Progressive Prospects

l
n a city of roughly 7.3 million people and more than 3.5 million voters,
only 757,564 men and women elected our mayor last November. Instead of
reflecting on these numbers as a saddening commentary on our electoral system,
think of it as an opportunity for renewing progressive politics in New York.
Giuliani won fewer votes than any sitting mayor since the 1920s. There's no deny-
-_ .... --... "'.-
ing the man's popularity in lower Manhattan, Staten Island
and eastern Queens. But the guy simply has not got the viscer-
al appeal of a widely popular politician. At this point it doesn't
EDITORIAL
look like anyone else in his business does, either.
Why? Because Neither Giuliani nor Governor Pataki nor
their opponents have addressed many of the issues that really
hit home for low- and moderate-income working people. The
politicians claim they represent us law-abiding citizens in
their fight against the darker forces of society----and when it
comes to busting crack dealers and gun runners, they do. But what else are they
doing for the regular hard-working New Yorker?
Living standards are slipping. Studies reported in this space last month indicate
that the city's middle class is shrinking fast and wages have fallen significantly since
the 1980s. Meanwhile, CUNY enrollment is down. The city has drastically scaled
back enforcement of the housing code and, more significantly, is investing little capi-
tal in housing rehabilitation. Much of the public infrastructure is a mess, schools
worst of all. More than 300 pedestrians were killed by cars last year. Poverty rates
are rising---an estimated 1.95 million New Yorkers had annual incomes below the
poverty line in 1996. And make no mistake: poverty is a quality of life issue. Squalor
remains a very public condition throughout the five boroughs.
OK, so I've painted a bleak picture. Yet what I've described is a city that desper-
ately needs leadership on issues beyond the fight against crime-leadership on
issues that touch home. Encourage wage growth, shore up the middle class, attack
poverty where it lives, invest in schools and housing, make this city a comfortable
place to live for everyone who wants to work for it, and an easier place to do busi-
ness for the small companies that employ most of our workforce. Promote opportu-
nity---it's the winning word, but in local politics these days, it's hardly ever heard.
Pollsters nationwide report that politicians who address such elemental issues
are winning electoral majorities. Yet no New York candidate for mayor, governor or
senator has been selling such a populist progressive message. Who are they speaking
to? Not the majority of New Yorkers, who are too turned off to vote.
***
A correction: Last month in our "Ammo" section, we misidentified the organiza-
tion that oversees the South Bronx section of the city's Empowerment Zone. It is the
Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation----not the South Bronx Overall
Economic Development Corporation (a.k.a. SOBRO). The latter is a nonprofit com-
munity group, while the former is an arm of the borough president's office.
Andrew White
Editor
Cover photo of children at the lifeline Center by Mayita Mendez
City Limits relies on the generous support of its readers and advertisers. as well as the following funders: The Robert Sterling Clark
Foundation. The Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock. The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation. The Joyce Mertz
Gilmore Foundation. The Scherman Foundation. The North Star Fund. J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated. The Booth Ferris Foundation.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation. The New York Foundation. The Taconic Foundation. M& T Bank. Citibank. and Chase Manhattan Bank.
-
City Limits
Volume XXIII Number 2
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CITVLlMITS
FEBRUARY 1998
FEATURES
Trouble in Mind
Medicaid managed care is just around the bend for tens of thousands of
New York's emotionally disturbed children. That much is certain. What's
unknown is who will be covered-and what will be lost. By Glenn Thrush
Broken Homes
Nearly hidden within 20 acres of emptied public housing projects in the
poorest part of Newark, the Friendly Fuld Head Start Center proves that
appearances can deceive. By Helen M. Stummer
PROFILES
UPROSE Blooms in Brooklyn ~
A Sunset Park community group found a way to survive city budget cuts, but
can it bring unity to a fragmented neighborhood? By Kemba Johnson
A Shot in the Arm
Harm reduction is being redefined by the volunteers of Streetwise Health
Project, who bring health care to people who have gone without for far too long.
By Dylan Foley
PIPELINES
Mixing the Message KfJIII
Welfare advocates said they dreaded the expansion of WEP in the nonprofit
sphere. According to the latest city contract, they might not have to worry.
By Carl Vogel
Scoppetta's Home Stretch ~
ACS Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta has unveiled his promised plan to
move the child welfare system back to the grassroots. The next step is paying
for it. By Atlam Fifield
Review
Placing the Blame
Cityview
Go Get Oem Votes
Spare Change
Mayoral Mad Libs
Editorial
Briefs
Ammo
COMMENTARY
129
By Kirk Vandersall
130
By Ron Hayduk
134
By Carl Vogel
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CITY LIMITS
Jazz Scene
Basie's
Band Gets
Union Gig
T
erence Conley remembers a night
two years ago when he had to stand at
an ATM to take money out of his sav-
ings account to pay the other mem-
bers of his jazz trio after a bar owner
shortchanged them. "A local musician has to
fight to get his money at the end of the night,"
Conley says. "You still have to pay the guys."
As a pianist in the Count Basie Orchestra, fill-
ing the musical shoes of His Highness himself for
the last two years, Conley no longer has to worry
about getting what's owed him. And now he
doesn't have to worry about how he'll pay the
bills once the music stops, either. Last fall, the
19-piece orchestra became the first unionized big
band. "We didn't look to be unionized," he
admits. "We were looking for a pension."
In fact, the unionization was a simple, harmo-
nious improvisation worthy of the Basie name.
After management fired a 20-year veteran, the
members began to talk about the sting of not hav-
ing pension benefits. By joining Local 802 of the
American Federation of Musicians, they can join
the union's $1.2 billion pension pool.
And senior bandmembers like Bill Hughes,
who has played trombone in the group for 38
years, can now stretch their legs in business class
during the orchestra's four annual overseas flights.
Other agreement terms limit the amount of time
the band, which is on the road 34 to 40 weeks
every year, can travel on performance days.
It's benefits like these that usually make man-
agers view unionization as costly agony. But for
Aaron A. Woodward ill, CEO and president of
Count Basie Enterprises, who has struggled to
preserve the band after Basie's death, it was a
godsend. "It's difficult to retain good musicians,"
Woodward says. "In the fourteen years Count
Basie has not been with us, it's been difficult to
keep them together."
Local 802 isn't going to take five after
adding the Basie band to their rolls. The union
has started a "Justice for Jazz Artists" cam-
paign. "There are a few bands out there that I
FEBRUARY 1998
think are ripe for unionization," notes union
president William Moriarty. Jazz musicians his-
torically aren't as well protected as Broadway
or symphonic musicians-and many former
members of touring bands have ended up living
in severe poverty in their later years. The Jazz
Foundation, a charity that assists musicians, has :.;;;
thrown several benefits to raise enough money J
to lay some fine jazz musicians in their final ~
'
resting place. -Kemba Johnson :!
w
Briem .......... ------.......... --------------
s
Labor
Union Boss
Backs Bad
Boy Devona
I
t was no shock when Gus Bevona, the pro-
fusely paid and notoriously autocratic boss
of the building services union, appealed a
sweeping court decision on his local's elec-
tion. The surprise came when Brian
Mclaughlin, head of the mainstream New York
City Central Labor Council, rushed in with support.
On December 15, Federal Judge Richard Owen
found that Bevona-who pays himself $494,000 a
year to run Local 32B-32J-"suppressed dissent"
and trampled on members' rights in an early 1997
election. Union critics documented many abuses
during the vote: leadership recommendations
printed on ballots, unmonitored ballot boxes, and
polling hours that excluded many of the union's
55,000 mostly minority workers.
In addition to electing union reps, the members
were voting on proposed bylaw changes that
would have reduced officers' swollen salaries and
guaranteed that members would have the right to
approve contracts. In his ruling, Owen wrote that
the union's members will suffer "an enormous risk
of abuse of power by the incumbent leadership"
unless future votes are conducted by outsiders.
Mclaughlin, a Democratic Queens assembly-
man and former electrical union official, instruct-
ed attorneys at his 500-union umbrella Central
Labor Council to join in the appeal against the
decision, arguing that the court dangerously
exceeded its authority. "[Owen's] orders threaten
to fundamentally interfere with internal union vot-
ing policies and the right of unions to self-gov-
ern," CLC chief counsel Douglas Menagh wrote
to labor attorneys in a bid for support.
The decision to join the appeal was not a popu-
lar one, even among lawyers affiliated with the
council. Only 12 of the 69 members of the council's
own lawyers' advisory committee agreed to the
appeal.
For their part, the anti-Bevona dissenters,
who garnered 45 percent of the vote last time,
were stunned by the council's decision. "We
proved at trial that members of our union were
openly coerced," says Carlos Guzman, leader of
32B-32J's dissident Members for a Better Union.
"Brian McLaughlin, who wants to be mayor,
should align himself with the rank and ftle he is
supposed to be speaking for. "
-Michael Hirsch
Swimming with sharks?
Many non profits are developing important business relationships
with corporations and government agencies. These efforts can
help non profits to expand or improve services and reach more
constituents.
Establishing business relationships requires many special legal
skills, from handling negotiations to preparing contracts.
Lawyers Alliance for New York staff and volunteer attorneys are
experts in helping to structure business relationships for non-
profit clients. To find out more about how Lawyers Alliance can
help nonprofits take advantage of new business opportunities,
call us at 212-219-1800.
99 Hudson Street
New York, NY 10013
212219-1800

Lawyers Alliance
for New York
Building a Better New York
Ambition
Housing PIan
FneIsLopez
Election Bid
B
rooklynite Vito Lopez tells City
Limits he is leaning toward a run for
Congress this fall. And to kick things
off, the head of the state Assembly's
housing committee has unveiled an
ambitious plan to increase the state's spending on
housing from $115.6 million to $297.6 million.
Full acceptance of the $11l2 million package
isn't likely from either Governor George Pataki or
Lopez ally Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Still,
Democratic party sources say Silver will probably
bargain for some of its elements during budget
talks later this year. The list includes plans to:
boost the state Low Income Housing Trust Fund
from $25 to $60 million.
double the state's contribution to homeless hous-
ing from $30 million to $60 million.
create a state version of the federal low-income
housing tax credit program, which gives tax
breaks for developers who build rental housing for
the indigent and working poor.
inaugurate a $25 million anti-abandonment pro-
gram to preserve apartment buildings in disrepair.
Much of that money would go to local groups for
housing organizing.
increase funding for the Affordable Home Own-
ership program from $25 million to $60 million.
"I believe Shelly [Silver] will support a good
portion of this," Lopez says. "If we don't get it this
year, we're never going to get it." Silver's office
did not respond to inquiries about the plan.
Lopez told City Limits he is seriously consider-
ing a 1998 challenge of BrookJyn Congresswoman
Nydia Velazquez. ''There's a good chance. I'll
decide by the end of this month," he says.
'1t is our practice not to comment on candidates
who just say they might run," says Velazquez
spokesman Eric Brown. -Glenn Thrush
WEEKLY UPDATES NEW YORK
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CITY LIMITS
...... ----------....
ffiMilllli THANA SCHEDULEg !t.:::I1
= FOUR LOWCOST, TO NEW YORK CITY'S= y iiiiIII



==
BIGGER BATHROOMS . ALTERNATE YEAR INSTRUCTION

I'
DOORMEN
City Contracts
Brooklyn
Bias Charge
in AIDS
Ftmding
M
ore than two dozen Brooklyn
organizations found themselves
left out of a $41 million funding
package in November, virtually
ensuring that their community-
based AIDS programs will be shut down at the
end of February. Last month, the city announced
it had found another $5 million to disburse-but
that hasn't placated the Brooklyn organizations.
''This is basically a plan where federal money
is being shifted from programs that serve people
of color to white people," charges Carol Horwitz,
a lawyer at the Brooklyn Legal Services
Corporation A, whose group was left off the
FEBRUARY 1998
CLASS CONSOLIDATION
November list. In 1997, her organization received
$105,000 in federal Ryan White Care Act Title I
funding to provide services for people with HIV
ranging from custody planning to representation
in eviction proceedings.
According to Horwitz, 75 percent of the fed-
eral funding that formally went to Brooklyn com-
munity-based organizations was moved to
Manhattan-based groups like the Gay Men's
Health Crisis. The Mayor's Planning Council on
mY/AIDS had mandated that the funds be grant-
ed to geographically appropriate CBOs with a
long history of serving their communities.
The nonprofit Medical and Health Research
Association of New York (MHRA)-which had
been contracted by the city to disburse the $41
million in Ryan White funds for 1998-received
more than 500 proposals, giving the'green light to
172 programs from 103 agencies. The 25 defund-
ed Brooklyn organizations include two of the
three Haitian-run AIDS programs in Brooklyn and
nine out of 10 support groups serving AIDS suf-
ferers and their families in Crown Heights,
Brownsville and East New York.
"Seventy percent of new AIDS cases are in
the outer boroughs," says Abigail Hunter of the
WilliamsburglGreenpointlBushwick HIV Care
Network, one of three Brooklyn umbrella
groups for community-based HIV organiza-
tions. "The planning council directive of giving
more money to local CBOs was meant to
address the situation. The present funding has
done the opposite."
"The 1998 contracts are based on extremely
objective criteria set up by the city's Ryan White
Planning Council, the state AIDS Institute and the
federal government," counters Fred Winter, a
spokesman for the city's Department of Health.
"Citywide contracts are given out because of
economies of scale. There is a finite amount of
money available, and there are always w0rthy
programs that won't be funded."
However, Barbara Turk of MHRA's HIV Care
says $5 million in additional Ryan White funding
will soon be made available for 1998: $2.4 million
for case management and $2.6 million for treat-
ment, education and client advocacy. She says her
organization will go back to the list of applicants
to award additional grants.
''The $2.6 million set aside for critical gaps in
services does not in any way make up for the
money cut in Brooklyn," Horwitz responds.
Hunter adds, that once the funds have been allo-
cated to 17 different categories, there is only
$131,000 for food and nutrition programs city-
wide-and merely $41,000 for support groups.
"That's not enough for one program," she says,
"let alone programs citywide." The coalitions are
asking the mayor's office to stop contract nego-
tiations with the grantees and extend 1997 fund-
ing until the new grants are reviewed.
-Dylan Foley

UPROSE Blooms
Brooklyn

In
PROFILE ' k
.. _-...."...1; Li e many small organizations, one of Sunset Park's oldest
Executive Director
Elizabeth
Yeampierre says
UPROSE works
to build unity in
a neighborhood
that is ethllically
fragmented.
__ .. :M_
community groups has lost city funding--and is building
a new agenda. By Kemba Johnson
S
unset Park's matriarchs and patri-
archs enter a modest Fourth
Avenue storefront with bag lunch-
es in hand and questions in mind.
They come to UPROSE, a com-
munity organization that has served the
Brooklyn neighborhood for 32 years, to
learn about changes in welfare and immi-
gration laws or to have official letters trans-
lated into Spanish. They stay to talk about
their children and their community.
"They feed their children. They dress
them. They try to set a good example,"
says Elizabeth Yeampierre, UPROSE's
executive director. "But then [the kids]
drop out or start hanging out in the street."
Puerto Rican, Dominican, Cuban-the
men and women sit in the office, eat their
lunches and fmd some common ground in
a neighborhood that has seen precious lit-
tie of it over the last few years.
Michelle De La Uz, director of con-
stituency services for neighborhood
Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, says
these residents have grown up with the
organization helping their families. "I call
them repeat customers," she says. "They
say, 'You helped my mother, you helped
my daughter. Now you can help me.'''
In addition to assisting immigrants in
navigating the welfare system, UPROSE is
working in local schools to help troubled
kids. The group is also building a base of
political activism against the state's plan to
rebuild the Gowanus Expressway and re-
route traffic down the community's
avenues. Yeampierre says all of UPROSE's
work has another underlying component as
well: building unity among the communi-
ty's fragmented ethnic enclaves.
Despite its deep roots, however,
UPROSE has been through hard times of
late, weakened by inconsistent leadership-
and by the loss of city funding that has hit
scores of similar small neighborhood orga-
nizations over the last few years. An inde-
pendent study published by the Arete
Corporation in October found that more
than half of all small nonprofits that held
city contracts when David Dinkins left City
Hall have since lost their funding. UPROSE
is part of that disinvested majority.
Ethnic T.nslons
Fifth Avenue is Sunset Park's outdoor
living room. Pizzerias compete with
Mexican fast-food taqueritas. Dominican
and Puerto Rican flags label the ubiquitous
car services. And shoppers in the discount
stores spill onto the sidewalk, as young peo-
ple stake their claim to street corners.
UPROSE has served this neighborhood
since 1966, founded by Puerto Rican
activists to support newcomers to what
had been a mostly Scandanavian commu-
nity. The United Puerto Rican
Organization of Sunset Park and
Education Services, as it was called, pro-
vided day care, after-school programs and
assistance with welfare and other benefits.
Recently, the group bowed to the
neighborhood's changing demographics
by dropping its full name and adopting the
acronym, UPROSE. Sunset Park's Latino
population is now a turbulent array of eth-
nicities-and the neighborhood's long-
established Asian community is growing
quickly as well. Ethnic tensions occasion-
ally flare into open violence: Three Latino
teenagers beat and nearly killed a Chinese
man last August. Police say it was a bias
crime.
"What weakens [the community's]
political presence is a lack of unity," says
Yeampierre, who took charge of the orga-
nization in 1996. "We really do have issues
in common: immigration, education,
sweatshops and bilingual education."
Keeping the racial and ethnic tensions at
bay has become part of the directive for
UPROSE and a personal mission for
Yeampierre, who hopes a new focus on
political activism can pull Sunset Park
together.
Surmounting Chall.ng.s
Two years ago, it was unclear whether
UPROSE would even survive. During a
six-month leadership vacuum before
Yeampierre's arrival, the group failed to
file reports on city-funded projects and
didn't even start a contracted program to
teach English as a Second Language. We
were in a very precarious position," says
Juan Beritan, UPROSE's board chairman.
Ten days after Yeampierre became
executive director, the city's Community
Development Agency, which had provided
$40,000 to run the ESL program and pro-
vide information about entitlements, can-
celed its contract.
"The tImIng was consistent.
Organizations of color-aided by the
CITY LIMITS

Giuliani administration-were disappear-
ing all over the city," Yeampierre says.
"The city's shift [away from the smaller
community groups) occurred just as the
organization was not running as tightly as
it should have been. It may have been
only $40,000, but it made a big difference
in how we were able to function."
UPROSE now depends on volunteers
to help local residents with public assis-
tance. The group relies on money from the
United Way and other private sources to
sustain its budget, and no longer runs
after-school or day care programs.
But UPROSE still maintains its pres-
ence in three area high schools and one
junior high school, where its five staffers
work. In stay-in-school programs at each
school, 30 or so students considered at risk
of dropping out learn about activism and
ethnic tolerance-and study their academ-
ic subjects. ''We never lose sight of our
objectives to teach them to read, write and
be good in math," says Yeampierre, a for-
mer civil rights attorney. "Once they know
how to do that, they can take charge of
themselves and their community."
Teresita Rivera-Neri, UPROSE's pro-
gram counselor at John Jay High School in
neighboring Park Slope, noticed students
carving out Puerto Rican, Dominican and
other enclaves in the lunchroom and class-
rooms. So she started a Latino Club, where
students read literature and perform dances
from all over Latin America.
"They suddenly fmd themselves in a
new country," Rivera-Neri explains.
''There's a fear of the unknown. In class
they'll say, 'I'm better than you,' or 'My
country is better than yours.' [The Latino
Club) really helps them to realize they
have so much in common."
One of the things all the residents of
Sunset Park have in common is the pro-
posed $700 million reconstruction of
Gowanus Expressway. UPROSE is edu-
cating residents about the potential health
threats of the construction and re-routed
traffic. The neighborhood already is
stricken with the third highest asthma rate
in the city.
The group is organizing residents and
pushing for a comprehensive study of
alternatives such as building a tunnel to
replace the Gowanus. Lucy Lopez-a for-
mer Work Experience Program worker and
a mother of three-lives two blocks from
the expressway with a 7-year-old asthmat-
ic son. With UPROSE's help she's begun
speaking out. "With all the pollution,
how's every child who lives in the com-
munity going to stay healthy?" she asks.
FEBRUARY 1998
All th. Chang
Despite the organization's state of tran-
sition, women and men from the neigh-
borhood still file into the office looking for
advice and company. "I don't have the
sense that the community knows all the
changes we've gone through," Yeampierre
says.
Still, the troubles have had conse-
quences. "In small community agencies
like that, if the board isn't constantly
fundraising or there's no development
component, their projects last as long as
1998
SOCIALIST
SCHOLARS
the money lasts," says Sister Mary
Geraldine of the Center for Family Life,
another neighborhood organization that
has served the neighborhood for 20 years.
"Yet [UPROSE is) still around, committed
to the community."
Preparing for the future, Yeampierre
hopes to hire an Asian tutor for UPROSE's
school programs and set up workshops to
teach residents how to advocate and get
answers from the city for themselves.
"UPROSE is here to stay," she says.
"We're here to be reckoned with."
March 20th through 22nd 1998
Borough of Manhattan Community College
199 Chambers Street
For more information, call (212) 642-2826
or visit http://www.soc.qc.edu/ssc
Mailing Address:
Socialist Scholars Conference
c/o CUNY Graduate Center
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33 West 42 Street, NY NY 10036
Email: socialist.conf@usa.net
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Community Development Groups,
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Low ... Cost Insurance and Quality Service.
NANCY HARDY
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-

PROFILE
Karyn London
(right), a physi-
cian's assistant
who volunteers
for Streetside,
checks in with
one of her
regular patients
at an Upper West
SideSRO.
(.M
A Shot in the Arm
In the name of harm reduction, Streetside Health Project volunteers provide health care in
some of city's overlooked corners. By Dylan Foley
B
rendan Pearse sits in the back
of the Lower East Side Needle
Exchange's Avenue C store-
front on arainy November
night, giving free flu shots to a
steady stream of squatter kids and intra-
venous drug users.
Pearse, a physician's assistant in his
early 50s, demonstrates how to administer
injections for the three New York
University medical students he's supervis-
ing. "Make sure you clean the skin before
you inject," he says gently to one, who is
clearly nervous. A bleached blond woman
waiting nearby breaks the tension as her
sleeve is rolled up, joking about the horri-
ble nicknames she had in high school.
The next woman in line is worried-
she talks in hushed tones about chronic
medical problems, including diarrhea that
has gone on for months. Concerned she
might have the symptoms of tuberculosis,
Pearse examines her with his stethoscope.
He decides it isn't TB after all but urges her
to go to a local clinic near her home in
Hartford, nonetheless.
Pearse is here as a member of the
Streetside Health Project, a small volunteer
medical program that has been serving intra-
venous drug users in Manhattan, Brooklyn
and the Bronx for six years. The operation
may be modest-it consists of a handful of
medical professionals and a tiny budget-
but it represents what may be the ultimate
form of "harm reduction," the HIV-preven-
tion strategy that includes giving clean nee-
dles to addicts.
Streetside's volunteers bring inocula-
tions and quick medical exams to needle
exchanges, soup kitchens and SROs that
house people with AIDS. Sometimes they
make house calls to bandage abscesses or
treat thrush, an oral fungus common in
AIDS sufferers. Streetside was the ftrst
medical group in New York to vaccinate at
the needle exchanges and still is the only
group that provides medical care in some
privately run SROs.
Crudglngly ACC.ptH
Harm reduction has only recently
become a grudgingly accepted practice.
illegal needle exchanges appeared in New
York in the late 1980s, supported by radical
groups like ACT-UP. But in 1992, after
several years of conflict with the police and
City Hall, several exchanges were given
wai vers by the state to distribute clean
syringes. That year, a group of medical res-
idents at the Bronx's Montefiore Hospital
and Sharon Stancliff, a family practice doc-
tor volunteering for the Lower East Side
Needle Exchange, formed Streetside.
"Our major goal is to show people who
use drugs that they can do something about
their health care," Stancliff says. "We also
try to introduce health-care professionals
and future health-care professionals to peo-
ple they would normally see only in
adverse situations."
The program now has a core group of
eight doctors, nurses and physician's assis-
tants, volunteering their time, and actively
recruits students at New York-area medical
schools to lend a hand. In December, a vol-
unteer pool that had swelled to 40 complet-
ed Streetside's fall vaccination program,
dispensing 600 flu vaccinations and 200
inoculations for bacterial pneumonia,
which is often fatal to people with HIV.
"The fall vaccination program is our major
CITY LIMITS
&
group project. At other times, members do
volunteer outreach on their own," says Dr.
Toni Sturm, one of Streetside's founders
who is now a medical fellow at Mt. Sinai
Hospital in Manhattan.
The approach has found other adher-
ents. For example, New York Harm
Reduction Educators, a needle exchange
that serves the Bronx and Harlem, is visit-
ed by a medical outreach van from Bronx-
Lebanon Hospital. Many of the existing
exchanges have become community-based
organizations that also offer support
groups, drug treatment and even acupunc-
ture to help clients. The goal is simple:
Prevent the spread of HIV through clean
needles and condoms, as well as education
about safe sex and safer drug use.
The population at the needle exchanges
and SROs needs all the help it can get. Less
than half of the 150 clients Streetside sur-
veyed in 1996 had any regular health care.
Another survey showed that many of the
clients lodged in three Manhattan SROs
were not taking the new protease inhibitors
used to fight AIDS. In response, Streetside
held a workshop on the drug therapy cock-
tails and continues to advocate their effec-
tiveness to clients.
Committed Activists
Streetside's work has attracted some of
the most low-key but committed harm
reduction activists in the city-a real-
world, traveling cast of ER without the
makeup or a chance to reshoot the scene.
"I joined Streetside because it was one
of the few preventive programs I could
find," says Pearse, who became a physi-
cian's assistant two years ago after spend-
ing 10 years working as a paralegal. A
native of Northern Ireland-his father was
one of the founders of the Irish Communist
Party-Pearse obtained his green card by
fighting with the U.S. Marines in Vietnam,
including combat at the infamous Battle of
Kbe Sanh in 1967.
Pearse grew up in Derry, a strife-tom,
impoverished Catholic city directly affect-
ed by Protestant-Catholic hatreds. "When I
was a kid, the only people not destroying
things were doctors, nurses and teachers,"
he says. "I became a physician's assistant
to do good, provide relief and empower
with knowledge."
Four years ago, Karyn London left the
feminist bookstore she founded to become
a physician's assistant. Today, she works at
the Ryan Community Health Center on the
Upper West Side and regularly visits three
nearby SROs as a member of Streetside.
Her rapport with the residents translates
into an effective approach on issues like the
FEBRUARY 1998
Streetside's work attracts some of the most low-key
activists in the city-a real-world, traveling cast of ER
without the makeup or a chance to reshoot the scene.
new AIDS treatment. "I try to engage them
on the subject," she says. 'They trust me
more than the people in white coats."
On a bitterly cold Saturday, London
walks through the Camden Hotel in the
West 90s with a nurse and a premedical
student. In the forbidding maze of hallways
with musty carpets, London's style is infor-
mal and coaxing. "C'mon, open up," she
cajoles, rapping on the doors of her regu-
lars. "It's me, Karyn."
An intense woman with a head of gray
hair, London admits she often goes to the
hotels more than once a week to look in on
her most worrisome cases. 'There is a
degree of intimacy with the flu shot-
sticking someone takes time, and it is an
excellent way to get to know them," she
explains with a chuckle. She adds that the
shots also provide an opportunity to dis-
cuss other health problems.
Some of London's patients begin to
emerge. A frail woman in her mid-60s
injured her foot trying to remove a corn, and
it has become badly infected. Pleased by the
attention of the visit, which alleviates the
loneliness of her tiny room, she chats on
while London takes her temperature.
Down the hall, a very sick transgender
woman with long brown hair hurries to one
of the bathrooms-she hasn't been to a
health clinic for more than two years. "She
has the same problems that people with a
history of drug use have-she does not have
the skills for navigating the system,"
London says. "People also have an addition-
al hostili ty because they can't determine her
sex." Health-care hurdles like these aren't
covered in med school, but they're not
uncommon for Streetside's volunteers.
By way of example, London tells of a
patient named Frank, an elderly man suffer-
ing from AIDS-related dementia. The con-
dition made him easy prey for other resi-
dents in the hotel, who would rob him when
he went on drug binges. For months, she
tried to get him to move into St. Mary's, a
skilled nursing residence for people with
AIDS. But when he finally went for an
interview, he politely refused to move in,
saying he didn't like the tea they served.
Insurance Barriers
Streetside's 1997 budget was a minus-
cule $5,000, donated by two of the
group's members. The Department of
Health provided the flu shots for free as
part of its vaccination program, but the
bacterial pneumonia vaccinations cost
$10 apiece. Some medical supplies like
disposable thermometers and bandages,
have to be bought; others are donated.
Streetside is fueled by volunteer labor,
of which it seems there is never enough.
"I think we'd be eligible for various
grants, but before we obtain money we
really need more medical volunteers
first," Stancliff says. The biggest obstacle
is malpractice insurance. "The insurance
from their regular jobs does not usually
cover volunteer medical activities," she
explains. "It really is a low-risk situation,
however. Studies have shown that poor
people are very unlikely to sue."
Still, expansion plans are moving
along. "We've had requests from a soup
kitchen in the Bronx to provide more basic
medical care, and we are planning to set up
a volunteer medical project with one of the
needle exchanges on the Lower East Side.
We also want to start giving Hepatitis B
vaccinations," Stancliff says.
Much of the work they do is simply
filling the gaps left by an indifferent
health care bureaucracy. At the privately
owned AIDS-housing SROs, caseworkers
from the city's Health Department should
be carrying much of the load, but a source
familiar with the hotels says the workers
aren't always dependable: "Some are con-
scientious, and some are appalling. The
SRO owners provide the office space for
the social workers, and this dependency
hurts their ability to advocate for their
clients."
And so London says her sickest clients
will often put off calling 911 for days, until
she can take them to the hospital. Such is
the level of trust she has built among peo-
ple to whom trust comes hard.
"Often their previous experiences
receiving health care have been degrading
and negative," she says. 'They don't want
to go through the system alone. Who
would?"
Dylan Foley is afreelance writer in
BrookLyn who volunteered for the Lower
East Side Needle Exchange in the early
199Os.

-,

Mixing the Message
PIPEliNE i
,
A new city contract confounds conventional wisdom
on nonprofit workfare. By Carl Vogel
I
t's hard to decide which is more
surprising: what changed or what
remained the same. When city offi-
cials announced guidelines for a
new set of nonprofit workfare con-
tracts in January, they stepped up pres-
sure on contractors to find welfare recip-
ients real, paying jobs. But anticipated
plans to pour thousands of workfare
assignments into the nonprofit sector
aren't materializing.
Both developments are welcome news
Giuliani introduced his new HRA chief
Jason Turner to the City Hall press
corps-officials outlined details of the
nonprofit workfare plan. To the surprise
of most everyone outside the agency,
HRA announced that the contracts-
which begin in July-will be limited to
300 assignments each, an overall reduc-
tion of 100 nonprofit workfare slots city-
wide.
"I thought they were going to increase
the number massively," says Peter
IIMaybe a year from now we'll kick ourselves
for not multiplying the level of workers. "
If-
for welfare-rights advocates, who have
criticized the Giuliani administration for
failing to help welfare recipients find
decent employment. Still, the nonprofits
and the mayor's critics alike are left won-
dering what this new contract means for
the city's planned expansion of the con-
troversial Work Experience Program
(WEP).
Nonprofit Shar.
The majority of New York's 35,000 to
38,000 workfare slots are in city agencies
and include everything from picking up
trash for the Parks Department to clerical
work in local hospitals. The city's Human
Resources Administration (HRA), which
runs the workfare program, won't say
how many people have been assigned to
workfare. But over the course of a year, a
given slot can be filled by several differ-
ent workers, as participants find a real
job, suffer sanctions for failing to comply
with the program, or decide to abandon
their welfare check.
Since 1994, six nonprofit agencies
have managed a total of 3,400 WEP slots,
generally outsourcing most assignments
to other community groups, where the
workers do clerical, maintenance and
community service duties. Last month,
those agencies had to join others in bid-
ding for 11 new contracts spanning the
next three years.
At a January 7 meeting with nonprof-
its-held at the exact same time as Mayor
Swords, executive director of the
Nonprofit Coordinating Committee,
echoing many others who follow the
workfare program. As some observers
note, the timing of the meeting was sym-
bolic: This plan is the swan song of for-
mer HRA Commissioner Lilliam Barrios-
Paoli, who told the City Council last
spring that her agency expected to add
10,000 WEP assignments. She had led
observers to believe a large number of
these would be with nonprofits, and many
neighborhood and religious groups
mounted an anti-WEP campaign to con-
vince non profits not to cooperate.
HRA says the new arrangement sim-
ply allows for a wider array of approach-
es to handling the workfare program.
"Maybe a year from now we'll kick our-
selves for not multiplying the level of
workers," says Seth Diamond, deputy
commissioner at HRA' s Office of
Employment Services. "But we don't
want to overextend ourselves."
A close look at the numbers shows
why the city might be able to avoid the
nonprofit expansion. According to the
Independent Budget Office, in May
1997-the latest month available-a total
of 2,202 WEP workers were assigned to
nonprofits. That's only 65 percent of the
current contracts' capacity.
Furthermore, pressure to meet federal
work requirement goals isn't as intense as
many had thought. While the city's own
numbers are widely disputed, the state as
a whole has achieved the necessary per-
centage of eligible public assistance
recipients in work activities-at least for
the time being. And if there are fewer
people on the welfare rolls in the future,
meeting the federal requirements gets
easier.
P.rlormanc. Bas.cl
For the agencies that do sign up to run
WEP slots, the rules have changed. The
11 agencies will be handed a more
demanding contract than the one signed
in 1994. Every year, each contractor will
have to fmd paying jobs for at least 75
welfare recipients-or lose some of its
funding. But there is a carrot along with
that stick: Nearly half of the contract's
potential payout is tied to finding WEP
workers employment outside the welfare
system.
HRA will pay in the neighborhood of
$125,000 annually to each of the contract
agencies. In addition, they will earn
$1,000 for each of their workfare partici-
pants who secures a full-time, paying job
for at least 90 days, up to an annual ceil-
ing of $115,000.
While the city required contract agen-
cies to report on job placement in the
past, there was no fmancial incentive.
Vicki Cusare, director of the Italian
American Civil Rights League, which has
managed 1,200 workfare assignments for
the city since July 1994, says her group
has always kept up with the workers after
they left WEP for employment. But she
admits the new performance-based con-
tract will require more paperwork. Other
nonprofit executives say they won't go
after the new contract because the money
is insufficient.
"We recognize we're asking for a
lean and efficient program," Diamond
says. The city insists the targets can be
met, however. Apparently, some non-
profits agree. More than a few agency
representatives at the HRA meeting said
they would send in a proposal by the
January 30 deadline.
Cusare also says her agency is going
to reapply, but she might have been more
shocked than most when the city spelled
out the rules. The January meeting was
the first indication her organization
would be limited to 300 assignments.
"We were surprised. We have more par-
ticipants than that," she says. "I guess
we'll have to cut a lot of sites out."
CITY LIMITS
s
Scoppetta's Home Stretch
The child welfare system lurches back to the neighborhoods. By Adam Fifield
F
or Nicholas Scoppetta, it was a
promise a long time in coming.
Standing on stage at the
Salvation Army's 14th Street
headquarters last month, work-
ing a room jammed with skeptics, the
city's child welfare commissioner said he
would accomplish what none of his prede-
cessors could. He intended to reform a sys-
tem where 85 percent of the city's foster
care children are removed from their
parents and placed in distant communi-
ties, far from their family, friends,
schools and everything they have known
growing up. He would bring the child
protection business back into the neigh-
borhoods.
His plan-which has been on the
drafting board at the Administration for
Children's Services (ACS) for more than
a year-would force a retooling of the
entire child welfare system. The city
would require that all services to families
and children, including foster care, fami-
ly counseling, mental health care and
much more, be provided close to horne
whenever possible.
Scoppetta also proposed an added
responsibility for foster parents. In an ini-
tiative dubbed "Family to Family," foster
parents would be required to work with a
child's birth parents "before, during and
after placement," serving as mentors and
dealing closely with ACS caseworkers to
create a "community of care" for the child.
"I can't help but think that what we are
setting out to do is of truly historical pro-
portions," Scoppetta told his audience of
social service and foster care providers. "It
is truly going to be a radical change."
Lacking Vital Contacts
People who work in the field have long
argued that the city's ultra-centralized
child welfare system makes little sense.
ACS caseworkers are often unfamiliar
with the communities and lack vital con-
tacts in places like schools, churches and
block associations. Social service agencies
contracted to help troubled families are
frequently located in remote neighbor-
hoods, invisible to overwhelmed parents
who might voluntarily seek help. And
when children are placed miles away from
their homes, parents have trouble visiting
them and working with counselors-dras-
FEBRUARY 1998
tically slowing the reunification process.
Few in the field are openly criticizing
the philosophy behind Scoppetta's ambi-
tious initiative. In fact many describe it as
"visionary" and even "revolutionary." But
they do have concerns about the details.
The draft plan Scoppetta released in late
November does not delineate how the tran-
sition to his new system will be funded or
implemented, how eXlStmg community
resources will be used, or how ACS itself
will recast its bureaucracy to playa role in
a supposedly more collaborative, support-
ive and creative child welfare system.
And the multimillion dollar nonprofit
foster care organizations with city contracts
are not yet buying into the plan. The indus-
try is suffering from sharp cuts in state
funding imposed two years ago, explains
Fred Brancato, executive director of the
Council of Family and Child Caring
Agencies (COFCCA), a foster care indus-
try trade group. If there is no new money,"
he says, "to try to respond to [Scoppetta's
plan] seems to be beyond what an agency
can do."
Resistance to change from within the
system-and a paucity of political
willpower at City Hall-have repeatedly
stymied similar reforms. As early as 1971,
the Citizens' Committee for Children
issued a report emphasizing that child
welfare services should be stationed in
neighborhoods where most of the affected
families live. A half dozen mayoral com-
missions and studies since have made sim-
ilar recommendations. None of them have
generated significant reforms.
Given the historical context, it's easy to
understand why some providers are cynical
about Scoppetta's chances for success. "All
of it sounds never-never land, like a fairy
tale," says Jane Barrowitz, spokesperson
for the Jewish Child Care Association of
New York.
But Mayor Rudolph Giuliani appointed
Scoppetta in February 1996 with a mandate
to rebuild the system and, as an old friend
of the mayor, the commissioner has more
political support than his predecessors.
Does that mean he can also muster
fmancial resources for the restructuring?
Insiders say a significant up-front invest-
ment will be needed to revamp agencies so
they can better train foster parents and
staff, open new neighborhood offices,
recruit local boarding homes and build last-
ing networks with other community-based
service providers. In the long run, they add,
the new system should save money by
PIPELINE i
,
Advocates of
community-based
services. including
John Sanchez of the
East Side
Settlement House.
want to prevent
ACS reformfrom
pushing aside
minority-run
organizations.
Me

shortening the length of time children stay
in foster care. But this will take some time.
"We support innovation," says COFCCA
spokesperson Edith Holzer. "But we can't
do it in a kneeling position. We don't see
how you can attempt the reforms in the
commissioner's plan without bringing the
foster care system back up to adequate
funding. " In 1995, Governor George
Pataki signed block grant legislation
reducing child welfare funding to the city
by $131 million. The city's foster care
agencies, group home providers and foster
parents are all receiving lower reimburse-
ments these days, Holzer says.
City Limits asked Scoppetta where the
money for his plan would come from.
"Costs will have to be addressed," he said.
He did not, however, offer any details.
Independent Endowments
Some of the more innovative child
welfare non profits say this money crunch
shouldn' t undercut Scoppetta's reforms,
however. "I feel that money could be
much better spent than it is now," says
Sister Mary Paul Janchill, cofounder of
the Center for Family Life, a Brooklyn
agency providing a variety of services to
the Sunset Park community. "We have a
huge amount spent on foster care and
child welfare, and neighborhood-based
foster care is not more expensive."
Smaller, community-based providers
do have major concerns, though. They fear
Extended Family
Scoppetta's plan will, paradoxically, favor
the city's big, centralized foster care agen-
cies at the expense of organizations deeply
rooted in the neighborhoods.
Most of the larger organizations are
based in religious institutions and have
independent endowments. They can better
afford to make the investment in addition-
al services and training, notes John
Sanchez, executive director of the East
Side Settlement House, which provides
family support services to parents in the
Mott Haven section of the Bronx.
Scoppetta's plan could encourage them to
become heavyweight players in low-
income neighborhoods where smaller,
minority-run agencies are located.
To comply with Scoppetta's mandate,
the big agencies may look to merge with
neighborhood-based agencies or push
them out of the picture, inheriting their
valuable base of families. Stephen
Chin1und, executive director of Episcopal
Social Services, drew loud applause from
the packed Salvation Army auditorium
when he asked Scoppetta's deputy com-
missioners how agencies like his could be
expected to compete. "The agencies that
will suffer the most from this are those
closest to what you are calling for. " None
of the five ACS staffers responded.
"I do have a level of trust about where
Scoppetta is coming from," adds Sanchez.
"But too often, these efforts are grafted onto
these communities without any knowledge
T
he Family To Family component of Scoppetta's plan would require foster parents to
serve as mentors for a child's natural parents. Advocates say it is on target philo-
sophically-but there are some very big obstacles.
"Foster parents create a lot of friction with the bio parents," argues Edward Richardson,
a single father who lost and regained custody of his four children. "Ninety percent of the
time, foster parents would rather keep the child than release the child." Richardson is a
parent advocate at Bronx Family Central, a neighborhood-based family support agency
founded jOintly by two non profits, St. Christopher-Jennie Clarkson and Episcopal Social
Services.
He and his fellow parent advocates are firm believers in their own form of mentoring:
They work closely with parents who have children in the system, helping them maneuver
through court, social service bureaucracies, drug rehab and other programs.
But in Brooklyn's Sunset Park, the Center for Family Life has long since established a sys-
tem in which foster parents have a responsibility to work closely with a child's family, help-
ing them achieve stability and learn parenting skills.
"We will not license any foster parent who is not going to be part of the work toward
reunification," says the organization's cofounder, Sister Mary Paul Janchill. "There have been
many foster parents who have worked very well with birth parents. It is a task of working
together, of partnering, that occurs with the support of a good foster care agency."-AF
- - ~ ! ....
of what's going on." The commissioner
should build ground rules into the plan that
will protect well-run, homegrown agencies,
he says. Otherwise, ACS may well lose the
important local connections these groups
have cultivated over the years.
''This is first and foremost a business,"
says one former city child welfare official
who asked not to be identified. He predicts
that in 10 to 15 years, the city's communi-
ty-based network will consist of a few
monolithic foster care agencies. "There are
larger forces at play than good will and
good intentions," he warns.
Close Connections
Even setting aside power politics and
money, there are also different sides to the
argument that foster children should be
placed close to home. As Scoppetta
explains, 80 percent of children taken into
the city's care ultimately return to their
family. Therefore it behooves the city to
maintain close connections between the
child and his parents or relatives.
But there are times when children need
distance. "If you take them out of the com-
munity, you don't have to worry about
peer pressure and they can start to get
help," says Matthew Matgranow, a 21-
year-old who spent 10 years in foster care
living in a half-dozen different neighbor-
hoods. ''The whole issue, in the long run,
is what's better for them."
Ultimately, it is the rights-and the
lives-of children and families that are at
issue. Gail Nayowith, executive director of
the Citizens' Committee for Children,
emphasizes that Scoppetta is headed in the
right direction. But she is calling for
changes at ACS as well. Staff must be bet-
ter trained, the agency must do more to
educate parents about support programs
and officials should set up a complaint
bureau for children, parents and foster par-
ents who feel mistreated, she says.
''The scope of change that is being pro-
posed is huge and the stakes are high," she
says. "We have to proceed with the maxi-
mum amount of intelligence."
As City Limits went to press, ACS offi-
cials were honing the final plan. The
agency is expected to start seeking formal
bids for new contracts this spring.
"If we wait for total agreement, we will
never get the system to where it needs to
be," Scoppetta told his audience at the
Salvation Army. Then he took a pause for
emphasis: "It will be better," he said, "than
anything we' ve had in the past."
Adam Fifield is afrequent contributor to
City Limits .
CITVLlMITS
,eli
................ .............. ................ .
,
t
Francisca Salce, a.k.a. Joe ..
taking care of making her
business rise at her store on
1121 St. Nicholas Avenue at
166th St. in Washington Heights.
CALL: CHASE COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT COMMERCIAL
LENDING 212-622-4248
Movi!tg
,":
the right direction
Joe's Pizza was irstJ:.Jot only did Francisca Salce
make a for her store with great
,- <. ::'t@tirs
tasfing pizza, she'Was the first recipient of a loan under
The Chase Community Development Group's Small
Retailers Lendin,g1;;Prograro.

The Sman . Program is a unique
Chase wfiose ptttpose is to expand access to
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This program made it possible for Ms. Salce to optain
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1997 The Chase Manhattan Bank. Member FDIC.
What price are we willing to pay to save the
Camelia Flye has
managed to get her
14-year-old son the
care he needs.
Others may not be
so lucky once the
state moves fami-
lies on Medicaid to
managed care.
-
T
he eight-year-old boy
bounded into the stair-
well leading to the roof of
his Harlem school. A
hard-charging classroom
aide carne up from behind just as the boy,
distant and methodical, was pulling a
handful of his shirt towards a lighter that
had appeared in his other hand.
When the flint sparked, the aide
screamed so loudly the boy simply forgot
to set himself on fIre.
Camelia Flye remembers taking her
son horne from school that day on the
East Side subway, which was strange
because she lived across from the
Cathedral of St. John the Divine on the
West Side. She was too distraught to even
think about what she was doing. Before
she could consciously form a plan, the
pair sleepwalked themselves into the
emergency room at Mt. Sinai, the best
hospital Flye had ever heard of.
"The thing I remember is that he
asked the psychiatrist to come out and tell
me he was okay," says, sitting in an apart-
ment dominated by her son's basketball
trophies. "It absolutely shocked me. I
never heard him talk that way about me.
Then I realized how serious this all was."
Over the next few months, with
intensive therapy, rehabilitation and a
daily cupful of medication, the boy stabi-
lized. His unpredictable behavior-
which had already earned him placement
in special ed-subsided, and he eventual-
ly emerged from his medicinal stupor to
make a few friends. One of them was a
little girl around the same age who had
tried to fling herself off an apartment
building roof. Marta Nelson, Flye recalls,
"was beautiful and sweet" and as angelic
looking as her own son.
She tells her son's story calmly, but
when she thinks of Nelson and the other
children she saw in the hospitals, the ones
who tried to kill themselves, the tears roil
behind her glasses.
"They are little children," she says.
"What in the world do they have to worry
about?"
CITY LIMITS
city's most disturbed k i d s ~ By Glenn Thrush
FEBRUARY 1998 ~
Mental health care
executive Pasquale
DePetris sees
managed care as
an opportunity to
change a dysfunc-
tional system.
-
C
amelia Flye's son, now 14, has had his setbacks,
but he has progressed so well over the last few
years his teachers are talking seriously about tak-
ing him out of special ed and "main streaming" him
into regular academic classes when he becomes a
sophomore next year.
Marta Nelson, also 14, is sitting in juvenile lock-up await-
ing trial on second-degree murder charges.
Last November, Nelson, who in recent years has been
bounced between several foster home placements, hopped into a
cab with a 22-year-old friend, pulled out a handgun and put a bul-
let into the head of the Senegalese driver as he tried to escape.
The daily papers focused on the fact that both girls seemed to be
involved with the Bloods street gang, but to the people who knew
her, it was the sad culmination of a deeply troubled childhood.
"She was a very sick child," Flye says. "I pray to God they'll be
gentle with her. She needs help."
The lives of severely emotionally disturbed children are
fragile and their fates are unpredictable---especially if they hap-
pen to be poor. Mental health professionals have long known that
children like Marta Nelson are even more complicated to treat
than mentally ill adults because their lives can be profoundly
altered by the flawed institutions upon which they depend-fam-
ilies, schools, friends, social service agencies, even the criminal
justice system.
Yet for decades, the state- and federally-financed system
cobbled together to help these kids has devoted only a fraction of
the resources necessary to keep them out of hospitals and jails.
"We just recently opened a facility in the South Bronx," says
Pasquale DePetris, vice-president of Steinway Child and Family
Services, a multiservice mental health care agency based in Long
Island City, Queens. "I told my staff, 'The work you're doing
here is going to determine how many kids in this neighborhood
are going to wind up in that new juvenile correctional facility
they just built across the street.'
"I honestly believe the reason you see all these kids in jails
is because we' ve never received enough funding to really do our
job," he adds.
That job is about to get a lot harder. Later than most states,
New York is embarking on the road
toward moving its entire Medicaid popu-
lation into managed care-a process that
for most welfare recipients means being
placed in an HMO. Tucked into this plan
is a more dangerous experiment, a pro-
gram to move the state's poorest and most
severely disturbed children into managed
care.
The outlines of the new plan are still
very vague, but according to advocates
and providers who have been working
with Albany to come up with a new sys-
tem, it's clear that the final product will
be geared towards containing costs in an
HMO-style capitation system and keep-
ing each child's use of mental health ser-
vices to a bare minimum.
And City Limits has learned that the
new system will be designed to accom-
modate only 25,000 children statewide-
even though a coalition of mental health
providers estimates the real number of
emotionally disturbed children in New
York State eligible for Medicaid-funded
services to be about 120,000.
"It is a social experiment t1Je likes of which we have never
seen before," says DePetris, who has been part of the nonprofit
sector's planning process. "I hope this works."
The terms of the experiment will be dictated by Albany, but
its most volatile ingredients will be mixed together by local men-
ta! health organizations. This small, tightly knit community of
neighborhood-based providers has the expertise to design a new
system and will, quite possibly, form a network to administer the
entire end result.
But there's a catch. Resources will shrink-and that means
some local groups will need to change or face extinction.
"We already have a system that is dealing with only a frac-
tion of the kids that need to be served," says Suri Duitch, a staff
associate with the Citizens' Committee for Children, which has
organized an alliance of child mental health care providers to
shape managed care. "If kids aren' t using services, it's because
they can't get those services. We're talking about imposing man-
aged care on a system that's never even been managed before."
T
he motive behind reform is the explosion in med-
ical costs for the poor, an Old Faithful of red ink
that has nearly drowned the state's budget
throughout the 1990s. This year, Medicaid spend-
ing in New York State will reach $20.8 billion in
combined federal, state and city funding. In recent legisiati ve ses-
sions, Albany lawmakers didn't agree on much, but they did
agree to pass a series of bills mandating that all Medicaid recipi-
ents-including mentally ill kids-be moved into managed care.
Under the current and much-maligned "fee-for-service" sys-
tem, health care providers bill local Medicaid administrators for
each procedure they perform on covered patients. Traditionally,
government pays predetermined rates for each service, whether
it's a tooth extraction, open-heart surgery or a weekly therapy ses-
sion. Because more serious procedures are reimbursed at a higher
rate, professionals have a fmancial incentive to do work that
brings in the most money, even if it's not medically necessary. In
mental health care, the most expensive services are intensive day
treatment programs or residential placements, which can cost
CITY LIMITS
between $50,000 and $100,000 a year per patient.
The managed care model turns this system on its head. The
state will now identify a set dollar amount for the sum total of all
services and it will be up to whoever runs a specific managed
care plan to determine how those resources can best be allocated.
For child mental health, current Medicaid spending statewide is
about $350 million annually, according to Duitch. The total pool
of money under the managed care system is unlikely to be any
larger, and could, in fact, be smaller.
To explain how all this works, DePetris-a clinical psy-
chologist who also happens to have worked at Dun &
Bradstreet-sits at his conference table and draws a sweeping
bell curve, representing the distribution of people on Medicaid.
The bulge in the middle-the main body of the bell-represents
the bulk of people who will use services from time to time, typi-
cally once or twice a year. At the left margin of the chart-the
tapering edge of the bell-is a small number of people who never
go to the doctor at all. On the other end are chronic patients, the
relatively small number of people who, in managed care par-
lance, "over-use" services. DePetris circles this end of the chart.
"This is the key, " he says. "These are where your emotion-
ally disturbed kids fit. They need a lot more attention and money
than other people need. "
The 2.1 million members in New York's Medicaid system
include an extraordinary number of high-end users, many of
them chronically ill, elderly or severely disabled. Because of this,
abandoning the fee-for-service model poses problems: If the state
kept all of the high-end users in the large pool of Medicaid man-
aged care recipients, DePetris explains, they would siphon off too
many resources from more moderate users and force providers
into making across-the-board cutbacks that would affect every-
one in the system.
As New York and other states began planning their new
managed care systems, they started pressuring the Clinton admin-
istration to pull these high-use clients out of the mainstream
Medicaid population. The idea was to put them in their own sep-
arate system, so each client could be given a greater per capita
treatment package than standard Medicaid clients. The result has
been a flurry of 16 waivers granted by the
U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, creating so-called "Special
Needs Plans," or SNPs- pronounced,
appropriately enough, "snips."
In July 1997, New York won federal
approval to create three such SNPs: one
for AlDSIHIV patients, another for adults
with mental illness, and a third for severe-
ly emotionally disturbed children. The
HlV and adult mental health SNPs are
currently being bid out to managed care
companies or networks of neighborhood-
based providers; they are expected to go
on-line within a year or so. But the child
mental health SNP will take at least one
more year to design because of its com-
plexity-and the fear of Marta Nelson-
type horror stories if kids fall between the
cracks. Even then, the new system will
begin slowly, in the form of several mod-
erately sized demonstration projects.
Yet if launching the SNPs has helped
solve a problem for the general Medicaid
population, it has created one massive
migraine for local providers.
FEBRUARY 1998
T
rying to make sense of a system whose complex-
ities are becoming increasingly brain-scrambling
even to professionals, DePetris clicks his pen
again and dutifully scrawls another bell curve on
his memo pad. This time the chart represents the
24,000 or so Medicaid children in the mental health care SNP.
For the majority of emotionally disturbed kids, he points
once again to that big bulge in the center. These are children who
have underlying problems and need moderate but consistent
treatment, kids with attention deficit disorders, for instance, or
behavioral problems associated with troubled home lives. On the
low-use end of the scale are kids who experience sporadic
episodes of mental illness and have less stressful family situa-
tions. At the high-use end of the bell-and he circles this part
again-are the most sick children, Marta Nelson and Camelia
Flye's son among them.
Within the boundaries of this little circle lies a huge and
potentially fragmenting problem. Even inside the relatively safe
harbor of a SNP, costs will still be capped. And that ultimately
means less money for everybody.
Because the vast majority of mental health services are pro-
vided by non profits-a result of the 30-year-old movement to
deinstitutionalize the mentally ill-local organizations will ulti-
mately have to make the toughest decisions. Will a significant per-
centage of the money continue to go to costly therapeutic services
for the sickest kids? Or will it be redistributed more cost-effi-
ciently, spread around to a greater number of less-expensive social
service programs?
It is a dilemma that threatens to split the tightly-woven net-
work of neighborhood-based providers into two camps: those
who want to preserve intensive services and those who want to
adopt a more broad-based approach.
'There's not enough money in this system as it is," says
John Shaw, director of mental health at St. Dominic's House, a
foster care provider that often deals with emotionally disturbed
children. "Now people start cannibalizing each other for the few
dollars that are left under managed care."
Last year, the state legislature acknowledged the dilemma
Day treatment
centers, like
Lifeline in
Queens, succeed
by providing
years of educa-
tion along with
clinical services.
Managed care
threatens their
very existence.
-
and agreed to temporarily "carve out" several services from man-
aged care, in effect allowing the old fee-for-service to continue
for the most intensive treatment programs. Among those services
are state psychiatric centers, long-term residences and communi-
ty-residence programs.
But those exemptions expire in 1999. And there's a growing
recognition among providers that all but the most intensive ser-
vices need to be thrown back into the managed care pot if the sys-
tem is to have any chance of succeeding. For one thing, they say,
managed care is an effective system only if the pool of partici-
pants is large and inclusive. And for the system to be flexible
enough to promote efficiency as well as quality care, every ser-
vice needs to be available to clients without bureaucratic barriers
erected to protect special services.
T
he details of the managed care debate may seem
esoteric and technical to outsiders. But they pro-
duce a visceral reaction from Ethel Wyner, who
watches over 155 severely ill children at the
Lifeline Center in Douglaston, Queens. The
state's inclusion of day treatment programs in the SNP has placed
Lifeline in jeopardy of a radical downsizing-or of elimination.
For Wyner, the fight is
et classrooms, with their 3-to-l student-to-staff ratios, sit next to
even cozier counselors' offices. Packed into Lifeline's two small
buildings are social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, psy-
chologists and psychotherapists, along with a complement of
New York City public school teachers. There is a doctor on staff
who adjusts children's medication levels, balancing their need to
be alert with the teachers' need to maintain control.
But the essence of what makes the place different from stan-
dard special education settings is found in two tiny aquamarine
rooms that could easily be mistaken for a couple of cleaned-out cus-
todial closets. The children walking by take no notice, but the cells
strike a discordant note, compared to the vistas of children skipping
between classes and disassembling their tuna fIsh sandwiches.
"These are the quiet rooms," Wyner says. "They are used
for when children throw fIts and really act out." Wyner's assis-
tant chimes in: "Did you notice the doors? They're the heavy-
duty type. We have to replace them from time to time, and I get
them from a company that makes them for jails."
To Wyner, the rooms aren't an embarrassment, they are the
reason she's in business. "These are not children who would be
appropriately placed in other settings," she says.
In meetings with state health officials recently, Wyner has
been told day treatment will be targeted for signifIcant cuts
because the price of Lifeline's services are too expensive
to be supported under the managed care model. Currently,
Lifeline's students remain in the school for as long as six
years, until they are capable of returning to regular special
ed classes.
But now the pressure is on to shorten those stays sig-
nifIcantly-and use day treatment as a short-term tool to
stabilize children, then ship them back out to clinical and
educational environments that are less intensive and less
costly.
as personal as her commit-
ment to an organization
she founded with a group
of Queens parents in 1969.
On this point, executives who run larger, more diver-
sifIed organizations-and who can tolerate the loss of their
smaller day treatment programs-believe Wyner will have to get
in line or get out of the way.
Wyner, who runs her center with a fIrm if manicured hand,
is waging a campaign to have day treatment centers carved out so
that she can protect her fragile funding sources from the managed
care scalpel.lt's a stand that is controversial with her fellow men-
tal health providers.
For Wyner, the fIght is precisely as personal as her 40-year
commitment to an organization she founded with a group of
Queens parents in 1959. That year, her group opened the fIrst
school catering to the needs of "attic children"-kids with severe
problems who couldn't function in normal school environments
and were kept home by their parents. "The options back then
were to put them in the state hospitals," says Wyner, sitting in an
office flIIed with donated furniture and a view of the largely
abandoned Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, a massive brickpile
that warehoused an astounding 6,000 patients 40 years ago. "Or
you could take them to private clinics, which even back in the
fIfties cost something like $20,000 a year."
Over the years, Wyner and her staff have created a model
facility for educating and treating children from ages 4 through
16 whose mental illness places them on the severe end of the
spectrum of emotional disturbance. The students, who are
referred by the Board of Education, are among the toughest cases
to deal with-toddlers who are so deeply withdrawn they hardly
notice when a visitor enters their classroom, hyperactive or
aggressive grade- schoolers who frayed the nerves of their spe-
cial ed teachers, psychotic teens who would be prone to hurting
themselves if they didn't stick to a strict regimen of counseling
and medication.
To deal with this range of problems, Lifeline has created an
environment that is a hybrid of clinic and school. The vest-pock-
''There are organizations out there that need to change what
they are doing in order to survive. It's a philosophically different
way of seeing the process," DePetris explains. "Day treatment is
the most costly of services," he adds. "You may have 900 kids
taking up 30 percent of the funding. I don't think we've done
enough to be innovative."
Wyner's anger flares when she hears this kind of talk.
"These people are running industrial companies in a sense," she
responds. "It's not based on what a child's needs are. It's based
on where the bucks are coming from."
She has powerful allies on either side of the aisle in
Albany-including Republican State Senator Frank Padavan,
who has helped Wyner by winning passage of legislation pro-
tecting day treatment facilities in the past. "I consider this a fIght
for my life," she says. "This is what keeps me from retiring to
play with my grandchildren and bake brownies."
B
ut the priorities articulated by DePetris and others
aren't merely an industrial budget-cutting strate-
gy. They represent a philosophical shift towards
integrating intense social work with traditional
mental health strategies.
"You can't extricate a kid's mental health problems from
everything else in their lives," says Julia Stewart of the Puerto Rican
Family Institute, which runs a broad slate of mental health programs.
"Clinic-based, intensive therapy is nice, but what does it do to help
a child whose family is faIling apart? What you need to do is go into
CITY LIMITS
HouseCalls
W
hen ll-year-old Jonathan
was banned from the school
bus for hitting the driver, his
mother Nery Bonet knew exactly
what to do. Bonet, who works as a
parent advocate for the Mental
Health Association, called her case-
worker, who immediately agreed to
take the boy to and from school
herself.
"There was no hassle," says
Bonet, whose son takes Lithium to
cope with depression. "My case-
worker is great."
To parents with troubled kids, the
words "caseworker" and "great"
seldom reside so peaceably in the
same sentence. But Bonet's case-
worker is part of a special program
geared toward wedding social ser-
vices and mental health care.
So far, the state-funded Home
and Community-Based Waiver
Program (HCBWP) is only a small
demonstration pl'Qiect serving the
families of children who would oth-
erwise be placed in state hospitals
or residential programs. But the
move toward intensive case man-
agement-and the move away from
intensive inpatient and residential
programs-is likely to be a key
component of the new managed care
system currently being designed for
the state's Medicaid-eligible, emo-
tionally disturbed kids.
The central premise of intensive
case management is that mental
health workers need to stabilize
volatile family environments before
they can successfully treat a child's
underlying psychiatric problems. And
that means practitioners must
spend more time in their clients'
homes-and less times ushering
patients onto the clinic couch.
Bonet's son still receives standard
therapy, but he also gets a visit
every week from an academic skills
counselor, a 24-hour-a-day crisis
coordinator and his primary case
manager.
Families in the program also have
access to respite care workers who
will take children out to the movies
or place them in an overnight bed
when a stressed-out family is on the
verge of fragmenting.
"About 80 to 85 percent of what
you're seeing [in an emotionally dis-
FEBRUARY 1998
turbed child's behavior] is the
impact of those systems," says John
Shaw, director of mental health with
St. Dominic's Home, a foster care
agency that has a 12-child commu-
nity-based demonstration pl'Qiect.
"It takes a while to get at the actual
mental health issues. In a lot of
cases, the behavior you see is a
healthy reaction to bad circum-
stances."
To the state officials obsessed
with cutting Medicaid costs, HCBWP
is a cheaper alternative than inpa-
tient and residential programs. A
year in the program costs about
$54,000 per child. The same stay in
a hospital can MIn in excess of
$100,000 per year.
Some less labor-intensive case
management programs are even
cheaper than standard outpatient
psychiatric treatments.
"The main goal is to keep the kids
out of the heavy clinical environ-
ments," says Julia Stewart, head of
managed care for the Puerto Rican
Family Institute, which Mlns a feder-
ally funded program for children. For
children who have just been released
from the hospital, case workers from
the institute can spend from 15 to 17
hours a week in the house, working
with parents or guardians to stabi-
lize the family. But workers might
spend even more time if the parents
have AIDS, dMlg problems or mental
health issues.
"The cost of intensive case man-
agement is about $550 a month,"
adds Stewart. "It's about $140 a
session for outpatient therapy. With
one you get a full month's visits-
whenever the family needs it-with
the other you get four therapy visits
in an office."
For Bonet, the waiver program
has been a lifesaver. "If it wasn't for
this," she says, "he wouldn't be liv-
ing with me. It was just getting out
of control."
But Bonet doesn't know how
much longer the services will last.
Children are typically cycled out to
special ed or a clinical therapist
after a year, and her son's expira-
tion date is about to come due. "I
haven't thought about what I'll do
then," she says. "I deal with life on
a day-to-day basis. It does no good
to worry about what's going to hap-
pen next." -GT
Nery Bonet says
an innovative
case management
program is the
only thing keep-
ing her son
lonathan (fore-
ground) out of a
residential treat-
ment facility.
-
Local mental
health groups
need to sort out
their differences if
they are to create
a system that can
reach all the kids
who need help.
-
that home and help stabilize things. You can't do it by sitting in your
office and waiting for the client to come in. We as mental health
practitioners have lost our commitment to communities."
''The whole concept of a clinic with a one-time-a-week visit
doesn't work," agrees Jacob Barak, vice-president in charge of
managed care for the Jewish Board of Family and Children's
Services, the largest children's mental health provider in the city.
"I'm convinced that moving to managed care is the best way to
change that system."
The centerpiece of the reform these practitioners promote is
an intensive case management system based on the principle that
social workers should be given caseloads small enough to allow
them to spend their time in the homes of clients, helping families
get the services they need to stabilize and care for their children.
This "case-coordination" model, its proponents argue, can
largely replace more intensive therapies, including state hospi-
tals, residential care settings, some day treatment programs and
eventually even the clinic-based approaches currently used by
most mental health providers.
There are several case-coordination demonstration projects
underway right now in the city (see "House Calls"). All have one
aspect in common: Participating families have access to help 24
hours a day, seven days a week-whenever and wherever they
need it.
The demonstration projects are an exception, but as a gen-
eral rule, Medicaid doesn't reimburse these kinds of services.
"It's crazy, but mental health providers are not funded to bring
people care in their homes," says John Shaw of St. Dominic's
House. "I can have a psychiatrist go to the home to see what's
going on, but I can't get the money to send someone into that
home to keep things together." And that's a basic element of
intensive case management.
But under the managed care system now being devised, that
will probably change. The most compelling argument to the
state's bean-counters for promoting case-coordination is the fact
that it is often cheaper than standard outpatient therapy-as little
as $550 per month.
Thus, many community-based groups who buy into the
model have agreed to accept the basic realities of managed care,
including tighter caps on spending and the
end of most carve-outs protecting special
services.
''The idea that managed care's not
going to happen is nutty," Stewart says.
"The [current) system's unintegrated and,
perhaps, grossly misdirected. Every
aspect of the system needs to change. And
we might as well be the ones to do it."
I
f there is division among
providers about the need for
change, there is broad agreement
on one fundamental issue: The
providers themselves should be
the ones who devise the new system.
In a report issued last October, the
Children's Mental Health Alliance, a
broad-based group of 45 mental health
care organizations from around the city,
threw down the gauntlet. They outlined a
series of principles managed care must
reflect: adequate funding, good coordina-
tion between agencies, a respect for the
expertise and effectiveness of local
groups, and a comprehensive statewide assessment to find out
how many kids really need to be included in the SNPs.
"I think we are going to need to create a balanced system
that preserves all of what we do well," says the Citizens'
Committee's Suri Duitch, the report's author. "We can't forget
that this has the potential to be a great opportunity to figure out
how to serve kids better."
The coalition members also agreed that one of the options
for running managed care within the SNP should be a network of
the local groups themselves.
But the main message the group wants to send to the state
is that the system should not be designed by outsiders-most
especially not by a for-profit HMO.
"The SNP must not be able to deny access to services or cre-
ate obstacles to service through administrative and bureaucratic
burdens on the child and family," Duitch says. "We do not advo-
cate adopting [an HMO as the care provider) as a w ~ l e . The sys-
tem would have strong incentives to underserve children."
Jacob Barak puts it even more simply: "You just can't have
a big HMO come in here and run everyone into the ground."
No one knows that better than Joan Papageorgiou, a
Queens parent who was a member of a private HMO through
her employer's health plan. She had to fight the HMO to obtain
appropriate services for her 17-year-old son, who had been
diagnosed with an attention deficit disorder. Because her son
needed more help than what was offered by the HMO's basic
plan, she found herself on the wrong end of the managed care
bureaucracy, having to fight for every additional expense her
son incurred. "You're allowed only 20 visits. By the time
you're done with the intake and the evaluations, you've used up
like half your visits," she recalls.
Not only did she have to go through a bureaucratic hassle
but she had a hard time finding a provider near her house who
would accept her insurance.
"It's a little scary that they now want to put the whole sys-
tem on managed care," says Papageorgio, who now works as a
parent advocate for Steinway Services.
"Because there have been times when I would have killed
to have my kid on Medicaid."
CITVLlMITS
he Friendly Fuld Head Start Center sits surrounded
by the huge, abandoned Hayes Homes public hous-
ing project in Newark's Central Ward. If it weren't
for a few cars parked nearby and parents occasional-
ly bringing children in and out the front door, the
two-story building with iron bars on the windows and a dismal
stone exterior could easily pass for empty.
"We can't control what the outside looks like," says direc-
tor Helen D. Reid. "But when the children corne inside, we make
sure it's a nice and friendly haven for them." In fact, the contrast
is shocking. The center is the only occupied building amid 20
acres of dark, l2-story
towers. As I stand on
the cracked concrete
playground during the
first of many visits over
the course of several
months, I feel the eyes
of the thousands of pan-
eless windows-some
still framed by flutter-
ing curtains valiantly
holding on.
A few years ago,
the Hayes project was
home to 5,000 tenants
FEBRUARY 1998
in nearly 1,500 apartments. Built nearly 45 years ago, the city
housing authority never put adequate resources into its mainte-
nance and management. And so by the 1980s, conditions were
horrendous, crime rates were high, and city officials were plac-
ing one demolition plan after another on the table. Tenant leaders
and local organizers fought against razing the buildings for years,
but by the early 1990s, Hayes Homes was emptying out.
The demolition began in December. The city has since
knocked down five of the towers, including one directly behind the
Friendly Fuld Center. The rest will soon follow. The buildings are
to be replaced by 206 federally subsidized prefab row houses,
developed by the New
Communities Corp-
oration, a local commu-
nity development group.
Inside the Head
Start center, the class-
rooms and play areas are
bright and clean, lined
with books and draw-
ings by the 93 children
who attend. Twenty-
three adults work here
for Head Start, and
downstairs a neighbor-
hood center has an after-
Danie1le, & stu-
dentin the
I'riendly Fuld
Bead Start pro-
gram, sta.res out
at the aban-
doned public
housing buildingS
that encircle the
center.
In Hovember, the
full contingent of
B&yesBomes
was still st&Dd-
ing. The building
on the left bas
8lDce been torn
down, and &ll
are sl&ted for
destruction.
A knot or Bead Start kids walts ror their parents outside the Friendly Fuld
Center last March after a run day or activities.
OPPOS1'l"B: Ta.mmy grins through the wire rence that separates the Bead
Start play area from the looming structures on the 2O-acre site.
By January, demolition was in higb gear as crews toppled tower after tower.
The Stella Wright Public Bouslng Prqject in the background remaina open, but
the city hopes to eventually tear it down as weD.
-
school program and summer day camp for children aged 6 to 14. In
one form or another, the Fuld Neighborhood House has been on or
near this site since 1911, when it was a predominantly Jewish com-
munity. It merged with the Friendly Neighborhood House in 1971.
Parents from what's left of the surrounding community are
encouraged to volunteer. Reid says that despite the abandoned
buildings that surround them, the center doesn't really feel iso-
lated because it is still connected to the families that had lived
here. Although they've moved out into other parts of the Central
Ward, they continue to bring their children to the program.
The center also helps some parents go back to school, get
credentials and return to work at the center full-time. Others go
on to teach in the public schools. School staff nearby say
Friendly Fuld children are easy to work with and well prepared
for kindergarten.
I
utside the center, I notice people wandering around
the buildings, plodding along the disheveled side-
walks or sitting on the crumbled concrete walls like
ghosts amid the ruins. Each explains that he or she is
a former tenant spending time remembering life in the
Hayes Homes.
''This place wasn't so bad. Everyone knew each other, and
it worked out. The elevators broke down a lot, and that wasn't
good," James tells me. "If these buildings were in Short Hills,
they would never have been let go like this. They would have
been kept up, and we would still have a place to live."
"I grew up here," Lamott says. "I miss it, and I come back
as often as I can just to be around the place. You know if the peo-
ple in charge had family living here, it would never have been
neglected like it was. Nobody cares about the poor until it comes
time for blaming."
CITY LIMITS
IDslde,the
l'riendlyFu1d
Center lives up
to its name.
Bere, .&tis con-
centrates on the
tine art of shoe
tying.
-
Shirley says she used to live in Hayes with her mother, who
has since moved to Florida. "It was awful. The water was brown
and the plumbing was always backed up," she recalls. But she
adds that she finds herself nostalgic for those days: "I come back
here because I miss my mother."
During one of my visits last fall, fences, yellow tape and
dynamite lines were in place in preparation for the first demolition,
and folks from the surrounding community were carting away any-
thing that could be turned into money before it all went to the
dumping site. The blocks around Hayes are among the poorest in
the Central Ward, which has the highest poverty rate in Newark.
"The Hayes Homes is an abandoned city in the heart of a
city," says Ray Codey, director of development for New
Communities. "High rises are not by definition doomed to fail-
ure. They are if they aren't managed and respected properly.
Trump Tower works. There are many high-rise buildings for low-
income people in our country and in the world, and if they are
well maintained, they work."
Five years ago, New Communities had plans to use a $24
million federal homeownership grant to renovate two of the
Hayes towers into condominiums. The city housing authority
refused to cooperate, however, and tenants charged it would cre-
ate divisions between renters and owners. Now, in addition to the
206 townhouses, the group plans to construct a community cen-
ter with social services, employment and job-training programs,
and daycare facilities.
CITY LIMITS

hen Hayes Homes opened in 1954, Reverend
Benjamin F. Johnson, a Baptist minister who spoke
at its opening, said the project "would do more to
defeat Communism than 100 Joe McCarthys."
Mayor Leo P. Carlin commented at the festivities
that those "who Ii ve in bright and cheeried surroundings, such as
those provided in this project, will lose the feeling of futility of
existence and discouragement which breeds crime."
A few years later, a state law was passed prohibiting discrim-
ination in public housing, and Hayes Homes was forced to change
its policy of segregating buildings by race. Many white tenants
moved out. Those who held the purse strings began to lose interest.
For the next 20 years, city officials and local leaders argued
about who was to blame for the declining physical condition of
the project. In 1979, housing authority director Milton Buck
blamed union maintenance workers for not doing their jobs and
bureaucrats for abusing contract rules, and said his agency sim-
ply didn't have enough money for repairs. The feds shot back that
Newark had failed to spend $50 million allocated for moderniza-
tion. A few years later, HUD administrators charged the Newark
Redevelopment and Housing Authority with simply not applying
for money it was eligible to receive.
In 1985, Newark filed plans to tear down the complex.
FEBRUARY 1998
From that point on, virtually nothing was spent on repairs, and
tenants had to fight for everything.
Helen Reid and I stand looking out at the bleakness of the
abandoned buildings through the Head Start center's metal-
barred windows. "They'll be imploding these apartments soon
enough," she says. "We don't know what will be happening to us,
but I hope we can stay. We are a vital service to so many children
whose families desperately need us."
As I walk back to my car through the weeds and broken
glass, I think about the families that had lived here trying to bring
up their children, following their hopes amid the dreary, danger-
ous hallways and broken elevators. Now their memories are wait-
ing for the wrecking ball.
Few outsiders know about the sparkling world alive behind
the Friendly Fuld facade. Too often our attitudes are set by what
appears to be, rather than by what we would fmd if we bothered
to open the door, sit down and learn what is truly going on. Too
often we judge a place by where it is. Not expecting any good in
a "bad" neighborhood, that is all we see .
Helen M. Stummer has been photographing the residents of
Newark's Central Wardfor 17 years. Her work will be shown at
O.K. Harris in Soho from March 21 through April lB.
Many former
residents visited
the lla.yes Homes
in the months
before the demo-
lition. Shirley
remembers the
sense of commu-
nity amidst the
ma.ny problems.
-
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Placing the Blame
..... ---...... -" . ..... ..
By Kirk Vandersall
"The Future Once Happened
Here: New York, D.C., L.A. and
the Fate of America s Big Cities, "
by Fred Siegel, The Free Press,
1997, 260 pages, $24.
F
red Siegel doesn't like the direc-
tion of late twentieth century
urban America, though he's
hopeful about its recent
advances under the direction of a
new generation of activist big-city mayors. He is not alone.
Residents from every comer of our cities have been dissatisfied
with the strength of their local economies, the safety of their
streets, the quality of their public schools and the cohesiveness
of their neighborhoods. Many were only too happy to "hire"
new leaders like Richard Riordan and Rudolph Giuliani and
give the incumbents and their ideas a rest.
But while I can agree these new mayors have begun to suc-
cessfully address important issues long ignored or ineffectually
handled by their more liberal predecessors, Siegel-a Cooper
Union professor and New Democrat theorist-stretches his
argument thin to develop his central thesis: Beware the urban
liberals who have destroyed our cities. While many of Siegel's
conclusions about how better to manage cities are on target, his
historical argument is highly selective, ultimately making "The
Future Once Happened Here" an enormously frustrating book.
According to Siegel, New York, Los Angeles and
Washington, D.C., squandered their rich inheritance on liberal
follies and policy wagers over the last 30 years. Guilt -ridden
liberals decided to exempt African-Americans from the immi-
grant model of acculturation, replacing the settlement houses
and New Deal work ethic with a no-strings-attached welfare
system. Radical black activists and white leftists constructed a
"riot ideology," where non-blacks and non-liberals were held
hostage morally and fiscally by the threat of riots and crime.
Siegel claims this riot ideology was responsible for the
"explosion" of the welfare state, rampant crime, unaccountable
social service agencies, a bulky public workforce, overdepen-
dence on federal funds, and the practice of accusing reformers
with racism. These ills caused, and then defmed, the decay of
America's three capitals.
There's a lot to deal with here, but I will address just a few
items. First, Siegel's discussion of race reduces the breadth and
depth of black experience in American cities to a simple dis-
course on the history of black nationalism. Where his history of
New York racial politics is more expansive, it closely tracks
columnist Jim Sleeper's study of the city's race relations in his
1990 book, 'The Closest of Strangers." Sleeper, however, is
more attuned to the give-and-take between the city's racial
groups. He notes tribalism in New York goes back at least to
FEBRUARY 1998
Tammany, but today "because
there's no dominant tribe, toler-
ance is what makes things go."
Siegel, on the other hand, seems to
envision a city where we just won't talk
about race any more. We do, indeed, need
public policy which presumes and requires
personal responsibility transcending race,
as Siegel insists. But that is not usually the
most important issue when assessing the
community impact of a particular policy.
Second, a more thorough comparison of
the three cities would have been instructive.
Siegel relies primarily on New York to devel-
op his argument and therefore misses some key
points. For example, he praises Los Angeles for
focusing on bridges, highways and general
infrastructure while deriding New York for
spending its federal money on welfare. Yet he fails to mention
that in the power-sharing arrangements between Los Angeles,
Los Angeles County and California, the city of Los Angeles has
little control over anything other than infrastructure. L.A.
County controls the welfare system, while New York City bears
one of the highest shares of administrative and fiscal responsi-
bility for welfare in the country.
Third, Siegel's history has some serious omissions. While
there were indeed some "gigantic policy wagers" made by iiI>-
erals in the 1960s, the seeds of neighborhood conflict and dete-
rioration were planted long before the welfare rights movement
and the Ocean-Hill Brownsville conflict over race and school-
ing. Sixties liberals inherited a long legacy of neighborhood
redevelopment, suburban subsidies and metropolitan highway
construction that isolated city neighborhoods and restricted their
development. The resulting economic decentralization drained
jobs from the city, further weakening New York City's fiscal sta-
bility. Robert Moses was not exactly the archetypal urban liber-
al that Siegel fmds culpable-but despite some of his achieve-
ments, Moses is clearly responsible for many of the biggest chal-
lenges to community development in New York.
Finally, Siegel correctly points out Giuliani's tragically inad-
equate attention to New York City's failing school system.
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, by comparison, has staked
his political future on a virtual takeover of the Chicago Public
Schools. This requires the mayor to articulate a vision of the role
and purpose of public schools and their relation to the city's
economy and civic life. And in a city like New York, this would
require extraordinary civic leadership as much as good policy.
If you seek the provocative-if loosely formulated-mus-
ings of an informed iconoclast, you have the right book. But
from a historian, I expected more. If you want to piece together
the political history of urban policy in New York or struggle with
the relationship between race and policy, start elsewhere .
Kirk Vandersall is coordinator of research and planning
for the Paramount Unified School District in LA. County
and is former executive director of the NYC Coalition Against
Hunger.
REVIEW
CITYVIEW
states to offer voter registration materials to welfare recipients
and the disabled.
He failed, but since taking office, the Pataki and Giuliani
administrations have worked to undermine Motor Voter's
implementation. Pataki cut Motor Voter funds to the State
Board of Elections, and delayed and prevented effective imple-
mentation of the law in agencies that serve low-income and
Co Cet Dem Votes
urban populations-prompting voting rights orga-
nizations and eventually the U.S. Justice
Department to sue the state. In turn, the governor
has urged Congress to repeal Motor Voter altogeth-
Ron Hayduk was
Coordinator of
the NYC Voter
Assistance
Commission from
1993 to 1995,
and is currently
assistant profes-
sor of Politics at
Touro College.
-
By Ron Hayduk
P
olitical pundits have all but declared the 1998 elec-
tions over, pronouncing George Pataki unbeatable
and Al D' Amato nearly so. But the pundits' reading
of the polls is far too premature.
Just look at the numbers. Recent Republican vic-
tories in New York were based on razor-thin margins that
could easily be reversed. The bulk of the state's regis-
tered voters are Democrats, most of whom reside in New
York City. They outnumber Republicans in the state by a
five-to-three margin. The curse of the Democrats has
er. Giuliani, for his part, has blocked efforts by
New York City'S own voter registration agency, the Voter
Assistance Commission-which I used to head-to use city
agencies to register more voters.
Despite these impediments, hundreds of thousands of unreg-
istered New Yorkers have been added to the registration rolls in
the past few years, thanks to Motor Voter and to registration
efforts by local groups.
Recent Republican vidories
in New York were based
been low and declining voter turnout-particularly of
urban, low-income and minority Democrats-which has
prevented the party, and the city, from retaining the keys
to the Governor's mansion.
Remember, George Pataki defeated Mario Cuomo in
the last gubernatorial election by a mere 173,798 votes
out of more than five million votes cast. Six years ago,
on razor-thin margins that
could easily be reversed.
AI D' Amato sank Bob Abrams by only 124,838 votes. Both
candidates had a roughly 1 percent margin of victory. These
are weak odds on which to bet that the Republican
regime will continue well into the next millennium.
To be sure, the Democratic Party's weak perfor-
mance has resulted from many things-tired candi-
dates and a fractured state party among them. But at
the end of the day, it was low voter turnout-and the
Democrats' unwillingness to mount a massive get-
out-the-vote campaign-that doomed both Cuomo
and Abrams.
Regardless of all the high-gloss ad
and boutique polling strategies peddled by high-
priced political consultants, the fact remains that
electoral politics is a relatively simple business. In
Pataki's 1994 win, turnout upstate was higher than
normal-about two-thirds of the registered elec-
torate. And even though Cuomo received 72 per-
cent of the votes cast in New York City, only 49
percent of registered voters turned out in the five bor-
oughs. We've got the voters, but they've got the votes.
If even a small portion of the disaffected voter base here in
the city decides to take part in this year's election, the incum-
bents' presumed victories could well be thwarted.
Ironically, Republicans seem to understand this calculus
better than Democrats. The GOP has worked assiduously
against efforts to expand the franchise in areas where minority
voters are likely to turn out heavily for Democratic candidates.
D' Amato unsuccessfully opposed the federal "Motor Voter"
law in Congress and sought to remove a key provision forcing
So why aren't these potential new voters playing a decisive
role for the Democrats? Because the party is not exactly out
there seeking their support. If it were, Democrats could proba-
bly choose the state's leaders from now until the end of time.
The problem is that the ever-increasing costs of elections have
pushed the Democrats closer to people wealthy enough to fill
their campaign coffers-a powerful constituency that makes its
own demands of the party. Those demands represent a very dif-
ferent agenda than that which would spark a fire underneath the
non-voters and get them to the polls.
Candidates with the political to recognize the poten-
tial power of these non-voters-and the political gumption to
wage a real, issue-oriented campaign that speaks to the interests
of this sleeping giant-could turn the tide on the Republicans
and send them back out to sea.
Without drawing the party's traditional base into the politi-
cal process, Democrats' attempts to appeal to a magical "mid-
dle" or to supposed "swing" voters have become a recipe for
continued failure. Relying solely upon high-priced, poll-crazy
campaign consultants for advice won't do either. Take the
example of Ruth Messinger's campaign-which, in its consul-
tant-driven wisdom, opted to not open a single outerborough
campaign office and to focus instead on an underfinanced
media blitz.
This year's Democratic challengers should learn what New
York politicians used to know by heart: You need to get out
the vote by concentrating on field organizing. You need to
knock on doors and ask for votes. And then you need to start
listening to what those voters want from you and find a way
to deliver.
CITY LIMITS
Survey Says
Chlldr.n's HMlth:
Race, Poverty and Health

news in "Growing Up ... Against the Odds: The Health

of Black Children and Adolescents in New York City" is
bad, very bad. Sure, a lot of the facts and figures have the
ring of the all-toa-familiar: Homicide is the leading cause of
death for blacks aged 15 to 24. Black mothers are almost five
times less likely to get prenatal care than their white counterparts.
Sickle-cell disease strikes about one in 375 African-American
children, but funding for research doesn' t reflect this prevalence.
Yet page upon page of statistics explaining how the odds are
stacked against New York's young black population makes for
pretty grim reading. The Urban Issues Group report, edited by
Dr. June Jackson Christmas, catalogues everything from tuber-
culosis to suicide. It also explores the factors that exacerbate
health problems, including homelessness, malnutrition and lack
of health insurance. Again, numbers prove their assertions.
But thorough as the study appears, its authors contend the
full picture cannot be seen clearly without plugging gaps and
resolving inconsistencies in the available information.
"Growing Up ... Against the Odds," $20 suggested, Urban
Issues Group, 212-973-3602.
W.lfar. Programs:
National Trouble
W
elfare reform has broadsided New York with such
tremendous changes, sometimes it's hard to remem-
ber other cities face the same problems.
A recent 34-city welfare survey from the U.S. Conference of
Mayors helps regain some perspective. Unfortunately for com-
parison purposes, the report doesn't include NYc. But it does
give insight into problems and solutions from Chicago to Little
Rock, Arkansas, on topics such as jobs, assisted housing, emer-
gency food requests and interaction with state-level agencies.
Of course, most of the material is self-reported by mayoral
staffs, so a reader must take the "exemplary programs" with a
grain of salt (imagine what Rudy's PR crew would tout!). That
said, even a quick glance shows that New York could learn a
thing or two from other cities. For example, Philadelphia's
Workwise program includes four weeks in the classroom and
90 days of job search assistance for welfare recipients. And
Denver has a program that trains recipients in high demand
occupations, such as nursing and child care.
Overall, statistics reveal an urban landscape struggling to
handle federal demands. Seventy-one percent of the respon-
dents reported their state does not cover the cost of center-
based child care. Inadequate transportation is a problem in 84
percent of the cities. And requests for emergency food assis-
tance from legal immigrants increased in 75 percent of the
cities.
The surveyors, like most mayors, didn't look into building
a political consensus to change the welfare laws, however.
Instead they' re settling for ways to lessen the laws' impact.
"Implementing Welfare Reform in America's Cities," $15,
U.S. Conference of Mayors, 202-293-7330.
FEBRUARY 1998

Crantwrltlng:
AMMO
A Glimpse Behind the Curtain ........ _IIII!!_I!'! .-
D
on' t spend too much time on what you' ve already
accomplished. Demonstrate your accountability to the
community. Make an attempt at evaluation. Don' t over-
state the neighborhood's need.
These and dozens of other suggestions for successful
grantwriting fill two-thirds of the Fall 1997 issue of
"Community Change," the semi-regular newsletter of the
Center for Community Change. In one article, seven foundation
officials reveal what makes them move on after a quick
glance--e.g. "Slick proposals get very skeptical looks. A really
well done proposal is simply easy to read and well thought out."
Another piece counts off 10 mistakes community groups make
when seeking funding. Some are obvious, like failing to make
a good case for your project. Others are more fundamental-
like relying too much on foundations for money, and not
enough on your own community or membership.
Each issue of "Community Change" covers a variety of top-
ics of interest to anyone working at the grassroots, especially in
economic development. For example, the 24-page Fall issue
also covers the inequality inherent in the current economic
boom, how the U.S. stacks up against other industrialized
nations in supporting workers, and ideas for increasing the
number of decent jobs for people coming off welfare. It's a
potent combination of concrete suggestions and insight into
inner-city economics.
"Community Change, " $20for4 issues, CCC, 202-342-0567.
Hlsc.llanMUs:
Revolving Door, Enviro Health
What's a welfare official to do when the government safety
net is being dismantled? Move to the private sector and land a
welfare contract, of course. The Service Employees
International Union has published a list of former public
employees nationwide who traded in government paychecks for
high-level, highly paid positions in private corporations cozy-
ing up to their former agencies. One notable New York inclu-
sion: Richard 1. Schwartz, former senior advisor to Mayor
Giuliani who designed much of the current workfare program
and went on to create "Opportunity America." Others have
moved into the lobbying business for Lockheed Martin, EDS,
Maximus and other top welfare contractors. "Big Bucks
Bonanza: Welfare 'Reform' and the Revolving Door; " Free,
SEIU, 202-898-3347.
If you need to know more about the link between seemingly
omnipresent chemicals and human health, try the "Resource
Guide on Children's Environmental Health," a new tome from
a well respected national organization with serious medical
depth. The 244-page guide provides a thorough list of address-
es, phone numbers and information available from both private
and government agencies. Chapters list useful databases and
surveys, as well as a glossary of industry terms. "Resource
Guide on Children's Environmental Health, " $15, Children's
Environmental Health Network, 510-450-3818.
WI
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. Asian children's policy/advocacy nonprofit seeks ener-
getic and passionate leader for political advocacy, community organizing,
strategic planning, fundraising, administration and PRo Required: 3+ years
professional experience with high-level responsibilities, BA, strong analyti-
cal/leadership/fundraising skills, nonprofit management experience, strong
public speaking/writing skills. Send cover letter, resume and salary require-
ments. CACF Search Committee, 120 Wall Street, Third Roor, New York, NY
10005. Fax: 212-344-5636. (http://www.cacf.org)
SPECIAl. ASSISTANT TO THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR needed for rapidly growing non-
profit organization. (See www.WorkingToday.org for more inf9rmation)
Outstanding writing skills desired, as well as flexibility in terms of formats and
purposes-features, press releases, newsletters, advocacy, analysis and
human interest. Good editorial skills and attention to detail important. Must
be proficient on the computer and in navigating the Intemet. Interest in labor
and a communications background a plus. Salary commensurate with
ence. Full benefits. Mail, fax or e-mail resume with three different writing sam-
ples to: Working Today, P.O. Box 1261, Old Chelsea Station, NYC 10113. Fax:
212-366-6971. E-mail : workingl@tiac.net. No phone calls please.
FAMILY SUPPORT COORDINATOR. Manage human service staff in a welfare-
to-work program at the Urban Horizons Economic Development Center in
the South Bronx. Develop protocols for working with job-training partici-
pants around case management, advocacy, intervention, and resource
and referrals. Coordinate discussion groups, workshops and activities.
Must have administrative, community organizing and program planning
skills and a strong interest in welfare-to-work models. Knowledge of cur-
rent welfare laws/WEP. Ability to lead a team and work within a multidis-
ciplinary team. Excellent written and verbal skills required. MSW plus 3-
5 years direct service/supervisory experience required. FAMILY SUPPORT
WORKER. BSW or related degree plus 2-3 years, or 4-5 years 'experience
in casework, advocacy and community organizing in a job-training envi-
ronment. Fax or mail resume and cover letter to: WHEDCO at Urban
Horizons, 50 East 168th Street, Bronx, NY 10452. Fax 718-839-1172.
Attn: Dale Joseph. Bilingual (English/Spanish) speaking candidates are
encouraged to apply.
The Hudson Guild, a 100+ year old settlement house serving the Chelsea
community of Manhattan, seeks a COORDINATOR OF COMMUNnY ORGANIZING
AND ADVOCACY. The Coordinator will design and implement an effective com-
munity-building and advocacy role for the agency, working with staff and
community members to identify j'lnd work toward common goals. Candidate
must have significant paid work experience as community organizer, build-
ing coalitions with diverse groups of people in communities. Requires
Bachelor's degree, solid group-work skillS and ability to be open and flexible
in work style. MSW or other relevant Master's preferred. Full-time pOSition,
competitive salary, excellent benefits, creative, progressive work environ-
ment. Send/fax resumes to: Dr. Kathy Gordon, Hudson Guild, 441 West
26th Street, NYC 10001. Fax: 212-268-9983.
COMMUNnY DEVELOPMENTIPOI.LUT1ON PREVENT10N EDlIC4TOR to design and
deliver pollution prevention education to small businesses in NYC. Master's in
environmental management, science education, community development and 3-
5 years experience in relevant field/area. Demonstrated ability to work inde-
pendently, interact with diverse audiences through workshops, personal pre-
sentation(s). Communication skills, electronic technology proficiency.
TV DEVELOPMENT POSIT1ON to design economic development programs in NYC
neighborhoods. Assist in linking local market development, "healthy house" edu-
cation and sustainable development. Presentation skills and electronic
ogy profiCiency. Master's degree preferred in community development, planning
or economics with 3-5 years progressive experience. Demonstrated ability to
assess community capacity, solve problems creatively and work as team
responding to local concerns. Send/fax cover letter and resume to: Gloria
Roman, Personnel AsSistant, Cornell University Cooperative Extension, 16 East
34th St., 8th A., New York, NY 100164328. Fax: 212-340-2908.
The New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), the state's largest
student-{Jirected consumer, environmental and government reform advocacy
organization seeks DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR. Reporting to executive director,
the successful candidate will oversee all foundation grantseeking and report-
ing, managing the organization's growing list of major donors and overseeing
the organization's special events program. The Development Director will also
design and implement new fund raising projects as opportunities arise. Send
resume, cover letter and salary history to: H. Bozzi, NYPIRG, 9 Murray St., 3rd
A., New York, NY 10007. No calls please. EOE/ME.
continued on pages 33 and 35
CoNSULTANT SERVICES
Proposals/Grant Writing
Real Estate SaleslRentals
Technical Assistance
Employment Programs
Capacity BuUding
Community Relations
MI(UA(L 6. BUI
CONSULTANT
HOUSING, DEVELOPMENT & FUNDRAISING
212410-0460
212410-3968
m&buccl@aol.com
. 304 East 93rd Street, Suite 3A
New York, New York 10128-5500
M.K. Planning Co.
1Ie'J:: Developing Ideas; Growing Success
186 Prospect Place #64
Brooklyn, NY 11238
(718) 783-5744
akos@juno.com
Kathryn Albritton
Development Consultant
IRWIN NESOFF
management consuitingor non-pro its
Providing a full-range of management support services for
non-profit organizations
o Strategic and management development plans
o Boord and stoff development and training
o Program design and implementation 0 Proposal and report writing
o Fund development plans 0 Program evaluation
20 St. Johns Place, Brooklyn, New York 11217 (718) 636-6087
Does your nonprofit need corporate. real estate,
tax or other business legal services?
Lawyers Alliance for New York has a staff of skilled lawyers
and a roster of 400 volunteer attorneys from leading NY firms.
We specialize in providing free or low-cost legal services to non-
profit corporations. We also offer helpful publications and work-
shops on many nonprofit legal issues.
To find out if we can help your nonprofit, call 212219-1800
Lawyers Alliance
99 Hudson Street New York. NY 10013 for New York
Committed to the development of affordable housing
GEORGE C. DELLAPA, ATTORNEY AT LAW
15 Maiden lane, Suite 1800
New York, NY 10038
212-732-2700 FAX: 212-732-2773
Low income housing tax credit syndication. Public and private
financing. HDFCs and not-for-profit corporations. Condos and co-ops.
J-51 Tax abatement/exemptions. Lending for Historic Properties.
CITY LIMITS
The New York Publ ic Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), seeks an individual
who is skilled as a MICROCOMPUTtRSUPPORT SPECW.IST, is civic-minded and
has a strong desire to work in a dynamic office environment as a consultant
or full-time employee. Public interest salary+benefits. Send resume to:
Computer Operations Search Committee, NYPIRG, 9 Murray St. , 3rd R. , New
York, NY 10007. No calls please. EOE/ME.
ADMINIStRATIVE ASSISTANT. An organized self-starter with excellent written
and oral communications skills is sought by a nonprofit lender. Macintosh
experience is essential, including MS Word and Excel. Experience handling
phones, voicemail.maintaining data bases/mailing lists, purchasing. Able
to teach/self-teach new computer programs and features. Good phone pres-
ence. Salary: up to $30K, DOE. Excellent benefits, include 403b. Cover let-
ter and resume to: M Position, UHF, 10th R., 55 John St., NYC 10038.
SOCIAL WORKER. NMIC seeks an experienced social worker. Requirements:
MSW, bilingual English/Spanish, 5-10 years experience in grassroots, com-
munity-based settings with immigrant populations. Provide case manage-
ment, supervise staff and MSW students, perform administrative tasks.
Salary: Commensurate with experience. Send resumes to: NMIC, 76
Wadsworth Ave., NYC 10033. Fax: 212-928-4180.
Growing community development organization in Ft. Greene, Brooklyn has
the following job opportunities: SENIOR PROPERTY MANAGER. Experienced,
highly organized individual to oversee apartment rentals, collections, tenant
relations and maintenance staff. Must be computer literate. Experience with
rental subsidies and knowledge of building systems required. ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT DlRCTOR.. Self-starter to implement community economic
development initiatives, including job creation and commercial revitalization.
Previous business or community economic development experience. Good
NY STAR
WORLD WIDE WEB PAGES
LOW COST WEB PAGES CUSTOM DESIGNED, OR CREATED
FROM YOUR TEXT FILE OR "CAMERA READY" COPY
JERRY GRAHAM
JERRY@NYSTAR.COM
(212) 2600894
HTTP://WWW.NYSTAR.COM
SPECIALIZING IN REAL ESTATE
J-51 Tax Abatement/Exemption. 421A and 421B
Applications 501 (c) (3) Federal Tax Exemptions All forms
of government-assisted housing including LISC/Enterprise,
Section 202, State Turnkey, and NYC Partnership Homes
KOURAKOS & KOURAKOS
Bronx, N.Y.
(718) 585-3187
Attorneys at Law
New York, N.Y.
(212) 551-7809
Providing Professoinal Real Estate Services
to New York's Not-For-Profit Community
10 East 34th Street
6th Floor
ARC ADVISORS
incorporated
LeeM.AIlen
Managing Director
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 447-1576
Fax: (212) 213-2650
FEBRUARY 1998
communication, organizational and computer skills. ASSISTANT DlRCTOR..
Highly organized individual to oversee and supervise tenant organizing, prop-
erty management and housing programs and personnel. Must have excellent
writing, communication, computer and problem-solving skills. Community
development and some supervisory experience required. TEHANT ORGANIZ-
ER. Community-minded, motivated self-starter to work with tenants to
address individual and building-wide issues. Knowledge of housing laws and
regulations, tenants rights and HPD programs helpful. Bilingual
English/Spanish a plus. Salaries commensurate with experience. Resume
to: PACC, 201 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn; NY 11205. Fax: 718-522-2604.
JOB DEVB.OPERS needed for Job Bank of large South Bronx CDC. Salary:
low to mid $30s plus benefits. Immediate hire. Must have 2-3 years expe-
rience. Bachelor's degree in Human Services. Fax or mail resume and
cover letter to: Mary Barnett Lockman, Director of Social Services, Mount
Hope Housing Company, Inc., 2003-05 Walton Avenue, Bronx, NY 10453.
Fax: 718-378-0041.
CHILD AND FAMILY CASEWORKERS. Two full-time positions in downtown
Brooklyn. BA in Early Childhood (0-3) or Human Services. Provide services to
young children and families. Conduct home visits. Ability to motivate teenage
mothers in developing and managing goal plans. Good writing skills a must.
Send resume to: Personnel Office, Project Chance, 136 Lawrence Street,
Brooklyn, NY 11201. Fax: 718-330-0846.
BEACON CENTER DIRECTOR. Innovative school-based community center locat-
ed in East New York. Must possess budgeting skills, youth program experi-
ence, staff development and strong supervision skills. Bachelor' s degree
required. Bilingual (Spanish) preferred. Excellent oral and written communi-
cation skills. Salary $38,000-$40,000. Fax resumes to Emily Van Ingen:
718-647-2805. .
continued on page 35
LAWRENCE H. McGAUGHEY
Attorney at Law
Meeting the challenges of affordable housing for 20 years.
Providing legal services in the areas of General Real Estate,
Business, Trust & Estates, and Elder Law.
217 Broadway, Suite 610
New York, NY 10007
(212) 513-0981
DEBRA BECHTEL - Attorney
Concentrating in Real Estate & Non-Profit Law
Title and loan closings D All city housing programs
Mutual housing associations D Cooperative conversions
Advice to low income co-op boards of directors
313 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201, (718) 624-6850
COMPUTER SERVICES
Hardware Sales:
IBM Compatible Computers
Okidata Printers
Lantastic Networks
Software Sales:
NetworkslDatabase
Accounting
Suites! Applications
Services: NetworklHardware/Software Installation,
Training, Custom Software, Hand Holding
Morris Kornbluth 718-857-9157
W5
Mayoral Mad Libs
The Giuliani administration has made a lot of libs mad, but here's your
chance to play Mad Libs with Rudy! Just gather a few friends-don't let
them see the story-and ask them each in turn to give you the appropriate
type of word. Then plug in the responses. The results might be hilarious,
crazy, siJly-or cause you to lose your city contract!
A NOUN is a person, place or thing. Autocrat, Donna Hanover, snit and
forehead are nouns.
A VERB is an action word. Prosecute, misrepresent and crossdress are
verbs.
In case you've forgotten all the parts of speech, here's a quick review:
An ADJECTIVE describes something or somebody. Self-aggrandizing,
squinty, cop-lovin' and vengeful are adjectives.
An EXCLAMATION is any sort of funny sound, gasp or outcry. Hell
no! You're fired! and Get down, Andrew! are exclamations.
An ADVERB tells how something is done, modifying a verb. Tirelessly,
When a PLURAL is asked for, be sure to make the word mean more
than one. For example, budget cut is pluralized as budget cuts.
menacingly and willfully
are adverbs.
THE STATE OF THE
here CITY
today after
a year of
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thiS great . N6fJN-----, a year th
____ city. Before my ad . . at 1
N6fJN-----. TOday mJIllstration thi .
New Yi ' people say N ' s City Was aJ.
orkers h ew York C' . an
aVe bee Ity IS
n freed fr
_____ om the . ADJECTiVE-.
ADJECTiVE- Welfare r; . .
welfare check 1 eCIP
le
nts are learnin OUN of crime.
. have given g to ____
$ ---- VEREl--- for their
ADVERB-- wealthy co .
to stick rporatlons tax b
against the Ii h BER around. reaks equaling
gt,tho
se

that cross th
AnPLVRALEXPLETlVE ' are herded into sid e street
U,",Vl ANtMAI d 1 hav Ii eWalk pen lik'
Yes, it's true e orced the union. s e so many
-1 do have an s to kiss my
T enormous _____
he police now h ____
ave orders to ".... NOUN----.. But 1 will
..... est any not rest .
to Or othe"'" one who sell on It alone
'''VISe s, smOkes r; k .
____ ' ee sof .
VER"R-- ' Wntes so
a Yankees c. ERB marijuana. All b ngs that refer
ap With a big Us ads will s
stock Imply be pictures of .
market . grin. And l' me m
remaIns m pretty
____ '<Q.Ul as long
ADJECTiViJ:--, no as the
.., VERB affordable hou . one will notice
.LO these smg.
ingth
e time 1'm cate myself fj
____ Or the next year Th .
next ADVERB-- running ar . at IS, not COUnt
____ oUnd the coun -
NOUN-- . try seeking to be 1
e ected YOUr
Make sure
ThingS WEp Work you huy these other
Furious RUdy L ers PiCk Vp fun MaYoral Mad .
Cops C ashes Out A Lihs!
, ops, Cops Free ; EnelJlies List That .
... ___________ iiiiiii ___ ..:.:= A Mad Lir;ch Has Lbnits L Nixon's
1$' orne Control Anything Else
Already Filled In
CITY LIMITS
Continued/rom page 37
SENIOR STAFF AITORNEV, Economic Development. Lawyers Alliance for New
York, the leading provider of free and low-cost legal services to nor.profIt orga-
nizations in New York City, has an immediate opening for a Senior Staff
Attomey. Work closely with diverse clients in the areas of economic develop-
ment, assisting them in designing new vehicles for job creation and business
development in low-income communities. Supervise outside law firms handling
cases pro bono. Minimum 6 years corporate transactional experience required,
with real estate and finance experience preferred. Salary $60K, DOE. Fax
resume and cover letter to LANY Search Committee #2, 212-941-7458.
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR ADMINISTRATlON. The American Red Cross in
Greater New York is seeking an experienced professional to join the lead-
ership team of the Relocation Support Program. The Assistant Director,
Administration, manages the administrative functions of a $600K program
providing off-site supportive services to homeless and formerly homeless
families. Responsibilities include database management, contract adminis-
tration, report writing, fiscal management, and some program oversight.
Requires B.A., minimum 5 years administrative experience. You must have
experience in database management, contract administration, or both.
Applicants with related Master's and/ or supervisory experience preferred.
Salary low to mid $30s and benefits. EOE m/f/d/v. Fax or mail resumes to:
American Red Cross, Employee Resources, Dept. F124, 150 Amsterdam
Ave. , NYC 10023. Fax: 212-875-2357.
DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION. Brooklyn Legal Services seeks a director of
administration to administer grants, manage financial and record-keeping
systems, support fund raising, and supervise non-casehandlers. Good orga-
nizational skills and commitment to public interest work essential. Salary
commensurate with experience. Fax resume to Chip Gray, 718-855-0733.
Catholic Charities has the following full-time positions available: JOB READI-
NESS COORDINATOR. Coordinate & implement Job Readiness Program for the
graduates of the Education Outreach Program & others. Plan & arrange job
readiness workshops. Assist in the goal setting and outside referrals for
partiCipants. Assist in the fundraising for the program. B.A. , B.S. or B.S.W.
Knowledge of Spanish. Prior experience working with people in need. Good
interpersonal , communication & networking skills. Ability to handle varied
responsibilities. Teaching ability helpful. Able to accept flexible hours. EDU-
CATIONAL PROGRAM COORDINATOR, Coordinate Education Outreach Program
by recruiting, training & supporting mentors. Develop activities and curricu-
lum with the Education Outreach Support Team. Maintain records for par-
ticipants. Assist the Job Readiness & Center Coordinator. B.A. or B.S.
Knowledge of Spanish. Prior experience working with people in need. Good
interpersonal , communication & networking skills. Teaching experience.
Ability to handle varied responsibilities & able to accept flexible work hours.
Excellent benefits, 19 holidays. Send resume, salary requirements and
include job title in your response to: 1011 Rrst Ave. , Rm 1654, NYC 10022.
Or fax to 212-838-0637.
Help Build a National Tenant Movement! LEAD ORGANIZER: Mass Alliance
of HUD Tenants seeks experienced organizer for HUD tenant coalition in
Eastern MA and part-time support to local tenant buy-out deal. Supervise
and train staff, organize tenant groups and local campaigns. Prefer 3-5
years organizing, supervisory and training experience (preferably in hous-
ing). and knowledge of HUD housing or ability to learn. F/ T. Salary: high
$20s-low $30s plus benefits. Send resume to: MAHT, 353 Columbus
Ave. , Boston, MA 02116. VISTA PROJECT COORDINATOR: National Alliance
of HUD Tenants (Boston) seeks organizer/ administrator for a national
tenant organizing VISTA project to provide technical assistance and field
support to 40 NAHT VISTA sites. Prefer experience with VISTA, organiz-
ing/ training experience, project administration and knowledge of HUD
housing or ability to learn. F/ T. Salary: High $20s-low $30s plus benefits.
Send resume to NAHT, 353 Columbus Ave., Boston, MA 02116.
SOCIAL WORKER. NMIC seeks an experienced social worker. Requirements:
M.S.W., bilingual English/ Spanish, 5-10 years experience in grassroots,
community-based settings with immigrant populations. Provide case man-
agement, supervise staff and M.S.W. students, perform administrative
tasks. Salary commensurate with experience. Send resumes to: NMIC, 76
Wadsworth Ave., NYC 10033. Fax: 212-928-4180.
LET US DO A FREE EVALUATION
OF YOUR INSURANCE NEEDS
FEBRUARY 1998
We have been providing low-cost insurance programs and
quality service for HDFCs, TENANTS, COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT
and other NONPROFIT organizations for over 75 years.
We Offer:
SPECIAL BUILDING PACKAGES
FIRE LIABILITY BONDS
DIRECTOR'S & OFFICERS' LlABILTY
GROUP LIFE & HEALTH
"Tailored Payment Plans"
PSFS,INc.
146 West 29th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10001
(212) 279-8300 FAX 714-2161 Ask for: Bala Ramanathan
wp
At M&T Bank,
we put our moneg
where our neighborhoods are.
We are now accepting applications for our Community
Action Assistance Plan (CAAP) Grants Program.
We believe that the continued success of M&T Bank is
directly tied to the quality of life in the neighborhoods that
we serve. That's why we are renewing our commitment to
community organizations that are committed to making our
neighborhoods better places to live and conduct business.
We are offering grants of $500 to $5,000 to eligible orga-
nizations which provide essential neighborhood services.
Prospective applicants should be aware that in 1998 the
Bank will be focusing its community fmancial support
Brooklyn:
East New York (Atlantic and Pennsylvania Avenues)
Park Slope (Flatbush at 8th Avenue)
Bay Ridge (5th Avenue and 78th Street)
Manhattan:
Sutton Place (East 55th Street and 1st Avenue)
Lenox Hill (East 75th Street and 2nd Avenue)
Bryant Park (41 West 42nd Street)
Peter Cooper (East 20th Street and 1st Avenue)
efforts on projects related to housing and economic develop-
ment initiatives. Therefore, CAAP applications featuring
such activities will receive priority consideration.
M&T Bank's CAAP Grants Program for 1998 is open to
community-based, not-for-profit, tax-exempt organizations
located in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and Nassau County.
To obtain an application or further information, stop by any
one of our branches or mail your request to the address
below. Applications must be submitted by April 17, 1998.
Rfth Avenue (West 32nd Street and 5th Avenue)
135th Street (498 Lenox Avenue)
Nassau County:
Great Neck (23-25 North Station Plaza)
Oceanside (12 Atlantic Avenue at Long Beach Road)
Queens:
Forest Hills (101-25 Queens Blvd. & 67th Drive)
mM&fBank
M&T BANK Community Action Assistance Plan Grants Program
350 Park Avenue, 5th Floor
New York, New York 10022