CITY LIMITS

COMMUNITY HOUSING NEWS

March 1978 Vol. 3 No.3
HUNDREDS HEAD TO WORK
FOR BETTER NEIGHBORHOODS
CITY COUNCIL DELAYS
'IN REM' ROLE FOR HPD
by Susan Baldwin
A municipal tug-of-war over the lives of thousands of tenants in city-
owned In Rem buildings has ended in a five-month truce voted by the City
Council in late March to give the city agencies involved a chance to make a
lasting peace.
Management of at least 100,000 units-estimates vary-of housing
taken by the city for non-payment of taxes was originally scheduled to
transfer from the Department of General Services' (GSD) Division of Real
Property (DRP) to the Department of Housing Preservation and Develop-
ment (HPD) on April!.
Asked if there is any possibility that the transfer will now be delayed past
Sept. 1, the date specified by the City Council's action Mar. 21,
Councilman Leon Katz (D-BkIn.), chairman of the Committee on Govern-
mental Operations, which met on the issue Mar. 20, said, "No, we expect
no further adjournments ... We see no reason for more delay."
Katz also said that Commissioners Peter P. Smith (GSD) and Nathan
Leventhal (HPD) have been asked by his committee to submit a plan by
June 1 for reorganization of HPD to handle the transfer of as many as
25,000 newly-acquired In Rem buildings.
Community groups, including an In Rem Task Force organized by
Councilwoman Ruth Messinger (D-Man.), opposed any delay in the trans-
fer of the In Rem properties. These groups claimed that DRP's record of
housing management is very poor, whereas HPD has programs that offer
tenants of these generally run-down buildings the chance for building re-
habilitation and community-based management and ownership.
A report prepared for the In Rem Force asserted, " Previous forms and
systems for building management cannot possibly handle the new case-
load . . . Merely hiring additional building managers for the Division of Real
Property will not suffice."
The report went on to urge the city to develop "various forms of non-
profit and cooperative ownership, [with] locally and democratically con-
trolled planning, management, and development as its cornerstone."
continued on page II
By Bernard Cohen
The largest neighborhood-level
effort in memory to upgrade sub-
standard housing-one of the most
potent symbols of urban decay-and
rebuild neighborhoods began in late
March.
Hundreds of workers flliing fed-
erally funded public service jobs
fanned out into 40 low income neigh-
borhoods to start working as com-
munity organizers, management
and maintenance specialists, hous-
ing services assistants, bookkeepers
and secretaries.
The one-year employment pro-
gram got underway after nearly a
year of planning that included end-
less negotiations with the city over
recruitment of enrollees and a wide
range of other procedures.
Thirty-seven non-profit commu-
nity organizations, joining together
through the Association of Neigh-
boring Housing Developers, hired
375 persons under Title VI of the
Comprehensive Employment and
Training Act (CETA).
It marked the first time that non-
profit organizations were eligible
for large numbers of public service
jobs (4,500 out of 27,000). ANHD
was the largest single non-profit
umbrella in the city.
contil/ued 0 1/ page 15
RED TAPE THREATENS
'DIRECT SALES' SUCCESS
by Susan Baldwin
A program to give tenants control of landlord-aban-
doned buildings is in danger of dying from red tape.
So say tenant and community leaders and their
lawyers about the city's three-year-old Direct Sales pro-
gram-a program under which city-owned, residential
properties can be sold without public auction directly to
approved, non-profit tenant and community groups at a
relatively low, negotiated price. Yet, only one such sale
has closed to date.
"This program is not a panacea for New York City's
housing abandonment ills," attorney Lawrence H.
McGaughey wrote recently in an analysis of the
program.
" No doubt tenant-run buildings will become aban-
doned too, " he predicted. "But given the failure of all
other alternatives, the Direct Sales program is the only
choice between rapidly accelerating abandonment or
the expenditure of enormous amounts of public funds. "
According to most recently-released statistics, the
city owned 21,000 occupied apartments in January. If
each apartment were found to be in adequate repair to
undergo a moderate rehabilitation at $20,000 per unit,
the cost to the city would be $420 million. And if the
city' s least capital-intensive program, Community
Management, were to be utilized for the rehab, the cost
at a maximum of $10,000 per unit, would still be $210
million.
"Now it is expected the number of city-owned build-
ings will increase four times over within the next few
months," McGaughey said. "Using the same cost pro-
jection used above, it seems fair to say between $840
million and $1.5 billion in immediate rehab funds are
needed this year, " he added.
But, under Direct Sales, he pointed out, no capital
investment of public funds is ordinarily required. Build-
ings are sold "as is", and tenants make repairs from
rent rolls, or they can apply for Article 8A "mini-loans"
of up to $5,000 per unit.
Officials at the city's Department of Housing Preser-
vation and Development recognize the need for increas-
ing the volume of sales but defend the extensive, re-
quired paper work as vital to fiscal and organizational
accountability.
In a recent interview with City Limits. HPD Commis-
sioner Nathan Leventhal Said, "Yes, there is good
reason to expand the Direct Sales tiny
program, as is Community Management. In fact, it's
even smaller. "
2
Asked to comment on community complaints regard-
ing the extensive documentation required in the pro-
gram and the consequent delays in building acceptance,
he added, "I know too much time elapses by the time
the building gets accepted into the program .... It takes
too damn long to get moving, but I'm not concerned
about the forms."
But, Wendy Faxon, direct sales project coordinator at
the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board (U-HAB),
holds a different view of the bureaucratic, red tape re-
quired by the city for tenant and community groups to
enter the program.
"With the huge number of buildings coming up for
abandonment, some real problems with the Direct
Sales program have to be solved before it can have any
impact," she said. "At this point with all the forms re-
quired, 1 really can't in good conscience recommend it
to the groups."
Suggesting that the objective of the Direct Sales pro-
gram should be "to become completely self-managing
and self-sufficient," Faxon added, "Organized tenant
groups who have expressed a desire to take over the
management of their building should be able to walk in
the door at HPD, present three basic documents, and
leave the same day with a management contract."
Three basic documents that tenants should present to
receive the management contract, preliminary to sale,
she explained, are a list of resident tenants, proof of a
liability insurance policy, and a petition signed by 60
per cent of the tenants affirming their desire to enter
into a self-management agreement with the city.
According to Faxon's records, about one-third of the
tenants residing in buildings that are presently or are
about to be taken In Rem by the city are well-organized
and should be permitted to enter directly into manage-
ment agreements with the idea of arriving, at a later
date, at a pre-negotiated, reasonable price for the sale
of the building by the city to the tenants.
At present, tenant associations must submit 12 dif-
ferent documents to HPD for approval and must wait
for HPD to return another 20 documents before the
Direct Sales agreement is completed and title to the
building is eventually transferred to the tenants.
Acknowledging that tenants may have reason to be-
come "frustrated" by the documentation required by
the program, William A. Smith, the newly-appointed
director of the Direct Sales program at HPD's Division
of Evaluation and Compliance, told City Limits recently,
"What we really have here is a fairly new program even
though it has been around on paper for two or three
years .... There are a lot of documents to go through,
maybe 35, because it is a new program."
Smith also explained the importance of requiring sev-
eral petitions, forms, and documents from tenants-
e.g., written agreements to rent increases, and building
inspectors' detailed reports on the structural conditions
in the building, explaining that these requirements are
necessary if both the city and the tenants are to have a
realistic picture of the conditions of the building and the
authenticity of the tenant organization.
"We don't want a few tenants coming down here to
our office saying that they represent the others, only to
fmd when we go to visit the building that these people
are as much strangers as we are," Smith said. "Fac-
tions do exist or develop in the buildings and we have
to know this [their existence]. "
Tenants have no doubt about HPD's existence. Just
how obstructive the program can be for well-organized
and well-meaning tenants is illustrated by the exper-
ience of the one tenant group that worked its way
through the bureaucratic maze and finally bought its
building last August.
"Unless they do something to lighten up the regula-
tions, I'll never stop knocking Direct Sales," said Bess
Stevenson, tenant organizer and vice president of the
Metropolitan Council on Housing, who fought along
with ten tenant families at 1104 Clay Avenue in the
Morrisania section of the Bronx in their struggle to own
their own building.
"We were fighting with the city for over 12 years,"
she explained, noting that future plans for Direct Sales
should include "giving the tenants a freer hand" in
flXing the building.
"Most of these tenants are senior citizens and the ob-
stacles the city put in the way were too much for them,"
she continued, adding that the city tried to make the
residents take out a $100,000 loan for a rehab job on the
building, at the same time the tenants were able to
bring in their own architect who quoted a figure of
about $80,000 to do "everything they needed."
In the end, the tenants of 1104 Clay Avenue found
that their main expenditure was the purchase of a
$15,000 boiler, which they paid for out of the rent roll.
And, with a small loan from the Consumer Farmer
Foundation to pay for fire and liability insurance as well
as for title and recording fees, they were able to close
on the building in August.
Another group of tenants, headed by Marilyn Strick-
land, who reside at 934 Barretto St., between Southern
Boulevard and Fox Street in the South Bronx, are fight-
ing to keep temporary control over their building until
the Direct Sales application is processed in order to
avoid coming under the control of the Division of
Real Property (DRP).
3
The building, the site of a bitter municipal loan fight
with the controversial Weintraub, most recently fin-
ished a successful 7 A administratorship period and its
residents are anxious to have a management in the
Direct Sales program approved without the normal
seven to nine month delay.
"We have had so much trouble in this building,"
Strickland said, warning that, although 20 of the build-
ing's 24 apartments are presently occupied, many
would be vacant by the end of the month when the
city's real estate department is slated to take charge.
"The tenants here all know how badly they [DRP]
run the buildings, and they [tenants] have said that
they will move out if we can't move on this application,"
she added.
Direct Sales director Smith is currently looking into
the possibility of the city's waiving the normal pro-
cedure that would put this building under the jurisdic-
tion of DRP until the management contract with HPD is
consummated and title to the property is transferred.
How can the program be streamlined and still offer
the city a reasonable hope of removing them from the in
rem category and placing them back on the tax rolls?
McGaughey has an idea.
"Perhaps the easiest way to eliminate much of the
red tape now existing, and to redirect the program," he
has pointed out in his report, "would be to issue leases
for rent rather than management contracts for the per-
iod between intake into the program and transfer of the
deed."
Noting that a "leasee is more than an agent," and
"has an estate in the land," McGaughey explained that
the issuance of a lease rather than a management con-
tract would eliminate the idea "prevalent now that
tenant rent monies are' city money' ."
If the tenants were to have a lease arrangement, they
could submit audited annual reports to the State Attor-
ney General and bypass monthly accounting with the
city. Also, under this arrangement, the city need not be
involved with tenants for nonpayment of rent.
"If the building pays its rent, the city keeps its hands
off," he continued. "If not, the city terminates the
lease and sells the building at auction to the highest
bidder."
Reached at press time, McGaughey said of his pro-
posals and the current Direct Sales program, "They
[the city] don't really ~ ~ e m to have a set group of guide-
lines for Direct Sales. They are making policy as they go
along. There is no program to speak of, and what will
be hitting them April 1st, otherwise known as April
Fool's Day, is a tidal wave [of In Rem buildings]."
"But," he concluded, "if you allow the tenants to
run their own buildings with the idea of buying them
eventually at the reasonable price, say $200 per unit, all
the city has left to do is sit back and skim off the cream.
This way, Direct Sales doesn't costthe city a nickel." 0
SOUTH BRONX SNUBBED
By Bernard Cohen
The South Bronx feels left out of the city and federal
plan to rebuild the South Bronx.
Community leaders assert that they have not been in-
cluded in the city's planning process despite official
acknowledgment that a redevelopment plan that is im-
posed on the South Bronx could well repeat the failures
of the past.
Local elected officials, community board representa-
tives, community developers, clergy and others said in
that they were still completely in the dark
about the evolving plan, even as pieces of it were being
leaked to the media.
Spurning at least for the moment a March 9 invitation
to meet with Mayor Koch, representatives of the six
community boards in the South Bronx were seeking a
meeting with Jack Watson, a Presidential assistant
working on the project.
Xavier Rodriguez, chairman of Planning Board 3,
said Watson had met with the boards last November
and promised that they would be partners in designing
the plan for the South Bronx.
"The initial commitment made by the federal gov-
ernment while the Beame administration was in office
has not been lived up to by the new administration,"
Rodriguez said. "We want to ask Watson to reaffirm
that whole partnership."
He charged that Koch has alienated community
boards through a number of actions.
Another city source said he understood that the
coalition wanted to reassess its position prior to a
meeting with the city, suggesting that the coalition may
have exceeded its actual mandate from the community.
The city has been saying it would unveil its plan in early
April. A South Bronx Coordinating Council composed
of high city officials (and no community representatives)
was appointed by Koch on January 26 to formulate the
plan.
The Coordinating Council was known to be feeling
conflicting political pressures by the third week in March.
Some high officials were known to have serious doubts
that there had been adequate planning by the city to
warrant an announcement. Others were feeling the need
to make something public- even if it had to be called
very tentative.
"We're at a crossroads," one member of the Council
said, referring to the timing question. He said the issue
would probably not be resolved until the very end of
March.
"There has been a problem as far as lack of input,"
Dana Driskell, district manager of Planning Board 3
4
said on March 17. "As of this point, the only basis of
discussion is the Beame program," he said, referring to
a dated planning document hurriedly prepared after
President Carter's visit to the South Bronx last October.
Hippocrates P. Kourakos, president of the South
Bronx Community Housing Corp., said he has had indi-
vidual discussions with federal and city officials.
"What has come from those discussions is
guesswork," he added. "This community wants input
into the decisions."
Ramon Rueda of Peoples Development Corp., who
greeted Carter on his visit and urged him to provide
more federal dollars for the South Bronx, said he was
"just sitting by while the city and federal government
work out their own plan."
"The city has lost another opportunity to tap into in-
digenous talent and creativity, " Rueda added.
A statement released by a newly announced coalition
of South Bronx community groups at a news conference
on March 11 warned, "Any Bronx redevelopment
projects coming off the drawing board must be carried
ON REDEVELOPMENT PLAN
out from now on with the active participation of South
Bronx institutions and South Bronx people. "
Federal, state and local officials elected from the
South Bronx also feel shut out of the process. "Please
consult the natives here in the South Bronx, Mr. Koch,"
Councilman Gilberto Gerena-Valentin said at the same
news conference. "Don't surprise us because in the
end you're the one who is going to be surprised."
In interviews, the community leaders asserted that
they were not asking for veto power over the plan but
that they did want a substantial voice in determining
priorities and the chance to make sure that money and
jobs intended for the South Bronx poor are not diverted
elsewhere. What they especially do not want is a "cere-
monial" role, they said.
"We are willing to work with the city in terms of
which way the plan goes," said one community board
member.
Asked about the lack of community participation,
Lloyd Kaplan, executive director of the mayor's
Coordinating Council, said the new administration has
been preoccupied with efforts to get its own planning
efforts organized.
"Government takes time to start up. Partnership
assumes that government is ready to play its role, that
government has its act together," Kaplan said. "I think
we're atthat point now."
He declined to say what planning role he foresaw for
the community. Asked if a community representative
would be appointed to the Council, Kaplan replied,
"Maybe it's time to examine that as a possibility."
The redevelopment plan for the South Bronx will
focus on two areas: economic development aimed at
creating jobs as a ftrst priority and housing.
A suggested price tag of $800 million to $1 billion was
called "conservative" by Kaplan. Most of the money
will come from the federal government if it approves
the plan.
The federal government has not made a speciftc
dollar commitment, leading to "cat and mouse"
planning, according to a number of officials. "Obvious-
ly there will be extra money" for the city to implement
its plan, said Alan Wiener, the federal liaison officer
working under Watson.
The strategy being pushed by Koch is to aim assist-
ance at areas of existing strength, particularly locations
where there has been public and private investment
and where institutions, jobs and good housing already
exist.
"The administration wants to concentrate in target
areas so that in three years you will be able to see a real
product and change," one city source said.
City Limits has learned that as of mid-March the plan
5
contemplated assistance for 4,000 units of new and
rehabilitated housing a year for ftve years plus develop-
ment of a so-called New Town area totalling 2,700 units
initially and 5,000 ultimately.
Pieced together from several sources, here is how the
housing section ofthe plan was taking shape.
(1) A mixture of new construction and substantial re-
habilitation in three areas: Bronx Park South; a triangle
bounded by Longwood Avenue, Southern Boulevard
and W estchester Avenue; and a rectangle west and
south of St. Mary's Park.
These are sections considered by the city to have a
strong core from which to build out into decayed neigh-
borhoods.
(2) Moderate rehabilitation along the much more
densely crowded Grand Concourse corridor. Speciftcally
under study is the area from 153rd Street to Fordham
Road. The buildings here tend to be larger, better built
and less deteriorated than other South Bronx housing.
But decay is setting in and development of a workable
moderate rehabilitation program to combat it is being
undertaken.
(3) New construction of low-rise (three-story) cooper-
atives and rental units at Charlotte Street and Boston
Road, one of the stops on President Carter's visit last
year. This is the so-called New Town area. Original
plans called for the new housing to be built in a larger
area, including the Bathgate section. But, stressing the
need to show impact, Deputy Mayor Herman Badillo
successfully insisted on concentrating at least the ftrst
phase of development.
Those involved in the plan said it was still regarded
as preliminary and subject to change.
How much of this housing will be developed by South
Bronx developers, including experienced community-
based organizations, is not known.
Questioned about this, Kaplan said, "Sometimes you
ftnd a conflict between the objectives of a training
program and getting housing built. Weare trying to
design a program that recognizes these trade-offs and
meets both needs in ways that are rational and
responsive.
"That implies that where possible, there have got to
be jobs for community people in rebuilding the commu-
nity. "
In an interview, Wiener called the housing com-
ponent the" easy piece" compared with the bigger task
of creating a large volume of jobs through industrial
development and commercial revitalization.
"Anybody can build low income housing," Wiener
said. "To simply provide for an infusion of Section 8
(housing subsidy) for people who aren't working will
put us back to where we are today." 0
HUD ISSUES FINAL CD REGS
Final Community Development regulations that will
shape how local governments may spend more than 512
billion in the next three years were issued by HUD on
March 1.
The fmal regulations proved disappointing to citizens
groups that were hoping for a stronger federal commit-
ment to targeting CD funds to low and moderate
income persons and to meaningful citizen participation.
In these two areas, the fInal rules are weaker than the
proposed regs published Oct. 25, reflecting the
pressure exerted by local government officials who
viewed the earlier version as "too restrictive."
Of major signiftcance is HUD's retreat from the 75
percent rule, which would have required local govern-
ments to spend three-quarters of their CD program
funds on projects that benefIt low and moderate income
persons. HUD has now decided to treat the 75 percent
principle as a guideline rather than a rule.
What this means in practice is that an application
that states that 75 percent or more of CD funds will be
used for projects that benefIt low and moderate income
persons will be presumed to comply with the overall
intent of the law. These applications will be exempt
from a HUD review on this point prior to funding.
CD applications that do not make the 75 percent
claim will be subject to a prior review to determine
whether they principally benefIt low and moderate
income persons.
Among the enforcement problems with this
compromise are:
(1) Prior review places an additional administrative
burden on HUD which, based on its past record, lacks
the capacity to fulftll the monitoring and general
administrative responsibilities it already has.
(2) The standards for determining compliance in
cases where the 75 percent calculation is not used are
vague.
(3) There is neither a remedy spelled out for failure
by the applicant to comply with its own 75 percent
commitment nor any indication of how such failure
would affect the applicant's standing.
HUD said the change from the strict wording in the
proposed regulations was based on complaints from
local governments that the rule would be too restrictive,
create administrative burdens and limit local flexibility.
With Citizen Participation, the fInal regulations
stress the purely advisory role of citizens. There is still
no requirement that a written citizen participation plan
be submitted with the application. A proposal for an
ongoing citizens advisory committee has been dropped
along with one that would have required written
6
responses within 15 days to citizen complaints. Instead,
the locality is to make reasonable efforts to insure
continuity of involvement by citizens.
Only communities with populations over 50,000 will
have to provide for citizen participation at the neigh-
borhood level. Three stages of hearings (for
development of the application, implementation of the
program and performance) are required. Annual per-
formance reports must now include citizens comments
and a summary of any actions taken by the applicant in
response. These reports must be submitted by the end
of the eighth month of the program year so that they
can be used by HUD in evaluating the next year's
application.
The fInal regulations remove the emphasis on
allowing citizen groups to select their own sources of
technical assistance. Applicants can provide bilingual
summaries of program documents rather than complete
translations. To better ensure that citizen objections
will be considered during the application review period,
HUD will not approve an application until at least 45
days after its receipt instead of 30 days:
In other changes:
BENEFITS-Unfortunately, the regulations do not
require applicants to quantify benefIts to low income
persons as distinct from moderate income persons.
However, there is new general wording that CD
activities must address the needs of low "as well as"
moderate income persons. A provision has been added
that the nature and result of a project, not simply its
geographic location, will determine who is benefItting
and therefore whether the activity is eligible. In the
preamble to the new regulations, HUD says "our
intention is to carry out the statutory objective of bene-
fItting low and moderate income persons in a strong
and committed fashion. "
FUNDING OF NON-PROFITS-Non-profIt organiza-
tions including neighborhood based groups qualify for
block grants for all activities normally eligible for CD
funds plus planning and administrative costs.
DISPLACEMENT-One of the biggest disappoint-
ments in the new regs is HUD's refusal to face up to the
problem of displacement resulting from CD activities.
HUD has left the matter to the localities rather than
take steps that could have ranged from banning
displacement to requiring local governments to submit
relocation plans, provide housing or show
that there is sufficient suitable replacement housing.
NEIGHBORHOOD STRATEGY AREA-Formerly
labeled "Comprehensive Neighborhood Revitalization
Area," the new term continues HUD's emphasis or.
designating target areas for concentrated funding but
allows more room for flexibility. Eliminated is the three
to five-year time limit that would have discouraged
localities from undertaking long-term housing and
community development projects in severely blighted
areas.
EXCEPTIONS-The proposed regulations had an
"exceptions" category specifying that 25 percent of CD
program funds could be used on projects that did not
principally benefit low and moderate income persons.
That language has been dropped along with a defective
provision that would have enabled the HUD Secretary
to waive the 25 percent limit.
PROJECTS WHICH PREVENT SLUMS OR
BLIGHT-Dropped from this category are projects that
were specifically aimed at attracting higher income
residents.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT-Economic develop-
ment activities are no longer limited to distressed
cities. HUD feels that by applying the "plainly inap-
propriate" criteria outlined elsewhere in the regs, it
can accomplish the purpose of preventing cities with
relatively strong economies from using CD funds for
commercial or industrial developments. The regs state
that economic development projects are supposed to
generate long-term jobs for low and moderate income
persons; however, HUD has deleted a paragraph that
would have required a commitment to permanent jobs
for lower income persons in the development of
industrial parks.
HOUSING ASSISTANCE PLANS-As in the past,
communities must describe their housing stock, outline
the housing needs of their low and moderate income
persons and establish goals for addressing those needs.
The new regs require HAP goals that remedy 15
percent of the state needs over a three year period,
marking a greater emphasis on performance. The
proposed requirement to include a description of all low
income neighborhoods has been eliminated.
Most of the regulations are effective May 1. How-
ever, the rules on eligible activities, including economic
development projects by non-profit organizations, take
effect March 1.
Copies of the regulations are available at ANHD.
City Limits thanks Brian Sullivan of PraU Institute
Center for Community and Environmental Development
and Mary Brooks of Suburban Action Institute for their
assistance with this report.
Classy Potholes
In a policy reversal, HUD has told New York City it
may use Community Development block grant funds to
repair potholes. However, since potholes come in all
shapes and sizes, HUD has specified which ones. Only
"Class C" potholes and cave-ins.
Street repairs are not normally an eligible use for CD
7
funds. That is why last September HUD cut a $9 million
street repair program from the city's CD application.
On Jan. 30, HUD changed its mind, stating that
because of snow damage to the streets, the repair
program qualified as "interim assistance to alleviate
harmful conditions in which immediate public action is
necessary. "
HUD set the following conditions. The potholes and
cave-ins must be in low and moderate income areas,
and only "Class C (18 inches or more in diameter)
potholes and cave-ins" qualify, according to a HUD
ruling.
Keep that in mind the next time you are jarred to the
bone while riding in a bus or car. 0
FEDERAL HEARING SET
ON BANK LENDING
Federal hearings on a law that is intended to make
certain that financial institutions provide for the credit
needs of the communities in which they do business are
being scheduled for late April in New York City.
Tentative dates for the redlining hearings are April
20 and 21. The location has not yet been decided.
The hearings here will be part of a nationwide series
being conducted by four federal regulatory agencies on
the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977.
That law requires the federal agencies to take into
account a financial institution's local lending record
when evaluating an application for permission to merge
with another bank, open a new branch or obtain a
charter or deposit insurance.
The law says that "regulated financial institutions
have a continuing and affirmative obligation to help
meet the credit needs of the local communities in which
they are chartered."
The agencies have until November 6, 1978, to write
regulations to implement the Community Reinvestment
Act. Hence the hearings.
For further information on the hearings contact
Roger Hayes or Michael McKee of Peoples Housing
Network,533-5650.
Meanwhile, a New York City Coalition of anti-red-
lining groups, working on the same issue at the state
level, met recently with the New York State Banking
Board. That meeting followed a hearing in Brooklyn
that drew hundreds of neighborhood residents con-
cerned about disinvestment. The large turnout, the
presence of Superintendent of Banks Muriel Siebert
and members of her staff and the fact that it was the
first time in memory that the department had granted a
rule-making hearing pointed to the importance of the
issue.
Members of the Coalition Against Redlining were
planning to meet individually with members of the State
Banking Board before new regulations are issued. 0
A FEW CETA FACES
Fritz Ringler, who has been unemployed three years,
is a graduate of the School of Social Work at SUNY,
Stonybrook. A tenant activist for the past few years in
Brooklyn, his special project has been developing a fire
monitoring program for the Peoples Firehouse in
Brooklyn.
"I applied for the position of project coordinator," he
said, noting that "it's one thing to be in favor of re-
habilitating houses, but if you're going to rehabilitate
these properties, you don't want them to burn down as
soon as you're finished."
For several years, Ringler's task force has been in-
vestigating ways to prevent crime and curtail fires in
his neighborhood.
Asked if he felt bitter because he had not been able to
make use of his graduate education, Ringler said, "My
education wasn't a waste of time. It has come in handy.
1 have had some opportunities, but 1 turned them down
to do this work, which 1 think is very important, because
we have to do something about the fires out here. Any-
way, I get along. "
Commenting on the CET A job program, he
concluded, "I think the project is important, but they
certainly aren't making it easy for people to apply. And
from my experience with other CETA programs, this is
geared to fail right from the start unless someone
comes in and does a miraculous job of cleaning it up."
I
1
i
.J Alex Natal
Alex Natal, 20, was a construciton trainee for a sweat
equity building at 507-09 East 11th Street.
Unemployed since last August, Natal pays a small
amount of rent for his apartment there. "I'm giving
what I can," he said.
After waiting most of a day to be certified and then
interviewed by Adopt-a-Building, Natal was offered the
maintenance job he wanted.
8
Fritz Ringler
Take the arduous process of qualifying for a public
service job and multiply it by ten and you have the case
of Alicia Juana Sapire.
Sapire and her son left Argentina in 1976 to escape
from the repressive military dictatorship there. She
arrived in the United States in April, 1977 and was
granted official political asylum last October.
Unemployed since her arrival here, Sapire applied to
Strycker's Bay Coordinating Council in Manhattan for
an open space coordinator's job. While being certified
by the state for eligibility prior to her interview, she
was told she needed a U.S. Immigration and Natural-
ization Service "green card" to qualify. She replied
that she did not yet have a green card but produced a
USINS card that said" employment authorized."
"It says here that I can work," she told the state
certifier. He remained adamant. No green card, no job.
The situation looked discouraging until another state
certifier, overhearing a discussion of the problem,
looked at the card, said it was valid and approved the
young woman.
Sapire's problems were not over. Although Stryck-
er's Bay offered her a job, she was then informed by the
city Department of Employment that she could not work
without a social security card. Again things looked
bleak but almost the next day, the social security card
she had applied for some time ago arrived in the mail
and the crisis was over.
Alicia Juana Sapire
Frank Korzeniewski
Marie Exume is an unemployed elementary school
teacher who recently turned down a scholarship for a
Ph.D. program at New York University. She applied for
the CET A position of social services assistant.
"There just seems to be an over-surplus of
teachers," she said, noting that her CET A application
would entail "starting from scratch with an entirely
new career. "
"Let's put it this way," Marie explained. "I want to
work very badly. I loved teaching. I loved working with
little children, but I realize that there wasn't much
future for me in this field."
The CET A job will involve working with senior
citizens.
Exume is overqualified for the job, in that the edu-
cational requirements ask simply for a high school
diploma and two years of college ending in an associate
degree.
Is she upset by her new job prospect? Not at all. "I
will be making somewhat less than I did teaching at my
last job in the day care center," she admitted, "but I
think I will become exposed to a lot of new things that
I've never seen before. I think this job is more chal-
lenging than teaching day care. And senior citizens cer-
tainly need help. I hope this program will be a success."
Haitian by birth, Marie has been supporting herself
recently as a part-time interpreter in the courts,
representing Haitians.
"This job is a challenge, too," she added, "but I
really want to work full time. Maybe I'll learn to speak
Spanish too at this new job."
9
"They tell me I was rejected because I make too
much money on Social Security," Korzeniewski, a 72-
year-old retired furniture craftsman, said following his
disappointing interview. "They also said the same
thing to my buddy [John Mentz]. We are both senior
citizens, and we're both in the same boat."
Korzeniewski and Mentz serve as volunteers with the
Peoples Firehouse in Brooklyn. They were applying for
part-time jobs under CETA VI on an arson task force at
the firehouse and were led to believe by both the Neigh-
borhood Manpower center and the State Employment
Service in Brooklyn that they were eligible for this em-
ployment.
Asked how he felt about the rejection, Korzeniewski
said, "When you're my age, you learn to live with dis-
appointment. I go 'down to the firehouse every Tuesday
night, so I guess I'll continue to do that. It is a disap-
pointment,/ really. I guess they're saying that you have
to live at the poverty level all your life. "
Korzeniewski and his wife, who is homebound with
arthritis, collect about 5500 a month from their joint
Social Security benefits.
One of the community interviewers, Gary Hattem of
St. Nicholas Houses, said of Korzeniewski's and
Mentz's rejections, "It's really a shame that Social
Security is considered income, unlike welfare and un-
employment. It sounds as if the authorities are saying
they're [both men] making too much money on Social
Security. "
Another CETA interviewer interjected, "The federal
guidelines are discriminatory against the elderly.
That's how I see it. ' ,
Marie Exume
STATE GIVES NEIGHBORHOODS $500,000
Eleven ANHD member organizations are among 50
community-based housing groups throughout New
York State who have received $10,000 grants under the
new Neighborhood Perservation Act of 1977.
Governor Hugh L. Carey announced the awarding of
$500,000 in grants on March 15, saying that the state
funds will strengthen the organizations and enable
them "to concentrate on activities that will preserve
and restore their communities while attracting a much
larger investment of public and private financial
resources. "
The initial grant covers a six-month period. Carey
has proposed to increase the funding for the program to
$5 million in the fiscal year beginning April 1.
More than 100 neighborhood organizations applied
for grants totalling $7.2 million in the first round.
The Neighborhood Preservation Act provides
funding for the administrative expenses of nonprofit
community-based organizations involved in rehabilitat-
Nathan Leventhal, commissioner of the Department
of Housing Preservation and Development, tells City
Limits that he has no plans for a major reorganization of
his 2,500-member housing agency for the next two
years.
He did say, however, that he is interviewing pros-
pective candidates to replace his former deputy com-
missioner, Paul Dickstein.
According to Leventhal, the replacement officer may
be renamed Director of Operations.
Commenting on possible departmental changes, the
commissioner said, "I feel we may have some changes
in titles and functions."
He also expressed a possible need to consolidate
HPD's rehabilitation programs. In addition, he men-
tioned the possibility of instituting a new program in
management analysis.
A new intra-departmental chart for HPD should be
available within the next 30 days, he concluded. 0
Housing Conservation Coordinators will conduct
another six-week energy conservation boiler-burner,
maintenance and repair course, beginning March 28
and running through May 16. Classes will be held every
Tuesday and Thursday from 7 until 9:30 p.m.
Graduation will be May 23 when certificates will be
awarded to those enrollees who have successfully
completed the course.
The first classroom session will be held at the HCC
storefront, 777 10th Avenue. The next classes through
May 9 will be held in the boiler room of one of the local
tenements. Instruction from May 11 through May 16
will be at the Vorhees Institute of Technology, 450 West
10
ing and preserving housing.
To qualify, a group must be nonprofit, in existence
for one year with a demonstrated capacity to perform
neighborhood preservation activities, representative
of the neighborhood and have the ability to become
economically self-sufficient within three years-the
maximum period a group can receive funding under the
law.
ANHD organizations receiving grants were Pueblo
Nuevo Housing and Development Association, Morris
Heights Neighborhood Improvement Association,
Housing Conservation Coordinators, Manhattan Valley
Development Corp., Interfaith Adopt-a-Building,
Coalition for Human Housing, West Harlem Community
Organization, Kelly Street Block Association, East New
York Development Corp., Sunset Park Redevelopment
Committee and Metro-North Association. 0
41st Street, in the "climate control room."
Enrollment in the course is $15. Each class is limited
to 25 students.
The subject matter to be covered in the course is
boilers, burners, boiler cleaning, oil ftIter replacement,
safety mechanisms, relay replacement, weatherization,
and radiator repair.
For further information about the course, telephone
541-5966 or 541-5938. 0
Planning Unity in Action (UPA) will hold its second
annual two-day conference on issues affecting the
Lower East Side April 8 and 9 at the Tompkins Square
Boys Club, 287 East 10th Street.
The conference, sponsored by the Challenge for
Those Who Dare, a community-based group of citizens
dedicated to the growth and development of the com-
munity, is the first "neighborhood unifying"
conference scheduled for the Lower East Side since the
first one was called in 1969 by Ernesto Martinez,
former chairperson of the Lower East Side Coalition for
Human Housing.
The Saturday session will open with registration at
9:30 a.m. followed by work sessions in the morning,
afternoon and evening. Lunch and dinner will be served.
Sunday's program will feature a work session on com-
prehensive coordination of a three-year master plan for
the area, ideas for future action, and a closing celebra-
tion feast.
Subjects to be included in the workshop discussions
are human housing, total health, local power,
community economics, lifelong development, and
celebration of the community. 0
'In Rem' continued
According to the Task Force report, "The true poten-
tial of owner-occupants, tenant cooperatives and non-
profit community groups to own, manage and maintain
property has not yet been fully tested nor adequately
developed.' ,
Arguing before the Council committee for a full
year's delay in the transfer to HPD, General Services
Commissioner Smith maintained that DRP would pour
up to $50 million of Community Development funds into
"preventive maintenance" of the In Rem properties.
"Unless we get the delay," Smith asserted, "these
buildings are not going to be run right .... It is against
my own personal interest to ask for this. I could walk
away and do something else .... But if you do not grant
this, calamity will be on your hands."
Refuting Smith's contention. Jane Benedict, head of
the Metropolitan Council on Housing, testified, "I am
here to support no extension to the Department of Real
Estate. It is true that the department needs a house
cleaning, but are we going to allow the culprits to
monitor their own house cleaning?"
Benedict reiterated other community leaders' criti-
cism of DRP's lack of services in the city-owned build-
ings, and also referred to the recent improper DRP auc-
tion sale of properties in the South Bronx where the
Carter administration's revitalization plan will be
carried out.
"In Rem buildings are a hot issue," she charged.
"We know about these buildings that were sold for $25,
$50, and $125 to speculators. Now the city will have to
take them back with the taxpayers' money."
"There must be a moratorium on the .sale of these
[city-owned] buildings right now," Benedict continued.
"I am calling for a three-year moratorium with the ten-
ants running the buildings, during which time there
will be an orderly working out of how the tenants run
. the buildings. "
According to Councilman Katz, DRP has agreed to
hire an additional 600 employes to carry out the pro-
posed preventive maintenance program. Their salaries,
which, Smith estimated, will run to about $8 million
annually, will be covered by the $50 million Community
Development grant.
Seeking details regarding the future transfer of the
properties, Councilwoman Miriam Friedlander
(D-Man.) asked, "What happens to this $50 million if
the buildings are shifted in a shorter period of time?
Will the money shift, too? Will the money go to the
community group that is overseeing the building? ....
In order to allow that community group to take over the
building, can we put part of that money in the budget
for it?"
During the committee's roll call vote Mar. 20,
Councilman Abraham Gerges (D-BkIn.) said he intend-
ed to call a press conference at a later date deploring
the transfer agreement.
"I think this transfer is going to be a disaster," he
charged. "It seems to me that this section of real estate
should go to the New York City Housing Authority or
stay where it is [DRP] ... I am going to introduce legis-
lation to transfer this to the Housing Authority."
But for now, at least, the transfer agreement and
timetable stand. Long-suffering tenants of the city,
accustomed to neglect, will have to wait and see
whether the bureaucratic truce brings any improve-
ment in the quality of their housing. 0
Roger Hayes of Peoples Housing Network leading class in SCHOOL FOR ORGANIZERS. Weekly series has been
drawing overflow crowds of up to 60. Future enrollment will be limited.
11
LOS SURES SET TO REHAB
400 SECTION 8 UNITS by Susan Baldwin
A major test of HUD's Section 8 subsidy program for
substantial rehabilitation is set to get underway in
Brooklyn's Southside Williamsburg section in early
April, after nearly two years of government processing.
Los Sures (Southside Community Housing Develop-
ment Corporation) is the non-profit community sponsor
of the two-phase project, expected to yield 401 units of
subsidized low income housing.
Phase I will redesign 12 abandoned six-story walk-up
tenements on South 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Streets to
produce 201 apartments at a total cost of $8.7 million.
Phase II, slated to start from four to six months later,
will add 200 more units to the neighborhood revitaliza-
tion effort.
The rehabilitation of the first four buildings in the
program is scheduled to be complete after nine months'
work. Phase I should be fmished within 14 to 18 months
of commencement.
To build the project, Los Sures created a subsidiary
to enter into a general partnership-known as SUMET
-with the Metropolitan Rehabilitation Corporation, a
Manhattan-based private developer.
"Even though we had to deviate from our overall
revitalization policy and go outside [the community] for
developers, we believe that it was worth it," said
Douglas Moritz, director of Los Sures's development
company. "This way we can deal with a greater number
of properties than we could with sweat equity or
homesteading.' ,
The entire project will be subsidized with Section 8
funding under one of 12 HUD demonstration grants
allocated to groups in primarily low income neighbor-
hoods around the city.
The 12 buildings in Phase I, all abandoned, were
built by manufacturers at the turn of the century to
accomodate their immigrant work force, which had
moved to the Southside of Williamsburg from their first
homes on the Lower East Side. The present layout of
the apartments is cramped. The gut rehab work will
reduce the 25 apartments in each building to about 12,
with an emphasis on two-, three-, and four-bedroom
units. The one and two-bedroom units which now
prevail are not suitable for the large families which
make up this largely Hispanic community. The rehab
cost per unit will be close to $50,000.
The law firm which handled the packaging of the
Section 8 demonstration grant was Tufo, Johnston &
Allegaert. Its legal fee was said to be $80,000. Metro-
politan Rehabilitation Corp., the private developer, is a
long-time client of the law firm, and was recommended
12
by the firm to Los SoUres as a co-general partner.
Former Deputy Mayor John Zuccotti, who returned
as a partner to the Tufo, Johnston firm last year at the
end of his city service, first became known to Los Sures
when the Rev. Brian Karvelis of Transfiguration
Church, and a member of the Williamsburg Housing
Association, asked the then deputy mayor to intercede
in a community struggle between the Hispanic and
Hasidic communities over the rental policy for Roberto
Clemente Plaza. The Los Sures Management Co., a Los
Sures subsidiary, manages the 532-unit Mitchell Lama
housing project. The original rental plan, still tied up in
court, was to rent 75 per cent of the housing to the
minority community and 25 per cent to whites.
Referring to the rehab proposal, the Rev. Mr.
Karvelis said, "I am a friend of the Los Sures
organization. I helped them form it many years ago.
They are the only organization of their kind doing work
out here for the poor people."
"They have done a marvelous job," Karvelis said of
the Los Sures effort. "It's the only job that has been
done to profit the poor man in the street. I think the
rehab work is a far better, more economical method to
revitalize this area and bring in rentals at levels people
can afford, because of the Section 8 subsidy. The
Krauss rents have come in at a much higher level."
Karvelis also praised the Los Sures project "because
there is no displacement," he said. "They chose
buildings that were either burned out or abandoned."
Displacement had been a big problem with the
construction of Clemente Plaza.
Asked to comment on the proposed rehabilitation
project, Councilman Luis Olmedo, whose district
includes this area, said recently, "We need much more
Section 8 money for Williamsburg, but I want this
money for housing for the poor people who really need
it. "
Olmedo is concerned that the tenant selection
process might produce tenants from outside the area
who are members of St. Peter and Paul Church or
Transfiguration who do not need the housing as much
as poorer people living in the area. Under the terms of
the demonstration program, Los Sures will be in charge
of tenant selection.
Councilman Olmedo is a founding member of Los
Sures and honorary chairman of its board. He left the
board as a voting member in 1974 when he took his seat
on the City Council.
"I felt I should quit the board because of any possible
conflict of interest," Olmedo explained, noting that he
did not think it would be proper to be voting on a board
that could be receiving city money.
One of the main problems with getting the SUMET
projects underway was establishing clear title to the
properties, Moritz observed. "We were dealing with
landlords who had abandoned the buildings, milked
tens of thousands of dollars out of the buildings, had
used whatever political connections they had not to pay
taxes and avoid In Rem proceedings, and then they
were able to walk away from these buildings with
anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 for the properties,"
said Moritz. "We even had a warrant out for the arrest
of one of the landlords."
"This was a heavy price we had to pay," Moritz
added. "None of the decisions to take these buildings
were easy, and to buy from these guys represented a
deviation from our traditional philosophy, but we really
saw no other way, if we were to get housing at rents
people could afford for our community."
Moritz reviewed for City Limits the history of the
SUMET project.
Los Sures wentto HUD in May, 1976, and asked for a
list of available Section 8 packages. In June, Marilyn
Melkonian, then with the Tufo, Johnston law firm and
now in HUD's Washington office, described by Moritz
as "a dynamite woman," got in touch with the group
and mentioned the possibility of a general partnership
with Metropolitan.
By August, Los Sures had developed the plan for this
rehabilitation. In October, 1976, the Los Sures board
formally recognized the relationship with Metropolitan.
In December, 1976, HUD put a notice in the newspaper
acknowledging that there was money for 12 demonstra-
tion Section 8 grants. Los Sures was awarded one of the
12.
The project was held up, however, at the City
Planning Commission, which had some questions about
the housing design. Los Sures ftnally gained the com-
mission's approval in time to go before the Board of
Estimate in December, 1977.
"Our main problem now is selling the ten per cent
outside-investor share," said Moritz. "The total of this
investment is $1 million. We've had a couple of offers,
but what comes into playas much as anything else is
time. We would have had an easier time of selling the
tax shelter in December than we are having in March,
because people are thinking more seriously along these
[tax] lines at the end of the year. But we are still
negotiating," Moritz said.
Moritz pointed out that the outside investors-
known as limited partners in SUMET -want to examine
Los Sures's relationship with Metropolitan, and to
determine whether this is a good or bad venture before
committing their ten per cent share. The 90 per cent
balance of the project cost is picked up by the bank and
guaranteed by federal mortgage insurance and 100 per
cent subsidy commitment by HUD.
13
Los Sures will be managing the properties. They will
also share in the tax-shelter profits, Los Sures taking
one-third, and Metropolitan, two-thirds. Los Sures is
committed to reinvesting any profits back into the
properties in the form of improvements or additional
social services. They have no firm commitment from
Metropolitan to do likewise, although, Moritz asserted,
"To date, Metropolitan is willing to do almost anything
to make the project work, and may be willing to
reinvest. "
Asked to estimate Los Sures's share of profit from sale
of the tax shelter, Moritz said, "That depends on about
a zillion things ... The reason why we negotiated our
share on a sliding, one-third, two-thirds basis was so
that we could participate in the profits based on that
scale rather than on a rigid dollar figure."
Moritz is somewhat worried about the "ten
percenters" who may make demands on the project.
"Putting that aside, we will share in some of the
proceeds of the shelter," he predicted. Proceeds of the
shelter sale go to SUMET I, the housing corporation.
Plans call for establishing a salary line for community
labor coordinator, and for getting organizational fees to
pay for Los Sures's overhead on the job.
The labor coordinator will be responsible for seeking
minority employment in at least the same
percentage-SO per cent-as prevailed in recent new
construction projects in the area and for maximizing
participation of minority group subcontractors.
Moritz, however, said that he could not give
estimates of the total numbers of jobs for the Los Sures's
Southside community as negotiation sessions with
Metropolitan have not taken place to date.
Reached at press time for comment on possible
delays in starting construction, Wilfredo Vargas,
administrator of Los Sures, said, "We expect to begin
in ten days [early April]. We understand from Metro-
politan that they have the work permits. Subcontractors
are ready to go to work right away."
According to Councilman Olmedo, the partnership
plans to go ahead with the start of construction even
without the ten per cent commitment from the private
investors.
Barbara Scott, a spokesperson in the housing depart-
ment of the Tufo, Johnston, Zuccotti & Allegaert law
firm, confirmed that work was currently scheduled to
begin early in April. She explained that no formal
closing date had been announced.
HUD officials also told City Limits that the law firm
had submitted a final Section 8 proposal for SUMET
ll-an application that, if found acceptable, would
mean that work on this second 2oo-unit phase could
possibly start up within four to six months.
Joseph Lopes, director of public relations at HUD's
area office could not be reached at press time to confirm
that SUMET I would commence by early April.
NEIGHBORHOOD WOMEN
SEEK HELP FROM HUD
Low and moderate income people are being pushed
out of Park Slope, the building abandonment rate has
doubled in no time, the houses and the rehabilitation
program in Bushwick are ridiculous. In fact, half the
houses that were to be fixed up are burned down. What
can we do to save our neighborhoods?
These statistics and points of view are a few of many
expressed by working class and poor neighborhood
women who attended a two-day conference March 2
and 3 at the Skillman A venue headquarters of the
National Congress of Neighborhood Women in
Brooklyn.
The conference, an outgrowth of a national
Washington-based women's housing issues conference
in April, 1976, was the first of a series of community
conferences involving the role of women in making
housing policy and determining the quality of neigh-
borhood life. Other neighborhood workshops are
scheduled to take place around the country this year
under the auspices of HUD's Women's Policy and
Program Division, a department formed four years ago
which is now under the new HUD neighborhood unit
headed by HUD Assistant Secretary Msg. Geno Baroni.
"My office started out as an ERA (Equal Rights
Amendment) office for women when the Community
Development Act passed in 1974," said Joyce Skinner,
director of the division. "Then they were talking about
a fair housing act, a move that forced government to
add sex to that legislation."
"Women make up a substantial part of the country's
population," she continued, "and it's our belief that
they should be out there in the forefront making policy
decisions in the planning of housing. The time has
come for them to move out of the background."
The National Congress of Neighborhood Women,
Neighborhood women speak out at HUD conference
host for the conference, was founded in 1975 following
a meeting in Washington at the National Center for
Urban Ethnic Affairs, the organization founded by
Baroni in 1970.
Resource consultants at the conference included
Skinner and three other members of her division,
women from HUD's area office, and at least one female
official from the New York City Planning Commission.
The topics raised during the conference ranged from
such questions as "What is Section 8 and how do we
get it?" to "Dealing with Bureaucracies," commercial
revitalization, organizing women as neighborhood
tenant leaders, homesteading, public housing manage-
ment, credit, home buying, rehabilitation programs,
how to combat wholesale redlining of neighborhoods,
reclaiming abandoned homes and lots, and finally what
to do to put an end to the systematic displacement of
poor people from neighborhoods.
"I was hoping that the conference would have come
up with more of a 'do-it' program," said Ellen
Friedman, an architect who is employed as aCETA
worker at the Ethnic Neighborhood Action Center in
Brooklyn.
"We have been trying to do rehabilitation of
tenements here in this neighborhood and we haven't
been as successful as some groups, like Los Sures,
because we haven't mastered the political steps that
you have to go through to get the programs working,"
she explained, noting that any groups, including
women's organizations involved in housing, must learn
how to get enough funds channeled into the neighbor-
hoods.
"For this idea to be successful on the local neighbor-
hood level," she concluded, "you really have to master
the strategy of how to package the housing and then
direct it to the right officials." 0
14
CET A continued
The small army of new workers will augment the
efforts of the community groups in blighted areas of
Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx to rebuild their
neighborhoods through a variety of housing projects.
They will be offering homeownership counseling in
East New York, devising social services programs for
the elderly in Williamsburg, improving fire prevention
in Northside, organizing tenants in Flatbush, and
supplying building maintenance on the Lower East
Side, for example.
Problems with how the city Department of Employ-
ment was implementing the CET A program developed
at almost every turn during the planning stage.
Initially, for example, DOE refused to allow the Asso-
ciation to pass on administrative funds to the groups,
which would have left them without money to cover
their own program expenses.
These and other regulations were withdrawn by
DOE along the way.
However, it was dissatisfaction with the way the city
Department of Employment was structuring recruit-
ment that proved to be the most controversial of the
large number of procedures opposed by the CET A VI
organizations. The way the issue was resolved provides
a rich insight into how bureaucracy can confound itself.
DOE planned initially to use three citywide sources to
refer job applicants: its own Neighborhood Manpower
Service Centers, the New York State Employment Ser-
vice and the New York City Department of Social
Services.
The CET A groups complained that this system would
not produce applicants qualified for the highly special-
ized jobs being offered and would make it almost im-
possible to match suitable residents with jobs in their
own areas.
The organizations proposed that an additional
agency pool " referral source be formed so that they
could seek out and refer qualified enrollees from their
own neighborhoods.
The city accepted the agency pool source but set up a
formula .that was to determine the percentage of appli-
cants referred by each source. It was NYSES, 50
percent; DOSS, 17'/2 percent; NMSC, 17'12 percent and
agency pool, 15 percent.
Despite misgivings about how this would work, the
organizations rushed to complete their working
conditions forms-listing descriptions of each job and
the number of people they wanted to interview. Three
sites were selected in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brook-
lyn and interViews were scheduled for February 28-
March 3.
On Tuesday, February 21, the groups turned the
forms into DOE for photocopying and distribution to the
other referral sources. DOE said the copies would be
ready by Thursday, February 23 or Friday, the 24th.
Friday arrived and they had not yet been duplicated. By
15
Monday, they still were not available. When they were
not ready on Tuesday, the interview schedule for all of
the 37 groups had to be postponed a day.
The forms were finally ready for distribution to the
referral sources on Wednesday but through a bureau-
cratic mishap, the forms intended for the Neighborhood
Manpower Service Centers in Manhattan and the Bronx
ended up in Brooklyn.
As a result, the groups saw virtually no one on Wed-
nesday and Thursday since few referrals were coming
through NYSES and DOSS and most of the agency out-
reach recruits were not scheduled until Friday.
By noon Friday, for example, the South Bronx
Community Housing Corporation had filled only four
out of 12 slots and Julie Cruz, SBCHC's office manager,
said she had yet to interview a single application for
secretary.
Frustration at the interview sites ran high. " Nothing
is happening here because the bureaucracy is incapable
of responding to its own rules and regulations," Steve
Katz of People's Development Corporation in the Bronx
said.
Bob Lowe of Metro North Association in East Harlem
said the regional Manpower office had misplaced his
interview schedule so that instead of interviewing eight
persons for an organizer assistant job he had seen only
one.
By the end of the four-day hiring period, 269 persons
had been offered jobs. On March 10 they all reported to
DOE headquarters for what everyone agrees was an
efficiently run mass fmal certification prior to starting
work on March 27.
Acknowledging that recruitment procedure problems
" possibly could have happened, " Thomas McEnery,
DOE assistant commissioner for public service employ-
ment, said his department was having to process more
than 1,000 persons a week into various CETA program
projects and added:
" Considering the size of the (ANHD) project and the
involvement of various agencies under the constraints
of the eligibility criteria, I think things went pretty
well." D
.CITY LIMITS.
published monthly by the Association of Neighborhood Housing
Developers, , 29 East 22nd Street, New York, New York 10010
(212) 6747610
Editor . .... . . .. . .. . . ........................... Bernard Cohen
Assistant Editor . . . . ..... . . . . . . .. . . ... . .......... Susan Baldwi n
Design and Layout .. ... . ....... . .... . .... . ..... . . . Louis Fulgoni
Production . . .. . . ... . ... .... . ..... . ... . . .. . . Marianne Czernin
Copyright 1978. All rights reserved. No portion or portions of this
Newsletter may be reprinted without t he express written permission
of the Association of Neighborhood Developers. Inc.
IN THIS ISSUE
o CETA Housing Jobs
o Direct Sales
o South Bronx Plan
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o Los Sures Section 8 Demonstration
o Final CD Regulations
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