A G R A S - R O O T S L I 0 G R A B T E N A N T l ' A K E f E R N

A P R I L Z O O i $l.9~
N A f f A I R S N I E W S M A G A I I N (
, A b ave new breed of benefactc
i s speculati ng i n ~oL i al change.
But are nonprohts
ready for busi ness?
For Heaven's Sake
t
he Compassionate Conservative, the Education President-this winter it looked like
we didn't have a president as much as a new line of executive Ken dolls. At least they
were fun to play with for a while. But if s no game anymore. Between his faith-based
initiative and tax cut agenda, Bush has crowned himself Utopian-in-Chief, whose shining
view of human behavior wouLd embarrass Barbie, too.
The tax cuts will in themseLves promote charity, hoLds the Bush mythology of wealth,
because-well, because. The more wealth, the more the wealthy will have avaiLabLe to
spend on the greater good. Religious institutions will be at the core of the nation's
sociaL infrastructure, since while government grants will heLp get the job done, the
faithfuL are driven by a higher power to do good.
We're Losing more than just $1 trillion from the treasury, and biLLions from estates
that wouLd have bequeathed to charity to avoid the IRS. Gone now, too, is the principLe
that government ought to provide incentives for the weaLthy to spend at least some of
their money on socially productive ventures. (Even when they were dismantling welfare,
Clinton Democrats clung desperateLy to the idea that they had a responsibility to
encourage those who have the means to help the poor to do so on their own.) In its
pLace is an ideoLogy of faith, and not onLy in the LiteraL sense of the term. In the new
utopia, soLutions for sociaL probLems are beyond everyday understanding, resting with
inscrutable heavenLy powers as much as human institutions.
Those of us looking for dollars back on planet Earth might as well be asking for
donations at a Buddhist temple. In a staggering reversal, it 's now traditional liberals
who are cast as hard cynics, whose dim view of human nature dooms them to believe
that sociaL progress must be wrested in grubby dollars (sometimes tom from the coLd
hands of the dead). How can we create a better society if it's from such ill-gotten gains?
Well, for one, by asking for it. That can happen in the private sector; where "social
entrepreneurs" hit up heavy-hitters like the "venture philanthropists" profiLed by Clive
Thompson in "Cash of the Titans" (see page 23). But let's get real. A century ago,
urban missionaries prayed for the souLs of the poor; one by one. Replaying that as fed-
eral policy isn't just ineffective-it's an insult.
***
It's with a hell of a lot of admiration that City Limits says goodbye to Senior Editor
Kathleen McGowan, whose sensational reporting, raging creativity and love for New
Yorkers left a mighty mark on the magazine and the City Limits Weekly over the last
three years. You can thank Kat for telling the world that the city was making sweetheart
deals with welfare-to-work companies, that asthma is a landlord-tenant problem as
much as an environmental one, and more than even HPD's own commissioners know
about housing. She'll be writingfreelance-about science and health, society and, of
course, New York neighborhoods.
Another much-deserved shout-out goes to Tracie McMillan, who has been an indis-
pensable reporter and pinch-hitter here for several months. There are also hellos to
make these days. Katherine Pushkar; previously an editor at the Village Voice and
Entertainment Weekly, joins us as managing editor; reminding us that there are these
things called deadlines we ought to know about. Senior Editor Jill Grossman, a familiar
byline in these pages, is taking the reins of the Weekly and heading the magazine's
news coverage; she's bringing experience as an editor of the Riverdale Press, Westsider
and Chelsea Clinton News. You'll enjoy their fine work as much as they do.
Cover photo by Joshua Zuckerman
City Limits relies on the generous support of its readers and advertisers, as well as the following funders: The Adco
Foundation, The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, The Hite Foundation, The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter
Rock, The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, The Joyce MertzGilmore Foundation, The Scherman Foundation, The North Star
Fund, J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Booth Ferris Foundation, The New York Community
Trust, The New York Foundation, The Taconic Foundation, Deutsche Bank, M& T Bank, Citibank, and Chase Manhattan Bank.
(ity Limits
Volume XXVI Number 4
City Limits is published ten times per year, monthly except
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APRIL 2001
FEATURES
Dream Off?
For six years, residents of the Bronx's Beekman houses got the royal
runaround on a visionary plan to control their own homes. With HUD's top
brass departing, is Beekman's dream about to be deferred for good? By Matt Pacenza
Shock Treatment
Like all hospitals and clinics that treat the poor, Bedford
Stuyvesant Family Health Center is being walloped by changes in
Medicaid. Its doctors pray that a medical makeover can
get them out of intensive care.
By Ruth Ford
Photographs by Spencer Platt
Cash of the Titans
High-tech hotshots made a bundle during the boom, and now they're
giving it away. But not for free: As venture philanthropy trickles
through the nonprofit world, the MBA mentality could alter
the business of social change. By Clive Thompson
PROFILE
Planting an Idea
While state green flows freely to buy parkland in parts north, city folk get
the short end of the sticks. But one crusader has a plan to make New York
City's plots thicken-by turning vacant lots into parks. By Alex Ulam
PIPELINES
Sleep Disorder
Battered families need a safe place to run to. But with domestic violence
refuges full, the city is funneling families into the homeless
shelter system, with no protection from the abusers they're fleeing. By Tracie McMillan
Hanging on the Telephone
Unemployment insurance is just a phone call away-if you speak
English or Spanish. As the state closes its unemployment offices,
many immigrant workers need not apply. By Martin Espinoza
Moving Stories
A hot real estate market and stagnant state budgets add up to evictions
for mentally ill people who have been enjoying life on their own-
and a measure of dignity-in private apartments. By Nora McCarthy
Review
Petticoat Function
Cityview
Sink or Spin
Editorial
Briefs
Ammo
COMMENTARY
DEPARTMENTS
2
5
29
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Professional
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130
By Keith Meatto
131
By Gordon Mayer
33
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CITVLlMITS
Historic Preservation
A Farewell to A r m o r y ~
T
he Park Avenue Armory usually hosts
high-end art and antique shows. Last
February 8, street-level signs on Park
and Lex led to the tony New York
Armory Antiques Show on the ground
floor. But the billowing red and white balloons at
the side entrance led to the "Other" Art Show on
the third floor, where the Lenox Hill Neighbor-
hood House has run a homeless women's shelter
for the past five years.
For the fourth consecutive year, neighbors,
local politicians and black-clad art types came to
an art show created by shelter residents-
women, between 45 and 80 years old, with a his-
tory of mental illness.
The evening had the feel of a summertime street
fair, with musicians sounding Brazilian rhythms
while patrons cupped their chins and gazed at work
from 19 artists, most of whom were amateurs,
though a few had training in art and design.
Far from the haunting visions and inner turmoil
usually associated with artists and mental illness,
much of the art was playful, like the French street
APRIL 2001
scenes painted on silk scarves by a woman who
spends her days at the Met copying old masters.
This year's sale of pins, bracelets, necklaces,
headbands, watercolors, pastels, pendants, tie-
dyed scarves and ceramic-chip trivets netted
$1,200-twice as much as last year. But despite
the joyful ambience and abundant cocktail
sausages, uncertainty over the shelter's future
produced palpable anxiety: This show may be the
women's last at the Armory.
The Municipal Art Society has been campaign-
ing for restoration of this historic and once-elegant
building for at least six years. The society-also
responsible for the renovation of Grand Central Sta-
tion-recommends building a concert hall and
exhibition space in the Armory. According to its
Web site, this would "broaden the range of prof-
itable uses for the Armory and enable it to operate
over 300 days a year as opposed to the 150 days it
is used now." Seems they overlooked the 100
women who use the Armory a full 365 days a year.
In 1999, New York's Empire State Develop-
ment Corporation invited Armory renovation
proposals. Over the objections of the local com-
munity board, which credits the Lenox Hill shel-
ter with improving the neighborhood, the con-
tract specified that "the space occupied by the
shelter will be vacant."
The contract looks like a lock for the Seventh
Regiment Armory Conservancy. The nonprofit
conservancy has close ties to the Municipal Art
Society-and submitted the only application. Thin
on social service experts, the conservancy's board
of directors hails from real estate, historical preser-
vation, urban renewal and the arts.
Both city and state refused to intervene,
according to Lenox Hill's executive director,
Nancy Wackstein. "We've been sold down the
river," she says, pointing out that the ESDC made
no plan for the women, who need social and men-
tal health services, at a time when homelessness
has reached highs not seen since the 1980s. In late
February, Lenox Hill took its case directly to the
conservancy, asking it to revise its restoration
plans to include the shelter.
''This place has given us a second chance," said
Leigh Seymour, a former resident, as she collected
paintings that didn't sell. The government, she
added, cares only "about endangered buildings.
What about the endangered lives of women?"
-Phyllis Vine

Brie&s ............ ------........ --------------=
Energy blackouts in California may be inspiring fear across the country, but it's the 11 new power
plants planned for their neighborhoods that scare these protestors. On February 12, people from
Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island came to the Williamsburg waterfront to protest a power-generating
~ barge slated for River Street and North 1st Street, close to homes and schools. Protesters want the
~ New York Power Authority to get more power from the plants it already has, by cleaning up and
~ reconfiguring them, instead of building new ones.
Media Criticism
Teens v.
'Times'
L
ast December, a group of teens from the
Bronx's Schomburg Satellite Academy
took their after-school project all the
way to the Times Square offices of the
New York Times Metro section.
Prompted by statistics that show two-thirds of
the public believe youth crime is rising-despite
a 33 percent decrease since 1994-five teens
from the extracurricular Youth Force program
studied three months of Times articles about
youth crime. The 22-page report that resulted
found that the Times overrepresents youth crime,
and they held a summit meeting to try to convince
the newspaper to alter its coverage.
Once they learned they were going to meet with
the editors of the nation's paper of record, the stu-
dents drilled for weeks on how to present their sta-
tistics-and also on how to keep their cool.
"J wasn't nervous. I was chillin' ," says
Hayden Mendoza, 18. "The stuff in there is fact,
and they can't refute facts."
But they tried. "I don't think it's a serious
study of how journalism is done," says Times
Metro editor Jonathan Landman. "It's a misunder-
standing of what journalism is."
And assignment editor Tony Marcano told the
youngsters that looking at the Times for only three
months was like judging a student on a single
semester of C work. "So what are they saying?
They had a bad three months?" jokes Mendoza.
At first, the Times staff seemed nervous, say the
teens. But after a few minutes, the journalists
hogged the conversation. In the hour-and-a-half
tete-a-tete, the teens say they barely had time to
suggest how the Times can improve its articles.
Youth Force came out of the meeting feeling
ambivalent. They were pleased to be able to meet
with the Times, but they didn't feel as if they were
taken seriously: When they showed up, there were
no handshakes, no introductions, and the first
thing out of Landman's mouth, says 19-year-old
Shaquesha Alequin, was "At least we know you
read the New York Times." ("I was just hoping
Landman didn't fall out of his chair when he put
his feet up on the desk," adds Alequin, primly.
''That would have been embarassing.")
But the next day, the students saw an article in
the paper that included one of their suggestions-it
mentioned the drop in youth crime since 1994-
and thought that they might have made a difference.
Landman denies it. ''We've been reporting that
[youth] crime has been falling for eight or nine
years," he says, adding that Youth Force "didn't
redefine the way we do journalism."
-Avi Mermelstein
"In Between the Lines: How the New York Times
Frames Youth" is at http://www.interrupt.org/
reports.html
2000 Census
Down for
the Count
. The 2000 census numbers have already
cost New York State two seats in Con-
gress, as well as access to funding and
crucial services. But city kids stand to
lose a whole lot more.
A child-focused analysis of the millennial count
is still in the works, but just-released findings from
1990 census data are instructive. A recent Census
Monitoring Board report reveals that more than
one-third of all infants in four of New York's five
boroughs went unreported in the 1990 census.
What's more, their big brothers and sisters have
gone missing, too. The 1990 survey failed to record
116,000 Empire State residents under age 18,
77,000 of whom lived in the city. While the census
skipped 3.6 percent of children and 1.6 percent of
the general population nationally, New York City's
undercount came in at 4.3 percent of kids, 3.3 per-
cent in general. Though preliminary 2000 national
numbers indicate the child undercount could be
under 2 percent, that's still higher than the predict-
ed overall undercount of 0.96 percent.
And just in case you were wondering, stats also
show that poor, black and Latino youth are overrep-
resented among unreported children. New Census
Monitoring Board data finds up to 18 percent more
poor kids than indicated in the 1990 census. And the
Casey Foundation reported last year that black and
Latino youngsters were missed at rates two to three
times that of their white counterparts.
The consequences of missing children in the
census can't be overstated: Fewer kids means less
money for a host of vital children's programs.
''The school lunch and breakfast programs, mater-
nal and child health, Title I for education for poor
children, Medicaid," lists Gail Nayowith, execu-
tive director of the Citizen's Committee for Chil-
dren. "Every single thing you can think of is based
on a population estimate."
And funding isn't the only area to get hit when
children don't get counted-basic program plan-
ning suffers, too. Population numbers are used in
everything from assessing community need to the
nitty-gritty of delivering services; if those numbers
are bad, kids get short shrift. Across the board, New
York has more children than expected, and it shows.
In 1996, fully half the public elementary schools in
the city were over capacity.
The problem with an undercount isn't so much
that funding is lost; rightful funding never gets allo-
cated in the first place. In a city of 7.4 million,
77,000 children is not a huge number. "But when
dollars are allocated on a per child basis, it means
we have 77,000 fewer resources," says Nayowith.
-Tracie McMillan
CITY LIMITS
...... ----------.... ----------------Brie&

a
rn
C)
=
-A GREAT DAY IN HARLEM.U
GROUP PORTRAIT OF THE REMAINING UVING LEGENDS OF THE DEMOCRAT PARrY
Evictions
Greene
Guerrillas
I
n the last few years, 71-year-old Leonor
Rodriguez has seen her Fort Greene
neighborhood become prosperous and
hip. Too bad she can't stick around to
enjoy it.
In January, landlord Kathryn Lilly decided the
snug apartment Rodriguez shares with her 91-
year old mother and disabled son-just blocks
from a restaurant serving $21 ostrich fillets-is
worth a lot more than $550 a month.
Evictions like this are not unusual in rapidly
gentrifying Fort Greene. But this time, something
unusual happened: On February 10, a diverse
crowd of locals, many with their own real estate
war stories, marched a t i g ~ t circle on the sidewalk
in front of Lilly's Realty on the Greene, waving
signs that said S{ se puede and passing out flyers
that warned, above a woodcut fist, "With all these
upwardly mobile yuppies moving in, landlord$
would really like to kick you out."
A tenant advocacy group called Brooklyn Com-
munity Action, which is an arm of the Pratt Area
Community Council, hopes that the protest can
accomplish something legal action can't-shame
APRIL 2001
the landlord, Kathryn Lilly, into allowing the fam-
ily to stay in its apartment above Realty on the
Greene. The goal is a two-year lease that might buy
them enough time to move up on the city's waiting
list for federally subsidized housing.
Her neighbor, Emma Rivera, is also being
evicted-from a $725 a month two-bedroom-
and she's furious but also scared. "I can't find
nothing," Rivera says, twice. "I looked and looked
and I don't know what to do anymore."
Rodriguez says that if she can't stay, her fami-
Manufacturing
Iy will be homeless. "I don't have any money
extra,'" says Rodriguez, a retired factory worker
who scrapes together the $550 rent from her
Social Security check. "Where am I going to find
the savings for the deposit, for the moving?"
Despite the protest, Lilly remains unmoved.
"The real estate taxes alone are not covered by
their rent," she says. ''I'm not social services,
I'm not a government agency. Sorry, but that's
the reality of it."
-Nora McCarthy
ECONOMIC
"Welcome to New York City's economic
boom!" trumpets a magazine commissioned by I NOPPORTU N lTV
the City Council to promote the city's econo- .
my. But the full-color, glossy New York City: An Economic Profile ignores the city's second-
biggest industry. The entire 128-page booklet, replete with ads for New York businesses,
was printed and distributed in St. Louis, Missouri.
"The local printers just are nowhere near as cheap as we get in the Midwest," says
David Phares of Economic Opportunity, Inc. Phares publishes the magazines to raise funds
for the nonprofit Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, which will pass out Sl,OOO schol-
arships to fIVe New York City minority students at a City Council meeting in March.
But what about New York printers, increasingly pushed out of the city to make way for
now-failed dot-comsP "It certainly is not sending a good message for organizations that
are trying to encourage economic development in New York City to be sending work to the
other side of the Mississippi," says commercial printer Paul Bader, the City Council's
industry rep on the New York City Printing Industry Task Force.
-Jill Grossman

PROFILE
:M
Planting an Idea
To bring parks to pavement, an environmentalist pushes Albany for a fair share of funding.
By Alex Ulam
T
he new chain-link fences, Dump-
sters and construction staging
crowding its streets mark Harlem
as a neighborhood in rapid development.
But Paul Berizzi is inspired only to frus-
tration. He walks briskly down Lenox
Avenue jabbing his finger at the numer-
ous vacant lots that remain-and he's see-
ing green. "It's Sunday, you decide to go
for a picnic," he shakes his head. "You
don't want to go to a parking lot!"
Berizzi stops in front of one of the
few patches of nature in the neighbor-
hood, the J.D. Wilson Community Gar-
den on West 122nd Street. A piece of it,
owned by a private developer, has
already been bulldozed and surrounded
by fencing. Berizzi wants to make sure
the rest of it doesn't follow, so kids from
the neighborhood can continue to attend
a nature program in the garden.
Everywhere he looks, Berizzi sees
wasted potential-and believes that for
the right price, it can be harnessed. He's
asking New York State to help him pur-
chase vacant land for small neighbor-
hood parks, using the money that it usu-
ally spends on Adirondacks woodlands
and Hudson River vistas.
New York City has an average of 3.82
acres of city parkland per thousand resi-
dents, woefully less than other high-densi-
ty cities. Boston has 4.8 acres; Philadel-
phia, 7. Parkland is even more limited in
many low-income neighborhoods. In the
Bronx, Hunts Point has just 0.55 acres per
thousand residents. In Bushwick, Brook-
lyn, it's 0.2 acres. Central Harlem is nes-
tled between Central, Morningside and
Mount Morris parks, but the neighborhood
has just 1.2 acres per thousand residents.
Working with community groups in
each of those three neighborhoods,
Berizzi's Environmental Action Coalition
is proposing a remedy: a network of 10
small parks, from a puny 25-by-loo foot
lot on Gilbert Place in the Bronx to the
0.34-acre Wilson garden. He figures he'll
need $300,000 in state funding to buy the
land.
Getting the money wouldn't just be a
coup for the project, dubbed Greening
Gray Neighborhoods. It would also mark
a significant change of course for the
state. Since 1996, the state, using funds
from the Environmental Bond Act and
the Environmental Protection Fund, has
spent more than $300 million on open
space acquisition. But little of that
money has gone to New York City. The
only borough to see serious state money
to buy and protect open space is Staten
Island, where recent state purchases
include the St. Francis Woodlands, Old
Place Creek, Arden Heights Woods and
the 125-acre Mount Loretto Forest.
Another $9.3 million wilI buy the East-
ern District Terminal in Brooklyn.
Though the city Parks Department has
acquired more than 1,800 acres of land in
the last six years, including important new
areas on the Bronx River, it has been
reluctant to develop small plots of land,
which are not as cost-effective to main-
tain. That leaves the city far from its own
planning department's recommendation
that all city residents have open spaces
within a quarter mile of their homes.
The disparity in the state spending for
open space is "an issue which at its heart is
about environmental racism," says Leslie
Lowe, executive director of the New York
City Environmental Justice Alliance.
Lowe's group has hooked Berizzi up with
the community organizations cosponsor-
ing the proposed new parks, including the
Point Community Development Corpora-
tion and Harlem's Project Harmony.
Berizzi says that the new Hudson River
and Brooklyn Bridge parks-which are
receiving $185 million in state funds-
won't come close to filling the needs of
neighborhoods far away. "Our vision," he
says, "is that just because you cannot cre-
ate a Central Park or a Bryant Park doesn't
mean that every neighborhood cannot have
its own backyard with trees, a jungle gym
or whatever residents want."
N
ew York is no stranger to small
neighborhood parks. In the late
1960s, a concern that lack of open
space was a plague on inner city neighbor-
hoods prompted government agencies and
nonprofit groups to build "vest pocket"
parks in space-starved areas. But the
experiment failed, because most of the
parks not owned by the city succumbed to
development pressures.
Small parks, say their boosters, provide
benefits that belie their size. In Hunts
Point, one of the proposed parks would sit
directly across from the Pio Mendez
Senior Residence and provide residents the
only green space within easy reach. In
Bushwick, where the majority of residents
are children, the sites could provide badly
needed playgrounds. Most important, state
purchase of vacant lots would help fill the
hole left by the loss in recent years of
about 100 community gardens, most of
them to housing development.
Berizzi, who until the mid 1990s was
chief of environmental services for the
New York City Department of Parks and
Recreation, is the only full-time employ-
ee of the Environmental Action Coali-
tion, which was founded to organize the
city's first Earth Day in 1970. But he has
larger power through his membership on
New York City's Regional Open Space
Advisory Committee, which recom-
mends land preservation projects to the
state Department of Environmental Con-
servation.
Making the committee's list is the
first step toward getting Bond Act or
Environmental Protection Fund money to
buy parkland in New York City. But until
the committee invited West Harlem Envi-
ronmental Action and the Bronx Council
on Environmental Quality to join last
year, there were no members from com-
munity-based organizations. Its mem-
bers, representing city and state agencies
and established nature and preservation
groups, focused on parks improvement
projects and protecting the city's few
remaining acres of wilderness.
The loss of community gardens has
now made open space in underserved
urban neighborhoods a priority for the
advisory committee, says Anthony
Emmerich, supervising forester for the
New York State Department of Environ-
mental Conservation: "People on the com-
mittee began to worry that these communi-
ties were going to lose what green space
they had." In this year's budget request to
the state, the committee submitted a spe-
ciallist of projects proposed for neighbor-
hoods where incomes and the ratio of
CITY LIMITS
parkland to people are both below the city
average, and it has asked the state to give
them particular consideration.
The list is just the first stop on the
way to Governor Pataki's desk. Ob-
servers familiar with the environmental
funding process say that projects live
or die by support from legislators.
Berizzi has not yet approached any for
support, but he does have an ally in State
Assemblymember Richard Brodsky,
chair of the Committee on Environmen-
tal Conservation, whose legislation to
add $50 million to the Environmental
Protection Fund includes $10 million
designated for open space acquisition in
underserved urban communities.
I
f Greening Gray Neighborhoods gets
state funding, snagging privately
owned land in a hot real estate market
presents particular difficulties. The city's
current tax code encourages speculation
on vacant lots, says Jocelyne Chait, an
urban planner and coauthor of a study for
the Design Trust for Public Space on chal-
lenges the South Bronx has faced in pre-
serving open space amid the development
boom. She points out that taxes on vacant
land are very low, only 8 percent of its
assessed value. And it doesn't take much
to spark speculation fever. Once land-own-
ers learn the state is bankrolling a pur-
chase, "I would expect that they would
raise prices considerably," says Chait.
Berizzi won't have much wiggle
room. He proposes offering 150 percent
of the city tax assessor's estimated mar-
ket value of a property-the same formu-
la the Parks Department uses when it
makes offers to buy private land, but one
that usually greatly underestimates a
property's actual value.
On top of that, Berizzi and his partners
will have to figure out how to plant and
maintain the parks. Berizzi estimates that
it will ultimately cost $2 to $3 million to
develop the 10 parcels on his list into tot
lots and gardens. He intends to use the
state money as a magnet for raising private
funding, much as the city's new waterfront
parks plan to do, and means to go back to
the Environmental Protection Fund for
more money over time. Finally, he's count-
ing on community group stewardship to
take care of lighter chores, such as picking
up trash and gardening.
But the project's supporters say that
Greening Gray Neighborhoods will need
APRIL 2001
significant government investment
beyond the initial purchase of the proper-
ties. "Community involvement does not a
park system make," says Cecil Corbin-
Mark, program director of West Harlem
Environmental Action. Corbin-Mark
says that there has to be some account-
ability and an infrastructure in place, in
case sponsoring community groups fail
to maintain the parks.
Even well-heeled nonprofits have
encountered difficulty putting all these
pieces together. The Parks Council has
developed six parks out of vacant lots,
and succeeded in transferring them to
the city Parks Department. In 1994, for
example, it helped the East New York
Urban Youth Corps and students from
P.S. 174 build the East New York Suc-
cess Garden on Livonia Avenue. Today,
the park boasts a basketball court, a
large pond and bog, a stage for perfor-
mances and events, a plaza, a picnic
area and planting beds.
But despite its successes, the Parks
Council is getting out of the development
business. "We're trying to get the city to
spend more money on maintenance and
park development," says Mark Caserta,
director of public policy for the Parks
Council. "We found it was just too hard to
raise the private dollars."
While he supports the idea behind
Greening Gray Neighborhoods, Michael
Klein, deputy director of the Parks Coun-
cil, says it begs the question of why gov-
ernment isn' t doing more for neighbor-
hoods. "Why should people who tend to
live in poorer communities and are
underserved have the responsibility of
being the stewards, when most people
who live in the city's affluent communi-
ties don't have to do it?" asks Klein. "We
have forgotten how to ask for equal care
from the government."
Alex Ulam is a Manhattan-based freelance
writer.

To environmental on
activist Paul
Berizzi. vacant ~
lots are full of
possibilities for
parks. But it will
take a serious
state investment
to get them
growing.
e.

F
Sleep Disorder
Families fleeing violence find full shelters, and a long journey for help they once got from a hotline.
PIPEliNE i
By Tracie McMillan
,
I n the city that never sleeps, the number of when they call the hotline." they get there. About 20 percent of shel-
families spending their nights in emer- HRA did not return calls seeking com- ter beds are reserved for transitional
gency shelters has reached a 10-year ment on its new policy. But opening its own housing, where women who've moved
high: over 18,000 women and their children direct conduit to the shelters has one clear out of a dire emergency can pull their
each night this January. Typically, families benefit for the agency: It keeps it out of lives together and find permanent homes.
that show up at the Emergency Assistance trouble with the law. Without domestic vio- But there's not nearly enough transition-
Unit in the Bronx-the main port of entry to lence shelters to move into, families are al space to meet the demand. As a result,
the city's shelter system-are being driven staying overnight in the Bronx intake office, emergency shelter space becomes transi-
there by unaffordable rents or untenable dou- in violation of a longstanding court order. "I tional housing, too. Families can stay
bling up with other households. have clients sleeping up to five nights at the there for 90 days, with the possibility of
But an increasing number are fleeing a 45-day extension. Shelters frequently
domestic violence, and a severe shortage
"] called all the
grant additional extensions, keeping pre-
of beds is locking them out of the secure cious emergency beds occupied.
shelters they need.
cheap hotels, all the
The families that can't get into domes-
The city currently provides places for tic violence shelters have ended up in stan-
about 450 families in private domestic vio-
Ys," says a lawyer
dard family shelters, which provide a place
lence shelters, funded under city contracts. to sleep but don't have the counseling and
At least 500 more, the city estimates, have classes available at domestic violence
landed in the regular family shelter system.
for families. "There
shelters. And safety is always a concern.
Workers at the city's domestic violence
is nowhere to sleep
"It's extremely dangerous to keep them
hotline say they've been forced to send there waiting that long," cautions Zuc-
desperate families to the Emergency Assis-
right now."
cardy. 'The addresses are not confidential;
tance Unit because there's often nowhere the security is not as tight."
else to put them. 'The last resort is always Advocates also shudder at the idea
the EAU," says Bea Hanson, vice-presi- that the bedraggled Emergency Assis-
dent of domestic violence programs at EAU," laments Jill Zuccardy, an attorney tance Unit, and not the Safe Horizon hot-
Safe Horizon, the nonprofit that runs the with Manhattan-based Sanctuary for Fami- line, could become the gateway of first
hotline. "If a woman who's a victim of lies. 'There are no beds [for victims of resort to domestic violence shelter. The
domestic violence has no place to go, she domestic violence], and there are apparent- city's Department of Homeless Services
ends up in the homeless system." Iy no beds in the normal shelter system. I is under strict orders from the Giuliani
Though the city is responding to the called all the cheap hotels, all the Y s. There administration to deny shelter to people
crisis, the measures it is taking are likely is nowhere to sleep right now." who cannot prove a need, and sources
to make the journey to shelter even more say women arriving with stories of
harrowing, say advocates for the home- T he swell of families may be over- domestic violence are cut no slack. The
less. Its Human Resources Administra- whelming the homeless office now, unit that screens families for admission,
tion is now requiring agencies that pro- but those in the business of housing contends Legal Aid's Banks, "frequently
vide shelter for domestic violence vic- them say they saw it coming. Ad cam- says that survivors of domestic violence
tims to take 40 percent of their referrals paigns for the hotline have led to an are not survivors of domestic violence
from the EAU. This new policy makes it almost 60 percent increase in calls since and tells people they can go back and
much more likely that women calling the 1997, while bed space in domestic vio- stay in the very locations from which
domestic violence hotline looking for lence shelters has expanded just 14 per- they fled." In one case, he says, a woman
shelter will be sent to the EAU for help cent. Demand for shelter has gone up, too. who had an order of protection against
instead, forced to journey to the chaotic In the second half of 1999 the hotline her abuser visited the EAU five times
Bronx facility. What has until now been a averaged from 27 to 37 requests for shel- over the course of several weeks, her
crisis response will become institutional ter a day; in 2000, the daily number of children in tow. Each time she was told to
practice. requests jumped to between 39 and 47. return to a relative's house, where her
"It's just a shell game," charges Steven "The problem that compounds it is the abuser knew she might go.
Banks of the Legal Aid Society, who is the absolute lack of affordable housing," says As HRA launches its effort to route
lead attorney in a longtime suit challeng- Hanson. "If a woman is being abused, families through the EAU, it may also
ing the city's treatment of the homeless at chances are she's not going to be able to finally be doing something to make sure
the Bronx office. "Reserving slots in shel- move out on her own." they have somewhere to go from there.
ters for families referred from [the Depart- The city's housing shortage doesn't In February, it solicited proposals for
ment of Homeless Services] means that 40 just push families into the shelters; it also new shelters and beds ; how many
percent fewer families will get placements
makes it difficult for them to leave once remains to be seen .
I.M
CITY LIMITS
Hanging on the Telephone
Unemployment offices shut down, sending immigrants who work for cash to voice mail hell.
By Martin Espinoza
W
earing a worn-out V-neck sweat-
er over a dress shirt buttoned
tightly to the top, Hong Huang is
not who comes to mind when you think
"labor agitator." Several times during our
interview, he quickly gets up to pour us tea.
But the battle for his unemployment check
has turned the 60-year-old Huang into an
unassuming crusader, one of a group of Chi-
nese immigrant workers determined to
make the state give immigrant workers their
fair share of unemployment dollars.
Huang was laid off last May when
the DKNY garment shop where he
worked, Jen Chu Apparel, started
cutting back. But when he filed
for unemployment insurance,
his first weekly check was
for only $120. That was
clearly incorrect He had
worked 80 to 90 hours a
week, at $6.50 an hour, for
almost five years, which
his calculations say should
have made him eligible
to receive closer to $200.
Huang quickly realized
why he had gotten short-
changed: The state De- -----
partment of Labor was using only part of
his salary to calculate his unemployment
benefits. Like many immigrants, he had
been paid half of his salary in cash, under
the table, and had no way of documenting
how much he had really made.
ln the past, workers could tum to New
York City DOL offices, and make their
case, speaking in their own language, to
agency clerks who were often familiar
with workers' circumstances. During the
annual slowdown in the garment industry,
November through February, some 300 to
500 Chinese-speaking garment workers
typically file unemployment claims in just
one office on Park Place in Lower Man-
hattan, sometimes trooping over after a
factory closed and filing en masse. "Every-
one knows New York's garment industry
deals in cash payments," says Wmg Lam,
executive director of the Chinese Staff and
Workers' Association (CSWA).
But now, in an effort to streamline
and automate services, DOL has closed
the Park Place office and 14 others around
APRIL 2001
the city to in-person claims. Now, almost
all of the half a million people a year
who file for unemployment in New York
State must do so over a new phone-based
system. For English-speaking workers,
DOL's new automated filing system
could save time and money. The opposite
is true for many immigrants; the "Inter-
active Voice Recording" service operates
in English and Spanish only.
Two offices remain open for Chinese
speakers to file in person, while the state
DOL negotiates a settlement to a lawsuit
filed by the Asian American Legal Defense
and Education Fund (AALDEF). But for
immigrants who speak other languages, the
shut-down of the unemployment offices is a
serious hardship. Even if they can find a
translator, a larger problem remains: The
voicemail is indifferent to the peculiar
vulnerabilities of New York's underground
workforce. Until you have successfully
navigated through the voicemail to get to a
claims specialist, there is no way to tell the
automated system that you got paid partial-
ly off the books, that you need a translator,
that you can't track down your employer.
"It's a system that discriminates against
immigrants," says Lam.
I
t's impossible to know how many
undocumented workers live in New
York. "I'd say anywhere between
three-quarters of a million to a million,"
hazards Immanuel Ness, a political sci-
ence professor at Brooklyn College who
is writing a book on low-wage immigrant
workers in New York City. Of all the
immigrants in New York's labor force,
Ness estimates that as many as 75 percent
may be paid under the table.
By law, the state is required to pay
unemployment insurance, whether the
worker filing the claim was paid in cash
or not. In 1995, immigrants accounted for
20 percent, or $403 million, of New York
State's contribution to the federal unem-
ployment tax.
Because of their legal status or lan-
guage barriers, immigrants are far more
likely to have irregular payroll circum-
stances. "Employers dictate the terms of
employment," says Ken Kimerling, the
AALDEF attorney who filed the case.
"Immigrants are more readily exploited."
In 1999, Kimerling filed the lawsuit
on behalf of all Chinese-speaking work-
ers to prevent the DOL from closing
down the Park Place office, located near
Chinatown's many garment factories. By
failing to make the entire unemployment
claims process-including appeals and
verification-as accessible to Chinese
speakers as it is to English- or Spanish-
speakers, says Kimerling. DOL is violat-
ing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,
which prohibits discrimination on the
basis of national origin. (Kimerling was

PIPELINE i
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&
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH
But there is free legal assistance
Not-for-profits, community groups and organizations are eligible for free legal assistance
on a wide variety of legal issues including:
Establishing your group as a not-for-profit
Lease negotiations and other real estate matters
Establishing a long-term relationship with one of our member law firms
Representing your organization in litigation matters
Contact Bryan Pu-Folkes at (212) 244-4664, or email at
bpufolkes@nylpi.org to see if you qualify.
NYLPI, 151 West 30th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10001-4007
@ MCCAP
MAw...... "r .. ' rn.WM( It"""S1"AW' .-.or; M

Mental Health Managed Care Consumer
Advocacy and Ombudsprogram
Managed Care Hotline
(646) 6025675
Information about managed care for Medicaid, Medicare and other
insurance including exemptions/exclusions, disenrollments, access to
care, and grievances.
Advice, dispute resolution, representation at Fair Hearings and other
administrative hearings as well as educational material s and training
seminars.
For immediate assistance on managed care issues or to receive a free
copy of our pamphlet, Medicaid Managed Care Health Plans: A Fact
Sheet for the Mental Health Community, please call our Managed Care
Hotline at (646) 602-5675.
Homesteaders Federal
Credit Union
120 Wall Street - 20th Floor New York, NY
(212) 479-3340
A financial cooperative promoting home
ownership and economic opportunity since 1987.
No-fee Personal and Business Checking Accounts
Savings, CDs, Holiday Club and Individual
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Home Equity, Mortgage and Co-op Loans
As an equal housing lender, we do business in accordance
with the Federal Fair Housing Law and the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act. Your savings are insured up to $100,000 by
the National Credit Union Administration.
e-
also involved in the mid-l 970s lawsuit that forced
New York's DOL to offer services in Spanish.)
Kimerling and the DOL are currently in nego-
tiations. At the very least, AALDEF wants to get
Chinese added to the phone system and for Chi-
nese workers to hilVe the right to a translator if
complications arise. While the discussions drag
on, DOL has agreed to keep centers open in
downtown Brooklyn and Queens Plaza to serve
Chinese-speakers exclusively. But these are just
the basics; The lawsuit won' t even begin to
address the larger problem of employers' refusal
to report workers' income. "This is an equity law-
suit," says Kimerling. "I can' t force someone to
become a better administrator."
And it won' t help immigrants who don' t speak
Chinese. In a sworn court statement, Kimerling
described how DOL refused to provide automated
phone services in Chinese, claiming that "if they
provided it in Chinese, they would have to provide
it in other languages as well."
It's a fact the DOL's lawyers don't dispute. In
fact, department spokesperson Betsy McCorma-
ck points out that the switch to the phones is
itself a response to federal cost-cutting measures.
"We are aware that there are language barriers,
and we try to accommodate that as much as pos-
sible," says McCormack. But with reductions in
federal funding, says McCormack, "I don't know
that we' ll be able to meet every dialect and
language in New York City."
For Wing Lam, little will be resolved if and
when DOL agrees to set up a Chinese-language
automated recording. He predicts that many immi-
grants whose salary payments are irregular will
simply be denied benefits. To Lam, DOL's automa-
tion is nothing more than an effort to push New
York City's low-wage labor force further under-
ground. "That's absurd," retorts McCormack. "We
make every effort possible to assist unemployment
insurance claims." She maintains that there's no
way, given current and anticipated budget cuts, that
the DOL can afford to keep the offices open.
Those little details mean a lot to workers like
Huang. It's unlikely sweatshop or restau-
rant will hire him because of his age, and his wife,
a thread-cutter in a garment shop, makes only $20
a day. Huang is now 60, and there is no pension
waiting for him. He hasn't been working long
enough to qualify for Social Security.
In effect, the unemployment insurance Huang
has been trying to claim for the last seven months
is his meager pension. And he's counting on the
class-action lawsuit to help him to get it. "This is
unjust," says Huang, speaking in Chinese, with
Lam translating. ''I'm not going to give up."
Martin Espinoza is a Jersey City-based freelance
writer.
CITY LIMITS
Moving Stories
A state program pays for mentally ill people to live on their own-
but not enough to keep them from getting evicted.
By Nora McCarthy
W
hen Gary Goldstein arrives
home from work, he fits the key
in the door to his one-bedroom
in the Bronx with deep satisfaction. The
apartment is his alone, and it is his first
ever. He is 41 .
For 18 years, Goldstein battled depres-
sion by downing a cocktail of drugs he
prescribed for himself and filled on a street
comer. Through it all, he worked-until
the vicious high of crack landed him on the
streets for five years. He lived in a shack he
constructed deep in the woods on Staten
Island, then on the stoop of a Perry Street
antiques store. Now, five years after he
forced himself into detox, Goldstein has
been living in an apartment of his own, in
Kingsbridge. "It's the longest I've ever
been in one place," says Goldstein of his
two years there. ''This place is keeping me
stable."
Through a program paid for by New
APRIL 2001
York State and run by the Metropolitan
Council on Jewish Poverty, he not only gets
much of his rent paid for but also gets a
caseworker and counselor from the Post-
graduate Center for Mental Health. Like
other tenants in the building who are subsi-
dized under the program, he contributes
one-third of his income. Most tenants
receive a Social Security disability check,
and give about $200 toward the rent.
But in October, Goldstein came home
to find an eviction notice pinned to his
door. He and 29 other tenants in Met Coun-
cil's supported housing are being kicked
out of co-op and rental apartments owned
by Ronald Edelstein. Their story is much
like that of the 120,000 or so other New
Yorkers who received eviction notices last
year. A few months earlier, Edelstein had
informed the agency that apartments Met
Council was renting from him for between
$550 and $600 a month each would now
cost $900 and up.
There was no way Met Council could
pay that. It receives just $817 a month from
the New York State Office of Mental
Health, and that is supposed to cover not
only housing and social services for each
client, but administrative costs, too----even
furniture. Out of desperation, the organiza-
tion withheld rent on all the apartments in
the building, and Edelstein delivered the
\
\
,
\
eviction notices to panicked tenants. Under
a settlement reached in February, Met
Council will have to vacate the apartments
within 18 months.
The story is much the same on East
94th Street, where the Association for
Rehabilitative Case Management and
Housing is fighting to make sure a dozen
mentally ill tenants don't get kicked out of
their apartments. The agency has rented
these rent-stabilized apartments from
another nonprofit, Faith Ministries, since

PIPELINE ~
,
Seeking only
stability. Michael
Belle and Gary
Goldstein will
have to move
instead. They're
getting evicted
from their
apartments. and
their mental health
agency is
powerless to
stop it.
-6
s
1994. But last year Faith Ministries refused
to issue a new lease, claiming that a 1996
court ruling exempting corporations from
rent regulations meant that it had the power
to kick the mental health group out.
Launched in New York in 1990, sup-
ported housing is supposed to bring togeth-
er the best of two worlds. It allows mental-
ly ill people to receive structured social and
psychiatric services, while allowing them
to live independently in unsupervised
apartments. Mental health providers like its
combination of flexibility and structure.
"It's the right configuration of services,"
says Peter Campanelli, director of the Insti-
tute for Community Living, which has 311
New Yorkers in supported housing.
But the program has also always housed
those tenants in privately rented apart-
ments, leaving their fragile clients vulnera-
ble to the vagaries of the real estate market.
It hasn't helped that state funding for the
program has barely budged: In the decade
following 1990, the amount the state has
paid agencies per client to provide support-
ed housing has gone up just 3 percent. Dur-
ing the same period, rents citywide jumped
more than 40 percent.
Last year, groups that work with the
mentally ill decided that supported housing
had become a losing business proposition.
The state sought organizations interested in
taking on a total of 2,000 more supported
housing clients-and almost no one
applied for the money. In the end, the
Office of Mental Health was compelled to
increase its offer by about $90 per tenant
per month, to $10,912 a year. "It took a cri-
sis to generate some action," says David
Bergman, a program associate at the Coali-
tion of Voluntary Mental Health Agencies.
The embarrassment forced an issue that
was long coming. For years, the 50-odd
organizations in the city that provide sup-
ported housing under state contracts have
struggled to make ends meet, making deep
cuts in their mental health services under
the program to make sure that their clients
could keep their apartments. Most
providers say they've had to divert money
from their mental health services in order
to pay the rent. While 15 clients per case-
worker is considered ideal, ICL has dou-
bled caseloads, to 30 per social worker. At
the Pibly Residential Program in the
Bronx, caseloads have gone up to 23.
The agencies should get a little relief
soon. In his proposed budget this year,
Gov. George Pataki gave the same pay hike
to the organizations, like Met Council, that
are struggling under older contracts that
subsidize 5,100 tenants statewide. The bud-
get also calls for a 2.5 percent increase for
each of the next three years, part of an
overall shift away from institutional care
for the mentally ill and toward increased
funding for community-based living. "It's
not a long-term solution," admits Chris
Roblin, a program specialist at OMH. 'The
buzz we're getting is, it's OK for now."
But while additional money is vital , the
evictions expose a deeper vulnerability of
supported housing. In the tightest apart-
ment market in memory, landlords can
afford to be picky-and though it's illegal
to discriminate against the disabled, bias is
also common. "It's frightening," said
William Rapfogel, the executive director of
Met Council. "We don't have the legal
standing to make sure tenants are protected
in the long term."
W
hen Met Council got into sup-
ported housing five years ago,
finding a landlord with a big
block of empty apartments in decent build-
ings wasn' t hard, says Gary Gutterman,
Met Council's director of housing. But in
the last three or so years, some landlords
began to demand significant increases
when leases expired. Even so, Edelstein's
30 percent rent hike came as a complete
surprise. "It's a sign of the economic
boom," Gutterman laments.
But Lisa Green, the attorney from MFY
Legal Services representing the tenants,
says that Edelstein's lawyer, John Lansden,
told her that money. is not the only issue;
the landlord also wants the mentally ill ten-
ants to leave because of complaints from
co-op members and the board. "He made it
absolutely clear to me," says Green. Land-
sen did not return calls from City Limits
seeking comment.
At the same time, Green also observes
that Met Council could have done much
more to protect its tenants. 'They never
should have entered into leases for co-ops,"
she says. "Even in the rent-stabilized apart-
ments, the tenants were put on subleases,
so they have no protections." Neither does
Met Council. The state provides no guid-
ance to organizations on what kind of hous-
ing they should obtain or how they should
go about doing it; agencies simply find
apartments on their own, ad hoc. Met
Council now has no idea where it will relo-
cate its clients. Green's tenants fear that
they will be dumped in apartments in sub-
standard buildings, in dangerous areas.
This isn't the first time Met Council has
run into problems with its housing. A cou-
ple of years ago, tenants got fed up because
the landlord wouldn't make repairs in a
Harlem building and withheld their share
of the rent, forcing the organization to
court. The landlord ultimately performed
the repairs under court order.
But while tenants aren't always happy
with supported housing, New York State is,
and the state intends to continue its expan-
sion. It's perhaps the most cost-effective
way to combine treatment and a place to
live; "supportive housing," in buildings
owned and operated by mental health agen-
cies that provide services on site, costs
about a third more for each resident.
Some housing providers say the extra
investment is worth it. In 1997, Met Coun-
cil used a bond issue to build a single room
occupancy building with counseling and
other services on the premises. 'The state
should make a greater commitment to
building more like that-a long-term com-
mitment so you don' t have to worry about
the lease expiring," says Rapfogel.
But that would do away with an essen-
tial ingredient: clients' independence. It's
the difference between living in a college
dorm and having a private apartment-in
congregate housing, every neighbor is men-
tally ill, too, and often there are rules, like
curfews, that residents have to follow.
"Imagine how you'd feel if somebody says,
this is the building you're going to live in
and you can't do this or that in your room,
versus being able to find, furnish and deco-
rate a place how you want," says Bergman.
For Goldstein, continuity and indepen-
dence go hand in hand. In the evening, he
follows a predictable routine: He picks up
his mail, checks the answering machine,
feeds the cat before it playfully bites him as
a reminder. Then he kicks off his shoes and
unwinds, either by playing the drums on a
mismatched set he's bought piece by piece
over the last two years, or by painting land-
scapes at his art table, often taking inspira-
tion from the lights of the George Washing-
ton Bridge flickering beyond his back win-
dow. These are the images of his new life.
"I love having my own apartment,"
Goldstein says softly. "I love that I can go
to a place and call it home."
Nora McCarthy is a Brooklyn-based free-
lance writer.
CITY LIMITS
Survey of Compensation and Benefits Among
Community-Based Not for Profit Organizations
Metropolitan New York 1999-2000
Community Resource Exchange has commissioned a survey of 50 nonprofits
that looks at the salaries and benefits for management positions in small to
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C R E
Community
Resource
Exchange
Commitment is
APRIL 2001
Tracy Elliott,
Community Resource Exchange
39 Broadway, 10th Floor
New York, NY 10006
Tomorro\N starts today
leading to results
Deutsche Bank's commitment to
global corporate citizenship recognizes a
responsibility to improve and enrich the
communities throughout the world in
which we conduct business.
With a focused strategy of support for
community development, the arts and the
environment, Deutsche Bank partners with
local organizations to build a brighter future.
Our commitment to a better tomorrow
starts today.
Deutsche Bank 1/1

MP
By Matt Pacenza
"I've got a sister at 690 141 st Street and
some grandnieces at Triple-Six," says
Norma Allen, the president of Tenants
. United for a Better Living. Her voice is
agitated as she stands tall in the office of the group
representing the more than 2,000 low-income fam-
ilies who live in one of New York City's most
sprawling housing developments: the Jose de
Diego Beekman Houses.
Allen lights a Kool in front of a "No Smoking"
sign and ticks off a half-dozen other relatives-
aunts, nephews, cousins-who are sprinkled
throughout Beekman's eight-square-block spread
of low-rise brick buildings. These family members
are connected not just by birth and marriage, but
by decades of fighting to make their homes safe-
from drug gangs, from collapsing infrastructure
and from one of the Northeast's most notorious
big landlords.
Now, they are bound by the alarming possibil-
ity that the scheme they've been developing for six
years to take over ownership of the battered build-
ings will fall into a void-the no-man's land
between two administrations in Washington. The
worst-case scenario, hinted at by HUD and feared
by tenants: The agency will sell the buildings,
which are $27 million in debt, individually on the
open market.
-
For SlX years, tenants at the
Bronx's Beekman Houses have
negotiated to take over their
embattled homes from HUD.
Now the deal has fallen into
Washington's leadership
limbo-and its survival 1S as
uncertain as its history.
"We don't want them to tum this property over
to just anybody," says resident and former Tenants
United president Wilma Johnson. "We're families
in 38 buildings, and we want to stay together."
After their experience with their last landlord,
the tenants here don't want to take any chances.
Starting in the early 1970s, the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development gave a
Boston real estate company, Continental Wingate,
not only the deteriorating buildings but mortgage
guarantees, generous tax breaks and up to $12
million a year in federal housing subsidies. All the
company had to do in exchange was keep up the
buildings and provide decent and safe housing to
poor families.
It didn't. Fed up with sporadic heat, backed-up
sewage, infestations of rats, piles of trash in the hall-
ways, crumbling ceilings and unlit and unsafe hall-
ways, Allen and dozens of fellow tenants organized
in the mid 1990s and convinced HUD to investigate
Continental Wingate, a billion-dollar company
owned by Gerald Schuster, a major Democratic
party contributor. It all began when a few women,
tired of covering broken windows with plastic
sheets, knocked on their neighbors' doors and, with
the help of a tenant organizer, began meeting and
agitating until they couldn't be ignored.
As City Limits reported in an award-winning
series ["Anatomy of a Sweetheart Deal," Novem-
ber 1997, and "Reversal of Fortune," December
1997], the feds' probe uncovered negligence,
fraud and buildings run like a bank machine. Crit-
ics of the Clinton Administration also found
ammunition to accuse then-HUD Secretary
Andrew Cuomo of giving a major break to a polit-
ically connected developer.
CITY LIMITS
.
...
Yet even amid that wreckage, ambitious afford-
able-housing developers saw the vast 1,200-unit
Beekman complex as full of possibilities for revi-
talizing long-suffering Mott Haven. They sat down
with the tenants to develop a plan to reclaim the
buildings, and came up with an imaginative vision
for tenant control and community development, in
which the tenants would own the project, helped
by managers with expertise in cleaning up trou-
bled buildings. Residents would have home com-
puters, on-site day care, a security force-the
building blocks for a thriving community. HUD's
own consultants confirmed that the complicated
funding scheme would work.
For nearly two years, Continental Wingate has
been out of the picture entirely-and HUD offi-
cials have assured tenants repeatedly that their
plan was back on track. "I thought it was a win-
win situation for everyone," says Victor Solomon,
one of the prospective managers of the complex. "I
thought HUD would jump at this."
But if HUD itself has been enthusiastic about
the tenants' proposal, it hasn't been showing it. Six
years after the residents demanded the agency help
them, and four years after HUD agreed to tum the
project over to the tenants, the Beekman plan is
still only an extremely detailed proposition. For
much of the past year, the tenants have had no con-
tact with HUD at all.
Only at the end of January, once City Limits
started making calls, did HUD get serious about
negotiations. Now, it's a race to the finish. HUD
officials appointed under Clinton are finally ham-
mering out financial details with the management
team. But the flurry of activity may well be too
late. Even if regional HUD staff agree to a last-
minute deal, there are no guarantees that their new
bosses in the Bush administration will green-light
the ambitious plan-its ties to a major Clinton
campaign donor hardly help-or that the people
negotiating the project will still have jobs a few
months from now.
Housing developers involved in the negotia-
tions say it should never have come down to this.
Cuomo's HUD, they say, had plenty of time to
approve the Beekman plan. "HUD has thrown up
roadblocks instead of making decisions," charges
Gale Kaufman, who served as a technical consul-
tant to the plan from the New York City Housing
Partnership. Beekman's Wilma Johnson, who has
been working on the plan for five years now, says
negotiating with HUD is "like beating your head
up against a stone wall."
The tenants and their management team look
back on the thousands of pages of administrative
and financing proposals they've submitted to
HUD, the months they've waited for feedback, the
funds that have been promised and then with-
drawn, and wonder what happened. Was it a
APRIL 2001
change in HUD policy? In personnel? Did HUD
decide the tenants were expendable once Conti-
nental Wingate was out of the picture? Did Secre-
tary Cuomo, who announced his candidacy for
New York governor in February, decide to make
the Beekman bailout his successors' problem
instead of his own political liability?
Norma Allen doesn' t know. After 23 years liv-
ing at Beekman, doing battle with both a corrupt
management company and the federal govern-
ment, she has little faith that outsiders are looking
out for the people who live here-and she's not
positive they're interested in the tenant takeover.
There's just one thing she's sure of. "To divide us
would be wrong," says Allen. "We're related not
just by blood but by Beekman."
I
n 1996, the Beekman tenants thought they
could see their way out of their mess, as
affordable-housing developers converged
on the complex with talk of transformation
and community power. Kathryn Wylde, then head
of the New York City Housing Partnership, envi-
sioned a role for the Neighborhood Entrepreneurs
Program, a citywide housing program she helped
desigl) to transfer troubled buildings from city
ownership to handpicked landlords with commu-
nity ties. Wylde introduced the tenants to some of
the program's landlords, and five of them stuck
around, including Michael Rooney, a financial
expert in low-income housing, and Victor
Solomon, the owner of a Harlem real estate busi-
ness. HUD urged them to unite in a new company,
Diversified Management.
By 1997, the tenants, Diversified, Continental
Wingate, the Housing Partnership and HUD con-
sultants had ironed out a deal committing to the
"redevelopment of Jose de Diego Beekman Hous-
es" under a "locally based ownership structure."
The agreement included millions in federal and city
dollars and $2 million from Contin.ental Wmgate,
which would remain as a limited partner [see
"Anatomy of a Sweetheart Deal," November 1997].
For HUD, the tenant deal was a good story. It
turned attention away from Continental Wingate
and suggested that HUD was open to innovative
solutions. It was a chance to recast a disaster into
a showpiece.
But the agreement, and the tenants' ambitions,
were sidetracked from the start. Continental
Wingate was not just a financial liability for HUD,
but a political one, too: General partner Gerald
Schuster and his wife, Elaine, were devoted Demo-
cratic Party fundraisers, raising millions for Presi-
dent Clinton's campaigns and the Democratic
National Committee. When details of the deal were
made public by City Limits in late 1997, it looked
an awful lot like a $40 million bailout of a wealthy
and politically connected slumlord. HUD's inspec-
tor general concluded at the time that the deal
"rewards a landlord who may bear responsibility
for the deplorable conditions of the projects."
The IG had worse in store for Continental
Wingate. In early 1998, the office found that the
company had done more than run Beekman into
the ground-it also may have misappropriated
$1.4 million of federal money intended for the
(continued on page 32)
-
A Bed-Stuy clinic,
founded to treat
patients with
nowhere else to go,
faces a health crisis
of its own: Medicaid
managed care.
To survive, it has
to seduce paying
customers-without
leaving the
neighborhood
behind.
-
By Ruth Ford
Photographs by Spencer Platt
r. Monica Sweeney offers a diagnosis of one of her
patients: A woman, 290 pounds, five feet six, asth-
matic, obese, has congestive heart failure, is pre-
diabetic, has sinusitis and smokes. ''This is not a
patient you can take care of on $20 a month," she
observes. ''This is not the Upper East Side. People
here are sick."
Sweeney is medical director of the Bedford Stuyvesant Fam-
ily Health Center, whose windowless presence on Fulton Street
near New York Avenue does little to describe the clinic's impor-
tance in the neighborhood. Since 1978, the center has been a
health care haven for central Brooklyn, armed with a mandate
and a little money from the federal government to treat every-
one, regardless of ability to pay.
Here, it doesn't matter if you don't have health insurance, or
speak Spanish, Creole, Hindi or Bengali. All you need is a body
and a desire to keep it working. Ten percent of the patients here
are uninsured and pay on a sliding scale starting at $30. "Life is
rough," says 51-year-old Norman Riley, a Vietnam vet who
relies on the clinic for cheap health care. "You work all your life
and you get nothing back."
What it takes for the staff here to handle 45,000 patient vis-
its a year has gotten more complicated and expensive since the
facility opened. The 15-minute basic exam once centered
around a blood-pressure check and test for diabetes. Now,
patients also have to be tested for HlV and sexually transmitted
diseases and are questioned about drug use, gun violence and
domestic abuse. And these efforts go beyond the beige and gray
walls of the examining rooms; the center also sends a mobile
team out to provide medical and social services at soup kitchens
and shelters in the neighborhood.
These days, however, the center has been facing a crisis of its
own. New York State is in the process of transfering virtually
every person who receives health insurance under Medicaid to
managed care. In the new medical order, the patients sign up
with a primary health care provider, which receives a flat
monthly payment of $14 to $20, no matter how often or infre-
quently a patient comes for care. Suddenly, each person enrolled
in Medicaid is a precious commodity-and hospitals and private
clinics have been vying aggressively for their business.
It's a fight for survival. Until now, fee-for-service Medicaid
payments offered health care providers in low-income neigh-
borhoods a financial lifeline: $99 from New York State every
time a patient visited. But now, an array of health maintenance
organizations are middlemen between the state and doctors, and
they are taking a heavy bite out of hospital and clinic income.
CITY LIMITS
Sandra and Willy Evans (foreground) and their daughter Fufenah. lilt's a nice environment, and makes
you want to come back," she says. But because they are on Medicaid, each visit they make is now a
money-losing venture for the clinic.
APRIL 2001
-
Long waits in a .. ---...
crowded room give
Isaac Amoo, an
insurance
salesman for a
Medicaid HMO, a
captive audience.
--
Dr. Monica
Sweeney with
patient Andrew
Cooper. "The
state of health
care is not good,"
says Cooper.
"You could be
bleeding from
every orifice and
the first thing the
hospial will ask
you is, 'Do you
have health
insurance?' "
CITY LIMITS
Though hospitals will be getting $1.25 billion in state and federal
aid over the next five years to ease them through the transition,
they are already reporting devastating financial losses.
But Medicaid managed care is equally bad news for Bed Stuy
and 29 other community health centers located in New York City.
From their establishment three decades ago, the centers were vir-
tually synonymous with the federal health program. In fact, they
were created to accept Medicaid when private doctors refused.
The Family Health Center was once able to count on getting about
$350 for each Medicaid patient a year, based on an average of 3.5
visits each. Now, it is getting about $162 a year; HMOs take the
rest. "They tum around and skim half the money off the top for
their operation," explains a financial consultant who has worked
with the center for nearly a decade. "That's literally half our
costs."
For now, the federal government is chipping in with an extra
$32 per visit, but it still leaves the centers shortchanged. Last year,
with about half of its 11,000 Medicaid patients already in man-
aged care, the center lost $500,000 treating them. By the middle
of next year, the transition to managed care is scheduled to be
complete, and the losses are expected to double. If the clinic has
to rely on Medicaid managed care alone, says one senior staff
member, 'Til be looking for another job."
Before tomorrow comes, executive director Ulysses Kilgore
ill has to fill the breach, however he can. The center's planned
APRIL 2001
remedy, already underway: an aggressive effort to become the
medical center of choice for local people who have a choice. City
workers with private health insurance; college students enrolled in
university health plans; local workers in Bedford-Stuyvesant, like
bank employees-these, Kilgore and his staff hope, will be among
the new faces at the clinic.
To stay alive as the doctor of last resort, the Bedford
Stuyvesant Family Health Center has to reinvent itself to make
sure that it's the first, too.
eated at a table in his cramped second-floor offices,
the center's director talks about the health care rights
of the poor with a passion unexpected from a man
who spent 10 years in management with Pfizer and
Brooklyn Union Gas. A stint as CFO of Syndeham
Hospital-later shut down by the budget-crunched
city in the 1970s, to the outrage of Harlem resi-
dents-brought him face-to-face with patients and pain, and a new
calling as an administrator of community health centers. "We have
a moral commitment to be here," says Kilgore, who has run the
Bed Stuy center for 19 years. "We have a human bottom line."
But already, Kilgore is nearly in the red, and his clinic isn't the
one-stop shop for emotional and physical care it used to be. Until
a couple of years ago, the center had all kinds of neighborhood out-
reach programs. A primary care coordinator greeted patients at the
Executive
Director
Ulysses
Kilgore III.
lilt's not
about having
the patients
depending on
us," he says.
lilt's about
them
having some
knowledge,
taking
responsibility
for their own
health. " But
the budget
crunch has
forced
Kilgore to cut
back on
education
programs.
-
.. ____________ ... ___________ ... ________ .. Norman Riley
-
door and showed them a video about healthy eating. The center
launched one initiative to decrease infant mortality, going out in the
community to encourage pregnant mothers to come in for prenaial
care; another program weaned substance-abusing mothers off
drugs, offering them counseling and giving them tips on how to
look for and keep jobs. There used to be a diabetes class, to help
patients understand the disease. At one point, the center was par-
ticipating in a nationwide study on chronic care illness, but had to
drop out because staff didn't have enough time to devote to it.
"We had a free breast and cervical screening program. That
ended five years ago," says Sweeney. "We had a school health care
program." Once upon a time they went out into the community to
give people free blood pressure tests. That's long gone too. They
have no development director, and Sweeney, who refers to herself
as "chief cook and bottle washer," says she and the other doctors
are too busy juggling paperwork for the HMOs to hunt for grants.
"So much stuff is going and nothing is replacing it," she says, tears
of frustration standing in her eyes. "It shouldn't be this way."
In truth, however, the clinic is adding new services, aimed at
attracting new customers-{)nes who bring dollars with them.
Two years ago, after reading that consumer spending on alterna-
tive medicine was growing faster than any other kind of care, Kil-
gore began offering acupuncture and herbal medicine. He was
determined to offer the services, and keep the dollars, at home in
Bedford-Stuyvesant. "We don't want people to go to Manhattan.
We want them to be able to get all the things they need right here."
Government's exit from health care administration is not entire-
ly bad news for Kilgore. In January, the center won a three-year deal
to serve as the health headquarters for veterans in central Brooklyn,
escorts his
83-year-old
mother,
Lillian, whose
prescriptions
cost him
more than
$300 a
month. "1
can't afford a
nurse for my
mother," he
says-or
health
insurance for
himself.
a job formerly handled by a VA hospital. Another contract makes
Bed Stuy a medical provider for the city's Department of Juvenile
Justice. Kilgore'S also negotiating with a local church to open a dia-
betes clinic in space the church owns, and talking to Medgar Evers
College officials about opening up a clinic on campus.
Most of this takes not just dollars, but space the center cur-
rently doesn't have. Walking the twisting halls of the clinic is like
navigating a mosaic by M.e. Escher. An indoor garage converted
into a waiting room juts off from a corridor, blocked with four
thrumming copy machines. That hall leads to an even narrower
passageway lined with exam rooms, but not enough of them to
meet the demand when all nine doctors are on duty at once. The
emphasis in the crowded seating area is on "waiting," not
"room"-delays of two hours to see a doctor are common.
Already, some patients are going elsewhere; the number of vis-
its has dropped, from roughly 50,000 in 1998 to 45,000 last year.
Relief is a full two years away. With a $15 million loan from the
Primary Care Development Corporation, the Bedford Stuyvesant
center will move to a 30,000-square-foot space across the street-
three times its current size.
Kilgore knows he has to move fast. "Back in the days of the
Great Society, we could just focus on serving the people," he says.
"The reality is, now you have to make sure the dollars are in
place." He's learning, by trying whatever works, how to do both.
If the clinic can't provide top-notch care for everyone, he says
humbly, "there is no reason for me to exist."
Ruth Ford is a reporter for the Brooklyn Papers. Spencer Platt is
a staff photographer for the Liaison news agency.
CITY LIMITS
Bill Walczak's
Boston clinic fights
illness and poverty.
Until New Profit
called, he never had
to decide what his
organization
couldn't do.
And like a growing number of nonprofits these days, Schwarz and
his colleagues are working on new ways to create "earned revenue,"
including selling Citizen Schools' expertise in creating after-school
programs, to keep its $4.8 rnillion-a-year operation growing. I've
izen Schools as "investors"-a
group culled primarily from
Boston's technology-rich venture
capital community that is con
vinced Citizen Schools and the
four other Boston organizations
New Profit is currently funding
will get results for the $11 million
they've put in so far. At Citizen
Schools, results are teens who've
improved their academic skills.
For the organization Working
Today, that money is supposed to
result in cheaper health insurance
for the self-employed. For the
preschool education group Jump-
start, success equals the number of
children who reach first grade with
above-average learning skills.
Now New Profit is doing business
in New York, and is on the hunt for
local nonprofits that want to do busi-
ness the venture capital way. Health-
ier kids, PCs in the homes of poor
families trained to use them ... when it
comes down to it, Kirsch expects just two things from New Profit's
investments: that they result in social change, and do it in a big way.
''1 know there are a lot of hot, entrepreneurial nonprofits out there,"
Kirsch says. "We're going to help them really take off."
ttl hate the word tcharity,'" says the fund's creator. ttWe're
--
met CEOs of Fortune 500 companies who aren't this poised.
Schwarz motions around Citizen Schools' big, funky office: "I
think of this as a very successful start-up," he enthuses. "We've
built a bit of a better mousetrap. We're delivering services in a new
and creative way, and getting results."
In the last two years, Schwarz and his Citizen Schools
cofounder, Ned Rimer, have had a burst of support in this goal,
from a young Boston-based organization called New Profit. Last
year, New Pr.ofit gave them the first installment of a four-year,
$1 million grant, as well as hours and hours of hands-on input
from Monitor Group, a leading management consulting firm.
Together they've helped craft Citizen Schools' business plan,
done extensive CEO-style consulting with Schwarz, and devel-
oped strict performance measures they review quarterly and
annually to make sure the nonprofit accomplishes everything it's
promised to.
"We're helping nonprofits figure out what the economic
denominators are, being very rigid and making tough decisions
and saying, 'Should we do this new program, is it cost-effective,
is it sustainable?'" explains Vanessa Kirsch, New Profit's presi-
dent and cofounder. "Our donors are looking for results. They
want to see the nonprofits really thriving."
The people giving the money, in this case, are known to Cit-
M
oney in, hard results out; it's an entirely new type of
relationship between a nonprofit and its benefactor.
Foundations have traditionally kept an arm's-length
relationship with the organizations they fund, granti-
ng money for good works, asking for reports, occasionally com-
missioning outside evaluations, but mostly keeping their distance-
the assumption is that the nonprofit knows best how to run itself.
The foundation's money might have originated in the cutthroat cor-
porate world, but once it's in the hands of the nonprofits, a separate
culture is presumed to take over: nonprofits are supposed to behave
differently than corporations, because they're seeking social change.
New Profit, in contrast, embraces corporate culture and thinks
its nonprofit beneficiaries ought to, too. It picks organizations that
already have lively, entrepreneurial leaders, puts them through an
intense due-diligence process, then ushers them through boot
camp in for-profit management techniques, all before handing
them their first check. The goal is to help the nonprofits develop
their own self-sustaining revenues and grow, grow, grow-city-
wide, even nationwide. Growth, Kirsch argues, is the only way
nonprofits can thrive long enough to make a difference. In the
nonprofit world, she likes to say, ''We've planted a million wild-
flowers, but we've grown only a few oak trees"-mega-organiza-
tions like the Sierra Club or Girl Scouts, whose "brands" are so
CITVLlMITS
dominant they attract major corporate donors as well as hundreds
of thousands of small contributors.
Kirsch's way of doing business has come to be known as "ven-
ture philanthropy," a mini-movement modeled on the aggressive
practices of venture capitalism. Born out of the pro-market, can-do
vibe of the high-tech boom, venture philanthropists don't merely
give money away; they invest it. And, like all venture capitalists,
they keep close tabs on how their investments are performing-
helping them with administrative planning, but also demanding
that the nonprofit produce some serious results. "It's an investment
relationship," Kirsch says. "We're producing social capital."
Venture philanthropy is still a small phenomenon. There are
only 37 organizations like New Profit in existence, according to a
study by the Morino Institute, a group that researches tech-indus-
try efforts to promote social change. But the movement is grow-
ing rapidly; three-quarters of all venture philanthropy funds start-
ed up in just the last two years.
Venture philanthropy is suffused with talk of the new, but it's also
a barely disguised backlash against traditional charitable giving.
They believe that the foundation world is broken-that traditional
foundations are too stingy, and nonprofits too timid in their goals.
Both, they say, need the excitement and rigor of the free market.
That suggestion has provoked heated, almost vicious criticism
from traditional philanthropists and nonprofit leaders. The whole
point of nonprofits, they argue, is to take care of people who aren't
getting served by the marketplace. Venture philanthropists, they
contend, are intolerant of grim, entrenched social problems, and
focus only on ones that respond to sunny entrepreneurial opti-
mism-technology training, yes; tenant organizing, no.
investing in social capital."
''This is just a bunch of people who' ve gotten lucky in the
boom thinking they now know how to save the world. But they're
probably more likely to screw up nonprofits than help them," says
Pablo Eisenberg, senior fellow at the Georgetown University Pub-
lic Policy Institute and a frequent critic of the philanthropic estab-
lishment. A granting director at a major New York foundation
shares Eisenberg's dim opinion of for-profit prowess: "Half of
these people ran businesses into the ground, and they think they've
got it figured out? Give me a break."
At the same time, some of the most enthusiastic adherents to
the new management model are coming from the ranks of tradi-
tional philanthropy. Starting this year, the influential Edna
McConnell Clark Foundation is focusing funding on the institu-
tional growth and development of a handful of organizations,
demanding greater accountability and business acumen in return.
"The debate is explosive," says Bruce Trachtenberg, director of
communications for the Clark foundation. "The philanthropic
community has not had a conversation like this for years."
There is one thing everyone can agree on: The ways nonprofits
currently get funded can be a draining dead end. Just 13 percent of
all foundation grants are for general operational support-to pay
for salaries, rent, paper clips, the basics. Much of the rest is desig-
nated for specific programs that often have more to do with a foun-
APRIL 2001
dation's priorities than those of the groups they fund. At most non-
profits, overworked development staff spend their days scrounging
for those one-year grants, then twist their goals into pretzels trying
to satisfy their narrow terms-inefficiencies that would be unthink-
able in for-profit business. Says Neil Carlson, director of commu-
nications at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy,
'That critique is shared by everyone in the nonprofit world."
, ,!hate the word 'charity,'" Vanessa Kirsch tells me. "I
don' t like the way it's set up." For 35-year-old Kirsch,
that conclusion came from her own hard experience
in the trenches. In 1991, she founded Public Allies, an
organization that paid young people to do apprenticeships making
a difference in their communities. It quickly grew to six cities
nationwide, and Kirsch raised $9 million to make it happen.
But her success was won bitterly: By Kirsch's estimates, she
spent over 90 percent of her time fundraising. Foundations pre-
ferred to give one-year grants; worse, they were usually designated
for special projects instead of what she really needed, which was
money for the everyday costs of keeping Public Allies going. Kirsch
wanted to "scale" the organization-to keep growing it across the
country-but foundations were mostly useless in that objective. On
"You can be
seduced by things
that are easy to
measure, like
attendance and
grades," cautions
Citizen Schools
cofounder Ned
Rimer. A million-
dollar cash
infusion is
transforming his
organization.
-
-
the contrary, they figured that since Public Allies was now well
established, it didn't need help; they wanted to focus on fostering
new and struggling nonprofits, not making big ones bigger. "Foun-
dations began telling us that we were too successful," Kirsch says,
incredulous. It was crazy, she thought; why punish success?
Kirsch decided the culture had to change, so that nonprofits could
get longer-term funding and support to help them grow. She started
researching venture philanthropy-a concept popularized in a 1997
Harvard Business Review article called "Virtuous Capital," which
argued that charitable giving ought to function more like for-profit
venture capitalism. In venture capitalism, Kirsch notes, investors
don't just hand over a check to a worthy company; they vet their
investments closely, and offer their expertise in business-building.
The outcome, established later that year, was New Profit.' And
Citizen Schools was an easy pick for its first round Qf support.
Kirsch needed four surefire winners. Not only did Schwarz have
the entrepreneurial fire Kirsch craved, but he had spent five years
working for her husband, Alan Khazei, at City Year, a Boston
The for-profit world is
hardly a paragon of
success. Eight out of 10
new companies fail.
organization that pays youth to work in their communities.
(Khazei also serves on Citizen Schools' board; in the world of
venture philanthropy, with its emphasis on partnerships, his affil-
iation is considered not a conflict of interest but an asset.)
Investors may be willing to pitch in time and money, but they
also need to see results. The problem, as foundations know, is that
tracking success in social change is an inexact science. "How do
you measure how much you've prevented poverty? Or how do you
measure a decrease in unhappiness?" wonders Dorothy Ridings,
president of the Council on Foundations.
To try and track this amorphous stuff to the satisfaction of her
venture-capitalist donors, Kirsch turned to a business tool called
the "Balanced Scorecard." It was originally developed in 1992 by
Harvard business professor Robert Kaplan, to help companies
measure their performance in similarly nebulous areas-like
"innovation" or "customer satisfaction." Companies, he realized,
frequently ignore these areas because they're not easy to measure,
but they're crucial to running a profitable business.
With Kaplan's blessings and input, New Profit and Monitor
Group spent long hours working with Schwarz and his staff to
develop measurements and goals. "Customer satisfaction" would
be gauged with a survey to see how happy students, parents and
even employees were. Another was financials: They wanted to
have a 5 percent operating surplus, and embark on an aggressive
fundraising campaign to secure $25 million through 2003. Yet
another was improving their students' "hard" skills: Kids had to
perform better on written tests at the end of the school year.
At the end of each year, Citizen Schools and the Monitor Group
would collect data to see whether each measurable goal was met.
If so, New Profit would agree to cut the $250,000 check for the
next year. And if not? The bottom line is that if an organization
misses its goals "in any serious way," says New Profit Investor
Relations Manager Victoria Jette, they could be cut loose. "We're
prepared to have some of our portfolio organizations fail." The
expectation, though, is that investors will have plenty of warning if
a nonprofit is in trouble, and can intervene to help fix it.
New Profit also tries hard to weed out potential failures. Groups
have to work out their Balanced Scorecard ahead of time, spending
months working with Monitor Group to identify goals that make
both them and New Profit happy. One of New Profit's Boston orga-
nizations is still going through this mating dance. Dorchester's
Codman Square Health Center is a neighborhood nexus for med-
ical care, social services and cOnUnunity revitalization. In its 23-
year history, it has taken on everything from AIDS to urban plan-
ning to launching a charter school.
Now, it's facing the prospect of tough decisions. "That process
itself is enormously valuable," says Executive Director Bill Wal-
czak. "We're already thinking much more clearly about goals
now. It used to be that if somebody came up with an idea for a
community service, we'd be like, 'Great, do it! It can't hurt!' But
now we think about whether we're using our resources wisely.
We'll say, 'Sure, it can't hurt-but will it help?'"
A
rchie Nagraj, now Citizen Schools' associate program
director, remembers the organization in its "old
days"-back in 1997. She'd just finished her MSW,
and she was, she laughs, a "classic social-work soft-
ie-my whole goal was to improve kids' self-esteem."
Nagraj enjoyed the scrappy, hard-driving environment at Citi-
zen Schools, which was located in a basement office that some-
times flooded. She and her coworkers would often work until 2
a.m. "We were all into the excitement of being a start-up, just
going like crazy," she says. It wasn't always a positive energy: As
at many nonprofits, administration was lax, budgets were some-
times nonexistent and people would often duplicate each other's
work. 'Things were not well run all the time," she says.
But the rewards were "incredible," particularly when Nagraj
could watch a student make a breakthrough. She says she'll never
forget one boy, emotionally distressed and with a hard life at home,
who stuggled to pass a test in a karate class taught by a cop. "I
thought he was going to be crushed," she recalls. "But then he
worked at it and worked at it and when he finally passed, he was run-
ning around the hallways screaming 'I did it, I did it!' You could tell
he'd broken through a barrier, and he had a better sense of himself."
Such stories of success and inspiration are common currency
in the nonprofit world-the way they often show their funders
they've achieved the ever elusive goal of "impact." When New
Profit got involved, the tone shifted discernibly. Its measurements
wouldn't even try to capture elements like self-esteem. Citizen
Schools was no longer a social work-style organization-it was
aiming squarely at being an educational company.
'The danger," Rimer admits, "is that you can be seduced by
things that are easy to measure, like attendance and grades on tests."
Another longtime staffer, Stephanie Davolos Harden, says she wel-
comed the shift to hard numbers. "But it wasn't easy. You're taking
all this stuff that used to be qualitative, and making it quantitative."
The political value of statistical goals is easier to see. "You can
go to people and say, '4.2 out of 5 parents like what we do.' That's
CITY LIMITS
powerful!" Nagraj says. School boards,
Rimer adds, are deeply impressed by the
measures. "Even if there was no funding
from New Profit, I'd still want to do a Bal-
anced Scorecard. Because at the end of the
year, you can go to employees and say, ' We
had a good year.'" Indeed, when they met
their goals for 2000, Citizen Schools staff
got bonuses of up to $2,500.
There is also more serious money to be
made with the numbers. New Profit is show-
ing Citizen Schools' Balanced Scorecard to
other venture philanthropists, as a way to
help Schwarz hit his fundraising goal. The
day after I met him, Schwarz headed to San
Francisco, where New Profit had brokered a
meeting with the Pisces Foundation. "It's
something you always see in the for-profit
world," notes Michelle Boyers, who heads
New Profit's New York office. "It's syndi-
cate funding. A venture capitalist takes a company, does its due dili-
gence, checks out all the fundamentals and then invests in it. Then
it takes it around to all its friends and says, ' Hey, this company's
great, you should get in on it.'" This sort of networking relies on
everyone trusting the first investor to have done the hard work and
number-crunching that "proves" the company is a good bet-some-
thing the Balanced Scorecard accomplishes handily.
Helping a nonprofit raise even more money, Boyers stresses, is
one of the biggest ways venture philanthropy differs from tradi-
tional charitable giving. "You'll never see this with regular foun-
dations," she complains. "They almost never cooperate in this
way. Once a nonprofit gets a grant from one foundation, they say,
'Okay, you're taken care of. You don't need our help.' It's awful.
How can a nonprofit grow with that lack of support?" When a
nonprofit does try to secure multiple sources of funding, it has to
fill out mountains of different paperwork for each one.
"Foundations don' t trust one another. Venture capitalists do,"
Boyers declares. "If a company looking for investment had to fill
out different forms for every single VC it went to, it'd be nuts.
Nothing would ever get done! But that's how foundations are, and
it just makes more work for nonprofits."
T
hese blistering critiques tend to drive foundations and
nonprofit executives bonkers. Venture philanthropy, they
argue, exhibits a dangerous arrogance toward nonprof-
its, regarding them as know-nothings in need of the free
market's saving graces. By pushing measurement and account-
ability so fervently, they suggest that most nonprofits are slackers
in need of babysitting-soft-headed liberals wasting money on
dubious feel-good projects.
Anne Pasmanick, who heads the "Changing Charities"
research project at the Washington-based Union Institute, Center
for Public Policy, has seen this derision up close. "When they're
in venues where there aren't any nonprofit people around, where
it's only dot-com millionaires, [venture philanthropists] will say
'Look, these people don't have their acts together.'"
It isn't always in private, either. Harvard's Kaplan, a big sup-
porter of venture philanthropy, tells me he's leery of nonprofits'
complacency. "Nonprofits are always sending me these letters like
APRIL 2001
one I got last week, saying, 'We've been doing our work for 10
years, we have these 20 programs, and the need has never been
greater,'" he says. "And I'm thinking, if you're doing this for 10
years, what difference has it made? What can you show me?"
Plenty, say critics. It's not as if traditional foundations simply
hand over checks, points out Rick Cohen, head of the National
Committee for"Responsive Philanthropy; they also ask for results.
While he agrees with some of Kirsch and company's criticisms, he
thinks venture philanthropists overstate how hapless most nonprof-
its are. 'They have to run very tight ships. They have to be account-
able, or they won' t get funding," he notes. "They're more careful
than most businesses, actually." If they don't seem to be quickly and
dynamically "solving" poverty or inequality, he says, it's because
those problems are deeply ingrained; if the attention spans of high-
tech donors can' t handle that, that's their fault, not the nonprofits' .
Nonprofit experts also point olit that while foundations invest
most of their assets, giving out about 5 percent a year, venture phil-
anthropists spend their money as aggressively as they raise it-a
practice that could very quickly prove to be a fatal liability. Organi-
zations like New Profit rely heavily on money from new-economy
donors, the recently wealthy high-tech elite. (About 94 percent of
donations come from individuals, and the rest from traditional foun-
dations.) But the dot-com boom, from which so much venture phil-
anthropy flows, consists mostly of companies that never had the
slightest clue how to break even. As their fortunes plummet with the
Nasdaq, "those donors could start scaling back on their giving very
quickly," observes Pasmanick. "I'll be interested to see how they
deal with that." Kirsch agrees it's a serious concern. She says that
venture philanthropy needs to take root quickly among traditional
foundations and old-school, inherited money: "It will just die if it is
dependent on the new donors whose bubble just burst."
But even outside the technology sector, the for-profit world is
hardly a paragon of success. Quite the contrary; it relies on a con-
stant slew of dismal failures to produce a few occasional winners.
It's a business axiom that eight out of 10 entrepreneurial enterpris-
es collapse in barely a year or two. "If business, with its enormous
capital, can' t produce a success, then how the hell can you expect
a nonprofit to do so, following the same model?" asks an angry
Pablo Eisenberg. "It's just such crap," he moans. "It's awful."
Computers for
Youth gives PCs
and training to
New Yorkers on
the wrong side of
the digital divide.
It's also
auditioning
to be New Profit's
latest investment.
-
At the very least, New Profit is asking nonprofits to take a leap
of faith. The organization firmly believes that skillful entrepre-
neurship can help non profits mint their own money; one goal of
their four-year investments is to help their nonprofits develop as
many revenue streams as they can. "Being self-sustaining, if pos-
sible, is ideal," Boyers says.
Schwarz doesn't think it's out of the ballpark for Citizen
Schools. He has created a "Citizen Schools University" to train
other organizations running after-school programs, including
school districts and educational nonprofits. They've already
secured contracts from a federal program that preps low-income
middle school students for college. Boyers thinks Citizen Schools
has the potential to follow the trail of Head Start, which started as
. a nonprofit endeavor. "The government is a viable exit strategy for
some of our investments," she notes.
Some of New Profit's other nonprofit investments have even
more aggressive revenue-generating plans. Working Today, an orga-
nization that brokers affordable, health insurance for self-employed
"free agents," is expanding its insurance program into New York's
well-off new-media scene, hoping to make enough money to even-
tually subsidize new selVices for lower-income workers. Or there's
Jumpstart, a program to prepare preschoolers for the rest of their
education. It's created a for-profit spin-off-www.schoolsuccess.
net-that helps teachers and parents track children's progress, and
Jumpstart plans to retail the selVice nationwide.
But critics wonder about the bias in venture philanthropy
towards revenue-generating models. What about social problems
with less obvious-or nonexistent-sources of revenue, from
poverty to violence against women? "The whole point of founda-
tions is that they selVe people who've been abandoned by the
marketplace. How can you suggest the marketplace can come in
and help them out?" asks Cohen.
Judgment about what is or isn't viable in the marketplace can
also become highly political. Another philanthropic worker recalls
sitting in on a meeting of venture philanthropists who shied away
from funding any group with radical views on social justice-they
felt the groups were not looking at "solutions," and that they did-
n't have sufficiently entrepreneurial leaders. ''The idea of social
entrepreneur is, to be frank, very much about race and class," he
contends. "Because when you look at who's getting all this
money, it's very much the upper-middle-class people, the college
grads who have a great social conscience. And that's great. But
you have to be able to talk MBA talk, about scaling and all that-
and in, say, the South Bronx, there are few people with a social
commitment who talk that way."
Mind you, the venture philanthropists themselves don't refute
these charges. Quite the contrary: They go out of their way to note
that their approach isn't always suitable. They are not, they say,
presuming to solve every social problem, or shoving the free mar-
ket at everyone. ''We are not in the business of injecting entrepre-
neurship into organizations," Boyer says. "We pick ones that
already have it. It has to be a 'fit'." Indeed, a recent study of ven-
ture philanthropy by the Morino Institute, otherwise supportive,
warned that one serious problem is this very "fit": finding non-
profits that won't crumple under the weight of striving for aggres-
sive growth. Growing too quickly has killed many for-profit com-
panies, and the danger is similar for nonprofits.
Venture philanthropists are becoming keenly aware of this haz-
ard. Joe Shoemaker, executive director of Social Venture Partners
in Seattle, says they have to be careful when working to help a
nonprofit develop business plans. "We can screw things up if we
don't listen to what they need," he admits candidly; an organiza-
tion needs not only to have a growth plan, but staff and leaders
who fully support it. Schwarz agrees: "This only works for people
who already dream big and airy."
B
ig and airy; that's what Michelle Boyers likes. She wants
me to meet New Profit's newest prospective investment-
Elizabeth Stock, founder of New York's Computers for
Youth, an organization that takes bulk gifts of computers
from corporations, reconditions them, and gives them to low-income
families on a school-by-school basis. "You just have to meet this
woman," she gushes. "She's amazing. Just incredible, dynamic, a
great leader with a great idea--exactly what we're looking for!"
On a cold Saturday morning, I head out to a Harlem school,
where the school's computer lab is crammed full of kids with their
parents and guardians, all clicking away. Today, they'll get six hours
of Computers for Youth training on using software, sending email
and surfing the Web. Then they'll take the computers home, for free.
Stock is a 32-year-old engineer and former White House fel-
low who figured out a while ago that computers in schools weren't
enough; they had to be in kids' homes too, and parents had to be
involved. ''That way it's, good for the parents, too. It's something
they do with their kids. It breaks down the barriers to technology,
and it breaks down the barriers between them, too," she says, lean-
ing against a bench in the school's lab.
I can see why Boyers likes her. Stock has been running this for
only two years, but she's already figured out innovative ways to
measure her success with hard numbers. Last year, she sUlVeyed
the families that got computers and discovered several intriguing
statistics, including that 75 percent used them for homework and
that kids with non-English speaking parents used the computers
slightly more than those with English-speaking parents.
She's running on a tight budget now-barely $350,000 for six
staff in 2000, including the value of the donated computers. Stock
hopes to triple that figure this year. The outfit's energy is incredi-
ble; they're so hard-driving that her head of technology jokes that
he falls asleep upright in the shower when he goes home after
these daylong training sessions. A strong investment could really
give a boost. In a few weeks, Boyers is hoping to convene a meet-
ing with Stock and some of New Profit's dot-com donors, to suss
out whether it's a good "fit"-if Stock is willing, for example, to
work with the Balanced Scorecard.
I ask Stock whether nonprofits should really emulate for-profits.
She wonders, in return, whether that's the right question. ''Most
nonprofits already have to be pretty entrepreneurial just to start up!"
she points out. And, as she notes, running a nonprofit is always a
chancy endeavor. ''You risk going out of business that way too. I've
known people who just burn out. You take chances either way."
I wander into one of the training rooms, where an impossibly
peppy instructor is giving the families a pop quiz on what they've
learned. ''What's a 'link'? Does anyone know what a 'link' is?"
she calls out. A teenager in a hooded sweatshirt looks up from his
keyboard, puts up his hand: "Yeah. That's something that holds
the web together."
Clive Thompson is the technology columnist for Newsday. He can
be reached at clive@bway.net.
CITY LI MITS
The Empire Strikes Back
recent years, from 1999 to 2000 requests for emergency
AMMO
I
t's hard enough to find comparative stC\te-by-state data on
welfare reform, but if you wanted to see how New York
stacks up against other cities, you could pretty much fuhged-
daboudit. At least, until now: Oakland's Applied Research
Center just issued a survey of over 1,500 welfare recipients in
14 communities nationwide looking at how applicants were
treated, how long it took to get benefits, what counted towards
work requirements, and the racial breakdown of it all. How're
we doin'? New York City is near the top of the heap-when it
comes to making people wait, being discourteous and
stymieing applicants.
food assistance in the city increased by 28 percent. And h-...
overall, New York's increase in hunger was 55 percent high- -.... - ...
Seventy-eight percent of Big Apple respondents reported get-
ting treated rudely while they applied for welfare, the highest rate
of any city (the survey average was 53 percent). Adding injury to
insult, 68 percent said they had experienced barriers to the appli-
cation process-like having to make multiple trips for one appli-
cation, or being told they couldn't apply at all. (With the national
average at 58 percent, New York is vying for third place with
Milwaukee, our own Human Resource Administration Com-
missioner Jason Turner's old proving ground.) And 61 percent of
New Yorkers said it took 30 days or longer to begin receiving ben-
efits, ranking the city at No.2, just behind Oakland's 63 percent.
The national average of respondents who waited a month or more
to get their checks was 49 percent.
The Empire State really managed to distinguish itself in one
respect: While nationally two-thirds of welfare recipients who
had started working were paid wages on top of their benefits, a
whopping 95 percent of New York respondents worked in
exchange for benefits alone.
"Cruel and Unusual: How Welfare Reform Punishes Poor
People," Applied Research Center, free on the web,
www.arc.org, 510-653-3415.
Sate Crimes
I
f there were any doubts about how New York City has been
progressing in the fight to end hunger, the New York City
Coalition Against Hunger's annual report lays them to rest:
It hasn't. Despite the much-touted economic expansion of
er than the national increase of 18 percent.
Who are all these hungry people? The Coalition's citywide
survey of 299 emergency food providers points to immigrants,
the elderly and working people. While the proportion of pro-
grams reporting an increase among families and the homeless
stayed the same as last year, 53 percent of providers said that
more immigrants sought food assistance, while just 35 percent
did so last year. Programs reporting an increase in requests from
seniors jumped 9 percent and those noting an upswing in work-
ing folk requesting food rose 5 percent.
"Poor in the Land of Dollars: Hunger Rises Amid
Prosperity," New York City Coalition Against Hunger, free,
212-825-0028.
The Pews Corporation
F
aith-based organizations and their contributions to society
are in the spotlight these days, and a new report adds fuel
to the fiery debate. Touting these groups' ability to do
more with less, the study, culled from a handful of previously
released data, gives a basic breakdown on the state of the coun-
try's more than 350,000 religious congregations, from their
average size to which programs they value most.
Nationally, 92 percent of religious congregations provided
human services programs in 1993, and 62 percent offered pro-
grams for public or social benefit. The faithful are running these
programs mostly on their own dime. In 1996, they generated
over $60 billion in individual donations.
The extent to which religious organizations can comply
with basic organizational requirements expected of other, sec-
ular nonprofits remains to be seen. Barely half of congrega-
tions kept records on the cost of services, and even fewer kept
data on who it was they served.
"America's Religious Congregations: Measuring Their
Contribution to Society," Independent Sector, free on web,
www.indepdendentsector.org, 202-467-6100
Haul Monitor
Percent change in average income from
late 1980s to late 19905, in 1997 dollars
New Yorkers are losing out
when it comes to raking it in.
A recent Fiscal Policy Institute
report shows that 80 percent
of families statewide have seen
their incomes shrink since the
late 19805. Double whammy:
The poorer they were, they
more they lost, while the
richest 20 percent saw their
incomes grow 15 percent
APRIL 2001
______________________________________________ -4
____________________________________ ___
______________________ ______ ___
-10%

Bottom Fifth Second Fifth Middle Fifth Fourth Fifth Top Fifth
--
REVIEW
Petticoat
Function
By Keith Meatto
"How Women Saved the City," by Daphne
Spain, University of Minnesota Press, 288
pages, $34.95.
, 'When a girl leaves her home at eighteen, she does
one of two things. Either she falls into saving
hands and becomes better, or she rapidly
assumes the cosmopolitan standard of virtue and becomes
worse .... The city has its cunning wiles, no less than the infinite-
ly smaller and more human tempter."
Theodore Dreiser was writing about young Caroline Meeber's
fateful train ride to Chicago in Sister Carrie, but he could easily
have been talking about any number of impoverished folks arriv-
ing in big cities around 1900. Single women trying to support
themselves, freed slaves from the South, new immigrants-all
faced potentially crippling challenges when they landed in cities.
Single women needed to find legitimate employers and housing
where landlords wouldn't prey on them financially or seXUally.
Rampant racism made it difficult for blacks to find decent jobs
and any housing at all. And immigrants lacking English skills
found many Americans hostile to their customs and manners.
For these arrivistes, Dreiser's "saving hands" could mean the
difference between prostitution and a career, exploitation and
self-sufficiency, ignorance and knowledge. And in an age before
widespread government social services, those saving hands
belonged mostly to charity and volunteer groups and, not coinci-
dentally, women. In her new book, How Women Saved the City,
Daphne Spain shows how women who were excluded from most
forms of public life nevertheless volunteered, became reformers
and activists and laid the social framework for modem city life.
An urban scholar at the University of Virginia who has writ-
ten extensively on women and cities, Spain posits that, while
men were building skyscrapers and running governments,
reform-minded activist women were architects in their own
right-architects of society, who housed, educated, socialized
and uplifted largely neglected urban masses.
Spain focuses her study on four volunteer organizations in New
York, Boston and Chicago. Two groups--the YWCA and the Salva-
tion Anny-are now household names, but Spain reclaims their
activist origins from popular notions of swimming pools and used
furniture. Her other two subjects-the College Settlements Assoc-
iation and the National Association of Colored Women-are less
familiar. The CSA brought educated women together to learn social
wode in urban boarding houses as they served their impoverished
communities. The NACW grew in response
to the racism of volunteer groups like the
YWCA, which ministered to whites only.
Spain points to the Chicago World's
Columbian Exposition in 1893 as the
turning point in the urban reform
movement. First, the model city
complex designed by Daniel Burn-
ham and Frederick Law Olmstead
established the notion of a new
American experience that was
specifically urban. The "White
City" drew 500,000 visitors.
But true to its name, the
homage hardly reflected the reali-
ties of urban life. The White City had no dirt or
sewers in the street, nor did it have women or blacks trying
to scrape together a living. The whitewashing prompted black
activist Ida B. Wells to publish "The Reason Why the Black
American Is Not in the World's Columbian Exposition." Spain
credits the 81-page pamphlet with sowing the seeds for the
National Association of Colored Women, and finds a second, no
less important effect of the expo: the energizing and coalescing
of a black women's volunteer-activist movement.
And in fact, there was diversity among these women who
made careers out of helping. The founder of New York's White
Rose Mission, where newly arrived black women could get
advice, temporary housing and even employment, was Victoria
Earle Matthews, a former slave who went on to pen articles for
the New York Times and the Brooklyn Eagle. On the opposite end
of the spectrum, Boston socialite Mary Morton Kehew led the
Women's Educational and Industrial Union and campaigned vig-
orously for public bathhouses, health clinics, employment
bureaus and lunch kitchens in Boston's gritty South End.
With depictions of streets clogged with garbage and dead ani-
mals, Spain's tale is rich in detail, but the atmosphere never quite
adds up to social context. We learn about the prevailing philoso-
phies of volunteerism, but there's scant indication of how such
work was received, either by the public or by the male-dominat-
ed power structure. In spite of intriguing material like Wells,
Kehew and Matthews and lots of good reporting, Spain's dry,
academic writing ultimately makes for a pretty dull read.
Still, the historian Spain has done her job: She proves how
women-led groups were the first to successfully and comprehen-
sively address social problems of housing and education in cities,
and even paved the way for the social spending programs of the
New Deal and beyond, as government co-opted their mission.
Today we're seeing governments embrace volunteerism and faith-
based social services as viable alternatives to civil services, resus-
citating the principles of Spain's activists. And when the author
admits that the problems of 1900 still plague modem cities-how
to deal with newcomers and issues of poverty, race and class-she
begs the question, How is this work relevant? As history repeats
itself, the importance of making successful public volunteer efforts
germane to contemporary activists is evident and would have been
useful. Though How Women Saved the Cities is an informative
scholarly work, the reader is left wishing the author had been a
fraction as concerned with the future as her subjects .
Keith Meatlo is a staff writer for the Concord Monitor in
New Hampshire.
CITY LIMITS
Gordon Mayer
is a Chicago-
based freelance
writer who has
specialized in
assisting grass-
roots groups on
media relations.
APRIL 2001
Sink or Spin
By Gordon Mayer
S
everal years ago I was running a media practice training
for disability rights activists. I stood up front and casu-
ally mentioned that reporters need "victim stories." It
was like a bomb had gone off in the room. "Our peo-
ple are not victims," 50 people shouted at the same
time. "And we will never willingly call them that!"
It was a learning moment for me, but also for
them. On the one hand, demeaning labels the
media often use for people with disabilities right-
fully enraged these advocates. On the other hand,
I knew the news business was hidebound with
conventions. One is that no reporter will write
about a broad social problem unless that arti-
cle can start with a personal story to illustrate
the problem. Why attend a media training, I
asked the group, if you're not willing to give
reporters what they need to do their job?
They asked right back, why shouldn't we
ask the media to do a better job?
Let somebody else organize to improve
the media, I decided. For those whose mission is to
organize, to develop affordable housing, to create jobs and
address all the other issues that comprise community-based
efforts, it's our job to use the media.
Lots of authors and pundits skewer the evils of today's cor-
porate media. A new book by John Stauber and Sheldon
Rampton, Trust Us, We're Experts, who also wrote the PR-
debunking classic Toxic Sludge is Good for You, shows how
public relations experts have used studies to manipulate public
opinion, especially on issues of health and safety. The media
critic in me applauds them for revealing the ugly truth that pol-
icy fights can be determined by who paid for the best study. But
the media practitioner in me knows that reporters would often
rather sit at their desk and cover a decent study than leave the
office to write about a protest, regardless of huge turnout, ban-
ners, chants and even reasoned demands.
It's true that too much news starts, "A new study finds ... "
But on the other hand, why deplore a tendency that can be
so useful? If some PR flack can manipulate the media by
cooking up numbers and distributing them to the world to
prove a point, then anyone can. I am
going to leave aside any debate on
whether we have to be responsible
CIT YV IEW
... ~ .... .,.; .... ~
for living in the world as it should be rather than the world
as it is. That's a worthy discussion, but for now let's just
assume that increased media coverage-of everything from
broad social policy issues to how each of our organizations
is the greatest thing since sliced bread-is a goal we all
share. (Stop reading if you disagree, but if you want to raise
your organization's profile, read on.)
Until several years ago, reporters routinely offered one of
two responses to my efforts to drum up coverage of housing
policy issues for the organization where I last worked,
National People's Action, a coalition of more than 300 grass-
roots neighborhood groups. Either the issue wasn't important
enough to be a story or, if it really was important, then the
topic and our position were "inside baseball." This frustrating
state of affairs continued until I realized that, if I began by
talking about Mrs. Smith, who lost her home through no fault
of her own because (insert details here, it really doesn' t mat-
ter, just make it a good story), reporters not only listened,
they called us back. We released our own study-several of
them, in fact. We had numbers to prove our points, we had
people who could talk about living next door to an abandoned
building and what it's like to lose your home to foreclosure
unjustly, and we built our issues.
"Victims," whose plight even the greenest reporters could
grasp instinctively and write about dramatically, carried these
issues forward in the public mind and led to reforms. Those
who fight back, be it against foreclosure or any other unde-
served situation, are no longer really victims. I would say that
they all became experts on their issue, in a way very different
from the "experts" to whom reporters usually refer. In fact,
there's nothing greater than seeing someone who started out
knowing little more than how she got screwed over quickly
come to understand the system to the point where she can lec-
ture a producer from NBC Nightly News.
Yes, someone should reform the media, but that's not our
battle. Meanwhile, using the media is where the action is,
and using it right will unfailingly lead to more coverage of
grassroots issues. Computer programmers talk about the
concept of "garbage in, garbage out." As activists, we need
to give the media something they can work with-instead of
suggestions on how to improve-in order to get what we
want out of them. It can be done, and it's worth doing, for
the bottom line of your organization: to win victories on
issues of concern to communities.
So if you have a message you want to get heard, aggre-
gate your data and get ready to spin your butt off! Then pick
up the phone and dial up the press. Odds are you'll be
amazed when you call to offer a story, prepackaged with data
that reporters can use without ever having to leave their
desks. When was the last time your organization released a
study? You probably are an expert in something already. But
media practice is not just about studies. It's also about sto-
ries. And often enough the stories we're telling involve (at
least at the start) .. . victirns. -
-
Dream
(continued from page 17)
buildings. For mJD to go ahead with the original
plan could have meant more bad press and more
embarrassing investigations into Schuster's com-
pany. mJD put the Beekman deal on hold.
That June, it asked Continental Wingate to
increase its contribution to the bailout, to $6.4 mil-
lion. Wingate refused, and mJD, eager to get
Continental Wingate out of the picture, seized the
Beekman deeds in May 1999. Continental
Wingate, which did not return calls from City
Limits, has yet to pay a cent toward the rehabilita-
tion of the buildings it bled.
T
he Beekman blowup set back the tenant
takeover plan by at least a year. But the
delay was a blessing, too, giving the ten-
ants and Diversified the opportunity to
improve their scheme, their way. Hundreds of hours
of meetings led to a proposal for day care for 50
preschoolers, to be housed in converted apartments,
and a partnership with a local computer recycler
and technology trainer, {ler Scholas, to equip each
apartment with a PC and Internet line and train res-
idents to use them. "Our plan's about making life
better for Beekman's people," says Johnson. "Part
of what we need isn't just a clean apartment, but
help with our kids. So we added the day care. And
people need to learn to use those computers so they
can get jobs. So we added that too."
Wingate's exit also paved the way for tenants
to establish a mutual housing association-a
new nonprofit entity, controlled by tenant-mem-
bers and a board of directors, that would run the
buildings and their finances. A strong cast of
neighborhood leaders and housing advocates has
committed to serve on the association's board,
including the Housing Partnership'S George
Armstrong, Rev. Martha Overall of St. Ann's
Church in Mott Haven, Lorraine Montenegro of
the advocacy group United Bronx Parents, and a
local police chief.
The plan got more financially sound, too.
Without Wingate, Diversified needed to find other
sources of money; it got a commitment from Fleet
Bank for a $23 million construction loan to fix up
the complex. The Diversified plan calls for feder-
al and city subsidies to be paid out gradually over
the next 12 to 16 years: $19.6 million from mJD,
$7.5 million in tax breaks from the city and a $3.3
million loan from the city Housing Development
Corporation, on top of income from rents and
Section 8 housing subsidy payments.
"It's a truly outstanding plan, a remarkable
concept," says Rev. Overall. "I've been involved
with Diego Beekman houses since I first came to
-
Mott Haven 20 years ago. The tenants have been
in such an awful situation. But this new plan will
improve their lives."
The tenants couldn't agree more. Under the
buildings' temporary overseer, Arco
Management, their living conditions have
improved, and new security measures like surveil-
lance cameras and timed lighting are a godsend.
"There's a big difference between back then and
now," says Allen. "The buildings are in pretty
decent condition right now."
But the cleanup didn't make them forget their
bigger ambitions. Eager to make HUD under-
stand the breadth of community support for the
Beekman plan, they brought a representative
from each of the 38 buildings, plus their board
"Why wi.ll HUD
make an agreement
wi.th cri.mi.nals
but not us?"
asks tenant
Wi.lma Johnson.
members and local elected officials, to a meeting
HUD called in March of last year-their first
since the tenants had turned in their revised plan
in June 1999. "Until then," contends
Diversified's Solomon, HUD officials "didn't
really know how hard these tenants had worked
and how much pull the community had."
At the meeting, mJD said it would get back to
the team with comments. (By now, the agency had
asked for so much information that the team's
plans included loads of minutiae, such as a com-
mitment that janitors should be "using a solution
of soap and water, thoroughly mop floors, includ-
ing behind and beneath laundry machines.")
Then came an unexpected response: six
months of dead silence. As late as this December,
Solomon complained that ''HUD is pulling out the
rug completely." By then, chads and ballots were
the only matters anyone in Washington seemed to
care about, and it was clear that the Clinton-Gore
era could be coming to an end. The tenants turned
in desperation to local elected officials, particu-
larly Congressman Jose E. Serrano, and asked
them to get mJD to finalize the deal. Serrano met
with mJD personnel in Washington, D.C., and
gave the tenants more suggestions for improving
their plan. But still, mJD was silent.
Cut off from contact with HUD, Rooney could
only reflect back on what one official told him
prior to the big March meeting: "We're thinking
of bidding this out," meaning that the agency
would bypass the tenant agreement and seek
another owner. HUD denies that it is considering
auctioning the buildings.
T
he Beekman team's relationship with
mJD wasn't always so distant. Until the
beginning of 2000, the main mJD contact
with the tenants was Bill de Blasio,
Secretary Cuomo's representative in the New York
region. The tenants respected de Blasio, who came
regularly to the South Bronx. "He listened to us,"
says Norma Allen, pointing to a letter posted on
the wall of the Tenants United office, dated April
19, 1999: It's from de Blasio, assuring them that a
tenant with heat and hot water complaints had had
them fixed.
But the Continental Wingate scandal strained
relations. After the company was kicked out, de
Blasio told the tenants that mJD would move for-
ward with their plan. Still, the tenants were wor-
ried. They believed that the political pressure-
and embarrassing presence-of Continental
Wingate had first driven mJD to the bargaining
table in 1994. With the attention-gathering slum-
lord gone, would mJD still give heed to a group of
organized South Bronx residents?
De Blasio vehemently disputes that mJD lost
interest in the project after it got rid of Wingate:
"That flies in the face of all the evidence," says de
Blasio. ''The amount of time, money and energy
we put in this project after Continental Wingate
left contradicts that."
But another departure does appear to have
made a decisive difference in the negotiations: de
Blasio's. He left in November 1999 to run Hillary
Clinton's Senate campaign (and is now running
for City Council). The responsibility of working
with tenants on the Beekman plan shifted to anoth-
er official, and she began to openly question
HUD's commitment to the project. Deborah
VanArnerongen, mJD's director of multi-family
housing in New York, hammered away at two of
the project's building blocks: the choice of the pro-
ject's management team and the use of millions in
federal subsidies to finance the deal. Both deci-
sions, the Partnership'S Gale Kaufman and others
point out testily, were first recommended by mJD.
HUD representatives informed the tenants
early last year that they weren't sure Diversified
was qualified. "We are not aware that any of the
members of the development team have either
monitored or managed a project of this size,"
VanArnerongen tells City Limits.
Kaufman says she finds that point of view
incredible. ''This team manages several thousand
CITY LIMITS
apartments ... she says. "And what they're particularly good at is managing
troubled properties with unhappy tenants. They have an impressive track
record at improving them and involving tenants in making decisions." The
Diversified partners currently manage over 3,500 low-income apartments in
New York City, including a 9OO-unit project in the Bronx. Also giving
Diversified a vote of confidence is the powerful Enterprise Foundation,
which agreed in December 2000 to regularly evaluate the project's financial
health and its impact on the tenants. Enterprise, laughs Rooney, "can
remove us from the project in a day."
The other sticking point is $19.6 rnillion in proposed federal subsidies, in
the form of interest reduction payments on the buildings' massive mortgage.
That subsidy was inked into the original Continental Wmgate deal, to the tune
of $1 million a year, and Diversified had always anticipated it would be there
for them to use. But VanAmerongen has contended that Congress' 1998 pub-
lic housing act might prohibit use of the money for the complex's redevelop-
ment. Disregarding her agency's original commitment to include interest
reduction payments in the deal, she urged Beekman's development tearn to
create a new financial plan without it.
Rooney and Solomon are still pushing for that money, which they say
will make or break the deal. As of late February, HUD's Philadelphia
regional office was negotiating with Diversified over not whether the inter-
est reduction funds can be used, but how much they will need.
As some federal officials pack their desks and new ones arrive,
Beekman tenants are trying to be hopeful each time HUD calls a new
meeting or requests a new document. But they've also grown weary of
waiting. "This place has done wore me out," says Johnson.
For Johnson and her neighbors, the joys of the victories of the mid-
1990s have faded, and they just don't understand why. "HUD was will-
ing to cut a deal with Continental Wingate and let them go with a slap on
the wrist," she observes. "Our plan has support from bankers and a board
with big-name people. Why will HUD make an agreement with criminals
but not us?"
Matt Pacenza is a Brooklyn-based freelance writer.
OFFICE SPACE - Space available for non profits in Brooklyn, Queens, and the
Bronx. Units range from approximately 2000 square feet to over 20,000
square feet. Located in many community districts in a variety of configura-
tions, including office and program space, early leaming facilities, medical
offices and group home possibilities. For further information please tele-
phone Lee M. Allen of Arc Advisors, Inc., at 212-447-1576.
RENTAL SPACE AVAIlABLE: Share reception and conference room with growing
national minority health information and advocacy agency. 218 W. 40th
Street, 3rd Floor - 8,000 sq.ft at $36/sq.ft. 10 year lease. Please contact
Director of Operations at 718-434-5411
ADVERTISE IN CITY LIMITS!
To place a classified ad in City Limits, e-mail your ad to
advet1ise@ritylimits.org or fax your ad to 212-!79-3339. The ad will
run in the City Limits Weekly and City Limits magazine and on the
City Limits web site. Rates are $1,46 per word, minimum 40 word .
Special event and professional directory advertising rates are also
available. For more information, check out the
Jobs section of www.cityJimits.org or call Associate Publisher Anita
Gutierrez at 2]2-479-3345.
APRIL 2001
Searching for PROGRAM OFFICER for national organization with offices in
Trenton, NJ. Loans, grants and technical assistance to housing and commu-
nity development projects. BA in business or related field. 5 yrs lending expo
Competitive salary, bonus, 401K and 403B plans. Fax resume to L1SC 609-
392-8040 or email cperaza@liscnet.org
The Tier II Coalition, Inc. , and the Association of Service Providers to
Homeless Adults (ASPHA) are two umbrella groups for over sixty non-profit
organizations that provide emergency housing and related services to home-
less families and homeless adults respectively. These two organizations c o ~
laborate closely and share administrative staff. We are currently seeking to
fill two part-time positions: EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Responsible for implemen-
tation and oversight of all administrative, fundraising, fiscal, analytiC and advo-
cacy functions. Requirements: Knowledge of homelessness issues related to
New York City; advanced degree; computer literacy; and five years experience
in social services including administration/management. Salary commensu-
rate with experience. Part time, 20 hours. Please send cover letter and
resume to Frederick Shack, HELP USA, 30 East 33rd Street, 9th floor, New
York, NY 10016 or fax to: 212- 444-1907.
Dynamic neighborhood-based public interest law firm has immediate opening
for a DIRECTOR OF DVEl.OPMENT. Responsibilities include identifying,
researching and soliciting foundation grants and other major gifts; developing
promotional materials and follow-up for solicitation; overseeing public rela-
tions activities, including generating press materials and a newsletter; coor-
dinating an annual fund-raising award event; and managing donor database
and donor-related communications. Ideal candidate will be committed to work-
ing with low-income individuals and families. Salary commensurate with expe-
rience. Send cover letter and resume to: Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation
A, 256 Broadway, Brooklyn, NY 11211, Attn: D. Berger, Director of
Development
CAMPAIGN RESEARCHERS. Service Employees Union seeks campaign
researchers for NY /NJ Justice for Janitors campaign. Requirements: Analyze
information from workers, employers, govemment and on-line sources; apti-
tude or experience with quantitative (financial & database) analysiS and strate-
gic campaigning. Preferred: Spanish fluency. Resume, writing sample and let-
ter to Desma Holcomb (desmaholcomb@hotrnail.com) or FAX 212-388-3210.
Brooklyn-based non-profit organization, seeking, for immediate hire, ATTOR
NEY admitted to the New York State Bar. Must have a strong interest in hous-
ing law. Spanish is a plus, but not required. Salary range low - mid 40's plus
benefrt:s. Fax resume and cover letter to Richard Velasquez or Angela
Battagalia at 718-381-6114
Brooklyn-based non-profit organization, seeking, for immediate hire one
SOCIAL WORKER for its Lead Prevention Program. Spanish a plus, but not
required. Salary range $30,000 + based on experience plus benefits. Fax
resume and cover letter to Angela Battagalia or Richard Velasquez at 718-
381-6114.
Brooklyn-based non-profit organization, seeking, for immediate hire, one TEN
ANTICOMMUNnY ORGANIZER. Spanish preferred. Salary range $30,000+
based on experience plus benefits. Fax resume and cover letter to Angela
Battagalia or Richard Velasquez at 718-381-6114.
DIRECTOR OF RNANCE AND ADMINISTRAT1ON. The Funding Exchange (FEX), a
national network of 15 progressive community-based foundations, seeks a
Director of Rnance and Administration. Significant experience in financial and
office systems management in non-profit organization(s). Demonstrated a b i ~
ity in managing bookkeeping, fund accounting and related financial opera-
tions. Familiarity with all aspects of office management. Successful experi-
ence in supervising staff and working cooperatively with other colleagues.
Ability to personally support and interpret the mission of the FEX. Ability to
work in a national organization with differences in class, race, gender, sexual
orientation and physical ability. $50k. See a full job description at
www.accessjobs.org. Send resume to the attention of DFA, Funding Exchange,
666 Broadway, Suite 500, New York, NY 10012. Funding Exchange is an
Affirmative Action, Equal Opportunity Employer.
SUPERVISING SOCIAL WORKER. Lenox Hill Neighborhood House needs an
experienced MSW Social Worker to supervise master's level social workers &
social service specialists. A minimum of 3 yrs. experience with mentally ill
and/or homeless populations; one year supervisory and administrative expe-
rience preferred. EOE. Fax: S. Nayowith, 212-57()'1758.
(colltinued on page 34)
(continued from page 33)
CAMBA, Inc., Brooklyn based CBO, as part of agency's ongoing expansion;
seeks senior level CREATlVE PROFESSIONALS; with demonstrated program
management/supervisory, technical and.communications skills in not-for-prof-
it service delivery in one or more of the following areas: H IV/AI DS and Health
Immigration and Refugee, School and Youth, legal Services, Adult Education
and Employment, Business and Homeless Services; for several new and chal-
lenging planning and operations positions. Please send resume, cover letter
and salary history/requirements to CAMBA, 1720 Church Avenue, Bklyn., NY
11226 or email annem@1720camba.org, www.camba.org. EOE.
Community-based non-profit seeks OFFICE MANAGER. The Brooklyn Bridge
Park Coalition, an alliance of more than 60 New York environmental, civic,
community and neighborhood groups, is working to assure the creation of one
mile-long waterfront park in Brooklyn. Responsibilities: proficiency in Quicken,
Microsoft Word, and Excel required, knowledge of File Maker Pro desired,
Ability to manage general office operations, payroll/filing system .
. Qualifications: Strong interpersonal and organizational skills; BA/BS degree.
Salary $40,000 + benefits. To apply, fax or e-mail cove letter and resume to
Marianna Koval , Executive Director, Brooklyn Bridge Park Coalition, 334
Furman Street, Brooklyn, New York 11201. Email : mkoval@bbpc.net. Tel:
718-802-0603 or Fax 718-797-0250.
Multi-funded not-for profit org seeks ACCOUNTANT for diversified accounting
functions. Responsibilities include B/S analysis, bank recs, fiscal reporting
and budgeting, monitoring contract compliance, etc. Successful candidate
must possess excellent communication and computer skills. Combination of
public and private a + competitive salary. Excellent benefits-send resume with
cover letter containing salary requirements to: PRA, 145 W. 15 St., NY, NY,
10011 Attn: Controller or fax to 212-691-5635 or e-mail to
alanmeltzer@msn.com.
The Harlem School of the Arts, DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT. Harlem's premier
institution for instruction in the arts, now in its 36th year of providing after
school and Saturday classes in dance, music, theatre and visual arts, is seek-
ing a dynamic, articulate and creative individual to fill the position of Director
of Development. This person must have the necessary skills and contacts to
provide leadership in planning and implementing strategies to support and
sustain HSA programs and activities whose current operating budget exceeds
2.7 million dollars. This person will work closely with and report to the
President and Chief Executive Officer, will work closely with the Chief Financial
Officer and will be a key member of the HSA leadership cabinet. In addition,
the Director of Development will collaborate with and assist the Development
Committee of the Board of Directors on special fund raising events and i n ~
tiatives. The Director of Development supervises a profeSSional staff of two,
plus support staff, and will work closely with the Director of Marketing and
Public relations. Candidates should have a degree in a related area, several
years of fund development experience and a proven track record in fund rais-
ing from both public and private sources. This individual should be computer
proficient and familiar with various fund raising software such as Raisers Edge
and other data base systems. The ability to comfortably interact with funders,
elected officials and the media is required. Previous administrative/ supervi-
sory experience is a plus. This is a full time position with a competitive, nego-
tiable salary and excellent benefits. Some local , regional and national travel
may be required on occasion. Please send resume, cover letter and a list of
three professional references, via mail , fax or email attn: Camille Giraud
Akeju, President and CEO, The Harlem School of the Arts, 645 St. Nicholas
Avenue, New York, NY 10030. Fax # (212) 491-6913 Email: cakeju@harlern-
schoolofthearts.org
HOUSING SPECIALIST. Brooklyn-based community development organization
seeks an experienced Urban Housing Specialist to assist community resi-
dents. Responsibilities: work with tenants and community residents on vari-
ous housing related issues, assist tenants to organize their buildings; assist
with housing and community development projects. Qualifications; Organizing
experience; good communication skills; proven work experience. Send
resume and cover letter to: Executive Director, BNIA, 1482 St. Johns Place,
iF, Brooklyn, NY 11213 or fax to 718-221-1711.
EXECU11VE ASSISTANT. Brooklyn Neighborhood Improvement ASSOCiation,
Inc., (BNIA) a nonprofit community organization is seeking an experienced
executive assistant. Responsibilities; provide administrative support, han-
dle benefits and personnel records, coordinate programmatic data for
reports; attentive to details and deadlines; Qualifications; BS/BA; Good
communication skills; Proven work experience and team player. Send
resume and cover letter to: Executive Director, BNIA, 1482 St. Johns
-
Place, iF, Brooklyn, NY 11213 or fax to 718-221-1711
RESEARCH ASSISTANT Responsibilities: Research requests from developers
and consultants for street address changes. This includes a) interfacing with
other city agencies, b) interfacing with the United States Postal Service, c)
reviewing existing maps and archival documents, and d) preparing letters and
maps to update addresses. Provide technical assistance to the public, such
as interpretation of City Maps; Update City Maps and Manhattan borough
Maps; Provide to developers and consultants correct block and lot informa-
tion; Provide borough maps as requested by the public and other city agen-
cies; Research as necessary correct street names and/or addresses; Assist
the borough's consulting engineer in assisting with maintaining topographical
maps and related materials. Qualifications: Must be detail oriented.
Computer literate. Self-starter. Interest in geographical matters. Excellent writ-
ten and oral skills. A degree in either architecture, engineering, or geography
a plus. Knowledge of Manhattan topography a plus. Send resume with cover
letter detailing salary requirements to: Ms. lee Chong, Director of land Use
Housing and Development, Manhattan Borough President's Office, One
Centre Street, 19th floor South ,New York, NY 10007 or, Fax: (212) 669-
7862, The Manhattan Borough President's Office is an Equal Opportunity
Employer.
Comell University/Community & Economic Development; PROORAM ASSOCI
ATIIRESOURCE EDUCATOR: Plan, develop & conduct education programs in tar-
geted diverse communities throughout NYC. Qualifications: Masters + 3-5 yrs
work experience. Good oral , written & visual presentation skills. Proficiency in
electronic technology, combined with experience in proposal and grantwriting.
EXTENSION EDUCATORICOMMUNITY AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT Develop,
enhance and deliver community-based education programs. Resource devel-
opment, program planning involving other not-for-profits active in sustainable
agriculture issues in the NY metropolitan region and Statewide.
Qualifications: Masters + 3-5 yrs work experience in community program
development, food security issues. Ability to work with diverse audiences
focusing on immigrant population. Computer literate. Good oral , written, &
presentation skills. Ability to present programs in both Spanish and English
necessary.
Fax/e-mail R/Cl to: Gloria Roman, Comell Cooperative Extension, NYC Fax
(212) 340-2908 Email: ger3@cornell.edu Comell University is an affirmative
action, equal opportunity employer and educator.
Social Services - WRITER: lenox Hill Neighborhood House seeks excellent
writer and creative thinker to help develop programs. Primary responsibilities:
Writing grant proposals, agency publications, and related correspondence.
Experience in social services/educational settings or writing proposals pre-
ferred. Fax resume with cover letterto: A. Townley, 212-744-5150. EOE.
NYC cultural institution offers exciting FUNDRAISING OPPORruNITY. Will pro-
vide general administrative support to the AVP for Corporate Relations. Will
run reports; assist with fund raising efforts, including donor and prospect
research; and assist with coordination of development-wide and Garden meet-
ings and events. Excellent benefits, including 4 wks vacation. Send resume
with salary requirements to: HR Rep-DA, The New York Botanical Garden,
200th Street and Kazimiroff Blvd., Bronx, NY 10458-5126. Email:
cirizarry@nybg.org. Fax: (718) 220-6504. AA/EOE/M/F/DfV
ASSOCIATE ATIORNEY: Small firm concentrating in representation of individual
tenants and tenant associations, co-op boards and real estate, seeks asso-
ciate. Two years housing litigation experience and dedication to tenants rights
required. Salary commensurate with experience. Medical/dental benefits
included. 401(k) after 1 year of service. Send resume and writing sample to
Sharen Elcock c/ o Himmelstein, McConnel , Gribben & Donoghue, 15 Maiden
lain, 17th Aoor, New York, New York 10038
ORGANIZERICOMMUNITY BUILDER. Innovative Brooklyn community develop-
ment and organizing group seeks FIT organizer to coordinate new effort to
strengthen community participation in all areas of our work. Coordinate
recruitment, orientation, follow-up, training, volunteers and events. Evening
work required (flex time). Organizing experience, good communications skills,
commitment to social justice. Spanish-speaking a strong +. Salary $25 - 33K.
Good benefits. AA/ EOE. Resume & cover letter to FAG-Activist Organizer, 141
Fifth Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11217, (718) 857-4322 (fax). Org'l info at
www.fifthave.org.
HOMEBUYER COUNSROR. The Pratt Area Community Council (PACC), a CBO
working in Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Bedford Stuyvesant, seeks a
CITY LIMITS
r
Homebuyer Counselor. Responsibilities include providing counseling to first-
time homebuyers, loan packaging, facilitating workshops, and marketing new
homes. Two or more years experience in mortgage lending, strong presenta-
tion skills, and computer literacy required. Excellent benefits. Fax letter,
resume, and salary requirements to: PACC, 718-222-3292 email
pacc@prattarea.org
Manhattan Borough President C. Virginia Fields seeks TRANSPORTATION!
ENVIRONMENTAL POlICY ANALYST responsible for formulating, analyzing and
implementing policy positions as it relates to transportation, the environ-
ment and sanitation. Requirements: Undergraduate degree with strong writ-
ing and analytical skills; experience and working relationships with advoca-
cy and planning groups and related government agencies. Advanced degree
a plus. Salary commensurate with experience. Send resume with cover let-
ter and salary requirements to Jocelyn Jacobson, Director of Policy,
Manhattan Borough President, 1 Centre Street, 19th Fl. South, NYC, NY
10007 or fax: 212-669-3840.
SOCIAL WORKER. Bronx Tier " Shelter seeking social worker with MSW
or BSW to work with homeless women who are either pregnant or
with one infant. Experience in the NYC Shelter system is preferred.
Salary is commensurate with experience. Fax resume to Director at 718-
293-6580. EOE.
New Position: DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL CLEARINGHOUSE ON THE DIRECT
CARE WORKFORCE. The National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care
Workforce is a new project housed within Paraprofessional Healthcare
Institute and cosponsored by the Direct Care Alliance, a growing national
alliance of consumers, workers, and providers dedicated to improving the
quality of long-term care by creating high-quality jobs for direct-care work-
ers. The National Clearinghouse is the primary vehicle for the DCA to orga-
nize practitioners, workers, and consumers across the country. The
Clearinghouse will collect and disseminate legislation, reports, advocacy
strategies, and best practices about direct-care workers, analyze trends
and data, and provide a forum for direct-care workers to discuss issues of
concern. The Clearinghouse will use a timely and interactive web site as
well as more traditional methods to distribute information. This position
requires great attention to detail in designing and implementing the daily
functioning of the Clearinghouse' s information collection,. analysis, and
dissemination activities. This is also a leadership position that requires
the ability to project externally PHI's mission linking the development of
quality jobs to a quality care agenda. Job requirements: Advocacy and
organizing skills and experience, Research capabilities through web, pub-
lications, personal outreach, Analytic skills - ability to make sense of
incoming information and identify trends and areas for further investiga-
tion, Fluency with electronic network communications, Ability to translate
technical information into readable materials, Excellent organization skills,
Either experience in long-term care or workforce issues, Excellent writing
skills, Excellent people communication skills. To apply for this position:
Please send a cover letter and resume to: Clearinghouse Director Search,
Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, 349 East 149th St., Bronx, NY
10451. PHI encourages persons of color to apply for this position. See
www.paraprofessional.org or www.directcarealliance.org
National Clearinghouse PROGRAM ASSOCIATE. The National Clearinghouse
on the Direct Care Workforce is a new project housed within
Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute and cosponsored by the Direct Care
Alliance, a growing national alliance of consumers, workers, and providers
dedicated to improving the quality of long-term care by creating high-quali-
ty jobs for direct-care workers. The National Clearinghouse is the primary
vehicle for the DCA to organize practitioners, workers, and consumers
across the country. The Clearinghouse will collect and disseminate legis-
lation, reports, advocacy strategies, and best practices about direct-care
workers; analyze trends and data; and provide a forum for direct-care work-
ers to discuss issues of concern. The Clearinghouse will use a timely and
interactive web site as well as traditional methods to develop and distrib-
ute information. This is a full-time position with a mix of administrative and
programmatic responsibilities. The position requires: Attention to detail in
maintaining the daily functioning of the Clearinghouse's information col-
lection and dissemination activities; Demonstrated research ability; and
Community organizing skills to support development of a network of direct-
care workers actively working to improve the quality of frontline jobs in
long-term care. Job requirements: Community organizing skills, Research
& analytic skills: able to use variety of sources to locate information, ana-
lyze trends, and suggest areas for further research, Fluency with electron-
ic network communications, Excellent administrative as well as oral and
written communication skills, Familiarity with Microsoft Office 2000 word
APRIL 2001
processing, database, and spreadsheet applications. To apply for this
position: Please send a cover letter and resume to: Clearinghouse
Program Assistant Search, Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute, 349
East 149th St., Bronx, NY 10451. PHI encourages persons of color to
apply for this position. See www.paraprofessional.org, www.directcareal-
liance.org.
Project Vote: DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATEIRESEARCHER. Provide research, writ-
ing and fundraising support to non-partisan voter turnout projects in low
income and minority communities. ExCiting entry-level opportunity to be a
part of the fight for social change. Must be detail-oriented, good writer. Fax
letter, resume to Project Vote (718) 246-7939 or email to vrnat@acorn.org
or call (718) 246-7929.
The National Employment Law Project (NELP) seeks a COMMUNICATIONS
DIRECTOR to ensure that NELP and its initiatives remain highly visible to
advocates, policy makers, the media and the general public. NELP is a
research and advocacy organization specializing in economic justice
issues of concern to the working poor. The Communications Director will
generate and coordinate a comprehensive media strategy, manage and
expand effective use of communications software, and write, edit and
supervise production of publications. Minimum three years experience,
with strong writing, editing and computer skills. Salary mid 30s to mid
40s, excellent benefits. Spanish or Asian language skills a plus.
Applications ASAP. Cover letter, resume, and three references to:
Communications Director Search, National Employment Law Project, 55
John Street, 7th Floor, New York, NY 10038. (For more information, see
NELP's website at www.nelp.orgjjob_openings.htm).
The National Employment Law Project (NELP) seeks a STAFF ATTORNEY with
litigation and policy advocacy experience to enforce and expand the employ.
ment rights of contracted, temporary, part-time and other nonstandard work-
ers. NELP is a research and advocacy organization that specializes in eco-
nomic justice issues of special concem to the working poor. Applications must
be received ASAP. Send cover letter, resume, and three references to: Staff
Attorney Search, National Employment Law Project, 55 John Street, 7th Floor,
New York, NY 10038. (For more information, see NELP's website at
www.nelp.orgjjob_openings.htm).
The New York Foundling Hospital is a multi-faceted, decentralized, not-for-prof-
it social service agency serving disadvantaged children and families with a
range of health and human services. The Foundling's mission is to strength-
en family life through preventive, supportive and placement services. We have
the following opportunities available. PREVENTION SERVICES - QUEENS
Supervisor Prevention - Queens Supervise FRP program providing intensive
preventive services to families at risk due to substance abuse and other prob-
lems. Supervise 2 social workers and 2 case aides. Liaison with ACS and the
community. Responsible for groups and program statistics. REQ: MSW with 2
years relevant exp working with substance abuse and multi-problem families.
2 years supervisory experience is preferred. Knowledge of substance abuse
assessmentj treatment and child welfare. FOSTER CARE - BRONX. Supervisor
Foster Care- Bronx Responsible for the supervision & management of social
workers, maintain and ensure compliance of regulations, policies and proce-
dures. REQ: MSW w/ 3 yrs supervisory experience. Experience working with
children and families and child welfare experience. THERAPEUTIC FOSTER
BOARDING HOME - BRONX. Coordinator of Specialized Services- Bronx Direct
foster care placement including the Specialized Services Department, Foster
Boarding Homes. Oversee supervisors and recruiter and work collaboratively
with other Bronx Services. Manage case load of children and parents with
developmental and emotional disabilities, hearing impairments, mental retar-
dation and chronic illness. REQ: MSW or MA in related field. Five years super-
visory experience in casework and/or services for developmentally disabled.
Administrative Supervisor - Bronx Responsible for supervision of 2-3 unit
supervisors. Administrative responsibility for overall office functions in direc-
tor's absence. REQ: MSW preferred, 34 years experience in child welfare. 3-
4 years supervisory experience. Please consider joining our diverse workforce
by sendingjfaxing (212-886-4098) resume along with salary requirements to:
Laurie Ramirez, HR Generalist, New York Foundling, 590 Avenue of the
Americas, New York, NY 10011. EOE
A Better Bronx for Youth Consortium is seeking a YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
COOROINATOR experienced in the development and implementation of
Youth Programming; must be able to provide technical support and train-
ing to local non-profit agencies; and supervise consultants. Spanish
speaking a plus. BBFY is an EOE, salary commensurate with experience.
Fax cover letter + resume to BBFY at 718-665-2464
(continued on page 36)
Me
(contiflUed from page 35)
DIRECTOR OF ADULT SERVICES. The Salvation Army's Homeless Services
Department seeks an individual to oversee single adult shelters. and pro-
grams. Responsibilities include supervision of program directors, budgets,
program development and monitoring. Proven skills required in leadership,
multi-site supervision, communication, and budgeting. Prior experience in
operating a residential facility with 50+ individuals or families required.
Experience with veterans a plus. Masters required. Salary based on experi-
ence. Resumes to Alfred Peck, 120 West 14th St, NY, NY 10011 or fax 212-
337-7279.
PROGRAM DIRECTOR. The Salvation Army seeks a Program Director for its
Borden Avenue Veterans Residence. Responsibilities include supervision of
department heads, budget and program development and monitoring, and
community outreach. Requirements include strong leadership, supervision
and communication skills. Masters required. Experience with veterans a plus.
Salary $50+ depending on experience. Resumes to Alfred Peck, 120 West
14th St, NY, NY 10011 or fax 212-337-7279.
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER. For community-based NFP housing organization,
coordinate and supervise housing development projects including negotiating
with tenants, funders, contractors. 2 yrs. experier:Jce & BA required. Spanish
a plus. $40K-$45K plus benefits. Resume to V. Louie, CHDC, 480 10th Ave.,
NYC 10018 Fax: 212-967-1649. Email: clintonhdc@yahoo.com
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT. For NFP housing organization to provide admin.
and program support to upper management. Must be organized, work inde-
pendently, prioritize, meet deadlines. Excellent writing skills, BA preferred.
Salary 28K-32K + benefits. Resume to: V. Louie, CHDC, 480 10th Ave. NYC
10018.
The Fortune Society, a non-profit organization serving ex-offenders and at-risk
youth, seeks applicants for the following positions: CAREER DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM MANAGER to supervise 5-member staff, write and compile reports,
manage program data, develop job leads, research and develop training and
employment initiatives, and coordinate all program services. BA/BS or high-
er, 2 years supervisory experience, solid computer, writing skills and analytic
skills, knowledge of job development resources and welfare reform legisla-
tion, experience with criminal justice and/or substance abuse population.
MATH COORDINATOR to plan and facilitate multi-level math classes (basic up
to the GED level). Develop curriculum, train and supervise volunteer tutors,
administer standardized and altemative student assessment. ESOlICIVICS
PROF
Committed to the development of affordable housing
GEORGE C. DELLAPA, ATTORNEY AT LAW
15 Maiden Lane, Suite 1800
New York, NY 10038
212-732-2700 FAX: 212-732-2773
Low-income housing tax credit syndication. Public and private
financing. HDFCs and not-for-profit corporations. Condos and co-ops.
1-51 Tax abatement/exemptions. Lending for historic properties.
OFFICE SPACE PROBLEMS?
ILWMI
CS1
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(845) 566-1267
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Visit our web site: www_npspace.com
Call for a free, nO-<lbligation consultation.
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rtw
COORDINATOR to plan and facilitate mUlti-level ESOL/Civics classes. Develop
community resource curriculum, train and supervise volunteer tutors, admin-
ister standardize and alternative student assessment. Experience in ESOL
instruction and community organizing preferred. DIRECTOR OF HOUSING SER
VICES to start-up new housing initiative. Responsible for management of all
contracted housing programs and the Fortune Academy Residence, including
clients'/residents' safety and facility's security and physical environment. 3-
5 years in property management in NYC and/or management of transition-
al/supportive residence. Understanding of and familiarity with NYC and NYS
housing laws and regulations, as well as Housing Court and HPD regulations
and requirements. Prior supervisory experience and experience working with
persons living with HIV/AIDS. Experience working with adolescents and peo-
ple involved in the criminal justice system a plus for all positions. All positions
are full-time. Fax resume and cover letter ASAP to: The Fortune Society, 53
West 23rd St., NY, NY 10010, ATT: Human Resources Dept. FAX (212) 255-
4948
EXECUTlVE ASSISTANT for Executive Director of women's innovative, national-
ly recognized job training program. Responsibilities: maintain Executive cal-
endar; provide administrative support; oversee internships; maintain data-
base and web site; edit newsletter. Qualifications: B.A.jB.S; background in
nonprofit/job training programs; excellent communication skills; ability to
multi-task; work cooperatively; computer proficient. Salary: $25-27K with full
benefits. Fax resume/cover letter to Nontraditional Employment for Women
(NEW): 212-255-8021, Attn. Martha Baker.
POR'IfOUO ASSOCIATE. The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, The Edna
McConnell Clark Foundation seeks two Portfolio ASSOCiates, a newly created
position at the Foundation. Reporting to two Portfolio Managers and working
with a team of other foundation staff, the Portfolio Associate will help deSign,
implement and manage a portfolio of investments in organizations with
proven or promising approaches to helping young people in disadvantaged
urban communities become productive and self-sufficient participants in
society. The Portfolio Associate will be responsible for helping to identify
these organizations, conducting due diligence research on the capacity of the
organizations and their readiness for growth, compiling information for the
Foundation's database, preparing prospective grant recommendations for
presentation to the president and board, and providing support to grantees.
Requirements: Private and public sector experience and particular strengths
in nonprofit organizational development, business development and financial
analysis. Knowledge of youth development is also important. Advanced
degree in business, law, public administration or a related field, with signiff-
cant experience in financial analYSis and tile uses of computer technology;
RV
SPECIALIZING IN REAL ESTATE
J-51 Tax Abatement/Exemption . 421A and 421B
Applications . 501 (c) (3) Federal Tax Exemptions . All forms
of government-assisted housing, including LISC/Enterprise,
Section 202, State Turnkey and NYC Partnership Homes
KOURAKOS & KOURAKOS
Attorneys at Law
Eastchester, N.Y.
Phone: (9 1.4) 395-0871
SOURY COMMUNICATIONS
Bronx, N.Y.
(718) 585-3187
Full Service Public Relations and Marketing Firm
local and national media experts crisis communications govemment
and public affairs corporate sponsorships media
training advertising special events
Clients Include AAFE, Green Guerillas, GM Minority Dealers, Kessler
Rehab, NY Ethical Culture Society, NY Chinese Scholar's Garden
offering non-profit rate
150 west 25 street, suite 403
new york, ny 10001
(212) 414-5857
Isoury@soury.com
CITVLlMITS
PROF NAL
DIRECTORY
CoNSULTANT SERVICES
Proposals/Grant Writing
HUD Grants/Govt. RFP.
MI(HA(L 6. BU((I
CONSULTANT
Housing/Prognun Development
Real FAtate Sales/RentaLs
TechnicaJ Assistance
Employment Programs
Capacity Building
Community Relations
HOUSING, DEVELOPMENT & FUNDRAISING
21.2-765-7123
21.2-397-6238
mgbuccl@aol.com
451 WEST 48th STREET, SUITE 2E
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10036-1298
COMPUTER
Hardware Sales:
SERVICES
Software Sales:
mM Compatible Computers
Okidata Printers
NetworkslDatabase
Accounting
Suites/Applications
Lantastic Networks
Services: NetworklHardware!Software Installation,
Training, Custom Software, Hand Holding
Morris Kornbluth 7188579157
NYSTAR.COM
Webmastering Service,
Web Design,
Free Ads Available,
Free Link Exchange.
http://www.nystar.com
or email info@nystar.com.
NesoH Associates
management solutions for non-profits
Providing a full range of management support services for
non-profit organizations
management development & strategic planning
board and staff development & training
program design, implementation & evaluation
proposal and report writing
Box 130 75A Lake Road Congers, NY 1092()0 tellfax (914) 268-6315
DEBRA BECHTEL Attorney
Concentrating in Real Estate & Non-profit Law
Title and loan closings 0 All city housing programs
Mutual housing associations 0 Cooperative conversions
Advice to low income co-op boards of directors
313 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201,
(718) 780-7994 (718) 624-6850
APRIL 2001
dO s
ability to work independently, yet within a team context; strong written and oral
communication skills. Salary commensurate with background and experience,
ranging from mid-$60's to mid-$70's with comprehensive benefits package.
Reply: Please send or fax a resume with a cover letter and writing sample to
Portfolio Associate Search, The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, 250 Park
Avenue, New York, NY 10177-{)026; 212-9864558 (fax). No calls please.
The HIV Law Project, a legal advocacy organization providing direct legal rep.
resentation, social services and policy advocacy for people with HIV, is seek-
ing a PART-T1ME INTAKE omcERIPARALEGAL, a PART-T1ME BOOKKEEPER and
a full-time POLICY ANALYST. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis. People
of color, people living with HIV, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individ-
uals strongly encouraged to apply. Cover letter, resume, 3 references and writ-
ing sample (Policy Analyst position only) to Elsa A. Rios, Executive Director,
HIV Law Project, 161 William Street, 17th Floor, NYC 10038.
Women's Housing and Economic Development Corporation (WHEDCO), an
award-wining social services agency, seeks a CASE MANAGER for its innova-
tive, high-profile program that help women affected by substance abuse move
into employment. Excellent work environment, superior benefits, competitive
salary. Min. 34 yrs. experience preferably in Vocational Counseling with sub-
stance abuse population. MSW/BSW or related degree preferred, computer
literate in Windows 98. Fax cover letter and resume to Sharon Robinson 718-
839-1172.
National Puerto Rican Forum, Inc. seeks a FIT COORDINATOR OF EDUCATION-
AL PROGRAMS, (Salary range $36,000-$40,000) to oversee Adult Literacy and
Job Training Programs in Bronx. Candidate should be bilingual
English/Spanish and have Bachelor's Degree, substantial supervisory expe-
rience and excellent written and oral communication skills. FIT AFTtR-SCHOOl
COORDINATOR ($35-$37,000 with summers off) sought for Bronx program
serving recent immigrant students. Bachelor's Degree, Bilingual
English/Spanish. Two-year's supervisory experience, excellent communica-
tion skills. National Puerto Rican Forum, Inc. 31 East 32nd Street, 4th Floor,
NYC 10016.
EMPlOYMENT SERVICES MANAGER. Innovative Brooklyn organization seeks
manager for employment services program. Oversee neighborhood-based pro-
gram to place local residents into jobs. Supervisory experience a must. Job
development experience, welklrganized, motivated with excellent c o m m u n ~
cation skills; computer literate. Bilingual (English/Spanish) a plus. Some
evening hours required. Fax cover letter, resume arid salary requirements to
718857-4322. AA/EOE
EWVIDCO, a non-profit local development corporation in East Williamsburg
Brooklyn, seeks an experienced, energetiC, team player DEPUTY DIRECTOR to
assist the Director in the day-to-day management of the organization and eco-
nomic development projects and initiatives. Responsibilities include supervi-
sion of the industrial development unit, assisting local businesses with city
and state incentive programs, loan packaging and assisting businesses
secure public and private financing and serving as an ombudsman to city and
state agencies. BA required. MA or MS preferred. Management experience or
experience with city govemment or similar can be substituted for MA or MS.
Knowledge of local business incentive programs and ability to understand
financial statements is required. Excellent presentation, written and commu-
nication skills a must. Fax resume, cover letter and brief writing sample to: J .
Leon at 718-963-1905 or email tojoseleon@ewvidco.com
SENIOR BOOKKEEPER. Nonprofit seeks full<harge bookkeeper. Re-
sponsibilities include bookkeeping, vouchering & ensuring budget compliance
related to government contracts; assisting with closings, audits; special pro-
jects. Requirements: experience with non-profits, spreadsheets, strong com-
puter skills. Salary mid$30' s, excellent benefits including 1 month vacation,
full health coverage. Fax resumes to 212-595-6498 or e-mail to
Mblankenship@Goddard.org
The Cathedral of St. John the Divine seeks OPERAT1ONS DIRECTOR to manage
day-to-day office duties for fast paced Development Office. Coordinate direct
mail appeals; supervise processing, acknowledgment, and fulfillment of gifts
(with support staff of two); management of Pledgemaker database; assist
with fundraising and cultivation events. Requirements: College Degree; 1-2
years experience in Fundraising; extensive experience in computer software,
including database systems, preferable Pledgemaker or other standard data-
base; excellent verbal skills; attention to detail; ability to work under pressure;
sense of humor. Salary: up to mid-40' s depending upon qualifications.
Excellent benefits. Fax Res. 212-31&7466.
(continued on page 38)
-
(continued from page 37)
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Children. NYSPCC's mission is to protect children with direct service, educ&
tion, advocacy and research. The Executive Director will serve as primary pub-
lic spokesperson to the media, as well as to govemment, court, community,
medical and educational entities. Develop and supervise administration of all
program Represent NYSPCC to prospective funders and donors.
Candidates should have at least 15 years relevant experience; minimum 5
years in leadership position related to child welfare issues. JD preferred; other
professionals with related experience will be considered. For additional infor-
mation see: www.drgnyc.com.Contact:EllenBodow.Sr. Executive Search
Consultant, Development Resource Group, 104 East 40th Street, Suite 304,
New York, NY 10016; Fax: 212-983-1687; E-mail: rdecastro@drgnyc.com
STAFF ATTORNEYS. Legal Aid: Several positions to provide HOUSING
Representation and/or BENERTS Representation (public assistance, Social
Security, etc) in neighborhood trial offices. Send cover letter, resume & writ-
ing sample to: Helaine Bamett, Atty-in-Charge, Civil Div., LEGAL AID SOCIETY,
90 Church Street, New York, NY 10007. Women, People of Color, Gays &
Lesbians and People with Disabilities Especially Encouraged to Apply
Cathedral Community Cares is hiring an ADMINISTRA11VE ASSISTANT and FOOD
MANAGER to work at its Sunday soup kitchen and men's shelter.
Responsibilities include coordinating volunteers, creating menus, ordering
food, taking inventory and assisting in evening programs. Food Certification
is a plus. FIT or PIT depending on qualifications. If you are interested in either
position please contact Raquel Granda at 212-316-7583 or fax resume, 212-
932-7348.
DIRECTOR. The Consumer Action Program of Bedford Stuyvesant seeks a
Director for a social adult day program for cognitively impaired seniors living
in DCs 3, 8 & 9 in Brooklyn. The Director is responsible for program man-
agement, supervision of staff and all client services. MSW, 5+ years, experi-
ence in administrative position with adult day program, senior program, senior
center or in geriatric social work. Knowledge of senior services and entitle-
ments and experience with cognitive impairments of elderly. Bilingual Spanish
or French/ Creole preferred. Strong communication skills. Competitive salary
+ full benefits. Proposed start date March 15. Fax resume to William G.
Pernisek 718-388-1428.
SOCIAL WORKER MSW. A Union-based innovative legal services program seeks
MSW. Social work staff provides indiv & group srvcs, crisis intervention, SIT
counseling, information & referral, advocacy, indiv/fam assessment. Some
court appearances & home visits. Req: CSW; exp working w/groups and wel-
fare advocacy essential. Sal: $30,549/$46,119, depending on expo Excel
frings bnfts. Send res/lttr. DC 37 Municipal Employees Legal Servcies, 125
Barclay St, Rm 1008. NY 10007. EOE
STAFF ATTORNEY. GMHC seeks Staff Attorney to represent and advise clients
of their rights and obligations in family and housing law from intake to case
resolution including litigation before family and housing Court Judges.
Provides on site legal services to clients at community based organizations
and health care facilities. JD from an accredited law school and admission to
New York State Bar required. Proven experience with family and/or housing
law and experience interacting with city, state and federal officials required.
Must have the ability to do legal research, excellent writing skills including
preparation of technical documents and court papers, strong interpersonal
skills, including the ability to work effectively in a diverse environment with
clients, staff, outside attorneys and officials, and volunteers. Bilingual
English/Spanish a plus. Send resume with cover letter that must include
salary requirement to GMHC, HR Department, 119 West 24th Street, New
York, NY 10011.
Position: TRAlNERlTECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATI. Program: Community
Capacity Building Assistance Program. Health Watch Information and
Promotion Service is a New York-based national not-for-profit. Its mission is to
improve the health of minority populations and thus reduce their health care
burden as well as that of SOCiety as a whole. Under the direction of the Project
Director, the position will assist in the overall implementation, operation, train-
ing and evaluation activities required in the program. The position requires:
Bachelor's degree, preferably Master's degree, in health or relevant field; At
least 3 years experience working with minority populations; Strong computer
skills, including internet; Excellent communication skills; Training experience;
and good working knowledge of health and HIV/AIDS issues affecting
ty populations, especially African Americans. Send resume, cover letter and
-
salary requirements to: Healthwatch, Attn: Denise Glaude, 3020 Glenwood
Road, 2nd Floor, Brooklyn, NY 11210, Fax: 718-434-5048,
healthwatch@aol.com No phone calls please.
Position: PROORAM COORDINATOR. Program: Safe Passage for Central
Brooklyn Teens Program Health Watch Information and Promotion Service is
a New York-based national not-for-profit. Its mission is to improve the health
of minority populations and thus reduce their health care burden as well as
that of society as a whole. Under the direction of the Program Director and
with the ongoing technical assistance from Health Watch Information and
Promotion Service, the Coordinator will conduct program planning, imple-
mentation, operation, administration, management, and evaluation .. The
position requires: A Master's degree in public health or another relevant field;
At least 4 years of relevant experience including 3 years of managerial and
supervisory experience in the health or human services fields; OR Bachelor's
degree with 6 years of relevant experience, including 3 years of managerial
and/or supervisory experience. Send resume, cover letter and salary require-
ments to: Healthwatch, Attn: Mapple Walker, 3020 Glenwood Road, 2nd
Roor, Brooklyn, NY, 11210. Fax: 718-434-5048 No phone calls please.
PART TIME CONSULTANT FOR PROORAM EVALUATION for multi-year inner city
school library project. Visit schools, attend meetings, wrote reports. Irregular
time commitment, mostly during day, possibility for additional assignments.
Qualifications: experience with libraries and/or schools, excellent oral and
written communication skills, ability to think analytically. Send resume to
Arete Corporation, attn: Elizabeth Crownfield, 2112 Broadway, Suite 414,
New York, NY 10023; fax 212-580-6058; e-mail eec@arete_ny.com For more
information call 212-580-6060.
ASSISTANT TO THE PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT TEAM. The Edna McConnell
Clark Foundation is seeking an Assistant to the Portfolio Management
Team. Reporting to two Portfolio Managers who are charged with designing
and implementing a new grantmaking effort in youth development, the
assistant is responsible for providing administrative support for the team,
handling administrative procedures for new grants, maintaining the grants
management database, tracking grantmaking and administrative budgets
for the managers, managing calendars and making travel arrangements.
Requirements: Candidates must have excellent organizational skills and the
ability to manage multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment. Excellent ver-
bal and written communications skills required. Extensive knowledge of
Microsoft Word and Power Point. Salary range is high $30's to low $40's,
with a comprehensive benefits package. Reply: Please send or fax a
resume with a cover letter to Portfolio Assistant Search, The Edna
McConnell Clark Foundation, 250 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10177-0026;
212-986-4558 (fax). No calls please.
NPowerNY's mission is helping non-profits use technology to better serve
their communities. LAN SUPPORT SPECIALIST: Setup, install, upgrade and
troubleshoot network and desktop problems; Develop/implement software
distribution to desktops and networked servers; Desktop management - main-
tain inventory, software distribution and anti-virus upgrades; Work with diverse
groups, solid NetWare/NT experience, technical background; experience with
small office networks; Act as faculty in training. DATABASE SUPPORT SPECIAL
1ST: Investigate non profits database needs; Develop database plan; Obtain
client agreement; Code databases; Write support documentation/maintain
databases; Respond quickly and intelligently to customer demands; Access
skills, SQLjVB (ChangePoint a plus), ability to work in teams with diverse
groups; Act as faculty in training. ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT: Answer office
phones/direct calls; Assist with development of newsletter; Prepare corre-
spondence/presentation materials; Manage mass mailings; Coordinate trav-
el arrangements; Schedule meetings; Sort, distribute and send mail ;
Gather/maintain time information; Maintain inventory of office supplies.
NPowerNY is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer. Please send
resume and cover letter to: npowernyhotmail.com No calls please.
MANAGm CARE ASSOCIATI. The Puerto Rican Family Institute is seeking a
Managed Care Associate. Successful candidate must be a self-starter with
strong interpersonal and organization skills. Grant writing and data analysis
skills needed. Experience in a health care setting and the managed care field
a plus. A Masters degree needed. Salary will commensurate with work expe-
rience. Please FAX cover letter, salary requirement and resume to Heather
Nahas at (212) 691-5635.
The Bloomingdale Family Program, Head Start, is looking for an ASSISTANT
DIRECTOR FOR SOCIAL SERVICES. MSW preferred. Team Player!
Responsibilities: Supervising social service staff, case management, devel-
CITY LIMITS
oping parent program, facilitating support groups, conducting home visits,
developing family and community partnerships. Ruent English/Spanish.
Excellent communication and writing skills. Salary: $40,000 plus benefits.
Fax or mail resume to Bloomingdale Family Program, 125 West 109 Street,
NYC 10025, Attention Susan Feingold. Fax: 212-932-9243.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ANALYST. Downtown Brooklyn NYC Agency seeks a
detail oriented, self-motivated individual to represent the agency on econom-
ic development issues. Responsibilities include analysis, project performance
and interaction with other govemmental agencies, business improvement dis-
tricts, local development corporations, merchants associates and other eco-
nomic development groups on economic development issues including,
ness development and relocation and minority and women's enterprise pro-
grams. BA/BS in finance, public policy, economics, business or a related field
and NYC residency required. MA/MS preferred. Two years related experience,
preferably in NYC. Computer skills in wp, spreadsheets and database pro-
grams required. Salary $40s. EOE. Fax cover letter, resume and salary histo-
ry Director of Administration, 718-802-3979.
RrstSource Staffing is interviewing immediately for the following openings:
ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR FOR GLOBAL PHILANTHROPY. Low 30's great ben-
efits. DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT, 28K/yr + doe. - excellent entry level position
with outstanding benefits. The position is the administrative support person for
a development officer. LEGAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT FOR A PRO-IIONO
SERVICES COORDINATOR, low to mid 30's. Ideal position for a legal assis-
tant/para-legal. Major NY Law Rrm is building an intemal department to coor-
dinate firm pro-bono activities. The Pro-bono coordinator will provide support to
the legal team advising and supporting not-for-profits throughout the city. Great
job for a student just out of school looking for the best of both worlds; entry
level legal/paralegal and not-for-profit. OFFICE MANAGERISTAFFING COORDINA-
TOR for busy-start up staffing services agency. Previous HR, workforce
opment, or staffing industry experience a "plus." Office Manager $40K plus
bonus, software sales company. PUBLIC RELA110NS assistant for a social pur-
pose PR and communications firm. A/ P INTERN, $10/hr permanent position
requiring 28-35 hours per week with a midtown legal firm. Great position for a
current student, or recent graduate looking for a flexible schedule, rock solid
benefits, and entry level bookkeeping training. We also have openings for
RECEPTIONISTS, ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS, JOB DEVELOPERS and
RECRUfTtRS, QBOOKS BOOKKEEPERS, PAYROLL CLERKS, COPY ROOM
TOMER SERVICE ASSOCIATES and lots more! Email or fax resume and cover let-
ter with salary history and job interest to temps@fssny.com fax 718-5044972.
The housing management affiliate of Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and
Queens seeks an ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR FOR FAMILY AND SRO HOUSING. This
new position will oversee all aspects of property management, income certi-
fication, contract renewal, regulation compliance and supportive service coor-
dination in nine buildings with 500 tenants. The position will manage social
service personnel, property managers and maintenance staff. This is an
opportunity for a housing professional to assist in shaping a new manage-
ment structure. The position requires management experience and excellent
communication skills. Strong writing, computer literacy and quantitative skills
are essential. A bachelor's degree in a related field is required. Bi-lingual in
Spanish/English is preferred. Salary: mid $40,OOO's to low $50,Ooo's, com-
mensurate with experience. Excellent Benefits. Send cover letter and resume
to: Progress of Peoples Management Corporation, An affiliate of Brooklyn
Catholic Charities, 191 Joralemon Street, 2nd Roor, Brooklyn, NY 11201, Or
fax to: (718) 722-6045. e-mail: salbpop@ccbq.org
The housing management affiliate of Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and
Queens seeks an OCCUPANCY SPECIALIST. This position will be responsible
for managing the occupancy of 22 HUD 202 senior projects with over 1,800
apartments and four family housing buildings, with 140 apartments. Activities
will include developing marketing plans, handling inquiries, maintaining wait-
ing lists, processing applications for housing, and meeting with prospective
tenants. The position requires excellent organizational skills. Computer litera-
cy and quantitative skills are essential to this position. A bachelor's degree in
a related filed is preferred. in any second language is helpful. Salary:
low to mid $40,ooo's, commensurate with experience. Excellent Benefits.
Send cover letter and resume to: Susan Albrecht, Progress of Peoples
Management Corporation, An affiliate of Brooklyn Catholic Charities, 191
Joralemon Street, 2nd Roor, Brooklyn, NY 11201, Or fax to: (718) 722-6045.
e-mail: salbpop@ccbq.org
The North Star Fund, a progressive grassroots grantmaking organization,
seeks a PART TIME ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT to answer phones; complete
mailings; do filing and data entry; be responsible for supplies and computer
maintenance. Communication and interpersonal skills, as well as ability to
APRIL 2001
multi-task a must; experience with computer troubleshooting and mainte-
nance a major plus. Twenty-five hours per week, $12 per hour. Fax (212-620-
8178), email (northstarny@earthlink.net) or mail a cover letter, resume, one
writing sample, and 3 references to NSF, 305 Seventh Ave., NY, NY 10001.
PROGRAM ASSISTANT. The Paul Rapoport Foundation funds projects that
address the concerns and needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgen-
der communities. Research, write analyses of and make recommendations on
funding requests, and provide general office support including handling cor-
respondence, data entry, filing, and receptionist duties. Full-time position
requires excellent written and oral communication skills, math proficiency;
thorough knowledge of Word and Microsoft Access. Meticulous accuracy and
an ability to think critically a must. Salary commensurate with experience.
Excellent benefits. Send resume including three professional references,
salary history and two-to-three-page writing sample to: Suite 3H, 220 E. 60th
St., NY, NY 10022. No phone calls, please.
Non-Profit CBO Looking for EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. Loisaida, Inc., a 21- year old
non-profrt: organization serving the Lower East Side seeks an Executive
Director to manage overall administration of organization, including fiscal and
program management and development, staffing and fundraising. Experience
working with community development agencies, govemment contracts and
fundraising required. Economic and/or youth development experience would
be helpful. We are looking for someone with strong leadership and network-
ing skills who is energetic and committed to the goals and mission of Loisaida
and the community it serves. Salary competitive D.O.E. E.O.E. Resumes to:
Loisaida, Inc., Board of Directors, Attn. E.D. Search Committee, 710 East 9th
Street, NYC 10009 or fax (212) 473-5462.
REGIONAl. DIRECTOR, HELP USA. HELP USA, a national not-for-profit organiza-
tion was founded in 1986, in response to an acute need for housing and ser-
vices for the homeless. HELP USA's mission is to empower families and
viduals to become and remain self-sufficient. As such HELP provides these
families and individuals with a case management support team including ser-
vices such as housing counseling and placement, job training, education,
mental health counseling, substance abuse counseling/treatment, and day
care. HELP USA is currently seeking a Regional Director to be responsible for
the management and oversight of the following facilities that provide services
to both families and individuals: HELP Philadelphia; HELP Buffalo (NY); HELP
Las Vegas and HELP Houston. HELP Philadelphia consists of 90 units of sup-
portive housing for low income and homeless families. HELP Buffalo contains
25 service-enriched residential SRO units, housing formerly homeless indi-
viduals. HELP Las Vegas is comprised of 120 units for homeless individuals
and we are in the process of developing an additional 75 SRO units for home-
less veterans. HELP Houston has 50 units of newly constructed service
enriched multi-family housing serving formerly homeless families with special
needs. Responsibilities and Qualifications The Regional Director will be
responsible for the overall management and administration, of the operations
at HELP Philadelphia, HELP Buffalo, HELP Las Vegas and HELP Houston.
She/he will provide leadership, direction, supervision and support to profes-
sional staff designed to enhance program services, planning and communi-
cation ensuring delivery of the highest quality of services. This individual will
also monitor and assume responsibility for the financial health, stability and
continued growth of these four sites. She/he will also identify and prioritize
program development needs and opportunities to enhance and expand ser-
vices for HELP's populations. The Regional Director must have a minimum of
five years experience as a senior level executive in a not-for-profit, human ser-
vice organization, with demonstrated leadership in the management of a
multi-site agency. An MBA, or a Masters degree in Social Work, or a field relat-
ed to social service, Public Administration, or the human services is required.
Candidates must be competent and knowledgeable in areas of human ser-
vice, program planning and evaluation and service delivery, and knowledge-
able of the current trends in these fields. Salary is commensurate with expe-
rience and a competitive and attractive compensation package is available.
Submit cover letter and resume to Frederick Shack, HELP USA, 30 East 33rd
Street 9th floor NY, NY 10016, Or fax cover letter and resume to: 212-444-
1907 HELP USA is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE) Rnal applicants will
be submitted to drug testing and a thorough background check.
Queens based Settlement House seeks PROGRAM DIRECTOR to build a com-
prehensive youth program; provide program development; staff supervision;
and fiscal management. MSW or masters degree; min 34 years managerial
expo Knowledge of youth programs and development. Exp with govemment
contracts. Strong communication skills. Knowledge of Spanish or Korean a
plus. Salary commensurate with experience and excellent benefits. Fax cover
and resume to David Whyne 718784-7266
(continued 011 page 40)
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(continued from page 39)
ADMINISTRATlVE DIRECTOR. We are currently seeking a person who can imple-
ment policies and procedures that will strengthen and maintain the adminis-
trative functions of the FAC during a period of progressive growth. To this end
you will be responsible for establishing and maintaining office procedures and
systems, coordinating administrative support, MIS, inventory and equipment
inventories, and human resource supervision. Rve year's experience in a non-
profit, with a minimum of three years in a supervisory role. BA or MS. Must
possess superior skills in analyzing and solving problems. Low $40's to $45
with benefits. Resumes and cover letter MAILED to Roy D. Nielsen, FAC, 141
Rfth Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11217.
EXEClITIVE DIRECTOR. Responsible for both day-to-day operations and long
term growth of one of the oldest transitional housing facilities in Harlem.
Candidates must be motivated, detail and outcome oriented and possess
strong problem-solving, planning, budgeting, writing, fund raising and man-
agement skills. Bachelors Degree and experience working with homeless pop-
ulation preferred. Qualified applicants should fax resume and cover letter
including salary requirements to R. Peyton Gibson, 212-308-9079.
Applications also being accepted for FRONT DESK ATTENDANT (light clerical
duties), SECURITY GUARD and HOUSEKEEPING poSitions.
UNITE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees), is an indus-
trial union with a successful tradition of organizing low-wage and immigrant
workers in the private sector. We seek CORPORATE CAMPAIGNERS for New York
based Corporate Affairs department, which supports UNITE's aggressive
organizing and collective bargaining programs. Involves research, strategic
analysis and comprehensive campaign planning. Qualifications include
research and/or organizing experience, ability to travel, excellent
cations skills. See job posting at www.uniteunion.org for details. Cover letter
and resume to: Corporate Affairs, UNITE, 1710 Broadway, NY, NY 10019, fax
212489-0598.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation
seeks a Community Organizer to work with OUTRAGE, a coalition of residents
and organizations in East Williamsburg and Greenpoint, to organize an effec-
tive campaign to reduce the volume of garbage processed in our community.
He/she will help to maintain and strengthen the existing coalition, work with
coalition members to develop and implement political and practical strategies
to achieve its goals, and facilitate linkages with other groups working to
change the City' s garbage policies. Requires BA/BS or equivalent; excellent
communications and organizing skills, and ability to understand complex tech-
nical material and explain it to community residents. Knowledge of
WiliiamsburgjGreenpoint community, waste disposal and environmental jus-
tice issues a plus. Salary commensurate with experience and excellent ben-
efits package. Fax resume to Alison Cordero at 486-5982 or e-mail to
acordero@stnicksnpc.com.
PROGRAM COORDINATOR for microloan/financial education program. B.A. in
public admin, business, or related field; computer literate; self-starter; strong
organizational skills; comfortable with financial records/numbers/spread-
sheets; strong people skills and 2-3 yrs experience in program coordination
or management. Some evenings. Experience in loan administration or equiv-
alent and bilingual preferred. LlFESKILLS INSTRUCTORIRECRUITER B.A.; 3+ yrs
experience in instruction/teaching adults; good people skills; computer liter-
ate; flexible; & ability to work in a team. Case management experience,
edge of Hudson County, bilingual preferred. EMPLOYMENT COORDINATOR/JOB
DEVELOPER B.A. in marketing or related field; excellent oral and written com-
munication and presentation skills; computer literate; strong organizational
skills; 3+ yrs experience in job development/placement, and job coaching;
flexible; & ability to work in team. Some local travel. Experience in hotel indus-
try, own car preferred. WomenRising, Inc.; Attn: CED; 270 Fairmount Avenue,
Jersey City, NJ 07306. Fax: (201)333-9305.
FUND DEVELOPER. Health Watch Information and Promotion Service is a New
York-based national noHor-profit. Its mission is to improve the health of minor-
ity populations and thus reduce their heaJth care burden as well as that of
society as a whole. Summary of Position: The Fund Developer is responsible
for setting and meeting Health Watch fund development goals. The position
is responsible for managing all fundraising activities of Health Watch -foun-
dation relations, special events, grants, endowment development, and the
annual report. The Fund Developer reports directly to the Director of
Operations. Requirements: Bachelors Degree with 5-7 years development
experience. Excellent writing, presentation, organization skills, record keeping
and an understanding of solicitation techniques. Send resume, cover and
salary requirements to: Health Watch, Attn: Maggie Brennan, 3020 Glenwood
Road, 2nd Aoor, Brooklyn, NY 11210. Fax: 718434-5048. No phone calls
please.
GENERAL MANAGER for New York's leading center of holistic leaming. Must
have proven non-profit management skills, preferably within an holistic envi-
ronment, and be astute in matters of personnel, team-building, and financial
analysis. High energy and spiritual values a must. Send resume and cover let-
ter to R. White, New York Open Center, 83 Spring Street, NY, NY 10012.
ASSET MANAGER. Pratt Area Community Council (PACC) is a CBO working in Ft.
Greene, Clinton Hill and Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. The Asset Manager
will research, analyze and coordinate all compliance requirements for our
development projects. The Asset Manager will prepare reports to government
agencies and project partners, coordinate financial reporting and tenant
income certifications, and manage related information flow among PACC
departments. The ideal candidate is a self-starter with two years of housing
or related experience and excellent organizational, problem solving and writ-
ing skills. Knowledge of LlHTC preferred. Salary commensurate with experi-
ence. Fax/Send letter, resume, and salary requirements to: Controller, PACC,
201 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11205 718-222-3292. PROPERTY MAN
AGEMENT COORDINATOR. Pratt Area Community Council (PACC) is a CBO work-
ing .in Ft. Greene, Clinton Hill and Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn seeks orga-
nized self-starter to coordinate property management staff and maintenance
staff for low-income housing developments. Previous high-level administrative
experience required. Knowledge of CAD and MRI a plus. Competitive salary
and benefits. Equal Opportunity Employer. Fax/Send letter, resume, and
salary requirements to: Controller, PACC, 201 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
11205 718-222-3292
ADMINISTRATlVE SUPERVISOR is needed for our Mental Health Clinic in the
Bronx. You will supervise compliance to regulations, responsible for site vis-
its, audits and intemal review. Provide supervisory conferences with social
work staff. Triage referrals and patient aSSignments to staff; monitor quality
of clinical service, maintain high level of group therapy and track outcome
studies. Must possess a MSW or MS in Clinical Psychology or related degree.
Min. of 6 yrs. experience in a psychiatric setting, 3 of which must have been
supervisory. Excellent knowledge of treatment modalities necessary to oper-
ate within a managed care environment. Catholic Charities promotes balance
between work and life for our employees with 19 paid holidays along with an
excellent benefits and vacation package. Please submit your resume and
cover letter indicating position of salary and salary requirements to: Catholic
Charities, 1011 Rrst Avenue - Rm. 1112, New York, New York 10022, FAX:
212-826-8795, E-Mail cCjobs@archny.org
LIFE SKILLS INSTRUCTOR. Help USA, a leading provider of residential & social
services is looking for a creative & motivated individual to conduct Job
Readiness classes for homeless populations. Ability to instruct & implement
Job Readiness Curriculum. BA or previous experience required. Computer lit-
erate. Valid NY driver's license preferred. Send resume w/salary require-
ments to: HELP@ Wards Island, 1 Wards Island, New York, NY 10035
Attention: Romina Cappella. Fax: 212-534-9826. EOE. A drug free workplace.
CONTRACT ACCOUNTANT is needed in our Manhattan Office. Responsible for
all mental health contract reporting, as required by NYC & Westchester
Department of Mental Health, including Consolidated Rscal Report (CFR).
Assist in preparing monthly journal entries, financial statements, and man-
agement reports. Other aSSignments as needed. College degree in account-
ing with 24 years of related experience. Excellent interpersonal skills and
computer skills specifically in the area of spreadsheet preparation
(LOTUS,EXCEL). Willingness to meet the requirements of the department
including working additional hours as necessary. Catholic Charities promotes
balance between work and life for our employees with 19 paid holidays along
with an excellent benefits and vacation package. Please submit your resume
and cover letter indicating position of salary and salary requirements to:
Catholic Charities, 1011 Rrst Avenue - Rm. 1112, New York, New York
10022, FAX: 212-826-8795, E-Mail cCjobs@archny.org
CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKERS are needed in our Mental Health Clinics (various
locations include Bronx, South Bronx, Peekskill, Staten Island and Yonkers).
You will conduct pre-screening interviews, intake evaluations, individual, fam-
ily and marital therapy; perform crisis intervention; complete statistics,
recordkeeping functions in accordance with program requirements and par-
ticipate in case presentations. This position requires MSW, CSW, clinical
experience with children and adults. All positions require excellent interper-
sonal, organizational , time management and communication skills. Ability to
CITYUMITS
work independently and as part of a team. Bilingual Spanish-English pre-
ferred. Catholic Charities promotes balance between work and life for our
employees with 19 paid holidays along with an excellent benefits and vaca-
tion package. Please submit your resume and cover letter indicating position
of salary and salary requirements to: Catholic Charities, 1011 Rrst Avenue -
Rm. 1112, New York, New York 10022, FAX: 212-826-8795, E-Mail
cCjobs@archny.org
Single Parent Resource Center seeks FAMILY REUNIFICATION - PARENTlNG
SPECIAUSTIPROGRAM COORDINATOR (F (T) - Provide family reunification skills-
building and parenting support services to single mothers who have been sep-
arate from their children. Conduct support groups on site and organize p o s ~
tive family interaction days; conduct outreach and recruitment for program par-
ticipants; provide individual counseling, Family Court & Foster Care advocacy
& document group and individual contact statistics and recordings. Some eves
& Saturdays req. Exp. in Foster Care system; expo facilitating groups pref. ;
knowledge of parenting skills & Substance abuse; good writing skills. Salary:
Competitive with excel. Benefits. Resume to: P. Hanson/Single Parent
Resource Ctr., 31 East 28th St., 2nd R., NYC 10016 or Fax: 212-951-7037
PUBliC HEALTH EPIDEMIOLOGISTS. The NYC Department of Health Office of
Policy and Planning has positions available for Public Health Epidemiologist
to serve as Senior Analysts. The Senior Analysts will act as liaisons to
Department's programs, collect and analyze data, develop new program pro-
posals for city budget cycle and assist in preparing state and city mandated
reports. Requirements: Masters in Public Health or Epidemiology, or
Baccalaureate degree from an accredited college, including or supplemented
by 8 credits in the physical or biological sciences, plus 1 year full-time expe-
rience as a health professional in a position which requires the reading and
interpretation of hospital medical charts and complex medical information.
Candidates holding a foreign degree must submit a foreign degree education
evaluation from an approved evaluation service. Salary $41,368 to $54,411
(plus pro-rated differential of $454 for possession of appropriate Master' s
degree). Submit resumes to: Gary S. Washington, NYC Department of Health,
125 Worth Street, Room 908, Box 39, NYT 9492-GSW, New York, NY 10013.
The NYC Department of Health is an EOE M/H/F /Y.
DIRECTOR. The New York City Workforce Source is a start-up project of The
Welfare to Work Partnership, developed in COllaboration with the New York
City Employment and Training Coalition. The mission of the Workforce Source
is to create quality job and career advancement opportunities for low-income
people by initiating and strengthening linkages between providers of job traill-
ing services and key employers in targeted industry sectors. The Director
should have entrepreneurial and leadership qualities and must be creative
and flexible and have working knowledge of Welfare to Work programs, work-
force development, employment and training, human resources, and job cre-
ation policy and strategies. For a complete job description, visit www.welfare-
towork.org. To apply, e-mail, fax, or mail cover letter and resume to The
Welfare to Work Partnership, Attention: Human Resource Department, 1250
Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 610, Washington, DC 20036, 202-835-0040
(fax), dbrower@welfaretowork.org.
Cypress Hills LDC's Employment Center seeks an experienced, organized JOB
DVB.OPER to assist public assistance recipients with securing employment.
Current Job Bank is essential. Bachelors degree preferred. Fax resume and
cover letter with salary requirements to: Ms. Geddes 718-647-8276.
SUPERVISOR. Talbot Perkins Children' s Services seeks a supervisor for their
Foster Care and Adoption Department to supervise caseworkers providing
case management to children and teens in foster care and their biological
families and foster parents. MSW and prior experience. Supervisory experi-
ence and knowledge of foster care preferred. Spanish fluency a plus. HOME-
RNDER. Recruit, license and train foster parents. BSW/BA/BS and related
experience. Spanish speaking required. Talbot Perkins Children' s Services
has been building, strengthening and creating families through foster care,
adoption, and child welfare preventive services for over seventy-four years.
Send resume, with salary and position of interest to: HR Dept., Talbot Perkins
Children'S Services, 116 West 32nd Street, New York, NY 10001, Fax: 212-
268-5159/947-4865. E-mail : hr@talbotperkins.com
Bushwick Family ReSidence, A Salvation Army Tier II for homeless families,
seeks a CASE MANAGER. Experience with similar population. B.A. degree
required. Send resume and cover letter to: B. Bums 1675 Broadway,
Brooklyn, NY 11207. Fax: 718-574-2713
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT. Nationally recognized youth leadership center
focusing on youth-led organizing and advocacy in the South Bronx seeks
APRIL 2001
an experienced grantwriter with a commitment to fighting for social justice
to build and administer the organization' s fundraising, fiscal and persoll-
nel (human resources) infrastructures. Candidates must have a love and
commitment to working with young people - including the ability to support
youth in taking the lead in program planning and budgeting. Requirements
- Bachelors degree and minimum 2 years development experience; or four
years development experience without a degree. People with direct per-
sonal involvement in the juvenile and/or criminal justice system are
encouraged to apply. People of color, residents of the South Bronx, and/ or
people who are bilingual (with English and Spanish proficiency) are also
encouraged to apply. Salary is commensurate with experience. Benefits
package includes full medical, dental and life insurance, as well as partial
tuition and/or child care reimbursement. Send resume, cover letter and
writing sample to: Hemansu Mangal , c/ o Mott Haven ACT Collaborative,
491 East 149th Street, Room 520, Bronx, NY, 10455. e-mails will also be
accepted at hrmangal@aol.com. Applicants must submit their materials by
Thursday, March 1.
SOCIAL WORKER. Duties include but are not limited to: facilitate part of pre-
vocational training and conduct on-going preventive workshops and support
groups; meet with all terminated trainees; refer & follow-up to myriad ser-
vices; track type of referrals made; meet with trainees as needed & interface
with all units; prepare weekly/monthly reports as needed. Experience: in
working with public assistance recipients; knowledge of NYC's social service
delivery system; experience working with the Human Resources
Administration; experience in facilitating groups & workshops; excellent COrll-
munication, platform and organizational skills. A/ BSW degree with e x p e ~
ence; graduate degree preferred (MSW/MA) Must be(english/spanish) bi-lill-
gual. Salary:3()'35K depending upon experience. Fax to: R. Niaz @ 212-414-
4125. No telephone calls please.
TRAINER. Responsibilities: train diverse population; provide participants with
handouts and homework assignments; conduct evaluations of partiCipants;
maintain records of daily attendance; incorporate feedback from manage-
ment and other training partners as appropriate. Salary: pro-rated at $40K
per annum. One full-time and two per diem tariners needed. All trainers must
be English/Spanish bi-lingual. Per diem trainers are required to work some
Saturdays. BA required,MA preferred. Early Childhood experience a plus.
Contact: by email only, ARosser@cwe.org
Corporation for Supportive Housing is a national nonprofit organization
that facilitates the development of supportive housing for special needs
homeless population. We are looking for a high-energy, proven profes-
sional ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT, strongly committed to the
organization's mission: providing supportive housing for people with
special needs who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. In
this key position you will playa role in the planning and implementation
of a comprehensive fundraising program, with a focus on the develop-
ment and preparation of proposals, reports and other written materials.
The ideal candidate will have 3-5 years of fund raising or related experi-
ence with a national nonprofit, excellent writing and strong organization
skills, experience in preparing foundation and corporate proposals and
reports, knowledge of the foundation and corporate philanthropic com-
munities, and the ability to handle multiple tasks and work under pres-
sure. Fax resumes to (212) 986-6552.
Supportive Housing Facil ity seeking an experienced CSW with strong skills in
mental health assessment, counseling, referrals and follow-up. Experience
with persons with HIF/AIDS and Substance Abuse required. Computer litera-
cy and excellent communication skills necessary. Fax resume and cover let-
ter stating salary history and experience to Bob Raphael 718-508-3013.
Immediate Need for CASE MANAGERS in our offices in NYC, the Bronx,
Orange and Sullivan Counties. Responsibilities: Provides direct case
management services to the poor and the disenfranchised through
advocacy, information and referral , crisis intervention services, and
short term case management Reqs. M.S.W. or Bachelor' S Degree with
at least two years of experience in the social service field. Spanish-
English required. Excellent interpersonal , organizational , time man-
agement and communication skills. Abil ity to work well independently
as well as part of a team. Catholic Charities promotes balance
between work & life for our employees with 19 paid holidays along with
an exc benefits and vac pkg. Please send resume & cover Itr indicat-
ing position of interest & salary reqs. To: CATHOLIC CHARITIES
Personnel Dept 1011 1st Avenue - Rm. 1112 NY, NY 10022 Email:
ccjobs@archny.org Fax: 212-826-8795
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(conlinuedjrom page 41)
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is a large, multi-service non-profit serving the
Bronx for over 25 years. The agency provides a broad range of individual and
group services, including - but not limited to - information, referral,
assistance and counseling, services to special-need populations, such as
immigrants, children, adolescents, seniors, homeless families and singles,
individuals infected with and families affected by HIV/AIDS. CAB provides
excellent benefits and offers opportunities for advancement. The following
openings are available: The Family Enrichment Program seeks a SOCIAl. WORK-
ER to provide case management services to families. The position requires a
MSW and good communication, time management, writing and organizational
skills. Bilingual (English/Spanish) is a must. Responsibilities include individual
and family counseling, home visits and co-facilitating groups. Must be able to
work some evenings and weekends. Salary is in the high $30' s. Fax resume
and cover letter to Maria Morris at (718) 293-9767. The Administration office
seeks a DIRECTOR OF FACILmES to supervise facility maintenance staff at the
Girls Club location. Responsibilities include coordination of facility systems
agency-wide, and overseeing agency procurements. The position requires a
bachelor's degree and 5 years experience. Those interested should forward a
cover letter and resume to Karen Courtney at (718) 365-0697 or (718) 933-
1723. The Positive Uving Programs have openings for HOUSING SPECIALIST to
help HIV+ clients find housing, inspect apartments and negotiate with land-
lords. The position requires a bachelor's degree. Bilingual- Eng/Span is help-
ful. Salary is up to $27,000. Fax resume and cover letter to Mindy Nass at
(718) 293-9767. FOllOW-UP WORKER to work as part of a case management
team with HIV + clients. The position requires a high school diploma/GED and
extensive work with entitlements, housing issues and medical issues. Salary
is up to $21,500. Fax your resume and cover letter to Mindy Nass at (718)
293-9767. The Homeless Intervention Program has openings for CASE MAN-
AGERS. The Case Managers assist families and individuals with eviction pre-
vention and public assistance entitlements. The positions require a bachelor's
degree and good writing skills. Knowledge of public entitlements and housing
court is a plus. Bilingual Spanish is helpful. Fax your resume and cover letter
to Maria Caraballo at (718) 993-7950. The Homelessness Prevention Program
seeks 2 CASE MANAGERS. The positions require a bachelor's degree, knowl-
edge of public entitlements, and good writing and communication skills. Fax
your resume and cover letter to Bibi Karim Khan at (718) 293-9767. The After
School Programs seek one COUNSELOR and several SUBS111UTE COUNSELORS.
The positions require two years of college, prior experience with children, and
the ability to write well. Knowledge of whole language concepts preferred. The
Counselor will work Monday through Friday from 2:30-6:00 p.m. during the
school year with occasional Saturday and school vacation work required. The
Substitute Counselors will work as needed Monday through Friday from 2:30-
6:00 pm. Forward resume and cover letter to Jeanne Tibbets at (718) 590-
5866. The Services for Seniors Program seeks a REPAIR TICHNICIANlHANDY-
MAN to work in their minor repair program. The ideal candidate will possess a
locksmith's license, and 2 years experience. The position requires good corn-
munication skills and the ability to work with the elderly. Possession of your
own vehicle and bilingual (English/Spanish) is a plus. Fax credentials to Julie
Belizaire-Spitzer at (718) 293-9767. The Homeless Outreach Team has fol-
lowing openings for TEMPORARY ounEACH WORKERS to work full-time for 6
months from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. The positions require
a high schooljGED and a valid driver's license. Bilingual English/Spanish is a
plus. Salary is $10 to $15 per hour. Those interested should fax resumes and
cover letters to Noel Concepcion at (718) 71&8599. The Morris Senior Center
has an opening for a part-time VAN DRIVER. The position requires a valid,
points-free driver's license. Must be able to lift and carry heavy objects. Those
interested should forward a resume and cover letter to Isabel Rolon at (718)
933-7701. The Nelson Avenue Family Residence for homeless families seeks
the following: TEMPORARY PART-TIME TEACHER'S AIDE to work in its childcare
program. The pOSition requires a high school diploma/GED and child care
experience. The hours are Monday through Thursday from 3:30 pm to 6:30 pm
and Friday from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. Fax credentials to Dana Yeary at (718)
299-1682. MAINTENANCE WORKERIPORTIR. The position requires heavy lifting,
mopping, buffing, painting, and general repairs. Candidates must be able to
work various shifts including weekends and holidays. Bilingual
English/Spanish is a plus. Fax cover letter and resume to James Adamec at
(718) 299-1682. FAMILY MONITORS - one full-time and one per diem - to work
in its Security Department. The positions require a high school diploma/GED,
valid driver' s license, NYS security guard license and NYC fire safety
cate. Candidates must be able to perform heavy lifting and to work rotating
shifts including weekends and holidays. Bilingual English/Spanish is a plus.
Fax credentials Betty Medina to (718) 299-1682. Candidates may also mail
cover letter and resumes, specifying the positions, to CAB, 2054 Morris
Avenue, Bronx, NY 10453 or fax to (718) 365-0697. CAB is an equal oppor-
tunity/affirmative action employer.
MIGRATION COUNSELOR. (2 positions available) Position 1 - This position
requires providing paralegal assistance to supervising employment attomey
in employment-based immigration cases & attomey(s) in general immigration
cases. Assistance will include but not be limited to conducting follow-up inter-
views, drafting immigration forms and correspondence, preparing cases for
filing, responding to client inquiries. etc. , Position 2 - This position requires
advising and counseling clients in immigration and naturalization appl icants
and issues. Conducting intake interviews on walk-in days and follow up inter-
views. Preparation, review, completion, submission and follow up of/ on
cations in routine types of immigration matters. Both positions require the fol-
lowing: College degree preferred. 2 yrs expo as immigration counselor/ para-
legal preferred. Highly motivated & self-starter. Excellent computer skills
which includes Microsoft Office. Excellent communication, organization &
analytical skills. Knowledge of Spanish preferred. Catholic Charities promotes
balance between work & life for our employees with 19 paid holidays along
with an exc benefits and vac pkg. Please send resume & cover Itr indicating
position of interest & salary reqs. To: Catholic Charities Personnel
Department 1011 Rrst Ave. Rm. 1112 New York, NY 10022 Email :
ccjobs@archny.org Fax: 212-82&8795
ounEACH WORKER. Major social service organization has an opening on its
Mobile Outreach Team that assists individuals living on the street.
Candidates should have the ability to engage individuals, and assess and
make referrals to social service programs. Experience with MICA clients,
knowledge of homeless ness a plus. BA/ BS preferred. Shift includes evenings
and weekend Salary range - mid 20's. Candidates must have valid
vers license and the ability to work in a team environment. Qualified
dates should send resume and cover letter to: Human Resources
Representative The Partnership for the Homeless, Inc., MOR 305 Seventh
Avenue New York, NY 10001 AA/EEO M/F/ D/V/ SO
GRANT WRITIR. The Osborne Association, an effective non profit organization
serving the accused, prisoners, ex-offenders, and their families seeks a grant
writer to further the mission of its health, employment, family and court-relat-
ed programs. Responsibilities include preparing government and foundation
proposals, writing other institutional materials as needed, conducting
research to identify new funding sources, and helping to maintain data bases.
Excellent benefits include 4 weeks vacation annually. Strong writing skills with
at least one year demonstrated experience in grant writing required. Fax
resume/salary requirements to: Human Resources, The Osborne Association
(212) 979-7652. EOE.
PROGRAM ASSISTANT. The Program Assistant job is a pit, 21 hour responsi-
bility. Duties include working closely w/ Program Director in the processing of
inquiries and applications. Other job responsibilities include mailing informa-
tion packages, maintaining records and databases, monitoring and tracking
references and processing background checks. Qualifications: The position
requires a HS diploma and a few years experience in a related field. College
graduates are also welcome. The applicant must be detail-oriented, well-orga-
nized and comfortable with numbers. Must be computer savvy (word pro-
cessing w/ MS Word and database) Salary: 60% of Mid Twenties plus Health
Care Benefits. To apply, please send cover letter and resume to: Jo Anne
Keller, Program Director, Catholic Big Brothers, Inc. , 45 East 20th Street, 9th
R., New York, New York 10003. e-mail :cbbnyc@aol.com fax: (212) 477-2739
DlRECTORICOMMUNITY ORGANIZER. The NYC Parent Organizing Consortium, a
coll<;lboration of seven grassroots parent organizations including ACORN, the
Community Action Project, Cypress Hills Advocates for Education, Mothers on
the Move, the New Settlement Parent Action Committee, and the Northwest
Bronx Community and Clergy Coalition is seeking a director/ community orga-
nizer to staff a POC joint campaign to demand more resources for NYC pub-
lic schools. Duties include convening regular city-wide parent meetings to
develop and carry-out campaign plans, staffing campaign activities including
public meetings, actions, press events, etc., working with staff and leader-
ship of member organizations to carry out local components of campaign.
Call (718) 222-1088.
The Center for Urban Community Services, Inc. (CUCS) a growing not-for-prof-
it organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for homeless
and low-income individuals has the following pOSition available in dynamic
supported housing residence for homeless and special needs individuals.
This position is available at the Times Square Program, a permanent sup-
portive housing residence for 650 low-income tenants, many of whom have a
history of mental illness, homeless ness, substance abuse and/ or HIV/ AIDS
located in mid-town Manhattan. CLINICAL COORDINATOR: Supervision and
direct oversight of a core services team, Reqs: CSW; 4 yrs post-masters expo
CITY LIMITS
computer literacy, bilingual Span/Eng preferred. Salary: $46K + comp bnfts.
Send cover letter and resume to Michael Etheridge, CUCSlThe TImes Square,
255 W. 43rd Street, NY, NY 10036. Fax 212-391-5991. CUCS is committed
to workforce diversity. EEO.
PER DIEM CASE MANAGER (Ovemight and Weekend Team). Center for Urban
Community Services, a national leader in the development of effective hous-
ing and service initiatives for homeless people, seeks a Per Diem Case
Manager for its 350 Lafayette Transitional Program. A nationally recognized
model for helping mentally ill homeless people acquire housing, the program
services include: transitional housing for 40 women, comprehensive case
management, group treatment, on-site psychiatric and medical services, and
housing placement. Resp: Provide clinical services to individuals and groups,
crisis intervention, and recreational activities. Reqs: HS Diploma or equiv.
And one yr direct exp in mental health or housing placement and good com-
munication skills. BA pref. Salary: $14.09/hour. Hours: PIT, overnight, week-
end and on-<:all. Cover letter and resume to Melody Hartmann, CUCS-TLC,
350 Lafayette Street, NY, NY 10012. CUCS is committed to workforce diver-
sity. EEO
DEPUTY DIRECTOR for active youth development Beacon center for children
ages 5 to 21, operated by progressive settlement house, based at JHS 190Q.
Afternoons, evenings and Saturdays. Req's: experience with youth, supervi-
Sion, and program management, commitment to youth development and com-
munity-building philosophy. MA preferred, $36,000 + good benefits. Resume
to Eldad Shepen, The Forest Hills Community House, 108-25 62nd Drive,
Forest Hills, NY 11375. Fax: 718-830-5235
SENIOR 1INANT ORGANIZER. The Rfth Avenue Committee, a Brooklyn-based
community organization, is seeking a SENIOR 1INANT ORGANIZER to combat
displacement. Responsibilities: direct the Displacement-Free Zone commu-
nity organizing campaign to stop eviction of tenants and preserve affordable
housing using creative, non-legal tactics and public pressure. Qualifications:
Passion for social justice and a BA degree + Two years professional organiz-
ing or equivalent experience. English/ Spanish a plus. Salary based on expe-
rience. Good benefits. Send resume and cover letter to: Director of
Organizing, 5th Avenue Committee, 141 5th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 718-857-
2990 Fax: 718-857-4322.
NYS Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick is looking for a COMMUNITY LIAI-
SONISCHEDULER. Must be computer literate, available for some evening
meetings, and have excellent communication a plus. Please fax resume and
cover letter to: Karen Feuer 212-674-5530 or email to glickd@
assembly.state.ny.us
NURSE HEALTH EDUCATOR. Provide individual and group health education to
persons living with HIV/AIDS at primary care sites in the South Bronx. Help
patients understand their illness and adhere to treatment. Work with multi-
disciplinary team. RN required. Spanish a plus. Also seeking Health Educator
to develop Diabetes Education program. Fax resume and cover letter to: 212-
989-6170.
PROGRAM ASSISTANT. Habitat for Humanity NYC is seeking a Program
Assistant to handle many of the administrative duties relating to the Volunteer
Department. Duties will include retrieving and responding to voicemail and
email , managing the volunteer database, and updating information for the
website. This poSition will also recruit, schedule, train and manage office vol-
unteers and serve as a back-up receptionist when needed. The Volunteer
Program Assistant will likewise assist the Volunteer Director in organizing
special projects, including event builds and information meetings. College
degree plus strong communication and organization skills required.
Candidate must also have basic working knowledge of Microsoft Office pro-
grams and experience using the Intemet. Experience working in a fast-paced
office environment preferred. Salary: $25,000 plus good benefits package.
Send resume and cover letter to Attn: Kelly J. Smith, Habitat - NYC, 334
Furman Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201; or email to ksmith@habitatnyc.org or fax
718-246-2787.
ASS'T DIRECTOR, Criminal Justice Project: Brooklyn comm' y development
organization seeks motivated ass't dir for a model project to assist eX-<lffend-
ers reintegrating into the community and organizing to reframe community
debate around criminal justice. Responsibilities include program develop-
ment & operations; replication, reporting & fundraising; and community orga-
nizing. Requirements: Strong analytic & communications skills; program
development experience; strong team player. AA/ EOE. Cover letter,
resume, and salary req's to Darryl P. King, Rfth Avenue Committee, 141 Rfth
Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11217 or fax to (718) 857-4322. www.fifthave.org.
The Common Ground Jobs Training Corporation, a not-for-proflt organization
dedicated to helping participants obtain and retain permanent employment,
seeks an INTAKE COORDINATOR to oversee the application and enrollment
process. S\ he will administer and evaluate applications and assessment
testing; and conduct interviews. Requirements: HS diploma; superior verbal
ability; experience in a social services environment working with special
needs populations; and a working knowledge of MS Word and Access. Fax
cover letter (which must include salary requirements) and resume via fax to
L. Bowens at (212) 768-8748. Common Ground is an E/O/ E.
The Common Ground Jobs Training Corporation, a not-for-profit organization ded-
icated to helping participants obtain and retain permanent employment, seeks
a PlACEMENTIRETINTlON CAREER ADVISOR to provide support for participants
transitioning from training to competitive employment. S\ he will develop and
monitor career plans; function as a liaison to case managers; provide career
counseling; and track job retention and advancement. Requirements: HS diplo-
ma; superior verbal ability; experience in a social services environment working
with special needs populations; and a working knowledge of MS Word and
Access. Fax cover letter (which must include salary requirements) and resume
via fax to V. Westphal at (212) 768-8748. Common Ground is an E/O/E.
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