city limits magazine, march 1990 issue

8/3/2019 City Limits Magazine, March 1990 Issue

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March 1990 New Y ork 's C ommu nit y A ffa ir s N e ws M a ga zin e

H E L L R A IS E R IN C IT Y H A L L D S T IL L H U N G R Y IN N E W Y O R KC A N T H E C IT Y L E A R N T O M A N A G E IT S B U IL D IN G S ?

$2.00


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2 CITY UMITS

C iq LimirsVolume XV Number 3

City Limits is published ten times per year ,monthly except double issues in June/Julyand August/September, by the City LimitsCommunity Information Service, Inc ., a nonprofit organization devoted to disseminatinginformation concerning neighborhoodrevitalization.SponsorsAssociation for Neighborhood andHousing Development, Inc.. New York Urban CoalitionPratt Institute Center for Community andEnvironmental DevelopmentUrban Homesteading Assistance BoardBoard of DirectorsRobert Hayes , Coalition for the HomelessRebecca ReichAndrew Reicher, UHABRichard Rivera , Puerto Rican LegalDefense and Education FundTom RobbinsRon Shiffman, Pratt CenterEsmerelda Simmons, Center for Law andSocial JusticeJay Small, ANHD Affiliations for identif ication only.Subscription rates are : for individuals andcommunity groups, $15/0ne Year, $25 /TwoYears; for businesses , foundations, banks,government agencies and libraries, $35/0neYear, $50/Two Years. Low income, unemployed, $10/0ne Year.City Limits welcomes comments and art iclecontributions. Please include a stamped , selfaddressed envelope for return manuscripts.Material in City Limits does not necessari lyreflect the opinion ofthe sponsoring organizations . Send correspondence to : CITY LIMITS,40 Prince St. , New York, NY 10012.

Second class postage paidNew York, NY 10001City Limits (ISSN 0199-033G)(212) 925-9820FAX (212) 966-3407Editor: Doug TuretskyAssociate Editor: Lisa GlazerBu_ineas Director: Harry GadarigianContributing Editors: Beverly Cheuvront ,Peter Marcuse, Jennifer SternProduction: Chip CliffePhotographer: Isa BritoIntern : Daniel ZaleskiCopyright 1990. All Rights Reserved. Noportion or portions of this journal may be reprinted without the express permission of thepublishers.City Limits is indexed in the Alternative PressIndex and the Avery Index to Architectu ralPeriodicals and is available on microfilm fromUniversity Microfilms International , An nArbor, MI 48106.

Cover photograph by Adam Anik.

EDITORIAL

Words and DeedsA few weeks ago , Mayor David Dinkins addressed a City Hall conferencepresented by th e Committee for New York, an informal organization comprised of New York developers, planners an d community activists. Themayor offered a blueprint for th e process his administration will undertaketo assess private development proposals.The mayor 's words are worth repeating here, not only because they echoth e sentiments of many community leaders, bu t because they can serve asa yardstick for measuring the administration's future actions. Mayor Dinkins told those assembled at City Hall: "Throughout our city's neighborhoods, there are New Yorkers willing to love, protect, defend an d work toimprove their communities. And I believe the best government can do islisten to them. Some like to say, ' That means you're against development.'But we know that's not the case. We're fo r development-for developmentthat makes New York City a more affordable, more livable place."Mayor Dinkins continued , "In my administration, planning an d implementation will be done jointly by communities an d government."We welcome this new era of cooperation between communities and government, but remain aware that Dinkins is no t always true to his statedconcern for balanced development. He was in favor of the now defeatedBrighton Beach megadevelopment an d last year he cast the deciding votein favor of Jeffrey Glick's East Side luxury project.Still, the mayor 's comments to the Committee for New York remain veryencouraging. We hope his deeds follow suit.

* * *Shame of the City: Here 's some follow-up from our story on the newgeneration of New York's bad landlords . As a result of our article, tenants intwo buildings owned by Barry Glasser-2028 Grand Concourse an d 1975LaFontaine-have joined forces in the fight against the landlord. AnotherGlasser building , 508 West 136th Street, was recently handed over to a courtappointed administrator. Last month, Alex an d George Varver is lost controlof their Jackson Heights building at 89-07-11 34th Avenue to a courtappointed administrator. And over at Mohammad Malik's building at 84-11Elmhurst Avenue, tenant leader Roberto Montoya received a notice that hislease won't be renewed because the landlord wants the apartment forpersonal use.

* * *Harriet Cohen, a long-time supporter of City Limits, has resigned from ourboard of directors because she 's joined th e staff of Manhattan BoroughPresident Ruth Messinger. Harriet was an enthusiastic an d diligent boardmember, always ready to offer support and advice. She'll definitely bemissed. 0

",X '523


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INSIDEFEATURESNo Place Like Home 10Run by private operators and licensed by the state,adult homes have been under scrutiny for years.They provide rooms for the elderly, the mentallydisabled-and some of the homeless.Still Hungry After All These Years 14 .Poverty levels increased in the last two decades, butfederal support for hunger programs declined. It's nowonder that countless numbers of young New Yorkers are still going to bed hungry.DEPARTMENTSEditorialWords and Deeds ..................................................2Short Term NotesLofts In the Lurch .................................................4"Dracula" Landlord Sells to Tenants ..................4Judge Rules On lO-Year Plan ...............................5Neighborhood Notes .................................................6ProfileAnne Emerman: Hell Raiser in City Hall ............ 8PipelineResource Recovery? .............. .......... ........ ............ 17Letters .......................................................................21

March 1990 3

Home/Page 10

Still Hungry/Page 14

Resource Recovery? /Page 17


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4 CITY UMITS

SHORT TERM NOTESLOFTS IN THELURCH

The tenants still sufferingfrom damages caused byrecent fires in two residentialloft buildings are just a few ofthe thousands of Manhattanand Brooklyn residents livingin loft buildings that fall shortof housing standards set bythe state's 1982 Loft Law .Tenants and landlords, in arare show of agreement, placethe blame for the failure tomeet housing standards on theLoft Board, a mayoral agencyformed in 1982 to implementthe Loft Law .The state law applies to anestimated 750 to 1,000"Interim Multiple Dwellings(IMD)-Ioft buildings that hadthree or more residential unitsin 1980-1. (A 1987 amendment, which brought additionallofts in Brooklyn andManhattan under the law, isbeing challenged in court bythe city.) The law requires theLoft Board to have landlordsbring the buildings up tocode. When renovation iscomplete, landlords can applyto the board for rent increasesthat will make tenants pay for"reasonable and necessarycosts" of construction over 10to 15 years. After the renthikes are approved and thebuilding receives a Certificateof Occuponcy, it becomes partof the city's rent stabilizedhousing stock.With 30 staff members an da yearly budget of $1 million,the Loft Board has succeededin seeing only 125 buildingscomplete this process.Deadlines for bringing most ofthe buildings up to code havelong since passed .Lee Fawkes, director of theLoft Board, sars, ''We've hadseven years 0 experience withthe law an d it's very difficult tosuccessfully implement. We'relooking for amendments tobring to Albany this spring ."Fawkes says that specificallythe board is looking for moreeffective enforcement powers .But Kathy Arlt, who runs aweekly housing clinic forLower Manhattan Loft Tenants,representing 1,000 tenants,

Dennis Rivera, presiden, of Local J J99 :He told aftend.. a' a recen' conference held by 'h e Housing Jus,iceCampaign tho' 'he hospitol workers union plans to make aHordablehousing part of their organizing agenda.claims the board doesn't evenuse its current enforcementpowers-fines of up to$1,000 per violation or takinglandlords to court to forcecompliance . For example,says Arlt, at 10 9 SpringStreet, the site of a recent fire,the Loft Boord had beenaware of a nonfunctioningsprinkler system since 1986,but failed to make thelandlord fix it. At 45 0Greenwich Street, whichcaught fire last December, theLoft Board failed to follow upits 1988 order to the landlordto register his building as anIMD .Thomas Berger, whorepresents more than 500 loftbuilding owners as presidentof the Association ot Commercial Property Owners, says theLoft Board has taken a largely"unworkable" law "and madeit much worse than it was tobegin with . The staff isrunning in neutraL"Berger says banks oftenrefuse to provide constructionloans for the legalization workbecause rents are not in-creased until after renovationsare complete and current rents

are too low to cover a newloan. (Following a sevenpercent increase in 1982, loftrents were frozen , with rentsavel"ag ing $500 according toFawkes.) Berger adds that theboard is so slow to approvethe construction-related renthikes that some landlordshave forgone the increasesjust so their bu ildings willquickly fall under rentstabilization , where annualincreases are almost guaranteed .The Loft Law expires ineither 199 2 or 1994, depending on the size of the building .If the state legislature doesn' trenew the law, the buildingsthat haven' t been brought upto code won' t be legalresidences and the tenants willbe subiect to eviction . 0Jennifer Stern

"DRACULA"LANDLORD SELLSTO TENANTS

A decade ago, the"Dracula " landlord , LeonardSpodek, was draining the

lifeblood out of 1149 PutnamAvenue in Brooklyn . Heat andhot water were sporadic,numerous apartments wereoccupied by drug dealers,and tires were a frequentoccurrence.Now the 36-unit brickbuilding in Bushwick is ownedand controlled by the tenants .Rosie Goggans, who lives inthe building and manages it,says, "It's a beautiful,wonderful feeling to know wehave affordable housing.We're going to work to makeit decent."The tenant takeaver was .achieved with the help of theOwnership Transfer Project ofthe Community Service Society(CSS) . " I m ~ r o v housingconditions for NewYorkers is one of CSS's maingoals," says David Jones,general director. "It can onlybe achieved by combiningrelentless advocacy with directaction such as the purchase ofthis building."Spodek's grip on theBushwick building wasloosened back in 1981, whenconditions were so bad that ahousing court judge decidedto appoint an independent ad ministrator to run the building.For the past five years, Goggans has been serving as theadministrator.Looking back on how thetenants decided to assumecontrol, she says, "I think atsome point an attorney saidthe tenants could purchase thebuilding , but I said, 'Forget it,it could never happen .' Thenabout a year ago the brainstorm came back into my headbecause we were working sohard on the upkeep. I thoughtto myself: Why not give it atry? So I called Linda Cohen[the director of the OwnershipTransfer Project] and fromthere we got the ball rolling ."The purchase price for thebuilding was $460,00 0 . Thetenants received a $60,00 0loan from the CommunityService Society to help coverthe costs of acquiring theirapartments, C i t i b a n ~ provided(J loan of $440,000 and thecity gave a loan of $480,00 0for rehabilitation costs. The


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Ownership Transfer Project ofCSS formally purchased thebuilding, then the tenantsbought the building from CSS.The tenants acquired theirapartments for $2,500 eachand the average monthlrmaintenance charge wil beless than $500. As a limitedequity cooperative, there areincome guidelines concerningwho can buy into the building,and limitations on the profitthat can be reaped from thesale of apartments.These guidelines areimportant to the tenants, whooften feared that Spodekwould get the building backfrom the administrator, emptyit, then turn it into a upmarketcooperative they couldn'tafford."The apartments in hereare a pretty nice size," notesGoggans' husband, RobertMcNeil. "We figured Spodekwould get the building backfrom the admi.nistrator and themajority of us wouldn't beable to live here."Now, he says, "It feelsgood to know you don' t haveto worry about a place to livefor the next long while ."Thomas Kearns, a lawyerfor Olshan, Grundman,Frome, Rosenzweig andOrens, who worked pro bonofor the tenants, says thatSpodek controlled the buildingfor at least a decade. Al though the title was held in thename of leanard Spodek'swife, Rosalind Tyras, as wellas his brother, Irving Spodek,Kearns says that the twobrothers controlled thebuilding jointly until a fewyears ago, when leonardassumed control.

According to Kearns,Spodek took a while to comearound to the idea of sellingto the tenants.Spodek's lawyer, MorrisFI),er, tells a somewhatdifferent story. "He [Spodek]was very happy to see thetenants taking over. When hecame to me and said he wasselling to the tenants, he saidhe thought it was a goodmove. After all , the tenantslive there. Why not?" 0 LisaGlazer

March 1990 5

8uying their building Irom "Dracula":Rosie Goggans, Ulysses Maze and Sylvester Dye in lront 01 J J4 9 Putnam Avenue in 8roolclyn.

JUDGE RULES ON10-YEAR PLANA state Supreme Courtjudge has ruled that the city's10-year, $5 .1 billion housingprogram is subject to publicreview under the terms of theCity Charter. The city plans toappeal the decision.The ruling by Judge leonardCohen is in response to alawsuit filed by the HousingJustice Campaign (HJC) charging that the projects under the1O-year plan do not providelow and moderate incomehousing in proportion to the

number of poorer families inthe city. HJC asked the court toissue an injunction against any1O-year plan projects that failto provide low income housing-an action Judge Cohendenied.Roz Post, a spokespersonfor the Department of HousingPreservation and Development(HPD), says the city's law department will appeal JudgeCohen's decision. HPD andthe Koch administration hadargued that the whole plan did

not require public review sinceeach component is subject topublic scrutiny.In his decision , JudgeCohen wrote, "This court findsthat it [the 1O-year plan] wassubject to the public reviewprocess as provided for under[section] 197-a and itssubdivisions of the CityCharter ...To hold otherwise,as the defendants urge, is tostretch logic and reasonreminiscent of Orwellian' Newspeak.'"Arthur Baer, an attornerwith the Puerto Rican legaDefense and Education Fund

(PRLDEF), which representedHJC in the suit, says thedecision that the plan issubject to public review "givesHJC and others who feel the1O-year plan is inadequatethe ability to go forward andchallenge it politically."The Housing JusticeCampaign is calling for thecity to provide housing for lowand moderate income NewYorkers on a proportionalbasis. Richard Rivera,another lawyer from PRLDEF,

says that if 75 percent of NewYorkers earn less than$25,000, then 75 percent ofthe housing the city createsshould meet their needs.A report recently releasedby the city's housing deportment tracks the characteristicsof the 67 7 households whohave already rented apartments in projects within the1O-year plan.According to the report,"New Affordable Housing forNew Yorkers," the medianincome of the tenants is$18,500 and 90 percent ofthe units rented thus far haverented to non-whites. The'report also states that morethan 36 percent of the renterslived in the same communitydistrict as their new apartments. The report is bosed onrentals done by lottery forapartments within the VacantBuildings Program and theLocal Initiatives SupportCorporation Program.Thereport does not includefamilies in apartmentsdesignated for the homeless.o Doug Turetsky


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6 CITY UMITS

BronxStep by step, th e Bronx RiverTrailway is heading toward completion. Conceived as a greenbelt thatwill extend more than 20 miles alongthe Bronx River, the plan recentlyreceived a boost from the Trust forPublic Land, which provided funding to purchase three-quarters of anacre of privately owned shorelinenear Soundview Park. Nancy Wallace, executive director of BronxRiver Restoration, says,"Once this isfully completed, we expect to seefishing, picnicking an d biking alongthe river. It's going to be a greatpublic resource for the Bronx . ."After community outcry an d agovernment investigation, LincolnHospital is getting a dose of harshmedicine from the state's Departmentof Health. The South Bronx hospitalwas recently fined $41,000 for problems in several areas, including severe overcrowding in the emergencyroom an d a lack of adequate oversight by supervisory staff. I f thehospital implements an extensivecorrection plan, the state may return$27,000 of the fine.BrooklynFollowing an outpouring of media attention and charitable donations, the Bedford Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps is back onits feet-but still struggling for financial stability. James Robinson,the president and founder of the yearold ambulance corps, says, "We'restill insecurebut the future has brightened up considerably. I don't thinkpeople are going to le t us die."Founded a year ago, the ambulancecorps did not have adequate funds to

pay the insurance for t h e ~ r ambulance. Recent donations covered thecost of that insurance-buttwo otherrecently-acquired ambulances arestill out of service because of highinsurance costs ..A unique construction effort tookplace recently on Sharon Street inWilliamsburg. Sixteen two-storyhomes, known as the Parkview Terrace Projects, were constructed bystacking large , shoebox-shapedmodules of housing that are manufactured in Pennsylvania . The development is being sponsored by theSt. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation, which is working with the city and the New YorkCity Partnership . The homes areavailable to families earning between$36,000 and $53,000. According toGreenline, almost half of the homeswere purchased by community residents .ManhattanThe newly renovated AmericanYouth Hostel on Amsterdam A venue recently received a restorationaward from the New York LandmarksConservancy. Originally used as aresidence for "respectable aged indigent females, " the building is included on the National Register ofHistoric Places. The youth hostelorganization restored and convertedthe structure-which was vacant fortwo decades-at a cost of $15.5 million under the sponsorship of Valley

Restoration Local DevelopmentCorporation, a nonprofit communitygroup.Queens

The city's planning agency hascertified the Arverne plan to build10,000 units of upmarket housing of30 0 acres of land on the Rockawayoceanfront. Does that mean the feistyQueens Citizens Organization isgoing to give up it's fight to buildNehemiah homes for working-classfamilies on the site? Hardly. Thecommunity group and its SouthBronx and Brooklyn affiliates recently filed a lawsuit accusing thecity of discrimination against working-class residents by refusing toallow affordable housing in Arverne,Spring Creek in Brooklyn and in theSouth Bronx.Staten IslandShortly after he assumed office,Mayor David Dinkins went to ba t forthe Staten Island Advance. StatenIsland's borough president, GuyMolinari, threatened to evict thepaper from its press office in thebasement of Borough Hall. Advanceofficials questioned whether Molinari was hitting back at the paperbecause they endorsed his opponentin the recent borough president race.The newspaper contacted Dinkinsand now the Advance has a pressoffice on the first floor-right downthe hall from Molinari's office. 0

For news that makes a difference ...Subscribe to CITY LIMITS!Just $15 brings you a year's coverage of news fromyour block to City Hall. Keep up with the people,politics and policies shaping your neighborhood.Subscribe Now and Save 33% ofIthe cover price.o Pay now and we'll add an extra issue to your subscription FREE.Individual & community group rate:o $15/1 year 0 $25/2 yearsBusiness, gov't & institutional rate:o $35/1 year 0 $50/2 yearo Bill me

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We believe that the continuedsuccess of East New York Savings istied directly to the quality of lifein our neighborhoods. That' s why,for the second year in a row, we'rerenewing our commitment tocommunity organizations that arestriving to make our neighborhoodsbetter places to live and do business.We're offering grants of$250 to$5,000 to eligible organizations whichsupport essential neighborhoodservices. Those services includehousing, youth activities, seniorcitizens, anti-crime, substance abuse,neighborhood organizing, arts andBrooklyn:Central (Atlantic & Pennsylvania Avenues)Park Slope (Flatbush at 8th Avenue)Bay Ridge (5th Avenue & 78th Street)Greenpoint (814 Manhattan Avenue)Queens:Forest Hills (101-25 Queens Blvd. & 67th Drive)Austin Street (70-34 Austin Street at 70th Road)Nassau County:Gre at Neck (23-25 North Station Plaza)

culture and commercial revitalization.Last year, 88 communityorganizations throughout our servicearea were recipients of CAAP Grants.The East New York Savings Bank's

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8 CITY LIMITSPROFILE

Anne Emerman: Hell Raiser in City HallBY JUDITH SHULEVITZANNE EMERMAN HAS BEEN INoffice nine days and so far one thingis clear: she doesn't beat around thebush. Telling stories from the olddays-that is, a little more than aweek ago-the fine-boned, soft-spoken, white-haired womanina wheelchair, newly appointed head of MayorDavid Dinkins' Office for People withDisabilities, chuckles as she recallsho w fellow disabled rights' activistswould ac t up during meetings withgovernment lawyers. One man, anaphasic, who comprehended tonesrather than words, understood thatwhen lawyers asked him to be reasonable they meant he should shutup. So he would get up, Emermanrecounts , an d announce, "Come on,baby , let's get ou t of here. Time tosue th e motherfuckers!""He understood," Emerman explains, "that the way to get thingsdone wa s through a class actionlawsuit."Maybe it's too soon for Emermanto get government-official smooth.Throughout the interview she keepscatching herself to recall that she'sno t here to fight City Hall-she isCity Hall. At 52, this daughter of anIrish-Catholic New York City cophasn't been on the inside of anythingbu t institutions for the disabled sinceshe got polio as a child during WorldWar II. I t was at an institution ,Goldwater Memorial Hospital onwhat was then known as WelfareIsland (now Roosevelt Island), thatEmerman figured out that not onlywasn't she helpless, she was quitecapable, an d became one of th e firstwomen of he r generation to quit ahospital ward for the world. A graduate degree in social work, severaljobs an d a husband and daughterlater, she began organizing and foundherself a relentless opponent of theKoch administration: first fightingco-op conversion of he r Kips Baysubsidized housing project, thenplotting take-overs of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority officesto get the agency to operate lifts onbuses, zipping her wheelchair frommeeting to meeting and from NewYork to Albany to push for acces-

Anne Emerman:Aiming to turn a mayoral agency into a center for advocacy, research an d policy formation.

sible housing, and finally heading acommittee on people with disabilities for then-Manhattan BoroughPresident Dinkins. Now, suddenly,she's on the inside-a high-ceilinged office on the second floor of 52Chambers Street with a $1 millionbudget an d 20 full-time staffers.'Straightshooter'"I hope Anne can survive all this,"says James Weisman, a lawyer forthe Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (EPVA) who has workedwith Emerman on several campaigns."The mayor is a politician. Anne isnot. Anne is an honest, forthrightperson . She's a straightshooter. Inpolitics, politicians are always sacrificing something for the 'greatergood.' Anne won't allow people tobe sacrificed for the 'greater good.'She would be the first to circulate apetition calling for her resignation ifshe felt she wasn't effective."Many people in the movement forrights for people with disabilities,however , hope that won't be necessary. They say Emerman is the first

activist appointed to the post sinceEunice Fiorito was named the office'sfirst director in 1973 by John Lindsay. Fiorito later resigned in disgustat Koch in 1978.People wh o have worked withEmerman say that she, with he r resum e listing her on four disabilityrights organizations, 22 advisorycommittees and 10 coalitions, is anatural leader able to rally diversegroups behind a cause. The mayorwho appointed her is someone peoplewith disabilities want to trust-a manwho even after his election sports an"Access" button on his lapel. NinaHerzog, an advocate at EPV A, citessuch Dinkins accomplishments asthe $1 million he appropriated fromhis borough presidency discretionary funds for sidewalk pedestrianramps, a move that prompted Kochto chime in with $7.5 million more."In terms of [people with] disabilities," she states, "Dinkins is a hero."Civil RightsEmerman 's vision for the Officefor People with Disabilities (Dinkins


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changed the name from the Office forthe Handicapped) is broad, a reflec-tion, she says, of the belief that ac-cess to an equal living standard is acivil right. Emerman wants to pushth e office beyond its current role as aplace where people go with com-plaints to a center for advocacy, re-search and policy formation .Just what she can afford to doremains unclear. Dinkins' recentbudget proposal calls for many cuts,which Emerman says means lessmoney for her office, although shedoesn't yet know how much less."It's distressing ," she admits. "TheA City Limits' Panel

"Homelessness and the Rightto Housing in NYC"with

Chris Quinn, Housing Justice CampaignRichard Rivera, Puerto Rican LegalDefense & Education fundJean Chappell, Parents on the MoveDoug Turetsky, City Limits. moderator

April 7, 1DAMSocialist Scholars ConferenceBorough of Manhattan

Community College19 9 Chambers Street(Conference registration fee reqUired.)

budget situation is pretty desperate."Money or no money, a speechEmerman made on January 25th tothe City Council's general welfarecommittee shows her activist agenda.Top on her policy list was makingcity agencies accessible to peoplewith disabilities as required by fed-eral law. (The city's own Commis-sion on Human Rights and Medicaidoffice, for example, are both in buildings inaccessible to those with dis-abilities.) Next was housing: gettingthe disabled homeless out of sheltersand keeping them out with rent in-crease exemptions and better hous-

March 1990 9

ing court representation. A third itemasked for more funding for the city's"Access-A-Ride" van system. Afourth recommended awarding citycontracts to businesses that employpeople with disabilities.The sum total adds up to anunmistakable figure: an official whois also an activist, unafraid to de-mand from the city th e remedies shebelieves are required. 0Judith Shulevitz is a freelance jour-nalist whose work has appeared inThe New York Times and VillageVoice.

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10/24

10 CITY LIMITS

FEATURE

No Place Like HomeScandal-plagued residences known as adult homes

are a growing repository for the homeless.BY MARGUERITE HOLLOWAY

T he hallways of Queens Manor are dimly lit, dankand eerily silent on the upper floors. In the loungeon the first floor, cigarette smoke filters the lightfrom the television set. Residents doze in plastic chairsriddled with burn marks. Others wander the halls. Asteep, narrow staircase provides the only access to thebasement, where recreation rooms and the psychiatriccare team are located. Many residents, frail elderlypeople with mental or physical disabilities, cannot hazardthe treacherous stairs.In New Whitman Home for Adults in Jamaica, Queens,a woman in a ski cap, short skirt and knee socks sitsscreaming in front of the elevator bank a few feet fromthe psychiatric team's office. She rocks back and forthyelling. No one comes to check on her. On the wallbehind he r are the black streaks of a recent fire. Thecarpet is burned. A garbage bag lays uncollected in thehallway.Queens Manor an d New Whitman are two of the 58residences in New York City commonly known as adulthomes. Originally developed to provide room, boardan d basic care for the elderly who did not need nursinghomes, adult homes have developed into a prime source

of housing for the mentally i l l who were released frominstitutions in the 1960s. Now they're also providingrooms for some of the homeless from the city's sheltersystem.Run by private operators an d licensed by the state'sDivision of Social Services, adult homes currently housemore mentally i l l than the state's mental health residences: 9,000 individuals in 447 homes statewide. Joining these residents last year were 646 homeless peoplefrom the city's shelter system. The year before, the cityplaced 403 people from the shelter system into thehomes.While some of these residences provide pleasantsurroundings and decent care, repeated investigationsin the last decade have charged that a number of homesare little more than squalid holding pens where residents receive minimal assistance an d attention.New LebenContinuing questions about the quality of life in adulthomes recently brought the industry under scrutiny forthe fourth time since 1977. At the New Leben Home forAdults in Elmhurst, Queens, investigators for the state'sCommission on Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled reported" ...housekeeping and maintenance defi-


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ciencies in common areas and, especially, in residentbedrooms and bathrooms. The majority of areas re-viewed had a foul odor, an d some resident bedroomsand bathrooms smelled of urine."The commission's investigators expressed greatestconcern for the personal condition o f many of the NewLeben residents. "The majority of residents were inappropriately groomed, with greasy hair and foul bodyodors, and many were inappropriately dressed in poorlyfitting, stained and worn clothing. Many residents alsodid not appear to have an adequate supply of clothing,an d most had no personal hygiene supplies." Alex Edel-man, who owns New Leben as well as three other adulthomes, refused to be in-terviewed for this article.Whether they are tak-ing in the deinstitutionalized mentally i l l or resi-dents from the shelter sys-tem, adult homes offerroom and board for peoplethe city an d state wouldprefer not to have responsibility for. AttorneyMartha Jones of MFY Le-gal Services, which pro-vides legal counsel andadvocacy for adult homeresidents, charges that be-cause the owners of thehomes are providing amuch-needed service,state officials act slowlyto enforce the more than1,000 regulations coveringthese residences. Whilestate administratorscounter that oversight istightening, owners contend that their ability toimprove conditions ishampered by inadequatereimbursement rates.CloutFunding for residentsusually comes throughstate and federal sourcessuch as Home Relief orSupplemental Security In-come, of which residentsturn over $736 to theowner each month and keep $85 for themselves. Thestate shells out about $72 million annually for adulthomes.Adult home owners are well aware of their clout. "Wego out of business an d 9,000 people go into a statepsychiatric center at $200 a day, " says Susan Peerless ,director of the Empire State Association of Adult Homes,an industry lobbying group.There is often not enough money to allow upkeepmaintenance, says Peerless, who adds that few operatorsmake a profit. "The people who were in this for the

March 1990 11

money are out. With 1,200 regulations on the books, itis not an easy job. The state has been giving us justenough money to survive." She adds that the mentallyi l l destroy property and notes that the operators, bereftof capital, must "maintain the physical plant in a patchwork kind of way."George Gitlitz, an advocate from the Coalition ofInstitutionalized Aged and Disabled (ClAD), disagrees, say-ing that home owners would not stay in business unlessthey made a profit. Although a thorough financial inves-tigation is still underway as City Limits goes to press,Clarence Sundram, cha irman of the state's Commissionon Quality of Care for the Menta.lly Disabled, says finan-CIal woes cannot accountfor all the homes' short-comings. "When you seepeople for the sameamount of money deliv-ering a substantially bet-ter outcome itis obviouslymore than money alonethat is involved in deter-mining whether thesehomes perform well orbadly."RegulationsTh e thicket of DSSregulations also seems tohave little control overdisparate conditions inth e homes. But JudyBerek, director of DSS'sDivision of Adult Serv-ices, says enforcement ofthe regulations has im-proved recently becausea new law allows DSS tofine operators even if theyeventually correct the vio-lation. Berek says thatpreviously the homeowner could avoid a finesimply by making a re-pair the day before a courtappearance.Still, Berek notes,"There is no question that"' faced with a choice ofsummarily shutting a place down or getting thecurrent operator to im-prove conditions through fines an d pressure ..my lastchoice would be to close the place. But I will not be heldhostage by operators."Sundram concurs that enforcement has been up re-cently. Berek's department responded to 495 of 551complaints in 1989, and had 110 homes in "enforce-ment," meaning that they violated certain regulations,ranging from poor fire safety devices to roaches to im-properly filled out paperwork.Nonetheless, i f enforcement is up, many residents saythey have no t noticed. They say they're living in run-


12/24

12 CITY LIMITS

down buildings,plagued by crimeand incidents ofovermedication.And advocatesfrom MFY LegalServices and ClADsa y they constantly battle adulthome owners overrandom evictions,withheld personalallowances andpoor heating an dventilation.In addition,some residents donot receive th epsychiatric attention they needfrom the Office ofMental Health (OMH) "after-care" teams-or teams assigned to homes where more than 25 percent of theresidents are mentally ill.Adult homes initially were intended to provide rooman d board for the frail elderly; only later, following deinstitutionalization in the late 1960s, did they became aplace for the mentally ill to live or re-enter the community. "If the idea was to put people back in the community, then it was a failure ," says Jeanette Zelhof fromMFY Legal Services. Many of New York City's homes arelocated in isolated neighborhoods with high crime, so"essentially, they just have been warehoused in differen t quarters."

Originally they were "no t supposed to be placeswhere there [was] therapy an d treatment available," saysSundram. But as the population changed the OMH wasrequired to provide more extensive "after-care" or psychiatric follow-up treatment.Called Community Support Services (CSS), these OMHafter-care teams serve 21 city homes, according to Dr.Robert Myers , director of OMH 's Bureau of ResidentialServices. Some home owners choose to refer residents topsychiatric centers rather than requesting in-house CSSteams.After-care teams receive mixed reviews from residents and advocates. In some homes, the teams fight forresidents' rights , provide activities , case management,an d act as a liaison with psychiatric hospitals. In otherhomes, CSS workers are intimidated by the owners eventhough they are no t paid by them , says Zelhof, an d dolittle for the residents."They don't try to move more residents on ..Theyteach them music and basket-making, but not budgetingor things that would really help them ," says Gitlitz ofClAD, who has helped residents form advocacy councilsand fight for their rights since 1983. Indeed, one CSSworker confirmed that a team manager ha d been suspended for moving someone out of the home to the nextlevel of housing-a community residence . "Most aftercare teams feel pressure from management not to helppeople move out of the homes, " says the worker.Philip Borosque is one adult home resident slated to

George Gitlin (left)says residents ofadult homes areoften discouragedfrom forming resi-dent councils. Philip80rosque (below) aformer shelter resi-dent, is a leader ofthe residents councilat Seaport Manor.

Dead End

move on . Borosque , who was in aManhattan shelter before beingplaced in Seaport Manor, says theadult-home staff offered little encouragement or help in his effortto live more independently.While some residents sufferfrom not enough care , others areafflicted by too much attention.Donald Dunst , 41, has no historyof mental illness. He came toQueens Manor four years ago froma Manhattan shelter. Dunst suffersfrom mild cerebralpalsy, for which heneeds medication.To get this medication he is forcedto see a psychia

trist once a month." [The doctor] asks'Do yo u hearvoices? Do yo ufeel like killingyourself? Do youhave anything elseyou want to talk tome about?'" saysDunst, dressed inarmy fatigues an da bright bluesweater. "I have aphysical not amental disability."

For people like Dunst, li fe in an adult home ca n be adead end . I f residents are "well behaved" and don'tcause trouble, owners want to hang on to them becausethey're a steady source of revenue , says ClAD's Gitlitz.For these residents , "once you get in, you don't get out.It's like being in kindergarten unable to get into firstgrade. "For all the concerns and worries, few residents followthrough with legal action. The reason is that most residents ha ve no other housing option an d are afraid ofretaliation from the owners. This fear, according to advocates such as Zelhof, may be well placed."There are illegal evictions happening all over theplace ," says Zelhof. "They [the home owners] don 't le tpeople come back from th e hospital or they use thescreening teams [which have the right to reject a resident] to say someone is inappropriate," she adds.Although evictions legally cannot occur without acourt appearance , many residents are apparently unaware of this , or are scared of taking action against thehome owners . Some owners also use the criminal courtsto have disruptive residents removed from the homesa tactic that is effective bu t illegal, according to MFYLegal Services attorney James Barton. "The adult homeshave regulations that clearly say that if a resident becomes disruptive or dangerous or has to be removed, you


13/24

call the police an d they comeand they take you to the psychward .There is no provisionfor throwing people in jail,"says Barton.In addition, Gitlitz of ClADcharges that residents are of-te n discouraged from formingresident councils by domineer-ing management. Only some15 homes have these councilsalthough they are specified asa right in DSS regulations andca n often help the residentsgain improved conditionsfrom the operators.

March 1990 13

Talking it aver:

The road towards reform-ing the adult homes has beenlong and often unrewarding.Given that a scathing investigation by then-deputy attor-ney general Charles Hynes in1977, a similar report by Coun-cil Member Antonio Olivierijust after, an d revealing 1988hearings by AssemblymanPaul Harenberg read as truetoday as they did then, reformma y still be a while in coming.

A residents' council meeting at Seaport Manor in Srooklyn.

On a chilly day last December, Seaport Manor resi-dents invited state Senator Howard Babbush to a meeting. The leaders of the resident council-Edwin Meyersan d Philip Borosque-expressed concern about crimenear th e home, as well as crack dealing, prostitution an dtheft inside. Although the home was warm an d toasty,

Nowwe,neetmore ,nsuranceneeds than everfor groupslikevours.

some 10 0 residents dressed in hats an d heavy coats at-tended the meeting. Why coats and hats in this heat?"Politicians," said a resident. "That's the only reason theheat's up." 0Marguerite Holloway is a freelance writer who special-izes in public health and environmental issues.

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14/24

14 CITY LIMITS

FEATUREStill Hungry After All These YearsHunger was once on the wane-now a growing numberof New Yorkers face a hungry future.

BY CORY JOHNSON

T onight in Manhattan, SusanLyons, age nine, will probablygo to bed hungry. She doesn'tlook particularly malnourished-herstomach isn'tbloated and she doesn'thave the gaunt, haunted face of starving children in the third world. Infact, Susan is cheerful, proudly boasting of being in the second grade. Hermo m works an d receives some public assistance to help make ends meet.But tonight won't be the first timeSusan tries to sleep with a gnawingfeeling in her stomach. She suffersmany of the insidious side effects ofhunger. She's likely to miss moreschool than her classmates and havea tougher time staying alert and awakein school, which, in turn, affects he rchance of making sure that when sh egrows up she'll earn enough moneyto feed herself.Susan 's plight is typical of the approximately 700,000 children growing up in poverty in New Yorkmore than 37 percent of al l the city'schildren. Hunger and poverty go handin hand. "People don't eat becausethey don 't have money to buy food,"says Ed Abrahams, executive directo r of the Food & Hunger Hotline, areferral and training center for foodpantries an d soup kitchens. "It's arather simple equation."

Over the last 15 years, prices havegone up faster than the incomes ofmany New Yorkers. Since 1975 theConsumer Price Index has risen 127percent, far outpacing the buyingpower of the minimum wage. Between the years 1979 an d 1987, themedian fami!y income for white NewYorkers has risen steadily, from$20,200 to $29,500 . Th e medianfamily income for both blacks an dHispanics in 1987 was still lowerthan that of white families eight yearsearlier. Half of the city's single-par-

ent hQuseholds and two-thirds of thesingle, elderly households have in comes of less than $8,000. In NewYork, where the cost of housing usesup a particularly large share of a poorhousehold's income , there's not

ne month's worthof food in NYCMoximum monthlyfood stamp benefit

Source: Ne w York Deportment ofCon.umer AHolr. on d Interogency TaskFarce on Food an d Hunger

much money left for food. Yet according to a recent study by the U.S.Department of Agriculture, New YorkCity had the highest food costs of 28cities studied. But the most alarmingfact of al l may be that just 20 yearsago, New York-and the nat ionwas on the verge of solving the problem of hunger.In the 1960s, national leaders madethe fight against hunger and poverty

a centerpiece of U. S. domestic policy. By 1969, the federal governmentwas spending $1.1 billion on foodand nutrition programs. By 1980, thatfigure had reached $13.4 billion. Foodstamps were available in every community. School lunch programs, begun in 1946, were redirected towardsthe poor. School breakfast became apermanent program. Special planswere developed to educate the public on the essential relationship between nutrition and health.The success of these programsexceeded the expectations of many.It seemed as i f the United States,like most other developed nations,was on the verge of eliminating hunger. Then in the early 1980s a recession hi t an d th e number of thenation's poor began to swell. Morethan 40 million people, one out ofevery five Americans, saw their standard of living drop.But the federal government didn'trespond with expanded poverty programs. Under the leadership of theReagan administration, the federalgovernment cut programs for thepoor by $57 billion dollars between1982 and 1985. Food stamps werecut by $6.8 billion. President Reagansponsored a law that restricted foodstamp eligibility, increased verification requirements and cut fundsfor outreach programs. Child nutrition programs were slashed by $5.2billion . As poverty grew, the helpdisappeared.In New York City, the effect wasdevastating. By 1987 , th e city'spoverty rate ballooned to 55 percentover the 1975 level. Seemingly overnight, privately ru n emergency foodprograms sprung up to fill the gapthat the government assistance programs had left behind. The 30 soupkitchens and food pantries dottingthe city in 1981 grew to a network of

603 in just eight years.


15/24

Food for the PoorTo many New Yorkersthe most obvious sign ofthe city's hunger crisismay be the lines outsideof soup kitchens. "Soupkitchens are the visibleface of hunger in NewYork," says Cathryn Bern,executive director of theNew York City CoalitionAgainst Hunger. "Usu-ally the tell tale sign is along line next to a church,bu t you don't necessarilyknow where the food pan-tries are."But it may be the 414food pantries locatedthroughout the city thatreveal how hunger hasagain become an entrenched problem for thepoor. These food pantriestypically provide a three-day supply of nonperish-able and canned food to afamily to be cooked athome. A recent study bySyracuse University andHunterCollege found thatmost food pantry userscame to th e facilitiessimply because they hadrun out of food stamps.The same study foundthat the users of soupkitchens are more likelyto be homeless or livingalone, transient, not receiving wel-fare (which is not to be confusedwith being ineligible for welfare) andmale. While soup kitchens tend toserve this more traditional segmentofthe city's poor, the proliferation offood pantries corresponds to the ris-ing number ofpoor and working poorfamilies who can't squeeze by ontheir limited incomes.But this emergency food network,run by New York's churches, syna-gogues, and community groups, stillcannot meet the need. "We are a littleembarrassed about giving technicalassistance to soup kitchens and foodpantries," says Abrahams of the Food& Hunger Hotline. "This is not a solu-tion. Because the government isasleep at the wheel, other people aregoing to help."

Stamped OutThe federal government's mainweapon against hunger is the foodstamp program. It is still the onlyprogram that is guaranteed to all whoare eligible, regardless of family sizeor age. Today, an estimated 19 mil-lion people per month receive foodstamps nationwide. Yet, while pov-erty has risen by more than 3.2 mil-lion people since 1980, almost onemillion fewer people are participat-ing in the food stamp program. "TheReagan administration cut back foodstamps dramatically," says Abra-hams. "If you want to solve hunger,money is the way to solve it. Whetherit 's through a job or throughwelfare ..hunger is one of the few so-cial problems that can be solved bythrowing money at it. People spend

March 1990 15

money on food."The 1981 federalbudget cuts eliminatedmost funds for outreach,so that many eligible re-ci pients don't even knowwhere or how to find thehelp to which they areentitled. The result is thatmany people who de-serve food stamps are notgetting them. The city'sInteragency Task Forceon Food and Hunger re-cently estimated that 1.1million New Yorkers areno t receiving the foodstamp benefits for whichthey are eligible.But perhaps the big-gest problem with thefood stamp program isthe insufficient level ofthe benefits. Accordingto the Department o f Con-sumer Affairs, the aver-age New York City fam-ily of four spends $536 amonth on food, yet themaximum food stampbenefit is $331. "The firstfew days of the month,our phones are quiet,"says Abrahams. "'To-wards the end of themonth, if we had 10morelines and 10 more opera-tors, our phones wouldstill be busy, but the foodpantries would start to turn peopleaway."A recent report from the Task Forceon Food and Hunger blames the in-sufficient level of benefits on themanner in which the federal govern-ment figures them; a formula basedon the agriculture department'sThrifty Food Plan. According to thetask force's report, "the Thrifty FoodPlan ..has consistently been foundto provide inadequate nutrition forfamilies," and goes on to say that"clearly, current food stamp benefitlevels do no t cover the cost of feed-ing a family."The basic assumption of theThrifty Food Plan is that a family hasone-third of its income available forpurchasing food. But the basic real-

ity in cities like New York is that the


16/24

16 CITY UMITS

poorest residents pay the largest percentage of their income for rent. In1987, the poorest tenth of the city'srenters spent 85 percent of their income on rent-leaving little for food,or anything else.

Food Stamp Use in the U.S.~ ~ - - - - ~ - - - - ~ - - - - ~ - - - - r - - - - - . - - - - - . - - - - - r - - - - .

Under-fundedand Over-regulatedThe rest of the government aidprograms are stories 'of limited success. Special programs aimed at hungry women, children and senior citizens are chronically under-fundedarid over-regulated.Hailed by many as an example ofhow government assistance can helppeople out of poverty, WIC (short forthe Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children) is aimed at preventing malnutrition an d hunger by educating itsrecipients about nutrition and healthcare to young children. It specifically targets low income pregnantwomen and mothers with historiesof high-risk pregnancies. It has beenresoundingly successful and overwhelmingly cost-effective. A 1988study by theCampaign to

onc:

50+-- - : :40

30

20

10

o1979 1980 1981 1982

Source: United Stare. Department 01 Aflriculture,Food & Nutrition Service Stoti.tlcs ..nd United St . e.8urecru 0' Census, Current Population Report, J98 9

administration reduced the numberof people receiving help from theseprograms by turning the screws onthe local bureaucracies administering the federal funds: penalties werethreatened for providing assistanceto families thatdidn't strictlymeet federalnd Hungerand Homelessness found thatevery dollarspent on WICbenefits cansave seven dollars in reducedhospital andmedical costs.But the federal government refuses toprovide WICfunding as anen t i t l ement

"When you are talk-ing about starving todeath ...you conjureup images ofEthio-pia. We shouldn't becomparing ourselvesto that. "

gu ide l i ne s ."But they [thefederal government] didn' tpenalize for notgiving out topeople whowere entitled,"says Abrahams.Local administrators re acted by slashing their caseprogram. It hasa limited allo-cation of federal funds and is administered on a first come, first servedbasis. In New York City the inter!lgency task force says that meansthat 424,000 residents who are eligible for WIC can't get it.School breakfast an d lunch programs and senior citizen nutritionprograms are also under-funded,leaving many potential beneficiariesunfed . .Additionally, the Reagan

loads . In th erush, many individuals an dfamilies were erroneously cu t fromthe food programs. Seven percent ofall the families cu t from assistancein 1988 by the city's Human Resources Administration (HRA) werelater found to have still been eligiblefor assistance. Last year, HRA' s erroneous case closings were down totwo percent. While acknowledgingthe improvement, Abrahams comments, "I don't know how hard I

1983 1984 1985 1986 1987

would pat someone on the back forcorrecting problems they caused."There is now some discussion onCapitol Hill about increasing federalfunding for WIC an d school lunchprograms. Rep . Nita Lowey ofWestchester says there is hope of getting a bill before Congress during thecurrent session. But any request foradditional funding must come bellyup against the savings an d loan bailout, the nuclear waste dean up, thefederal housing scandal and othercrises already draining public funds.Bern of the New York City Coalition Against Hunger argues thatCongress must act before hungerreaches crisis proportions. "Whenyou are talking about starving todeath ..you conjure up images ofEthiopia. We shouldn't be comparing ourselves to that."While New York City residentsmay not be dying from starvation,hunger is one part of the povertyequation that denies children likeSusan Lyons the chance of a fulfilledexistence. Unless legislators can beconvinced of the immediate need toexpand food and nutrition programs,it is likely that Susan Lyons andthousands of other children will goto bed hungry again and again. 0Cory Johnson is a freelance journal-is t living in New York City.


17/24

March 1990 17

PIPELINE Resource Recovery?New York City is spending millions of dollars renovating occupied,city-owned buildings-but their long-term future remains unresolved.

BY LISA GLAZERGLADYS FORTUNE, A GRAYresident of 80 St. Nicholas Avenuein Harlem, treads gently inside hertidy apartment, down the hallwayan d into he r bedroom, wherea six-foot hole in the ceilingis covered with heavy plastic. "It wa s three in themorning when it happened,"says the 74-year-old, recalling the event that took placea year an d a half ago. "I wasin bed and the ceiling fell ontop of me. I got hurt on myside an d I reported it, but sofar no one's come to fix it.Now I'm afraid to sleep inthere an d I stay in the livingroom on a cot."Marie Ellis, a 44-year-oldwho lives at 1105 Tinton Avenue in the Bronx, moves directly towards the bathroomof her ground floor apartment: "Look at this," she says,pointing above her bathtubto the cascade of water rushing down from a crack in theceiling. She swivels and gestures at her sink, which hasfallen to the ground, thennods her head back and forthin dismay.

runs most residential, city-ownedbuildings, now say that some of themost dire problems are being resolved. It may be a long time beforeevery leak and hole is fixed, bu t senioradministrators say there is now a

Problems from above:

"There's an evolution of policyand funds here," says William Spiller,deputy commissioner of the the Office of Property Management, whichoversees DPM, commonly known ascentral management. In the past, hesays, "The policy was veryclearly for the city to sell asmany of the buildings as possible. In recent years, thecity recognized it would continue to ow n them. " He adds,"The former mayor made acommitment to do whateverit took to make these buildings a permanent resourceand he promised that everyoccupied building would getrepaired."So far , city tenants an dtheir advocates remain skeptical. "For the average tenantin the average central management situation, improvements are still hard to see,"says Thomas Gogan, coordinator of the Union of CityTenants.Francisco Diaz, executivedirector of the East HarlemTenement Task Force, adds,"I think they are proposingsome major changes. Butwhile that's being workedout, the housing stock is de-z teriorating very rapidly.There are electrical fires an dsome of the buildings arebeing burned. Squatters an ddrug dealers are taking overand not allowing contractorsto come in. I think they'reworking on it bu t another side

Ever since the City of NewYork accelerated its takeoverof buildings from tax-delinquent landlords , dismay hasbeen the primary responsefrom tenants, their advocatesand even city officials. Tenants complained of continued decline, advocatespointed to a management system in chronic disarray , an dthe city acted as little more

Marie Ellis and her grandson Steven inside their bathroom. Ellissays water runs "every day, every night" through the cracks.of me says I know there aretenants living in conditionsnot fit for a dog to live in.That's the harsh reality."than a holding station, eventually attempting to funnel the buildings backto the private sector: to tenant associations, private landlords an d nonprofit community organizations.Yet officials from the Division ofProperty Management (DPM), which

reliable inventory of buildings, amanagement information system indevelopment, and. most importantly.a sizeable capital budget for majorrepairs. (Plus. they add. repairs arein the pipeline for 80 St. Nicholasand 1105 Tinton avenues.)

Adding to these concerns arecrucial policy questions that go beyond the issue of effective management and into the more subjectiverealm of the role of government as ahousing provider. Will th e cityembrace its ownership of al l these


18/24

18 CITY LIMITS

buildings or will it continue tomanage some buildings , while channeling others to developers, communi ty groups and tenant associations?What about a fresh approach , per-haps a miniature version of thehousing authority or cooperatives oflocally controlled buildings , knownas mutual housing associations?What does the future hold, especiallysince most vacancies are now re-served for the homeless-eventhough clustering im poverished resi-dents in one building or neighborhood is generally acknowledged aspoor planning?Spiller is unable to provide a de-finitive answer to these queries .Despite prodding , he resists furthercomment , noting that this level ofdecision-making is the responsibility of the new housing commissionerand, ultimately, Mayor David Dink-ins .Management NightmareFrom a distance , an inventory ofmore than 3,000 partially occupiedbuildings is a dream for a city in themidst of a housing crisis. Close up ,it's a property management night-mare. The 33,675 occupied units ofhousing run by central managementare scattered throughout the city, amixture of small ,mid-sized and largebuildings in the city 's most dilapidated neighborhoods . Many buildings are little more than burnt-outhulks. Others have major problemswith heating , wiring an d plumbing.The presence of drug dealers is oftena concern . And the tenants are amongthe poorest in the city, with a medianhousehold income below $7 ,00 0 , ac-cording to the most recent Housingan d Vacancy Survey.These occupied buildings com-prise one of the largest public housing operations in the nation. Theyare run by 10 area offices , each witha director, supervisors and a phalanx of managers. In recent years , thecity established crisis managementand narcotics control units to takethe most problematic buildings offth e backs of managers and th enumber of handymen and supervisors has been increased. Still, property managers-the staff with themost direct impact on buildingsare responsible for an average of 26troubled buildings each .With managers overwhelmed by

their day-to-day responsibilities,comprehensive planning for building repairs was mostly overlookedwithin central management-until1986, when the Koch administrationdecided that city-owned buildingsare a part of the infrastructure, and,like bridges, water tunnels an d sewers, eligible for capital budget fundsraised from the sale of bonds. Start-ing with a'n allocation of $9 millionin 1986, the Capital ImprovementProgram was promoted as the long-term answer to the serious ailmentsof city property.Four years later , the response tothe program is not overly positive.Between 1986 and 1989, the cityspent more than $50 million in capital budget money for major improvements. Yet questions have beenraised about 6e quality of the workas well as the policy decision to putcapital funds into buildings thatcould be moved ou t of the Divisionof Property Management an d backinto the hands of private landlordsor other management groups .

"Tenants can 't getbasic repairs andthen they seehomeless familiesmoving into a .

newly renovatedapartment. ""Capital Improvement Programbuildings received plumbing, roofs ,pipework, but the work was shoddyand it was no t coordinated," saysGreg Watson , executive director ofthe Tenant Takeover Team, an advocacy group that works with residentsin ci ty-owned buildings.Diaz from the East Harlem Tenement Task Force, says, "That program was a disaster. There was nocoordination. We've seen instanceswhere the carpenter came before theplumber , then both said they didtheir part an d asked for payment bu t

the tenants were left with a job thatwas inadequate." (In the city's de-fense, Diaz notes that the housingdepartment is hamstrung by its obli-gation to go through a lengthy bidding process for each separate con-tractor, and required to accept thelowest bid, a system that encouragescontractors to underbid and then cutcorners on their work.)Beyond questions of coordina tionand quality ofrepairs, advocates werealso dismayed that buildings receiv-ing these funds were np t stayingwithin central management. "It'salways been ou r understanding thata building put into capital projectsgoes into the Division of AlternativeManagement Programs [DAMPj .... orthe Private Ownership and Manage-ment Program [POMP], bu t mostlyto POMP," says Bernard Alston, anorganizer for the Union of City Tenants.Out of FundsSpiller explains the origins of thecapital program like this: "We triedto identify buildings where you couldput in a modest amount of workabout $5 ,00 0 pe r unit-and it couldbe moved to an outside program. Theprogram was in existence for threeyears. It was successful in the beginning but then we tried to take it tobuildings that really needed moremoney, then they needed extra work,the work was unfinished and wewould run out of money."Acknowledging the criticisms ofmany advocates, Spiller says, "It'sstupid and not honest to deny thereare problems in occupied buildings.Did some things slip? I think somethings did. I believe we attempted todo too much with $5,000." He addsthat while systems repairs are vital,they are very disruptive and leavetenants with few visible improvements. (At 1105 Tinton, for example,many apartments remain ravageddespite systems repairs.)The Ca pital ImprovementProgramwas reformulated last year and re-named the Capital Projects Bureau.Now, Spiller says , "We have reversedcourse. We targeted capital funds tobuildings with the least chance ofgetting to DAMP. We saw that $5 ,00 0per unit was inadequate, we increased it to an estimated $15,000per unit and now we find it's reallylike $25,000 per unit."


19/24

Richard Heitler, as-sistant commissionerof DPM, adds thatcapital project repairsin some buildings arenow being coordinated by a construction manager to avoidthe pitfalls ofthe original program. In otherbuildings, he saysgreater efforts arebeing made to coordinate contractors andle t tenants know aboutthe scope of repairs.He adds that an ambi-tious effort to do com-prehensive repairplanning is now underway.Because of this reorganization, majorrepair work on citybuildings was wayunder schedule lastyear-in 1989 the Division of Property

Capital Projects:Division of Property Management(in millions) Amount of money allocated to Capital ImprovementProgram, renamed Capital Projects Bureau in 1989r2J Amount of money actually spent

$18.9$16.5

$9

1986 1987 1988

March 1990 19

$43 $42

1990Management onlyspent $20.3 million ofits $43 million capital

Source: NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development

budget allocation.The Poor Fighting the PoorEven before former mayor Kochdecided to put capital funds into therepair of occupied city buildings,another, equally significant policydecision was made with regard tocentrally managed property. In 1983,the administration decided everyvacant apartment in occupied, cityowned property should be reservedfor homeless families and individuals from the shelter system.A separate division, the Bureau ofVacant Apartment Repair and Rental(BVARR), was established to renovate empty apartments in occupiedbuildings for the homeless an d so farthousands of apartments have beencompleted. The work of BVARR iseasing the 'city's attempts to closedown the welfare hotels, but newdifficulties are emerging.In 80 St. Nicholas Avenue, thehome of Gladys Fortune, long-timeresidents are dismayed because theyhave to wait months for simple repairs while vacant apartments in thebuilding are being fully renovatedfor homeless families. "The tenantsare totally demoralized," says Wat-

son from the Tenant Takeover Team."They resent very strongly the factthat money is being funnelled intovacant apartments and nothing isbeing done for them . You end upwith one se t of poor people fightinganother set."As well as questions about tenantrelations, advocates also say thatcapital project work, renovationsthroughBVARR as wel l as emergencyrepair jobs can often take place inone building, leading to a tacticaltangle.Once again, they say, the mammothbureaucracy can act in spite of itself,with three different crews potentiallyworking on the same buildings at thesame time .Spiller concedes that these problems exist and he describes them asunavoidable. "But I don't think wehave instances-or many instanceswhere [work crews] are undercutting each other's work," he contends.What's Ahead?Despite all the money being spenton city property, the future of thesebuildings remains unclear. Vacantapartments are being used to solve a

political problem-the need to emptythe welfare hotels-but some advocates say this will create a new se t ofproblems in the future. Many believethat clustering extremely poor residel1ts amounts to little more thanghettoization.

"If you think about it logically, itisn't helpful to put all these peopleinto one building or neighborhoodit just doesn't help create a cohesivecommunity," says Chris Quinn, anorganizer for the Housing JusticeCampaign, which promotes economic and raCial integration in subsidized housing. "In the short term itmight be fine, bu t in five or 10 yearsyou'll have the same problems allover again that made the area deteriorate in the first place."Community groups convinced thecity to change one housing effort , theSpecial Initiatives Program (SIP), sothat it now includes a mix of homeless, low and moderate income families, not just the homeless. Similarefforts surrounding central management buildings have not yet occurred."There hasn't been that much ofan outcry (about the placement ofhomeless families in central man-


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20 CITY UMITS

agement buildings) because it's notas extraordinary or as striking as SIP,and the change is slower, bu t overthe long range it has the same impact," says Getz Obstfeld, executivedirector of the Banana Kelly Community Improvement Association."We have reservations about everysingle vacant unit being reserved forhomeless families. We think theyshould adopt a policy of 10 percentformerly homeless per building-nomore."Spiller says economic integrationis not currently feasible because ofthe need to empty the welfare hotels.Still, he adds, "I know the newadministration is looking at thisquestion and they may decide tochange things. We're open to thatpossibili y."Looking to


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LETTERSHealthy StoryTo the Editor,In my mail today came my issue ofCity Limits with the very fine pieceon Medicaid mills. This was a verywell-written story on a subject nearand dear to me. No one need havesecond-class health care in this dayan d age.Here in the Bronx good healthcare is only a short bus ride fromone's door. I would venture to saythis is true of any part of the city. Itjust takes a bi t of education and effort on the patients' part. A smallprice to pay for excellent care.An example of such is the Comprehensive Family Care Center allied with the Albert Einstein Collegeof Medicine of Yeshiva University,which provides free medical care tothe homeless . Anyone can reach thecenter , at 1175 Morris Park Avenue,as the Bronx 21 bus passes right byits door. .The cost is small if you can pay,free if you cannot. Persons withMedicaid can also have their bus farerefunded. There can be no reason topu t up with third-class care from aMedicaid mill any longer.Henry Muller Jr.BronxMiddle Income AdvocacyTo the Editor:I have been a subscriber to yourperiodical for several years because Igenerally believe in the thrust of yourarticles and the scope of coverage.However, I am concerned with whatseems to be a bias against the provision of help in middle income housing . Your e d i t o ~ i a l in the. Feb.ruary1990 issue decnes the dIsumty ofvarious community activists fighting over a smaller piece of the . h o ~ s -ing pie. Yet y


22/24

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WORKSHOP

COMMUNITY ASSISTANT.(State Senator Franz Leichter, SO 28,Manh.) Constituent services provider for Washington Heights/Inwood. Good oppty for entry level applicant to gain exp inorganizing & advocacy, tenant/landlord relations, entitlements,etc. Excellent for advancement/career mobility. Full bnfts. Mustbe fluent in Spanish. Computer exp helpful but not necessary.Resume: Senator Franz S. Leichter, 656 W. 181 st St., NYC10033. 212/781 -6593.LEGAl/ORGANIZING ASSISTANT. Community-based housing organization in Hell 's Kitchen seeks highly motivated ind to work w/staffof 4 attorneys & 3 organizers. Responsibilities as part of acollectively run component include research & investigation,client interviewing & clerical. Bilingual prefd . Salary as per collective bargaining agreement. Resume: Miriam Nieves, HousingConservation Coordinators, Inc., 777 Tenth Avenue, NYC 10019.Minorities/women encouraged to apply.EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. Prominent & well established communitydevelopment corp seeks dynamic professional to lead multifaceted org w/programs in housing, economic development & homecare svcs. Responsibilities: Management of 100 person staff;strategic planning for organization & neighborhood; managing &raising multi-million dollar budgets; advocating for needs of low/mod income multi-ethnic cmmty. Qualifications: Min of 7yrs expas executive or high level manager within a nonprofit org; expertise in nghbrd revitalization strategies; exc communication abilities; graduate degree desirable in public administration or cityplanning; vision & resourcefulness. Exc salary & bnfts. Resume:Search Committee, St. Nicholas Neighborhood PreservationCorp . 11-29 Catherine St. , Brooklyn, NY 11211, attn : C. Bianco.COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. Work in small, social justice, women ofcolor run organization w/homeless women & tenants. Exc opptyfor committed organizer to participate in building a mass-basedorg. Ability to work w/diverse group of women across race , class& sexual orientation lines. Salary $19,000 + bnfts. Starts April 1.Resume/letter: Hotel Tenants' Rights Project (Action for Community Empowerment) , 126 W. 119th St., NYC 10026.

March 1990 23

RECEPTIONIST/TYPIST. Convenient midtown office seeks individual w/good typing/phone skills. Excellent benefits/salary. Call718/835-3020 eves between 6:00pm to 8:00pm.MULTIFAMILY WEATHERIZATION SUPERVISOR. Leading citywidehousing & weatherization nonprofit agency seeks expd ind tosupervise energy conservation improvements in private bldgs.Responsibilities incld building intake, supervision of incomedocumentation, audit review, negotiation w/owners, working w/state monitors, close coordination w/construction managementdept for inspections/bids. Requires knowledge of weatherizationregulations, exc communication & negotiation skills, familiaritywith bldg systems, computer literacy. Salary $32,000+. 5yrs expin program mgmt; 1yr supervisory exp; advanced degree substitutes for 2yrs expo Resume: David Rouge, NY Urban CoalitionHousing Group, 99 Hudson St. , NYC 10013.STAFF ATTORNEY. Activist community organization in Hell's Kitchenseeks FIT attorney w/landlord & tenant exp prefd but not reqd &commitment to affordable housing. Represent low income tenants & tenant associations, conduct impact & affirmative litigation, community education & organizing. Start A.S.A.P. Resume :Miriam Nieves, Housing Conservation Coordinators , Inc., 777Tenth Ave., NYC 10019. Minorities/women encouraged to apply.

Lower East Side Tenant Advocacy Organizationseeks applicant for the following positions:STAFF ATTORNEY. Knowledge of housing law reqd. Exp w/rent strikes desirable. Potential for community impact liti-gation. Salary to mid $30s dependent on exp o Benefits.HOUSING ORGANIZER. Organize tenant associations, counseltenants on legal rights & negotiate wllandlords , agents &attorneys. Some court work. Paralegal training provided.Good communication skills, both oral/written reqd. Span-ish desirable. Salary $18,000 + bnfts. Resumes: Ed Delgado,Director, 525 E. 6th Street, NYC 10009.

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r - - - - - - - - - - - ,A RT H D A Y 19 90-A PR IL 2 2,1 99 0 T H E G R EE N PLEDG~, ~ ,I p ledge to do m y s hare in saving the plane t by letting m y c oncern for the . ~ .",In vir on me nt sh ap e h ow I : A C T : Recy cl e , c o n se r ve energy . save water. ~~,' Iu se e f f ic i en t transporta tion. a nd a do pt a lifestyle a " If e ve ry d ay w er e E ar th 1 1 \ , . . ' / 'Ia y. P UR C HA SE : B uy a nd u sc p ro du ct> le a" h arm fu l [0 [he e nv ironment. ,."-' Ia nd d o b us in es s w it h corporat ions t ha t p ro m ot e g lo ba l envi ronmental respon- ,:}"~lbi l i IY. V O T E: S up p o rt t h os e c a nd id a t e s w h o demonst ra te a n a b id in g c on ce rn f orIh e en vir on men t. S UP PO RT : T he passage o f l oc al . state. a nd f e de r al l aws an d internat ional It rea t ies thai p ro te c t t he envi ronment.Iignalure IIoonlC [plc",e prinll IIilcel A~~re" CII) S,"le ZiP IIh"n,' IIul-,~""I~ likeIn make" donuuon ,,[ II SU I S2~ S50 S IOO Other ILE TU R N T O: E arth D ay 1 99 0-N Y C -1 0 W e,1 2O th S tre et. 1 0th FII~lfN ew 'rink . N Y 10 010 ..I

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