighborhood.: upgrading accrues to long-term resi-
dents." It arso suggested that options other than sales,
such as long-term leases, should be considered for resi-
dents in neighborhoods where sales are currently not
feasible.
Two years ago the city adopted a sales policy of
$250-a-unit for low income cooperatives, but, to date,
only five buildings with 82 units have been sold to ten-
ant and community groups. And for some time, critics
of this sales policy have challenged the city's reluctance
to sell housing at this nonprofit rate in sections of Man-
hattan and Brooklyn where gentrification has caused in-
flated real estate values and displacement of low income
families. 0
HUD Grant For Atlanta
Last month President Reagan made a $1.5 million
grant to the city of Atlanta to aid in the investigation of
the abduction and murders of 25 black children and
youths there. The funds were derived from the Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban Development's Innovative
Grants Program which is a portion of the Community
Development Block Grant Program.
A HUD spokesperson said the justification for making
the grant from that fund was because many of the
murdered children lived in a lower income area where
the city is undertaking concentrated community devel-
opment activities. The use of non-traditional
methods for the investigation may have made it difficult
to draw funds from other sources, such as the Depart-
ment of Justice, the spokesperson said. 0
Brooklyn Development Plan
Seven vacant city-owned tenements on 17th Street in
the Windsor Terrace section of Brooklyn will be rehabil-
itated as low income cooperatives with money from the
Federal Section 312 Loan Program.
Under the plan, each structure will be converted into
seven units of totally renovated, newly-laid out coopera-
tive apartments, numbering a total of 49.
Known as Windsor Terrace Houses, the cooperative
will be run by the Progress of Peoples Development
Corporation, a nonprofit affiliate of Brooklyn Diocesan
Catholic Charities. The sponsor is the 17th Street Asso-
ciation, a local voluntary preservation group.
Depending on the size and location of the apartment,
prices will range from $22,160 to $32,829, and will be
covered by the 312 mortgage; average down payments
will be $5,058, with a low of $4,151 and a high of
$6,765. Carrying charges for the co-ops will run from
$237.94 to $352.50 per month.
Windsor Terrace Houses are scheduled to open early
in 1982. 0
LE1lilIERS
Co-op Bonk's Mission
To the Editors:
While the National Consumer Cooperative Bank has
indeed encountered serious difficulties in only its second
year of existence ("Coop Bank Limps Into New York"
March '81), I would like to point out several accom-
plishments that I believe make the Bank a creditable and
important new institution serving New York City:
In less than one year, the Coop Bank committed
and disbursed two loans to low-moderate income hous-
ing coops in New York City. One of these groups, the
300 West 17th Street Housing Development Fund Cor-
poration, had vainly sought assistance from the New
York City Department of Housing Preservation and
Development jor over jour years. I challenge City
Limits to find a faster starting, more responsive lending
institution.
In its one year of lending operations, the Coop
Bank has committed over $1,700,000 to two major low-
income urban homesteading projects in New York City
involving 9 vacant city-owned properties. The Coop
Bank is actively reviewing another 5 sweat equity home-
steading projects, virtually all of which were referred to
the Coop Bank by HPD's now defunct sweat equity
program. The Coop Bank is already the funder of last
resort for sweat equity - an item prominently skipped
in your article.
Of the 16 active or approved loans in New York
State, New York City claims 13. Of these, 9 are directly
sponsored by homesteading groups, community groups,
or low-income tenants directly seeking to purchase their
homes. These 9 projects now involve nearly $9,000,000
of the Bank's approximately $11,000,000 activity in this
state.
[Despite these facts,] your article would have readers
believe that saving low-income groups is not part of the
Bank's mission.
In addition, the Bank's technical assistance program
and below-market rate lending capacity (through the
Coop Bank's Title II, Self-Help Fund) are now being
targeted to the following projects:
The Housing and Energy Alliance for Tenants
(HEAT), a fuel purchasing cooperative composed of 35
low-income, tenant managed or tenant-owned buildings
in New York City. The Coop Bank's assistance to HEAT
will enable it to double its membership, develop an over-
all business plan, achieve self-sufficiency, provide
energy audits to member buildings, and spin-off a
worker-owned energy conservation contracting com-
pany.
Feminist Health Works, the only womens' health
clinic in New York City or State exclusively addressing
the nutritional, health and birth-related needs of
women, is receiving the Coop Bank's assistance which is
expected to aid the project in locating permanent space,
developing a business plan, becoming a cooperative and
opening a fully-operational self-sustaining womens'
clinic.
The Mutual Aid Project, a non-profit group which,
among other activities, supplies fresh food to 30 day-
care centers in New York City, and the Coop Bank are
developing a plan to open new food cooperative stores
in three City neighborhoods where low-income com-
munity groups have sufficient tenant-owned or man-
aged buildings to support a full-service food coop.
The list of projects goes on. The point is that the
opening of the Coop Bank's Regional Office has made
it possible for the Bank to respond directly and immedi-
ately to the needs of New York City groups and others in
the State and region.
New York City and its very active non-profit groups
lobbied hard for the Bank's creation. I believe that the
Bank's record in its brief period of operation has shown
its ability to respond to the needs of many of these same
groups.
This is a record deserving of support. We expect to be
open for quite some time, and look forward to working
with you and all of the groups working to make New
York City a better place in which to live and work.
Philip St. Georges
Regional Director
Mid-Atlantic Regional Office
National Consumer Cooperative Bank
Outlasting the Redeemers
To the Editors:
On behalf of the Tenants Association I'd like to thank
you for your constant and consistent support during our
battle against redemption by our old landlord's estate.
As you know, the City foreclosed against our old
landlord, Henry Hof, and the buildings went "inrern"
on May 25, 1978, almost three years ago. However, this
August the City suddenly "discovered" an application
to redeem our buildings that had been filed by our old
landlord two years before. Although there was no
record of any inquiries by the landlord (now deceased)
or his attorney after the application was filed, the City
felt obligated to send the landlord's attorney a bill for
all taxes and costs owed to the City, and offer him a
chance to pay the amount owed by November 3, 1980-
and redeem these buildings! November 3, the West 35th
Street "D-Day" arrived and passed with no check tend-
ered by the landlord's attorney. If the handling of this
redemption began questionably, I am convinced that
your office and others threw enough sunshine on the
matter to end the finagling, if any.
The next day, however, through your thorough inves-
tigation, we found we had been put into the auction
pipeline. (We've been in the Interim Lease Program since
November.1978!) Ben Bell of HPD-Interim Lease has
informed me it is "routine", and that "even if you make
it into the brochure, HPD can put a hold on it." As
usual, in the HPD mode, an ounce of prevention is not
worth a pound of cure.
The redemption battle taught us well - we will not
wait to appear in an auction brochure, as did several
Lower East Side Interim Lease and Community Man-
agement buildings recently. We are handling the auction
"Hold" through Community Board #4, hoping to take
care of it locally. However, if the "Hold" on our build-
ings is not forthcoming, we will be asking for your sup-
port again.
Now with the publication of your City Limits and
SoHo News articles we feel we have come full circle,
from desperate and underwraps - to organized and
known. And we intend to keep it up. With Peggy
Kamens, Esq. of CDLAC (Community Development
Legal Assistance Center), we are pressing HPD to locate
the ULURP application we submitted almost 2 years
ago to HPD. No one at HPD seems to know its where-
abouts, although several other buildings that submitted
their applications at the same time as we did have
already been through the whole ULURP process and are
preparing to purchase their buildings. The application is
now old enough to walk. We will be coordinating this
effort with Ed Fonte of the Task Force on City-Owned
Property. Our main objective is to locate and determine
the present and future status of the application.
Joe Restuccia
West 35th Tenants Association
Vice President
. The
Cliemistryof
Caring
C H : M I ~
THE CHDIS11lY IS JUST RIGHT At OBICAL.
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25
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and Westchester:
Grants up to $2500
Loans against government
funded contracts and grants
Technical Assistance
Chemical Bank
Urban Affairs Department
230 Park Avenue- Room 424
New York. N.Y. 10017
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INSIDE
4 Another Look At Rental Regulations
8 Co-ops Come to Flatbush
14 A Week in the Life of an Organizer
22 Short Term Notes
23 Study of City-Owned Housing

City Limits Magazine, May 1981 Issue

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