City Limits Magazine, January 1977 Issue

8/3/2019 City Limits Magazine, January 1977 Issue

1/18

~ ~-C-IT-Y--LI-M-I-T-S ~

COMMUNITY HOUSING NEWSJANUARY, 1()77 VOL. 2, NO. I

(This hOUSfil can still be saved if HDA puts its own house in order . See story below . )

MAJOR REORGANIZATION of HDAPROPOSED by SUTTON

RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON EXPERIENCES OF COMMUNITY HOUSING GROUPS '

Percy Sutton , Borough President of Manhattan, has issued a 32page proposal calling for the creation of a NewYork City Department of Housing an d Neighborhood Preservation. The proposal and report , "Saving New York'sNeighborhoods," was prepared with th e assistance of ANHD 's Executive Director , Bob Schur .

Sutton stated, "This report is developed ou t of the experiences of community housing groups wh o have beenthwarted by th e hydraheaded city housing bureaucracy in their attempt to redevelop th e ir neighborhoods. Ou t oftheir experiences, a more responsive city housing program can emerge."

Continued on Pdge


2/18

CITY LIMITS

published monthly by th e Association of NeighborhoodHousing Developers,lnc., 29 East 22nd Street, New York,New York 10010. (212)674-7610.

Executive Director .. .......... .... .. ......... .............. Robert SchurEditor ........................................................... Kathy SandersDesign and Layout ............. . .. .. ...................... Louis FulgoniResearch Assistants ....... . . ........ ............. .. .. . .. Richard Zeitler

and Bruce RicklinProduction .............................................. Marianne Czernin

Copyright 1976. All rights reserved. No portion or portionsof this Newsletter ma y be reprinted without th e expresswritten permission of th e Association of NeighborhoodHousing Developers, Inc.

Reorganization of HDA (continued)

A RELIC OF A BYGONE ERA

Th e report documents, in detail, th e shift in housingpolicy away from new construction to preservation of theexisting housing stock . At th e same time, however, programs designed to preserve. maintain and upgrade existinghousing are scattered among a plethora of departments andagencies and in Sutton's words, "continues to be organizedas if its principal function were still the production of newhousing. an d as if th e preservation of existing housing werean afterthought."

Included in the report is a thorough listing of presentprograms relac::1g to housing and neighborhood preservation and where they presently are located. If that simplelisting of programs scattered throughout unrelated offices,departments and agencies were no t enough of an eyeopener to th e uninitiated . th e report gives seven verygraphic examples of what goes wrong. Here are just tw o ofthe horror stories :

An owner applies fo r a rehabilitation loan to the Officeo f Evaluation and Compliance fo r a rehabilitation loanunder Article 8A. To qualify fo r such a loan, the ownermust show that he is unable to obtain finanCial assistancefrom the private sector . He also has to show that theneeded repairs can be accomplished at a cost o f no t morethan $3,000 pe r dwelling unit and that the building is amultiple dwelling. OEC has its own rule that loans will no tbe approved fo r vacant buildings. Suppose the buildingmeets only three o f the four requirements. I t will berejected by OEC, bu t i t might qualify under anyone o f anumber o f other programs. OEC does not administer any o fthem, however. So, unless there is an unusually able,concerned and knowledgeable person at OEC, the ownerwill merely receive a rejection notice: will have no information as to where else to go or what to do and may, ou t o fignorance and despair, decide to abandon h is building.

Two families remain in a 20-unit landlord-abandonedbuilding. The weather turns cold. They call the CentralComplaint Bureau to advise them that they have no heat orhot water . A housing inspector certi fies the facts. TheEmergency Repair Program repairs the boiler and suppliesfuel al l winter long - at a cost to the city o f $10,000. ComesSpring. One o f the families finds another apartment; theother family is relocated after defective wiring causes a firewhich burns ou t their apartment. The building is no wvacant. The city eventually acquires i t fo r non-payment o ftaxes, by which time i t is so severely deteriorated that i t isdemolished at a further cost to the city o f $10,000. The twofamilies could have been moved to other sound units on thesame block and the building sealed fo r future rehabilitationat a recoupable cost o f $3,000 . Instead, the city hasincurred totally un recoupable costs o f $20,000.

RESPONSIVE AND COORDINATED TREATMENTPROGRAM PROPOSED

The answer to this problem pu t forth in the reportwould be th e creation of a new department within HDA, ora separate agency should HDA be dismantled. Th e following programs would be brought under unified control anddirection :

- Emergency ' Repairs

- Code Enforcement. including issuance of vacate orders

- Housing Court Activities

- Housing Repair and Maintenance Agreements

- NonEmergency City repairs

- Receivership

- 7 A Admini strat ion

- Rehabilita tion Loans {Articles 8 & 8A, sec. 312,

- Tax Exemption and Ta x Abatement (J51)

- Rent Restructuring for Rehabilitated Buildings

- Community Management of City-Owned/Controlled Buildings

- "A s Is" Sales of CityOwne d Buildings

- Cooperative Conversion

- Urban Homesteading

- S.H.I.P.

- Unsafe Buildings (demolition and seal-up)

Continued on Pdge 8


3/18

\

New York State Tenant andNeighborhood CoalitionAdopts Program for 1977L islative Session in AlbaAssociation's January Mem rship Meeting

Coalition building is a familiar concept for ANHDmembers and aff iliates. The creation of ANHD by itsfounding members and its acceptance of new membersduring th e past two and a half years points to th e obviousbenefits derived when people come together around common goals . Another organization that is founded on th eprinciple of coalition-building is th e New York State Tenan t and Neighborhood Coalition (formerly th e New YorkState Tenants Coalition).

NYSTNC presently has member organizations in 16counties of the state, representing such upstate cities asBuffalo, Troy, Syracuse, Albany, Schenectady, Utica andPoughkeepsie , as well as New York City and its suburbs.The Association of Neighborhood Housing Developers andseveral of its member groups belong to NYSTNC .

For th e past three y.ears, NYSTNC has worked todevelop a strong tenant movement in th e state and hasdevoted a good deal of its energies toward legislation toprotect tenants from unfair and unscrupulous owners.

In its first tw o years as th e major "lobbyist" for NewYork State tenants, NYSTNC scored some impressive victories . Among them were the enactment by th e New York

State Legislature of th e Warranty of Habitability Law, th eCoop -Condom inium Fair Practices Code, th e Langley Law(which requires th e election of tenant representatives to th eBoards of Commissioners of public housing authorities inupstate ci t ies) and th e Preservation of Sound Housing Law(which protects tenants in older buildings from eviction byhigh-rise developers). The 1976 Legislative Year, however,despite th e continued and re-doubled efforts of th e Coalition, was a near-d isaster for tenants of all types and incomelevels . Leaders of th e Legislature, knuckling under topressure by the real estate and banking industries, failed todeal with issues of housing in a substantive mann_er.

The Legislature's only major piece of housing legislationwas th e "bail-out" of the State's two super -agencies, set upby Rockefeller, to finance new construction of housing andcommercial developments. In sum, over $8 0 million of statetaxpayers' money was appropriated for the Urban Development Corporation and the State Housing Finance Agency(which had brought th e State to th e brink of default) toenable them ~ o complete new construction projects, mostly

to Discuss Bills and Strategiesfor middle- and upper-middle-income residents, such asRoosevelt Island in ou r own East River.

The major piece of legislation that th e 1976 Legislaturefailed to enact was to require th e state-regulated savingsbanks to pu t any money into inner-city or low-rent housingmortgages as a condition for granting these banks th e rightto handle checking accounts. The savings bank lobbymounted a tremendously expensive and successful campaign which got them "free checking" with no stringsattached . NYSTNC lobbied intensively, bu t unsuccessfully,for an amendment to require th e banks to invest in housing.

What th e Legislature also failed to do was to refor 'm rentregulations, deal with Neighborhood Preservation, pu t theMitchell-Lama program on a sound financial footing, provide for th e needs of Senior Citizens and take steps tocombat redlining. All of th e programs, with th e exceptionof rent regulations, need appropriations, bu t the huge"bail-outs" foreclosed any possibility of enacting housinglegislation with a price tag. As for reform of rent regulation,that was a political "hot potato" that th e Legislaturepreferred to deal with in a non-election year.

Michael McKee, Chairperson of NYSTNC, observed :"There was also a failure on th e part of tenants and housingactivists to pu t adequate pressure on th e Legislature . Manytenants assume that laws directly affecting housing arepassed or defeated by th e City Council. On the contrary,the State Legislature has th e power, AT ANY TIME, to

impose new laws superceding present regulationsand/or

simply to abolish old laws." The events last year suggestthat th e real estate lobby and their friends in the StateLegislature will make a serious effort in 1977 to let thepresent laws r e g u l a t i n ~rents and evictions lapse and todefeat any efforts to deal with Neighborhood Preservationand redlining.

Last year, NYSTNC was successful in obtaining only aone-year extension of th e Emergency Tenant ProtectionAct and th e Coop-Condominium Fair Practices Code, whichrequires that at least 35% of tenants in occupancy agree topurchase shares in a coop before a plan can becomeeffective. Since both these laws expire on June 30th of thisyear, it is considered by many to be easier for th e

(over)


4/18

' NYSTNC (continued)

LegisJature to allow these laws to expire since 1977 is NOTan election year for the State Legislature. The battle tl\isyear to preserve existing protections for tenants and toenact new legislation will be a difficult one.

NYSTNC, however, has no t been idle. Since the end of

the Legislative Session this past July, NYSTNC has beenorganizing support around the state to make tenant s aware, of the danger that exists.

In addition, NYSTNC's membership has grown to include a number of neighborhood housing organizations.'Although some groups view NYSTNC as an organizationconcerned chiefly with rent regulation and eviction protection, NYSTNC was the leading group in Albany last year

,fighting for the adoption and funding of a state-wideNeighborhood Preservation Program, which would providefunds to non-profit, neighborhood-based housing groups tocover planning, development and admini'strative costs.

Evidence of this broadening of its goals and programactivities is NYSTNC's name change, adopted at a statewide meeting held in Albany on December 5, 1976, to 'include the word "neighborhood_" The legislative programadopted at the same meeting for the 1977 LegislativeSession is of particular importance to ANHD members. TheNeighborhood Preservation package which NYSTNC will besupporting includes:

I. A drastically-modified version of th e so-called "UrbanCoalition" bill which will encourage the management,

' ownership and rehabilitation of substandard housing byneighborhood non-profit housing organizations.

2, The "Lehner Bill' to provide state funding forcommunity-based, non-profit groups to engage in neighborhood preservation activities.

3 . A tough antiredlining law to create a state-operatedgrievance procedure for homeowners and landlords (including tenant cooperators) who are denied mortgages bybanks.

J 4. A state-wide Housing Rehabilitation Trust Fund Act ,which will create a billion.{iollar fund for , low-!nterest loans

to ' low -income homeowners, cooperatives and neighborhood housing groups to acquire and rehabilitate housing, to

be f inanced by long -term mandatory loans to the state byst at e-re gulated banks.

NYSTNC's leadership has pledged to conduct an all-outeffort to force the State Legislature to enact a strong

ne ighborhood preservation program . Michael McKee, Chairperson of NYSTNC and Barbara Chocky, Southern Rl!gion .Chairperson, will address ANHD members at i t ~. \ J a n u a rmembership meeting to explain NYSTNC's Legislati've Program and to outline what kind of support and oppositionwe can expect.

The January monthly membership meeting of ANHD tobe held on January 19, 1977 at 6:00 p.m. at the United

' Charities Building, 105 East 22nd Street, New York, New' York, Room 416, will be given over to a workshop on the NYSTNC 1977 Neighborhood Preservation Legislative Pro- gram: its implications for community housing groups and

the roles that members and affiliates of the Association can play in affecting such legislation this year. The various bills

will be explained and discussed and opportunities will beprovided for the membership to consider and adopt posi

.' tions which the Association may take on these matters.

This promises to be a most interesting and informativemeeting - one which may be extremely important for the ;

': future of the community housing movement in this city 'and state. All members, affiliates and other interested

, groups and individuals should be sure to attend.

It is our hope that 19 n may become a year when ourrepresentatives in Albany do something FOR us, ratherthan TO us, for a change. To make this happen we haveto become informed and active. Let's start in January_ '

Kathy ~ n d e r s

MATERIALS ' ON THESE BILLS ARE AVAILABLEFROM ANHD' CALL -KATHY SANDERS OR MICHAELMCKEE AT 674-7610 OR WRITE TO THE ASSOCIATION- -


5/18

Upstate Tenants ConcludeSuccessful Public Housing

Schenectady Tenants Win Collective ~Rights and P . u t i c i ~ i o nin Futu re !-busing Decision

Fifteen miles west of Albany, New York, on th e banks

of th e Mohawk Ri.ver, sits th e city of Schenectady, otherwise known as th e home of the gigantic General ElectricCompany. Schenectady is also home to some 90,000residents, some of whom live in one of seven public housingauthority projects. This story is about 500 of these publichousing fami lies, a successful rent strike action which theyran against th e housing authority and about Laurie Holland- a publ ic housing tenant and one of the strike leaders.

On either side of Schenectady, quite far out of th e wayfrom th e shops and services, are located th e city's twolargest public housing projects. Up near th e northern citylimits is Yates Village, a sprawling complex of two-storydull red brick buildings, built around th e time of World War

II, to house 30 9 families. Way across town, a similarproject, built about the same time, Steinmetz Homes,contains another 25 0 apartments. Both were built by th estate, although today, along with th e newer federallyfunded projects, they are operated by th e SchenectadyMunicipal Housing Authority (MHA) which consists of fivecommissioners and two tenant representatives (the lattermandated by the 1974 Langley Law) .

Rents in Yates and Steinmetz are supposed to be basedon tenants' incomes, bu t th e Rockefeller and Carey budgetsin recent years have made a m o c k ~ r yof this idea instate-subsidized projects . Two years ago, for the first time,the tenants in Yates and Steinmetz were given an across

the -board 20 percent rent hike. They grumbled, bu t paid it .

RENTSTRIKE

Laurie Holland

RENT INCREASES ANNOUNCED

Last year, th e MH A announced a further increase of13.8%, to be effective on August I, 1976. But this time th e

tenants were ready to do more than grumble . An organization and a spirit and determination were present. This wasth e time to stand and fight .

The tenants had a good deal to fight about - more waswrong than a second rent increase in less than three yearswhich would push rents far beyond th e ability of a lot oftenants to pay.

For years, Yates and Steinmetz had been suffering frompoor - even downright bad - maintenance. T h i n g ~were sobad, in fact, that over 70 apartments in th e two projectswere standing vacant , despite waiting lists of eligible families. The empty units were essentially unlivable and th e

Housing Authority was using them for temporary emergency relocation purposes. Families burned out of their homeswould be offered temporary shelter in "a s is" condition.

The MHA's policy was, in fact, hardly distinguishablefrom th e stereotypical slumlord. Not only were tenantcomplaints ignored, but tenant efforts to organize had beenstudiously and deliberately frustrated.

TENANTS ORGANIZE

The history of tenant organizing at Yates and Steinmetzgoes back quite a few years . Yates had al) active tenantgroup fifteen years ago, but it soon degenerated into mostly

as o ~ i a l

club. However, during th e War on Poverty days,

Continuedon P.Ige 6


6/18

Schenectady Rent Strike (continued)

OEO set up a number of programs at Yates and Steinmetz.Many of th e tenants, especially younger ones, benefittedfrom training in community and tenant organizing and theyput their newfound skills to work revitalizing th e ir owntenants groups. About five years ago, the Yates and Steinmetz tenant associations merged into a single group whichthey called th e "Schenectady Residents Association ."

The MHA worried about these developments and reactedin vigorous fashion. The OEO projects were summar ilyevicted from their quarters in th e public housing buildingsand MHA itself sponsored rival tenant associations todisrupt and confuse th e Yates and Steinmetz residents.MHA's counter -measures were quite successful - for a while.Even by 1974, the tenants were unable to reorganize tofight th e 20 % rent boost which was foisted on them in thatyear .

The enactment of the Langley Law, however, gave th etenants a new organizing issue. Under this law, whosepassage was greatly helped by lobbying efforts on the partof th e then newly-formed New York State Tenants Coali

tion, public housing authorities in every city of New YorkState (except th e City of New York) were oblijJed to addtwo public housing tenants as authority members - theretenants to be elected by vote of the public housingresidents .

In Schenectady (as in other cities) th e housing authoritydid its best to minimize th e impact of th e new law. Since alarge proportion of th e public housing projects in Schenectady are primarily, if no t exclusively, for senior citizens ,and since elderly residents are likely to be less troublesomethan younger activists, th e MHA divided its projects intotwo districts (each district to elect one tenant member of

the authority) in such fashion that one of th e districtswould be certain to elect a senior citizen. MHA also ran itsown, hand-picked candidates with strong backing and lotsof behi nd-the-scenes campaign assistance .

The predictable results of th e gerrymander and th ecampaign help were that, despite a strong effort by th eYates and Steinmetz residents, the tenant winners of th eelection were little more than MH A flunkies.

Soon after the Langley Law election, MH A announcedits second projected rent increase. The vote of th e authoritymembers was 6 to I in favor, with both tenant membersgoing along with th e majority.

RENT STRIKE VOTED

The Yates and Steinmetz tenants were In a betterposition to resist this latest move and the organizing driveduring the Langley election had helped. The tenant organizations from Yates and Steinmetz (separate groups againafter th e MH A attacks on Schenectady Residents Association) got together and decided to go on strike against thehigher rents.

Despite th e fact that no one in Schenectady had everbeen involved in a rent strike, the tenants did an amazinglygood job of organizing th e action. When MHA called th etenants, one by one, to the project offices and presented

them with new leases at th e higher rents, over fifty percentrefused to sign.

A joint bank account was set up for both projects intowhich the striking tenants paid their rent. The treasurer ofeach of the tenant associations was designated to be th e"collection station" for th e project. Picketing and demonstrations brought the tenants' case to th e attention of theentire city. Rallies were held at city hall and at th e MH A

offices and MH A commissioners' homes were picketed.Press releases were written and distributed, with th e resultthat Schenectady 's two newspapers and four televisionstations carried almost daily stories about the strike.

HOUSING AUTHORITY TRIES TO EVICTDespite which, the MH A adamantly refused to meet or

negotiate with the tenants or their representatives. Itsreaction instead was to commence holdover eviction proceedings against all of th e striking tenants. Fortunately, anddespite th e fact that Schenectady's one legal services lawyerwas entering th e hospital, th e Yates and Steinmetz tenantswere able to locate a private, pro bono attorney fromAlbany who agreed to work with them. They were also

helped by a neighborhood law collective in Schenectady.

The first thing the tenants did was to get th e City Courtto direct that all the eviction cases would be heard together_The day of th e hearing produced thE! biggest demons tratio nof th e entire action. Two hundred and fifty tenants, theirfamilies and many sympathizers marched together to th eCourt House and virtually overwhelmed th e Judge whenthey all walked in together.

The Judge quickly saw that he couldn't try two hundredand fifty separate cases, nor had he any desire to do so .When he was told that th e tenants were willing to negotiatetheir grievances with MH A bu t the authority had refused to

meet with them, he sided with t ~ e tenants saying that "if250 people come here together there must be somethingwrong ." He directed the authority to negotiate and meanwhile, upon being shown a complete set of books andrecords being kept by th e tenants, the Judge ordered thatthe tenant organization could 'retain and continue to collectth e rent monies from th e striking tenants .

TENANTS FRAME DEMANDS

Negotiations then took place and continued almostweekly for th e next five months - the authority oftenseeking to drag them ou t as long as possible, but the tenantsretained a solid front at all times. The tenants submitted aten -point set of demands, which they had prepared inadvance of the strike and which they stuck to throughoutthe bargai ning . The tenants demanded:

I. Recognition of th e Tenants' Association as the collectivebargaining agent for ALL tenants in th e Yates and Steinmetz projects.

2. Formation of a joint tenant/management committee toreview hiring and firing of project personnel. '

3. Involvement of th e joint tenant/management committeein tenant selection.

Continued on Page 16


7/18

Meet the Officers:Margaret McNeill,

President .

Margaret McNeill, AN HD's recently-elected President,brings ,to lherfnew position of leadership a strong backgroundin th e movement to provide decent shelter for poor familieswithout th e expensive -and destructive aspects of urbanrenewal.

Mrs. McNeill is a slim and attractive mother of seven an dgrandmother of five, wh o exudes an aura of calm determination that belies th e staggering work load she now carries.Perhaps this is du e to Margaret's early life in th e South.

Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, sheattended schools there, including North Carolina Agricultural an d Technical College, where she has been pursuing adegree in business administration when she me t and marriedMr. McNeill in 1948. Following their wedding, they movedto New York City and set up house .keeping in Bedford

Stuyvesant and, later, in Fort Greene in Brooklyn. Fromthis time until 1961, when th e family moved to Harlem, Mrs.McNeil considered herself "a full-time wife and mother."

Th e turning point for Margaret was th e arrival on emorning in 1963 of a post-card from her church. Thechurch's pastor was th e Rev. Eugene Callendar, wh o was..alerting his parishioners to th e city's plan to "renew" alarge p'ortion of th e Harlem area. The plan contained noprovisions for th e adequate relocation of the existingresidents of th e area to be renewed. Instead, th e cityplanned to construct student an d faculty housing forColumbia University and to widen 8t h Avenue. Margaretattended a meeting at th e church held prior to th e Board of

Estimate hearing and became convinced that th e urban

renewal project, as planned, would bring severe hardships toth e families living in th e area. It soon became clear to anumber of community leaders in West Harlem, Morningside

Heights and Manhattan Valley that Columbia Universitywas attempting to move poor blacks ou t of the area and toexpand its real estate holdings for political, racial andfinancial reasons.

So, th e community leaders, among them Margaret Mc-Neill, organized TRI-CO, a watch-dog group which helpedin th e successful fight to halt th e urban renewal efforts .

Ou t of TR I-CO, West Harlem Community Organizationwas formed in 1964 (and incorporated in November, 1965)to concentrat e on th e preservation and improvement ofexisting housing.

Mrs. McNeill and th e other founders of WHCO volunteered long hours to assist tenants with housing problems,mainly pressuring th e city to enforce its own housing codes.With th e assistance of ARCH (Architects Renewal Commi tte e in Harlem) WHCO prepared a survey, plan and application for th e rehabilitation of most of the buildings slatedfor urban renewal. Although th e application was neverapproved, neither was th e urban renewal plan .

By 1965, th e volunteer staff of WHCO was hard at workon building tenant and block associations as well as handling individual tenant problems. In addition, a Head StartProgram was funded to s ~ r v e70 children. Mrs . McNeill was

director of th e Head -Start Program from 1966 to 1968.

wntinued on Page 8


8/18

Margaret McNeill (continued)

Then followed a two-year stint for Margaret on th e staffof th e Morningside Renewal Council where she furtherdeveloped her knowledge of housing an d organizing techniques. Margaret returned to WHCO an d in 1970 was madeits Executive Director.

-Tragedy struck th e McNeill family in 1970, when Mr.McNeill passed away, leaving Mrs. McNeill to care alone forher seven children. As she told me, "We had tw o choicesthat year . I could stay home with th e children and dependupon public assistance or I could work . My children madeth e decision - they voted for Mommy to work."

The next seven years have kept Margaret quite busy inWest Harlem . Although WHCO has accomplished much, itsfinancial footing has never been sound. Cutbacks werenecessitated when th e small grants from private sources ranout. What is remarkable is that the enthusiasm and activeinvolvement of th e community residents wh o serve on th eboard has no t waned. Also, other local organizations, mostprom ine ntly STR ESS, a local delegate agency of

HARYOUACT, and its director, Elizabeth Lemon, gave

Reorganization of HDA (continued)

The most innovative component of th e proposed newdepartment would be a Buildings Analysis and EvaluationOffice which would be th e "first stop" for a problembuilding. A staff knowledgeable in all of the alternativetreatment programs would assist in th e development of aplan geared to th e particular problems of th e building, its

tenants, and its landlord. Only after this analysis is madewould a / referral to a specific program be made.

To monitor the effectiveness of th e planning and implementation of the specific building treatment program, a

. Policy Analysis Unit would also be established to track,evaluate and recommend modifications and improvementsto existing programs and to develop new treatment programs.

invaluable assistance to WHCO.Margaret presently directs th e staff of WHCO in a

variety of programs, including th e management and maintenance of a number of buildings in th e area. Most illustrative of Margaret's style of l e a d e r ~ h i pis the manner in whichlunch hours are observed at WHCO. At 12:00 noon sharp,th e entire staff gathers around th e conference table -

bookkeepers, th e secretary, th e maintenance crew, students, consultants and board members (who prepare th elunch). Together they discuss everything from boiler repairsnafus to city-wide politics. No one on the WHCO stafffeels isolated. "In fact," Mrs.McNeill pointed out, "just lastweek I had tw o community meetings to cover. One of th emaintenance men attended one for me. All of us are tenantand community organizers now . That's th e way it shouldbe."

Margaret has promised to bring this style of leadership toANHD. "All th e members are going to be active this year.Working together we can accomplish so much. I hopeeveryone will begin th e New Year at ANHD with renewed

enthusiasm. I know I wil l : ' . Kathy Sanders

TIME IS RIPE FOR CHANGE

The City Council is presently considering amendmentsto th e City Charter that would "dismantle" HDA. TheMayor has proposed a reorganization of very limited scopeand in direct conflict with th e city's current housing policywhich is aimed toward diminishing l o ~ s e sin th e housingstock. Th e Mayor's plan would simply spin-off th e Buildings Department and would leave intact th e current mishmash of programs at HDA.

We urge all concerned with this problem - particularlyneighborhood housing groups - to study th e Sutton proposal and to urge its consideration by members of th e NewYork City Council.

To obtain a copy of "Saving New York's Neighbor 'hoods" write to Mr. Frank Baraff, Borough PresidentSutton's Office, Municipal Building, New York, New York10007 .

Kathy Sanders

RICHARDS & FENNIMAN. INC

.!)n,dura,ncIJ

156 WILLIAM STREET

NEW YORK, N. Y. 10038

TELEPHONE (212) 267-8080


9/18

..

ANHD's TechnicalAssistance Unit

Begins Operations

Climaxing a lengthy and at times much-debated policyposition, th e membership of the Association of Neighborhood Housing Developers, Inc. last November ultimatelyvoted to accept and ratify th e basic terms of its staff'sproposal to Rockefeller Brothers Fund for a grant tosupport a technical assistance unit to aid its members andaffiliates which have or are seeking Community Management contracts with New York City . Staff for a Community Management Unit was thereupon selected and theirresumes submitted to Rockefeller. Last month, Rockefellersent its check for $65,000 to the Association and th eprogram is now under way.

Thus closes a dramatic chapter in ANHD affairs and anew one begins with th e arrival of the staff who willconstitute the Community Management Unit. With tencommunity housing groups presently under contracts tomanage city -owned and controlled multiple dwellings andwith others having applied or considering submitting applications for contracts, the new unit appears to have its workcu t ou t for it.

The decision to proceed with the program was preceededby a series of dramatic events and involved a good deal ofsoul -searching on th e part of many ANHD members.

The story really begins back in 1972 and much of it isclosely related to th e origin and formation of ANHD itself.In that year, Bob Schur, who was then Deputy Commissioner in charge of the Office of Special I mprove ments inthe New York City Housing and Development Administration (now known as th e Office of Evaluation and Compliance). after meeting with several community housinggroups, decided and convinced the city administration to go

alongwith

a planto contract the management of

multipledwellings over which th e city had been appointed receivedto non-profit community groups. Within a year, eightgroups were managing some forty-odd city receivershipbuildings.

In mid -1973, Bob (who is now ANHD 's Executive Director) was transferred to HDA's Office of Housing Rehabilitati on and further enlargement of community group management langu ished ( t wo groups, in fact , fell ou t of theprogram altogether).

The common involvement of community housing organizations in the management of buildings under contracts

with the city did, however, constitute an important area of

mutual concern and interest among those groups whicstayed with the program and was one of the major factorwhich led to the decision by them to organize ANHDmid-1974 .

The next chapter opens in 1975 with the adoption by thcity of its First Year Community Development Plan anProgram under th e newly-enacted federal Housing anCommunity Development Act. That Plan called for anenlargement and eXPilnsion of management of city-owned(as well as receivership) multi -family dwellings by community-based housing groups. ANHD and th e Pratt Coaltion, of which ANHD was a part, played a key rolepushing for th e enlargement of the program with blockgrant federal funds available under the new law. Actualimplementation of the program (along with most of thothers in the c ity's Community Development Plan) becamestalled when the c ity 's fiscal crisis came into full bloom inthe Summer and Fall of 1975. Nothing much happeneduntil after first Big Mac and then the Emergency FinancialControl Board took hold of the city's financial affairs.

At the beginning of last year, it began to look as thoughthe Community Development programs would finally gestarted. But then another problem had to be faced . Onconsequence of th e fiscal crisis - and the decision by thstate and city politicians to avoid municipal bankruptcyall costs (translated into plain language that means: pay thbankers and other holders of th e city's bonds and notes onhundred cents on the dollar plus interest at up to tepercent a year as and when due though to do it you have tcurtail vital city services and layoff thousands of citworkers) - was that the Office of Evaluation and Complance, which administers the city's end of the CommunityManagement program, suffered a decrease in its staffincluQing th e loss of several key people.

So now the complaint was raised by OEC - how can weexpand th e Community Management program when wedon't have the staff to administer and monitor it? ANHD'sstaff responded to this plaintive excuse for inaction byproposing that it seek funds to expand its own staff so as toprovide additional technical assistance and expertise to thecommunity groups (both . already in and hoping to comeinto th e program) and thereby ease th e city's administrativeburdens.

. Continued on Page 10


10/18

Technical Assistance Unit (continued)

This proposal was eagerly embraced by Deputy Commis,sioner Alan Wiener and Assistant Commissioner HenryLanier (Lanier had come to HDA from a position asAdministrator of Los Sures which was one of th e firstcommunity groups to enter into a management contract) .With their approval and support, a written proposal for aCommunity Management Technical Assistance staff was

submitted to Rockefeller Brothers Fund in the Spring of1976, together with a projected budget of $64,400. Afterconsiderable discussion and revision, Rockefeller indicatedthat it would make a grant provided ANHD would recruit asuitable staff (which was approved by DEC).

At this point, ANHD's membership began to haveserious second thoughts about the matter . While th e members recognized th e need for technical assistance - especi 'ally in view of OEC's diminished capability to administerthe Communit y Management program and to provide assistance to participating groups - they felt that the bettersolution would be to provide the groups with th e financialmeans to purchase their own technical services as and when

needed, rather than to create a technical assistance staffcadre within ANHD. In part at t ~ ~ t,this perception flowedfrom a rather unsuccessful effort by ANHO to add technical specialists to its staff during 1975.

After a series of meetings at which th e issue wasconsidered and debated at length, a majority of th e ANHOmembers recommended that Rockefeller be asked to approve a plan which would allow all ANHD members topurchase expert assistance on their own. This position wasformally adopted at ANHD's Annual Meeting on October 2,1976.

Rockefeller, however, rejected the request, s ~ a t i n gthat itrepresented too great a departure from the previousty ap- .'proved program to be adopted without resubmission to it sBoard of Directors; that th e Board would no t meet againuntil 1977; and that the grant would lapse if th e programdid no t get under way before the end of 1976.

So it was back t-o tne meeting-moms for the ANHOmembership. This time, what appears to be a satisfactoryand workable compromise was adopted by a large majorityof the members who participated_ The concept of a tedmical assistance staff would be accepted, bu t with fourconditions:

- The staff people to be recruited would be persons who

knew the groups and were known by them;

- Emphasis would be on staff people who could workwell with the groups and who would provide advocacy andunderstanding as well as technical expertise;

- The goal at the end of a one-year period would be thecreation of a program to enable groups to seek and obtaintheir own technical assistance with ANHD playing at mostan advisory, supportive and catalytic role;

- Close and continuing monitoring of the TechnicalAssistance Unit by ANHD members.

OEC (which by now had lost both of its Commissioners

- Wiener to the City's First Deputy Mayor's office and 'Lanier to Yale Univertisy's Graduate School of Businessand Public Administration and is now under th e directionof Deputy Commissioner Carl Callendar) and Rockefellerwere notified of the decision and both approved and a crasheffort to recruit a suitable staff (which had to be accomplished and ok'd by Rockefeller by early December) wasundertaken.

Good fortune greeted th e attempt and the makings atleast of- an exemplary Community Management Unit hasbeen engaged.

As Unit Coordinator, Jim Yasser, who formerly workedfor South Bronx Legal Services, in HDA's NeighborhoodPreservation Program and on the staff of South BronxCommunity Housing Corporation, wi -t assume his duties inlate January when he completes the present semester as astudent at Brooklyn la w School.

The Project Coordinators, who have already gone onactive duty, are Frank Garrett, formerly director of Brooklyn Comprehensive Corporation and Emilie San Clemente,

wh o among other things, organized and helped manage thebuilding in which she lives on th e Lower East Side ofManhattan.

Providing accounting and bookkeeping instruction andassistance is Cesar Rangel who, in the relatively brief timehe has been with ANHD, showed tremendous talent andcapability working with groups in the CETA and CJCC jobtraining programs. Cesar will be assisted by Clem Lloyd,ANHO's experienced and mature Comptroller.

The Technical Assistance team is completed by theinclusion of Jim Harris as legal consultant and advisor,abetted by his law partner, Larry McGaughey_ Harris andMcGaughey are under a legal retainer with ANHD, fundedby a grant made at the beginning of 1976 by New ' YorkCommunity Trust for legal assistance. Jim Harris, who wason HOA's legal staff and later directed its Office ofCooperative Conversion, succeded Henry Lanier as LosSures' Administrator. Larry McGaughey got his hominglegal baptism as a lawyer fo r Community Action for legatServices and for the past two years has been specializing inhousing law as a private practitioner. These experiencedmembers of the bar are being assisted by Doug Simmons, alaw student at NY U who is serving th e Association under awork-study program.

The new staff, except for Jim Vasser who joins up laterthis month, has started to become oriented to the ANHOmember groups, to OEC and to each other and everyone islooking forward to a busy and productive program.-


11/18

JOB OPENINGSFIATBUSH DEVEU:FMENI' a:>RPORAll0N~

TIIE FOLLOWINGIM\1EDIAlE < P ~ S

I. HOUSING PROGRAM DIRECTOR - Housing Pro

gram Director will administer a housing renewal programfo r community development organization. Must be able tonegotiate with landlords, financial institutions, governmentagencies and community organizations. Experience in apartment building management, financing, litigation or com-

, munity renewal preferred. B. A. degree required. Salary:High Teens.

2. COMMUNITY HOUSING SPECIALIST - Communit y Housing Specialist will assist Housing Program Directorin all phases of landlord, tenant and government agencynegotiations. Must have experience in community organization and a commitment to stabilizing and revitalizing theNorth Flatbush area. Communication skills in the organiza

tion and conduct of meetings and presentation of reportsrequired. Flatbush resident preferred. Salary: $11,000 -$13,500.

3. COMMUNITY HOUSING ORGANIZER - Communit y Housing Organizer will work for the Caton HousingAction Task Force, under the supervision of the projectsteering committee responsible fo r the organization anddirection of a sub -area task force aimed specifically athousing improvement. Duties include organization, trainingand mobilization of local tenants and community groups.Applicants must have a B. A. or equivalent life experienceand have experience in community organizing. HOl,Jrs areflexible. Salary : to $9,250.

4. SECR ET AR Y - Secretarial duties include generaloffice work; typing, light bookkeeping, filing, mailings,phone coverage, etc. Applicant should have at least tw oyears work experience and type 60 w.p.m. and take

,dictation at 80-90 w.p.m. Salary: Open, comensurate withexperience.

Applicants fo r any of the above positions should fo rward a resume, including salary history and requirements,to: FLATBUSH DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, 1418Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn, New York 11226. (No phone ,calls, prease.)

The deadline fo r receipt of resumes is Monday, January24 , 1977: Flatbush Development Corporation is an Equal'Opportunity Employer.-

PECPLE'S DEVEU:FMENI' (UUl()RAll00'SEEKS TENANf ORGANIZER

Candidate should be experienced in all phases of tenantorganizing, preferably in the Bronx . Knowledge of Spanishvery helpful and Bronx resident is preferred.

Salary is negotiable. Call: Megan Charlop at 292-8049.-

a-IELSEA ACllON CENfER SEEKS ORGANIZERS

Two tenant organizers, experienced in working on tenant/landlord disputes, are sought by Chelsea Action Center.Knowledge of Spanish is preferred, bllt no t absolutelynecessary. Chelsea resident is preferred. The pay is low, thehours are long, bu t the rewards


12/18

REfARDATIONMfNfAL HEALnIAND IlRECfORY OF= ~ ~ N E W Y O R K O T Y

t of Mental Health a ~ dThe New York City D.e p a r t d m : ~ eSecond Edition ~ f I t ~

. S e ' es has Issue Y rk CIty.RetardatIon rVlC ed Citizens in New 0 . e of"Directory of c o n c e ~Bowen, Director of the. OfflcUnitCompiled by Emma ' . Community RelatIons. '

. d EducatIon, . the achleve-InformatIon an uch to "recognIze fthe Directory purports as ~ as to serve as a r e f e r e ~ c e~ ~

f doers" as muc . urban affaIrs a. ments 0 'd individuals i n t e r e s t e ~. In d to help locate

g r r ~ ~ ; m : nof individual c o m ~ ~ ; : e ~ fa ~ e l Pin all kinds ofP . d resources who m gpeople an .mmunitY servIces.

. co a completeo date and far from ber of

While no t fully up -t - deal about a large num . .listing, its 108 p a g e ~t e " : ; : ' ~ ~ i t i e Sin some !ashion. ThIs ISorganizations servIng c. . that will be pubhshed.

. b the last edItIonstated to e rtment of

York City DepaF copy write to : New . es Office of Informa-or a ' R tardation Serv lc , . 93 Worth

Health and M e n ~ a l~ o m m u n i t YRelations UnIt,tion and Educat:n New York 10013. Street, New Yor ,

~''1HE CDNSUMFR-FARMER CXXPmATOR"'MUST READING' ~ lDUSING ACI1VISfS

Congratulations to Consumer-Farmer Foundation on thebest issue yet of its excellent newsletter. "The Cooperator"has to be MUST reading for everybody concerned with th ecommunity housing movement in New York City_

The January, 1977 issue includes special feature storiesabout Peoples Development Corporation, OceanhillBrownsville Tenants Association, th e Renigades - in short,just about the entire range of low-income cooperativehousing projects, plus a very moving and thought-provoking"Report of the President" (Mr. Meyer Parodneck) and

much more.

For those no t familiar with th e Consumer FarmerFoundation, it has one of the most progressive and concerned Boards of Directors and staff in NeW York. TheFoundation has made thousands of dollars worth of seedmoney loans to dozens of low-income tenant cooperativeswhen no other funds were available.

For a copy of "Consumer-Farmer Cooperator," write tous at ANHD or to Consumer Farmer Foundation, Inc. 101East 15th Street, New York, New York 10003 .

. .

F1RST RESULTSOF JOINTFUNDRAISING m I V E

$45,000in Geants Pledgedby Two Fotmdatiom

ANHD's joint-fundraising campaign, conducted with andon behalf of its members, is finally beginning to bear fruit.After long months of preparation, research and proposalwriting, capped by a breakfast-meeting for foundationrepresentatives, held at the New York Foundation last

, November, we are pleased to announce that the first two

pledges of contributions towards our goal of $395 ,000 havebeen received .

The Taconic Foundation has agreed to contribute' $25,000 and the Sherman Foundation, a member of JointFoundation Support, Inc., has made a grant of $20,000.Special thanks to Jane Lee Eddy of Taconic and PatriciaHewitt and Axel Rosin of Sherman for their commitmentand generosity.

While many of the private foundations that have beensolicited have sent rejection letters, a few more haveindicated that they are giving serious consideration to ourrequests; others are still to be heard from and of course we

are continuing to explore the field to discover additionalpotential donors. In accordance with th e policy establishedby the membership, funds received will be distributed tomember organizations who have indicated a need forfunding assistance to cover their baSic administrative and

overhead expenses.

Judy Flynn, ANHD's Director of Operations, has beenputting in long, arduous hours on the joint-fundraisingeffort and is reported to be both pleased and relieved to seethe ice having been broken. Judy also deserves a lot ofcredit for a painstaking and often frustrating undertaking,as does ANHD's Vice-President for Fundraising, GloriaMilliken.

Here's hoping that the last $350,000 needed to reachour goal will be quicker and easier. Any member organization having ideas or suggestions or desiring informationabout the campaign - as well as any would-be contributors- contact Judy Flynn at 674-7610


13/18

.. ,- "

.. ~ m I ; ; . D A Y )TIlE LAWYER IS IN (EVERy WCLA'I.w.>

f 1 . . . . . . J \ . ~ o i s t a n c e'di Arrayo ~ .... l " " "ANHDFroVl ngd Affiliate Organizations

to Merrber an. ment with. Ie al retainer agree

ANHD has entered Into a g u hey for a variety of l e ~ a l

I firm of Harris and McGa g d affi liat e houSingth e aW ' 1 ble to member anservices to be aval a

groups . VANHD as a former Ice-

Jim Harris, w e l l - k ~ o w nto mittee member as well as

President and Operations co.ms

keeping office hours at th ef Los Sure s, I I 5 p .m.

Administrator 0 Wednesday afternoon, from to ' thoutAssociation every d during those hours (WI .He may be seen or : e l e P h h O ; ~ l eappointments and meetings

. . ) and will sc ePrior notice . t t'lmesII onvenlen .at other mutua y c .

. d McGaughey ,firm. th e HarriS an

Neither Jim HarriS nor pecific cases for member orare prepared to taker ~ ; d i ~ i d u a l s .Th e services whiChlear:Iaffiliate groupS or fo d consult with groupS on g ffavailable are to a ? d V i S e t r a ~ n i n gand orientation to nSdtato

t proVI e to locate amatters, 0 s and to assist groupS unsel orpersonnel 9 f group h se matters where legal co

. h I wyers on t 0work Wit a ry or advisable.. ' s necess arepresentation I b

. with me m erun to conduct meetings 0 In

Ji m has alreadY beg d ' 11 be continuing to do s .I 'ssues an WI . ( t ANHD on

groupS on lega I hould contact him a Ith e meantime , all g r o u ~ s ~ i t htheir questions and prob em s

Wednesday afternoonsof a legal nature.

.LOS SURES ANDMXUUs HElGHfS

~ G H B o R I - K x : uIMPROVFMENr A5SOC1AnONONCE APPOrNlMENrOF NEW lXREcToRs

Best wishes to Wilfredo Var as a dB 'respective appointments as Ad

g. .n etty Terrell on their

~ ! : ~ ~ ~ ~ ; i O ~ ~Morris Heights ~ i ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ o ~~ ~ s p ~ ~ ~ : ~ : ~ ~

. ~ a r g a s ,a life-long resident of the Willi bIty, IS a founder of lo s SUres an d has ams urg commun-Directors until his recent a p P o i n t m e n ~ ~ r ; : d : e ~ I ' : :~ o a ~ dofstrong .c o m m u n i t ~background, he brings to his n : ; ~ gaprofessional experience in J'ob t . . Jobh . raining programs related t

ouslng - most recently with New York City' D 0of Employment. s epartment

for Terrell first ?ecame involved in Morris Heights, her home. t ~ epast SIX years, as a rent-strike leader in her

?Ulldlng . ~ h esubsequently took a leave of absence fro Own~ .b has ~ s l s t a n.t Higher Education Officer with th e B o a ~ d h ~ ;di'J v : l u n ~ ~ ~ ~ t l o nto co.ntinue her own education while sheand later for : ~ ~ k l ;f l ~ tas ~ norganizer for Met-Councila tenant organizer . , w e r e s e was subsequently hired as

W' IIWbe .are certain that both of these new to p staff persons

ring new talent and e h .to ANHD T nergy to t elr organizations and

. errell was elected last N bmember of ANHD' O . ovem er as an at-large

. . s peratlons Committee. We look for -ward to their active participation .

CfIY CDNTINUFS 1 0 STALLNEGOTIATIONS ON DFM)LIllON AND SEAL-UP

Community Groups Take FirstSteps To Sue

The community representatives on the New York CityDemolition and Sealing Task Force, wh o have been negotiating with officials of various city departments for well overa year to force th e city to adopt and implement proceduresthat .would en d th e wholesale demolition of sound buildings, have assumed,due to the lack of response on th e partof HDA Administrator Appleby to a final proposal submitted back in October, 1976, that a satisfactory negotiatedsettlement of th e dispute is highly unlikely

They plan to institute legal proceedings to enjoin HUDfrom providing Federal C. D. funds for the demolition ofbuildings until such time as the city conducts a full -scaleenvironmental review, as required by law. Communityrepresentatives have been led to believe that they have astrong legal case agai nst th e city .

If the community groups successfully litigate th e matter,the demolition pipeline would come to a screeching halt forat least a year or more and th e public would, in th emeantime, receive th e benefits of a full-scale public airingof all of the implications of th e city's past and proposed

demolition activities .

While patiently waiting fo r a response from Administrato r Appleby, community representatives have retained th elaw firm of Skadden, Arps , Slate, Meagher and Flom of 9193rd Avenue, New York, New York, through the efforts ofDan Kurtz, Esq. of New York lawyers for th e PublicInterest.

At press time, twelve organizations had agreed to beplaintiffs in th e case. Any individual or . organization concerned with the manner in which ou r housing stock is beingtorn down willy-nilly is invited to participate . Joining thesuit, either as a group or as an individual , will no t entail any

financial obligations . For more information, contact KathySanders at ANHD.


14/18

4 , .

LEITERG

by Robert Schur and Richard Zeitler

GARNISHEE One whose salary or wages are subjectedto garnishment, or who has money or property owed orbelonging to someone else against whom a third party holdsa court judgment .

GARNISHMENf A legal procedure by which one whoholds a money judgment issued by a court obtains an orderof the court directing the employer of th e person againstwhom th e judgment was issued to pay over a portion of thesalary or wage to th e holder of the judgment in order tosatisfy the judgment debt. In New York Sta te, garnishments

. :are limited to ten percent of the salary or wage in excess of$85.00 per week and are collected by a sheriff or marshll.

GENFRAL BUIlDING SCHEME (ex General B u i l ~Plan) A plan or program whereby an owner of a large tractof land divides it into building lots to be sold to separatepersons for separate occupancy by deeds which containuniform restrictive covenants (see de f . COVENANTS). Atypical example is where an 'owner of a city block dividesth e block into several lots, usually of more or less uniformsize and o 'ffers th e lots for sale by deeds which restrict thepurchasers from erecting anything except a single-familyhouse on each lot , General Building Schemes were quitecommon before th e introduction of zoning ordinances

' which now exist in most urban and even . n many ruralcommunities. They are now seldom used, although in manycases General Building Schemes adopted many years ago arestill effective today. (For example: as late as th e 1950's,courts were ruling that a General Building Scheme adoptedby th e original seller of building lots in the Lefferts Gardensarea of Brooklyn before the turn of the century was stilleffective to prevent occupancy of buildings in that area bymore than one fami ly - even though th e New York Cityzoning ordinance allowed two -family and even multi-familyoccupancy . )

GERRYMANDER A method of dividing a state or otherterritory into legally authorized divisions or districts (as

into districts for electing members of a legislature) in such away as to accomplish a sinister or improper purpose suchas, for instance, to secure a majority of votes for a politicalparty where the result would be o t h e r w i ~ eif districts weredivided along obvious or natural lines, or to divide schooldistricts in such a way as to insure that children Of o n ~race,religion or nationality will be brought within another

, district .

The term is der ived from an early 19th Century Governorof Massachusetts named Elbridge Gerry, who had the linesof a county of a state drawn to favor election of representatives from his political party. It is said that when anobserver looked at a map of the district he exclaimed that

resembled a salamander, to which a second observer replied

that "i t was no t a salamander bu t a gerry-mander."

GIFr Any voluntary transfer of real or other propertyfrom one person to another which is made gratuitously andwithout payment of money or other consideration.

GILT EDGE A term applied to bonds or other securities(including mortgages) implying that they are of th e soundest and best quality - most likely to be paid. Securities ofsuch a class are usually bought and sold either at or verynear their face value or at a premium above face value.

GOING VALUE (or Going Concern value) Applied toth e property, plant and equipment of a business. A valua

tion which arises no t only fro", the replacement cost of the 'land and physical improvements , bu t which also takesaccount of the previous labor, effort and expenditures inbuilding up th e business, acquiring good will and successfully adapting th e property to the intended use_

G(X)J) R E O ) R O 1l1LE A t itle to real property whichimports that the off icial records will show that th e presentowner has an unencumbered, fee simple title, free and clearof any valid liens, claims and encumbrances.

G(X)J) 1l1LE A title to real property which is, technically, one which a court would conclude is sufficientground for compelling a purchaser under a contract of sale

to accept and pay for without deduction from the agreedpurchase price. It is synonymous with "Clear Title," "Marketable Title" and "Merchantable Title" and means that theownership of the land is free from encumbrances, is not thesubject of any current or threatened litigation and has noobvious or serious doubts or defects.

G(X)J) WIlL The advantage (which may be expressed by a monetary value) which an established trade or businesshas acquired by reason of its location, continuance inbusiness, acceptance by the public and any other factorswhich add to its value, above the mere replacement cost ofits physical assets and its monetary capital.

GRACE PERIOD A period of time, usually expressed inthe contract or other document creating an obligation,beyond th e due date for payment or performance duringwhich th e party to whom the payment or performance isowed will accept it, or during which the payment orperformance will relieve th e obligor of a det'ault. GracePeriods are frequently expressed in insurance policies (suchas life insurance where payment of th e premium within

' thirty-one days after the due date will keep the p'olicy infull force and effect), and in mortgages (such as a clausestating that while the mortgagor must pay all real estatetaxes on the mortgaged property when due, paymentwithin a stated number of days after the payment date willa m o u n ~to proper performance by th e mortgagor).

Continued on ~ ,e;


15/18

LINGO (contin"ued)'

GRADE The rate of ascent or descent in land surface; anindication that a given parcel or area of land is not perfectlyflat, bu t contains changes or varieties in its elevation. Grade

is measured as a ratio of change in vertical elevation perunit of horizontal distance. It may be expressed as apercentage (e.g. a 10% grade indicates a change in elevationof one unit of distance for each te n units . of horizontaldistance); as a numerical ratio (e.g. 1:5 or I to 5, indicating achange in elevation of one unit of distance for each fiveunits of horizontal distance); or as a rise or fall of so many

units per unit of horizontal distance (e.g. 50 feet per mile).

GRANDFA1HER. CLAUSE Originally, a clause found inmany state constitutions or southern states which limitedth e right to vote to persons wh o could read and write orwho understood th e state constitution, or who were gainfully employed or owned property of at least a stated valuebu t which exempted persons wh o had served in th e Confederate Army during th e Civil War or their descendants fromsuch requirements. The intent and effect of these provisonswas to prevent most blacks from voting while no t affectingth e voting rights of the whites . Th e provisions were upheld .by th e United States Supreme Court in 1898 and again in1903. Since 1915 Grandfather Clauses have been held to

violate th e Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of theUnited States Constitution.

Today, th e term "Grandfather Clause" is f r ~ q u e n t l yused to describe laws which exempt persons wh o havepreviously been engaged in a business or used land from th eeffect of a newly-enacted law or regulation which restrictsor prohibits th e business or use. Thus, most zoning ordinances exempt pre-existing uses of land which do notconform to present requirements. Similarly, laws whichprohibit operating a bar or liquor store close to a school orhouse of worship may exempt establishments already inoperation when th e law is enacted, or which are in operatLon at th e time th e school or church is established.

GRANT A general, generic term, applicable .to all transfers of real property; any transfer of an estate or interest inland.

GRANTSMANSHIP The art of successfully applyingfor and obtaining grants, subsidies or contracts for research,experimentation or the funding of programs. It embracesth e skills in researching th e availability of such funds,preparinq appl ications and proposals and negotiatina withth e public or private ' agencies giving . or administering th egrants.

GRATI.JITY A "tip" or other payment given volunta rily,without legal obligation, as an expression of appreciation orreward for a service or favor . It is customary, for example,for title insurance companies to furnish an employee oragent of the company , called a title closer, to assist th eparties at the closing of a real estate transaction where th epurchaser or mortgagee is purchasing title insurance. Thecompany does no t make a charge for the services of th etitle closer, as such, bu t it is customary for th e party whorequests that a title closer be present to make a smallpayment or "Gratuity" to th e closer.

GREENLINING A term describing th e practice of lending institutions or fire insurance companies to approveapplications for mortgage or home improvement loans or

fire insurance on properties within a given geographic \lrea;freql,Jently used to describe a practice which is th e opposite 'of "Redlining."

GUARANTEE A party to whom a "Guaranty" is made.

GUARANIOR. One who makes a "Guaranty."

GUARANIY A promise to answer for the payment of adebt, or th e performance of a legal or contractual duty in

case of th e failure of another person who, in th e firstinstance, is liable to make th e payment or performance .One who makes or gives a "Guaranty" therefore, assures acreditor or person to whom a payment or performance isdue, by another , that if that other fails to payor perform,the payment or performance w ill be made.

GUARDIAN A person wh o legally has th e duty oftaking care of or managing the property and affairs ofanother who is legally incapable of doing so by reason ofbeing a minor or a mental incompetent. "Guardians" maybe designated in wills made by parents to manage th eproperty or look after th e personal well-being of theirchildren in th e event th e parent or parents die while th e

children are still under legal age ; or by a court to managethe property of persons adjudged to be mentally incompetent (in New York State a person so designated is called a"Committee") or to ac t on behalf of infants in lawsuitswhere th e law does not permit them to institute or defendsuch suits on their own behalf, such a Guardian being calleda "Guardian ad litem ."

GUEST The legal term for one who stays at a hotel orinn, with consent of th e keeper, for an unspecified periodof time and who pays for th e privilege while remainingthere. A "Guest" is thus distinguished from a "Tenant" or a"Boarder" by the fact that th e latter categories of personsacquire th e rights to occupy real property for a definitespecified period of time .

"Guests" are also subject to special provisions of law asdistinguished from other kinds of occupants of real estate.Thus, one who provides lodging to a Guest is automatically 'responsible for th e safekeeping of the personal propertythat the Guest brings into th e lodging . Also, where a Guestfails to pay th e charge for th e lodging, th e hotel Ninnkeeper is entitled to seize th e Guest's personal belongings and to hold them until th e bill is paid.

GUIDELINES General statements of policy without th einclusion of specific details . The word also denotes a typeof city planning in which th e planning authority lays downa set or series of general pr inciples to which privatedevelopers must conform. Usually, th e planning authority'reserves to itself th e power to decide, in specific cases,whether th e subsequent plans of developers conform to its"Guidelines;" the latter are interpreted by th e authority inrelation to specific proposals for development.

(Editor's Note: This is the seventh installment of"L lNGO" which appears in alphabetical order as a regular "-

feature o f "CITY LLIMITS . " Subsequent issues will con-tinue Lingo through the rest o f the alphabet. By cutting ou tan d preserving each installment , yo u can create a completedictionary o f words and phrases used in the housing anddevelopment field.

If YQU missed any earlier installments , write or telephone us .and lIVe will be pleased to furnish them to you.)-


16/18

6 Schenectady Rent St r ike (continued)4. Formation of a joint tenant /manag ement grievance committee to set priorities for maintenance activities .

5 . Immediate repairs to rent-strikers' apartments , eachtenant to select three items most in need of repair.

6. Tenant associations to get free office space in eachproject .

7. Replace present month-to-month leases with leases ~ o ranentire year, such leases to contain a fixed rent and otherterms less onerous to tenants.

8. Housing Authority to begin modernization programimmediately - for which it had allocations of 1st and 2ndYear Community Development funds.

9 . No rent increase. Instead , Housing Authority shouldpetition th e state for an increased operating subsidy .

10. Public hearings, based on a budget submitted to thepublic, before any fut ure rent increases are imposed.

VICTORY AT LAST

After many lengthy sessions, the tenants have finallyachieved substantial victory. Most of their 'demands have been agreed to; some of the others are still being discussed.But what is most significant is that this is th e first time inNew York State that tenants of public housing projectshave succeeded in withholding rent (some $50,000 worth inall) and in forcing substantial concessions from th e publicauthority. It is also the first time in th e history of the statethat a negotiated lease is governing th e rights and duties ofthe tenants and a public housing authority. From now on,th e tenants' organizations will be th e official bargainingagents for project residents; they will participate in hiringand firing of personnel, tenant selection and grievances;there will be public hearings before further rent increasesare pu t into effect and tenants will see th e housingauthority budgets, and they will receive annual, negotiatedleases.

Meanwhile, the striker's apartments are getting theirrepairs and the modernizati on program has begun with newsinks in a'll apartments.

A milestone in the often sordid history of public housingin the State of New York has indeed been achieved by th eunited efforts of two tenant organizations in th e City ofSchenectady.

PORTRAIT OF A TENANT LEADER

Muchof the

leadership and inspiration for thiseffort

hasbeen furnished by a quiet bu t combative mother, wh odoubles as a community worker in her adopted city on th eMohawk. Laurie Holland, who grew up in Brooklyn, movedinto Yates Village six years ago. She was soon approachedby the tenant organization which was struggling to findleadership in th e project . Laurie soon found herself electedsecretary and a year later president of the Yates VillageTenants Association.

For th e past three years, Laurie has been working forPeoples Advisory Services of Schenectady - an advocacyorganization primarily concerned with welfare and housingproblems of th e city's low -income residents. When theconfrontation with th e MH A became imminent, Lauriefound herself in th e thick of the fray. She prevailed on heragency to give her time to work on the rent strike andfurnished her expertise and leadership through all th e longmonths of organizing, demonstrating and negotiating .laurie also coordinated th e legal assistance . which th etenants needed and through th e membership of PeoplesAdvisory Services in th e New York State Tenants Coalition,she got Michael McKee, Chairperson of th e Coalition, and aveteran tenant leader in New York City, to come toSchenectady where he conducted rent-strike workshopswith public housing tenant representatives.

Laurie feels that what has happened so far in Schenectady is only th e beginning. "We've still got to figure ou t ourshort- an d long-range objectives. But one thing seemscertain : when tenants get involved in management and getmore apartments fixed up, then we'll have really accomplished something."

In our opinion, Laurie is far to o modest . She and herfellow tenants have already accomplished a near-.mir.teleand have broken new ground for tenant groups all overthe state to follow.-

Robert Schur


17/18

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Documents

City Limits Magazine, January 1977 Issue