City Limits Magazine, May 1987 Issue

May 1987 $2
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2 CITY LIMITS May 1987
eitv
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City Limits (ISSN 0199-0330)
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Editor: Beverly Cheuvront
Managing Editor: Doug Thretsky
Contributing Editors: Peter. Marcuse.
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Photographer: Bill Goidell
Copyright 1987. All Rights Reserved.
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Cover photo by Bill Goidall
EDITORIAL
Permanent Solutions
Officials say some 27,000 people spend their nights in New York City
shelters; advocates count another 35,000 to 75,000 living on the streets.
However difficult it is to take the census of the homeless, one thing is
certain - this scandal can no longer be ignored.
Is the solution to build large, temporary shelters fast, or is it to create
smaller facilities and renovate in rem buildings to provide apartments
that can be used for permanent housing?
These choices are at the heart of a debate spawned by Mayor Koch's
plan to create a network of new shelters for homeless families and
individuals. A thought-provoking search for solutions may be the best
thing to come out of the administration's plan as public officials, com-
munities, developers, social service providers, advocates and the home-
less themselves analyze the factors that have forced so many of our
citizens onto the streets.
The only logical and acceptable solution lies in the development of
permanent housing. To continue to warehouse people in oversized shel-
ters is not only inhumane, it also is extremely short-sighted. It will do
little to provide the homeless with the sense of stability they need to
reorganize their lives; it will not contribute to the well-being of neigh-
borhoods where these facilities would be located; but most essential,
it will do nothing to alleviate the shortage of low-income units that is
the root cause of homelessness.
The mayor's plan is seriously flawed. If the Koch administration is
committed to stanching the flow of homeless people, it will adopt the
well-reasoned solutions that are proposed by advocates like the task
force formed by Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins.
We also agree with those who support a combination of efforts to
confront and cope with homelessness. Among those, we add our own
concern that rent regualtion laws, which expire this month, not only
be preserved but strengthened with such measures as anti-warehousing
laws, tougher conversion restrictions and more stringent anti-eviction
rules to prevent future homelessness.
We are, however, heartened by a mayoral promise to identify the risk
factors that place people in danger of becoming homeless.
One factor Mayor Koch should put at the top of his list is displacement:
Low income people who live in the path of unbridled real estate develop-
ment face a high risk of becoming homeless. An example is evident in
the story on MetroTech (see page 8).
MetroTech will directly displace 200 residents, with a ripple effect
that will send shock waves throughout many adjacent Brooklyn neigh-
borhoods. This high-tech government giveaway will increase the pres-
sure on the remaining low income residents of neighboring com-
munities, especially Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, where gentrification
is just reaching high gear. Mid income former MetroTech residents are
being offered the "opportunity" to buy condos in Prospect Heights, a
private development in former in rem buildings that is being renovated
by Ratner-Kessler Realty - principals in the same firm that is develop-
ing MetroTech. That project is certain to set off yet another wave of
displacement in Prospect Heights and Crown Heights (see City Limits,
February, 1986).
Multiply the effects of MetroTech displacement by the hundreds of
large development projects that receive the endorsement - as well as
the subsidies - of the Koch administration, and we can see where a
great deal of homelessness begins. OB.C.
*1(4n
INSIDE
FEATURES
City Incentives Solder Brooklyn's Silicon Valley 8
Can high-tech survive in downtown Brooklyn? City
officials think so, and they are helping the Met-
roTech project with a generous assortment of sub-
sidies. But what about the people and businesses
that are being forced to move out?
Questions Go Begging in Koch's Homeless
Shelter Plan 12
The mayor's plan to build 20 new homeless shelters
is hurtling down the fast-track toward the Board of
Estimate despite almost universal disapproval.
Where are the facts and figures to back up Koch's
proposals?
DEPARTMENTS
From the Editor
Permanent Solutions ................... 2
Short Term Notes
South Bronx Rising ............. ... ... . 4
Congress Tackles Housing Bills . ... .... .. . 4
Where the MAC Money Went ............ 5
Citizen Suits for the Environment ......... 5
Neighborhood Notes
Bronx ................................ 6
Brooklyn .. ......................... .. 6
Manhattan ............................ 7
Queens .. ... . ...... . .. ........ . ....... 7
City Views
City-Owned Property: Source of Quick Cash or
Neighborhood Jobs and Service? ......... 17
Pipeline
Super School ......................... 20
Building Blocks
A Look at Windows .. . ................ 22
Workshop ............................... 23
May 1987 CITY LIMITS 3
Mayor's Shelter Plan/ Page 12
SHORT TERM NOTES
SOUTH BRONX
RISING
A massive redevelopment
projed for the South Bronx is
now being formulated by the
Department of City Planning
and the Department of Housing
Preservation and Development.
Known as the Downtown 161 st
Street Development Plan, the
projed will use city-owned
property to build or renovate
some 4,000 to 5,000
apartments.
According to Bernd
Zimmerman, diredor of the
Bronx planning office, exad
figures for the pro jed's cost are
not yet available. But he says the
Nprimary target" for the housing
will be families with incomes
between $25,000 and
$35,000. The median family
income for residents currently
living in the area, which
stretches from 156th Street to
163rd Street between Eagle
Avenue and Yankee Stadium, is
approximately $10,000.
HPD Commissioner Paul Crotty:
He', a board member of consulting company for city's South Bronx
redevelopment plan.
According to Angel Garcia,
diredor of South Bronx People
for Change, construction of the
new residential community will
result in the displacement of
900 low income families. "The
paint is to create a kind of DMZ
for $40,000 per year people,"
charges Garcia.
Zimmerman says a small
percentage of the apartments
will be set aside for families with
incomes below $25,000 and
that many of those displaced
during construction will be
rehoused in the area. But Jim
Fairbanks, an aide to Council
MemberWendell Faster, whose
distrid includes the pro jed site,
says the Downtown 161 st Street
Development Plan N excludes
low income people." Funding
for the pro jed will come from
the mayor's $4.2 billion, 10-year
affordable housing progrom.
The city is being aided in the
planning of the pro jed by the
United Nations Development
Corporotion. A state-chartered,
nonprofit public authority,
UNDC is headed by Thomas
Appleby, a former city housing
commissioner and federal
Department of Housing and
Urban Development regional
administrator. UNDC was
created in 1969 to develop and
manage properties around the
United Nations, including the
UN Plaza Hotel and the new
UNICEF headquarters. A recent
charter revision allows the
aeency to serve as consultant
on state and city projects. The
South Bronx plan is its first in this
role, and it is working for free.
Members of UNDC's board of
diredors include developer
George Klein, former deputy
mayor Donald Kummerfeld,
HPD Commissioner Paul Crotty
and City Planning Commissioner
Sylvia Deutsch.
. Zimmerman says the master
plan for the 40-acre site should
be ready in two to three months.
A Request for Proposals to
developers is scheduled to be
issued within the year. OD. T.
CONGRESS
TACKLES
HOUSING BILLS
Few, if any, federal domestic
programs have been as severely
cut by the Reagan administration
as public housing. Funding for
public housing has been slashed
by more than 70 percent since
fiscal year 1981 -from $27
billion to $8 billion last year. But
the Jesse Gray Housing Ad, if
passed by Congress, would
restore funding to pre-Reagan
levels.
Named after a long-time
New York housing activist, the
bill calls for spending $30 billion
a year for the next 10 years.
Under the plan, also known as
H.R. 918, 500,000 new public
housing units would be
constructed each year for the
next decade, and 100,000
existing units would be
rehabbed annually as well.
The Jesse Gray Housing Ad,
introduced by Rep. John .
Conyers, also would ban the
demolition of public housing
and retum rental costs to the
pre-Reagan level of no more
than 25 percentofa households
income. In addition, the ad
provides that half the
construction jobs and 35
percent of the renovation jobs
be set aside for public housing
residents. .
Funding for the $30 billion
per year program would come
from three sources: the sale of
federally guaranteed bonds by
local housing authorities ($10
billion), direct grants from
general revenues ($5 billion)
and a National Housing Fund
($15 billion). The fund would be
financed by either a 1.7 percent
payroll tax on all businesses
with more than 10 employees or
from a corresponding reduction
in the defense budget by $15
billion.
The first legislative hurdle for
the bill is the House of
Representatives Subcommittee
on Housing, chaired by Rep.
Henry Gonzalez of San
Antonio, Texas. Tbe
subcommittee has not yet
placed the bill on its agenda.
Lobbying for the Jesse Gray
Housing Ad is spearheaded by
the National Tenants
Organization. Jim Haughton, a
leader of NTOs New York
affiliate, acknowledges that the
bill faces an uphill struggle. "I'm
not oblivious to the tremendous
opposition .. but up to now
there's been very little public
outcry over the scandalous
shortage of housing . . . People
have to make this the number
one domestic priority issue."
Maxine Green, chair of the
NTO, points out that "we have
to involve workers, whose jobs
are also at stake. It isn't just the
poor tenants that are insecure,
it's lots of otherfolk, too. The bill
will provide jobs as well as
housing."
Other housing bills, much
weaker than the Jesse Gray Ad,
are also under consideration by
Congress. In the House of
Representatives, H.R. 4
essentially continues funding at
present levels, and the Senate
recently passed a similar bill.
Tenant leaders regard these
other bills as inadequate. NH.R.
4 talks about 10,000 units.
Theres a waiting list of 200,000
families in New York alone,"
says Green. Nlfthis is the year to
get a housing bill, it ought to be
one that will address the needs
of the poor and working people
around the country."
Jim Haughton adds that the
Senate bill is Nreally Ronald
Reagans bill," although "Demo-
crats were in the leadership7
The NTO has called for a
demonstration on May 13 in
Washington, D.C., in support of
public housing and the Jesse
Gray Housing Ad. Far
information in New York, call
212-831-6561. OMlke Smith
WHERE THE MAC
MONEY WENT
State Comptroller Edward
Regan recently announced the
city will be getting another
windfall from the Municipal
Assistance Corporation. He
projects $500 million in surplus
MAC revenues to be divvied up
by MAC chairman Felix
Rohatyn, Mayor Ed Koch and
Governor Mario Cuomo.
In 1984 the city received
$1.075 billion in MAC surplus
funds. Another $1.675 bill ion
was distributed last year. Much
of the 1984 revenue, known as
MAC I, was earmarked for
housing and economic
development. A $100 mill ion
Housing Trust Fund was
established and 4,000-5,0000
subsidized units - 20 percent
affordable to families with
incomes under$21,750, the rest
for families earning under
$48,000 - were the projected
result.
In the initial round of Requests
for Proposal, eight projects
were selected for MAC
susbsidies. So far, only the
16-unit 1010 Eastern Parkway
has been completed. Harbor
View, a 122-unit building in
Staten Island is approximately
half finished, according to Lynn
Guggenheimer, a Department
of Housing Preservation and
Development spokesperson.
The Eastern Parkway building
receives an annual $4,000 per
unit subsidy, Harbor View will
receive $4,300 per unit. Two
other projects, Logan Plaza, a
130-unit building in Manhattan,
and Self-Help Sheltered
Extension, a 111 -unit building in
Queens targeted for senior
citizens, are still in the planning
stages. The four other projects
have been discontinued, either
because HPD deemed them
unworkable or the developer
pulled out in favor of doing a
market rate development, says
Guggenheimer.
Twelve more projects were
selected last July after another
round of RFPs. None have
begun construction yet and the
final subsidy level has not been
set. Two projects are in the
Bronx: Mt. Hope Place and
Morris Ave. (120 units) and
2051 Grand Concourse (63
units); seven in Brooklyn: 1074
Willmohr St. (12 units), 405 E.
94th St. (12 units), a scattered
site project in Flatbush (71 units),
1091 - 1103 Gates Ave. (85
units), 255 Ocean Ave. (40
units), 196 Rockaway Parkway
(71 units) and Columbia Street
(57 units); one in Manhattan: on
Fifth Ave from III th SUo 112th
St. (150 units); and two in .
Queens: Astoria Blvd. at lllth
St. (62 units) and Lewis Ave. at
100th St. (294 units).
The Lewis Ave. project, the
largest one selected, is being
built by the Cleveland-based
Forest City Enterprises. Forest
City is also receiving MAC
subsidies for two huge
commercial/office projects it is
developing in downtown
Brooklyn - the Morgan
Stanley building scored $4
million in MAC funds and
Metro Tech $10 million (see
story, page 8). Two other
downtown Brooklyn
developments are getting
substantial MAC funding.
Atlantic Terminal will receive a
$5 million MAC subsidy and
Brooklyn Renaissance Plaza $6
million. Executive Plaza at
Jamaica Center in Queens was
awarded $8.3 million - the
developer has withdrawn but
the city plans to issue another
RFP with the same subsidy-
and Audubon Research Park in
Manhattan was targeted for up
to $10 million in MAC funds.
But the biggest subsidy for a
commercial project went to the
Jacob Javits Convention Center,
which garnered a hefty $60
million MAC subsidy. Another
$40 million in MAC money has
gone to the city's Industrial
Retention and Relocation
Program. IRRP provides
low-cost financing and direct
grants, coupled with city tax
abatement programs, to
industrial companies.
MAC surplus revenues also
financed a $40 million adult
literacy program and $75
million in equipment for the
Board of Education.
A major portion of the MAC
revenues have also gone to the
city budget. In 1984, $480
million was targeted for the
capital budget and $160 million
for expense budget relief. Last
year's MAC revenue distribution
sent $700 million for expense
budget relief. The remainder of
MAC II surplus funds, $975
million, went to the Metropolitan
Transit Authority.oD.T.
CITIZEN SUITS
FOR THE
ENVIRONMENT
In upstate New York, if a horse
dies from drinking contaminated
water, its owner can sue the
polluting chemical company for
damages and put an end to the
groundwater pollution. But a
woman in Queens who suspects
that the local utility company is
the source of a noxious
substance flowing through her
backyard has little recourse. She
can phone the state's
Department of Environmental
Conservation and have her
request for an investigation
added to DEC inspectors' long
waiting list. But no suit can be
brought to stop the pollution
until someone becomes ill and
damages can be claimed.
Legislation now in the state
legislature would change this
situation. The proposed
Environmental Enforcement Act
(S. 2686; A. 2405) would give
citizens the right to initiate
judicial action against
companies that illegally dispose
of toxic wastes. "The main goal
is increased enforcement," says
Rick Lepowski of the Alliance for
Consumer Rights, which is
lobbying for passage ofthe bill.
Lepowski says the DEC is unable
to investigate a sufficient
number of cases. "They're
understaffed, underfunded and
overwhelmed byan astounding
number of violations."
"Itwill allow citizens to protect
themselves," adds Lepowski, by
bringing suits before damages
occur. To prevent people from
filing million-dollar suits against
companies, the bill provides that
suits can seek only injuctions,
with plaintiffs granted only court
fees.
This is not the fi rst time citizen
suits have been brought up in
Albany. The Assembly has
passed similar bills three years
running, but the issue
consistently stalls in the Senate's
Environmental Conservation
Committee. The ACR is hoping
that this year's addition of
Governor Cuomos name to the
list of the bills supporters will
lead to passage.
At Cuomos request, Senator
Hugh Farley, chair of the
committee, introduced the bill in
February. But committee
members are questioning the
necessity of the bill. Says Paul
Crowse, director of the
committee and a Farley staffer,
''The idea that the DEC is
overstrained is completely
inaccurate. They have received
. record budget increases and
hired a larger number of
environmental lawyers."
Cuomo press officer Tom
Conroy counters that the DEC
budget, which is just one percent
of the entire state budget, is not
the point. "If this will improve
enforcement it should be
passed," he says. ''The law will
also have a deterrent effect.
People who pollute will be more
carefuL"
According to a staffer on the
Assembly's enviromental
committee, the Qill should be
voted on this month. OMary
Jo Neuberger
The Bronx
Koch Comes to the Party
"People power! That's what keeps
us going. Like a family, we work to-
gether, we fight together, and we
win," said Anne Devenney, past pres-
ident and self-proclaimed grand-
mother of the Northwest Bronx Com-
munity and Clergy Coalition. The oc-
cassion was the NWBCCC's 14th An-
nual Membership meeting on April
4. Joining 350 representatives of the
11 affiliated neighborhood organiza-
tions was Mayor Ed Koch.
Koch had long been invited to meet
with the NWBCCC to discuss its
plans and strategies for creating and
maintaining affordable housing in
the Bronx. The Coalition has an im-
pressive list of success stories, in-
cluding a recent commitment from
the Department of Housing Preserva-
tion and Development to begin rehab-
bing 110 city-owned units in St. Ed-
mund's Court. But, until recently, the
mayor has remained reluctant to meet
with NWBCCC.
With . an eye toward the annual
meeting, the Affordable Neighbor-
hoods Committee swung into high
gear two months ago with letters,
mailgrams and phone calls inviting
him to be part of the event. A special
invitation was designed urging the
Bronx-born mayor to return to the
Northwest Bronx. More than 750 in-
dividually signed invitations were
sent to the mayor. Still, it took some
last-minute cajoling before Mayor
Koch assented.
Koch stayed for 20 mintues, long
enough to hear Coalition president
Denis Boyle outline the advantages a
real community-city partnership of-
fers neighborhoods. Referring to the
st. Edmund's Court project, which
the city undertook after much com-
munity pressure, Boyle said, "This
project must be seen as a beginning;
not an exclamation point."
Donning a St. Edmund's Court hard
hat, Koch took the stage and pledged
to meet with the Coalition "every year
for the next 10 years" and to make
HPD Commissioner Paul Crotty and
others available to see affordable
housing become a reality.
Now NWBCCC plans to make Koch
live up to those words. DLois Oarr
Brooklyn
BEWARE
Brooklyn has the highest number
of reported rapes in the city but the
fewest services for victims. The
Brooklyn. Women's Anti-Rape Ex-
change (BEWARE) is working to
change the situation by creating a net-
work of neighborhood resources.
"Services for survivors of sexual as-
sault should be controlled by the
community," says Marie Philip, one
of the group's founders. "We want
people to see that you don't have to
have a degree to be able to help those
who've been attacked."
The group's current focus is the
Bedford-Stuyvesant section, where
police figures show more than 3,000
rapes were reported in 1985. ("Re-
ported" is a key word. Anti-rape
groups says only one out of every ten
sexual assaults is actually reported.)
Working with community resi-
dents, local hospitals, schools. and
civic groups, BEWARE has helped to
make violence against women a prior-
ity for the community. The group has
developed workshops to train volun-
teer crisis counselors and sends
speakers to local high schools to talk
with teenagers about preventing sex-
ual assualts.
"This is not a comfortable topic for
people to talk about," Philip says. "So
we try to work with organizations
that are already here." Some of the
local groups involved in BEWARE's
network include the Sisterhood of
Black Single Mothers, the Medgar
Evers Center for the Development of
Women and ACORN.
Philip says rape should not be iso-
lated from other neighborhood is-
sues. "Sexual assualt comes from the
same place as teen pregnancy or
housing issues or crime. It's just
another symptom."
Tenant Patrols
Community activists in Coney Is-
land have been working to set up a
network of citizen patrols to help
stop the spread of crime from one
block to another or one building to
another. But they claim their efforts
have been stymied by the city's public
housing authority.
Roy Giarrusso, president of the
Bayview Gardens Volunteer Patrol,
created the idea of the network.
Through the Ad Hoc Committee for
a Better Coney Island, he has helped
organize meetings between tenant
patrols in public housing projects,
street patrols and the local precinct
council.
"Coney Island is a peninsula with
three streets leading in and three lead-
ing out," says Giarrusso. "Criminals
often pass from one area to another.
If we had everybody organized and
in touch with each other, we'd be 100
percent more effective." In his own
neighborhood, crime dropped more
than 70 percent after the Bayview Gar-
dens patrol began weekly car runs
through the area.
Police at the 60th Precinct support
local patrols, providing them with
lights and and a radio hookup to the
911 system. But the New York City
Housing Authority has prevented any
formal connection with tenant pat-
rols in their buildings.
"They don't seem to have a good
feeling about what we're trying to
do," says Spencine Hendricks-Laster,
a Bayview Gardens resident and
member of the Astella Development
Corporation. "They're afraid we're
going to step on their toes."
Charles Owens, chief of NYCHA's
Tenant Patrol Division, says his main
concern is following rules, not pro-
tecting turf. "We're funded to do a
certain thing at the Housing Author-
ity," he says. "We can't get involved
in other patrols."
But Harry Philips, who has been a
tenant patrol supervisor in Coney Is-
land Houses for nearly 20 years, says
he thinks the network is a "darned
good idea," one his building would
support if NYCHA gave its approval.
While the wind may be knocked
out of their plan, Giarrusso says the
committee is not giving up on the
idea of a patrol network. "What we
need is consciousness raising," he
says, adding, "It's up to us to see that
our neighborhood is a safe place to
live." OBarbara Solow
Manhattan
All That Glitters
In the first State of the Borough Re-
port, Manhattan Borough President
David Dinkins emphasizes that all
that glitters in this town is not gold.
"We cannot have a borough that finds
itself split in two, be it rich and poor,
the employed and the unemployed,
or those with shelter and those who
do not have a home."
Avoiding a self-styled advertise-
ment for political office, the docu-
ment takes a neighborhood emphasis
and analyzes the borough in terms of
its most critical housing, economic,
education and health needs. The re-
port points out that the borough's
image as an international financial
and cultural mecca has "over-
shadowed" the reality of many resi-
dents' lives. "Thus the plight of chil-
dren living in homeless shelters, the
despair of those afflicted with AIDS,
the loneliness of our senior citizens,
and the anguish of the unemployed
and the underemployed have been
among our primary concerns," states
the rer0rt.
Rea estate speculation and de-
velopment have contributed substan-
tially to the problems, according to
the report. "Displacement of resi-
dents and businesses and the swift
destruction of neighborhood charac-
ter are the unwelcome consequences
when the lure of financial gain begins
to obliterate more human considera-
tions."
Seeking a balance between "healthy
expansion" and overdevelopment, the
Dinkins report calls for long-range
comprehensive planning and a
"thoughtful policy." The housing
agenda includes extensive renova-
tion of vacant city-owned property for
low and moderate income people,
financed principally with Battery
Park City and World Thade Center re-
venues. The report is particulary crit-
ical of the mayor's Housing in Lieu
of Cash (HILOC) program, which al-
lows private developers to have
choice city-owned land in Manhattan
for free in exchange for the construc-
tion of "affordable" housing in the
outer boroughs. Dinkins says the pol-
icy would set off a wave of gentrifica-
tion in neighborhoods like the Lower
East Side and East Harlem, where the
city owns much property that de-
velopers would convert to luxury
housing.
The report is also critical of
economic development policies,
which have not trickled down be-
nefits to the borough's poorest resi-
dents. While there was an increase of
about 48,000 jobs - 1.6 percent - in
1986, the report found "resident em-
ployment decreased by the same per-
centage." The report went on to de-
clare the "growth of youth unemploy-
ment, teenage pregnancy, and female-
headed households reinforces the
problem of school dropouts in
excluding what appears to be grow-
ing numbers of black and Hispanic
young people from employment op-
portunities." OMary Breen
Queens
Fair Housing
Teresa Pinero knows the cost of
standing up for her rights - her
human rights that is. Pinero filed a
discrimination complaint with the
city's Commission on Human Rights
last September against her landlord.
She charges that the owner of her Kew
Gardens building has passed over her
request for a larger apartment because
she is Hispanic.
Pinero claims that requests to
switch apartments have been granted
to white tenants, while her request
languishes. With a larger apartment
in the building available, the Com-
mission on Human Rights held a
meeting with the landlord and Pin-
ero. But the landlord balked at giving
her the apartment until she ceased
providing home day care. Pinero is a
licensed home day care provider, and
it is her source of income. The stipu-
lation was unacceptable to Pinero
and the Commission has proceeded
with its investigation.
In the interim the landlord began
a holdover proceeding in housing
court against Pinero, seeking her evic-
tion for violation of the lease. The
landlord charges that Pinero is run.
ning a business out of her apartment.
But Pinero feels the landlord's ac-
tion is just retaliation for her discrimi-
nation complaint. She's been provid-
ing day care - with his knowl-
edge - since January 1984.
In a similar case in the Bronx, a
housing court judge ruled that family
day care was not a business but a so-
cial service. But the precedent may
not be clear. If the landlord wins the
eviction, it may set a dangerous stan-
dard for the network of licensed day
care providers working out of their
homes. OIrma Rodriguez
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FEATURE
City Incentives Solder
Brooklyn's Silicon Valley
BY LIZ KOCH
C
alifornia's Silicon Valley is an
unlikely image for a downtown
Brooklyn now cluttered with
small luncheonettes and a plethora
of shops 'selling wallets, hats and
wigs on outdoor tables. Brooklyn's
downtown landscape has changed
slowly over the past decades, but
plans for a major high-technology
center now wending its way through
the city's approval process promises
to bring sweeping changes to a 10-
block downtown area. MetroTech,
short for Metropolitan Technology
Center, is a $770 million academic
and high-technology commercial
complex - the city's vision of the fu-
ture for Brooklyn'S downtown area
and the largest development to be
built outside of Manhattan.
MetroTech's proponents excitedly
refer to the project as an urban Silicon
Valley (when Silicon Valley was pros-
pering) that will transform the now
erratically developed downtown into
a homogeneous , expansive, high-
technology center that will draw
major firms, 14,000 employees and in-
vestments into Brooklyn. At the same
time, Polytechnic Institute of New
York, the co-developer of the project
along with Cleveland-based Forest
City MetroTech Associates, envisions
its new campus attracting students,
high-quality faculty and large sums
of research dollars to Brooklyn.
"This 10-acre site is one of the best
in the city, we believe - even the
world - for economic develop-
ment," says Terry Stanley, a project
manger for the city's Public Develop-
ment Corporation, the sponsor of the
development. "That's the reas'on why
we're using all of the site for academic
and commercial purposes," he ex-
plains.
But there are serious questions
about the viability of the project. For
example, an early consultant's re-
Even though the city has spent years search-
ing for MetroTech tenants, only two have
signed on - Brooklyn Union Gas and the
Securities Industry Automation Corporation.
Both are relocating employees, not bringing
new industry into the city.
port - which a former Polytechnic
employee said was dumped in favor
of a second, more upbeat report-
warned that the project would re-
quire excessive public support to sur-
vive.
Secondly, even though the city has
spent years searching for MetroTech
tenants, only two have signed on-
Brooklyn Union Gas (BUG) and the
Securities Industry Automation
Corp. (SIAC). Both of these are re-
locating employees (BUG from its
Brooklyn Heights office, SIAC from
the Wall Street area), not bringing
new industry into the New York City
area. Neither offer large research and
development components, which
was to be the primary function in the
original plan for a high-tech indus-
trial park.
Moreover, the plan was developed
only after Polytechnic threatened to
close its downtown Brooklyn campus
and move its entire operation to its
Farmingdale campus. Despite the
enormous subsidies that are going
into the project, the city has no formal
commitment that the engineering
school will remain at the site. The
recent experience with AT&T's head-
quarters building indicates the poten-
tial for companies to take large de-
velopment benefits, then leave the
city
Businesses and residents currently
living on the site, which is bounded
roughly by Jay, Johnson, Gold and
Willoughby streets, also have a cyni-
cal view. The project's opponents,
comprised primarily of those now liv-
ing in loft buildings and houses on
the site, say the city is disregarding
a viable community that has strug-
gled on its own over the years to sur-
vive. A number of the residents have
lived there since World War II, long
before the site was designated as a
preliminary Urban Renewal Area in
1963, when the city was targeting so-
called blighted areas for massive over-
haul.
Residents and local business own-
ers both point out that the pre-urban
renewal designation helped contrib-
ute to the demise of the neighborhood
because property owners and
businesses were reluctant to invest in
an area that faced potential condem-
nation.
Newer residents, predominantly
artists, set up house and shop there
in the last two decades, fleeing Man-
hattan's real estate mania in favor of
this neighborhood. Rents were, and
still are, relatively cheap, and a smat-
tering of manufacturing buildings
offer large living and working spaces.
Over the years, the number of resi-
dents grew and local business people
nurtured their small enterprises to
success. If the Board of Estimate votes
..
the necessary approvals for the pro-
ject late this spring, condemnation
and relocation of 200 residents and
100 businesses will start within a few
months - the beginning of the end
for this small ethnically and econom-
ically integrated community.
Heading Out
"Miami," responds artist Donna
Henes to the specter of MetroTech.
''I'm not kidding, I will move to
Miami because there is nowhere in
New York I could possibly afford to
live," she stresses, her voice tinged
with bitterness.
Henes and many of the loft resi-
dents in the neighborhood joined the
older residents to seek a compromise
plan for MetroTech, but the general
consensus is that the community car-
ried little clout. MetroTech is one of
the key links in Borough President
Howard Golden's plan for rebuilding
downtown Brooklyn. Three other
projects - Atlantic Terminal, Renais-
sance Plaza and the Morgan Stanley
building (which is also being con-
structed by Forest City) - are all part
of this glittering plan for building the
new Brooklyn [see City Limits, April
1986].
While Atlantic Terminal has re-
ceived much of the press coverage,
MetroTech also is liberally funded by
public dollars: $10 million from the
Municipal Assistance Corporation
surplus funds, $30 million from the
city's capital budget for site acquisi-
tion and related costs, a $14 million
interest-free loan from the Port Au-
thority of New York and New Jersey
to Polytechnic Institute, a $6 million
Urban Development Action Grant
Th. fac. of M.troT.ch:
An orcllit.ct', drawing iIIustrat., til. buildings p/ann.d lor M.tro r.cll,
wlli/. til. map ,IIow, til. J6-acr. sit .
and a 22- year property tax abate-
ment.
The current plan for MetroTech in-
volves two construction phases over
the next six years. The first phase be-
gins with a nine-story technology-
oriented office building that will
serve as the new location for SIAC,
which is moving part of its operation
from Water Street in Lower Manhat-
tan. Owned by the New York and
American Stock Exchanges, SIAC
develops and operates computer sys-
tems for the stock exchanges. Approx-
imately 850 employees will be relo-
cated to this back office space, accord-
ing to a spokeswoman for the firm. In
addition, the first phase will include
construction of a 25-story building
pegged as the new headquarters for
Brooklyn Union Gas, currently lo-
cated only a few blocks away;
Polytechnic's Center for Advanced
Technology and Telecommunica-
tions; a science and technology li-
brary; and 3.3 acres of open space.
Construction of Phase 1\vo is slated
to begin in 1990. This phase, targeted
mostly for construction along Flat-
bush Avenue, was scrutinized re-
cently by City Planning Commis-
sioner Sylvia Deutsch at a public
hearing of the City Planning Commis-
sion. The dense line of buildings
ranging from eight stories to 19
stories created a fortress-like effect on
Flatbush Avenue, she suggested, ad-
ding that the project could be scaled
down to a less domineering presence.
Paul navis, the representative from
Forest City MetroTech Associates,
countered her argument, saying cur-
rent needs for high ceilings were dic-
tated by the high-tech aspect of the
project and specifications for office
space.
The net result is a plan unaccepta-
ble to local residents, many of whom
actively participated on Community
Board 2's MetroTech sub-committee,
which met 13 times in the last year
and sought to address artist and hous-
ing needs in the plan. Community
Board 2 chairman Jerry Renzini has
even proposed a separate loft build-
ing be constructed near the site to
solve the relocation issue. That idea,
'like many others dealing with dis-
placement on the site, was swept
aside by the city. Residents believe
the condemnation process permitted
under the site's urban renewal desig-
nation ignores their plight.
"Someone had this idea, and then
they just went ahead with it and ig-
nored what the community had to
say," argues Sarah Jenkins, a 10-year
resident of a loft bUilding at 99 Myrtle
Avenue. When Jenkins first moved
into the area, she heard talk of possi-
ble development. But such talk had
gone on for years - without any con-
crete plan coming to light.
"They are completely out of touch
with the times, to build a project
without housing," she says of the
proposed plan. "We are being asked
to give up so much for the city's plan
but the other people involved don't
have to give up anything. If there is
going to be a sacrifice, it should be
carried by everyone." Jenkins, who
operates a photographic printing bus-
iness, is uncertain where she could
move and still successfully run her
business, which necessitates fre-
quent travel to Manhattan and trans-
portation accessibility. It's this prox-
imity to Manhattan that MetroTech's
developers hope to exploit for them-
selves.
Other small businesses in the area
face an uncertain future, and city offi-
cials offer little solace. Meetings with
Department of Housing Preservation
and Development representative
Bruce Sykes gave business owners lit-
tle reason for optimism. Arlene
Gamza, owner of two buildings on
the MetroTech site, questioned him
on where her tenants - predomin-
antly used-furniture store opera-
tors - could move their businesses.
"The commercial tenants, in my
building are basically the working
poor. There are no commercial spaces
available for what the people pay on
Myrtle Avenue, " she comments.
"They're going right to the welfare
rolls." According to Gamza, Sykes ag-
reed that the future for these tenants
indeed looks bleak.
Residents facing displacement by
the project were subjected to a virtual
information blackout - when the
plan was first proposed, they learned
of it only accidently. Many were en-
raged when they first saw the plans
and realized their homes were re-
placed with trees for Polytechnic's
campus. And for months they liter-
ally had to drag information out of
city officials concerning the reloca-
tion plan. Residents met repeatedly
with HPD officials during January
and February, only to be told that the
agency did not have any information.
The federal guidelines for the reloca-
tion plan were finally announced in
March - just two weeks before the
Community Board met to vote on the
project. That information hardly
eased the concerns of those facing dis-
placement. Nor did the fact the com-
munity board, despite much local op-
position, approve the project.
Rent Aid
In accordance with federal law, eli-
gible renters will receive Rental
Assistance payments of up to $4,000
over a maximum period of 48
months - roughly $83 a month. This
amount is supposed to ease the bur-
den of additi(;mal rent for a new apart-
ment, which in the case of these re-
nters may increase up to 500 percent.
Tenants may also accept a payment
has kept values down in the neighbor-
hood for many years. Renters and
homeowners will also be reimbursed
for moving expenses for all moves
within 50 miles.
Families displaced from the Met>-
roTech site will be given priority list-
ing for in-rem apartments, New York
City Housing Authority public hous-
ing apartments and Section 8 hous-
ing. They also will have priority list-
ing for the purchase of Nehemiah
homes in Brownsville and East New
York and for the $100,000 condo units
planned as part of the nearby Atlantic
Terminal project.
The MetroTech developers also of-
fered to make 42 condo units in Pros-
pect Heights available to displaced re-
sidents. The condominium units,
however, must be purchased by
households with total incomes of
$30,000 to $60,000 - too steep for
many of the residents of the Met-
roTech site. Development and sales
:z:
v
e
N
:::;
Benny Dtdomenic owns Michaelangelo Restaurant on the MetroTech site:
"It toolc me lJ years to build up my luture. I don't sleep at nig"t anymore. "
of up to $4,000 if they choose to pur-
chase a home.
For homeowners, a replacement
Housing Payment of up to $15,000 is
geared to make up the difference be-
tween condemnation awards and the
cost of a new home. But homeowners
charge that the comdemnation
awards, which are based on market
value of the property, will be too low
because the threat of urban renewal
of these condos will be handled by
Ratner-Kessler Realty, a partner in
Forest City MetroTech Associates.
Brooklyn Union Gas also proposed
a plan for replacing artist housing.
The utility company is looking for
buildings in Brooklyn and, according
to Council Member Abe Gerges, the
developer has agreed to renovate at
no profit.
But Henes is not consoled. "They
"The commercial tenants in my building are basically the work-
ing poor. There are no commercial spaces available for what
the people pay on Myrtle Avenue. They're going right to the
welfare rolls."
nated the sponsor and master de-
veloper. In the search for a co-de-
veloper, it found Forest City Met-
roTech Associates, a firm that has un-
dertaken a number of mixed-use pro-
ject across the country.
"Aside from the physical improve-
ment and the creation of a campus,
we are looking forward to an increase
in enrollment, particularly on the
graduate side," says Merryman. "It
will give us a chance to build our
reputation," she explains. Merryman
anticipates that Polytechnic students
will have a good shot at the jobs pro-
vided by the companies moving in
next door.
D_nt_n Brooklyn face. a high-tech future:
Bu.inesse. and homes in Broolelyn's urban core will be razed to malee room
for MetroTech.
But Benny Didomenic, owner of the
Michaelangelo Restaurant at 351 Jay
Street has a less optimistic outlook. "I
work 17 hours a day and it took me 11
years to build up my future. I don't
sleep at night anymore." 0
may not be making profits, but they
are not willing to lose money either,
so we would still be carrying the cost
of the development," she charges. "I
would rather have my money go to a
lawyer than pay a mortgage to the de-
veloper who is throwing me out of
my home."
None of these plans even begin to
address the probelm of secondary dis-
placement arising from the Met-
roTech project. Only those living di-
rectly on the site will be given any
aid. A group of residents is examining
the option of filing a number of law-
suits against the city and the project
developers on the basis of the hous-
ing problem, condemnation and en-
vironmental issues.
"I pay a lot of taxes and I want my
money to go to people, not to big cor-
porations," Henes says. "This is a sac-
rifice on our part and not on anyone
else's part."
But Polytechnic Institute felt it had
sacrificed long enough, and let the
city know it. Having watched the city
give land to nearby Long Island Uni-
versity many years ago, Polytechnic
put an ultimatum to the city in the
late 1970s: rebuild this area or we're
leaving.
"We had declining enrollment be-
cause of the neighborhood. People
were reluctant to come out at night
and we had trouble attracting good
faculty," says Gayla Merryman, the
project manager for MetroTech at
Polytechnic. The city agreed that a
combination campus and technology
park was a novel idea for the area, Liz Koch is a freelance writer specializ-
and in 1982 Polytechnic was desig- ing in Brooklyn issues.

Ohio Giant in NYC
MetroTech's developer - Cleve-
Forest City
Inc. in partnership with former
Consumer Affairs
Bruce Ratner and attorney Jerome
Kessler - made a forceful debut
into New York City real estate with
the development of the Morgan
Stanley building in downto\\1l
Brooklyn. Ratner, the son of ForeSt
City president Albert B. Ratner, has
recently become a major figure in
city development, with numerous
residential, retail and office build-
ing projects. "
Ratner's entry into developmel}t
has been marked with a sudden
generosity to public officials.
Ratner, Kessler and their various
companies never gave to cam-
paigns until early 1985. Since
then, they have contributed
$18,750 to Brooklyn Borough Pres-
ident Howard Golden, $12,100 to
Mayor Koch, $3,000 to City Coun-
cil president Andrew Stein and
$2,000 to the late Queens Borough
President Donald Manes.
That is a business practice
Ratner may have learned from his
ffther. According to
Journal reporter, ForesfCity hasle'
"for liberal
spendmg m Cleveland. The com.;"
pany started 65 years ago as a
lumber yard and a chain of retail
home improvement stores. After
"lts mfJ,jor development pro-
ject -..:.' a et5Ihmereial complex hy
downtown Cleveland -. it
panded into urban development
nationwide. Recently, the
pany sold its home improvement
4s1Ores to concentrate on real estate
lPevelopme!lt.
"it At ilie en'd of its 1986 6s(;al year;K
Forest City .had revenues of about
$284.1 million and net earnings of
$7.4 million.OB.e.
FEATURE
Questions Go Begging in
Koch's Homeless Shelter
Plan
BY BEVERLY CHEUVRONT
T
he number of homeless people
in New York City has been
swelling over the past few
years. But it is only recently, as
thousands spill out of the shelters
and huddle on the sidewalk grates of
upscale neighborhoods and as statis-
tics forewarn of a steady increase in
the ever-more-visible homeless, that
the Koch administration has been
roused to action.
Last October, Mayor Koch an-
nounced a $100 million plan to con-
struct 20 homeless shelters citywide,
four per borough. Although his plan
met with a barrage of criticism from
borough officials, housing advocates,
communities and the homeless, he
steamrolled his project through the
City Planning Commission and is
heading full-throttle toward the
Board of Estimate.
"I don't suggest any evil intent, but
they sure are as inept as hell," Man-
hattan Borough President David Din-
kins has disparaged the administra-
tion's solutions for homelessness.
Robert Hayes, counsel for the Coali-
tion for the Homeless, summed up
the mayoral proposal for building
large shelters as "stupid."
Curiously, even as the plan speeds
ahead, Koch's aides are tight-lipped
about the fiscal and design details of
this project. They argue that the
mayor's proposal for large shelters
will be cheaper and faster than his
opponents' counterproposals to re-
. habilitate in rem apartments or con-
struct mini satellite shelters. But they
refuse to reveal the basis for their com-
parison.
"Our figures are not definite," said
one administration official, who
asked not to be identified. "We have
no cost per unit, no detailed design
drawings, no internal cost estimates.
M
ayor Koch has a solution for the
homeless - and he wants a quick
decision on his scheme. But the details are
vague, and nobody but the mayor seems to
know what that plan is.
We can't do that until we have a plan
that goes to bid for construction."
Just as baffling was the mayor's re-
cent concession to Staten Island -he
announced that he would agree to
trade its complement of homeless
shelters if it would approve a large
maximum-security jail to be built
next to the Arthur Kill Correctional
Facility. A number of Staten Island
officials prefer this deal, saying they
would "feel safer with a secure
prison" than with homeless people.
Transitional vs. Permanent
The focus of the controversy be-
tween the mayor and his opponents
is whether new facilities created for
the homeless should be transitional
or permanent. Koch argues that there
will always be a demand for transi-
tional housing and that his shelters
can be built cheaply and quickly,
with occupancy possible as early as
the fall of 1988. Critics say that the
shortage of inexpensive housing is
the basic cause of homelessness. The
city will solve its long-range problem
only by building temporary housing
now that can be converted to perma-
nent housing in the future, they main-
tain.
Underlying these arguments is a
much deeper difference: how the
homeless are perceived. Are they vic-
tims of New York City's housing shor-
tage? Or are they deficient human be-
ings - mentally ill, drug-addicted,
crime-ridden malingerers -looking
for an opportunity to sponge off pub-
lic largess?
"The administration believes that
if you make temporary housing too
good, it will become a vehicle for get-
ting an apartment," said City Council
Member Abe Gerges, who chairs the
Council's Cornmittee on the Home-
less. Other critics note that advocates
often have to take the city to court to
force it to provide services for the
homeless.
City officials like Stella Schindler,
director of the Mayors Office of Home-
less and SRO Housing, maintain that
Koch "has a total commitment to ser-
vices and permanent housing for the
homeless." She points out that New
York City leads the nation in provid-
ing assistance to the homeless, ad-
ding, "You may see homeless singles
in the street, but you do not see
families in the street."
But perhaps more revealing is the
mayor's own words. In a recent
speech at a United Jewish Appeal-
Federation of Jewish Philanthropies
conference entitled "Helping the
Homeless: A Moral Imperative,"
Koch reportedly told the audience
that "we all know how difficult this
population is," according to one at-
tendee. She said Koch characterized
many homeless singles as severely
disturbed people who should be in-
stitutionalized, while homeless
families are so troubled that "even
their own families kicked them out."
"The mayor's remarks were shock-
ing, within the context of this sym-
posium," she said.
Those who urge permanent hous-
ing over transitional facilities argue
that "homelessness creates problems,
not vice versa." They point to exam-
ples like the Henry Street Settle-
ment's Urban Family Center, where
homeless families stay in comfortable
apartments while social workers help
them find permanent housing and get
back on their feet - at a rate about
25 percent faster than families in city
shelters.
The Koch Plan
As it was origianlly planned, the
mayor's shelter proposal would
create an equal number of shelters in
all boroughs.
Each borough would get three fam-
ily shelters with a capacity for about
100 families per shelter. In the initial
proposal, these shelters would in-
clude private sleeping quarters, with
shared bathrooms and congregate
dining rooms. After vehement objec-
tions from advocates, the city re-
vamped the design to include indi-
vidual apartments that are "spartan
but liveable," according to Schindler.-
Cornman daycare and recreational
facilities will be included at each
shelter.
A dormitory-style shelter for 200
singles also would be in
14 CITY UM1TS May 1987
each borough, according to the origi-
nal plan.
The total number of shelters to be
built is in question now as Staten Is-
land Borough President Ralph Lam-
berti and Koch negotiate shelters and
a jail.
City-owned sites were selected
without input from the borough pres-
idents, who were notified of the plan
last fall and asked to approve the sites
or submit alternatives. Local com-
munities also were not consulted,
and community boards will have the
opportunity to question the sites only
as they move through the Uniform
Land Use Review Process [see City
Limits, March 1987]. Municipally
owned sites were chosen to cut both
costs and red tape, according to Barry
Cox, an assistant to Robert Esnard,
Deputy Mayor for Policy and Physical
Development. (Originally, two of the
Queens sites were not owned by the
city at all, but belonged to the state,
Queens officials said. They were re-
placed later with city-owned loca-
tions.)
Fast and Cheap
Cox said that architects will
develop a "cookie cutter" design that
will make it fast and cheap to repli-
cate shelters on each site. .
"Once we have our design, and
since we own the land, it will be less
expensive to build," Cox compared
new construction to rehabbing. "In
addition, we can save six months
from the start of the project to the
finish. The time factor and the cost
differential make it (new construc-
tion) overwhelmingly the preferred
process." . .
rem buildings, estimate the average
cost of renovations in city-owned
buildings at about $55,000 to $65,000
per unit. "You can build single-family
housing - like the Nehemiah Pro-
ject - at about $39,000 to $40,000
per unit, but new construction of
multi-family housing starts at about
$70,000 to $110,000 per unit, he said.
"I expect it (the Koch plan) will be
cheaper than Nehemiah," Cox re-
sponded to Reicher's figures.
Two Other Concepts
There are two major counter-
proposals to the mayor's plan. Man-
hattan Borough President David Din-
kins formed a task force composed of
an impressive array of housing and
social service experts who urged that
the shelter proposal be abandoned in
ters of small one- and two-family
townhouses, with each cluster hous-
ing up to 25 families. One would be
located in each of 13 community
boards in Queens.
Shulman "feels that housing 100
families with up to 300 children in
large shelters is inhumane. It is too
much of a concentration of people
and will stigmatize the homeless,"
said her press secretary, Sam
Samuels.
The low-density model would
mesh well with the low-rise character
of Queens, and it would provide a
future source of permanent housing
in a borough that has very few in rem
buildings, he said. In addition,
Queens officials maintain that the
cluster shelters will be cheaper than
the mayor's large shelters, partially
Cox refused to speculate on the cost
of the mayor's plan, saying only that
City Council Member Abe Gerges:
"The administration believes that if you make tem,p0rary housing too good,
it will become a vehicle for geHing an apartment.
he expects it to be "significantly less favor of renovating 8,000 in rem apart"
than the cost of rehabilitation, per ments annually. Proponents of this
unit." He said it is "premature" to plan say it would provide temporary
discuss the cost of the prqject because housing that could be converted to
the shelters have not been designed permanent low-income housing once
yet. the crisis ends. At the same time, it
Even the $100 million total figure would provide stable environments
originally announced by the mayor for the homeless and help to upgrade
has been questioned, with some re- neighborhoods, they say.
ports placing it at $150 million. Cox Dinkins terms the Koch plan as "an
said he could not confirm a total enormous waste that will cost $100
figure for the shelter plali. ' . . million to build, will not be adapta-
Honsing.expert5 u.te Andy Reicher, bIe in the future and will not add to
executive director of the Urban the housing stock."
Homesteading Assistance Board, Queens Borough President Claire
which helps tenants rehabilitate in Shulman favors construction of clus-
because the long-term operating costs
will be cheaper since the cluster shel-
ters will not need large staffs and
such high-ticket items as recreational
facilities and medical offices.
"Based on the figures we discussed
with builders, we can bring in our
facilities at under $50,000 per unit,"
said Samuels. "Obviously, we will
need some kind of staff, for example,
a social worker that goes from facility
to facility."
Out of Midtown
Koch has rejected Dinkins' pro-
posal as too costly and too slow. "Our
plan was to do something quickly,
and to get the homeless out of Mid-
town," said one administration
spokesman. "Without new construc-
tion, we could never do that - we
have economies of scale and
economies of service. We can plunk
these facilities down like a hotel and
we can design them to meet the needs
of the homeless."
Officials say they have renovated
more than 9,000 apartments in city-
owned buildings for homeless
families, and the city will continue
to rehab approximately 4,000 per
year. According to Schindler, other
initiatives the administration will
take to aid the homeless include em-
phasizing preventive measures like
providing lawyers and social workers
in housing court, giving bonuses for
people doubled-up in housing and
analyzing risk factors so potentially
homeless people can be identified
and helped to remain in their homes.
At the same time, services in city-run
shelters will be upgraded and the
non-profit community will be en-
couraged to operate more facilities,
Schindler said. .
The Koch response to Shulman's
proposal is an absolute "no."
"I don't think Claire's plan is feasi-
ble," said Cox, who believes that
Even as the plan speeds ahead, Koch's aides are tight-lipped
about the fiscal and design details of this project.
"there is no social services compo-
nent that will work and her cost esti-
mates were too low."
. The Queens borough president pre-
sented "only the cost of the box," said
another aide. "There was no estimate
for things like hook-ups, no social ser-
vices, and other components."
But Shulman spokesman Samuels
finds it odd that the mayor refuses to
negotiate with Queens on the type of
shelter facility that is built, when he
was willing to completely trade off
homeless housing for a jail in Staten
Island.
"We don't understand how prison-
ers and homeless became married,"
Samuels said.
"Politics" is the answer to his ques-
tion. "I guess it was because the
borough president (Lamberti) felt so
strongly against the plan," said Cox.
"If a borough president votes against
something in his own borough, then
a lot of other borough presidents will
line up against it."
Cox said Lamberti opposed Koch's
proposal "from day one. He felt
strongly that he was being asked to
share too much of a burden out
there." As a result of their negotia-
tions, Koch and Lamberti agreed to
certify all the proposed homeless
shelter sites in Staten Island while
an environmental impact study is
being conducted on the feasibility of
developing a maximum security jail
for 3,000 to 4,000 inmates. If the jail
plan i ~ approved, fewer shelters - or
none at all - will be built on Staten
Island. If it is not approved, the city
will proceed with its original shelter
plan, Cox said.
Lamberti "opposes any warehous-
ing of the homeless," according to
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Dinkins terms the Koch plan as "an enormous waste that will
cost $100 million to build, will not be adaptable in the future
and will not add to the housing stock."
Sheila O'Mara, his public informa-
tion officer. She would not comment
on why Lamberti would opt for in-
mates over homeless people, noting
only that Staten Island currently
houses 700 homeless people and has
plans to create a facility for 300 more
in the St. George area. "The borough
president supports facilities that are
not massive in size and where resi-
dents have access to . services and
transportation. That is difficult to
find in Staten Island, which is very
countrified," she added.
Other Staten Island officials have
been more explicit, like City Council
Member Jerome O'Donovan, who
said that "jails are safe and can be
assimilated into a community more
readily than shelters."
Although few outside the Koch ad-
ministration have voiced satisfaction
with his . shelter plan, the true test
will come when the Board of Esti-
mate votes on site approvals, possibly
as soon as the summer. Each borough
president has one vote on the board;
the mayor, comptroller and city coun-
cil president each have two votes.
ManhaHan Borough President David Dinkins:
His task force calls for renovating city-owned apartments to create permanent
housing for the homeless.
Of the Board of Estimate members,
only Koch has wholeheartedly ad-
vanced his plan. Although Lamberti
is likely to trade a "yes" vote for the
prison, his official position is in op-
position to the large shelters that the
mayor wants to build.
In Brooklyn, Howard Golden has
yet to take a public position. Golden
aide Deborah Gardner said he is
awaiting a task force report, but "he
is against the whole idea of congre-
gate shelters because they are in-
. humane. He prefers developing in
rem housing for the homeless."
Former Bronx Borough President
Stanley Simon, before he stepped
down from office, objected to the orig-
inal sites and urged a compromise
with two shelters and renovation of
in rem housing. It remains to be seen
how his successor, Fernando Ferrer,
responds to the issue.
Only Dinkins and Shulman have
been actively opposing the mayoral
plan and lobbying for their own de-
signs. "It's kind of lonely right now,"
said the Manhattan borough presi-
dent. They say both plans can be
workable and there is no reason to
create identical solutions in each
borough in the name of equity.
Neither City Council President An-
drew Stein nor Comptroller Harrison
Goldin will indicate what their Board
of Estimate votes are likely to be. Both
say there are still too many details
lacking to make a decision on the
shelter plan. .
"We are somewhat confused as to
what he (Koch) has in mind. Until he
offers more details, we don't want to
make a definitive statement either
way," said Eamon Moynihan, Stein's
assistant press secretary. "There is a
need that can be filled most quickly
with temporary shelters, and it is pos-
sible that that might be the way to
go - a kind of triage. But ultimately,
everyone is in favor of adding more
permanent housing for everyone."
"Shelter plan? What shelter plan?"
responded Assistant Comptroller Ste-
ven Matthews when asked about the
mayor's proposal. "I am not being
facetious. We have not seen the home-
less shelter plan - we have heard a
lot of rhetoric, but we have not seen
a plan."
Matthews said his office has been
asking Koch to supply more informa-
tion, which has not been forthcom-
ing. "We told them we are not going
to give them a blank check," he said.
In the meantime, the comptroller
is preparing a report that will calcu-
late the numbf;'lr of in rem apartments
available and the cost of rehabilitat-
ing them. "We have problems gener-
ally with what the mayor is talking
about, with congregate shelters and
transitional housing. We believe the
problem is better attacked through
the rehabilitation of in rem build-
ings," Matthews continued. "We be-
lieve it is better to provide permanent
housing, and we believe it is also bet-
ter to integrate the homeless into the
community and preserve the existing
housing stock."
With almost universal opposition
to the construction of large transi-
tional shelters, why does Koch persist
with his plan? His administrators
point to the increase in homelessness
and say this is the only way to provide
a fast remedy.
Some of his critics believe that it
is a way for the mayor to place the
burden for action - or inaction -on
the borough presidents. Others note
that many of the in rem buildings that
Dinkins has targeted are being eyed
by the city for market-rate develop-
ments. Some think that it is a way to
trade for unpopular projects, as hap-
pened in Staten Island. Others are un-
sure or are unwilling to speculate.
"It's really mysterious to me why
he (Koch) seems not that willing to
work with others on this project,"
Eamon Moynihan said of the mayor's
maneuvering. "I don't know why he's
not working more aggressively to
create a coalition. "0
, .
CITYVIEW
City-Ovvned Property: Source of Quick
Cash or Neighborhood Jobs and Services?
.. ""ere"aucfioneo by the city in 1977.
It was hoped that auctions would pro-
duce .shott-term revenues for the city,
helping to alleviate budget shortfalls.
But 58 percent of the properties au-
ctioned in '77 subsequently fell into
tax delinquency again. Acknowledge-
ment of large numbers of auctioned
properties returning to tax arrears led
the city to cut back on auctions. In
1980 the Division of Real Property au-
ctioned only 219 in-rem properties, a
55 percent decline from 1977.
Auctiohs of city-owned property
increased again in 1983. For each year
1982 and 1986, an average
of 119 additional parcels were au-
ctioned. In 1986, 795 parcels were au-
ctioned - 148 percent more than in
1982, 64 percent more than in 1977.
Decked
The potenial problems with auc-
tieins are reflected in the history of
repeated auctions for the operating
lease of a parking deck in Jamaica,
Queens. The first time the lease to the
168th Street parking deck was au-
ctioned in 1983, the successful bid-
der agreed to a monthly rent of
._Iiiii ... ..;...... ....... _!!!!:::::::L __ .............. $1,800 - almost double what the
Building's future troubl-e-s -re-si-de-n""ts""' : neighborhood development corpora-
After a plan for the development of this city-owned property fell through, tion calculated the parking operation
residents fear the city may auction it. could sustain. Shortly after the auc-
BY JOE CENTER AND WENDY GROVER
AS THE CITY'S CORRUPTION SCAN-
dal rumbles into its second year,
many city practices are receiving
scrutiny. Among the practices that are
coming under increasing attack are
the sole-source, no-bid sales of prop-
erty the city has taken for non-pay-
ment of taxes (in-rem property).
Some promote auctions as a quick
and easy way to keep sales of city-
owned commercial property com-
petitive and avoid corruption. But at
what price to neighborhoods?
Most of the more than 20,000 non-
residential properties the city owns
are in low and moderate income
neighborhoods like New Lots,
Jamaica, Oakwood Beach, Mott
Haven and East Harlem. Community
residents and local businesses gener-
ally have limited influence over the
use of private property in their neigh-
borhood, and the controlled sale of
the city's in-rem properties can pro-
vide local people with an opportu-
nity to have a say in the development
of their neighborhood. But if in-rem
properties are simply auctioned off,
neighborhood residents and busines-
ses lose their role in planning their
own future.
Auctions also leave the city with
little control over its property. When
the city auctions property to the high-
est bidder, it effectively gives up its
ability to select the buyer and to con-
sider community needs for jobs and
services.
Four hundred and eighty-five par-
cels of in-rem commercial property
. - ., "". .
..

tion, the bidder defaulted on the pay-
ments to the city and vacated the
property. A number of cars were aban-
doned on the deck, which quickly be-
came a community eyesore.
About a year later, the city again
auctioned the operation of the 168th
Street patking deck, this time receiv-
ing $3,300 a month - nearly twice
the amount of the previous lease.
Within a few months, the second bid-
der had defaulted on lease payments,
leaving the ded vacant again. The
net result of the two auctions of the
deck are lost revenues from the de-
faults on lease payments and the de-
terioration of city-owned property,
which must now be improved at city
expense. But the city again is consid-
ering an auction of the lease.
Jamaica's experience with auctions
ii unqiue. The excitement of auc-
, I
, . " .
. tions may drive prices up to unrealis-
tically high levels, but the chance that
the property will be purchased by an
inexperienced bidder who overesti-
mates its worth is increased.
Auctions also can undermine a
community's own planning efforts. In
the Bronx, the Crotona Community
Coalition is sponsoring the develop-
ment of a neighborhood commercial
center. It has ,located a commercially-
zoned, city-owned lot on 180th Street
that has been vacant for more than
six years. The planned neighborhood
center would offer day-to-day retail
services - a fruit and vegetables
store, drug store/pharmacy, fish store,
drycleaner and laundromat - which
a recent market study identified as
sorely lacking in the predominantly
black and Hispanic neighborhood.
Low interest financing for the project
has been arranged through city and
state economic development agen-
cies.
. But project planners worry that the
city may auction the 180th Street site
to the highest bidder - scuttling
months of planning. If the city
chooses to auction the site, the Com-
munity Coalition believes the price
. would exceed market value, forcing
Crotona to remain without the kind
of retail services current residents
need.
The RFP Option
The City of Boston became so dis-
couraged with the "highest bidder"
auction process - finding difficul-
ties with timely development of auc-
tioned properties and widespread
dissatisfaction among neighborhood
residents over the resulting use of the
property - that it discontinued auc-
tions of its in-rem properties in 1985.
Boston officials decided to issue Re-
quest for Proposals instead. RFPs,
drafts of which are regularly reviewed
by the community, enable the city,
through neighborhood groups, to
draw on local residents' knowledge
to help find the best user for city-
owned property, Boston officials have
concluded
New York City issues RFPs for prQp-
erty it owns on a very limited basis .
RFPs give the city greater leverage in
the use of property than auctions. Re-
quest for Proposals allow the evalua-
You'll find incisive reporting, thoughtful
analysis, timely reviews and exciting design.
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tions identify as critical to their ef-
forts to retain and create jobs and re-
vitalize neighborhoods.
If the city's commerical in-rem
property was carefully used to pro-
mote economic development, the
long-term benefits to the city of a
strengthened economy, increased
jobs for city residents , revitalized
neighborhoods and a stable tax base
would outweigh the benefits yielded
by an auction's short-term cash infu-
sion. Indiscriminate auctions can re-
sult in foreclosures , less than optimal
uses , defaults on payments to the city
and a weakening of city economic de-
velopment programs. Such outcomes
represent real losses - in jobs, dol-
..... ---_____________________ --I!;:; lars, and quality of life - to the city
and its neighborhoods.
Community take. control:
Tlte Lower East Side Itas slated tlti. city-awned commercial buildin, 10,. a
project "'at would create local job .
tion of factors such as local business
expansion, the number of jobs
created, the type of jobs, the number
of jobs likely to go to unemployed
neighborhood residents, the type of
business and particular community
needs - critical factors in commu-
nity economic development.
These factors need to be considered
in sales of selected in rem commer-
cial, industrial and mixed-use sites,
if in-rem property is to serve as a
catalyst for local and citywide
economic development.
The city has proposed a new,
simplified form of RFP for use in in-
dustrial parks, allowing land sales to
be coordinated with the city's indus-
trial retention programs in a quick,
cost-effective manner. The simplified
RFP also is needed in commercial re-
vitalization areas where local de-
velopment corporations work to up-
grade declining commercial strips.
With local input, the simplified RFP
can insure that sales of in-rem prop-
erty support, rather than undermine,
city-sponsored efforts in these areas.
The simplified RFP also may be ap-
propriate for other commercial and
industrial sites, which neighborhood
economic development organiza-
The city has reached a crossroads.
The options are short-term cash gains
or long-term planning for community
growth. Neighborhoods now have the
opportunity to influence the city's
policy. D
Joseph Center is executive director of
Valley Restoration Local Develop-
ment Corporation and chairman of
the Coalition for Neighborhood
Economic Development. Wendy
Grover is a project associate at New
York INTERFACE Development Pro-
ject, which provides staff support to
the Coalition for Neighborhood
Economic Development.

y.
. . /< r, SInce 1980, the Hou8Ing Energy Allillnee for T-ma CooperatIYe Corp. (H.E.A.T. COOP) has proYided low
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f ' I, ' The H.E.A. T. Coop has targeted for services the largely minority low and middle income neighborhoods of the
I, /1 ,/ Bronx. Brooklyn. Manhattan and Queens. H.E.A.T:s general purpose is to provide assistance and services that lead
If to neighbortlood stability.
I As a proponent of economic empowerment for revitalization of the City's communities. H.E.A. T. remains committed
to assisting ..-ty emerging managers and owners of buildings with the reduction of energy costs (long recognized as
the single most expensive area of building management). H.E.A. T. has presented tangible for tenant
associations. housing coops. churches. community organizations, homeowners and small businesses to gamer
substantial savings and lower the costs of building operation.
Through the prtnwy of providing low cost home MatIng oil, varloua MatIng pIIInt services and
-W eervicea, H.E.A.T. members have coIlec:tMtIy saved over 1.5 million dollars.
W>rking coIlaboratively with other community service organizations with similar goals, and working to establish
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services that W()I1( for and lead to stable. productive communities.
If you are interested in learning more about H.E.A. T. or if you are interested in becoming a H.E.A.T. member. call
or write the H.E.A. T. office.
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20 CITY LIMITS M.ay 1917 .
PIPELINE
Super School
BY MIRIAM BENSMAN
Crutchfield and most of the firm's
other superintendents to school this

made Annal, and Crutchfield,
vQJy. unusual. While it's routine for
URSEL CRUTCHFIELD HAS BEEN companies to pay tuition for white-
spending her mornings tinkering collar employees, few landlords think
with her boiler. Crutchfield, who is of teaching the man - or woman -
the superintendent of 935 Ogden Ave- with the mop and the wrench how to
nue in the Bronx, has adjusted the work better. Few supers get the added
heat timer p.nd has been experiment- training.
ing with the steam pressure level- "Most landlords, I don't think
all " skills she learned since taking a they're concerned with educating
class in boiler operation and mainte- supers, as long as they can change a
nance. washer," says Crutchfield's class-
"The main thing I learned is how mate, Pedro Olivieri, the super at
to reduce the heat," says the down-to- 2180 Grand Concourse.
earth woman dressed in jeans and a But Annal vice president Gary Per-
Western-style plaid blouse. "Really, low says, "I'm a firm believer in edu-
as you notice, it's very warm in here." cation. There's no harm done in
That wasn't always the case, re- educating supers as to skills - as a
members tenant Charlie Gill. Before matter of fact , I'm sending 20 supers
management installed new windows [including Crutchfield] to a plumbing
and a boiler four years ago, "it was course." Annal paid for the boiler re-
so cold I couldn't take a shower some pair course and gave cash incentives
mornings." Now the building is so to students to attend regularly and do
hot, the outspoken 75-year-old adds, well on the final examination.
"I leave the windows open all winter "Obviously," Perlow says, "the re-
and walk around looking disgrace- turn to the company is a better skilled
fuI." super, better able to deal with prob-
But leaving the nijW windows : I M _ Utey arise - and a more
defeats the heat boiler."
pose of installing them, so butlding ia' fdcf, learning such tricks as
owner Annal Management sent steam balancing, insulating pipes,
lronx building .uper Ursel Crutchfield adjua"
S"e .ays superintendent classes taug"t lie, ",an, va/uoWi lessons.
caulking windows and adjusting the
steam pressure can lower heating
bills - by five to 30 percent, says
Mike Bobker, a partner in Business
Energy Improvements Corporation.
He taught the classes Olivieri and
Crutchfield attended. And unlike
major capital improvements, ex-
plains Bobker, these methods cost lit-
tle and may help stabilize rents .
Bobker's class was sponsored by
the Apartment House Institute at New
York City Technical College and the
West Bronx Housing and Neighbor-
hood Resource, which helps tenants
by providing information on building
improvements. The class was one of
the few available for superintendents,
except for those taught by the Man-
hattan superintendents union.
Institute director Dick Korral says
the idea of teaching a class for supers
came when he offered a similar, but
less technical, course for building
managers. "When I said you have to
go down to the basement," he recalls,
"you could see the enthusiasm
dwindling. 'Korral,' they said, 'you
should teach this stuff to our sup-
ers.'"
Crutchfield's class, with 36 stu-
dents from the West Bronx, was not
necessarily typical of those that the
Institute offers: The students were
more experienced and worked in bet-
te.r;-equipped buildings than, for
example, students in a course for
superintendents of the city's in rem
housing stock.
Not all supers face similar prob-
lems. Olivieri's building, unlike
Crutchfield's, has windows so drafty
that none are left open in winter, and
radiators with rusty, clogged valves
begging for replacement.
Not long after the new boiler was
installed last year, Olivieri recalls,
tenants came storming into his apart-
ment complaining it was broken.
Since the boiler was thundering prop-
erly, he checked it out, then installed
a $5 radiator valve in less than five
minutes, as he had learned in class.
Soon, the hissing of steam filled the
tenants' apartments.
Eager to Learn
Bobker says the common note in
the class was the students' eagerness
to understand the equipment they
had been grappling with for years.
Take John Dixson, 44, a former
house painter who is superintendent
at 3070 Decatur Avenue. A high
school graduate who likes tools - he
installed a wood-beamed ceiling and
paneling in his own apartment -Dix-
son says, "I'm hungry for knowl-
edge. "
Dixson, who paid the $25 course
fee himself on a friend's recommen-
dation, describes the pleasure of
learning how to fix things he hadn't
even known were broken. "I picked
up on two things that were wrong -
the heat timer was malfunctioning. If
I didn't take the course, I might not
have noticed the boiler went on again
too soon. I learned how to balance
the steam with air vents and to make
sure the radiators tilt so condensed
steam can drain back."
Now Dixson is asking his landlord,
Tibor Schoenfeld, to let him make
other improvements. "My landlord
usually goes by my recommendation,
but now that I've taken a course, it
gives me a little more wallop. "
Dixson adds that the city license
he earned taking the course may help
in the future, if he decides to seek a
job "up north" in Westchester.
Olivieri also took the'Class, in part,
for its career potential. A pastor of a
small Pentecostal church and a part-
time supervisor of the records depart-
ment at St. Luke's Hospital, he hopes
someday to go into building manage-
ment. For now, though, it is the ten-
ants who reap the benefits of his new
skills.D
Miriam Bensman is a freelance writer
living in New York.
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BUILDING BLOCKS
A Look at Windovvs
WINDOWS PROVIDE MORE THAN
a view of the world outside. They are
a source of light, ventilation and pas-
sive solar heat for the home. Even a
small, north-facing window in an
otherwise windowless room will pro-
videa minimum of light. Because
windows meet so many demands, it's
not suprising that these demands
often cause problems - especially
with older windows.
Generally, all windows include
these main parts: the frame, sash,
glazing (glass) and hardware (hinges
and locks). The frame is usually rec-
tangular or square, but can be made
in almost any shape, subject to cost
and material limitations. The sash is
a smaller enclosure, or series of enclo-
sures, that fits inside the frame. The
glazing is one or more pieces of glass
fitting inside the sash.
The most common types of win-
dows are single- or double-hung,
horizontal slider, casement and awn-
ing. In addition, fixed or non-opening
window sashes are often installed in
combination with a type that opens.
Single- and double-hung windows
consist of two vertical rectangular
sashes placed so that the bottom edge
of the upper (exterior) sash overlaps
the top edge of the lower (interior)
sash. Both sashes of a double-hung
window move up and down along a
wood or metal track attached to the
frame. In a single-hung window, the
upper sash is fixed permanently in
the frame, while the lower sash
opens. No more than half the window
area of either the single- or double-
hung window can be opened for ven-
tilation. To prevent air leakages, all
the edges of tha sashes must be seal-
ed, especially the horizontal edge
where the two sashes meet. Because
of all these places for air leaks, single-
and double-hung windows waste
more energy than other window
types.
Sliders
Horizontal sliding windows are
like a single-hung window thrust on
its side. The horizontal slider can't
open more than 50'!ercent of its area
for ventilation, an it, too, typically
is difficult to seal.
Casement windows operate much
like doors. Each casement consists of
a vertical sash hinged on one side.
As the window is opened, the sash
extends past the wall of the building.
When the sash swings to a closed pos-
ition and is locked shut, it pushes
against metal or flexible weatherstrip-
ping and seals the window from
energy loss and rain water. The entire
area of a casement window can be
opened for ventilation.
Awning windows are comparable
to casement windows. Like the case-
ment, the awning is hinged along the
long side of the sash. But it is hinged
along the top of the opening, enabling
the sash to open from the bottom. The
opened window serves as a protective
cover, or 'awning,' over the window
opening. The awning window often
is mounted below a sash of fixed
glass, providing clear vision through
the upper sash and ventilation
through the bottom sash.
Over time, windows lose their
energy efficiency. Of all the parts of
a building'S shell, windows usually
have the least resistance to heat
flow - even double-pane units trans-
fer heat 20 times faster than nearby
walls. Window glass, frames and
sashes conduct heat from inside a
warm building to the outside, and
from ouside a cooled building to the
inside. Heat can also be transferred
through radiation across air spaces,
between layers of glass and through
cracks in sashes, casings and frames.
Weatherstripping also loses its effec-
tiveness over time. But recent de-
velopments in building technology
have included ways to reduce heat
transfer, maximizing windows'
energy efficiency.
Baftles
The energy efficieny of existing
windows can be improved with addi-
tional panes of glass or plastic sheets,
caulking and weatherstripping; or
units can be replaced by windows
with reflective coatings, gas-filled
airspaces and baffles between panes.
A low emissivity - known as low-
E - coating consisting of a clear layer
of metallic oxide is applied to the
window glass, reducing heat radia-
tion. Sometimes the low-E coating is
applied to a plasstic film suspended
between glass panes. The plastic film
works as both a radiation barrier and
third layer of glazing. Another option
is to fill the space between glass
panes with a gas that is heavier than
air, such as argon, slowing down con-
vection between panes. Argon-filled
windows have been popular in
Europe for years, but they only re-
cently became widely available in the
U.S.
Current research into improving
the thermal performance of glazing is
resulting in "smart windows," units
with electronically switched glazing
and optical memories. Other
strategies include the use of vacuums
between the panes and areogels. Ex-
perts predict these developments
eventually will result in north-facing
windows as efficient as insulated
walls.
There are other factors in the
energy efficiency of windows. Metal
frame windows are the least efficient
of all types because of metal's con-
ductivity of heat and cold. Wood and
vinyl frames have a better resistance
(a higher R-value).
Considerations involved in the
selection of windows include not
only the type of operating
mechanism that best satisfies the
user's needs, but also the energy
efficieny of different types of glazing,
asemblies and framing materials.D
For free illustrated fact sheets on
replacement windows and energy-
saving wiindow glazings, send a
stamped, self-addressed envelope to
HANDNAN, Cornell University
Cooperative Extension, 280 Broad-
way, Room 701, NY, NY 10007. Men-
tion City Limits, May 1987.0
e
COOPERATIVE
EXTENSION
WORKSHOP
TENANT ORGANIZER. Extensive field work, advise tenants of
rights, assist in hsing court and before city & state agencies,
develop tenants' assocs., conduct training sessions on SRO
hsing issues, attend CB meetings, participate in city-wide SRO
coalitions. Assertive, expo in tenantlcomm organizing, knowledge
of hsing laws & regs, hsing court. Bilingual. Salary: from $17-
20,000, plus exc benefits per collective bargaining agreement.
Resume: Anne Teicher, Mging Att. , Eastside SRO Legal Services
Project, MFY Legal Services, Inc., 223 Grand St., NY, NY 10013.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. Organize tenants & homeowners
of Fifth Ave corridor of Park Slope, Bklyn. Counsel indiv on hsing
rights, assist tenants in city-owned property, involve comm resi-
dents in neighborhood coalitions. Qualilfications: Fluency in
Spanish & English. Familiarity wI NYC hsing regs, org exp &
ability to work w/ diverse people. Salary: upper teens. Resume
& cover letter: Wendy Fleischer, Fifth Ave Committee, 375 Fifth
Ave. , Bklyn 11215.
PRESERVATION COORDINATOR. (Planner) BA degree w/
background in urban planning, develpmt. MA preferred. Carry
out activities related to hSing rehab/devlpmt, including bldg
profiles, reports & fund raising. Some clerical & organizing work.
Some night mtgs. Salary: $16-18,000, depending upon expo Exc
fringe benefits. LES resident preferred.
ASST BOOKKEEPER/SECRETARY. Part time. HS diploma or
equiv. w/bkkeeping concentration. Assist bkkeeper in posting of
books of acct., general ledger, etc. Help prepare payroll, govt.
reports, Salary: $8,OOO/yr for 20 hr week. Exc. fringe benefits.
LES resident preferred. Resume for both positions: Exec. Com-
mittee, Cooper Square Committee, 61 E. 4th St., NYC 10003.
GRADUATE PROGRAM. Urban Affairs Dept. at Hunter College,
with a special emphasis on neighborhood development, is now
accepting applications for Fall , 1987. Community leaders, tenant
and community organizers, program personnel, social service
providers, religious activists and recent college graduates will
find that this unique advanced degree program offers an oppor-
tunity for in-depth study of specific issues relative to one's work
and may open doors to mid-career changes. The MS degree is
usually concluded in two semesters and a summer session.
Part-time study is possible for those working full-time. Present
tuition for a 15-credit semester for NYS residents is $950 plus
fees; financial aid available. For more Info: Hans Spiegel, Dir.,
Grad Program in Urban Affairs, Hunter College, 695 Park Ave.,
W 1611, NY, NY 10021. 212-772-5515.
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR. Hsing & project dvlpmt. Assist director
in implementation & monitoring of dvlpmt projects in agency's
hSing program & developing new programs & preparation of
funding proposals. Represent agency w/ comm orgs & funding
sources. Supervise admin & dvlpmt staff. Qualifications: Min
5 yrs exp hsing or urban dvlpmt. Exc writing skills. Exp in proposal
writing & govt reporting. Typing &/or word processing, supervisory
expo Salary to $25,000.
OTHER POSmONS. Administrator to $17,000. Qualifications:
exc typing, supervisory exp, proficient in English, bilingual help-
ful. 4 yrs expo Project Packager to $17,000. Qualifications: 3 yrs
hsing exp or urban dvlpmt exp, good writing skills. Familiar wI
govt forms. Typinglword processing. Bilingual helpful. Manage-
ment Clerk to $15,000. Qualifications: good typing/word proces-
sing. Good handwriting. Proficient English/Spanish. 3 yrs expo
Assistant Maintenance Chief. Salary $19,500. Thorough worker,
knowledge all aspects of bldg maintenance. Able to org & allocate
work, handle paperwork. Biliigual helpful. Maintenance exp pl us
1 yr supervisory expo Resumes: Clinton Housing Development
Co., 664 10th Ave., NYC 10036.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. Bklyn. devlpmt corp. seeking expo hsi-
ing & comm devlpmt specialist. Responsibilities: admin & im-
plementation of broad range of hsing, youth, sr citizen & related
comm preservation and improvement programs. Qualifications:
BA & at least 1 yr community improvement & admin expo Salary:
low 20s, commensurate wI expo Exc. health benefits. Resume:
GSBDC, 1851 Marine Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11234.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZERS. Work w/ neighborhood groups on
hsing-related issues, attend local CB intgs, admin tasks for neigh-
borhood orgs. Bilingual helpful; org. expo helpful but will train.
Salary: negotiable, depending upon expo Good health benefits,
training program. Resume: Northwest Bronx Community &
Clergy Coalition, 2721 Webster Ave., Bronx, NY 10458. Att. Pat
Dillon.
COMMUNITY ORGANIZER. Recruit individuals and groups for
training and action; train members in social action and group
meeting skills through workshop and leadership sessions; work
with local groups and area-wide committees to research, recruit,
plan and take action around neighborhood and South Bronx
issues; work on fundraising and newsletter activities; plan and
partiCipate in our Scripture reflection activities. Requirements:
college degree, organizing experience, strong interest in church
and social change, good writing and analytical skills, bilingual.
Salary: $15,OOO/yr plus benefits. Contact South Bronx People
for Change, 603 Morris Ave., Bronx, NY 10451. 212-993-2053.
Subscribe to CITY LIMITS
Just $ 15 brings you the best coverage
anywhere 'of the other New York. And
you 'U save $5 off the cover price.
Nam.
State Zip
lncU'lidual Community group rate:
o $15 I year 0 $252 Y*DS
1IUItnHI, gcw't .lnsIItutionai rate:
o S35 I year 0 SSO 2 Y*DS
o Payment.nc:losed 0 1m me
City Limtu/40 Prince lftIlfew YorklllT 10018
CON FER E N C E
THE RAPE CRISIS INTERVENTION CENTER
of
MT. SINAI MEDICAL CENTER
co-sponsored by
METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL CENTER
presents
FIG H TIN G B A C K ... against sexual assault with ...
CIVIL LAWSUITS
COUNSELING
COMMUNITY RESOURCES
*Keynote Speaker: Senator Olga Mendez
*Assault Victims Share Their Experiences
*Attorneys Available to Answer Questions
*Workshops in English and Spanish
*Lunch Provided
*Sample Workshops:
--Turning the legal tables--from victim to plaintiff
--Legal rights and remedies of the assault victim
--If you can sue, do you?
--Building security: landlords' legal responsibility
--Talking to your children about sexual assault
--Self-defense techniques
*Childcare Available (please call to reserve space)
*No Fee Required. $5 Donation Requested.
May 21, 1987
8:30 a.m. - 5:45 p.m.
Stern Auditorium
Annenberg Building
Fifth Avenue at 100th Street
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CALL (212) 650-5461/5493

City Limits Magazine, May 1987 Issue

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May 1987 $2

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