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October 1991 New York's Community Affairs News Magazine $2.50
C H A R T E R R E V I S I O N W R A N G L I N G D Y O U T H I N C R O W N H E I G H T S
T H E N E W 1 0 - Y E A R H O U S I N G P L A N
City Limits
Volume XVI Number 8
City Limits is published ten times per year.
monthly except bi-monthly issues in June/
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Community Information Service, Inc .. a non-
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Project
Beverly Cheuvront. NYC Department of
Employment
Mary Martinez. Montefiore Hospital
Rebecca Reich. Turf Companies
Andrew Reicher. UHAB
Tom Robbins, Journalist
Jay Small, ANHD
Walter Stafford, New York University
Pete Williams. Center for Law and
Social Justice
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City Limits (ISSN 0199-0330)
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Editor: Lisa Glazer
Senior Editor: Andrew White
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Production: Chip Cliffe
Photographers: Andrew Lichtenstein,
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Copyright 1991. All Rights Reserved. No
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2/0CTOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
Homeless Bashing
A
shamed and embarrassed. That's how a small but influential group
of city officials and journalists should be feeling for encouraging a
dangerous new trend-homeless bashing.
The most egregious example occurred in The New York Times,
where a front-page article by Celia Dugger depicted the shelter system as
a comfortable haven for lazy individuals angling for a city apartment.
There were no statistics backing up this claim, just one shocking
comment from Renita Steeley, a wife and mother of three who lives in the
Jackson Family Center in the Bronx. She said, "I consider this a little
vacation."
Maybe Celia Dugger should take a vacation for misquoting Steeley. In
a letter to the Times that was never printed, Steeley says she doesn't recall
the damning statement and adds, "The Jackson Family Center is no
vacation. Yes, we are grateful to have a roof over our heads, but we would
never have subjected ourselves to these conditions if we had the choice."
New York Magazine put a new twist on the homeless bashing trend in
their article, "Sue City." Author Peter Hellman never bothered to get out
of his office and interview anyone homeless-he just looked in his
rolodex and decided to blast homeless advocates like Bob Hayes and
Steven Banks for bankrupting the city.
When times are hard it's always tempting to look for an easy scapegoat.
Every homeless person isn't honest and litigation isn't the best way to set
social policy. But this is hardly the root cause of New York's problems.
Remember the recession? Rising unemployment? The ongoing crisis in
low-income housing? Just because these problems have been around for
a while doesn't mean they've gone away .
Sad to say, the new tone toward the homeless came from City Hall.
When the "Alternative Pathways" policy was announced last year, city
officials blamed the homeless for deluging the shelter system in the hopes
of finding a new apartment. As Steeley writes in her letter, "I had no
home, and I went to the city asking for shelter. If that's taking advantage
of the system, then what's the system for?"
* * *
Here's some news regarding City Limits. Close readers will recognize
a new byline this month-Andrew White has joined the magazine as
Senior Editor. A graduate of Columbia Journalism School, White has
freelanced for the Village Voice, the New York Observer and Metropolis.
Like community groups across New York, City Limits had a lean
summer. Many thanks are due to our enthusiastic summer interns-Anne
Sanger and Jodie Skillicorn-who helped keep the office running.
Finally, all of our readers are invited to the City Limits fundraising
party on Tuesday, October 15 at Two Boots Restaurant in Park Slope.
There will be live music, great food and autumn ambience, all for just $10.
If you can't make it out to Brooklyn, consider making a donation. Your
support is always welcome.
* * *
Correction: In last month's feature article, "A Synagogue Grows in
Brooklyn," we misidentified a Satmar leader. He was Grand Rebbe Joel
Teitelbaum. 0
Cover photograph by Ricky Aores
FEATURES
Disposable Dreams
The city trashes community recycling
Charter Revision: The Big Nothing?
Promises, promises. What became of them?
DEPARTMENTS
Editorial
12
16
Homeless Bashing .................................................... 3
Briefs
Market Makers .. ....................................................... 4
Banking Fight ........ .......... ......... ... ............. ... ....... ...... 4
Rent Reversal ........................................................... 4
Squatter Lawsuit ...................................................... 5
Profile
Where Credit Is Due ................................................. 6
Pipeline
Cosmetic Improvements ... ........... ... .... ..................... 8
Vital Statistics
Ten Year Housing Plan: The Update ...... .. ...... .... ... 20
Cityview
Passion and Pain .................................................... 22
Review
On The Outside Looking In ............................ ....... 23
Letters .... .............. ..... .... ..... .. ................... ... ..... ... ........ 24
Credit/Page 6
Trashed/Page 12
Charter/Page 16
CITY UMRS/OcrOBER 1991/3
MARKET MAKERS
After five years of inaction, a
developer is tinally moving
ahead with the revitalization of
La Marqueta, the dingy, rodent-
infested public market beneath
the Park Avenue viaduct in East
Harlem. But a large new retailer
is undercutting local merchants,
and William Del Toro's involve-
ment in the project is raising
neighborhoOd concern.
The developer, Constellation
Marketplace, is a subsidiary of
a midtown realty firm operating
under a lease from the Depart-
ment of Ports and Trade, which
is now part of the Department of
Business Services (DBS). Last
spring Constellation com"leted
the renovation of one of the
market buildings and Tops in
the Bronx, a large-scale dis-
count meat and grocery retailer,
moved in.
A few members of Commu-
nity Board 11 repart that Tops is
undercutting the prices of the
eight small vendors still present
in the market. Commissioner
Wallace Ford of DBS confirms
their charges. But Constellation
vice president Mark Ahasic says
that he is under no obligation to
protect the current vendors from
competition. He says the success
of the market depends on an
anchor store like Tops, and
arglJes that the increased foot
traffic Tops attracted this summer
only helped the small merchants.
Some neighborhood advo-
cates fear that the market's
redevelopment will spur
gentrification. "Several years
ago the community took a stand
on what we wanted," says Betsy
Colon, former chairperson of
Community Board 11. "It
wasn't just renovation. We
wanted a place for the small
vendors. They gave it away to
Tops in the Bronx."
La Marqueta has housed a
declining number of small mer-
chants since its heyday in the
1930s. The lease agreement
with Constellation includes
clauses that require the devel-
oper to I?rotect the small ven-
dors, to focus the Rroject toward
the development of an ethnic
marketplace, and to promote
jobs for local residents.
Commissioner Ford says his
staff contacted T <?ps and Con-
stellation in an effort to stop the
wholesaler from selling the
same products as the other
vendors. But, he adds, "I'm
convinced the introduction of
Tops has been helpful in terms
of stabilizing the market."
Del Toro is executive director
of the Hispanic Housing and
Economic Development Task
Force, a statewide, non-profit
Local Development Corparation
that is likely to become an offi -
cial fJOrtner in the La Marqueta
development, according to
Ahasic. He is a convicted felon
and has long been described by
community activists as a strong
supporter of gentrification.
Del T oro recently ran for City
Council and won the Demo-
cratic primary by 24 votes,
according to early returns. Ford
says that if Del T oro is the offi-
cial winner of the Council seat,
the new councilman will have to
recuse himself from any partici-
pation in the development work.
o Andrew White.
BANKING FIGHT
Community groups won a
tough fight this summer and
saved a crucial weapon against
discrimination by bonks.
Through letter-writing, phone
calling and steadyaavocacy,
they killed a banking lobby
attempt to weaken the power of
the Community Reinvestment
Act.
"It's gratifying how much
grass roots groups have
weighed into this fight. I think
they astounded members of
Congress," says Allen Fishbein,
general counsel for the Center
for Community Change in
Washington.
The proposed changes,
known as the Shelby-Mack bill,
would have weakened the
power of the Community Rein-
vestment Act (CRA), a law that
gives community groups the
ability to challenge discrimina-
tory bank lending "ractices. The
legislators intended to exempt
almost 90 percent of all banks
from the CRA challenge
process.
CRA was created in 1977 to
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4/0CTOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
( ......... ., .... )
counter "redlining," the bank
practice of denying loans and
services to low-income neigh-
barhoods-many of them Afri-
can-American and Latino. If a
community group has proof that
a bank discriminates, they can
use this information to challenge
the bank when it applies for
permission to expand its opera-
tions. Regulators can turn down
a bank's application as a result,
but this is usually avoided be-
cause the banks often negotiate
agreements to reinvest in the
community. More than 150
agreements have been negoti-
ated in 125 cities, pumping at
least $7.5 billion back into
communities, according to
studies.
Shelby-Mack would have
given a two-year "safe harbor"
exemption from any challenge
to banks receiving a favorable
reinvestment rating from regula-
tors. Fishbein estimates about
89 percent of banks get satis-
factory or higher ratings. It also
would have raised the threshold
above which banks must dis-
close lending data from $10
million in assets to $100 million.
Richard Wong, assistant
director of Asian Americans for
Equality, says the bill's defeat
showed that grassroots groups
can make their voices heard in
Washington. "Banking lobbyists
said this was something they
hadn't seen in a long time--on
outpouring of community action
on a bill in committee. It had the
effect of persuading representa-
tives to look more favorably on
the community aspect of the
legislation."
Fishbein notes that the fight
to save the CRA is not over. As
City Limits goes to press, the
Senate and House banking bills
are going to their respective
Aoors, and amendments similar
to Shelby-Mack could still be
introduced. Fishbein advises
community groups to remain
alert. 0 Judith Berek
RENT REVERSAL
Bronx tenants are being
forced to pay thousands ot
dollars in bock rent because the
state's housing department
reversed an earlier decision
f
..
granting rent abotements to the
tenants.
Four years ago, the tenants
of 3464 Knox Place in the
Norwood section of the Bronx
were granted a 7.5 percent
reduction in rent after inspectors
from the state's Department of
Housing and Community
Renewal found hot water
violations. The building's owner,
Gjerovica Associates, immedi-
ately appealed the decision,
saying that on the date of
inspection the boiler was being
cleaned, thereby explaining the
lack of hot water.
Calling the first decision
"erroneaus," DHCR ruled in
favor of the landlord this winter
and ordered tenants to pay
bock rent. Confused tenants
appealed the reversal but the
state agency decided this
summer to let the decision
stand.
"This whole thing, I think, is
very unfair to us. They gave it to
us ... and out of the clear blue
sky they tell us it was revoked,"
says Marian Ruiz a tenant who
now owes $1,359.44 in bock
rent. Ruiz, a single, unemployed
parent, explains that heat has
been consistently inadequate,
causing her to use space
heaters, seal her windows with
plastic and bring her 11-year-
old child into her bedroom to
sleep because his was so cold.
Claiming that this was an
ongoing, documented problem,
the tenants' association,
together with the Northwest
Bronx Community and Clergy
Coolition (NWBCCC), cited nine
New York City Department of
Housing Preservation and
Development (HPD) findings of
heat and hot water violations
over a three year period.
In their response to the
tenants' appeal, DHCR officials
stated, "In such cases, impartial
and corroborative evidence is of
great importance in determina-
tion of the issues. The only
corroboration in the record to
support the allegations are HPD
violations covering a four year
period .. . The Commissioner is of
the <?pinion that there is
insufticient independent proof to
sustain the allegation of a
building-wide dimunition of
. "
services.
Assistant Commissioner
Joseph A. D' Agosta explains
Face-to-face: Tenants in buildings owned by Finklestein-Morgan protested recently at the Westchester home
of Steven Finklestein (at right). They said the landlord repeatedly failed to make basic repairs. The protest
was orgamzed by the Northwest Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition.
that while the case was under
investigation, DHCR inspectors
found adequate heat and hot
water on several 1990-1991
visits to the apartment building.
Based on this information, he
says, the decision was reversed.
Helen Schaub, a NWBCCC
organizer, argues that while the
heat problem might now be
solved, this does not erase three
frigid winters or justify demand-
ing four years of bock rent. 0
Tracey Tully
SQUAnER LAWSUIT
About 500 squatters in city-
owned apartment buildings are
being saved from eviction, at
least for the time being, as the
result of a recent order issued
by the appellate division of New
York Supreme Court.
The order comes on the heels
of a lower court ruling that said
squatters must be informed,
before they are evicted, of a city
policy that could allow some of
them to receive legitimate
leases.
Justice John Carro de-
manded that the Department of
Housing Preservation and De-
velopment delay evicting the
squatters while government
lawyers appeal to reverse the
lower court ruling. The squatters
are secure in their apartments at
least until the next court date in
December.
The original lawsuit in the
lower court was brought by the
Legal Aid Society against the
Department of Housing Preser-
vation and Development. Legal
Aid is representing squatters in
city-owned buildings in Brook-
lyn, Manhattan and the Bronx.
At issue is HPD's three-year-
old Unauthorized Occupant
Policy, which outlines how ille-
gal tenants in in-rem buildings
should be evaluated and, in
deserving cases, offered leases
by city property managers.
Legal Aid and the squatters
contend that they were never
told about the policy.
But Daniel T urbow, the city
lawyer representing HPD, says
the policy was only applicable
to squatters occupying city
apartments before April 1,
1988, or those coming after
who had special circumstances,
such as family members of a
former tenant, occupants with
children, pregnant women or
persons with a permanent dis-
ability. These qualifications are
not mentioned in a 1988 HPD
memo outlining the policy to city
property managers.
Marshall Green, attorney for
the squatters, says that the
policy was applied arbitrarily
and secretively from the very
beginning. "I think on one hand
[HPD) wanted a policy, but on
the other hand they wanted to
keep it a secret," he says. ''The
court found that it's inconsistent
with due process to have a
secret process."
Michael Kink, another Legal
Aid attorney, says that many
occupants learned of the policy
for the first time when they were
in court protesting eviction
notices. T urbow says the city
attempted to notify the squatters,
but they did not answer their
doors when managers knocked.
Tom Gogan, a coordinator
for the Union of City Tenants,
questions the efforts made by
building managers. "Unfortu-
nately, not all the HPD manag-
ers themselves are on the
up-and-up," he says, adding
that all the tenants of a building
should be consulted in the deter-
mination of who should be
offered leases, rather than
letting a city employee make an
arbitrary decision.
Advocates note that although
some squatters - particularly
drug dealers - are unwelcome
in city-owned buildings, others
move in with the approval of
active tenant associations and
spend their own money fixing
up their apartments for their
families.
Meanwhile, the city is re-
viewing the Unauthorized Occu-
pant Policy. Depending on the
outcome of the lawsuit, Turbow
says it may be modified or
completely eliminated. 0
Bonnie PfIster
CITY UMITS/OCTOBER 1991/5
By Abby Scher
Where Credit is Due
Economic empowerment in Central Brooklyn.
F
inding a bank in a six-mile slice
of Central Brooklyn is to embark
on an odyssey. I took such a trip
in a modern-day Argus, a dark
blue Hyundai driven with alarming
speed and (some) skill by Errol T.
Louis. Most ofthe banks we encoun-
tered were shuttered graffiti-laden
shells. Their entry ways sometimes
served as shelter to men drinking beer.
One had been converted into a dis-
count store.
Louis and his political twin, Mark
Griffith, are on a mission to transform
the bleak bankless landscape of Bed-
Stuy and Crown Heights with a com-
munity-run credit union and a
revolving loan fund that will provide
much-needed financing for their
neighborhoods.
While their goal of economic em-
powerment may seem far-fetched in
the face of chronic redlining by banks,
government budget cuts and a rising
unemployment rate, the hard work
and political experience of these
young men are turning a pipe dream
into reality. They hope to open the
credit union by December, and the
Urban Development Corporation is
disbursing $200,000 for a revolving
loan fund to be run jointly by three
community groups, including Louis'
and Griffith's base of operations, the
Central Brooklyn Partnership for Eco-
nomic Development. The Central
Brooklyn Partnership is a loosely-
affiliated alliance of 10 groups, in-
cluding the Prospect Heights
Neighborhood Corp. and the Park-
way-Stuyvesant Community and
Housing Council, which is organizing
the credit union and bank advocacy
efforts.
Even though Griffith and Louis are
only in their late 20s, they have a
well-formed vision for their commu-
nity. They share a commitment to
community-run financial institutions
that are not subject to the whim of
powerful political figures, funding
cuts or the continuing drain of local
deposits into the coffers of big banks.
They also want to nurture economic
self-help within the African-Ameri-
can community as a way to generate
jobs, healthy businesses and adequate
housing.
a/OCTOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
Saving Jobs and Homes
"You can save a person's job, save
their family and their home just by
making a loan," says Louis. "If we
acquire a building and get the credit
union charter, we'll help stabilize a
lot of the damage being done to the
community by the downturn in the
economy."
The money men: Errol Louis and Mark Griffith.
They have found some enthusias-
tic allies. On a recent visit to St. Gre-
gory the Great Roman Catholic Church
on Brooklyn Avenue, their sales pitch
spurred about 80 parishioners to join
more than 500 other Central Brooklyn
residents in pledging to deposit money
into the credit union organized by the
Central Brooklyn Partnership. A num-
ber of St. Gregory parishioners also
intend to join the operation of the
institution.
"A credit union would be helpful
for our community because it would
be readily accessible for people with-
out large amounts of money to get
loans," says Milton Lovell, a parishio-
ner who owns a brownstone in the
neighborhood. "My experience with
banks is that you have to prove to
them that you don't need a loan before
you get one. I think a credit union
would be somewhat different."
Beyond 500 Pledges
Some of the hundreds who made
pledges have never held bank accounts
and regularly spend $1.25 on money
orders to pay bills. Others have saved
in Caribbean-style sou sous, which
carry some risk and offer no interest.
These commitments put the organiz-
ing effort well into its first phase.
During the review of charter applica-
tions for a federally-insured credit
union the National Credit Union Ad-
ministration evaluates the depth of
community support, and 500 pledges
is usually the benchmark number.
Two recent events have pushed up
the pace and increased the chances
for success. The bankruptcy of the
Harlem -based Freedom National Bank
and the shutdown of its Nostrand
Avenue branch last winter sparked
enormous anger within the neighbor-
hood about the community's failure
to control the financial institutions in
its midst. Helping to direct that anger
was a $2,000 seed grant from the North
Star Foundation to the Central Brook-
lyn Partnership, which paid for a
summer intern who organized the
pledge drive for the credit union. The
intern arranged information sessions
about the loan fund and credit union
with local merchant associations,
churches, a hospital and day care cen-
ter staff.
Emotional Infrastructure
The obvious affection Louis and
Griffith hold for one another provides
the little-seen emotional infrastruc-
You can save a
person's home by
making a loan.
ture underlying the endeavor. Their
friendship has sustained the Central
Brooklyn Partnership in the three
years since the credit union idea was
first floated by the director of the
Crown Heights Neighborhood Im-
provement Association, where Griffith
used to work.
Their backgrounds are remarkably
similar; it's as though the men were
identical political twins separated at
birth and reunited by some twist of
fate. Both are sons of civil servants in
Caribbean-American families with
roots in the area. Griffith lived his
early years in Bed-Stuy before mov-
ing to Queens, and then back again
after college. Louis, who grew up in
New Rochelle, moved to Crown
Heights to be a live-in repairman at a
brownstone his aunt purchased in the
1950s. Both cut their political teeth
organizing South Africa divestment
campaigns at Ivy League universities
-Griffith at Brown and Louis at
Harvard. Freelance writing is a side-
line for them both and readers may
recognize them as occasional contribu-
tors to City Limits.
They also share a congenial opti-
mism. Phrases like "relentlessly en-
ergetic" come to mind. "They don't
seem to grow weary. They always
seem on the upbeat," says Kenneth
Gulley, an ally who runs the Mid-
Brooklyn Community Economic De-
velopment Corporation.
Clifford Rosenthal, the executive
director of the National Federation of
Community Development Credit
Unions, where Louis is a program
officer, suggests that Louis sustains
his remarkable organizing energy be-
cause he has the "blend of idealism
and pragmatism" that is needed to
survive doing public service work in
New York City. That pragmatism is
reflected in the organizers' matter-of-
fact pitch to bankers: they ask politely
for money to support the Partnership's
initiatives while waving documenta-
tion of the bank's racist redlining.
Louis and Griffith's full-time work
schedules and 40-hour volunteer
weeks mean that they often hold strat-
egy sessions for the Partnership over
dinner at inexpensive restaurants,
since neither has time to cook meals.
Griffith will soon leave his job as a
paid political organizer at the Com-
munity Service Society to work full-
time running the Revolving Loan Fund
and Partnership operations-hope-
fully for a salary. Louis is switching to
part-time hours at the National Fed-
eration of Community Development
Credit Unions to attend to the Partner-
ship and his Ph.D studies in political
science at Yale University.
With more time devoted to the
credit union, Louis and Griffith hope
to develop an active and committed
volunteer base. They want to draw
supporters from the different segments
of the community-working class
homeowners who need renovation
loans, owners of small businesses who
require extra money to tide them
through the recession, homeless
people who have no place else to set
up a bank account.
Referring to the nascent project,
Griffith says, "We're at a critical point
right now. Community empowerment
doesn't mean anything unless people
really take ownership ofit." 0
Abby Scher is a freelance writer who
specializes in banking issues.
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CITY UMITS/OCTOBER 1991/7
By Chris Yurko
Cosmetic Improvements
Shelter families get renovated city-owned
apartments-in decrepit buildings.
R
osemary Roldan smiles as she
sweeps the black and white li-
noleum floor of her new apart-
ment. She has a brand new stove
and refrigerator in the kitchen, spar-
kling new fixtures
in the bathroom,
recently painted
walls and ceil-
ings. She loves
her new home,
she says. But the
picture is not per-
fect.
known as "Alternative Pathways,"
apartments in completely renovated
city buildings are now set aside for
families living doubled-up with rela-
tives and friends. This means that
Spiller, deputy commissioner of
HPD's Office of Property Management.
The repair agency is also responsible
for connecting prospective homeless
tenants with the renovated apart-
ments, and for the administrative de-
tails that follow. Thirty days after a
family moves in, they become tenants
of HPD's Division of Property Man-
agement (DPM).
During the late 1980s, BV ARR be-
came a target of criticism by advo-
cates for the homeless because of sub-
standard and in-
complete repair
work, and in 1988
the city comp-
troller's office
blasted the bu-
reau for shoddy
renovation and a
total lack of coor-
dination between
the different com-
ponents of build-
ing repair. Since
then, Spiller says
BVARR has
cleaned up its act.
Advocates agree
that newly re-
paired apart-
~ ments are much
~ better than they
~ were a few years
If) ago.
When Roldan
moved into her
apartment last
December, the
new linoleum
floor was already
cracked. After six
months, the new
paint job was
scarred by water
stains carving a
path down a kit-
chen wall to an
electrical outlet
above the coun-
ter. And plaster is
now dangling
from a 'yellow-
Water ways: Leaks are ruining the ceilings and walls in Rosema.ry Roldan's BV ARR apartment.
But the criticism
hasn't ceased.
"Our cry has been
edged hole in the living room ceiling.
What's the cause of these prob-
lems? The rest of the city-owned build-
ing is in lousy shape. Leaks in pipes
above Roldan's rooms are slowly ru-
ining the ceilings and walls. And in
the hallways and stairwells, the wind
and unwelcome visitors enter through
broken windows and the doorless front
hall. Drug dealers operate out of a
neighbor's apartment. Still, the 30-
year-old single mother of four prefers
the conditions of her new residence at
440 East 139th Street in the South
Bronx to those of the welfare hotel on
Crotona Park North where she used to
live.
Her apartment is one of 1,648 pre-
viously vacant units renovated in the
past fiscal year by the Bureau of Va-
cant Apartment Repair and Rental
(BV ARR), a sub-section of the city's
housing department that dwarfs all
others in housing for the homeless.
Because of a recent city policy
a/OCTOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
BVARR apartments are virtually the
only source of permanent housing for
families from the shelter system. Ad-
vocates say that while the quality of
the apartments has improved in re-
cent years, enormous problems per-
sist because of the severe decrepitude
of most city-owned buildings.
Creation of BV ARR
The Koch administration created
BV ARR in 1983 after policymakers
announced that all vacant apartments
in occupied city-owned buildings
would be renovated for the homeless.
Since then, BV ARR has produced
14,857 of the 25,222 apartments cre-
ated for homeless families by the de-
partment of Housing Preservation and
Development. At a cost of $27,000,
each unit receives new appliances,
new wiring, new fixtures, new
sheetrock, new tiling in the bathroom,
new linoleum on the floors and a fresh
coat of paint, according to William
that you can't
spend money on the vacant apart-
ments and not touch the rest of the
building," says Rose Anello, coordi-
nator of the Emergency Alliance for
Homeless Families. Tom Gogan, a
coordinator at the Union of City Ten-
ants (UCT) , agrees. "You often get
people moving in and saying the re-
pairs were just a cosmetic job," he
says. "The walls and ceilings were
fixed, but the [building's] plumbing
never got done. That's the most com-
mon problem. You have a situation
where the basic systems are not dealt
with."
Spiller says BV ARR does have a
responsibility to repair adjacent apart-
ments if problems are affecting work
in BV ARR units. He says the repair
team will not renovate any apartment
if there are severe structural problems
in the building.
But Anello notes that almost all the
3,300 buildings managed by HPD's
Division of Property Management are
in such bad shape that only building-
wide rehabilitation can solve the prob-
lems BV ARR tenants face. " If any-
thing these are the buildings that need
the most intense advocacy, " she says,
arguing that the city should stop wast-
ing resources on superficial repairs
and spend more money on fixing struc-
tural problems like faulty plumbing,
wiring, and crumbling ceilings and
floors.
A study prepared by the Commu-
nity Service Society, set for release
this month, reports that 82 percent of
the 375 apartments surveyed in East
Harlem's DPM-managed buildings
"These are the
buildings that need
the most intense
advocacy. "
have one or more serious rroblems.
According to Luis Sierra 0 CSS, the
problems counted were: no heat or
hot water, severe cracks and holes in
walls and ceilings, exposed wiring,
and sagging and rotting floors.
Budget Cuts
Despite these problems, major bud-
get cuts at the city's housing depart-
mentmean that homeless families who
move into BV ARR apartments, and
become tenants of DPM, may have to
wait a long time before they receive
any kind of repairs.
Spiller says there is a backlog of
86,000 repair orders within central
management. And according to the
housing department, each building
manager is responsible for 330 apart-
ments this year, up from 250, because
of a hiring freeze.
Another city effort, the Capital Im-
provement Program, fixes structural
problems in buildings and renovates
occupied apartments, but that pro-
gram was cut by more than 37 per-
cent, or $14 million, this fiscal year.
Within the BVARR unit, 27 staff
members have been lost through attri-
tion and future renovations will con-
sist of more repairs to existing fixtures
and less replacement. Spiller notes
that some of this year's 1,648 BV ARR
units will be transferred to the Capital
Improvement Program for more ex-
tensive work, but is unable to specify
how many apartments this policy shift
will affect.
Class System
Besides the repair problems ,
BV ARR also comes under fire for cre-
ating a virtual class system among
tenants in city-owned buildings. Ten-
ants of Roldan's building fought for
years to get basic repairs done on their
broken walls, tumbling ceilings and
leaking pipes. Last year, some of the
occupied apartments were fixed, some
weren't. Meanwhile, BV ARR painted
the walls and installed new fixtures
in what later became Roldan's new
home.
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CITY UMnS/ OCTOBER 1991/9
Roldan says many of her neighbors
resent that she has such a nice apart-
ment. "Everybody says I have the
cleanest apartment in the whole build-
ing," she comments. "Everybody got
upset, but it wasn't my fault."
For 12 years the Rivera family has
lived in a fifth floor apartment in the
same building. Luis Rivera, 32, says
he has been complaining to central
management for seven months about
a stove that doesn't work. Meanwhile,
the family has been using a portable
propane stove to cook. "Propane is
very dangerous, but what else can we
do?" asks Rivera. "The people that
live here the longest have the worst
apartments. It's not fair."
These problems are repeated across
the city. Bernard Alston, an organizer
at UCT, says that in another Bronx
building where BV ARR is currently
renovating a top floor apartment with
"brand new circuit breakers, gates on
windows, stuff other tenants can't get,"
another tenant downstairs has had a
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broken sink lying on the floor of her
bathroom for two and a half years. She
has gone to court, gotten repair orders
from the judge, withheld rent, and
still the sink hasn't been fixed. Now
HPD is taking her to court for non-
payment of rent.
"Generally, [BV ARR] does create
some resentment," concedes Spiller.
"It would make more sense if we could
be relieved of BV ARR. If we could do
capital improvements in all buildings
it would improve everybody's life.
But that would mean fewer apart-
ments for people in the shelter sys-
tem. [Capital improvements] take one
year, BV ARR takes two months."
In a time of limited resources, city
agencies can only pursue limited
goals, and true improvements to city-
owned buildings are getting further
out of reach these days. As Anello
sees it, community advocates will have
to stand tough to prevent the quality
of both BV ARR and central manage-
ment apartments from collapsing. She
isn't confident. Without strident
advocacy, she says, "it's pretty clear
there will be another downward
spiral." D
Chris Yurko is a freelance writer based
in New York City.
Bankers Trust Company
Community Development Group
A resource for the non .... profit
development community
Gary Hattem,Vice President
280 Park Avenue, 19West New York, New York 10017
Tel:212,850,3487 FAX:212,850,2380
10/0CTOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
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Blueprint
For Change
Case in Point: h _ ..-.
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Incubator Project
The NY/NJ Minority Purchasing Council
has a dream: create an incubator for
small business minority entrepreneurs.
The incubator itself is a four-story water-
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area of downtown Brooklyn. When
completed, it will offer shared office
services, managerial and technical
assistance, and below market rents.
Citibank, through its Citibuilders Pro-
gram, is financing $220,000 of the nearly
$310,000 needed for the first phase
of this project. The Minority Purchasing
Council is providing the rest. They asked
if Brooklyn Union's Area Development
Fund could help with a one-year work-
ing capital loan of $50,000.
We could and we did. We've found
that our Area Development Fund is a
working blueprint for change in the
economic and social life of New York. If
your company would like to help as has
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working for a stronger New York at
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CITY UMrrs/OCTOBER 1991/11
Disposable Dreams
Budget cuts may kill community-based recycling.
BY ANDREW WHITE
s the heat settled on Brooklyn this summer, Lorraine
A
Floyd and John Cousar of All Boro Recycling had
to make radical changes to their business plan.
They lost government contracts. Their main source
of income fell victim to the recession. Suddenly,
their business had no clear future.
Cousar and Floyd employ five men and women from
the streets of Central Brooklyn. The team sorts, transports
and sells recyclable garbage, including plastics, card-
board, newspaper, glass, steel, brass, copper and alumi-
nium. Their three trucks carry most of the materials
collected by community recycling drop-off centers in
three boroughs to a community-run buy-back, processing
and marketing center in the South Bronx.
For years, All Boro made money selling recyclable
material to the processing center, known as R2B2. More
recently, they helped sustain voluntary recycling centers
in neighborhoods like Prospect Heights, Marine Park,
Nottingham and Canarsie because they offered their truck-
ing services for free. In some cases, they even gave some of
their profits back to community groups. Not any more.
All Boro, R2B2 and more than a dozen voluntary drop-
off centers across the city are part of a fledgling commu-
nity recycling network that provides a panoply of economic
and environmental benefits. The organizations save the
city money by reducing the flow of garbage to the nearly-
12/0CTOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
full Fresh Kills landfill. They offer jobs for unskilled
workers in need of steady income. And they give practical
recycling experience to residents of neighborhoods across
the city.
In the wake of draconian budget cuts, this network is
now facing extinction. The Department of Sanitation's
recycling funds for the current fiscal year have been
slashed from $65.5 million to $11.4 million and all outside
contracts with community-based groups have been elimi-
nated.
Representatives from more than a dozen groups came
together recently to create the Community Recycling Al-
liance. They're determined to fight back and organize so
that community recycling can be saved-and eventually
expanded. "Never underestimate the resilience or re-
sourcefulness of committed individuals and community
based organizations in the face of hardship," says David
Muchnick, chairman of the board ofR2B2.
"Someday community recycling centers will be allover
the place," adds Karen Gleeson, a long-time recycling
activist and organizer of the Prospect Heights drop-off
center in Brooklyn. "We're creating a dream we all have.
We're doing something for the city."
Curbside Focus
When New York City started its recycling program two
years ago, community-based efforts were only one small
part of the plan. The bulk of the funding was directed
towards curbside recy-
cling, managed and
operated by the Sani-
tation Department.
That program has not
been a success; less
than six percent of the
city's waste stream is
now collected for re-
cycling.
Drastic cuts
R2B2, which stands
for Recoverable Re-
sources/Boro Bronx
2000, is the under-
pinning of the entire
community recycling
network. A nonprofit
community organi-
zation, R2B2 pays com-
munity groups for the
trash they pickup, then
processes it into bales
of raw material that are
sold to manufacturers
and distributors
around the country.
City and state laws
mandate, respectively,
25 percent recycling by
1994 and 42 percent
by 1997. Environmen-
talists charge that the
city undermined its
own effort by failing to
educate residents
about the program on
Uncertain future: R2B2's buy-back operation may have to close.
But the loss of city
contracts and the re-
the streets and in the neighborhoods. Even the most
committed activists agree that a curbside program must
playa role in the city's recycling future. But they say
neighborhood groups are the most obvious and cost-
efficient method of spreading the word.
"Ithey had started at the community level and worked
up, using the kind of cash they had, we would have had an
enormously successful project by now," says Nancy Wolf,
executi ve director of the Environmental Action Coalition.
Instead, the government set up its own disorganized
outreach program, and the neighborhood groups won just
a few small grants of government support.
Meanwhile, officials at the sanitation department say
that recycling just doesn't work very well in New York.
They point to low success rates for the curbside program
in low-income neighborhoods. Activists react with vehe-
mence. "We said over and over again, do not go into low-
income neighborhoods with this, but they ignored us,"
Wolf says. "We said don't do curbside. Educate in the
schools and through the community-based organizations.
Send mobile buy-backs to the housing projects. After the
people understand, that's when you start curbside recy-
cling. That's several years down the road."
Today, even the curbside program is in jeopardy. The
administration decided to fund the program until Decem-
ber 1, when all funds are scheduled to run out. At that
time, the department plans to set the program in mothballs
until at least next July 1. Meanwhile, the city is rapidly
moving forward with plans to pursue incineration as New
York's primary waste disposal strategy for the 21st cen-
tury. (See sidebar.)
Members of community recycling groups say the bud-
get cuts reveal New York City's minimal commitment to
recycling. They see policy makers pushing forward with
the incineration plan and intentionally fumbling the recy-
cling option. "Everywhere else, recycling is being devel-
oped, markets are being developed," says Carl Hultberg,
an organizer for the Village Green Recycling Team in
Greenwich Village. "Here it's just a charade."
City officials confirm that community-based recycling
organizations are an expendable accoutrement in the
city's garbage disposal plans. They're "worth funding
when you have the option," says DOS spokesperson Anne
Canty, but they are "not the type of service an agency like
this is mandated to provide."
cession in the manu-
facturing and construction industries, where most
recyclables end up, has undermined R2B2. This summer,
the company had to cut back the staff and hours of
operation dedicated to buying materials from the commu-
nity groups. What's worse, the plant has stopped paying
for everything except aluminium cans and newspaper,
and only buys plastic by the truckload. And they pay just
a fraction of the price they were worth six months ago.
That means All Boro and other truckers have lost their
main source of income.
David Muchnick from R2B2 says he isn't sure the
company will be able to continue accepting anything but
plastics after the next few months. Asked if he is confident
that he can continue the buy-back operation that sustains
All Boro Recycling and the drop-off centers throughout
the city, he responds with gloom in his voice. "I'm not
confident. But we will do our damndest."
Yet the future remains clear for recycling. World mar-
kets for the materials are growing steadily, particularly in
the far east and in Eastern Europe, says Jerry Powell of
Resource Recycling magazine. And intensive recycling
has been shown to be an effective method of waste man-
agement. Newark, New Jersey, now collects between 45
and 55 percent of its waste for recycling. Seattle has done
equally well. And New York has an advantage over most
other cities: the Port of New York and New Jersey sends
out a huge proportion of the world's recyclable materials,
collected from much of the eastern United States.
Despite this growing market, the impending closure of
Fresh Kills landfill and the increasingly exorbitant cost of
alternatives, like trucking garbage to the Midwest, city
support for recycling is rapidly diminishing. As Hultberg
says, "Before long, we'll be back to where we were 10 years
ago when there was only one recycling center in the city."
Closing Doors
Last spring, the outlook for community recycling wasn't
nearly as bleak. The Brooklyn Recycling Center (BRC), a
buy-back and processing plant funded by the city and
operated by R2B2 and Brooklyn Ecumenical Coopera-
tives, opened on the Sunset Park waterfront. Ten new
neighborhood drop-off centers sprouted in Brooklyn. Small
groups started carrying materials to the center in vans and
cars, earning a little cash. It was the birth of a movement.
In Kensington, seven men and women got together and
CITY UMnS/OCTOBER 1991/13
Burning Money
Sanitation Commissioner Steven Polan's recent
announcement that the city plans to build three new
incinerators confirms the Dinkins administration's
commitment to burning garbage instead of recycling
it. Review of recent budget figures reveals the huge
cost of this commitment.
Cost estimates for the three new incinerators have
not yet been released, but the city has already pledged
hundreds of millions of dollars to renovating exist-
ing incinerators.
According to the administration's capital plan for
the years 1991 to 1995, more than $283 million is
allotted to pollution control and "other improve-
ments" at the 33-year-old Greenpoint incinerator,
the 42-year-old waste-to-energy plant in Woodside
and the 31-year-old Southwest Brooklyn incinera-
tor . And another $559 million has been
reappropriated from last year's capital budget plan
for the construction of a new incinerator at the
Brooklyn Navy Yard in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
"If they took a fraction of what they're putting into
incineration and put it toward recycling, we could
have thoroughly effective systems lasting many
years," says Alisa Culver of the Park Slope Recycling
Campaign, an outreach program of Barry Commoner's
Center for the Biology of Natural Systems. "It's crazy
that the city put even a penny into trying to fix the
incinerators from the 1960s," she says. "I wouldn't
put a cent into a car I bought in the 1960s."
Culver and other environmentalists argue that the
city can't sustain an effective recycling program
while funnelling cash into incinerators. To remain
economically viable, they say, incinerators must
burn trash at a near-capacity pace every day of their
lives. That means the city will have to limit the
amount of recyclable materials removed from the
waste stream, because most of the trash that is recy-
clable is also burnable. "Most communities that are
doing very well with recycling have abandoned
spending on incinerators," Culver says. Seattle, for
instance, abandoned its incineration plan in 1987,
diverted most budget resources towards recycling,
and currently recycles about 45 percent of its waste
stream. The city plans to reach 60 percent within a
few years.
Incinerators can only consume 70 percent of the
waste volume fed into their furnaces, and the ash
that remains has to be disposed of as landfill. Environ-
mentalists estimate that intensive recycling programs
can dispose of between 60 and 75 percent of the
waste stream.
But the Dinkins administration has shown little
faith in recycling as an effective alternative for waste
management. "There are many communities in the
city that would never achieve" 60 percent recycling,
says sanitation department spokesperson Anne
Canty. "Some individuals might, but whole commu-
nities never will." Cynically, the city government
believes New Yorkers prefer to breathe their waste
rather than make the effort to recycle it. Andrew
White
14/0CTOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
started a Sunday collection of recyclables, carrying the
material to the Brooklyn buy-back center and turning the
earnings over to the 70th Precinct Youth Council. The
concept was spreading beyond these budding groups
when the cudgel fell. On July 31, the city withdrew BRC's
contract, and the center closed.
The city hasn't reimbursed BEC or R2B2 for the money
they funneled into the ill-fated buy-back, says David
Hurd, recycling operations specialist at Bronx 2000. "We
spent months and months developing business plans,
finding a site, renovating the building, then they revoked
the funding. They left us holding the bag." He says the city
is still obliged by contract to cover the costs, but the budget
crisis has frozen the payment process for the time being.
Last year, on the other side of Brooklyn, the East New
York Urban Youth Corps started collecting glass, metal
and cardboard from many of the 64 companies based in
the East New York Industrial Park. Teenagers ran the
business and kept track of finances with the help of Carey
Shea, the corps' executive director. They collected, sorted
and packaged the materials and loaded them on All-Boro' s
trucks. All Boro sold the loads to R2B2, and passed the
proceeds on to the youth group. But once the city dropped
All Boro's contracts, the company could no longer afford
to give the corps any cash for the truckloads. "Our project
became a real money loser," says Shea. In mid-August, the
program that employed 20 young men and teenagers
crumbled as its funds disappeared.
On the Lower East Side in Manhattan, Outstanding
Renewal Enterprises has two recycling drop-off points
and a new ecology center on East Seventh Street between
avenues B and C. The group collects and processes about
10 tons of recyclable goods each month. At the Seventh
Street site, income from the sale of recyclables to R2B2,
compost made from kitchen waste collected from neigh-
borhood residents, and the hard work of volunteers com-
bined to transform a rubble-strewn lot into an urban green
space. It's a physical manifestation of the web that binds
recycling to the environment, says Christina Datz, the
creator of the project. She says the work has taught local
people the value of their so-called "garbage."
But the greening of Loisaida isn't free, and the crisis
may kill Datz' program. "It's come to a brutal halt," she
says. "We have no money for fuel, no money for truck
maintenance, no money for educating children. I'm giving
myself until December. Ifwe don't get funding we have to
close. This is just overwhelming."
Innovate to Survive
The crisis blind-sided All Boro as well. Last fall, Floyd
and Cousar quit their full time jobs at Rochdale Village in
Queens, where Cousar was head of security and Floyd was
executive secretary, to devote themselves fully to their 12-
year-old business.
"We had dollars saved," says Floyd. "Prices for materi-
als were up high. The city was opening up the new plant
in Brooklyn. We was making out." Then the city dropped
about $19,000 worth of contracts with the company, says
Cousar, and the Brooklyn buy-back center closed. As of
August, Floyd says, the pair's savings accounts were just
about exhausted.
But All Boro found new ways to make money. They
clean abandoned lots and salvage appliances for resale.
They hire out their trucks as moving vans. And in mid-
August All Boro opened the front gate of a cluttered
,
~
storage lot near the corner of Classon and Lexington
avenues in Clinton Hill, set up a table and started trading
a nickle for every two deposit bottles and cans that
neighborhood resident turned in. Word spread quickly.
Block associations, senior citizens and homeless men
from the Atlantic Avenue shelter a few blocks away came
to All Boro to avoid the harassment they experience at
local supermarkets. All Boro makes a profit by redeeming
the bottles and cans for full value at a We Can redemption
center in Manhattan. Floyd says she paid out $266 to local
people at Classon A venue in one day during the second
week of operations. "This is just a way to survive," she
says.
But Cousar isn't entirely confident. If R2B2 closes its
buy-back operation, he says, "we would probably go
under shortly after that."
Economic Development
All Boro, R2B2 and the other community recycling
operations do more than just process trash. They also
harness the intrinsic value of recyclable material for
economic development.
In the South Bronx, R2B2 employs 20 local workers and
helps neighborhood businesses reduce their waste disposal
costs and add income through selling recyclables. David
Hurd from Bronx 2000, estimates that R2B2 has created $2
million worth of economic benefits for the immediate
community. "These are jobs for unskilled labor," says
Gleeson of the Prospect Heights center. "They're the kind
of jobs we're losing rapidly. It's the low end of the economic
spectrum."
The possibilities for job creation and industrial devel-
opment based on recycling in New York are far from
negligible. The city's curbside program is run in a way that
creates a dirty mix of recyclable materials that is difficult
to sort. A better approach, using the methods of commu-
nity groups as a model, can generate a valuable stream of
high-quality recyclable goods that can be sold for top
dollar. Muchnick of R2B2 estimates that the city is blow-
ing the opportunity to develop a $500 million industry in
the city centered around recycling.
"One ought to start with the presumption that a substan-
tial portion of the material in the city's waste stream, ifit's
separated out ahead of time, is not waste. In fact it's a raw
material," he says. "Even if landfilling and incineration
were healthful and environmentally benign, they would
be a waste of money." The solution, he says, is to promote
quality control within whatever recycling infrastructure
is set up, and to create incentives like paying for tenant
associations and businesses to properly sort their trash.
He argues that if the Department of Sanitation would fund
facilities that practice quality recycling instead of build-
ing incinerators, the city would have a far cheaper, cleaner
and more efficient waste management program.
"It's foolhardy to give away valuable material,"
Muchnick says. "Folks ought to be able to participate and
get a piece of the pie. It's not just lawyers, investment
bankers, construction folks, and research institutes who
should profit from huge public expenditures on our waste
infrastructure." That idea may end up in the smoke of an
incinerator chimney.
"My parents were sharecroppers," says John Cousar. "I
got a whipping if they caught me wasting things. As for the
politicians, what can you do beyond telling them that the
number of jobs we provide for unskilled people is
important?" 0
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CITY UMnS/OCTOBER 1991/115
Charter Revision:
The Big Nothing?
Don't hold your breath for the new
and improved version of New York City government.
BY LISA GLAZER
n November
0
8 ,1989, New
YorkCityvot-
ers stepped
into creaky
polling booths and
were confronted with
a proposal to com-
pletely overhaul the
constitution of local
government-the
New York City char-
ter. By many ac-
counts, the changes
were right up there
with apple pie and
motherhood. Their goals included: Fair and effective
representation! Increased public participation! A shift
from crisis management to long-term planning! Who
could turn this down?
When the votes were counted, charter revision was
duly approved and nearly two years later city government
appears transformed. The eight-member Board of Estimate
has been abolished and the City Council is expanding to
51 members, nearly half of them African-American or
Latino. Borough presidents have lost much of their power
while the City Planning Commission has acquired consid-
erable clout. Equally important, new rules are in place for
the procedures at the heart of public policy work-
budgeting, contracting and land-use decision making.
"This shows that even in New York City, change can
happen and it can happen quickly," says Gordon Campbell,
deputy director of the mayor's office of operations, which
oversees charter implementation. "What we're doing is
shaping how the city will look and operate into the next
century. When you think about it, it's very heady stuff."
Nonetheless, New York City still has a very powerful
mayor, a Ci ty Council under the iron rule of Speaker Peter
Vallone and an incredibly complex bureaucracy. Not
exactly a radical reversal of history. New offices intended
1S/0CTOBER 1991/CITY UMRS
to make government
user-friendly have
been dropped like hot
potatoes, ostensibly
because of budget
cuts. And potentially-
historic guidelines for
community-based
planning and the sit-
ing of city facilities are
muted by purpose-
fully-vague phrases
like "shall consider"
and "may request."
"I'd say we're in the
same place or going
backwards," says Sam
Sue, an attorney from
the Charter Rights Project, which has been monitoring the
changes. "Charter revision raised the expectation that
people would have a role in the planning process. There's
an appearance of this but it's not substantive."
The charter changes are as vast as city government itself
and it's hard to get a handle on the big picture. But a close
look at the new land use process reveals disturbing trends.
The revised procedures are more complicated than ever;
you need a guidebook to find out when development plans
can bounce from the expanded City Planning Commission
to the City Council, the mayor and then back to the
council. There are extra public hearings along the way,
and new opportunities for early information sharing be-
tween community boards, developers, and city officials.
But, as Marcy Benstock, the director of the Clean Air
Campaign, exclaims, "Talking is not Democracy! It's nice-
but it's not the same as having real policy choices in the
use of public resources."
The true effect of charter revision won't be clear for
another few years, when (and if) the development slump
ends, the new City Council matures and community
groups and city agencies become familiar with the nuts
and bolts of charter change. At the moment, the range of
opinion reflects a diversity of attitudes towards city gov-
-
ernment. Technocrats inside the system see helpful im-
provements while community advocates see extra bu-
reaucratic layers that could actually increase the gulf of
disaffection between New Yorkers and their leaders.
The organizing process that evolved around the charter
issue shows how difficult it is to bring government closer
to the people. The starting point for debate was the charter
itself-hardly popular reading material among the New
York City masses. Because of this, many community
groups and individuals were alienated
from the outset. Once the charter re-
visions were passed and it was time to
Still, the news isn't entirely bleak. There's a small
possibility that CPIC may eventually be refunded, and in
the meantime the 15 appointed members ofthe commis-
sion are continuing meeting monthly in Stein's office.
Their early work-conducting a feasibility study of
cablecasting City Council proceedings-is complete and
Rojas is pursuing programming for a five-channel munici-
pal cable television network that will be starting this
winter. The public access channels will include programs
produced by city agencies and one
channel is slated for gavel-to-gavel
coverage of City Council proceed-
draft new rules, much of the "commu-
nity" advocacy was done by a core
group of professional organizers, most
of them with law degrees. This is better
than no public input whatsoever, but
it's hardly a historic redistribution of
power.
The Independent
Budget Office
was dead on
ings-if funding is approved. An-
other project, compiling a listing of
computerized information from city
agencies that is available to the pub-
lic, is being completed by the staff at
Stein's office.
If the Commission on Public In-
formation and Communication ex-
pired slowly and painfully, the
Independent Budget Office was dead
Even the policy junkies found charter
revision rough going at times. "It's civic
castor oil-good for you but very hard
to swallow," says Gene Russianoff, a
arrival.
government expert from the New York
Public Interest Research Group
(NYPIRG). "This is the rules of the game stuff-it's dense,
very tough going. About a third of my work involves the
process of government and I have perpetual angst over
whether it makes a difference or is just a hill of beans."
He pauses to consider the charter changes, which
NYPIRG supported, and comments, "I think they do make
a difference." Longer pause. "But how much of a differ-
ence is very hard to know."
Response to Frustration
The 15-member Charter Revision Commission held 29
public meetings, 25 public hearings and hundreds of
informal listening sessions before they drafted their final
proposals. They held meetings in every single borough,
listening to suggestions and complaints about city govern-
ment. As the months went by, one point became crystal
clear: New Yorkers find government remote, uncaring and
difficult to navigate.
In response to this outpouring of frustration, the Char-
ter Revision Commission mandated the creation of a
numberofnew government entities. Two new offices, the
Independent Budget Office and the Commission on Public
Information and Communication, were meant to provide
much-needed details about how government operates-
from an independent vantage point outside of City Hall.
Another good government reform was a plan to expand
staffing at community boards, the most local branch of city
government.
These changes-the icing on the cake of charter revi-
sion-have been rendered virtually meaningless. The
Commission on Public Information and Communication
(CPIC) set up shop in a small room on the 20th floor of the
municipal building in November,1990. Less than a year
later their doors were closed because of the budget crisis.
The commission's executive director, Maria Teresa
Rojas, is working for the Department of Telecommunica-
tions, but her support staff has been laid off. Calls to CPIC
are transferred to the office of City Council President
Andrew Stein, where a receptionist answers, ''I'm taking
calls but I don't know what the commission was."
on arrival. The official reason was
budget constraints, but the real prob-
lem was the city's political leaders,
who have shown very little interest in dispensing essen-
tial financial information to City Council members, com-
munity boards and the general public.
"Defunding the Independent Budget Office was a very
cynical act," notes Penelope Pi-Sunyer, executive director
of Alterbudget. Pi-Sunyer says that a 10-member advisory
committee-appointed by the mayor, the City Council,
the comptroller and the borough presidents-labored
fruitlessly for months to choose an executive director for
the office.
Because of the lack of progress toward the Independent
Budget Office, some advocates say a lawsuit may be in the
works. Pi-Sunyer says she will continue to fight for its
creation. "It's very important because people still have
trouble getting access to timely and reliable budget infor-
mation. A lot of trouble. Even City Council members can't
get information. Here at Alterbudget, we're not finance
fanatics-we're backed by service groups-but you have
to find out where the dollars are going so you can translate
rhetoric into reality."
Plans to increase funding for community boards, which
receive $141,818 each, led to another exercise in dashed
expectations. According to a number of people closely
involved in crafting the charter changes, an early version
included very clear language requiring new funding for
professional planners at each community board. But some
board leaders said they didn't necessarily want full-time
planners-they might prefer a consultant plus an extra
secretary or outreach staff.
In the charter revision universe, wording is everything,
and the final charter proposals authorize but do not
mandate new professional staff for the boards. Not
surprisingly, not a penny extra was allocated. With quiet
irony, Miriam Josephs from the Office of Management and
Budget explains, "The community boards wanted more
flexibility ... they got more flexibility than they hoped for."
Contradictory Goals
The Charter Revision Commission reached for contra-
dictory goals when it revised the basic formulas of land
CITY UMITS/oCTOBER 1991/17
use policy. The commissioners sought greater efficiency
and more public participation. The end result is a process
that even Eric Lane, the former counsel for the commis-
sion, describes as "cumbersome."
Under the old charter, development proposals went
through the city's lengthy uniform land use review process
(ULURP). To simplify, plans went from community board
to the City Planning Commission and finally on to the
Board of Estimate, where the ultimate decisions were
made.
The new system is fairly similar in the beginning,
except that community boards are required to be invited
to special environmental hearings known as "scoping
sessions" at the preliminary stages of a development
proposal-before it even starts ULURP. After that, business
basically proceeds as usual until a proposal reaches the
City Planning Commission, which has been enlarged from
seven to 13 members and given much greater authority.
Sometimes the planning commission is the end of the
line, but in some instances proposals move forward to the
City Council. Multiple factors determine how and when
a development can be considered by the City Council,
which can reverse or modify the City Planning
Commission's decision. Then the mayor can veto the
Council's decision ... but if two-thirds of the City Council
comes together, they can reverse the mayor's veto. Call it
the ping-pong approach to land use.
"Things are procedurally much worse," says Sue from
the Charter Rights Project, which is within New York
Lawyers for the Public Interest. "It's a ticking time bomb,
Essential Readjng
Charter revision has prompted the publication of
some new and very useful city documents. Here's a
selective listing:
Annual Report on Social Indicators. Includes
indices of unemployment, poverty, child welfare,
housing and homelessness and the environment.
Available from the Department of City Planning Map
and Book Store, 22 Reade Street, 10007. (212) 720-
3667
Atlas of City Owned Property and the State-
ment of Needs. Available from the DCP map and
book store.
Strategic Policy Statements. These are issued
by the borough presidents and the mayor. The
borough presidents' reports are available from their
offices and the mayor's statement is available at the
DCP map and book store. The city's Ten-Year Capital
Plan Strategy for 1992-2001 is available from the
Office of Management and Budget, 75 Park Place,
NYC 10007, 788-5800.
Community groups and individuals who need
copies of the new land use rules or more information
about the new land use procedures should contact
their local Department of City Planning office. DCP
is planning to hold a conference to inform commu-
nity groups about the new land use rules on October
30. For more information, call Marilyn Burkhardt,
720-3277.
18/0CTOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
a defect that will show up as events move on."
Still, some people see avenues for change. The enlarged
City Planning Commisssion (CPC), which has the final say
for many proposals, is receiving praise for creating a
refreshing atmosphere of open discussion. About half of
the 183 land use items that the CPC approved went on to
the City Council for further review. And new forums for
information sharing are also pleasing some.
"The Board of Estimate didn't give people much of a
shot at fundamental change-you were only able to nibble
around the edges of proposals," says Marla Simpson, the
chiefland use planner in the office of Manhattan Borough
President Ruth Messinger. "Now we feel we're making
more of a difference because we're getting in earlier."
She says that her office has been closely involved in
about 30 development proposals, many from city agen-
cies, since the charter revisions were passed. "We're
batting 50-50 on getting agencies to make reductions and
changes when their plan interferes with community goals."
As an example, she cites the inclusion of a community-
consultation process for a new AIDS home affiliated with
Mt. Sinai Hospital.
Others say these improvements are minor compared to
the overall damage. Harry DeRienzo, the director of the
Consumer-Farmer Foundation, which funds low-income
housing, says development debate may narrow because
the charter restricts review to "land use impact and impli-
cations." Under the old system, he says, the Board of
Estimate was not limited by this restriction. And Benstock
from the Clean Air Campaign sees the consolidation of the
city's business development agencies into one super-
agency, the Economic Development Corporation, as an
example of unchecked power because the corporation's
budget is not subject to City Council approval. She worries
about untrammeled waterfront development and says,
"The implementation of charter revision has confirmed
our worst fears."
l'airShare
Besides the revised ULURP process, charter changes
mandated a new process for the siting of homeless shel-
ters, jails, sludge treatment centers, incinerators and nu-
merous other city facilities. The rules, which went into
effect July 1, are the first attempt in the nation to promote
an equitable distribution of city facilities among diverse
communities.
Fair Share is a two step process. First, the charter
requires the mayor to publish an annual Statement of
Needs, along with an Atlas of City-Owned Property for
community boards in each of the five boroughs. The atlas
and the Statement of Needs are meant to give community
boards and local groups a chance to know what's in their
neighborhood already, as well as what's in the pipeline.
The first Statement of Needs was released last winter
and did not receive rave reviews. "It was too vague," says
Mary Sempepos, the district manager of Community Board
10 in Brooklyn. "We thought there would be specific
information about location and type of facility, but it
wasn't there. It didn't give us an opportunity for proper
evaluation."
Fair Share's second step is the responsibility of indi-
vidual city agencies. Before they can site a facility, they
have to follow a new set of rules drafted by the City
Planning Commission. The rules have laudable goals but
they lack teeth-the key phrase in the 14-page document
is "shall consider." That's
pretty much all that agen-
cies have to do before they
place yet another jail or
halfway house in Central
Brooklyn, the South Bronx
or Harlem.
A coalition of activists,
the Ad Hoc Committee on
Fair Share Rules, lobbied
the City Planning Commis-
sion to include specific and
enforceable guidelines de-
termining when a neigh-
borhood is saturated with
facilities. These proposals
were rejected; in their place
are "community consulta-
tions" and a "consensus
building process."
In the final version of the
rules, 197a plans are de-
scribed as "a policy guide to
subsequent city actions by
city agencies," a definition
that may provide commu-
nity boards with enough
leverage to litigate on behalf
of their plans. This language
was not the direct result of
forward thinking inside the
City Planning Depart-
ment-an early version that
community advocates
defeated included language
completely invalidating the
legal standing of the 197a
plans.
The new rules represent
forward movement for com-
munity-based planning, but
it's a tip-toed half-step be-
cause there's no implemen-
a: tation process. "197a plans
~ should be official city
policy," says DeRienzo,
z another member of the
~ 197a Community Planning
Early optimism about the
Fair Share idea is now fad-
ing fast. With the current
rules and the current fiscal
situation, Ann Arlen, the
editor of the Environment
'91 newsletter says, "I just
don't see how the city can
implement the true idea of
Fair Share." She fears she'll
see new waste treatment fa-
s.m Sue: The new land use rules are a "ticking time bomb."
Coalition. "The city is just
scared to hell of these
plans."
cilities placed in the same areas they were always placed-
low income, black and Latino neighborhoods that have
large plots of cheap city property.
Again, insiders have a different perspective. Leslie
Low, from the Division of General Services used to work
as a charter organizer opposing the 1989 proposals. None-
theless, she says, "My perspective as someone in city
government is that Fair Share has had a very real impact.
Agencies are aware of it and working very hard to meet the
charter requirements."
But how much of a difference does" awareness" lead to?
Simpson from Messinger's office comments, "There seems
to be an absence of a visionary approach to Fair Share. I
think it's being seen primarily as a reporting mechanism.
Agencies are looking at it as an obligation and not an
opportunity, and that seems to be emblematic."
Small Bright Spot
One relatively bright spot on the horizon of charter
change are the new rules for the community-created
planning documents known as 197a plans. Under the
previous charter, few community boards attempted to
plan for their district because their efforts had to be
accompanied by a technical report that few boards could
afford to compile. And the city had no formal guidelines
for approving and implementing the plans.
Under the new rules, a clear path for approval is in
place. "We tried to allow communities a real, affirmative
role and not make 197a plans a minor, meaningless dis-
cussion," says William Ryan from the Municipal Arts
Society, who participated in a 197a Community Planning
Coalition. "We put out our own version of the rules and
then we went through many months of discussions with
the city planning commissioners."
In a telephone interview, William Valletta, the planning
department's lawyer, defends the new rules for Fair Share
and 197a. As he sees it, charterrevision never intended to
redistribute decision-making power in planning, all it did
was create new procedures that provide members of the
public with extra information about developments in
their neighborhood. "Communities can arm themselves
with this new in-formation and they'll be able to argue
more articulately," he says.
This point of view infuriates advocates such as Sue
from the Charter Rights Project. Sure, it makes sense in
communities where the activists have professional degrees
and community boards can hire a planner or consultant to
sift through new information, he says. But what about
neighborhoods where community groups are dying and
local residents are consumed by daily survival? Sue says,
"This is supposed to empower you but it's like being
dumped with a truckload of books and being told, 'Read
this and you'll be empowered.'"
Legal Decisions
Because the charter is a legal document, and violations
of the charter can be corrected through lawsuits, there's
bound to be years of charter revision litigation down the
pike. In the end, the real implications of charter change
probably won't be determined by neighborhood activists,
government leaders or bureaucratic pen-pushers. Instead,
the decisions will be made by judges in state and fed-
eral courts.
The Charter Rights Project has already sued the city to
try and stop a fire station closing in the Lower East Side
using the new Fair Share rules. With a sigh of exaspera-
tion, Sue surmises, "We've got another layer where we can
have guerrilla warfare with the city." D
CITY UMITS/OcrOBER 1991/19
Ten-Year Housing Plan: The Update
T
he city's Department of Hous-
ing Preservation and Develop-
ment has updated its 10-year
capital budget housing plan.
The new plan allocates $4.8 billion
for housing between 1992 and 2001.
This version of the city's 10-year
plan is an update of an earlier plan,
which spanned from 1987 to 1996
and devoted $5.1 billion to housing.
The housing plan is divided into
two major categories: production and
preservation. Production programs
build new housing on city-owned land
or within vacant, city-owned build-
ings. Preservation programs fund the
renovation of privately-owned and
city-owned buildings that already
have tenants.
The revised 10-year plan includes
some significant changes from the
earlier plan-but the basic outline
remains the same. Here are some high-
lights:
Numbers Slump. The earlier 10-
year-plan aimed to produce and pre-
serve nearly 253,000 units of housing.
The new version will produce or pre-
serve 138,397units. Why the decrease?
Less money is being allocated, and
there's a limited supply of city-owned
land and buildings available for reno-
vation and new construction.
Policy Shift. The old plan was
announced during the Koch adminis-
tration and many housing efforts trans-
ferred city property into the hands of
private developers. Under the Dinkins
administration, some of these efforts-
notably the Private Ownership Man-
agement Program and some of the
housing programs backed by the Real
Estate Board of New York-have been
dropped. In their place are new pro-
grams for development in Harlem
(Bradhurst) and Bedford-Stuyvesant
(Saratoga Square), and a greater em-
phasis on the use of non-profit com-
munity groups.
Income Distribution. The re-
vised plan provides new housing for
the homeless through the SRO Loan
Program but old sources of homeless
housing, such as the Special Initia-
tives Program, are greatly reduced.
Despite the continuing low-income
housing crisis, the city is still produc-
ing many more units of moderate and
middle-income housing than home-
less and low-income housing. D
20jOCTOBER 1991jCITY UMITS
TEN YEAR PlAN, FISCAL 1992-2001
Units to be Produced by Income Category
PRODUCTION PROGRAMS
Gut Rehabs
LlSC
SRO Loan
Vacant Building
Bradhurst
PartiCipation Loan
LES Cross Subsidy
Rehab and sale
City jState Homeless
Saratoga Square
Small Homes Private
BVARR
Mutual Housing of NY
Special Initiatives Program
New Construction
Partnership
Spring Creek
Homeless Low
1478 3444
3327
271 723
203 402
591
197 229
264 66
343
92
191
112 28
New Mixed Income Rental* 1049 1573
Nehemiah
Affordable Housing-Melrose
Affordable Housing-Edgemere*
Saratoga Square
Affordable Housing-W. Queens*
Cooper Square
Bradhurst 43
112
86
115 Mid Inc Dev-Clinton* 58
Ltd Equity-N.General*
New Mixed Inc Rental-2 Bridges*
New Mixed Inc Rental-N.General* 60
100
40
Subtotal Production
PRESERVATlON PROGRAMS
Moderate Rehabs
8A
7A
Participation Loan Program
SRO Loan
SHARE/SCHAP
N'hood Opportunity Program
Tenant Interim Lease
Capital Improvement Program
Community Mgmt Program
Not-For-Profit Leasing*
Mutual Housing
Subtotal Preservation
TOTAl.
7497 7700
2776
16848
9444
2363
123
14136
9902
8135
6228
609
247
2776 68035
10273 75735
Moderate
2319
669
592
229
555
110
184
191
189
47
1742
840
874
2924
450
298
372
224
142
115
125
100
100
13391
16848
2364
1101
902
693
66
28
22002
35393
Middle Total
4922
3327
3313
594 1868
1183
655
555
440
214 398
9870
3360
1050
552
431
450
224
126
125
382
343
281
187
11612
4200
3496
2924
1500
850
803
450
560
397
288
250
200
200
16996 45584
33696
9444
4727
2776
123
14136
11003
9037
6921
675
275
o 92813
16996 138397
* No detailed information available about these programs Source: HPD, July 1991
HPD income categories: Low is $19,000 or less; moderate is $19,001 to $32,000: middle
is $32,001 to $53,000.
Units to be Produced by Income Category
Production Programs
18000
15000
12000
9000
8000
3000
o
New Production by Units,
Homeless YS. Middle Income Housing
Dollars to be Committed by Income Category,
Production Programs
Dollars Committed
Preservation YS. Production
CITY UMITS/OCTOBER 1991/21
By Geoffrey Canada
Passion and Pain
L
ike many other New Yorkers, I
looked on with horror when
rioting broke out in Crown
Heights this summer. My per-
sonal horror came from the fact that
the rage and violence was being ex-
pressed by young people-young
people who are
black and feel the
weight of an uncar-
ing society pressing
them into a life
outside the main-
stream. The fight-
ing was typical of
those who have lost
faith in the system
and have no real
leadership-it was
sporadic, without
clear goals or objec-
tives, but with
passion.
The situation in
Crown Heights is
now somewhat stable, but the passion
is still there. Young people are always
filled with passion and adults should
help them express it in a positive way.
In this we have failed.
Blame Governor Cuomo
When we look to see who has failed
our young people, the blame cannot
be shared equally by all. It is easy to
look to the federal government, the
Reagan and Bush policies ignoring
and all but bankrupting our cities.
However, there are others closer to
home whom we must hold account-
able. We don't have to look very far or
very hard. Look to Albany. Look to
the budget. Look to Governor Mario
Cuomo.
When it was time for people who
care about youth to put their money
where their mouth was, there was
plenty of mouth, but very little money.
The problem started with a cut of 54
percent proposed by Governor Cuomo
for a program known as Youth Devel-
opment/Delinquency Prevention
(YDDP). This program funds part of
the city's Department of Youth
Services, which supports community-
City View is a forum for opinion
and does not necessarily reflect
the views of City Limits.
22/0crOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
based organizations providing after-
school education and recreation ser-
vices, mostly in low-income, black
and Latino neighborhoods.
In many of these communities, local
groups offering after-school programs
provide the only positive, government-
supported activity
available for young
people after 3 p.m.
Arts and crafts pro-
grams, basketball
games, reading
classes-these are
available to any
child in the neigh-
borhood who ex-
presses interest.
After lobbying, the
state legislature re-
stored some of the
YDDP funds but not
nearly enough-this
fiscal year the pro-
gram was cut by 38
percent, which translates into a $5.7
million loss for youth services in New
York City.
The after-school programs funded
with YDDP money are not being run
with inflated budgets that can be easily
trimmed. Youth services haven't
received adequate funding since the
War on Poverty era, and the YDDP
programs haven't had a cost of living
adjustment for an entire decade. So
the brutal state cuts may mean the
demise of excellent neighborhood
programs. What happens if they die?
Then the only way that young people
can get state-funded youth services is
if they fall into a special category-
pregnant, drug-addicted, or criminal.
Is this the right message for govern-
ment to be sending?
The importance of preventive pro-
grams like YDDP cannot be overesti-
mated. Just look at the statistics. As
the Correctional Association of New
York noted in their report, "Impris-
oned Generation," "On any given day,
nearly one in four young African-
American men is under the control of
the criminal justice system in New
York-two times more than all full-
time black male college students en-
rolled in the state."
Disproportionate Cuts
With such a strong statement of
need, I fail to see why youth services
designed to prevent young people from
entering the criminal justice system
were cut by 38 percent while the aver-
age state program took a cut of just
15.5 percent. Even before the cuts, we
spent a paltry $16.50 each year for
each young person in YDDP pro-
grams-and spent $58,000 on each
inmate locked up in the city's jail
system.
The city and state are willing to
build more jails, provide more guards,
more police, more district attorneys,
more probation officers, all at a cost of
hundreds of millions of dollars. Yet
lawmakers can't find $5.7 million to
prevent young blacks and Latinos from
getting on to this high-priced tread-
mill that everyone admits solves noth-
ing. To my mind, the problem is not
about inadequate finances-it's a ques-
tion of misplaced priorities.
Crown Heights
should serve
as a wake up
call to New
York City.
Crown Heights should serve as a
wake up call to New York City.
Regardless of their race or ethnicity,
youths who have no positive options
for employment, education and
recreation will always provide the
spark to ignite an explosion of vio-
lence and mayhem like the one that
followed the tragic accident in Crown
Heights.
Those of us who lived through the
riots of the 1960s and 1970s cannot
sleep well today because of the obvious
parallels. There are thousands of
young people in this city hanging
around on street corners with nothing
to do and no place to go. I understand
that the governor may be meeting with
city representatives to try and find a
way to restore the YDDP funding. To
the governor, I offer this: We don't
need more rhetoric, we need our youth
monies restored. Take action and
God speed. 0
By Eric Weinstock
On the Outside Looking In
unfold reduces the impact of the book
to some extent. Does Kotlowitz won-
der what kind of society could allow
its children to be threatened by daily
violence? Does he think about the
unfairness of a system that defeats so
many of its citizens from birth? Does
he wonder what will become of the
other children who have not been
lucky enough to befriend a successful
journalist? When he went to his office
or his home each night, did he experi-
ence culture shock? Did he think about
the good fortune of being able to walk
in and out of the ghetto when so many
of its residents have no hope of es-
cape?
"There Are No Children Here: The
Story of Two Boys Growing Up In the
Other America" by Alex Kotlowitz,
Doubleday, 1991,324 pages, $21.95.
O
nl y Richard Nixon and Ronald
Reagan, two virulently anti-
Communist presidents, were
able to sign major peace treaties
with the Soviet Union. It is equally
ironic that for a book about poverty in
America to make the bestseller lists it
had to be written by a reporter from
the Wall Street Journal. "There Are
No Children Here" chronicles the lives
of two African-American brothers,
Lafayette and Pharoah Rivers, ages 10
and seven, trying to survive on the
mean streets of a Chicago public
housing project. In the book, Kotlowitz
skilfully portrays the lives of children
who talk about what they'll be "if they
grow up" rather than "when they grow
up."
Critics of New York City'S housing
authority should spend a few weeks
in Chicago's projects. The Chicago
Housing Authority (CRA) has been
threatened numerous times with a
takeover by the federal government
because of its long history of corrup-
tion and mismanagement. The Rivers
live in Governor Henry Horner Homes,
a massive apartment complex on
Chicago's South Side. Unlike the New
YorkCityHousingAuthority, theCRA
has allowed many apartments to
become vacant and vandalized. From
these vacant units, drug dealers and
criminals prey on the remaining legal
tenants. One of the rays of hope in
"There Are No Children Here" is the
reformation of the CRA and its slow
reclamation of some of its projects
from the dealers and gangs.
Police Brutality
The residents of Chicago's projects
share the same conflicted relationshi p
with the police that other inner city
residents have. On the one hand they
are desperate for protection from the
gangs that regularly spray bullets at
rivals and innocent bystanders alike.
However, they have also seen police-
men brutalize the innocent and even
commit murder.Pharoah and Lafayette
have seen friends slain by both gang
members and policemen's bullets.
The book's subtitle, "The Story of
Two Boys Growing Up In the Other
America" is also worth noting. It is
obviously a reference to the classic
work, "How the Other Half Lives" by
Jacob Riis. However, the "other"
America is growing rapidly and may
become just plain old America in the
near future.
Kotlowitz has tried to present the
lives of Lafayette and Pharoah with
perfect journalistic integrity (an oxy-
moron?). Hiding behind his third per-
son narration, Kotlowitz would like
us to believe that this white, bespec-
tacled journalist tagging along after
them for two years had no effect on
the Rivers family. However, his true
role does come peeking out in a few
footnotes and in a final "Note On
Reporting Methods". For instance, in
the main text Kotlowitz claims that a
"friend" posted an older brother
Terence River's bail (he was arrested
on a robbery charge). The friend turns
out at the end to be the author.
Kotlowitz has also helped send
Pharoah and Lafayette to private
schools, purchased gifts and clothing
for them, and set up a trust fund for
them.
There is absolutely nothing wrong
with Kotlowitz's decision to assist the
Rivers family. Indeed it would be
slightly inhuman if he didn't. How-
ever, his desire to negate his role and
his own reaction to the events that
Journalism Isn't Enough
I am sure that Kotlowitz had these
thoughts and that he rejected putting
them in "There Are No Children Here".
As a straight narrative, the book is
compelling. If Kotlowitz asked the
reader to take action, to fight for poli-
cies which forbid allowing children
to live in the equivalent of a war zone,
then he would be crossing the line
from journalism to advocacy. It is a
line he should have dared to cross.
"There Are No Children Here" leaves
the reader all riled up with no place to
go. D
Eric Weinstock is the director of the
housing research project for the Com-
munity Training and Resource Center
and an adjunct instructor in econom-
ics at Brooklyn College.
r-------------------------,
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CITY UMITS/OCTOBER 1991/23
Misleading Article?
To the Editor:
Your budget article (August-
September 1991) provided a vivid
description of the painful cuts that
the city's Department of Housing
Preservation and Development (HPD)
had to face this year. However, the
article painted a somewhat mislead-
ing picture of the actual budget pro-
cess and HPD's role in it.
First, the article repeatedly asserted
that important housing preservation
programs were unfairly targeted for
cuts while other housing production
programs were left "unscathed." This
is simply not true. Housing preserva-
tion programs are provided through
the city's tax-funded expense budget.
In contrast, housing production pro-
grams are provided through the city's
bond-financed capital budget.
While HPD did reduce its capital
budget, we faced more drastic reduc-
tions in our expense budget, forcing
difficult choices between essential
preservation programs. Under no cir-
cumstances could we have substituted
capital budget reductions for expense-
funded preservation programs, and
the article's assertion to the contrary
is misleading and unfair.
Secondly, despite the $4 million
cut in the state's contribution to code
enforcement, we worked very hard to
minimize the impact to a loss of 52
inspectors. This was accomplished
by utilizing $1 million in City Council
restorations as well as by reallocating
staff within HPD.
Finally, I was particularly
distressed by the description of my
role in the restoration of funding for
community consultant contracts.
Over the past several years, we have
fought to continue the funding for
these contracts and have come up
with alternate sources of funding.
Unfortunately, this year we had no
ability to save them ourselves.
When the City Council subse-
quently restored a portion of the fund-
ing' I did not "balk." On the contrary,
my concern was that we had lost all
the staff positions necessary to ad-
minister the program. Rather than
reduce the already diminished level
of funds available to the groups for
HPD staff needs, I suggested that the
Now we meet more
insurance needs than ever
for groups
like yours.
24jOCTOBER 1991jCITY UMITS
For nearly 20 years we've insurec/ tenant and community
groups all over New York City. Now, in our new, larger
headquarters we can offer more programs and quicker
service than ever before. Courteously. Efficiently. And pro-
Fessionally.
Richards and Fenniman, Inc. has always providec/ extremely
competitive insurance programs basec/ on a careful evalua-
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volume of business we handle, we can often couple these
programs with low-cost financing, if requirec/o
We've been a leader from the start. And with our new
expandec/ services which now include life and benefits
insurance, we can do even more For you. For information call:
Ingrid Kamin.lei, Senior V.P.
(212) 267-8080, FAX (212) 267-9345
Richards and Fenniman, Inc.
123 William Street, New York, NY 10038-3804
Your community housing insurance professionals
administration of all community con-
tracts be consolidated into one
agency-the Community Develop-
ment Agency-to minimize overhead.
Since I communicated this explana-
tion to housing advocates, their char-
acterization of my actions is
intentionally misleading and patently
untrue.
Felice Michetti
Commissioner
Department of Housing Preservation
and Development
Nazi Techniques?
To the Editor:
I was deeply offended by your re-
port on the Williamsburg housing
controversy (August-September
1991). I was offended by the use of a
technique that can only be compared
to the Nazi use of propaganda to de-
scribe Jews as separate and foreign
and which reinforced the Nazi's false
image of the Jewish community.
In one passage describing a public
hearing, the author portrayed the
Hasidic community: "standing apart
from the rest, there was a clutch of
men in long beards and long coats,
wide-brimmed hats and peyes, the
leadership of the Satmar sect." This
was later reinforced by describing the
community as "a small religious sect-
an immigrant group that has resisted
assimilation into American culture
more than almost any other ethnic
group."
How can you have allowed such a
blatantly racist use oflanguage? What
is the difference what their manner of
dress or lifestyle is? Is your author
trying to incite anti-Jewish feelings?
Mort Cohen
Manhattan
City Limits responds: Of course
we're not trying to incite anti-
Semitism. Our article showed the
underlying cause of tension in
Williamsburg-the fight for land
between the Latino and Hasidic
communities. The way the commu-
nity dresses is relevant because it
shows how the Satmar isolate them-
selves while also remaining involved
in politics. Still, we accept that the
way language is used to describe ethnic
groups is a sensitive matter. We regret
having unintentionally offended you.
Eddie Bautista, Beverly Cheuvront, Lisa Glazer,
Mary Martinez, Rebecca Reich, Andrew Reicher,
Tom Robbins, Jay Small, Walter Stafford,
Andrew White and Pete Williams
Cordially Request Your Presence
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L _________________ ~
CITY UMITS/OCTOBER 1991/25
PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY
Barry K. Mallin
Attorney At Law
A decade of service representing
community development organizations
and low income cooperatives.
72 Spring Street, Suite 1201
New York, N.Y. 10013
Telephone 212/334-9393
DEBRA BECHTEL - Attorney
Concentrating in Real Estate & Non-Profit Law
Title and loan closings 0 All city housing programs
Mutual housing associations 0 Coopertive conversions
Advice to low income co-op boards of directors
100 Remsen Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, (718) 624-6850
archltllctural/llnglnllllring slIrriclls for nonprofit dllvlllopllrs
o Building Evaluation and Inspection
o Feasibility Studies 0 Construction Supervision
o Preliminary Design/Scope of Work Studies
o Complete Construction Drawings & Specifications
Call John Harris RA. for an evaluation of your project's needs
458 BERGEN STREET, BROOKLYN, NY 11217 (718) 398-1440
BERNARD CARR ASSOCIATES
J-Sl TAX BENEFIT EXPEDITING
Specialists In:
HDFC'S Gut Rehabilitation
Vacant Building Program Developments
CALL TODAY FOR A FRE CONSULTATlON
1740 VIdor Street, Bronx, NY 10462 Tel. (212)824-5044
WILLIAM JACOBS
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT
Over 20 YBars experience. Specializing in nonprofit housing &
community development organizations.
Certified Annual Audits Compilation & Review Services
Management Advisory Services Tax Consultation & Preparation
Cal/today for f18e consultation
77 QUAKER RIDGE ROAD, SUITE 215
NEW ROCHELLE, NY 10804
914-633-5095 FAX-914-633-5097
28/0CTOBER 1991/CITY UMITS
TURF COMPANIES
Building Management/Consultants
Specializing in management & development
services to low income housing cooperatives,
community organizations and co-op
boards of directors
329 Flatbush Avenue
Brooklyn, N.Y. 11217
Rebecca Reich
718/857 -0468
SMOLLENS and GURALNICK,
COUNSELLORS AT LAW
Specializing in representing tenants only in
landlord/tenant proceedings, cooperative
conversions, loft proceedings. We represent
sellers/buyers in house, condo and co-op closings.
15 Maiden Lane, Suite 1800
New York, NY 10038
2121406-3320
C ommunity D evelopment Legal Assistance C enter
a project of the Council of New York Law Associates, a nonprofit organization
Real Estate. Corporate and Tax Legal Representation to Organizations
Tax Syndications Mutual Housing Associations
Homeless Housing Economic Development
HDFCs Not-for-profit corporations
Community Development Credit Unions and loan Funds
99 Hudson Street, 14th Fir., NYC, 10013 (212) 219- 1800
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NEW YORK DECISION-MAKERS
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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. Non-profit engaged in immigrants rights.
Experience in social change struggles helpful. Program develop-
ment, administration and fundraising. Excellent speaking and writ-
ing. Salary up to mid-30s. Start November 1991. Send resume and
letter to Search Committee, Center for Immigrants Rights, 48 St.
Marks Place, NYC 10003.
PROJECT COORDINATOR. New project to educate, organize and em-
power tenants in apartments, lofts, illegal subdivides, SROs and
dormitories. Requires strong speaking and writing skills, bilingual
English/Chinese. Competitive compensation. Resume and cover
letter to: It's Time, 139 Henry Street, New York, NY 10002.
DISTRICT AIDE, office of State Senator Franz Leichter (O-L, Manhat-
tan). Serve as community liaison to Chelsea, Clinton and Upper
West Side. Salary: mid $20's; full State benefits. Send resume and
two writing samples to: Senator Franz Leichter, 198 Broadway,
Room 1102, New York, NY 10038-2515.
PIf HOUSING WORKER. Organize tenants associations, help tenants
with housing problems and entitlements. Bilingual Eng/Span,
housing experience. 21 hrs/week, some evenings. $219/week.
Resumes to: Isabel Valentin, Washington Heights-Inwood Coalition,
652 W. 187th St., New York, NY 10033.
FREELAIIICE CARTOONISTS with a flair for social criticism and an
interest in housing, politics, and the urban environment. Samples
and cover letter to Andrew White, City Limits, 40 Prince Street, NYC
10012.
STAFF AnORNEY, for Lower East Side tenant organizing project to
represent low income tenant groups and individuals. Must be able
to work with tenant organizers and community groups. Bilingual
(Spanish or Chinese) preferred. Send resume, references and one
writing sample to: Lower East Side Local Enforcement Unit, MFY
Legal Services, 31 Avenue A, New York, NY 10009.
TENANT ORGAIIIIZER. Lower East Side housing rights project has
immediate opening for tenant organizer. Must have organizing
experience and be fluent in Spanish. Knowledge of tenant rights
and remedies preferred. Send resume to Lower East Side Local
Enforcement Unit, MFY Legal Services, 31 Avenue A, New York,
NY 10009.
PIf ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE for City Limits. Receive $200
stipend/month plus commission. Good source of extra cash for
freelancers, others. Resume and cover letter to Lisa Glazer, City
Limits, 40 Prince Street, NYC 10012.
DIRECTOR OF DEVnOPMENTIBUSINESS MANAGER with extensive
financial skills for community housing not-for-profit agency in Upper
Manhattan. Experience with government funding and computer
fluency required. Flexible time, salary mid-30s. Send resume to
Ellen Baxter, 530 West 178th Street, New York, NY 10033.
ADVERTISE in the City Limits Workshop. Cost: $40 for 50 words. Place
by the 15th of the month before publication. Call (212) 925-9820 or
FAX your ad to (212) 966-3407.
HoVl not-lor-profit groups
can reduce and even eliminate
.nle service fees.
As a bank and your neighbor we'd like to help you
save more so there'll be more for the people and
purposes you serve.
One way is to reduce or eliminate our service fees.
For example, if you make less than 31 transactions a
month in your business checking account, you'll pay
no monthly maintenance or business fees and no
charges per check paid or deposited. And there are no
mark-ups on checkbooks, regardless of your activity
level or balance.
Even if you have more transactions, our charges are
moderate. Moreover, you can maintain a money market
account with a lower balance than our regular business
customers - and earn interest while you save.
For your employees we offer special discounts on
mortgages and loans.
We cut the fees, not the service. Our bankers are
well known for their community involvement. They
know the financial needs of not-for-profit groups -
planning, budgeting, cost controls, fund raising - and
how to allocate assets for optimum return. They're
always there when you need them.
Free booklet For the bank branch nearest you and
a free copy of a booklet describing our not-for-profit
products, call 212-221-6056 in New York City.
Or 1-800-522-5214 outside NYC.
REPUBLIC
NATIONAL BANK
OF NEW YORK
MANHATTAN WILLIAMSBURGH
SAVINGS BANK Bank
Republic National Bank and The Manhattan Savings Bank are subsidiaries of Republic New YOI1< Corporation NP 206
MemberFDtC
CITY UMrrSIOCTOBER 1991/27
--- -----_/
march on
I
Kennebunkport
Tell President BUSH
Itts
ar
on Hom.lessnessl
Buses will leave Union Square in Manhattan early Saturday, October 5th, and return late that evening.
To reserve your seat call 212-316-7544, and clip and return the coupon below.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
HOUSING NOW! MARCH ON KENNEBUNKPORT OCTOBER 5TH
o I 'm coming to Kennebunkport! Enclosed is $__ for my ticket(s).
The cost of a bus ticket is $25.00. Giving more will help a homeless person to participate.
o I cannot be at the March, but enclosed is $__ to send a homeless or low-income person.
o Keep me updated on national housing legislation and the work of Housing Now! in New York.
There are some bus tickets available for those who need full or partial financial assistance. Call us.
MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO: "Housing Now! New York" - c/o Cathedral of St. John the Divine-
1047 Amsterdam Avenue - New York, NY 10025 -I nformation: 212-316-7544
H O I I ~ I N
r,;r'
Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
Phone# _ Organization _ Name _
City _ State _ Zip __ Street/Apt # _