City Limits Magazine, September 1978 Issue

8/3/2019 City Limits Magazine, September 1978 Issue

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CITYLIMITSCOMMUNITY HOUSING NEWSSEPTEMBER 1978 VOL. 3 No.7CITY'S AUCTION SALESGOING, GOING, GONE?

Oliver Wendell Holmes:Profile of an Organizer

by Susan BaldWinTo most people, it was a normal

h o t ~ slow summer day at City Hall,workers strolling in the shadows ofthe municipal building, chatting andenjoying their luncheon break.Other citizens who had made thetrip to this part of town did not findthe atmosphere as much to theirliking.

They were headed to the monthlyauction of city-owned (In Rem)properties at No. 1 Police Plaza,finding themselves running thegauntlet of several dozen angry citizens outside on the bricks whowere picketing the place and chant


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A UeT/ON continuedsimple sale of "shipwrecked" property to the salvagers.Why the new restrictions? It's because, despite theauctions, the city is fast becoming the nation's numberone slum landlord, foreclosing an ever-increasingnumber of properties, many of which have seen theauction block before.Whereas in the past a- delinquent landlord had threeyears to pay real estate taxes, now after one year, undera City Council ordinance, his holdings are seized fornonpayment of the taxes. Problem buildings become thecity's problem that much sooner.

"There are a number of problems with the city'sauction process, and they cannot be blamed on abuse byspeculators," James Meyer, legislative aide toCouncilman Stanley Michels (D-Man.) and a member ofthe Task Force on City-Owned Property, said recently.

"No matter how many restrictions the city puts on itsauction policy, it still has and will continue to have thewrong attitude about disposing of its property. The cityis acting as a real estate broker, and that's the attitudethat has proven to be wrong . . . In the long run the citymay be losing money, properties, and neighborhoods byfollowing these same old blind procedures and fallinginto the same old traps.

"Anyone with any savvy knows that they are allowingthemselves to be deceived if they claim auctions putproperties back on the tax rolls," Meyer continued."The reality is that this just does not occur, and figuresto support this position were worked up in [formerDeputy Mayor John] Zuccotti's secret report. Anybodywho is knowledgeable knows that this is not true. In thelong run, everybody loses. The neighborhoods decay,more properties decay and come back into the city'shands, costing the city more money."In a management audit of the old Department of RealEstate circulated confidentially in January, 1977,

pointed out that the city has no control over vacantbuildings being bought by speculators who can chargehigh rents for cheap repairs or can keep these buildingsvacant for future profit.Under the city's interim guidelines for disposing of In

Rem property-guidelines which critics claim only go"halfway towards meeting the urgent problem ofhousing abandonment and neighborhood deterioration" - a l l city-owned properties in designatedcommunity board districts in Manhattan (CB's 3,9, 10,11, and 12), the Bronx (CB's 1-6), and Brooklyn, (CB's3,4,5,8, and 16) will be barred indefinitely from sale atpublic auction.

In addition, other multi-family residential In Remproperties within certain restricted areas will beremoved from the auction list unless their sale has beenapproved by the Department of Housing Preservationand Devefopment (HPD) or by the City Planning Commission. In the restricted areas, however, the sale ofone- and two-family homes will be allowed so long asthe owner-occupant agrees to live in the building for fiveyears.According to Eli Rabineau, director of the planningcommission's division of public facilities, theseguidelines are currently being implemented by the commission, but no formal vote has been taken for theiradoption as city policy.The last and decisive word on the efficacy andpropriety of placing properties on the monthly auctioncalendar is spoken by the Board of Estimate. Thisboard, comprising the three city-wide elected officialsand the five borough presidents, is empowered toremove properties from the auction block by a simplemajority vote.Board of Estimate members differ in their views ofthe city's current ambiguous auction policy.


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Members of the Ad Hoc Committee to Stop the Auctions provide street theatre for passers-by and potential bidders at the city's auction oftax-foreclosed properties.Marino went on. "I am hoping with HPD in charge ofthe In Rem properties that a holding policy will bedeveloped for the vacant properties and that occupiedbuildings will be considered for the communitymanagement program," he concluded.Opposing this view, Bronx Borough President RobertAbrams "has said on a number of occasions that thecity should not be in the landlord business and that theproperties should be sold as soon as possible," assertedRobert Castellanete, Abram's assistant.According to Castellanete, Abrams supports theconcept of 30 or 40 families living in a buildingincorporating as a not-for-profit housing company in aneffort to form a cooperative that would qualify for rehabilitation loan programs through HUD or the City ofNew York.

"But," he was quick to add, "it costs a lot of money

ment. "I support putting a hold on sales of these properties for at least a couple of months while we will betalking to the community boards to find out which ofthese buildings can be slated for our programs,"Raymond said."W e will do this before we feed properties to DRPfor auction . . . I am not supporting the moratorium on

auctions," Raymond declared. "When you have 6,000occupied buildings to take care of , you can't keep themin the public domain."A City Council resolution calling for a moratoriumon all auction sales until January, 1979, was introducedlast April by Councilman Michels and co-sponsored bya number of Council members who also sit on the TaskForce on City-Owned Property. Resolution 207 is stillburied in committee in the Council. Michels haspetitioned for the bill to come to the floor and has


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GOMEZ RELOCATED:REPLACEMENT SETby Susan Baldwin

Aramis Gomez, embattled assistant commissioner ofrelocation in the Department of Housing Preservationand Development (HPD), was dismissed this monthfrom his post after almost five years of service scarredby bitter confrontations with community groupsfighting the tide of urban "removal."

During these years, tenant - advocate communitygroups have never missed an opportunity to seek thecommissioner's removal from office whenever there hasbeen a change of leadership at City Hall or at the city'shousing agency."There is nothing further to say about this," Gomezsaid, noting that "things are changing" and that

"probably community pressure and political pressure"played some part in his dismissal."I have no remorse, and I feel nothing against them,"he was quick to add. "While 1 was here, I was onlycarrying out the policies for the mayor of the City ofNew York . . . I am very proud of the fact that I was thecommissioner with the longest tenure in this office."The erratic quality of his administration evidenced bythe unevenly applied rules, regulations, and rent policiesfor urban renewal site tenants drew frequent criticismfrom tenants and community groups alike, but Gomez

appeared to thrive on controversy. Self-assured andstraightforward in conversation, he nonetheless oftenappeared to hide behind subordinates when pressed form e e ~ i n g s by community leaders seeking explanations for

Aramis Gomezstill HDA . . . . Beame came in Jan 2, 1974,1 was swornin the same day, and I stayed here through the reorganization under [Administrator Thomas J.] Applebyand [Acting Commissioner Sander] Lehrer . . . And Ithink Commissioner [Nathan] Leventhal has been fairwith me."Asked to comment on his career at HDA and HPD,Gomez said, "I think we accomplished a lot, and this iswhy I am not mad. I think I did a very good job." He

r


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difficult housing matters and his ability within the f i ~ s t two years of his service under Mayor Beame to raisemore than $500,000 for the city's treasury from thecollection of rents from the urban renewal sites. Heemphasized that this was accomplished despite the lossof more than 50 per cent of his staff as a result of thecity's financial crunch in 1975.Since Gomez came to the agency in 1974, the powersof the office of relocation have diminished consider-ably. . .When he first came to HDA, the city was stlllembarked on a program of new construction anddevelopment and, as a result, was very much involved inclearing sites for new construction. . . .I t was during this phase that Gomez and hiS adrrumstration first became embroiled in bitter arguments withtenacious tenants-and the community groups thatsupport them-who were not about to be removed fromtheir homes to make way for future housing plans thatdid not include them.One such community fighter is Frances Goldin of theCooper Square Community Development C o m m i t ~ e e and Businessmen's Association, a Lower East SideProject Area Committee (PAC) that monitor's severalneighborhood urban renewal "holding" sites whereabout 150 title-vested tenants still remain.Earlier this year, when the community groups werepressuring Mayor Edward I. Koch for Gomez'sremoval, Goldin said of the self-professed landlord andmarshal "Gomez and his policies have to be treated asa t o t a l i t ~ , and the aim of this totality is to destroy nei.gh-borhoods. We fight and we continue to fight agamsthim and all his ilk because if they had their way, thesecommunities that we live in and call home would havebeen wiped out a long time ago.

Manuel Mirabal

Commenting on Gomez's tenure as relocation commissioner, Rosenblum said, "As you know we hadmany problems with him, and I can't say that I amunhappy about his going . . . But, I am also n ~ t surprised. When I heard several months ago about hiSdemotion and paycut, I thought it would be soon."During Leventhal's major reorganization of HP D lastspring, Gomez was dropped from deputy c o m m i s s i ~ n e r of relocation to assistant commissioner, and orgamzational changes were made within that department, themost notable being the removal of management andmaintenance responsibilities for city-owned buildingsfrom the relocation division to the newly created Officeof Property Management headed by DeputyCommissioner Charles Raymond.

"A number of Gomez' s problems became worse whenhe tried to raise the rents on the urban renewal sites upto $22.50 per month," Rosenblum explained. "Peoplejust thought that was too much and fought it hard butlost in court. What's strange is that we still haven't beenbilled for it [the rent increase], but I guess somethingwill have to be done."


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Preparing for the solar wall. On the scaffolding are Ted Finch of ETF,designer of the project, and Freddie Cadrera CUANDO supervisor.Photo by Jane Wholey.

Solar WallOn the Lower East Side, a large pane of fiberglass isbeing bolted to the south wall of an abandoned buildingthat has been taken over by a youth service organizationcalled Cuando (Cultural Understanding and Neighborhood Development Organization).The "solar wall heater", combined with thermalshutters, will warm a third floor gymnasium, which

hundreds of youths have used for the past four yearswithout any heat. The building is at 9 Second Ave.The wall heater is a passive solar system whichcollects and radiates heat without the assistance of

ing center to transform 50 tons of waste per day into .humus. The enriched soil is given free to othercommunity organizations for creation of gardens andparks.The windmill, expected to be operational in

November, will generate enough electricity to empowereight blowers to aerate the compost piles, heat and coola construction trailer and run drying ovens, typewritersand lights. Surplus electricity will be fed back toConsolidated Edison and credited to Bronx Frontier'saccount.The windmill was paid for by a $34,000 grant fromthe federal Community Services Administration. I t isexpected to achieve a first year savings of $4,500 andpay for itself in less than 10 years, according to theEnergy Task Force.The two-year old Bronx Frontier Development Corp.was co-founded by Irma Fleck, an amateur gardenerwith 30 years of organizing experience in thecommunity, and Jack Flanagan, who is on leave ofabsence from the New York City Police Department.

ETF is a federally funded organization of architects,engineers and educators providing technical assistanceto low income community groups with alternativeenergy projects. D

Peoples Housing Network has announced the beginning of its Fall School for Organizers. For the first time,the School will be held in upstate New York as well asNew York City.Ten classes will be offered weeknights at 6 pm inManhattan, beginning Thursday, September 21. Fiveclasses will be offered in Albany and Schenectady onSaturdays and Thursday evenings; the first of these willbe October 14.The School for Organizers is designed to train staff


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UHAB SET TO TEACHIN REM MANAGEMENT

HPD recently launched the Tenant Interim Lease(TIL) program in an effort to create a legal managementoption . for the tenants living in tax-foreclosed, cityowned (In Rem) buildings around the city.With the expectation that many tenant groupsapplying for an interim lease will have little or no priorself-management experience, HPD is requiring thateach interested group take a management trainingcourse during the first month of the lease.Under a $141,000 contract with the city, the UrbanHomesteading Assistance Board will offer the firstcourse early in October, covering building management,record keeping and accounting. The accountingmanuals for the course will be available to any tenantorganization.The course will be followed up with visits to tenantmanaged projects to provide further training andtechnical assistance.With the completion of the first round of vesting ofbetween 8,000 and 10,000 In Rem buildings inManhattan and the Bronx, the city expects the Brooklynvesting will most likely contribute an additional 10,000properties to the ever growing list by the end of the year.Up to 250 city-o.wned, tenant-occupied buildings willbe admitted into the TIL during the program year whichbegan September 1.After a period of proven management capability,tenant groups can enter into negotiations with HPD toobtain a long term lease agreement with an option topurchase t h ~ building.In the event that the residents of a building have notorganized as a tenant association or are not sure if their

out in a series of payments over a period of up to sixyears. This particular arrangement offers the landlordthe opportunity to redeem the property if he is soinclined. During this ll-month period, it is crucial thatthe tenant group or its representatives monitor allinformation recorded about the building so as to findout as soon as possible if a 15B agreement has beensigned.I f your information search reveals that the building inquestion is In Rem or title-vested, inform the tenantbody in your building and move to organize as a tenantorganization. (By this point your landlord has obviouslylost interest in the building and your organization will

be crucial to a return of vital services in the building).Each building provides its own unique problems.Once the tenant body is organized, get in touch withyour neighborhood tenant association to get assistancein forming a unified building strategy.A minimum of 60 per cent of all tenants in yourbuilding must sign a petition expressing the desire toenter into the TIL program.If tenant groups are interested in the TIL program,

they should telephone William Smith, head of HPD'sDirect Sales program, at 566-6975, or write to him atHPD, Room 8160, 100 Gold St., New York, N.Y.10038. D

NEIGHBORHOOD JOBSFOR EX-OFFENDERSA $1.5 million program to provide part-time employment for 400 ex-offenders in neighborhood service


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CETAJOBSPROGRAMFACESMAJOR GOVERNMENT REVAMPING

by ~ r n a r d CohenThe wheels are turning for a new round of public non-profits had opposed.service employment jobs in New York City amid strong Although the entire CETA program came under criti-signals from Congress that sharp limits may be placed cism, the sharpest arrows were aimed at Title VI publicon the size and nature of this valuable but not-so-popu- service employment, designed originally as a counter-lar and politically vulnerable program. cyclical measure to rapidly absorb those people whoLegal notice soliciting proposals for CETA (Com pre- were thrown out of work temporarily during a down-hensive Employment and Training Act) Title VI swing in the economy, and to phase down once theprojects in 1979 appeared on Sept. 7. The deadline for unemployment level dropped.submitting applications to the city's Department of Many believe that growing resistance to governmentEmployment was set for Sept. 29. spending-the so-called "Proposition 13" mentality-With existing contracts expiring between December is fueling the opposition to the program. CETA wasand March, New York City was expecting approxi- initiated in 1973 when national unemployment was atmately 11,000 CETA VI public service employment jobs 4.5 per cent. As the economy slid into a recession andfor next year. Of these, 3,700 to 4,000 would go to unemployment nearly doubled, CETA was greatlycommunity-based organizations and other non-profit expanded in 1976 to meet the demand for a largersponsors whose programs in housing, health, human government role in the creation of jobs. The federalservices and other fields serve needs beyond what the budget for CETA has risen from $1.5 billion in 1974 tocity is financially capable of providing for. $10 billion in 1978, and $11 billion was proposed forHowever, turmoil in Washington over renewal of the 1979. A major contr ibutor to the expansion was the riseCETA program for four more years has made it impos- in public service employment (PSE) jobs from 200,000sible to be certain about projections. While Congress is ($440 million) to 725,000 ($6.2 billion) over thatnot yet finished with the CETA legislation, the House of period.Representatives has already acted to cut tens of thous- "There is a feeling that the [Title VI] program oughtands of jobs from Title VI, lower the wage levels and to be wound down, tha t projects that are not efficaciouslimit the length of time individuals can stay in the should be dropped," an aide to Sen. Jacob Javits whoprogram. has followed the CETA debate closely said. " I t was

Criticism of CETA was so strong during debate in the intended to be a temporary employment program."House last August that sponsors of the legislation took The tenor of the debate in the House indicated hostil-the unusual step of pulling the bill of f the floor to avoid ity toward public service employment on the part ofany further erosion of the program. many members.


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new jobs, a glorified revenue sharing process known assubstitution.New York City, for example, used CETA VI funds torehire 3,076 municipal workers in 1977-78, according tothe Employment and Training Planning Council, a cityadvisory body.Defenders of PSE say it is a very important tool formeeting the nation's commitment to full employmentand that many areas of the count ry are still reeling fromthe loss of large numbers of jobs (New York City had 10per cent unemployment in 1977 and 8.8 per cent lastJuly); that publicity over a relatively few abuses farexceeded their r ~ a l significance; that the program hasbeen reformed to better target jobs to those most inneed and to curtail misuse,and that further restrictionswill only cripple it.Some supporters say that Congress itself is largely toblame for the abuses that have occurred (the one mostoften cited was the use of CETA funds for a nudesculpting program in Miami) by pushing through arapid buildup of the young jobs program without alsoinstituting the necessary management controls.

"While PSE has been the most abused area in CETA,it has provided thousands of Americans with workexperience and jo b history, while at the same timeproviding valuable services to many communities," saidRep. Harold C. Hollenbeck, R-N.J., said during theHouse debate.More recently, an aide to Rep. Ted Weiss, D-N.Y.,who argued that reducing CETA salary levels wouldhave the effect of disqualifying all but the most menialjobs from the program, pointed out that New YorkCity lost hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobssince 1970 and added, "This program has to operate inthe real world."By the time the CETA re-authorizat ion bill was with

head of the CETA Project at the Center for CommunityChange in Washington. " I t will be a farce to talk aboutcreating meaningful jobs that will lead to jobs in theprivate sector," she said. " I t is unrealistic to think youwill have a quality program."The Senate has approved a CETA re- authorization billthat would allow a $15,000 maximum salary throughupward adjustment and supplementation and would setthe average at $7,800. However, the bill would limitparticipation to one year.The final shape of the program awaits further actionby the House, followed by a conference committee towork out differences in the bills. Final approval beforethe September 30 expiration of CETA is considered

doubtful. The alternatives appear to be a continuingesolution that would fund programs at the currentevels or a supplemental appropriation.New York City has been told to submit a three-monthplan to DOL to carry through the first quarter of thefederal fiscal year.Laurel Eisner, a spokeswoman for the city's coalition

of CETA VI non-profit sponsors, said a drop in available jobs "would have a terrible impact on the voluntary sector," adding that "we could effectively use10,000 jobs."

According to the Employment and Training PlanningCouncil, non-profit organizations applied for 27,672CETA VI positions on 1,632 projects in 1977. Of these,approximately 4,900 jobs were funded.In addition to the possible loss of jobs, non-profitsponsors are very concerned about DOE's decision togive outside city agencies veto power over proposedprojects.


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NPA DELEGATION,HUD CHIEF CONFERIt took National People's Action a year and severalmonths to get a meeting with HUD Secretary PatriciaRoberts Harris. When the encounter finally took placeon August 16, the most powerful government housingofficial in the nation made a number of concessionswhich left NPA leaders mildly hopeful.Specific agreements were reached, after hours ofdiscussion, regarding the Community Developmentblock grant program, Urban Development ActionGrants and other HUD programs.The meeting resulted from a June 5 sit-in by 200housing activists who occupied the Secretary's Washing

ton D.C. office.NPA is an alliance of neighborhood groups primarily

from the Midwest and Eastern seaboard states and isbased in Chicago.At this first meeting, Harris agreed to establish a task force comprising HUD officials, NPA representatives

and local government officials to evaluate HUD'smonitoring of the community development program.This concession came after Harris insisted that herregional and area staff members are doing a good job ofmonitoring, with neighborhood leaders from 12 easternand midwestern cities countering with examples oflaxity and malfeasance by these offices."She kept saying that Congress had not given her theauthority to do what the groups wanted her to do," saidDave Duncan of Binghamton, who attended themeeting as a representative of the New York State

Tenant and Neighborhood Coalition. "She kept sayingthat she wanted the same things that we did but shedidn't have the staff to do the monitoring."

Ed Gorman of Binghamton's West Side Neighborhood Organization said of the encounter, "We're notinterested in what she says or thinks. It's what she doesthat's important. This money could do for the urbancommunity what the Marshall Plan did for Europe afterthe War, and it' s a crime what the city is using it for."

The Secretary also agreed to provide technical assistance to neighborhood organizations seeking help withdeveloping UDAG proposals and to negotiate the definition of "neighborhood projects."NPA and others have criticized HUD for spending

too much UDAG money on industrial development andcommercial revitalization at the expense of projects tobenefit neighborhoods.In addition,Harris agreed to reopen more than 50,000claims from persons who bought defective FHA-insured homes between 1968 and 1976. HUD will workwith NPA to develop a plan to aid these homeownerswho face foreclosure on their FHA-insured properties.

NPA anticipates additional meetings with Harris.Peoples Housing Network of New York State is coordinating the upcoming meeting which will deal with suchtenant issues as public housing, subsidized housing, andHUD's pre-emption of local rent controls. For moreinformation, write to Peoples Housing Network, 115East 23rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10010, or telephone212-533-5650. 0 .


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7-ALAWGIVESTENANTSA WAYTO SEIZE A BUILDING-LEGALLYby Margaret GillermanPart II of a two-part series

Gathered in the doorway of 92 St. Nicholas Ave. are: front, left to right, Alex Franklin, Elizabeth Lemon (STRESS), Florence Fauntleroy,


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would not bring in enough income to cover upkeep oremergencies, she said. But the tenants would later proveher wrong by providing basic maintenance with significantly less than the complete rent roll.By the time Altman's letter arrived, Mrs. Batey andsome of the other tenants already were considering arent strike. They didn't think they should be paying forservices they were not receiving. Mrs. Batey said thetenants could run the building better themselves.But as soon as Altman notified the tenants he wasleaving, problems began. The tenants in 4B were soangry they dismantled water pipes, turned faucets onfull blast, and flooded the building from the fourthfloor to the first.A second problem came from Consolidated Edison inthe form of a letter in early October: "Your landlordhas not paid Consolidated Edison. We will have to turnoff service unless payment of $9,549 for utility serviceand a deposit of $420 is received."The next day Mrs. Batey and three friends marcheddown to Con Edison with $1,000 they had collectedfrom tenants and managed to win a temporary delay.But, the lights went out one night anyway, and in acandlelight session the tenants decided to seek help fortheir many problems. They went to STRESS Comprehensive Housing Service, a HARYOU-ACT delegateAgency on West 116th Street in Harlem.STRESS workers searched through city records forbuilding violations at 92 and inspected each apartment.They found exposed electric wires, raw sewage, rats, abroken boiler and gaping holes in the floors of tenapartments. The findings were conclusive: 92 st .Nicholas Ave. was in an illegal, life-threatening state ofdisrepair. The estimated cost of bringing the building upto code standards exceeded $36,000.By the end of October, 1976, 22 of the 32 tenants were

Between October and March, expenses totaled$6,548. During those months the Tenants Committeecollected $9,460 in rents. Rental income should havebeen $4,492 each month. Rent in arrears by Marchtotaled $25,437, including what was owed to Altman."A lot of tenants wouldn't pay at first because theysaid it was illegal, which it was in a way, and that weweren 't bonded to collect the rents, which we weren't,"Mrs. Batey said. "Some would say, 'You're not thelandlord. What gives you the right to take my money?'"So I say, 'T o be real frank, you're not paying rentbecause you never pay rent to nobody .' . . . we just tookwhat we could get and spent it wherever it was needed."Of the 30 to 32 tenants, an average of 16 or 17 paid

rents each month.Florence Fauntleroy, another longtime tenant, saidshe "figured we could put all our rents together and usethat for repairs and everything would be just fine. But itwasn't that way. It was one of them very cold, coldwinters." And winter came early.Pipes burst, the roof leaked and icy water flooded thebuilding. Inside, water pressure was so low that waterhardly ever reached the upper floors. Some days tenantshad to bundle up and walk to a nearby fire hydrant tocollect water in pails.

Heat was off and on from September throughNovember. Finally, the tenants went to the city'sEmergency Repair Program for assistance. To insurecontinuous heating after that, the Tenants Committeesigned a contract with the city for oil deliveries.Blit the contract gave no assurances the boiler wouldcontinue working-and it didn't. Mrs. Bateyremembered. "Oh, there would be those nights, andwe'd hear the wind and see the icicles hanging of f theroofs across the street, and then the boiler would break.And I was always afraid the older ones, the sick ones,


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HOLMES continued"All we're interested in doing is getting this buildingfunctioning. You are the victims of this man's greedbecause you have given this man your money, and yourchildren are falling out of windows or freezing inwinter. Your money will bring safety and heat in thewinter, and right now it's not."We can do anything we want to as long as we'retogether as far as this building and getting things doneare concerned."Oliver Wendell Holmes is a housing organizer. Hewas named for the 19th Century physician and writer

and father of the famous Supreme Court justice becauseof his mother's interest in literature. At age 53, aftermany years as an insurance salesman and a hospitaltherapist, Holmes has found a new profession, and hehas immersed himself in it.He spends his days and many of his nights talking likethis to tenants who are so despairing about their livingconditions that they think they are ready to bypass theirlandlords and begin their own action to improve theirsurroundings.That, of course, is a major decision. Most residents ofpoor neighborhoods know little about their rights astenants and have well-founded fears about beingevicted. They don't understand their own power todemand services from their landlord. They don't knowthey can collect the rent themselves and open a bankaccount. They don't know they can pay to have the roofrepaired or an intercom installed. They don't knowmuch about going to court.Holmes is attending the meeting at 1239 Boston Roadat the request of the tenants. Seven of the building'S 18occupied apartments are represented. The tenant in an

ganization or tenants fail to carry out agreed uponplans. "We will not go to court until all the back rentsare paid," he told one group of tenants recently.Holmes says his job is to capture the frustration thatinfects all the tenants as individuals and convert it into aconstructive mass energy that can be used to restorebadly deteriorated housing into habitable shelter.At the same time, he stresses, it is essential that hemaintain his identity as an organizer. His objective is tohelp tenants develop their own leadership so they do notbecome dependent on him. I t is a somewhat shadowyrole, more akin perhaps to a steering wheel than to amotor."I'm not there to hold their hands. I make them doeverything that needs to be done. I stand back and letthem carry the ball. I f they don't do what is needed, itwon't get done. I can help them get essential services,but primarily it has to come from them."One of the things Holmes says when he goes into abuilding is, "I don't have to be here. I f I am madderthan you, I have no right to be here at all."Holmes is one of three housing organizers withthe Alpha Housing Corp. in the Melrose - Morrisaniasection of the South Bronx. They were hired last Marchunder the Comprehensive Employment and TrainingAct (CETA) program and work from an office in St.Augustine Church.Most of Holmes's days are taken up with visitingbuildings, contacting city agencies about problems,receiving tenants who come into the office and fillingout paperwork. Most of his evenings are spent meetingwith tenant groups in various stages of development.Tenant leaders frequently call him at home at night toask his advice on pressing matters.Typical of the buildings he is working in are 615 East


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building had been taken over by the city for nonpayment of $44,000 in real estate taxes over four years.He said the tenants have been able to make someimprovements but that internal dissension over suchthings as paying rent to their association and repairpriorities interferes with their effectiveness. "They are agood group, but not as good as they could be," he said.At 1239 Boston Road, tenants are still in theformative stages of organizing. Here too there was verylittle heat last winter and the roof leaks. There is nofront door or intercom. There has been a series ofburglaries in the building and tenants are very worried

about security. The window frames in many apartmentsare rotting and the fuse box in Mrs. Cousins 's apar tmentis a fire hazard. A number of mailboxes are broken. Thesuperintendent has another job and is not availableduring the day.The owner, Aron Taylor, is rarely seen, except whenthe rent is due. "He has an uncanny way of remembering rent dates," says Genevieve Scott, a longtime tenanton the first floor.Holmes reminds the tenants that cold weather is on itsway and that they must sign up as many of theirneighbors as they can for the association. He tells themthey must select a leader, and they choose Mrs . Cousins.They schedule another meeting for the following week.Alpha Housing Corp.'s three housing organizers areworking in about 15 buildings in a 35-block area ofrundown housing in the South Bronx. To get started,they distributed leaflets to apartment buildings andlocal organizations. As a result, Alpha received manyinquiries,and tenants began coming to the office to findout more. Often their stories were similar, said Holmes,quoting the tenants: "I have a problem. My landlord isruining the building. The roof leaks. The whole place isrundown."

transactions with the landlord should be confirmed inwriting.Sometimes a landlord will steer clear of the tenantsassociation, but sometimes he or she will try to sabotageit with a number of devices, according to Holmes. Oneother problem is how to maintain the enthusiasm andthe momentum of the tenants association after somecritical problems are addressed and a certaincontentment sets in. " I t has to be continual, not heretoday and gone tomorrow," Holmes says. A landlordwho makes a few selective repairs is only "handing thema crumb and taking it back."A common question for Holmes is how a tenantsassociation made up of one-third to one-half of thetenants can shoulder the responsibility for running thebuilding. Asked that question by the tenants at 615recently, Holmes replied that while they should berecruiting more members, they had little choice but tostick together and persevere. "You are not going tomove downtown to 59th Street. If you've lived here for30 years, you've paid for the damn building by now."As an organizer, Holmes is frequently a soundingboard for the anger of tenants who intensely dislike howthey have to live. It is nothing personal, as therepresentative view of one tenant at 615 will attest."H e is helping us an awful lot," said Betty Young,who has lived in the building for 35 years. "He is veryinterested in us.He comes to our meetings and gives usinformation and advice. Other than that" we wouldn'tknow which way to go."Holmes says he loves his job. Beyond his interest inmeeting people, Holmes takes special pleasure from

serving this particular constituency. "I've had manyjobs, but I've never had anything with my own people.I've never known the feeling of teaching my own, andit's one hell of a feeling." D


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HUD QUESTIONSIN REM CD FUNDS'HUD has given conditional approval to the city's

$41.1 million plan to manage and repair tax-foreclosedbuildings despite questions over whether this use ofCommuni ty Development funds met federal guidelines.HP D officials were fearful that the centerpiece oftheir plan to treat the growing number of In Rem buildings would be upset by a negative ruling, but on August

30 HUD approved it as a special, emergency use of CDfunds.Under the special regulations of the interim assistanceor emergency category of the CD regulations, however,the city must comply with the following conditions:(1) The city must submit a draft plan no later than sixmonths from the grant approval date specifying itsplans for assuming the maintenance and management ofthese city-owned properties without the help of CDfunds within a 12-month period. HUD also requires thatthe city submit a draft plan for the disposition of theseIn Rem buildings" over a reasonable period of time. "(2) The city must use non-CD funds to "reduce theCommunity Development-funded portion of maintenance and management costs this year. "(3) The Mayor must submit a letter to HUD within 45days of the grant approval date confirming that anemergency housing condition exists in New York City.There can be no expenditure of CD funds until HUDreceives this letter.According to Frank Torres, program manager atHUD's area office, CD monies would not normally beavailable to fund this emergency maintenance andrepair program because it does not qualify as rehabilitation under the federal regulations.

self-management was legal. More came to meetings andmore started paying rent. Rental income in Aprilreached a record high of $5,371, including some backrents. Expenditures were nearly $4,000.The tenants placed a $13,500 bond to assure the courtof Mrs. Batey's integrity and took out fire and liabilityinsurance. Then, they began their court-ordered tasks ofmaking repairs listed in the 7-A petition."W e started fixing things faster than ever," Mrs.Fauntleroy remembered. "We cleaned apartments andrented them out, painted, plastered, got plumbing fixedin our apartments. We had more confidence."Unlike most tenant groups, the tenants of 92 had a

surplus that month.One month and two days after the 7-A went intoeffect, and seven months after the tenants first startedto repair their deplorably run-down apar tment building,their 7-A suddenly ended. A man rang Mrs. Batey'sdoorbell to tell her the city was taking title for nonpayment of real estate taxes and the Division of RealProperty (DRP) would henceforth manage the building.The Tenants Committee called an emergency latenight session to decide what action to take. Wrightdrafted a letter to the housing commissioner, tellinghim: "W e protest the recent [ATTEMPTED!] takeoverof our building. We have witnessed the deterioration ofcity-owned buildings in our neighborhood, and thecity's poor management. We refuse to condone anything less than what we ourselves have provided in thisbuilding for the last seven months. We will not fallvictim. We will hold our rents in escrow and continue asin the past."In effect, the tenants decided to wage a rent strikeagainst DRP because, as Wright said, "Everybodyknows the city is the worst landlord in the world."


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IN THIS ISSUE Auction Policy Oliver Holmes Aramis Gomez CETAVI Article 7-A

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