Private Ayes

b
usiness and government have always had a cozy relationship i New York, going back to
the days when freelance police officers made deals with Du ch burghers to keep the
peace. But in the single generation spanning from president Reagan to Clinton, the
work of running American cities has been transformed from a rarefie occupation into a high-
stakes, high-profit business. Once, cities were perceived as sinkho s into which taxpayers'
money was spent-sometimes well and sometimes wastefully-then never heard from again.
Today, running the country's major metropolitan areas is a multibilli n dollar business, one in
which money is to be made, not lost.
Like most other city governments these days, New York's now runs less like, well, a gov-
ernment, and more like a venture capitalist looking for the latest ot-com gold vein. Much
of the money raised from taxpayers is spent not directly on programs, but to spur private
investment. Still more of it-and more and more with each passing year-goes to private
firms, both profit-making and nonprofit, to do the same work that used to be done by gov-
ernment employees.
Two months ago, the staff of City Limits started working on this issue much as we do most
others: with a determination to run a mix of articles that grappled with the most pressing issues
facing New York's neighborhoods. We never planned to do a special issue on the privatization
of government. But as we looked at the lineup, story after story ended up telling the same tale:
that where City Hall, Albany or the federal government have been transferring their operations
to private entities, conflict and confusion have followed. And in every case, those changes were
causing the people who depend on government to be there for them the most-the poor; the
young, the sick, the elderly-to accept higher prices for basic services, to face unaccountable
administrators, and to fight to keep their jobs or their homes.
Taking public business private is not in itself a bad thing. Market forces-and in partic-
ular; the obligation of providers of public services to compete against one another for gov-
ernment contracts-have the power to improve how New York City runs far more effective-
ly than government regulators ever could decree. But such a monumental transition must
be handled with exquisite care and extensive oversight, to make sure the people who have
the most at stake don't get hurt.
Just like any venture capitalist, government at all levels needs make smart and informed
investments for its business enterprises to succeed. But government privatizers have a spe-
cial responsibility: to make sure that they are driven by rational evaluation of the public
good, not by ideological crusades or as a stealth course to massive budget cuts.
They also need to keep giving citizen-shareholders their rightful dividends.
Cover photos by Joshua Zuckerman; students at Harlem's Sisulu Children's Academy
Alyssa Katz
Editor
City Limits Community Information Service. Inc relies on the generous support of its readers and advertisers. as well as the
following funders: The Adco Foundation. The Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. The Hite Foundation, The Unitarian
Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, The Sun America Foundation, The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, The Joyce
MertzGilmore Foundation, The Scherman Foundation, The North Star Fund, J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated, The Annie E.
Casey Foundation, The Booth Ferris Foundation, The New York Community Trust, The New York Foundation, The Taconic
Foundation, Deutsche Bank, M& T Bank, Citibank, and Chase Manhattan Bank.
(ity Limits
Volume XXV Number 7
City Limits is published ten times per year, monthly except
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I
THE GRID ~
,
JULY/AUCUST 2000
FEATURES
Taking Public Housing Private
For more than a million families in federally subsizided housing, time is running out.
Their landlords have a green light to get out of the low-income housing business.
Owning Up to It
In Massachusetts, a tenant group has persuaded everyone
from Ted Kennedy to town councils to help them buy their
apartments from the feds. And that's just the foundation of the
Anti-Displacement Project's grassroots empire. By JoAnn DiLorenzo
Lay of the Landlords
Apartment building owners are dropping out of federal subsidy
programs faster than you can say "market rents." By Joe Heaphy
The HUD Haggle
On the Lower East Side, a landlord threatens to give up government
subsidies and the restrictions that go with them. Is it a
real threat or a ploy to get more money? Maybe both. By Naush Boghossian
Time and Memorials
Sometimes even a grave marker doesn't last. In Newark, the bereaved
honor their dead with spray paint, bottles, T-shirts and a determination
to keep these fragile Rest In Peace memorials alive. A photo essay. By Helen Stummer
Making Up Kids' Minds
The charter school revolution has arrived, with promises of
innovation and choice. But community groups say the business
has room for only one idea of what kids need from their schools. By liza Featherstone
PIPELINES
Hanging Out to Dry
A city union saved 200 hospital launderers' jobs with an innovative deal.
The catch? They'll be spending the next year competing load-for-load
with a private company-and only the cheapest gets to stay alive. By Annia Cieztullo
Hot for Profit
Gambling that history won't repeat itself, the city's housing
agency is selling troubled buildings back to private landlords. By Kathleen McGowan
Power Outrage
The deregulation of New York's power industry is making electric
bills as freewheeling as the Nasdaq. Instead of taking a promised
dive, prices are heading higher than the mercury. By Sajan P. Kuriakos
Cityview
Building a Future
Book Review
Alphabet City Slicker
Editorial
Letters
Briefs
COMMENTARY
130
By Peter Marcuse
131
By Edgardo Vega Yunque
DEPARTMENTS
2 Ammo 29
4
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CITY LIMITS
Home and Carden
South Bronx Bocks
F
rom his fifth-floor apartment window
on Longfellow Avenue in the South
Bronx, Dave Reed can admire the park
in the making across the street. He likes
the lampposts, which reminds him of
the ones used in Central Park, and he's proud of
the fledgling southwestern and West Indian trees
along the playground. 'The sight just grabs you,"
he says quietly.
The park, Rock Garden, gets its name from the
large boulder that it's built upon. The rock outcrop-
ping takes up half the block, and reaches over 15 feet
off the ground on the Longfellow Avenue side. A
pathway will allow visitors to walk up the billy side
to its top. More trees and shrubs will be added later,
but for now, except for a playground, a few seating
areas and a flagpole, the landscape is mostly bare.
But it's still a lot better than the mess that it
JULY/AUCUST 2000
replaces. Ten years ago, Rock Garden was an unof-
ficial dump, fllled with junked cars and old bath-
tubs. For years, community leaders approached
different city and state administrations to do some-
thing about it. But the requests never got anywhere.
"They laughed at us and told us we were
crazy," says Reed, a retired accountant who over-
sees the park project. He recalls one city adminis-
trator telling him: 'You can't do anything with that
eyesore.'
Finally, in 1995, the local community develop-
ment group Mid-Bronx Desperadoes got an initial
grant of $75,000 from the Department of Agricul-
ture to rehabilitate the site. As the cleanup began
and brought new ideas for the park, other donations
came in, including $2 rnillion from local politicians.
The design of the garden shows its coopera-
tive beginnings. Initially, hundreds of locals met
with MBD to list their needs. The list they came
up with included an amphitheater for cultural
events, a basketball court and two playgrounds.
Compromises, like putting in sprinklers instead
of a pool, had to be made. "They liked the idea"
of the sprinklers says Reed, laughing, "but they
would've liked the pool better."
Five years of construction and over a million
dollars later, the dump was transformed. The trash
was cleared out. In certain places, the rock was
jackbamrnered down by four to five feet to create
a short wall that residents can sit on. An even big-
ger job was shearing off eight to nine feet of rock
to create a waterfall.
So far only one-third of the park has been fin-
ished, although it opened on June 3. Early next
year, residents can look forward to the amphithe-
ater and the basketball court, as well as a possible
revival of the neighborhood's international festi-
val, canceled two years ago.
"The idea for this is 10 years old," says Reed,
looking at the park. "It used to be all rubbish."
-Yahaira Castro
.-EII_.
Briem
s
........ --------........ -------------
c
g
. ~
~
8
m
::E
J
m
-5
'E
>
m
"5
Ergonomics
lIRA Butts In
W
ork sets you free, according to
city welfare chief Jason Turner -
especially if you're toiling
in an ergonomic
$749 chair.
When Human Resources
Administration Commissioner
Turner was shipped in from
Wisconsin to overhaul New York
City's welfare system, he put
work first on the agen-
da, transformed
"income cen-
ters" into '10b
centers," and, with a
little help from his
cronies,revarnped
the tired old bureau-
cracy into a sleek
new ideological
machine.
Apparently the redecorating
was more than just ideological.
The brave new HRA also
features the latest 1D
upscale ergonomic
design: Herman
Miller Aeron chairs.
The envy of board-
room types and
bureaucrats alike, the chairs are made with
special air-permeable mesh that moderates body
temperature. They use something called "the
Kinemat tilt" to automatically adjust to the sit-
ter's movement and another thing called
"anthropometrics" to accommodate nearly any
size, shape or body type. According to an indus-
trial design expert who voted it the "Design of
the Decade," the Aeron chair "evolved to
become a design classic ... add[ing] to the quali-
ty of work life."
The workfare workers who sued the city for
access to drinking water and bathrooms on the
job will doubtless be happy to hear about HRA's
newfound dedication to ergonomic standards.
But are the welfarecrats
whose behinds grace
these seats actually
doing any work in
these luxury lounges?
Well, according to Her-
man Miller's web site,
"people who sit down
for long periods of time
run a high risk of low-
back injury, second
only to those who lift
heavy weights." And
welfare workers sanc-
tioned for failing to show
up for their job assign-
ments will be especially
glad to know that "in the
Aeron chair, the sitter pays no penal-
ty-in terms of comfort, support, or
effort expended-to achieve the
benefits of seated movement."
And what about the
I es s -than -I i s some
Commissioner him-
self-does Herman
Miller's special,
anthropometrically
calibrated extra-large Aeron cradle his
capacious can? HRA failed to return phone
calls inquiring as to the make and model of the
Commissioner's chair. But on a recent visit to
the Office of the Commissioner on HRA's 25th
floor, City Limits counted more than 25 Aerons
around the table in the main conference room.
-Annia Ciezadlo
8 ~ ____________________________________________________________ ~
Real Estate
Land Rush,
E. Brooklyn
B
ather than going through the time-
consuming process of auctioning off
vacant lots (and fending off spunky
community gardeners and Bette
Midler in the process) the city hous-
ing agency has found an simpler way to dispense
with its extra property: give it away.
At a hearing in May, Department of Housing
Preservation and Development Commissioner

Richard Roberts told the City Council that 700 new
homes will be built under the agency's New Foun-
dations homeownership program. (An agency rep
later said the program now includes 66 lots.)
Developers can charge as much as they like for
the new homes, since there aren't any income
restrictions attached to the deal. The city doesn' t
kick in any extra subsidies, but it does provide a
20-year tax break.
And, as a real boon to developers, the city
doesn' t even plan to charge for the land. "We may
convey it for a nominal consideration," was what
Roberts said, after councilmembers questioned him
on this new project. The majority of the properties
are in East New York, although there are also some
in Queens and the Bronx.
-Kathleen McGowan
Closings
Bale No More
I
n January 1999, a team of independent edu-
cation experts recommended that Sarah 1.
Hale high school in Boerum Hill be "phased
out," citing low student academic perfor-
mance and poor .attendance. Next fall, the
school will be replaced by the Brooklyn High
School of the Performing Arts. About half of
Hale's students have already transferred out,
according to one teacher.
Clearly, Hale had problems: Of the 28 high
schools in the Brooklyn and Staten Island School
District, this one was identified as "the school that
was farthest from state standards and most in need of
improvement," says Ira Schwartz of New York State
School and Community Services, the state agency
that oversees New York City public high schools.
But not everyone agrees with the decision. For
some students, the change has been disruptive and
stressful. "Who knows what effect this new risky
situation may have on my grades and my chances
of getting into the college of my choice," wrote one
student in the most recent issue of the school's stu-
dent literary journal, Crossing Swords.
And administrators think that Hale wasn' t a lost
cause. "I felt that the school should have been
restructured without such drastic measures," says
Bette Davis, who was Hale's principal in 1998.
In addition, Hale was a neighborhood school,
with a student body that was approximately 77 per-
cent African-American and 21 percent Latino.
"The community needs that school," says 37-year-
old 1Ylon Washington, parent of a Hale sopho-
more. "They are punishing the children who are
really the victims."
And, says Washington, it's part of a larger pat-
tern of gentrification in downtown Brooklyn. When
the Brooklyn High School of the Performing Arts
replaces Hale this fall, students who are presently
enrolled at Hale are not guaranteed a seat. Admis-
sion to this new specialty performing arts school
will be based on auditions or an interest in "preser-
vation arts," which will be the only major that does
not require a performance test.
"They are saying that the students failed. My
belief is that they wanted the school to fail because
of the gentrification of the downtown Metrotech
area," Washington says. 'They were shipping out
kids so that they could phase out the school with-
out any problems or resistance from parents."
"We are looking to service Brooklyn," counters
Elizabeth Sciabarra, Deputy Superintendent of the
district. She said the new performing arts school
will draw 25 percent of its students from the neigh-
borhood, and that students who haven't yet trans-
ferred will be allowed to continue through Decem-
ber of next year. 'The kids who are there have not
been abandoned."
-Miriam Perez
CITY LIMITS
........ --------.... ----------------Briem
Public Housing
HOPEs
Dashed
T
heir buildings on 114th Street won't be
tom down-merely gutted and rebuilt.
Nonetheless, the news came like a
bombshell for the tenants of the A.
Philip Randolph Houses. They would
have to move out of their homes for months, and
some of them would never be able to come back.
Now, the residents have been hit with another
surprise: in May, the New York City Housing
Authority announced that it wouldn't be trying to
get the funding that would have both fixed the
buildings and added social services counseling,
job training and a computer lab to the project.
This winter, tenants learned that the local hous-
ing authority planned to apply for federal money to
rebuild the 36 run-down tenement buildings in this
housing project. But there was a big catch, one that
outraged residents. The funding for the work was to
come from HOPE VI, a federal housing program
that requires that developments be scaled down in
size or density. Once the rehab was complete, there
wouldn't be room for all 322 families that now live
in the buildings to move back.
With the help of elected officials, tenants suc-
JULY/AUCUST 2000


e-t-
rn
C
=
CURSES, DUDLEY!
YOU'VE
ME AGAIN!!!
cessfully pressed NYCHA to revise its blueprints
and squeeze in additional low-rent apartments. It
seemed a smart compromise, fulfilling tenant needs,
NYCHA priorities and federal funding rules.
But weeks later, NYCHA announced that it
wouldn't be applying for the money after all.
According to sources familiar with the discus-
sions, an internal housing authority review conclud-
ed that the application wouldn't meet the federal
government's stringent requirements for the grants.
(Among other things, the projects to be rebuilt must
be seriously deteriorated and be replaced largely
with low-rise owner-occupied townhouses.)
Tenants were furious about the decision, and
even angrier that the agency's Sharon Ebert, the
agency's director of housing finance and develop-
Landlords
ment, had given a detailed presentation on the
plan only days before at a community board meet-
ing-even though she reportedly already knew the
application was dead. (Ebert did not return calls
seeking comment.)
''This is the hope that turns into a lie," rages
Councilman Bill Perkins, whose Harlem district
includes the buildings. He predicts NYCHA will
have a tough time regaining tenants' trust. ''People
are now going to fear the worst-the racism fears,
the gentrification fears, all the bogeymen are
going to come out."
Commissioner John Martinez told the project's
planners that the city will proceed with the recon-
struction anyway, using other sources of money.
-Alyssa Katz
It's a sad day for working stiffs when the monks move in, at least from
the viewpoint of the longtime union watchdogs at the Association for
Union Democracy. They've been keeping an eye on organized labor from
their old bric:k mortuary building in downtown Brooklyn for rlYe years.
ALL THAT
IS SOLID
But recently, the building was bought by a group with a slightly different view of the merits of world-
ly struggle: the Zen Mountain Monastery of WoodstDCk. The BuddhisIs may have some angry spirits til
exorcise when they move from the sentinents expressed in A1JD's latest newsletter: "When 011'
lease expi'es in October or 2003 (perhaps sooner) our.-1Ce wiD be transfonned from a base and meet-
q center fIM' the rank and file struggle til a Zendo where peaceful monks meditate and disIms the i1lu-
sory nabn or shakras [sic] and I'8OOlIIC8 material attachments." -Kathleen McGowan

Hanging Out to Dry
I A mean deal leaves city-hospital laundry workers holding on to their jobs by a thread.
PIPELINE i By Annia Ciezadlo
.... -....IAI-l'
A union deal with
the city gave
Brooklyn laundry
workers a reprieve
from layoffs-by
forcing them to
fight for their
livelihoods.
:M
B
y May it's already hot inside the
Brooklyn Central Laundry.
Scorched air shoots from vents in
the ceiling, and there are more fans than
people between the rows of dusty machines.
"If it's 90 degrees out there," says shop
steward Hulie White, "it's 120 in here."
White has worked in the laundry since
1973. Standing beside a machine with
mechanical arms called a spreader-feeder,
White explains what the gleaming behe-
moth means: two fewer workers required
to hold the edges of every sheet.
Paradoxically, it also means that White
and approximately 149 others at the laun-
dry, who daily wash hundreds of pounds of
bloodied and soiled linen from nine city-
owned hospitals, may be able to hold on to
their jobs. The spreader-feeder is part of an
agreement to keep the city's Health and
Hospitals Corporation from shutting down
the facility and giving the work to Angeli-
ca, a private laundry company.
In 1998, HHC announced it had found
the Brooklyn facility too outdated to be effi-
cient and too expensive to upgrade. "We had
a pivotal question that faced us," says Frank
Cirillo, head of operations at HHC. "Could
we afford to invest $8 million into the plant
to make it efficient? The answer was no."
White's union, Local 420, fought all
last year to keep the laundry open. It held
candlelight vigils and marched to Gracie
Mansion. It appealed to City Council
members. Finally, the local's parent union,
District Council 37, sued the city and got
an injunction to keep the laundry open. In
February, the union reached an agreement
with HHC that would let the laundry's
machines keep spinning.
According to the union's Public
Employee Press, it was a "Victory at Brook-
lyn Laundry!" The deal certainly looked
decent. It gave the plant $1.6 million to
spend on new equipment. And instead of
laying off workers, HHC agreed to transfer
one-third of the laundry staff to other jobs in
the hospital system. "The magnificent part
about all this was, no pink slips," says Local
420 president Jim Butler. ''They shouted for
joy after the victory was announced."
But the deal carne with an unusual con-
dition, one that may leave the workers out
of their jobs after all. As an alternative to
giving the contract to Angelica outright, the
city insisted that the union participate in a
year-long competition that will start this
summer. Half of the laundry load is staying
in the Brooklyn facility. The other half is
now being handled at Angelica plants in
New Jersey and upstate New York. One
year after the contest begins, a multilateral
panel will decide which one-the union-
ized city workers or the nonunionized pri-
vate ones-has washed the most clothes
for the least money. If the Brooklyn group
loses, HHC will shut the city laundry and
give the contract to Angelica.
Laundry workers hope their new equip-
ment and years of experience will carry
them through. Failing that, the union is
counting on the political winds to shift in
its favor. "We're hoping that we can string
this out until there's a new mayor, in which
case there will be a new head of HHC,"
says DC 37's head negotiator, Dennis Sul-
livan. "We're going to try to milk this for
all it's worth. And I think we probably will
be successful."
The agreement, however, suggests oth-
erwise. To stay alive, the Brooklyn shop
must cut the cost of doing laundry from 68
cents per pound down to somewhere clos-
er to Angelica's rate of 28 cents per
pound-a price the laundry's own shop
steward believes it can't match. The local
has bought its workers a year. But despite
union leaders' public confidence, the terms
they have agreed to for the competition
appear to leave the laundry workers in a
mess even they won't be able to clean up.
Whether the Brooklyn Central Laundry
wins or loses, its deal with the city sets a
troubling precedent for unions. For them,
the phenomenon known as "managed com-
petition" is something to be feared. "It's a
terrible situation," says Dan Ratner of Ser-
vice Employees International Union Local
1199, which lost a hospital laundry contract
to Angelica in the mid 199Os. "You're com-
peting to continue to do your own work.
And you're competing, often, with workers
who are making less. You're competing for
your livelihood."
P
itting public and private sector work-
ers against each other is a relatively
new experirnent-particuarly in New
York City, where municipal unions have
CITY LIMITS
traditionally had clout. Though the Giuliaru adminis-
tration has made some tentative forays into managed
competition, the Brooklyn laundry agreement is its
largest experiment yet.
Other cities have gone much further. First intro-
duced by Phoenix in the midst of a 1979 fiscal crisis,
managed competition was a hit with the Clinton
White House and the architects of managed care. It
found a new set of champions in city and state gov-
ernments during the early-l990s recession, as local
economies crumbled and governments desperately
sought ways to cut their budgets.
But it's Indianapolis mayor Stephen Goldsmith
who has turned managed competition into a near-
religion. As author of The Twenty-First Century
City, he literally wrote the book on it. Since taking
office in 1991, Goldsmith has forced over 75 city
contractors to sing for their supper, making them
match private sector bids as a condition for keeping
their contracts. The mayor estimates the practice has
saved the city around $500 million.
Goldsmith was fortunate to have an unlikely
ally: AFSCME, the national government workers'
union. While most city unions fight privatization
tooth and nail , AFSCME welcomes managed com-
petition as a chance to prove that public employees
do better work. AFSCME says that when city
workers compete against private contractors,
unions are usually able to stave off the privatization
of public jobs. That has been borne out, contends
AFSCME spokesperson Cate Alexander, "in local-
ity after locality, jurisdiction after jurisdiction."
Elliot Sclar, an expert on public-sector privatiza-
tion, agrees with Alexander that it can work. In his
new book, You Don'tAlways Get What You Pay For,
Sclar examined a contest to manage a public garage
in Indianapolis as a case study in managed competi-
tion. In the end, the union won, by doing the same
work more cheaply than a private company.
Sclar concluded that with careful monitoring and
strict terms, such a contest isn't necessarily a free
ride for a private bidder. Indeed, the garage union
fought from a position of strength: it demanded the
right to choose who to hire or fire and to choose its .
own referees for the contest. And when the compe-
tition was over, it demanded a share of the savings.
"They took a risk with Goldsmith," says Sclar.
"Because let's say they did all this, and he still took
the work away from them-they would have
implicitly bought into quote-unquote privatiza-
tion." They won, and did so because of savvy nego-
tiation. But had they lost, they would have been
called traitors to organized labor-and their work-
ers would have been out of their jobs.
N
ew York's agreement is much weaker than
the Indianapolis deal . If they win, the only
thing Brooklyn's laundry workers will get
(continued on page 32)
JULY/AUCUST 2000
Homesteaders Federal
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Hot for Profit
The dtys new plan to deal with its decaying apartment buildings: get rid of them.
PIPELINE ~ By Kathleen McGowan
,
Johnny Moreno
and Diane
De Jesus are
fighting to keep
the city from
selling their
East 95th Street
building.
leM
I
f it weren't for one small problem, the
little apartment building on East 95th
Street would have been a shoo-in to
become an affordable tenant-run co-op. The
building's residents, who get along well, are
mostly long-timers. They know what
they're getting into: Over the years, they've
dealt with the flaws and quirks of their
home, because with the city as their absen-
tee landlord, they've wound up having to do
routine repairs and maintenance themselves.
Most of them are poor or
near-poor, but they've man-
aged to figure out a financing
scheme that would pay to fix
the building, combining low-
interest loans and the high
Upper East Side rents that
the four vacant apartments
could command.
Unfortunately for the
tenants, that source of rev-
enue is also the hitch in
their plans to form a co-op.
This building is owned by
the city. And because 230
East 95th Street is in a
desirable neighborhood, the
city housing agency has
decided to sell it off instead.
The building has been put
into the newly expanded
Asset Sales Program, a
housing department initia-
tive to sell apartment build-
ings to landlords.
''The only problem is,
the building is on 95th
Street," sighs tenant Johnny
Moreno. "If it were on
l00th Street or up, they
would have given it to us
right away." Says tenant
association president Geor-
gette Pittman, ''They're just fighting for
that almighty dollar."
As of this spring, nearly 100 city-owned
buildings were earmarked for Asset Sales,
and many of the tenants in the handful of
buildings who have been notified about the
program are now scrambling to try to buy
or take over their homes. For many of them,
accustomed to years of neglect from the
Department of Housing Preservation &
Development, it's a startling wake-up call:
The free market has arrived.
Asset Sales is only the latest effort in
HPD's push to get rid of the run-down
housing the city repossessed years ago
from landlords who failed to pay property
taxes. From the beginning, the Giuliani
administration has been determined to shed
what it considers expensive albatrosses, a
legacy of the Koch and Dinkins years.
But the city's strategy for shifting those
buildings from public responsibility to pri-
vate hands is now in flux. For years, HPD's
policy experts spent their creative energies
crafting innovative protocols to gently ease
city-owned buildings into new owners'
hands, arranging for management and over-
sight to help make sure properties remain
well-maintained and tenants stay put.
More recently, the department has
become particularly adept at thinking up
new ways to get around its own schemes.
By expanding the Asset SaleS' Program, the
agency has widened the loopholes that it
can use to send the buildings it owns or
oversees straight to the open market In a
thriving real estate market and a roaring
economy, city policy now appears to trust
that the entrepreneurial skill of private land-
lords will be enough to salvage and main-
tain these troubled buildings.
But in the process, tenant advocates
charge, the city is making a major mis-
take. "I have a problem with utilizing city
property, and allowing
those resources not to
become permanently
affordable housing," says
Manhattan City Council-
woman Margarita Lopez,
a vocal critic of the pro-
gram. "I can't support it."
What Lopez and other
pro-tenant policymakers
object to is the same news
the mayor shouts from the
rooftops: the stock of city-
owned property is rapidly
dwindling, largely due to
free-market-oriented pro-
grams like Asset Sales.
Seven years ago, the city
owned 49,343 apartments;
now, it owns 21,110. By
rushing to put all its proper-
ties into the hands of pri-
vate landlords, critics say,
the city is squandering a
vital public resource-and,
perhaps, its last good
opportunity to fix and pro-
tect housing for poor and
working-<;lass people.
A
sset Sales was
launched in 1997
as a quick and
easy method to return city-owned build-
ings to private hands. According to
HPD's original description, it was intend-
ed to be used in "areas with strong real
estate markets." In these hotter neighbor-
hoods, goes the thinking, landlords are
not very likely to plunder or neglect their
buildings, since the properties are long-
term assets rather than short-term specu-
lative investments.
The Asset Sales Program has no offi-
CITY LIMITS
cial regulations, just a general scheme.
After HPD announces that the building is
slated for the program, its tenants get first
dibs. If they can't come up with the financ-
ing to buy it within 90 days at the price
HPD wants, the agency makes the building
available to the general public, selling it
as-is. Each deal must also be okayed by
the mayor and the City Council. In the first
round, carried out in 1998, 14 buildings
were sold this way.
For the city, the scenario is ideal. It
involves no subsidies, no certified inspec-
tions, no extra staff, no legal headaches-
just the prospect of a little cash for a build-
ing that had been a costly liability. But it
also virtually guarantees that rents will go
up, whether the building is sold to its ten-
ants or to a developer.
If the tenants buy, they may face sharp
rent increases to pay for mortgages or
repairs. For example, in the East 95th
Street building, the ground floor is held
up by a forest of beams, the stairwells are
Reach
Because 230 East
95th Street is
in a desirable
neighborhood-
just around the
comer from the
mayors new
squeeze-the city has
decided to sell it off.
cracking, and the roof leaks. By one engi-
neer's estimate, fixing these and all the
other problems would probably run about
$210,000. But according to the state-
ments the tenants submitted to HPD, they
can hardly afford big rent hikes: their
incomes range between $2,300 and
$30,000 a year.
On the other hand, if a building gets
sold off, the rents are frozen for only two
years. After that, they are governed by
New York's rent stabilization laws, and a
landlord can apply for increases to offset
the cost of improvements. In these beat-up
properties, that could very quickly add up
to big hikes.
But there's a larger issue at stake that
goes beyond what rent anyone tenant
pays. Many of the buildings newly
enrolled in Asset Sales are in Central
Harlem, which has a long history of land-
lord abuse and abandonment. This shift
also seems to contradict the department's
own strategy of using the program in eco-
nomically robust neighborhoods.
"Most people would consider Harlem a
strong real estate market," counters HPD
spokesperson Carol Abrams. But even as it
puts new Harlem buildings on the market,
the housing agency is in the process of seiz-
ing about 80 virtually abandoned tax-delin-
(continued on page 33)
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JULY/AUCUST 2000
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-,
3
g
Power Outrage
Your electric rates could go up by a third this summer-and state officials planned it that way.
PIPELINE t By Sajan P. Kuriakos
,
Power
transformers in
Vinegar Hill
help New York
keep its cool,
but the city's
generators can't
keep up with
demand. Enter
out-of-town
electricity
suppliers-and
prices that will
shoot up with
the mercury.
e-
P
ower problems have become as
mucb a part of New York summers
as rides on the Cyclone and odors
that defy description. As temperatures
reach sweltering peaks, lights, fans and air
conditioners go on the blink, and New
Yorkers are left to steam in the dark. Last
year brought blackouts to Washington
Heights. For a couple of years in a row
before that, vast tracts of Queens were
dark for hours on end.
But this summer, the first after the
deregulation of New York's power indus-
try, may be remembered as the worst yet.
Already saddled with the second-highest
electric rates in the country, city residents
and businesses stand a very good chance
of being socked not just with more power
outages than ever, but with bills that could
be up to 30 percent higher than before.
It wasn't supposed to turn out this way.
Following a national trend that has made
power a competitive business in 26 states,
New York transformed its power industry
from a set of local monopolies into a mar-
ket-based free-for-all in November 1999.
Utility companies sold off their power
generating plants to independent compa-
nies, and literally became power brokers
instead, buying electricity from the plants
and reselling it to customers.
Deregulation was supposed to encour-
age competition through price wars, gener-
ate a robust market and, in the end, save
consumers money. The government would
keep its hands off, except to ensure that the
air conditioners were working at alI times.
But the months following deregulation
have shown that consumers can expect
anything but substantial savings. Power
companies now have no limits, except mar-
ket forces, on what they can charge. And
because New York has fewer companies
supplying power than it needs, there's not
enough competition to make sure prices
stay low when demand is highest.
On an off-peak day in February, for
instance, the price of electricity went from
an average of $30 per megawatt to an
unheard of $6,000 per megawatt because
of an unexpected shortfall in supply.
Industry experts say this is not an aberra-
tion. During a short but intense heat wave
in early May, prices hit the $4,OOO-per-
megawatt mark.
These spikes have not yet translated
into higher bills, because they were tem-
porary-a day long at most. But experts
say that is likely to change this summer.
When Con Edison was the only power
company in New York City, it was able to
calI in favors from out-of-town power
plants when city dwellers demanded more
power than Con Ed's own generators
could supply. Borrowing electricity that
way was as ordinary a transaction as get-
ting sugar from a neighbor; it was under-
stood that Con Ed was good for its word.
But now that power is a market-based
industry, every megawatt has its price-
and when the biggest electricity market in
the country is crying out for more juice,
prices can go as high as the power-
generating companies are willing to
charge. Under huge political pressure to
avoid another fiasco like Washington
Heights, Con Ed-which still sells elec-
tricity to almost alI of New York City-
won't be in a position to refuse offers from
companies selling extra power, no matter
how outrageous the price.
"If you are the only supplier in the area
you can charge what you want," says
Ashok Gupta, senior energy economist of
the Natural Resources Defense Council.
"The sky's the limit."
According to industry analysts, mis-
management by the state Independent Sys-
tem Operator (ISO), the agency that is sup-
posed to keep prices stable, has made
cheaper suppliers unwilling to do business
in New York. The ISO, an independent
body appointed by the state Public Service
Commission (pSC), has no authority to
limit prices; its job is to create a stable
wholesale market in which power can be
bought and sold. On that front, say critics,
it is failing miserably.
The PSC and the power-generating
companies say the projected high costs are
just teething pains, normal to a new and
growing economy. Their theory runs
something like this: High prices can only
CITY LIMITS
encourage the birth of more power-generat-
ing companies seeking to fmd ways to sell
electricity more cheaply. In the end, as
more companies enter the power-generating
market, prices will drop and even out.
But critics contend mismanagement at
the ISO has kept new companies out of
play. 'The advent of competition has not
been handled to protect reliability and cus-
tomers from volatile prices," says Gerald
Nordlander, executive director of the Public
Utility Law Project, a statewide consumer
advocacy group. The biggest losers are
New York's poor. "For people with a fixed
low income, this could mean the difference
between having bread on the table or not,"
Nordlander says.
. The reason deregulation appears to be
leading to higher, not lower, electric prices
is simple: so far, there is no competitive
market. In fact, during peak periods power
generation in New York City now falls
mostly on one company: Keyspan Energy,
formerly known as Brooklyn Union Gas.
On a hot day it can charge what it wants for
electricity, and sweaty New Yorkers will
have little choice but to fork it over.
B
efore deregulation, life was pre-
dictable. Utility companies made the
electricity, and then they sold it. The
psc, appointed by the governor, regulated
prices. Electricity bills were "cost-related,"
meaning that the PSC made sure Con Edison
and other power companies charged rates
proportional to what it had cost the utility to
pipe the juice into your apartment.
Deregulating the power industry first
became technologically possible in the
1970s, when improvements in transmission
lines allowed states to import electricity
from generators hundreds of miles away. In
theory, at least, what had been local monop-
olies could now be broken up.
The PSC looked into deregulation in
1993 and began pursuing it in earnest in
1996. This, says Gupta, was a period of
acute uncertainty for New York's utilities-
and one that set the stage for the current cri-
sis.
While Albany was debating the indus-
try's future, New York's utilities put their
plans to build new power plants on hold. At
the same time, utility companies like Con
Ed, which with incentives from the state
had once invested up to $100 million a year
in energy efficiency programs, cut funding
down to less than $30 million. "They
slashed these energy efficiency programs
JULY/AUCUST 2000
because of their fear of the future," Gupta
says. "We did away with these programs
but did not build any new plants."
But while New York's capacity to gen-
erate electricity stayed frozen, its will to
consume did not. Over the past five years or
so, demand in the city has gone up by about
2 percent a year. That set New York City up
for the current crunch, in which a few pow-
erful suppliers can control the market. But
it's not entirely the suppliers' fault, say
power companies and industry analysts:
The ISO is botching the job.
In April, the New York State Electric
and Gas Corporation, which sells electrici-
ty to upstate customers, filed a complaint
with the Federal Energy Regulatory Com-
(continued on page 32)
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When Ray
Crosier and his
neighbors bought
their low-cost
housing complex,
ey turned their
equity into jobs
and aout.
As' government gets out of the housing business,
Massachusetts tenants step in-transforming
run-down buildings into political power.
By JoAnn Dilorenzo
-
R
e-election campaigns can bring out all kinds of critics. But
one day in 1996, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was
surprised to fmd himself suddenly on the wrong side of
some people he had counted as friendlies: poor tenants
from publicly funded housing. That day in western Massachu-
setts, dozens of tenants turned what was supposed to be a routine
Kerry photo-op-an AFL-CIO forum on poverty in the hard-bit-
ten city of Springfield-into a circus.
Their landlord's agreement with the federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development that kept their rents low was
about to end. The tenants had a choice: They could take their
chances with the landlord, who would be able to raise rents as
high as he wanted. Or they could try to buy the buildings them-
selves, using a special pool of federal funds. To get that money,
though, they needed Kerry to convince HUD that they were a
worthwhile investment. Kerry had promised he would send a let-
ter to housing secretary Henry Cisneros, but he had yet to deliver.
So the tenants showed up at the forum toting bottles of ketchup,
a nod to Kerry's wife, Theresa Heinz, formerly married to a condi-
ment heir. In the middle of Kerry's speech, they broke into a ren-
dition of the Heinz "Anticipation" jingle, castigating Kerry for
keeping them "wai-ai-ting" for the money. Then they walked out.
A week or so later, the letter was on Cisneros' desk. And a year
after that, the anticipation was over, as HUD delivered nearly $5
million to these tenants at Spring Meadow and Greenfield Gar-
dens, helping them buy their 472 apartments.
''Ten years ago this place was literally falling down," says Ray
Crosier, a Spring Meadow resident. "We fought bureaucracy to get
the money for the buyout It took years back and forth arguing with
HUD, but it in the end it worked."
It was a triumph of organizing for the Anti-Displacement Pro-
ject, the in-your-face Springfield group that engineered the Kerry
assault. But it was also the last of its kind nationwide. In 1997,
Congress revoked the funding that allowed tenants of publicly
subsidized housing to buy their buildings.
That move couldn't have corne at a worse time. From the late
1960s through the 1980s, landlords across the country rehabbed and
built thousands of buildings with generous mortgages from HUD,
promising to keep rents low and the housing well-run. But these
agreements, set up through programs like Section 8 and Section
236, locked landlords in to the arrangment for only 20 to 40 years.
Now, those deals are running out. Many landlords are now per-
mitted to get out of the business of low-income housing, either by
declining a new contract or by choosing to pre-pay their mort-
gage. Tenants have little say in the matter.
Except in western Massachusetts. Even after the federal fund-
ing evaporated, ADP was determined to help other HUD tenants
take over their own buildings. In the past decade, the group has
developed an inventory of 1,350 apartments in five complexes,
and it counts another 15 developments' worth of organized tenants
among its membership. It's a huge constituency to call on-a
power that ADP has used with formidable results.
For these residents, housing is a fulcrum. ADP has found a
way to use these resident-owned developments as a springboard
to a better life. Through the weight of numbers-and the leverage
of equity in their own homes-these residents have the power to
negotiate deals with politicians, unions, businesses, and schools to
get the jobs, education and other resources they need. It's the
American dream, ADP-style.
CITY LIMITS
F
or 11 years, it wasn't so hard for motivated tenants in pub-
licly funded housing developments to buyout landlords who
were trying to get out of the program-Congress had creat-
ed a special program just for that purpose. Between 1987
and 1996, tenants and nonprofit organizations took over about
33,000 apartments that were once privately owned.
Springfield's newly formed Anti-Displacement Project took
full advantage of the setup, buying apartment complexes and con-
structing a constituency in the process.
But in 1996, Congress cut off the cash, leaving most tenant
groups with few options. That didn't stop ADP, though. Instead,
they became masters of the federal low-income housing tax cred-
it, the number-one source of money for building and rehabilitating
affordable housing.
With tax credits, private investors get breaks from the IRS for
underwriting low-income developments. But putting together tax
credit deals is a complicated and highly political business, involv-
ing everything from cozy meetings with elected officials to heavy-
duty number crunching.
Among nonprofit developers the program is highly competi-
tive, according to Aaron Gornstein, executive director of Citizens'
Housing and Planning Association, a Massachusetts group that
tracks housing policy. "Even if you have the funding, doing buy-
outs this way is a very complicated process," says Gornstein. "It's
very difficult to pull off." It's not the sort of operation most com-
munity organizing groups are accustomed to putting together, and
indeed few have.
ADP, however, often manages to make it work. During the
past five years, the group has secured $42 million in state and fed-
eral funds, about $16.5 million of it in tax credit money, to ensure
stable housing and home ownership for 1,100 families. It has also
negotiated more than $10 million for renovations.
While the group hires a consultant to do the hardcore fmancials,
it's tenants who lobby to make sure the cash comes in. The group is
a membership organization, in which a core of particularly devoted
residents helps organize meetings, rallies, pickets and other events,
and then works to get other tenants to tum out for them.
Mary Lou Symmes, vice-president of ADP's board, has partic-
ipated in meetings with everyone from Senator Ted Kennedy and
HUD secretary Andrew Cuomo to state legislators and housing
fmance officials, seeking help buying buildings. "It takes a lot of
phone calls. You have to hit your congressman, state and local offi-
cials, ask for a letter of support," she says. "It takes a lot of
schmoozing." A former bookkeeper for the phone company, she
says she never expected to be involved in anything so high-stakes.
"People say, 'What you're doing is so cool!' But I'm very nervous
inside still. I just try not to show it."
T
aking over the buildings is the end of one campaign, but it's
also the beginning of another that's just as remarkable.
Through ADP, residents reach out to local power-brokers,
making sure that their concerns stay on the map. At its
annual convention-an unusual event that comes off as part reli-
gious revival, part political rally-the group invites influential
figures like state senators, utility executives and officials of the
state university system to answer residents' questions.
Those guests are also asked to make substantial promises. Last
November, for instance, a state housing official pledged $2 mil-
lion in state bond money to help Greenfield Gardens renovate.
JULY/AUCUST 2000
Taking Public Housing Private
For three decades now, building public housing has Deen a pri-
vate business. And there lies the origin of a crisis. Starting in the
late 1960s, Washington shoveled subsidies and low-interest loans
to developers. The trade-off: landlords had to rent to low-income
people for 20 years.
In more than a million apartments nationwide, that time is up
or coming up soon. Wherever a landlord thinks he can get a bet-
ter deal from private renters, he is likely to go for it, choosing not
to sign a new HUD contract. Rents may go as high as the market
will bear-and the apartments go out of reach of the very people
they were built for.
ADP makes the stakes clear. Officials who follow through will be
lionized by the group. Those who neglect their promises can
expect to be publicly vilified. Strange as it may seem, this test
wins more friends than foes.
ADP has also managed to win over elected officials by marry-
ing the classic liberal appeal of subsidized housing with an unex-
pected mate: the by-your-bootstraps notion that poor people must
take charge of their own circumstances. Massachusetts pols on
both the left (Kerry) and right (Governor William Weld) have
made sure to take care of ADP's members.
"I was certainly skeptical at first," says State Senator Michael
Knapick, a western Massachusetts Republican. ''There's a bit of
an antiestablishment notion to what they do, and a nonconformist
fashion." But after meeting with tenants and organizers, he says,
he was sold on their message. '1 embraced the concept because
homeownership is an important idea."
For ADP, homeownership is just as importantly a practical tool.
The apartments residents live in are now their greatest resource. It
wouldn't seem that way, since many of them required extensive
(continued on page 33)
Anti-Displacement Project
members get results from
pols-even
who like
Lay of the Landlords
Riding New York's reol estate boom, aparhnent building owners say goodbye to
public funding-and the poor tenants who come with it. By Joe Heaphy
Though most New Yorkers don't know it, much of the city's
public housing is actually privately owned. Tens of thousands of
poor tenants have their rents subsidized by the federal Depart-
ment of Housing and Urban Development under its Section 8
program.
But that precious stock of affordable housing is now under
threat. Over the next several years, the contracts for nearly 600
properties with Section 8 subsidies will be expiring, according
to data from the National Housing Trust. That adds up to about
70,000 low-<:ost apartments at risk. Each of the landlords of
these buildings will be faced with a decision: They can renew
their federal agreements for a few years and maintain the build-
Each triangle
represents a
federally
subsidized
building where
landlords
currently get less
from the federal
government than
they might from
the private
market- giving
them a big
incentive to opt
out and hike rents_

.
-
ings as low-income housing, or they can opt out and rent out
their apartments on the open market. What these landlords do-
and what HUD does to keep them in the program-will deter-
mine whether poor renters can keep living in these properties.
The process of Section 8 expirations has already started.
Through last September, 500 properties with more than 24,000
subsidized units had left the program nationwide. In New York City,
12 owners have opted out of Section 8, adding up to a loss of
1,505 units of affordable housing. Currently, Tenants & Neighbors
is aware of at least another 8 properties in the city where the owner
has opted out or indicated his intention to leave the program.
Cumulatively, these decisions will have a massive impact on the
city's stock of affordable housing. As all New Yorkers know, the
real estate market is booming, and these building owners have a
major economic incentive to convert to market-rate rentals, co-ops
or condos. And because they are relatively new, none of the Sec-
tion 8 buildings will be subject to the rent stabilization laws.
Some neighborhoods may be hit especially hard by this phe-
nomenon, as is apparent in this map, prepared by the New York
Public Interest Research Group's Community Mapping Assistance
Project. Each dot represents one of 306 New York City properties
where landlords are currently getting less money in rent subsidies
than they would be likely to get on the open market, and therefore
have the biggest incentive to leave the Section 8 program.
Essentially, it's a guide to vulnerability. Clearly, certain neigh-
borhoods in Harlem and the Lower East Side are at risk. Howev-
er, the problem is not limited to Manhattan. Nearly half of the opt-
outs that have already occurred took place in the outer boroughs.
As more and more tenants are priced out of Manhattan, it is like-
ly that many other owners in the outer boroughs will choose to
capitalize on the economic benefits of leaving the Section 8 pro-
gram by converting their buildings to market rate. .
The map is just a snapshot, since when a contract actually
expires the real rental market may be very different. In particu-
lar, HUD's estimates don't reAect the changes that gentrification
and rising real estate values have brought to many neighbor-
hoods. The future of each property is determined on a case-by-
case basis as each contract expires, creating fear and uncer-
tainty for the tenants who reside there.
When owners do opt out, the tenants have some protection..
Last year, HUD insti tuted "enhanced vouchers" that are sup-
posed to pay for increased rents, enabling Section 8 tenants to
stay in their homes even if the owner raises his prices. However,
at this time it's unclear whether owners are required to accept
these vouchers, and it's also unclear if these special vouchers will
actually pay enough to cover the rent hikes in New York City.
Plus, Congress must reauthorize funds for these vouchers every
year, leaving them victim to the vagaries of funding.
In an attempt to address this pending crisis, Congress and
HUD have developed programs that give landlords incentives to
renew their Section 8 contracts and stay in the program. Most
recently, Congress passed legislation that would increase pay-
ments to owners who are getting below-market rates.
It's a move in the right direction. But participation is voluntary
for owners, and the renewal contracts last only five years. After
that time is up, the whole process of renegotiation and reconsid-
ering starts over again, putting tenants back on the line.
Joe Heaphy is executive director of New York State Tenants &
Neighbors, which has been organizing tenants in HUD-
subsidized buildings.
CITY LIMITS
The HUD Haggle .
Subsidized tenants say their landlord is cashing in on rent-hike fears. By Naush Boghossian
A
grOUp of Lower East Side tenants say they have become
pawns in the middle of high-stakes bargaining between
their landlord and federal housing officials. They're afraid
their landlord will walk away from his contract to provide
low-cost housing when it expires later this year, and that they may
have to scramble to find new apartments. And while both the land-
lord and the feds deny it, the worried tenants feel that he is manipu-
lating their fears in order to get a sweet deal in the end.
Lower East Side One houses on East 10th Street is part of the
Section 8 program, under which the U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development pays landlords to house poor renters.
Tenants pay 30 percent of their income, and the government picks
up the difference. But Phase One's contract runs out this October,
giving landlord William Hubbard the chance to leave the program if
he wants to. Following HUD rules, Hubbard and his partners sent
150 tenants a letter last fall announcing the expiration of the project's
Section 8 contracts. This April, tenants got a second missive almost
identical to the fIrst one, with one difference: It said the landlord
would renew the contract only if HUD offered him a satisfying deal.
The panicked tenants took the second letter as an indication
that their landlord was leaning toward leaving Section 8. For days,
they flooded HUD with hundred of phone calls begging the
agency to negotiate with the owner to keep him in the program.
Many tenants are now convinced that the landlord deliberately
sent the letter to agitate tenants, sending a signal to HUD that he
was serious about his threat to back out. '11' s all about the almighty
dollar. The landlord wants more money and HUD is trying to bar-
gain with the landlord, and we're caught in the middle," contends
JULY/AUCUST 2000
G. Jenny Rivera, a Phase One tenant for 17 years. Maizie Torres,
the president of the tenant association, says that tenants continue to
fear that their landlord will leave the program if the housing depart-
ment does not meet his expectations for an increased subsidy. "He
wants us involved, to pressure HUD to meet his demands," she
says.
Hubbard claims his office believed that it needed to send the sec-
ond letter to comply with HUD requirements. "The letter was not
meant to alarm the tenants," he says. "In fact, it was meant to reas-
sure them that an alternative program was available that would allow
the ... program to continue, assuming we could work things out."
HUD representatives insist that in any case, tenant input will
have little impact on the fmal deal. A spokesperson says that the
government's renewal offer is determined by an independent
appraisal, which can only be adjusted by a few percentage points.
"We don't call it a negotiation process," explains Deborah
VanArnerongen, Director of Multi-Family Housing at HUD's
regional office. "We are limited as to how much we can vary from
how much our contracted appraiser said."
Part of the confusion is that this contract renewal process is new,
and housing officials and landlords are still working out the details.
'''There's a lot of concern now because everyone's in the dark,"
admits Hubbard. "We anticipate meeting with the tenants to let them
know what we plan to do once we finalize our plans with HUD."
Meanwhile, tenants are bracing for the worst. '1 bought a bedroom
set for my kids, but I can't give the store a delivery date because I
don't know if we'll still be here," says Rivera, whose kids have been
sleeping on mattresses on the floor. "I don't want them to assemble
Maizie Torres
and Eleanor
Daily contend
their landlords
are riling up
tenants in an
effort to get
a better deal
from the federal
government.
-
TIME AND
--
CITY LIMITS
MEMORIALS
JULV/AUCUST 2000
Newark families
remember their dead.
Photographs and text by Helen M. Stummer
L
ast summer, Geniva Dickson invited me to photo-
graph a visit to her son's grave. Kas, who was 21, had
been on his way home from drinking with friends
last year when another friend pulled up in a stolen
car and told him he'd drive him home. As Kas fell
asleep in the car, the guy took him for a joyride that turned
into a police chase and ended with the crash that killed Kas.
Four months later, his son, Kas Jr. was born. As part of my
work documenting Rest in Peace memorials around Newark, I
was going to go with Geniva to take a picture of the baby's first
visit to his father's grave.
We spent weeks planning to get together. Finally, on a hot
and humid August day, I followed the family on the way to the
cemetery in my car. They stopped to buy flowers and alcohol
for the ritual of taking a drink and then pouring a little onto
the grave.
When we got out of the car at the cemetery, I fell behind,
adjusting my camera. Then I heard sobs and screams. Running
to the circle around the grave, I saw Geniva crying, yelling and
shaking her head: "The grave is gone!" cried Geniva, covering
her mouth. "It's not here no more. This is crazy!"
She walked around the bulldozer tracks where her son's
grave had been. "Talk about disrespectful-running right over
Kas's grave to make another one. It's crazy. Who could do such
a thing?" A few feet away was a metal plate that covered a
new grave.
The loved ones tried to figure out where the grave had been.
Finally they decided on a spot, and placed flowers and built up
stones for a new marker there.
Crime may be down everywhere, but for some people vio-
lent death is still a part of everyday life. In places like
Newark, East Orange and Irvington, New Jersey, mothers are
still fearful to let their sons out of the house. People don't go
outside at night. "Everyone expects to die someday, but folks
don't expect to be killed," says Jerome, holding out his wrist
with an RIP tattooed on it for his dead friend Cocoa. "But in
the ghetto, you expect to be killed."
--
-
CITY LIMITS
T
here is Dana, 19, shot point
blank last year outside a dance
club by a retired policeman.
Bucshot was 21 when he got
shot outside a liquor store in an
argument over some beer. Then there is Carl
from Newark, 16 years old, shot while walk-
ing to a bowling alley with a group of friends.
He went into a coma and died shortly after.
The survivors' respect and grief for the
deceased spill onto the streets, sidewalks,
walls, telephone poles and abandoned
buildings, anywhere a shrine of love can
be created: at the exact site of death, near-
by or where the victim lived. Sometimes
the memorial shows up on the nearest
building where a mural can be painted, or
where bottles or candles can be stacked. In
a world where a grave or a life can be
erased in moments, it's through the rituals
of building and tending memorials that
victims of violence are mourned and
remembered.
R
IPs as street graffiti memorials
evolved from many different
sources; one theory has them
evolving from the Mexican Day
of the Dead and coming up
through California. I started asking people
how the custom of street RIPs began. "We
took the idea from tombstones in the ceme-
tery, except we write our words of love on
walls," says Carl's brother Red, from 17th St.
in Newark. "They have candles in the
churches to light and pray. We took them
into the streets and do the same thing."
I recall Omar from East Orange telling
me that on RIP anniversaries, as people
come to pay their respects, beside lighting
the candles and praying they leave things
that the victim cared about-work shoes, a
hat, a scarf, teddy bears, mementos.
Sitting around Dana's RIP on the porch
on 16th Street by South Orange Avenue, his
family talked about what happened to him
and how they mourn his death. Dana never
drank, says his grandmother, Mrs. Mordell
Dorch, but when he was shot they still used
liquor as part of the ritual.
Someone else mentions that in the
churches they pour and drink wine. "We do
the same, except we tip some for our friend
onto the grave, pour a little out of respect to
the deceased, and then have a drink for
him," says Dana's cousin Keera. "We drink
liquor to ease the pain-like you laugh so
you don't cry. The liquor is like Novacain to
ease the pain."
JULY/AUCUST 2000
-
IIThere are different ways of mourning,1I agrees Kar-
riem, a friend of Dana's. IIBlack people mourn by using
liquor as an outlet."
Liquor at a memorial is also a sign of respect. Putting
the brands together-E&J brandy, gin, scotch, cham-
pagne-honors the dead. lIyou have to keep the bottles
in a straight line and the brand names together. That's
how people show their love and respect, II says Red.
liThe more neat it is, the more respect. You can't just
throw them up there in anyway, that shows you don't
care. Take a sip and say a prayer, and then line up the
bottles. II Grieving loved ones visit shrines regularly,
often to leave more bottles or to light candles.
Carefully tending the shrines is a battle against
impermanence; the painted memorials, especially, are
often painted over or removed. III don't want to mess up
the wall, I just got to let it be seen, known that he still
has love around here, II said Red, who makes regular vis-
its to his RIPs for Carl. II As long as you see his name, II
Red said softly, IIhe will never be without us. I
acknowledge that he's not here, but when I write his
name that makes him still here with me. If I walk down
the street and I see this name, I know he's not here
physically, but he's here mentally in my heart."
IIEvery time they knock down a building where
Carl's name is or scrub it off, I put a bigger one up some-
where else. II
Helen M. Stummer is the author of No Easy Walk, Newark,
1980-1993, published by Temple University Press. Sbe will be
baving an exhibit in Newark at AljiIa, a Center for Contem-
porary Art later this year, entitled, R ~ P (Rest in Peace) Street
Memorials: Contemporary Sites of Loss and Hope.
--
Wearing the shirt
in memory
of Kas. Kas's
mother Geniva,
son Kas Jr., and
sister Janet.
CITY LIMITS
JULY/AUCUST 2 0 0 ~
RIPs, Ready-to-Wear
Ayrnan Ramadan started his business six years ago,
putting baby pictures and "Happy Birthday Mom" on T-
shirts out of his storefront on Market Street in Newark.
Then people started corning in asking for pictures of loved
ones who had died.
"In the 80s the fashion style was to airbrush clothes with
flowers and designs-urban movies showed that fashion a
lot-after that graffiti was airbrushed on clothes," says
Ramadan. "Then someone got the idea to airbrush 'rest in
peace' on clothes when someone died, so the idea came into
being to show unity and love for the person who passed. It
was a natural progression. Then we took it a step further and
computerized the graphic designs."
Now Ramadan's average order is for 25 shirts, at $20 to
$30 a shirt. Sometimes, people will order as many as 80 or
100 at a time. Each year after a person is killed, he gets
orders for RIP anniversary T-shirts. Sometimes, large fami-
lies-especialiy in the South-will rent a hali for reunions,
building a shrine to the victim and wearing T-shirts with
their loved one's image. "Unfortunately, I'm sorry to say
that our business is thriving," says Ramadan.
Entire families wear the shirts to funerals. Dana's family
also wore them to visit his shrine. "In the churches they
wear robes. We wear T-shirts with the victim's picture on it
as a symbol of our love," says Keera, her cousin. "We keep
him close to our hearts." -HS
--
Harlem' s
Sisulu
Children's
Charter School
is designed and
run by Victory
Schools, which
plans to turn a
profit on its
$1 million
investment.
-
W
hen New York State passed a law last year authorizing
charter schools, neoconservatives weren't the only ones
celebrating. Many of the city's neighborhood groups
were thrilled. The law seemed to offer an unprecedent-
ed chance to help out kids whose local public schools were letting
them down.
It was natural that the Puerto Rican Family Institute would
take up the challenge. The Institute, which has hosted a Head Start
program for four years and runs a day treatment program for trou-
bled Latino teenagers, proposed to start a charter school in
Williarnsburg-Bushwick. The area lacks good schools, and the
Institute's plan was to integrate social services and academics in
order to reach out to children with difficult family lives.
Because of the programs it already runs, the Institute has
strong working relationships with the city Board of Education and
state Department of Labor. Just as importantly, it has a strong rela-
tionship with Latinos throughout the borough, and especially with
Williarnsburg-Bushwick residents. The organization offers mental
health, education and social services to some 10,000 families.
There was just one problem. "We do not have money," says
program director Victor Bianco. The issue is not fmding funding
to run the school; the state would pay the group for each student
it enrolls. It's rounding up the capital and resources to get the
school started that has proven impossible.
According to their proponents, charter schools enable people
from outside the educational mainstream to create alternatives to
the public school system. President Bill Clinton is just one boost-
er to stress their potential for transferring power to neighbor-
hoods. "Charter schools are truly community-based schools creat-
ed by local communities to address their own particular needs," he
gushed in a May memo to his Secretary of Education.
And in theory, a charter school can be founded by anyone who
puts together a convincing proposal and submits it to the State
University of New York's Charter School Institute, the body that
vets most charter school applications. With the state Regents' per-
mission, anyone can open a school and receive public funding for
each student who enrolls.
But academic quality and innovation, even teamed with a solid
administrative plan, do not alone add up to a winning charter appli-
cation. A group must also be able to hold its own among seasoned
professional competitors-and prove that it can pay its own way.
The Puerto Rican Family Institute is "exactly the kind of group
CITY LIMITS
that should be competing," says Gerry Vasquez, director of the
New York Charter School Resource Center, a privately funded
organization that provides technical assistance to charter hopefuls.
"But they're not, because there aren't the start-up funds available."
Right now, New York's charter schools are hardly community-
based. Two of them, Harlem's Sisulu Children's Charter School
and Albany's New Covenant Charter School, are run by for-prof-
it education management companies (known as EMOs). The
third, also in Harlem, is run by the Learning Project, a large non-
profit management company. The near future will bring little
change. Of 23 schools that the state has approved to open in fall
2000 or 2001, only a handful are run by community-based non-
profits. Fully half of the new schools-including two in New York
City-will be run by for-profit companies.
These management companies are willing to put their money
behind applicants who need it. They set up charter schools, han-
dling everything from construction to curriculum. Once the school
is established and begins to make money, it pays fees to the man-
agement company for its services.
But the EMOs doing business in New York-both for-profit
and nonprofit-all share the same idea of what a good education
should be: highly regimented and traditional. Any group that wants
JULY/AUCUST 2000
to team up with one of these management companies must agree
to accept its administrative policies, curriculum and educational
philosophy. The EMOs' distinctive brand of pre-fab education sat-
isfies some applicants, but it is not what all of them are looking for.
Charter school advocates believe that these independent
schools will liberate students from bureaucracies like the Board of
Education and teachers' unions. But in New York, the charter
school revolution has only replaced the old order with a new
one-this one controlled by the EMOs.
For educators who don't fit the mold, and don't have their own
deep-pocket benefactors, the outlook is bleak. EMOs have already
become the only game in town. And without them, says Vasquez,
"it's almost impossible to start a charter school in New York."
A
dvocacy groups like the Washington-based Center for
Education Reform tout charter schools as a chance for
poor families to have control over their children's educa-
tion-just as wealthy people already do. The schools are
supported passionately by many African-American leaders,
notably Queens minister and former congressman Rev. Floyd
Flake, who became head of the charter school division of the for-
profit Edison Schools in early May.
The rhetoric of choice goes all the way up the political line. As
Governor George Pataki announced when he signed New York's
new law last spring, "Our new charter schools will give parents
real choices in education and will provide teachers unprecedented
freedom to innovate."
But the law actually works against innovation. Charter schools
can't get public funding for startup costs-which means, most
seriously, no money for constructing, renovating or leasing a
building. In this respect, New York's law is typical: Of the 37 state
charter school laws on the books nationwide in 1999, 26 did not
provide any start-up funding at all, according to the Center for
Education Reform.
Once the school opens its doors, it is eligible for operating funds
from the city and state. But in the end, a charter school can get only
75 percent of what a public school receives for each student, work-
ing out to an average of $6,207 a year. The rationale is that public
schools are saddled with costly obligations, like union salaries and
custodial rules, that charter schools don't have. Costs are also pre-
sumed to be lower because the new schools are supposed to be, like
businesses, "market-driven"-propelled by consumer preference
and ever-greater levels of efficiency.
Big Government still plays a small role. The U.S. Department
of Education has launched a $140 million grant program, under
which a charter school can apply for up to $150,000. But to get
one of these grants the applicant must already have a charter, mak-
ing the program useless to a group that needs to strengthen its
finances in order to get a charter in the first place.
That liinited volume of public cash has made the world of
charter schools more exclusive than a Manhattan co-op. To start a
relatively small charter school in New York City costs about
$200,000 to $300,000, Vasquez estimates.
That may even be a low guess. Bronx Preparatory School, a non-
profit institution scheduled to open this fall, has had to raise some
$350,000 for capital and start-up, even though its building, a former
parochial school, required almost no renovation. But the costs have
mounted quickly, says founder Kristin Kearns Jordan. Computers,
for instance, took a hefty chunk out of her budget.
Funding for Bronx Prep comes from a combination of small
Victor Bianco
wants to start
a charter
school with the
Puerto Rican
Family
Institute-but
rounding up the
cash has
proven
impossible.
--
foundations (including the Robin Hood and the Tiger foundations)
and wealthy individuals; Kearns Jordan is also applying to the state
for $150,000 in federal charter school funds. In applying for the
school's charter, it didn't seem to make a difference that she has
few local connections in the Bronx. What mattered more is that she
has experience in the philanthropic and education worlds, as exec-
utive director of the School Choice Scholarship Foundation.
A successful charter school applicant must show the state-in
great detail-that they can provide a rigorous curriculum, and that
they or their partner organization has a successful track record in edu-
cation. But the hurdle posed by start-up costs can't be underestimat-
ed. Gerry Vasquez says a lack of funding is "crippling many efforts
before they even begin. And people of color are not in the ball game."
I
n the city, only one minority-run nonprofit has so far managed
to make iton deck. The Association of Progressive Dominicans,
a 20-year-old organization with a staff of 125, operates after-
school programs throughout Northern Manhattan and the
Bronx. It also runs a New Visions school, an alternative school with-
in the Board of Ed. With these resources, the group was able to
devote hundreds of hours of paid staff time-including work from
accountants and a development department-to applying for a char-
ter, as well as hitting up foundations and corporations for support.
The application was successful, and the Amber Charter School
will begin with kindergarten and first grade this fall in Washing-
ton Heights, teaching in both English and Spanish. The group is
now leasing a temporary facility for the school, and it has
launched a capital campaign to construct a new building by 2002.
Executive director Victor Morisete, who founded Amber, knows
that he can thank the group's resources for this success. "We start-
ed as a grassroots, community-based organization," he says.
"Now we've grown to be a professional organization."
But groups that haven't yet made that transition have a very
different experience. For the Puerto Rican Family Institute, just
coming up with the money to keep afloat is a struggle. "We are
strapped, constantly searching," says Victor Bianco. "And we
are always understaffed." The group may try to find foundations
to back the school, but, says Bianco, "we have been around for four
years, so we have already been to every foundation. The well is
dry." The Family Institute is in discussions with Vasquez, but it
appears unlikely that its Williamsburg-Bushwick charter school
will ever get off the ground.
It's not an unusual situation. For many nonprofit groups, even
the application process is prohibitively expensive. Gail Foster of
the Toussaint Institute Fund, an advocacy group working to widen
educational options for African-Americans, has helped nearly a
dozen community organizations apply for charter school clear-
ance. But fewer than half have actually been able to submit appli-
cations. She expects that at least one of her client's appLications
will be approved this summer, and two others show promise. But
so far, only one has had been approved-the one that decided to
hire a for-profit management company.
Foster estimates that the application process alone costs
$15,000 to $25,000. "You have to hire accountants. [And] a
lawyer familiar with charter school law, who's going to be from
out of state because New York's law is so new," she says, adding
that groups that don't hire professionals to do their applications
can't compete. Foster points to Safe Covenant Christian Church in
Westchester, which "had no resources. They did their application,
but how could it be competitive? That made me so sad." Another
proposal whose rejection she particularly laments was Narco
Freedom Academy, a Bronx school for children of drug abusers.
She cites time demands-difficult for people who work full-
time at other jobs-and the need to travel to other schools to see
viable models as common obstacles. "A typical community group
cannot afford to make that kind of investment in an application
that may not even be granted," she says. 'The law passed in New
York State was not passed with the thought of how an ordinary
group would participate. If it was, it would have included money
for start-up, and for writing the application."
The Toussaint Institute has been unable to help all the organiza-
tions and churches that request assistance with charter school appli-
cations; Foster says she's had to turn away at least 20. In an intense-
ly competitive field, such expertise is critical: New York's 16 char-
ter winners were winnowed down from a pool of 99 applicants.
Of course, some of the rejected groups had deeper problems
than slim bank accounts or amateurish applications. Proposed
charter schools were nixed for .some very good reasons, ranging
from fractured governance structures to exclusionary admissions
policies. But SUNY and the Regents don't distinguish between
applicants who shouldn't be in the school business at all from
those who have everything going for them but big pots of money.
Even fierce advocates for community-run schools have, to a
degree, accepted that the charter school movement-premised, after
all, on using the power of the marketplace to decide which schools
CITY LIMITS
fly and which flunk-has no room for any but the most experienced
and aggressive players. "Maybe it isn't all that fair," says Vasquez.
''But it may be the only way we sift good ideas from bad."
Ai
associate director of college counseling at the upper-crust
Horace Mann School, Barbara Tischler would seem to
have a lot of advantages that grassroots groups don't. She
. s personally acquainted with some philanthropists, and
her office answering machine identifies her as "Dr. Tischler."
Soon after the New York charter school legislation became
law, Tischler applied to launch an innovative school in the Bronx
neighborhood of Morris Park. The Morris Park Charter School
was to be based on her work an extracurricular program called the
New York Giants that she and her husband Steven founded. It
offers a compelling combination of SAT tutoring, college coun-
seling and competitive baseball to teens all over the city.
As outlined in Tischler's application to SUNY, the Morris Park
school was to provide "at-risk" kids with a curriculum that combined
rigorous school work with sports and sports management. The idea
was to use sports-something lots of kids are already passionate
about-as a way to open doors to academics and career preparation.
But Tischler is first to admit that "the budget is the part I'm
weakest on." Her proposed curriculum was highly rated by SUNY's
Charter School Institute, but staff ultimately turned down Morris
Park's application, telling Tischler that its funding was too shaky. The
school's physical plant, too, was still in question; it wasn't certain that
the building could be brought up to code in time. At a minimum, TIS-
chler estimates that she needs $91,000 for start-up, and an additional
$15,000 to launch the school's proposed summer program.
She is now preparing to apply again, going after federal funds
and applying for $100,000 from the Gladys Brooke Foundation.
The privately funded New York Charter School Resource Center
already gave Tischler a $10,000 grant for the application process,
much of which has gone into photocopying and mailing. "And
printer cartridges!" she laughs.
Tischler says she has visited schools run by EMOs but decid-
ed not to hire one, despite her funding and time constraints,
because her unorthodox mix of sports, business and academics
would not fit into any of the companies' formulas. "I'm not start-
ing a traditional school," she says. 'Tm not confident that any par-
ticular company would be into it."
Her proposed school is certainly very different from the ones
the EMOs run. Most of them emphasize boosting children's test
scores and getting them to behave; they are academically rigorous
and tend to leave little room in the day for anything other than the
basics-reading, writing, social studies.
There are, of course, many advantages to working with manage-
ment companies. They provide technical support throughout the
application and start-up process, under arrangements that range from
strong guidance to intensive micromanagement. In the case of Sisu-
lu, its management company, Victory Schools, did virtually every-
thing: it put together the application, designed the curriculum, pro-
vided all start-up capital, and found the West 115th Street building.
Now that the school is up and running, Victory continues to
handle much of its administration. Representatives from the man-
agement company are in constant communication with school staff
about day-ta-day administrative issues like payroll. If you ask
Berthe Faustin, Sisulu's principal, even a basic question about the
school's financing, she will refer you to the management company.
JULY/AUCUST 2000
Victory also has a heavy hand in the school's "Core Knowl-
edge" curriculum, which is mass-marketed by back-to-basics guru
E.D. Hirsch (Cultural Literacy). At the beginning of the school
year, Faustin felt that Victory's curriculum consultants were too
meddlesome, telling her teachers what to do-even how to
arrange their classrooms. She believes the problem was solved
when Victory fired one particularly intrusive consultant.
But second-grade teacher Holly Degnan says the problem was
hardly limited to one bad apple. "We' ve had so many horrible
consultants coming in," she sighs. "A lot of people wanted to
quit." Degnan came to Sisulu straight out of college because she
wanted to work with inner-city children. She enjoys the kids, she
says, but still chafes at Victory's heavy hand.
T
he idea of a corporation making money off of children in
public schools still makes many people uncomfortable,
including some of the educators starting nonprofit charter
schools. Bronx Prep's Keams Jordan says that she thinks
many management companies "do a good job on the education,"
but she can't stomach the idea of public money going to a for-prof-
it corporation. "It's sad that the money goes to the investors and not
to the school," she says. Amber's Victor Morisete is even more
emphatic. ''We would not partner with a for-profit," he says.
''They' d only be interested in the bottom line."
A growing body of research echoes fears that profits are coming
before pedagogy. In a just-published study called "Charter Schools
Charter school s
are suppo ed
to replace
bu reaucJ'acy
with
innovation, but
most rely on
discipline, long
hours, and
fomulaic
curricula.
-
-
and Private Profits," Michigan State Uni-
versity researchers found that charter
schools operated by EMOs skimped on
labor costs. The researchers worried that in
the long run such schools could have trou-
ble attracting the best teachers, and that
their students might suffer as a result.
EMO executives are understandably
defensive on the subject. "We have not yet
made a profit," bristles Peg Harrington,
chief operating officer of Victory Schools.
Still, she acknowledges, the company
does expect to profit from Sisulu Chil-
dren's School some five years down the
line, once the school can afford to start
paying its management fee.
These very young
children are in
the same classroom
from 7:45 to 4. They
have no gym, art
or music. I had
wondered all day
why they were
T
here's a reason for the uniformity.
As in any industry, success in the
education business can have less to
do with the quality of a product than
with its marketing and customer service.
Although charter schools are often billed by
their advocates as fertile sites for innovation,
they are more concerned with keeping cus-
tomers happy. And in the end, the customers
are not children but their parents.
So the schools emphasize extended
school days and years, a godsend for work-
ing parents. Uniforms and rigid structure
are likewise blessings for those concerned
about keeping their kids in line. Victory's
Harrington brags about a field trip to the
Met, during which museum staff remarked
so fidgety.
It's true that Victory Schools'
founder, Wall Street investor Steven
Klinsky, is not taking a salary this year, after sinking over $1 mil-
lion into Sisulu. Indeed, many charter school companies find
profits elusive, raising questions about how long the money will
continue to flow. Even Edison Schools, the charter school giant
that recently went public, took $21 million in losses in the flfSt
six months of this fiscal year.
But Victory is counting on making this business profitable.
The company views Sisulu as the foundation of a nationwide
business, already expanding with the debuts of Merrick Academy
in Queens and Children's Academy in Roosevelt, Long Island,
this fall. (Both, like Sisulu, are located in low-income, predomi-
nantly African-American neighborhoods.) Profit, says Harrington,
will come with "multiple sites and reducing costs by producing a
viable business model."
As it evolves, that business model will be based on building
schools out of easy-to-replicate components, in particular a tight-
ly controlled curriculum. Many charter businesses share this
emphasis. When Barbara Tischler visited a few schools run by
management companies, she was shocked at how constrained
they were: "Every hand gesture was scripted!"
She exaggerates only slightly. At Sisulu Children's School, the
degree of administrative control is striking. Every classroom is on
exactly the same schedule all day-not only do they all do the
same thing, they do it in the same order. At any time of day, Prin-
cipal Faustin can walk into a classroom and not only recognize
exactly what's happening but know what activities the students
have already completed. Faustin points to a group filling out
worksheets: "They're doing independent work. That mean
they've already met with their reading groups."
'Teachers' interactions with children, all of whom are in kinder-
garten through second grade, are remarkably unspontaneous; they all
follow the written curricula provided by the management company.
In the morning, that means Direct Instruction, which emphasizes
basic skills and rote repetition. In one classroom, a teacher recites:
"Light is the opposite of dark. What is the opposite of dark?"
Degnan, the second-grade teacher, concurs with Tischler's
account of how a company school is run. "Yeah, I just read the
scripts," she says. ''That's really what it is. It's teacher-proof. I can't
mess it up, but I find it disempowering."
Faustin has a loftier opinion of Degnan. "She's so creative,"
says the principal. "If I had a Xerox machine I would duplicate her."
how well-behaved the children were.
Observing the children, I noticed that an adult asked a child to tuck in
his shirt or otherwise attend to his appearance at least once every 10
minutes. Says teacher Holly Degnan, "It looks really good."
But behind the polish, Degnan says, are quite a few problems.
These very young children are in the same small classroom from
7:45 to 4 every day, with only 15 minutes for recess. They have no
gym, art or music. I had wondered all day why the children were
so fidgety; standing in line, a group of kindergartners was literally
dancing in place. The teachers themselves work all morning with-
out a break, which would be illegal in the unionized Board of Edu-
cation schools. And though the school accepts special education
students happily (they bring more dollars with them), Degnan
reports that it is not adequately staffed to serve them.
But perhaps most perniciously, Sisulu, like many other charter
schools, seems to market conventional stereotypes about poor com-
munities to the people who live in those communities. The wisdom
for sale is that poor people need discipline and character-building,
rather than access to resources. Sisulu embodies this: it is starved for
money and space, but it does offer discipline and a boot-camp ethic.
Part of the reason that charter schools are saddled with these
management companies is that traditional sources of cash for
community-based projects have been slow in coming. Only a few
small foundations are supporting New York charter schools,
among them the Achilles, Tiger and Robin Hood foundations.
Foundations "have heard that the right wing wants them, so
they're scared," says Gerry Vasquez. ''There's also the fear that
you' re undermining public schools" by draining resources from pub-
lic education. For now, most foundations are watching and waiting.
Other potential sources of money are just starting to emerge.
In particular, banks are discovering that they can underwrite char-
ter schools to fulfill obligations, under the Community Reinvest-
ment Act, to put money into urban neighborhoods. "Six months
ago, I couldn't spell charter school," says Judd Levy, president and
CEO of Community Development Trust, a for-profit financial insti-
tution that puts banks' money into neighborhood projects.
Now CDT is in the preliminary stages of its first charter school
deals, in Washington, D.C., and Midland, Michigan. The Trust will
buy and rehabilitate buildings, then lease them back to the schools.
But Levy is starting out playing it safe: His clients are schools oper-
ated by Advantage, a for-profit corporation based in Boston.
(continued on page 33)
CITY LIMITS
Poor Substitutes
.. - 1 1 1 ! 1 1 1 - ~ - " " " . " " ' -
F
or decades, advocates for the poor have vilified the feder-
al poverty line, the official yardstick for measuring misery
and allocating funds for relief. They say it's too old, too
low and too inflexible to be much use in estimating actual need.
Now, a new study by the Economic Policy Institute provides a
useful round-up of other ways analysts have been using to calcu-
late what it costs to get by.
One of the ironies of welfare reform is that is has spawned a
growing body of research on realistic estimates of the bare min-
imum American farnilies need. These budgets tally fundamental
needs-including rent, food, child care and transportation-to
come up with estimates of how much money families in differ-
ent parts of the country actually require in order to be self-reliant.
Most of them conclude the same thing: it's a heck of a lot more
than $12,636, the official poverty line for a single-parent family
with two children.
EPrs review of these alternative budgets, developed by acad-
emics and avocates, found that most American families need
from $20,000 to $40,000 just to get to a minimum standard of
living. Comparing these "basic family budgets" against data on
what poor families actually do spend, they found that most fam-
ilies in the bottom two-fifths of income levels aren't able to
afford even the bare essentials.
These analysts also get into the math and methodology of
family budgets, explaining how these alternate formulas are cal-
culated and summarizing the literature on why and how each cat-
egory of need-from housing to health care-should be factored
into the final equation. EPr then synthesizes its own model fam-
ily budget, derived from some of the best models and data
sources, and applies it to Baltimore. Though that city is not near-
ly as expensive as New York, living costs $30,108.71 a year for a
family of four.
"How Much Is Enough? Basic Family Budgets for Working
Families, " Economic Policy Institute, $12.95 plus shipping, 800-
EPI-4844, www.epinet.org.
Nonprofits Lose Jobs
Y
es, it's yet another reinvention of an obscure yet .
essential government system, and yes, it will be
done with vouchers. This time, the changes are in job train-
ing and job placement, which, thanks to the federal Workforce
Investment Act, are about to become a very different ball game.
This revolution will be coming to New York in July, and, accord-
ing to a recent report from PubliclPrivate Ventures, the neighbor-
hood non profits that do this work had better look sharp. Where
other states and counties have replaced their old, referral-based sys-
tems with vouchers, community colleges and for-profit schools
have expanded. Small nonprofits tended to go out of business.
The report, a guide to groups that must now negotiate these
changes, compiles a lot of information useful to anyone interest-
ed in workforce development.
"Surviving, and Maybe Thriving, on Vouchers," Public!
Private Ventures, 212-822-2400, www.ppv.org.
Albany s Welfare Spending Spree
I
f you' ve been wondering what's been happening to all the feder-
al money New York gets for public assistance, the Fiscal Policy
Institute and Housing Works can tell you. They have itemized
how the federal welfare block grant gets spent in New York State----
and found that it's not all exactly going to needy families.
The report provides a wealth of data on how the money is spent,
including programs like Learnfare, which penalizes families whose
children skip school, and child care programs for migrant workers.
The report concludes that while the state has spent $463 million
of the money on new anti-poverty efforts, it has used far more-
$1.598 billion-to replace programs that it once paid for.
"Improving New York State's Utilization of its TANF Block
Grant and Related 'Maintenance of Effort' Resources, " www.
fiscalpolicy.orgltanfreport.htm, free.
AMMO
. .. ~ .. ................ .
Cities with the Largest Predicted Losses in Federal Dollars from Census 2000 Undercount
Losing Count
New
York
New Yorkers: when we lose,
we really lose big. AcconIing
to an estimate from
PricewaterhouseCoopers, New
York City stands to miss out
on more than S2 billion in fed-
eral cash if the Census under-
count is as bad as it's pro-
jected to be. Brooklyn could
foIfeit a billion bucks all by
itself. Compared to the next
fJVe biggest losers on the list,
New York is in its own league.
~ ________ -L ________ ~ __________ ~ ________ ~ ________ ~
-2,500 -2,000 -1,500 -1,000 -500
. in millions
JULY/AUCUST 2000
i
~
s
j
J
...
CITYVIEW
Peter Marcuse
is Professor of
Urban Planning
at Columbia
University. This
article was co-
autfwred with
Rebecca
Hersch, Ryan
Southard,
Devan Reiff,
Yoshiyuki
Shiraishi, and
lankun Kim.
Additional
research by
Danielle Harris,
Rebecca
Montero and
Tara Sullivan.
Building a
Future
By Peter Marcuse
T
here has always been a shortage of housing in
New York City, but not until the 1930s was a
serious public effort to deal with it mounted.
We have now been at it for more than half a century.
How are we doing?
Not well. The just-released results of the Census
Bureau's 1999 Housing and Vacancy Survey show
that the number of families facing serious housing
problems is in the hundreds of thousands. Recent
years of prosperity have brought little improve-
ment.
Besides providing a detailed picture every
three years of housing conditions and avail-
ability, the HVS determines whether rent reg-
ulation can continue under state law. If the
vacancy rate falls under 5 percent, the city
officially faces a housing emergency.
By that measure, housing is still in cri-
sis. According to the new survey, the
vacancy rate is 3.19 percent-the lowest
this decade, resulting from the sharpest
decline in vacancies since 1968. And it is worst for low-
rent units: the number renting for less than $700 went down by
over 27 percent in the last three years, while those renting under
$400 declined by over 65 percent.
The consequences are striking. Over 900,000 households have
rents that are more than 30 percent of their incomes, more than
what most people agree they can pay without interfering with
other needs. Almost all of them have incomes under $40,000. For
500,000 households, rent is over half of their incomes.
We're also seeing an increase in overcrowding. Over 215,000
households were living with more than one person per room.
More than 75,000 households were severely overcrowded, at
more than 1.5 people per room. a number that has been going up
steadily this decade. The physical condition of housing also needs
serious attention: Over 19,000 units are dilapidated, while almost
270,000 have numerous maintenance deficiencies.
The need for housing at reasonable rents is only going to
increase. The benefits of the current economic boom are unequal-
ly divided, with the gap between the rich and the poor growing.
In this tight market, rents will continue to increase faster than
poor people's incomes.
The city's Consolidated Plan-a document required by the
federal Department of Housing and Urban Development-is as
close to a blueprint for housing as we have. But the "ConPlan"
does not suggest .any way to solve the problems these figures
describe. We badly need a "ProPlan" that would address them,
and determine how much it would cost.
In a project at Columbia University, we have tried to put dol-
lar figures on some pieces of the problem. The following would
be annual average spending for each of five years:
To bring the vacancy rate up to 5 percent: 20,500 units, $188
rnillion a year
To eliminate overcrowding: 75,000 units, $708 rnillion a year
To house the homeless: 26,000 units, $245 million a year
To rehab dilapidated units: 19,500 units, $179 million a year
To eliminate maintenance deficiencies: $200 million
To bring rents down to affordable levels for households below
median income: 760,000 households, $2.5 billion a year.
Total: about $4 billion a year
This assumes $118,000 each unit, $5,000 per maintenance
deficiency, and 7 percent amortization over 30 years. The actual
costs may be lower, since these estimates don't take into account
market effects that could result from making more housing avail-
able. But they may also be higher: Population growth and immi-
gration will bring further demands, as will the need to upgrade
neighborhood conditions.
What New York has now comes nowhere close to what's
needed. The ConPlan lists expected expenditures over five years,
from city, state, and federal funds, of $1.3 billion. It states that
$1.62 billion will be used by city agencies and not-for-profits to
meet housing needs. The city's housing budget in 1999 was $161
rnillion, down from $222 million in 1993. Total spending on
housing by and through the city last year was $387 million.
The resources already being devoted to the housing problem
are already sizeable, but they constitute probably less than one-
third of what is needed. Meanwhile, there is no scheme to ratio-
nalize, coordinate or plan for what is already being spent, never
mind the resources that ought to be devoted to housing.
The greater shame is that the public sector is sitting on money
that could get the job done. The city's budget surplus this year is
estimated to be $2.9 billion. New York State has $1.7 billion in
unspent federal welfare dollars it can tap into. The Federal gov-
ernment is also experiencing record surpluses.
VIrtually every housing advocacy group in the city is assess-
ing what that money could do. At the very least, ending the hous-
ing crisis will call for:
Strengthening the best of what we have, from rent regulation
to community-based organizations;
Expanding rent subsidies, such as Section 8, and making
them matters of right;
Returning to the original goal of owning, building and man-
aging public housing for people, not profit;
Investment in rehabilitation, with tenants playing a major
role in managing the process;
Bringing the housing allowance in welfare programs up to
where it meets real housing costs, and expanding eligibility;
Providing enough building inspectors;
Coordinating an attack on homelessness, centered around
permanent housing and supportive services.
A serious, goal-oriented plan, developed by the city in collab-
oration with tenants, could get the city on the way to do these
things efficiently and quickly. A ProPlan .
CITY LIMITS
Alphabet
City Slicker
By Edgardo Vega Yunque
"Selling the Lower East Side: Culture, Real
Estate, and Resistance, " by Christopher Mele,
University of Minnesota Press,
$19.95,361 pages.
S
hould anyone care to learn how the gentrification of the
Lower East Side has been nearly achieved, they should
read this informative account of the phenomenon.
Christopher Mele's book, though academic in tone, is also in
many ways an exciting read. Focusing on the area north of
Houston Street, popularly called the East Village and known as
Loisaida by Puerto Ricans, the author dissects with well-
researched precision the reasons for the present condition of
outrageous rent prices and rampant commercialism in the area.
Mele, an assistant professor of sociology at SUNY-Buffalo,
has created a three-tiered thesis to support his argument. For
150 years, in his telling, city fathers have deliberately worked to
sanitize the area by driving out the undesirable working class,
both European immigrants and Puerto Ricans, and replace them
with white middle-class residents. The media has glorified the
artistic and radical character of the area. And real estate devel-
opers, in tum, have used these glorified symbols of poverty, art
and radicalism to sell the neighborhood to young middle-class
professionals in search of a faux-Bohemian lifestyle.
Over the years, subsequent groups have mythicized the
neighborhood's ethos: the Beats, hippies, Yippies, Young Lords,
and finally artists and anachronistic liberals who've become
pseudo activists. While a few riots and demonstrations protest-
ing the gentrification of the area have taken place since the
196Os, the area has been devoid of effective tools for combating
the formidable tandem of compliant government and voracious
real estate interests. "Private urban development," writes Mele,
"is presented as a more desirable and 'practical' solution to
urban social ills than government policies such as low-income
housing subsidies or welfare programs."
The area below Houston is now a shrunken version of the
Lower East Side, in many ways staid in comparison with its earli-
JULY/AUCUST 2000
er self. Given the transformation of ,,''',-
Ludlow, Orchard and other streets
into part of the marketable down-
town scene, one can understand
even more clearly the change of REV l EW
a working-class community
into a gentrified playground.
Six months ago, a symptom
of this transformation appeared in a
newspaper in the form of the name
"Loho," describing the area
between Houston and Grand.
At the tum of the century the
uptown bourgeoisie saw down-
town as a den of corruption, sin
and lawlessness. This percep-
tion did not change until the
1990s, when artists, backed by
gallery owners, media and real estate began
to effect a plan to upgrade the neighborhood through the
infusion of middle-class, college-educated professionals. While
it may have appeared that the artists were innocent settlers in
search of loft space, Mele thinks otherwise: "A more accurate
and less sympathetic explanation was presented in an influential
article by authors Rosalyn Deutsche and Cara Gendel Ryan,
who claimed that the artists' attitudes towards the neighbor-
hood's poorest residents were mercenary, if not exploitative,
creating an inviting atmosphere for real estate investments. The
art scene promulgated a middle-class environment that made it
possible for a 'resettling of a white population in neighborhoods
where they would never have dared to venture. ",
In explaining how the gentrification of the East Side came
about, Mele also lays bare the causes for Puerto Rican social and
political dysfunction in the area. The discrimination and lack of
opportunities for Puerto Ricans in the last 40 years and the ghet-
toization of a people by master builder Robert Moses have been
documented before, but not with such specificity and incisiveness.
Mele says the migration of Puerto Ricans to the Lower East
Side was p ~ of a deliberate strategy, with the Puerto Rican res-
idents of the projects along Avenue D placed there by fiat.
"Urban renewal projects, nicknamed 'Puerto Rican Removal
Plans,' forcibly relocated thousands of Puerto Rican families
from one poor neighborhood to another."
And the trend may be continuing. The housing projects that
extend from Houston Street to 14th Street along the East River
contain 3,750 apartments. As is the case in all of the housing pro-
jects of the era, they are landscaped with pastoral care, the trees on
their grounds now reaching seven and eight stories high. The pro-
jects' tenants have long accused the New York City Housing
Authority of warehousing 800 apartments for possible sale to
wealthy tenants. (The Housing Authority has denied this.) Vieques
is not an option, but further displacement just may be in the cards.
The Lower East Side performance artist Penny Arcade
recently told an anecdote that is amusing but uncomfortably
close to the truth about the transformation of the neighborhood.
She said that a young woman of means, who was considering
moving into the neighborhood, asked her if the drug addicts in
the area were dangerous. "Of course they're dangerous," Penny
replied. "They all work on Wall Street." .
Edgardo Vega Yunque is the author of three books of fiction and
the founder of the Clemente Soto velez Cultural Center.
_I

Power Outrage
(continued from page 13)
mission, asking the agency to step in to curb the
state's skyrocketing energy prices. In its complaint,
NYSEG laid much of the blame on the Independent
System Operator. ''The ISO implemented the most
ambitious restructuring proposal [for the electric
industry] in this country's history," says Stuart
Caplan, the attorney who filed the complaint. ''But
it is experiencing transitional problems."
The ISO is responsible for predicting prices. Its
forecasts are supposed to keep prices stable, by
allowing transmitting companies like NYSEG and
Con Ed to decide how much power they will buy,
and how much they are willing to pay for it, before
they pass it on to customers. But according to
Caplan and independent industry analysts, the soft-
ware the ISO uses to do the job is badly designed,
incapable of predicting either demand or prices.
The result, they say: mayhem. Unable to plan
ahead, transmitters fmd themselves short of elec-
tricity when they need it most. They are then at the
mercy of the power generators-and price gouging.
The software problems aren't just a short-term
inconvenience for utility companies. New York
State does not produce enough electricity for its con-
sumers. But according to Caplan and others familiar
with the electricity business, the ISO has failed to
import enough electricity from other sources, partic-
ularly Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland. The
major reason, they say, is that out-of-state power
generating companies don't want to get involved.
While these companies can make a lot of money
in New York, they can also get burned. Using its
software's predictions, the ISO sets what it calls
"day ahead" prices. If a transmitting company is
looking for some power, and a generator is willing
to sell it for that day's predicted price, the generator
can promise ahead of time to deliver electricity,
locking in that rate even if the price later falls.
These transactions work speculatively, much like in
a commodities market.
For the power-generating company, this presents
a dangerous gamble. Once it agrees to sell a certain
volume of power at a certain price, it must deliver
when the time comes. Should a generator fail-not
an uncommon event-the company still must fulfill
the obligation. If the price of power has gone up in
the meantime, the company must pay the difference.
When prices fluctuate a hundredfold in a single day,
that's no small liability. A company that runs into
problems could find itself obligated to pay for hun-
dreds of millions of dollars in power that started out
worth only in the tens of thousands.
Out-of-state generators have made it clear that
they plan to stay away until they think they can do
business safely. In a letter to the ISO, Pennsylvania's
PIM Utilities complained that the agency routinely
changes its electricity orders at the last moment-
sometimes 10 minutes before the power is supposed
to go online.
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212 269-8080 800 635-6002 212 269-8112 (fax)
I
n other states, legislatures passed laws to protect
consumers. But in New York, Pataki's PSC
broke up the power industry on its own.
The PSC's decision to deregulate the electric
industry without legislative approval has caused
the agency "to box itself in," says Nordlander. The
law books say that the agency is still supposed to
regulate electric rates. But since the PSC has vol-
untarily abdicated that power, no agency now has
the authority to keep prices under control. "We've
not done the kind of things that would make electric
bills go down in New York," says Assemblymember
Paul Tonko, an early opponent of Pataki's decision to
allow the PSC to call the shots on deregulation.
Industry watchers say consumers can expect
electricity prices to climb higher before stabilizing.
''We are going to face this problem for the next four
or five years," says Gupta. He estimates a new
power plant will have to be built approximately
every five years to keep up with demand. But such
plans are already meeting resistance in Greenpoint,
Astoria and other neighborhoods, and they are
unlikely to become welcome anytime soon.
Gupta believes that the one blessing of deregula-
tion, New York-style, is that consumers may finally
feel pressure to conserve. ''These price signals are
needed to send people the message," says Gupta. "It
just might serve to dampen demand for electricity,
and serve to lower prices."
Out to Dry
(continued from page 9)
to keep is their jobs. And what if they lose? Hulie
White is loath to consider the possibility. But he
concedes that with their $7.55-an-hour wages,
Angelica workers can beat Local 420's price. "We
already know who can do it cheaper," says White.
"Any way you look at it, they do it cheaper."
White isn't worried, but perhaps he should be. At
the end of the competition, a committee consisting of
the union and the city will decide which laundry did
the best job. White insists the panel will be looking
only at cleanliness and turnaround time, not the cost
of the work. But the agreement itself puts price per
pound at 'the top of the list of factors the panel will
examine. HHC's Cirillo, who will also serve on the
panel, concurs that the main thing he'll be looking at
is cost. Unless the laundry's productivity goes way
up, or Angelica's plummets, the union is in trouble.
The clock is already ticking. So far, Cirillo says,
everything is going well: ''The employees are all
happy, the laundry has been functioning as well as it
has been. Angelica has proved to be a vendor that's
delivering. And we're able to now pump $60,000 a
week in savings back into health care."
For Jannie Ogilvie, who has been working at
the laundry for 28 years, the view is not so spec-
tacular. She says she's never seen the place look so
empty. "To be honest with you, I hope I'm one of
those 12 that gets redeployed," she says. "'Cause
now, looking at the future?" She sighs. "It doesn't
really look all that great.".
CITY LIMITS
Hot For Profit
(continued from page 11)
quent buildings in the same neighborhood---evi-
dence that not all Harlem landlords agree with her.
Ultimately, policy experts say, Asset Sales does
little to guarantee that properties stay out of the
downward spiral that sent thousands of buildings
into city ownership in the first place. In the 1970s
and 1980s, landlords in Harlem, the Lower East
Side, the South Bronx and other neighborhoods
deliberately ran buildings into the ground, refusing
to provide services or repairs, then selling the prop-
erties for quick profit to other landlords who would
keep the rip-off cycle going. Other landlords sim-
ply found themselves overwhelmed with the finan-
cial demands of ownership. In the end, owners
would often walk away from these disaster zones,
leaving the city as the landlord of last resort. Since
most of these owners also failed to pay their prop-
erty taxes and water and sewage bills, the city
ended up with acres of run-down apartments.
To housing advocates, putting dilapidated
buildings in poor neighborhoods back onto the
open market is a recipe for disaster. "It smells
good, but the meat ain't fresh," is how Harlem City
Councilmember Bill Perkins puts it. "It's part of a
market-driven housing policy than has been proven
to be a failure in communities like mine."
Ov#ning Up
(continued from page 15)
renovations. Heating systems, windows, doors,
kitchens, bathrooms-all of them needed to be
replaced.
But ADP saw an opportunity in the mess. In
1997, it negotiated an agreement with the local
building trades union. The group committed to
hire AFL-CIO contractors for all of the work. In
exchange, the unions promised that they would
hire one tenant member for every three workers
on the jobs. The unions were also required to
mentor ADP hires and follow them to their next
job sites. Sixty people, including Crosier, are
working as apprentice and journeymen carpen-
ters, laborers, painters and electricians. ADP also
got a state grant to help Russian-speaking workers
improve their English skills.
"The success of the campaign is based on
mutual self-interest," says Caroline Murray, the
group's executive director. "ADP has newfound
access to high-wage careers and membership in
the building trades, careers that for most of our
people were unattainable. And the trades have not
only secured millions in new work but also gained
new members who believe in organizing, under-
stand power and are committed to the union."
Since then, the group has set its sights on educa-
tion, and on the nearby University of Massachusetts
JULY/AUCUST 2000
A
sset Sales has attracted other critics and
some serious challenges. In April, Legal
Aid attorney Harvey Epstein, representing
the East 95th Street tenants, convinced a judge to
put the entire Asset Sales Program on hold while
the court makes its decision. The suit charges that
by the city's own laws, HPD can't get rid of pub-
licly owned property without using rules and
guidelines to do it.
Several other tenant groups have managed to
worm their way out of Asset Sales through care-
fully crafted, politically backed exemptions.
There's one other deciding factor: in each case, the
deal costs the city no money.
After years of bitter fighting with the city, a
group of tenants on East 21st Street-in the tene-
ment building that houses Ess-a-Bagel-wrangled
a complex real estate deal that allowed them to
keep the building without a city-fillanced subsidy.
In exchange for zoning exemptions that allow him
to increase the size of a building he's constructing
nearby, developer Donald Capoccia would reha-
bilitate the building. ''We're getting the housing
saved, and [Capoccia's company] will be making
out handsomely," explains Cooper Square Mutual
Housing Association's Val Orselli, who helped
orchestrate the deal. But it's a unique situation,
relying on a happy coincidence of developer drive
and tenant need.
In another case, tenants at a West 92nd Street
in Amherst. The children of ADP members com-
plain that school guidance counselors routinely dis-
miss their college aspirations and instead try to fun-
nel them into certificate programs and vocational
schools. Likewise, parents may not know what their
children need to do to get into college.
ADP wanted to launch a comprehensive pro-
gram to help kids move from high school to
UMass, and at last year's convention it got a
promise from state House Majority Leader
William Nagle Ir. to broker a meeting with uni-
versity officials. Ultimately, the unversity
agreed to help students with mentoring, finan-
cial aid and college admissions tutoring, all
right where they live. Twice a year, kids and
their parents go on a bus trip to the campus and
attend information sessions there, so it doesn't
remain foreign territory.
Projects like these have strengthened Murray's
conviction that owning housing, and then using it
as a means to many ends, is the only way for a
community to improve itself. And she has no prob-
lem ripping the status quo. 'The nonprofits run the
world," she says. 'This has really thrown a wrench
in that political makeup. People say, tenants can't
do this, they don't know how." And then she offers
her own distinctive response. 'That's bullshit.
People can buy a house."
JoAnn DiLorenzo is a writer for the Valley Advocate, an
alternative weekly paper in western Massachusens.

building slated for Asset Sales managed to talk
their way into a modified version of the city's
Tenant Interim Lease program. They are forming a
tenant owned co-op, but they have agreed to forego
the standard $50,000-a-unit subsidy for repairs.
These few exemptions, however, don't satisfy
those who believe that the program is wasting a
priceless opportunity. Asset Sales now faces wide
political opposition from the Manhattan delegation
of the City Council, several of whom have refused
to approve any building sales in their districts.
"It doesn't have a clear programmatic pur-
pose," charges the Lower East Side's Lopez, who
is pushing for a City Council oversight hearing on
the program. "Until I see clearly, in black and
white, what the policies, rules, and regulations are
for all this, 1'm not going to let this issue alone."
For the tenants on East 95th Street, the politi-
cians may have come too late. HPD rejected both
their application to go into TIL and their offer to
buy the building for $205,000, and soon, the hous-
ing agency will be considering offers from new
potential owners. The tenants' best hope now is for
a settlement with the city, or a favorable decision
from the state Supreme Court judge who is now
considering their case. But they're still determined
to take over the property, despite the fight they'll
have to put up for it. "This is a family building,"
says Pittman. "We know how to do it. We just need
the chance."
Making Up Kids' Minds
(continued from page 28)
Levy says he hopes to help nonprofits in the
future, but since this is CDT's first charter venture,
and the market is "new and untested," he needs to
be conservative for now. "We need the comfort of a
large for-profit operator," Levy says, then corrects
himself. "What's important is not so much that it be
for-profit as well-capitalized."
Levy's enthusiasm for charter schools suggests
the one way in which they have unquestionably suc-
ceeded so far. Like dot -coms, they have attracted
investment not on the basis of present profits but on
speculation-the belief of professional investors like
Levy and Klinsky that charter schools are an indus-
try that will rapidly grow and flourish. To do that, the
schools will have to attract still more private money,
bring in larger volumes of students, and promise
increasing profits and diminishing operating costs.
In other words, they will have to become more
and more unlike the specialized schools, tailored to
community needs and childrens' own interests, that
so many educational groups are eager to found.
Gerry Vasquez knows the organizations that seek
his help don't have much of a choice. "As long as
we continue to discriminate against groups that
don't have deep pockets or investors," he says,
"people will have to learn to live with this."
Liza Featherstone is a Brooklyn-basedfreelance writer.
ADVERTISE IN CITY LIMITS!
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run in the City Limits Weekly, City Limits magazine and on the City Limits web site. Rates are $1.46 per word, minimum 40
words. Special event and professional directory advertising rates are also available. For more information, check out the Jobs
section of www.citylimits.org or call Associate Publisher Anita Gutierrez at 212-479-3345.
Bailey House: "The Mure starts with a place to live." The following positions
are currently available. GRANTS WRITER: Administer and increase current fourr
dation, corporation and govemment grants. Extensive research, including writ-
ing, prospecting, reporting, identifying and tracking new sources of funding,
managing calendar of submissions and conducting site visits. Ability to articu-
late mission and agency' s program diversity both verbally and in proposals is
essential. Work with a team of professionals in this fast paced development
department. Excellent writing, interpersonal , communications, and computer
skills, Degree and/or 2-3 years experience. Knowledge of AIDS community
along with NYC funding sources a plus. DEPUIY DIRECTOR: CLIENT SERVICES The
Deputy Director for Client Services is a senior management position within
Bailey House. The position directs the management staff of the supportive
housing programs and community-based client services by planning, imple-
menting, monitoring and evaluating their service areas. Establish annual goals
and objectives for each program, develop effective quality assurance systems,
maintain effective working relationships with grantors, collaborating agencies
and related service organizations. MS in social services, public administration
or a related degree, five years of experience in managing multiple programs;
direct experience working with persons living with AIDS who are substance
abusing and/or experiencing mental health challenges. Knowledge of New York
City AIDS service providers and related resources. Computer literacy. PROJECT
MANAGER, NA110NAL 1ICIINICAI.. ASSISTANCE COI..l.ABORA11O: Support the
national technical assistance project of Bailey House, AIDS Housing of
Washington and the AIDS Housing Corporation. To be responsible for providing
hands on technical assistance to national AIDS housing providers, developing
publications, literature and training curriculum that is national in scope, and to
help coordinate regional and national conferences. MS in Nonprofit
Management or Public Health plus two years in Supportive Housing Programs.
Must be analytical , detail orientated, professional , have strong oral and written
skills. Extensive travel required. CASE MANAGER: Provide case management (20
clients), including benefits/entitlements counseling, advocacy and linkage to
services and life skills counseling. Conduct bio-psychosocial assessments,
develop service plans and all other documents required by grantors and the
agency. Responsible for weekly contacts and case notes documentation.
Become part of a team of professionals, which include a Social Work
Supervisor, a Mental Health/Substance Abuse Coordinator, a Health Service
Coordinator and several administrative positions. MSW/CSW degree. Must be
computer literate. Bilingual English/Spanish a plus. Recent grads are welcome
to apply. PROJECT MANAGER, 1ICIINICAI.. ASSISTANCE ClEARINGHOUSE PROGRAM:
To coordinate the services provided by the NYC Technical Assistance Project,
including the prOvisions of information and referrals to technical assistance (TA)
providers, and NYC-based AIDS service organizations. Assistance with agency
TA self-assessments, maintenance, regular updates of TA resource database
and Web site, development of workshops, publications and curriculum as
appropriate. MA/MS in not-for-profit management or MPH degree plus two
years providing technical assistance to AIDS service or not-for-profit organiza-
tion. Knowledge of NYC technical assistance service/organizations. Experience
using Access or other database, strong analytical skills, excellent communica-
tion, writing, presentation and project management skills with developing
resource materials. If you are interested in applying send your resume in corr
fidence to human_resources@baileyhouse.org or by mail to Bailey House, Inc.
275 Seventh Avenue, NY NY 10001 Attention: Human Resources.
The East Williamsburg valley Industrial Development Corporation (EWVIDCO)
seeks an ECONOMIC DEVEl.OPME)fJ GENERALIST to manage and expand
EWVIDCO's Group Buying service, coordinate business seminars, organizatiorr
al events and other projects. Strong organization, research, marketing, written,
and oral communication skills needed. Send cover letter and resume to J. Leon,
EWVIDCO, 11 Catherine Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211. Fax: 718-963-1905.
RESEARCH ANAIYSTISTMJ"EGIC CAMPAIGNER. Hotel Employees & Restaurant
Employees Union Local 100 in NYC seeks activist researchers to help develop
strategic campaigns to support organizing efforts among low-wage food service
workers. Applicants should be angry at injustice and committed to fighting it
through Union organizing, excellent communicators, and comfortable with basic
financial and business concepts. Fax resume & cover letter to:
Recruitment/HERE, 202-333-6049. Similar positions are available in other
cities, including: LA, DC, Chicago, Phila, Boston, Miami, San Francisco, San
Diego, & more. See www.hereunion.org/jobs for details.
Northem Manhattan Improvement Corporation, a community-based organization
serving residents in Washington Heights/Inwood, is seeking a PARALEGAL to join
the agency's Homelessness Prevention Unit at the Dyckman Job Center. Duties
include providing case management services to families with rental arrears and
eviction notices; advocacy and referrals; coordination of services between the
main office and the site at Dyckman; development and implementation of ser-
vice plans. Requirements: Bilingual Spanish/English, experience in
housing/rental arrears. Salary: negotiable. Submit resume to Kenneth
Rosenfeld, Director of Legal Services, NMIC 76 Wadsworth Avenue, New York,
NY 10033; Fax 212-740-9545; Email: kenrosenfeld@nmic.org.
AMERICORPS"VIST 1'tEMERS. The Supportive Housing Network of New York is
seeking 2 Americorps* VISTA members to work in community outreach and edu-
cation. Emphasis on employment initiatives and Welfare to Work. Projects will
include: working with member agencies in the area of tenant employment; orga-
nizing workshops; and preparing informational materials. Community outreach
experience, ability to work with people from diverse backgrounds, knowledge of
computers and the Intemet, "self-starter" and ability to work in a small busy
office desired. Yearly stipend of $9,500+, medical benefits and educational
reward. One year position starting late June 2000. Send cover letter and resume
to: Supportive Housing Network of NY, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 250, New
York, NY 10115 or fax to 212-870-3334 attn: Wendy P. Seligson
Brooklyn Bureau of Community Services has the following position available:
DIRECTOR OF FAMILY DAY CARE. Responsibilities: Early Childhood Educator to
lead the Family Day Care network must have expertise in Head Start, and the
Administration for Children's Services/Agency for Child Development. Must
have demonstrated achievement in supervision and management, curriculum
development and implementation, family and community partnerships, and
collaborating with diverse teams. Requirements: Position requires a current N-
6 Certification and a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education or related
field. Send resume to: T. McDonald, 285 Schermerhom Street, Brooklyn, New
York 11217.
YOUIH CARE WORKER: Non-profit agency serving pregnant and parenting teens
seeks Youth Care Worker. Must have 1-2 years experience and ability to work
effectively with adolescent. Weekdays and weekends. Resume to Inwood
House, 320 East 82nd Street, New York, NY 10028, Fax: 212-535-3775 Attn:
Toni Loggin, HR Assistant.
SUPERINTtND9IT: Nonprofit agency serving pregnant and parenting teens seeks
Superintendent. Duties include: daily maintenance of heating and plumbing sys-
tems, repairs and movement of office and resident fumiture and other janitorial
duties. Resumes to: Inwood House, 320 East 82nd Street, New York, NY
10028, or fax: 212-535-3775 Attention: Toni Loggin, HR Assistant.
MEDIA RElAT10NS COORDINIOOR: Planned Parenthood of New York City, Inc, a
leader in reproductive health, education and advocacy for over 80 years, is cur-
rently recruiting for a full-time Media Relations Coordinator position in our Public
Affairs Department Use your national and NYC media contacts and pro-active
"pitching" talents to further the cause of reproductive rights and create access
to reproductive healthcare. Works directly for the Associate Vice PreSident,
Communications in responding to press inquiries and proactively publicizing
PPNYC views, clinical services and educational programs. Acts in a Deputy
capacity to the AVP in absence. Drafts press releases, statements, media advi-
sories, letters-to-the-editor and guest editorials. Provides written content for our
website. Organizes press conferences and media component of agency events.
Works with key agency representatives as well as other spokespersons on pub-
lic relations matters. BA Degree and 2-3 years of related and/or applicable
CITY LIMITS
media or public relations experience in a political or social issues setting.
Excellent communication skills, especially writing and editing. Interested
dates should send their resume with cover letter and salary requirement to
Assistant Director, Human Resources via fax at (212) 274-7218 or by email to
resume@ppnyc.org. Planned Parenthood of New York CitY, Inc. is committed to
a diverse workplace; women and minorities are encouraged to apply.
REIIABIUTATlON SPECIAUST (TWO POSITIONSI To provide a broad range of direct
client services to tenants of CUCS-The Prince George, a permanent support-
ive housing residence providing on-site support to formerly homeless and low-
income individuals including those with special needs such as mental illness,
HIV/AIDS, and or history of chemical dependency. Reqs: BA, 2 years direct
service experience with indicated populations; or 60 credits and 5 years; or
HS and 7 years; demonstrated abilitY to serve a specialized population or
address a special need of the program, good verbal and written comm. skills;
computer literacy. Bilingual Spanish/English preferred. Salary: $30K + compo
Benefits including $65/month in transit checks. Resume and cover letter
ASAP to Dawn Bradford, CUCS-The Prince George, 14 East 28th Street, New
York, NY 10016.
The PROPR1Y MANAGEMENT CONTROIllH works in collaboration with the direc-
tor of finance and administration and the board of directors/finance committee
to establish and implement fiscal policies and procedures that will maintain the
fiscal integrity of Rfth Avenue Committee. This entails managing the
Committee's housing-side accounting, financial reporting, and control systems
to ensure that accurate information and reports are provided to the board and
senior staff for effective decision making in determining and maintaining the
organization's strategic decisions. We are currently in need of a superior person
to fill this position. The qualified candidate must have an understanding of non-
profit management and fund accounting using computerized software. Previous
CDC experience preferred. You must possess strong communication skills. You
must have solid organizational skills and the abilitY to manage multiple tasks
and complete projects on time. Degree in accounting preferred. Resume and
cover letter MAILED with salary requirements to: Roy D. Nielson, Rfth Avenue
Committee, 141.Rfth Avenue, Brooklyn NY 11217.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR (BA) for Hotlines. Victim Services seeks experienced Deputy
Program Director with domestic violence experience and 2 year supervisory
experience. Duties include monitoring and evaluating staff, conducting qualitY
control studies of direct service delivery; assisting in preparing budgets, reports
and funding proposals. Must be motivated, energetic and organized. Strong
computer skills using Microsoft office and Excel a must. Bilingual Spanish a
plus. Salary 40K depending on experience. Fax resume and cover letter to X.
Freeman at Victim Services, 212-962-3641, or to Victim Services, 2 Lafayette
Street, New York, NY 10007 attention: X. Freeman.
CHIEF RNANICAI. OFFICER Spence-Chapin Services to Families and Children-
NYC-Report to the Executive Director. Overall responsibility for the staffs of the
Rnance and MIS depts. and for building operations and administration. HR
activities, employee benefits programs and two thrift shops. Qualifications: 5
+ years experience in mgt role of and acting department, experience working
with financial acctng. software packages and spreadsheets, able to evaluate
hardware and software periodically. Sound problem solving, business and
financial skills and the ability to interact with diverse personalities at all levels
of the organization. Contact: Ronnie Diringer, The Development Resource
Group, 104 East 40th Street, Suite 304, New York, NY 10016. Fax: 212-983-
1687. Email: rdiringer@drgnyc.com.
ASSISTANT PROJECT MANAGER. The Pratt Area Community Council (PACC) is a
growing not-for-profit organization. We combine tenant and community orga-
nizing, tenant and homeowner services, affordable housing development and
management, and economic development to improve the Brooklyn communi-
ties of Ft. Greene, Clinton Hill, and Bedford Stuyvesant. PACC is seeking an
assistant project manager for our Housing Development Department.
Responsibilities include the execution of temporary tenant relocation plans for
several housing development projects, working with individual tenants, con-
ducting tenant meetings, supervision of apartment preparation and tenant
moves, reports and requisition of funds. Must be outgOing and PC lit with
excellent problem solving and communication skills. Tenant or communitY
organizing experience preferred. Competitive salary commensurate w/ expo
Send cover letter & resume to: PACC, 201 Dekalb Avenue, Brooklyn, NY
11205. Fax: 718-522-2604.
ADUlJ DAY CARE PROGRAM Sunnyside CommunitY Services has
an opening for an Adult Day Care Program Coordinator. The qualified individual
will supervise 3-6 Senior Aides who provide service to cognitively impaired
JULY/AUCUST 2000
viduals. Responsibilities include: creating, designing and planning activities,
trips, etc., conducting crisis intervention, qualitY assurance, participant assess-
ments, care plans, information and referral services, and providing advocacy for
seniors regarding benefits, entitlements, other medical and social services.
Requirements include: MSW degree with 5+ years administrative experience in
the Health care communitY. Prior experience in an Adult Day Care program or
mental institution setting; experience/training regarding cognitive impairments
in the elderly. Candidates may fax resumes and cover letter indicating salary
requirements to: Recruiting Director, Fax: 718-706-2475, Sunnyside CommunitY
Services, 43-31 39th Street, Long Island CitY, NY 11104.
HOPWA CONTRACT MANAGEHS. Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS
(HOPWA). Postgraduate Center for Mental Health. As the master contractor of
the City' s HOPWA Funds in NYC, PCMH manages 30+ cjtywide contracts with
not-for-profit community-based organizations providing housing and supportive
services for people HIV/AIDS. We are currently seeking qualified CONTRACT
MANAGERS. Successful candidates will review and monitor qualitative and
quantitative contract performance data; conduct site visits and programmatic
audits; prepare monitoring reports; provide technical assistance to organiza-
tions in program development/evaluation of programs; and assist in RFP and
annual renewal reviews/award processes. BA (MA a +) in Health, Education,
Human Services or Noi1-Profit Administration, and a min of 3 years experience
in contract management of mental health, substance abuse; housing, and/or
HIV /AIDS providers. Requirements include: Microsoft Office literacy, plus excel-
lent people skills and written/oral communication skills. Salary commensurate
with education and experience. Send resume, which must include salary
requirements, to: PCMH, HR Dept, 138 E 26th Street, New York, NY 10010 or
Fax: 212-5764194. EOE, M/F.
The Federation of Protestant Welfare AgenCies, Inc (FPWA) is an umbrella orga-
nization that provides capacity-building services in programming and policy to its
260+ members and churches to influence the social and economic well-being
of the people of New York. FPWA has the following job opening available: VOL-
UNIEER SERVICES DIICTOR. The Volunteer Services Director has primary
responsibilitY for the design and implementation of all phases of Federation's
Volunteer Services Program, including traditional, Board and skilled. The
Volunteer Director recruits, prepares and matches candidates with communitY
based organizations seeking volunteers to meet client and agency needs.
Additionally the staff person conducts special initiatives to transfer inkind ser-
vices and items to agenCies and individuals, i.e. Holiday Gift Campaign, corpo-
rate service days, Leaming Centers in Child Care agenCies, emergency assis-
tance campaign. Qualifications: An advanced degree in human services related
field and a minimum of three years experience in volunteer services. Experience
or capacitY to conduct outreach in the corporate and professional communities
as well as the general public. Experience with and knowledge of existing volun-
teer networks in the NYC area. Excellent written and oral communication skills,
as well as an interest in marketing. Salary: Commensurate with experience.
Excellent benefits. Contact: Please send cover letter, resume and salary histo-
ry to Deborah Taylor, FPWA, 281 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10010. The
Federation is an equal opportunitY employer.
Growing non-profit social service agency serving homeless people seeks:
SOCIAL WORKERS 131 to work with mentally ill individuals and families at three
(3) shelter sites in the Bronx. SOCIAL WORKER to work with HIV positive indi-
viduals and families at shelter sites in the Bronx. MSW required and experi-
ence with HIV, homeless and mental health. Ability to work with interdiscipli-
nary team and do field work. Excellent benefits. New MSW graduates wel-
come to apply. Positions available 7/1/2000. EOE/ Minorities encouraged
to apply. Send resumes to Care for the Homeless, 12 West 21st Street, 8th
Roor, New York, NY 10010.
DIRECTOR: NYC organization seeks individual to manage programs. B.A. degree,
experience in affordable mortgage lending, loan underwriting preferred, strong
administrative, management skills. Resume with salary requirements to: Dir.
H.R. Fax:
PROGRAM PlANNER. Leading East Side social service agency seeks excellent
writer and creative thinker to help develop programs. Primary responsibilities:
grant proposal writing, related correspondence, and staffing intemal and exter-
nal meetings. Must balance multiple projects and work successfully with a
ety of individuals and groups. Experience in social service/educational setting
or writing proposals strongly preferred. Resumes with cover letters to: Ms. G.
Burke, Lenox Hill Neighborhood House, 331 East 70th Street, New York, NY
10021. EEO.
(continued on page 36)
-
(continued from page 35)
TICHNOLOGY COORDINMOR: Our Kids, " a Queens based after school program,
is seeking a part time coordinator for our Center for Technology.
Responsibilities include developing our community newsletter, developing con-
tent for our web-site, and developing lesson plans for children ages 5-12.
Candidates must possess an education background, high energy, and enjoy
working with children. Please fax resumes to: Attn: Keith Mitchell, Education
Coordinator, 718-784-3055.
The HIV Law Project seeks DEVB.OPMENT DIRECTOR to head small , growing
Development Office. Development Director will facilitate all aspects of fund
raising, including private; corporate, and govemment grant proposals and
reports; individual gift campaigns, including Major Gifts and donor relations;
special events, and public relations/communications. Will supervise part-time
grants writer and work with development consultant(s) and report directly to
Executive Director. Minimum 34 years experience required. Salary mid to
upper 40s. Please send cover letter, resume and 5-10 page writing sample to:
Elsa A. Rios, Executive Director, HIV Law Project, 841 Broadway, Suite 608,
New York, NY 10003.
TENANT ORGANIZER needed to organize church-based committees to address
tenant concems in public housing projects. Conduct grassroots outreach and
leadership training. Must have passion for social justice, experience with com-
munity organizing and desire to work in faith community. Must have good writ-
ing skills, ability to work flexible hours. Salary: $25,000 plus benefits. Send
resume and cover letter to Central Brooklyn Churches, 140 Devoe Street,
Brooklyn, NY 11211.
SUMMER YOUTH COORDINMOR. Coordinator needed for Summer Leadership
Institute to lead 10-15 teenagers in organizing around youth issues. Must con-
duct leadership workshops and discussion, research, planning for conference,
concert, video, etc. Experience in community organizing and working with
youth. Must be self-motivated and independent. Position has potential to
become permanent. Salary $3,500 for July 5-August 25. Send resume and
cover letter to Central Brooklyn Churches, 140 Devoe Street, Brooklyn, NY
11211. Deadline May 15.
DOWNSTm COORDINMOR. The Neighborhood Preservation Coalition of NYS
seeks dynamic person for NYC office. Responsibilities include: technical assis-
tance, advocacy, fundraising, building local relationships, and managing the
downstate office of statewide membership organization. Three years experience
in housing or community development required. Ability to provide technical
assistance to community groups a must. The successful candidate should have
a background in organizational and financial management, housing or project
development, and/ or organizational capacity building. Ability to manage several
projects simultaneously a must. Salary: $35K + benefits. EOE-Women and peo-
ple of color encouraged to apply. Submit letter and resume by May 12, 2000 to:
NPC of NYS, 303 Hamilton St., Albany, NY 12210.
CASES, a major non-profit agency dedicated to assuring better futures for
court involved defendants, seeks DIRECTOR of CAREER SERVICES, UNIT ASSlS-
TANT and a COURT REPRESENTATlVE. The DIRECTOR is responsible for oversee-
ing the Career Services program, managing nationally recognized school-to-
work program for court involved youth. The successful candidate must have
excellent verbal and written communication skills and a demonstrated ability
to work effectively with diverse populations. He/she must be extremely well
organized, adept at networking, fundraising in the private and public sectors.
BA required. We offer a competitive salary plus excellent benefits. UNIT
ASSISTANT: Responsible for providing clerical/secretarial assistance to the
Directors; handl ing routine requests and general office work; typing, word pro-
cessing and data entry as required; and other duties that are requested by
Director. High school diploma or GED; prior office experience; excellent orga-
nizational skills; excellent verbal and written communication skills; and good
working knowledge of word processing and spread sheet programs. Salary:
$21,000, plus excellent benefits. COURT REPRESENTATlVE: Responsible for
identifying and selecting prospective defendants by charge eligibility and
teria, that meet the criteria for acceptance into the Community Service
Sentencing Project; screening prospective participants by reviewing their case
folders and interviewing them; speaking to the ADA and/or the Defense
Attorney; advocating for potential participants to judge; accurately describe
the community service sentence and explain exactly what is expected of par-
ticipants; verifying their community ties; and must meet monthly intake quota.
College degree or equivalent experience; criminal justice background pre-
ferred; excellent writing and communication skills; familiarity with offender
population; resourceful ; able to work independently as well as with a team;
and Spanish speaking a plus. Salary: $26,000, plus excellent benefits. Send
resume and cover letters to: Director of Personnel , CASES, 346 Broadway,
3rd Roor West, New York, NY 10013.
EMPlOYMENT PROGRAM COORDINMOR: 32-35 hours per week. (Temporary
tion through December 2000 leading to a full-time position in 2001). With the
Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing advocates for more
humane and effective public policies and provides life and work related shills
training to assist men and women to heal their hearts and reclaim thei r lives.
The Assembly offers training in workplace and computer skills and refers par-
ticipants to selected work sites for a 12-week supported internship period. The
Employment Coordinator will further develop and implement a comprehensive
life and work skills program to assist formerly homeless men and women in
securing full-time employment. The Coordinator will : Assess and train eligible
j ob candidates. Oversee a basic computer skills laboratory. Facilitate on-going
support groups and provide individual support before and after placement.
Liaison with employers and supervise on-site interns. The Assembly is seeking
a Program Coordinator with experience in working with those who are or have
been homeless and: A minimum of two yea'rs experience with a New York City
based program providing employment and or social services to populations
with obstacles to employment, or comparable experience. The abil ity to
vate, inspire, and generate enthusiasm in program partiCipants. Familiarity
with community resources and available services. Project management, basic
computer and organizational skills Good written and verbal communication
skills. A college degree. Extensive contacts with NYC based social service
agencies are an important asset. Salary and benefits: Salary is equivalent to
annual full time salary of $30,000 to $40,000, commensurate with experience
and qualifications. Health insurance is available. For further information,
please call. To apply for the position, please forward resume and cover letter
by mail or fax to: Marc Greenberg, Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and
Housing, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10025, Phone: 212-316-
3171, Fax: 212-662-1352.
EDITOR: Professional nonprofit monthly magazine written by NYC teens on
SOCial , political, and personal issues (circ. 70,000). Begin July 5. $30-$35K.
Send resume, cover letter and two writing samples to: NYC, 224 W. 29th St.,
2nd fl., NY, NY 10001. No calls or e-mail. See Youthcomm.org for more infor-
mation. Deadline: ASAP.
Brooklyn
Bureau OF COMMUNITY SERVICE
Major not-for-proRt social services agency in Brooklyn seeks highly quol-
iRed and dedicated PROFESSiONAlS for the following positions:
SUPERVISORS JOB DEVELOPERS
COUNSELORS
Requirements include CRC or MA degree in Vocational Rehabi litation.
For Counselor and Job Developer positions only, we will consider
alternate degrees with experience in employment services for persons
with disabilities.
please mail or fax your resume w/cover letter ta: Leslie Klein,
Director, Adult Reliabilitotion Services, Brooklyn Bureau of
Community Service, 285 Schermerhorn St, BrooklYn, NY 11217.
FAX 718-855-1517. NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE.
COORDINATOR OF FACILITIES
& CENTRAL SERVICES
We seek a take charge indiv to oversee housekeefling, mainte-
nance & repair at 12 sites (approx 170,000 total Negotiate
leases & develop & manage capital & operations budgets for
department. Oversee purchasing function, telephone & other office
systems. Supervise mailroom, switchboard & records management.
Must be a honds-<>n manager w/minimum 5 yrs supervisory exp in
related areas. Excellent organization & communications SKills.
Knowledge of office systems essential.
Send resume & cover leHer indicating salary history & reqs to:
Barry Newmark, Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service, 285
Schermerhorn St, BrooklYn, NY 11217, FAX 718-310-5720 EOE
CITY LIMITS
ANANCIAI. ANALYST: The New York City Housing Partnership is a not-for-profIt
organization working with the New York City Department of Housing
Preservation and Development (HPD), New York Equity Fund, entrepreneurs,
general contractors, banks, community-based nonprofit groups, other city and
state agencies and elected officials to rehabilitate existing affordable hous-
ing units in disrepair in New York City. The Rnancial Analyst works with the
Director of Rnance and program staff on the related financial aspects of the
development process through construction loan closing and project comple-
tion and into the future for auditing and reporting needs. The ideal candidate
must have strong interpersonal, verbal and written communication skills.
Computer proficiency in developing spreadsheets and budgets. Bachelor's
degree, accounting/financial analysis experience, MS Word and Excel
required. Fax or mail cover letter and resume to William Nelson, Chief of Staff,
(212) 742-9559, New York City Housing Partnership, One Battery Park Plaza,
New York, NY 10004. EOE.
CONSTRUCT1ON MONITOR: The New York City Housing Partnership is a not-forprof-
it organization working with the New York City Department of Housing
Preservation and Development (HPD), New York State Affordable Housing
Corporation (AHC), private builders, banks, community-based nonprofit groups,
other city and state agencies and elected officials to build new construction
affordable housing in New York City. The Construction Monitor reports to the
Director of Design and Construction, and is responsible for monitoring the
progress of construction of the Partnership's new construction projects and all
other construction related issues. Architectural or Engineering degree and
knowledge of various construction types and materials utilized is required.
Candidate must have strong public relations, interpersonal, organizational, ver-
bal and written communication skills. Computer skills with familiarity in creating
spreadsheets and field reports required. NYS driver's license and vehicle
required. Fax or mail cover letter and resume to William Nelson, Chief of Staff,
212-742-9559, New York City Housing Partnership, One Battery Park Plaza,
New York, NY 10004. EOE.
The Citizens Advice Bureau seeks a DIRECTOR OF ADOU:SCDIT DEVELOPMENT
IAOPI to manage teen programs within the Department of Children and Family
Services. Responsibilities include managing programs, supervising program
and program coordinators, providing leadership, monitoring contractual goals
and administering agency policies and procedures. Qualifications: Master' s
degree with 5+ years of managerial experience, demonstrated leadership,
presentation & team building skills, familiarity with the NYC BD of Ed middle
and high school academic requirements and strong oral and written commu-
nication skills. Send resume with cover letter to Code CL, Vivian Vazquez at
CAB, 1130 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York 10456 or fax 718-590-5866.
CAMBA Legal Services, Inc., a community-based non-profit organization in cen-
tral Brooklyn, seeks a licensed moRNEY and PARAI..EGAlIADIIOCJO'E for repre-
sentation of clients in civil matters. Ruency in Spanish or Creole is
preferred. Salary includes full benefits. FAX resume to Supervising Attomey at
718-287-1719. CAMBA is an equal opportunity employer.
COMMUNnY DEVEl.OPMENT ASSOCIATE: Bronx CDC specializing in affordable
housing, employment services, real estate development and asset-building pro-
grams seeks Community Development Associate. Position to oversee NYC's
first Individual Development Account: an innovative savings and match program
for low income families to buy a home, start a small business or go back to
school. Job duties include facilitating economic education, asset-specific coun-
seling, overall program management and policy development. Also includes
working with team on other community development projects. Qualifications: BA
or equivalent, excellent oral and written skills; experience in facilitating groups,
building professional relations and working with individuals; experience or inter-
est in program management; and interest in affordable homeownership,
microenterprise development and higher education for low income families.
Ruency in Spanish required. Salary to mid-$30s. Please send cover letter and
resume to Rita Bowen, Director of Community Development, 2003-05 Walton
Avenue, Bronx, NY 10453. Fax: 718-29S-5623.
SENIOR CASE MANAGER, The Comer House: Work as part of a team in a building
in West Harlem serving formerly homeless people with mental illness.
Coordinate psychiatric and medical care, entitlements; maintain individual case
records; assessment and treatment planning, including linkages to day pro-
grams, clubhouses, vocational opportunities, and addiction treatment. Assist
Program Director in management of the program. Experience with mental health
preferred, bilingual Spanish/English strongly preferred, computer literacy also a
plus. Salary mid $20s, excellent benefits. Fax letter and resume to Daniel
Gerwin at 212-721-7389 or mail to Daniel Gerwin at Project Reachout/Goddard
Riverside Community Center, 593 Columbus Ave. , New York, NY 10024.
JULY/AUCUST 2000
VOCA11ONAL COUNSa.OR/JOB DEVB.OPER, TOP Opportunities: Be part of a
growing, successful job training and placement program with a nationally
known agency. Vocational training and job placement for formerly homeless
mentally ill on Upper West Side. Job development, individual/group counsel-
ing, job coaching, entitlements assistance, assist with program management.
Clinical experience, highly professional presentation, facility with computers
preferred. Salary mid $20' s, excellent benefits. Send letter and resume to:
Patricia Dawes, TOP Opportunities/GRCC; 577 Columbus Ave., NY, NY
10024. Fax: 646-505-1096.
HOUSING PLACEMENT CASE MANAGER. Project Reachout's Housing Options
program is responsible for providing housing placement assistance to the
homeless mentally ill people we serve. The case manager works in our
Upper West Side Office placing homeless mentally ill and MICA into perma-
nent housing, and providing case management to clients in scattersite apart-
ments. Work closely with housing intake workers at other agencies to facili-
tate housing placement, and guide our clients through the process. Bilingual
a plus, experience with mental health or addiction preferred. Salary lower
mid $20s, excellent benefits. Send cover letter and resume to: Kristina
Kane, Housing Options/GRCC, 577 Columbus Avenue, New York, NY 10024.
Fax: 646-505-1096.
TEAM LEADER-THE sarE. Work in our supported SRO on the Upper West Side
helping to supervise the clinical team providing services to formerly homeless
people with mental illness/MICA. Direct care of your own case load plus super-
vision of case managers. Coordinate mental and physical health care, entitle-
ments; maintain individual case records; assessment and treatment planning,
including linkages to day programs, clubhouses, vocational opportunities, and
addiction treatment. Solid mental health experience, computer literacy
required. Bilingual Spanish/ English, experience with addiction a plus. Salary
low to mid $30s, excellent benefits. Send letter and resume to: Caren Ezratty,
The Senate/GRCC, 206 West 92nd Street, New York, NY 10025 or fax 212-
721-5406.
COMMUNnY ORGANIZER: The Trust for Public Land, a national not-for-profit land
conservation organization, seeks an individual to assist in its NYC Gardens
Land Trust Program. Responsibilities include meeting with 64 local volunteer
gardening groups to improve group functioning in goveming and maintaining the
community gardens recently purchased by TPL in New York City; working one-on-
one with garden leaders to formulate, structure and review plans to strengthen
the groups and provide on-site assistance with goveming structure; planning
and presenting training sessions on relevant topics; serving as mediator for any
conflicts which may arise between garden members; and assisting in the for-
mation of land trusts. Reqs: Bachelor's degree; experience in organizing vol-
unteer neighborhood groups; excellent organization and communication skills;
ability to work with diverse personalities and constituencies with minimal super-
vision; willingness to work some evenings and weekends; computer proficiency.
This is an approximately two-year position. Salary: mid $30s + excellent bene-
fits. For more information: www.tpl.org.TPLisanequalopportunityemployer. To
apply, send resume to: TPL, 666 Broadway, 9th Roor, New York, NY 10012, or
fax: 212-353-2052.
OOA MANAGEMENT ASSISTANT: NYC non-profIt organization seeks individual to
implement production reporting system; data collection and analYSis.
Knowledge of Excel and Access required. Salary mid-twenties. Fax resume and
cover letter to Becky Himlin NHSNYC 212-727-8171.
Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation at http://www.nw.org seeks DIS-
TmCT DIRECTOR in Cincinnati , OH. Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation,
which fosters neighborhood revitalization and affordable housing through pub-
lic/private partnerships in 200+ locations, is searching for a Leader/Manager
to direct and strengthen a 10 member, professional staff team in the Great
Lakes District. Serving OH, MI, KY, IN, and TN, the District Director will man-
age the strategic targeting of technical and financial resources to leverage
productivity among more than 20 non-profit corporations serving 53 diverse
communities. Substantive knowledge of community development field and
publ ic/ private sector financing strategies is required. Minimum 8-10 years
recent, successful management experience characterized by superb staff
management, clear results, sound judgement, and a customer service orien-
tation. Excellent communication, organizational development, strategic plan-
ning and problem solving skills are essential. Unique opportunity with COI}"l-
petitive salary and generous benefits. Submit resume to: Donna Cramer,
Isaacson Miller, 334 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116. E-mail:
dcramer@imsearch.com. Fax: (617) 262-6509.
(continued on page 38)
(continued from page 37)
OUTREACH WORKER, Project Reachout: Work on the Upper West Side providing
outreach and case management to homeless people with mental illness/MICA.
Be part of a creative, dynamic team to engage people living outdoors with
untreated mental illness and help them achieve psychiatric and mental
ty, sobriety and housing. Able to drive preferred. Experience in mental
health/addiction is a plus, but not required. Bilingual Spanish also a plus.
Salary mid 20' s, excellent benefits. Fax letter and resume to Daniel Gerwin at
212-721-7389 or mail to Daniel Gerwin at Project Reachout/Goddard Riverside
Community Center, 593 Columbus Ave., New York, NY 10024.
PARAI..EGAI.ICONnY UASON. MFY Legal Services seeks a paralegal/com-
munity liason to serve low income people in Manhattan. Duties include inter-
viewing clients, outreach and housing and benefits law advocacy.
Requirements: well organized, excellent client counseling skills. Spanish-
speaking a plus. Salary pursuant to CBA, up to $28,317, DOE. Please send
cover letter and resume to Peggy Earisman, MFY Legal Services, Inc., 299
Broadway, 4th floor, New York, New York 10007. EOE
ASSISTANT 10 CHIEF OF STAFF. Chief of staff to independently elected New York
City official seeks an assistant. Candidate must possess excellent analytical
and interpersonal skills as well as have a high level of expertise in the prepa-
ration and edit of written of communication. Must be NYC resident. BA/BS
degree required. Salary to Mid-$40s. Send resume, cover letter and salary his-
tory to Brooklyn Borough Presidents Office, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn, NY
11201 Attention: Lily Wong/Susan Pang. EOE.
ADMINISTMIlVE ASSISTANT Position for team player interested in homeless ser-
vices and low-income housing. Non-profit seeks energetic individual profiCient in
Microsoft Office with BA/BS in related field. Responsibilities include liaison
activities for 14 housing sites; coordination of site correspondence; monthly
reports on services and operations; office support. Please forward cover letter
and resume to Amy Cardace fax 212.779.3353 or acardace@helpusa.org.
RESEARCH AND INFORMImON POSIT1ON for smart generalist with Queens eco-
nomic development corporation. Analyze data, plan events, update website,
develop information for business clients, edit and write for business publica-
tions. Ideal applicant has BA degree, MS Office & intemet knowledge,teaching
experience, likes meeting new people, is an organized, problem-solver with
strong writing skills, bilingual capability. Salary, starting $3()'35K. Fax resume &
writing sample to: Research, 718 263-0594 or email services@queensny.org
BUSINESS SERVICES DIRECTOR for Queens Economic development corporation:
experienced manager & program developer for entrepreneur assistance, lend-
ing, small & minority business, workshops, seminars, manufacturing TA, work-
force development. Multiple task ability, meet deadlines, minimum supervision,
manage & train staff. New program and grant development. Ideal applicant is
detail oriented, has public speaking skills, bilingual. MA or 5 years in small busi-
ness, nonprofit management, teaching. Salary starting $44-$48k Fax resume
to Business Services, 718-263-0594 or email services@queensny.org
PART-TWttE OFFICE MANAGER. NYIRN, a *rson, citywide economic
ment organization that assists manufacturers, is seeking a PART-TIME OFRCE
MANAGER. Responsibilities include light bookkeeping, database management,
filing, mailings and scheduling. Candidates should be detaii-<>riented, with strong
telephone skills and the ability to work as part of a team to assist in the man-
agement of projects and events. Salary commensurate with experience. Fax
resume to 718-6248618 or call Michael Katz at 718-624B800 ext. 14.
CASE MANAGER COORDINIO'OR. Seeking Case Manager Coordinator to work in
progressive harm reduction setting. Work with team in developing and running
HIV prevention program. Clinically assess participants' needs; facilitate work-
shops and support groups. Qualifications: Needs B.A. or extensive experience
in human services, case management skills, knowledge of HIV risk behavior and
prevention strategies. Bilingual a must. Salary: $35,000. Send/fax resumes
and cover letter to: Executive Director, St. Ann' s Comer of Harm Reduction, 312
Cypress Ave., Bronx, NY 10454; fax: 718-585-8314.
New supportive housing facility in Bronx serving PLWAs. On-site services for res-
idents include case management, mental health/substance abuse counseling,
HIV /nutrition, education, and employment/education services. We have the fol-
lowing outstanding job opportunities available for experienced, committed can-
didates. Benefits included. SUPERVISING SOCIAL WORKER Full-time. Works
w/Director creating programs for residents. Responsibilities include supervising
core services team. Must be detailed and computer literate w/excellent writ-
ing/communications/management skills. CSW w/at least 3 yrs experience in
supportive housing. Salary $50k. ADMINISTMIlVE ASSISTANT. Full-time. Assist
Director in preparing various reports/payroll. Provide office/program assis-
tance. Excellent organizational/writing/communications skills a must.
Proficiency in Word/Excel/Access. BA or 2 yrs. office experience. Salary $27k.
SENIOR RESIDENT COORDINATOR FUll-time. Responsible for
maintenance/security services and well being of tenants. Supervises bldg/res-
idence staff. BA, plus 2 yrs experience in housing. Salary $40k. Mail/fax/email
cover letter, resumE, and salary requirements to:Amber Hall 690 Eighth Avenue,
5th Roor NY NY 10036 Fax: (212) 398-3071 Email: lantemgrp@yahoo.com
Bilingualism and experience in non-profit housing a plus. EOE employer. No
phone calls please.
BOOKKEEPER Care for the Homeless, a growing non-profit agency is seeking an
experienced bookkeeper/accountant for general accounting functions. On-line
PayChex experience necessary. Responsible for payroll, employee benefits, AP
and joumal entries. Knowledge of fund accounting, spreadsheets, accounting
software (MIP) preferred. We offer excellent benefits. Mail resume to: Care for
the Homeless, 12 West 21st Street, 8th Roor, New York, NY 10010.
EOE/Minorities encouraged to apply.
HEAL11I CARE PlANNERIPROJECT MANAGER. To oversee neighborhood health
planning and physical development projects, i.e. a primary care, nursing home,
and assisted living program. Candidates should have 2-5 years of health care,
neighborhood planning, project management or related experience. Possess a
graduate degree in urban planning, health policy, business or related fields. Be
well organized and have superior written and oral communication skills.
Interest candidates should mail a resume and cover letter to: Michael
Rochford, Executive Director, St. Nicholas N.P.C., 11 Catherine Street,
Brooklyn, NY 11211.
St. Nicholas Neighborhood Preservation Corporation seeks a senior-level
EMPLOYMENT SERVICES COORDINIO'OR to lead our growing employment, welfare-
to-work, skills training, computer literacy, ESL, education and job placement
programs. We provide a range of services for community residents with a focus
on welfare-tcrwork. Duties include directing existing programs and services,
developing new programs and relationships, fundraising, monitoring WIA and
W2W, and supervising staff of 20+. We are seeking an experienced hands-on
manager with strong leadership, organizational, communication and adminis-
trative skills. Experience in one or more of our service areas and knowledge of
welfare reform required. Strong relationships with DOE and/or HRA preferred.
St. Nicks is a CBO serving Williamsburg and North Brooklyn and provides hous-
ing, health care, youth and family, economic development and workforce devel-
opment services to neighborhood residents. Interested candidates should fax
a resume and cover letter to Michael Rochford, St Nicholas NPC, 11 Catherine
Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211. Fax number is 718-486-5982. St Nicks also
seeks a bi-lingual (English/Spanish) CASE MANAGER, JOB DEVELOPER AND
JOB SEARCH COORDINATOR for start-up innovative welfare-tcrwork program.
Interested candidates should fax resume and cover letter to Ms. W. Moguel at
718-302-2054.
OFFICE MANAGER: Innovative labor union for freelance writers seeks an OFRCE
MANAGER with excellent organizational abilities, office computer skills, and a
professional phone manner. Salary high 20' s to low 30's, benefits included.
Start ASAP. Fax or mail resume and cover letter: 212-254D673, NWU, Local
1981/UAW, 113 University Place 6th R. New York, NY 10003.
Rnancial advisory firm specializing in employee owned companies needs part-
time BOOKKEEPERIADMINISTUTIVE ASSISTANT. Responsibilities include entering
financial data into spreadsheets and computer accounting system. Salary:
negotiable. Resume to James Raffel, Kokkinis & Associates, 1120 Avenue of
the Americas 4th Roor, NY, NY 10036; Fax: 212-626-6831.
CAMPAIGN ORGANIZER: Elect Hillary Clinton and build a new progressive political
party. Work with unions, community groups to mobilize members and coordinate
campaigns. Build grassroots political operations to increase tumout in minority
neighborhoods. Fax to Adam, 718-246-3718.
The South Bronx Overall Economic Development Corporation (SOBRO) one of
the city's largest local development corporations providing technical assis-
tance to businesses, career counseling and employment services to youth and
adults, and affordable community housing is seeking individuals to fill the fol-
lowing job openings: DEVELOPMENT ASSOCUO'E: Identify govemment and foun-
dation funding; write/edit grant proposals; develop new programs and docu-
ment impact of existing programs. Req. BA and 2 years experience; graduate
student a plus. Salary to Mid-30's. TICHNOlOGY ADMINIS1MIOR: Manage oper-
ations of Community Technology Center; troubleshooting technical issues,
scheduling training, coordinating staff. Req: Certification in computer technol-
CITY LIMITS
ogy and 2 years of experience; familiarity with computer lab set-up and admin-
istration a plus. Salary to mid-30s. PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Provide adminis-
trative support to Entrepreneurial Assistance Program; recruit participants,
coordinate training, manage projects, maintain databases. Req. Associates
Degree and 2 years experience or five years experience. Auency in Spanish a
plus. Salary to mid-20's. EMPLOYMENT SPCIAUST: Develop employment
opportunities based on client skills, assist with job readiness training and post
placement counseling. Req. BA and four years experience. Salary to mid-30's.
CHOICES TRAINER AND SlUDOfT Both positions involve assisting
community residents to gain employment and access services from support
agencies. Req. BS in a related field and 2 + years experience. Salary to mid-
20's. Interested parties should mail or fax their resume to Karen Hill, SOBRO,
370 E. 149th Street, Bronx, NY 10455. Fax: 718-292-3115. SOBRO is an
Equal Opportunity Employer.
Growing, dynamic, NFP Community Development agency seeks ADMINISTRA-
11VE ASSISTANT for Real Estate/property management department. Microsoft
Office, excellent organizational, interpersonal, BA degree required. Work
closely with tenants and facility staff. Send resume and salary to: Greyston
Foundation, 21 Park Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10703 Attention: S. Weintraub or
Fax 914-376-1333.
Youth Ministries for Peace and Justice, a Bronx faith-based youth organization
working for peace and justice through youth development and organizing,
seeks five positions: EDlJCj(I1()N DIRECTOR, ARTS DIRECTOR, COMMUNRY 0RGA-
NIZER, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSllCE PROJECT DIRECTOR, and EXECU11VE ASSISTANT.
We use Freires educational model and link the arts to activism; our current
Isabel Ochoa
li/J Associates
Do good. Do well.
We can help you do both.
(212) 969-8508
iocboatltelellne.ea
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. ; .; THE ANALYSIS AND SOLUTIONS COMPANY
'.: Daniel Convissor, President
' .. Website & Database Design. Public Policy Research.
Management & Transportation Consulting.
;.; :; : 4015 7 Av #4WA, Brooklyn NY 11232
.; ) v: 718-854-0335 f: 718-854-0409
danielc@AnalysisAndSolu(ions.com
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Excellent rate for nonprofit organizations.
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 notfor-profit corporations. Condos and co-ops,
)-51 Tax abatement/exemptions. Lending for historic properties.
JULY/AUCUST 2000
organizing work is on environmental justice and policing. Ideal candidate
vated by love rather than hate and by historic movements for justice. Women,
people of color strongly encouraged to apply. Particular job deSCriptions,
ifications, and salaries vary; fax resume to Chris Vaeth at 718-328-5630 or
call 328-5622.
Progressive consumer advocacy group working for better nursing home
care/more responsible public policy seeks HEALTH to oversee tele-
phone hotline, develop educational/advocacy materials and tie hotline calls to
public issues. 2-3 years relevant experience required, MSW preferred. Salary
$34K + benefits. Resume/cover letter to FRIA, 11 John Street, Suite 601, New
York, NY 10038. Fax: 212-732-6945.
POUCY ASSOCIA1. Child Care, Inc., a major child care information and policy
organization seeks a Policy Associate. Duties include: Conducting
research and tracking child care policy issues in New York City and New York
State. Analyzing early care and education trends and legislation. Drafting
cy reports and alerts. Working with various groups on advocacy initiatives. The
Policy Associate will work closely with Executive Director to carry out the orga-
nization's policy and advocacy efforts. Qualifications: BA with some experience
or interest in early care and education. Ability to handle multiple projects and
tasks. Knowledge of Word, Access, Excel and the Intemet. Must have
lent communication, writing and interpersonal skills. Send cover letter, resume
and writing sample (2 page maximum) to Nancy Kolben, Executive Director,
Child Care, Inc. 275 Seventh Avenue, 15th Aoor, New York, NY 10001 or fax
to 212-929-5785.
(contillued on page 40)
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
Attorneys at Law
Eastchester, N.Y.
Phone: (9 J 4) 395-0871
Bronx, N.Y.
(718) 585-3187
CoNStllJ"ANT SJMCES
Proposals/Graot Writing
MUD Grant5/Govt. RFP.
MI(HA(L 6. BU((I
CONSULTANT
Howing/Program Development
Real Estate Sales/Rentala
Technical Assistance
Employment Programs
Capacity Building
Community Relations
HOUSING, DEVELOPMENT & FUNDRAISING
212765-7123
212-397-6238
451 WEST 48th STREET, SUITE 2E
NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10036-1298
m&buCcIOaol.com
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at no outot-pocket cost,
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Visit our web site: www.npspace.com
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DEBRA BECHTEL - Attorney
Concentrating in Real Estate & Non-profit Law
Title and loan closings 0 All city housing programs
Mutual housing associations 0 Cooperative conversions
Advice to low income co-op boards of directors
313 Hicks Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201,
(718) 780-7994 (718) 624-6850
GET A BREAK ON POSTAGE
WHILE GIVING SOMEONE A BREAK
Let us Zip+4 and Bar Code Your Mailings for Maximum Postal
Discounts and Faster Delivery
We also offer hand inserting, live stamp affixing, bulk mail,
folding, collating, labeling, wafer sealing and more.
Henry Street Settlement Mailing Services is a work readiness program
offering participants on-the-job and life-skills training
For information contact Bob Modica
(212) 505-7307 Fax: (212) 533-4004
NesoH Associates
management solutions for non-profits
Providing a full range of management support services for
non-profit organizations
management development & strategic planning
board and staff development & training
program design, implementation & evaluation
proposal and report writing
Box 130 75A Lake Road Congers, NY 1092()O teVfax (914) 268-6315
COMPUTER
Hardware Sales:
IBM Compatible Computers
Okidata Printers
Lantastic Networks
SERVICES
Software Sales:
NetworkslDatabase
Accounting
Suites/Applications
Services: NetworkIHardware/Software Installation,
Training, Custom Software, Hand Holding
Morris Kornbluth 718-857-9157
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
(continued from page 39)
LDlDER for national community development org. with offices in Trenton,
NJ. Provide loans, grants, tech. assistance to housing and comm. dev.
projects. BA in business or public adm. or related field. Min. 5 yrs expo in
comm. dev. lending. Knowledge of NJ, excellent computer and communi-
cations skills. Salary plus bonus, benefits. Fax resume to LlSC 609-392-
8040, email cperaza@liscnet.org
Sunnyside Community Services is currently recruiting an ACCOUNTS
PAYABLE and BANK RECONCILlATlON BOOKKEEPER. Responsibilities
include reviewing payment requisitions and allocating invoices,
inputting invoices to system, printing checks, preparing monthly
accounts payable transfers, maintaining account payable files and file
controls, conducting monthly review of accqunts payable, reconcil ing
bank statements and performing special assignments or projects as
necessary. Requirements are PC facility, especially Excel, familiarity
with fund accounting, 3 years bookkeeping experience and an
Associate degree in Accounting is also preferred. The successful can-
didate must be a self starter with good communication skills. Qualified
individiduals may send or fax their resume with cover letter indicating
salary requirements to: Recruiting Services (CG), Sunnyside
Community Services, 43-31 39th Street, Long Island City, NY 11104,
FAX 718-706 2475.
GRANTWRITER, part-time. Neighborhood Iniatives Development
Corporation, a multi-service organization, seeks part-time Grantwriter.
Responsibilities: preparing reports, proposals, maintaining database,
research, some administrative work. 20-25 hours per week, flexible
hours. SA with some grantwriting experience, familiarity with issues
facing community groups helpful. Good writing skills and computer pro-
ficiencyessential. Send resume, writing sample to Paula Walzer, NIDC,
2523 Olinville, Avenue, Bronx, N.Y. 10467. Fax: 718-223-9898, email:
kris323@earthlink.net.
DIRECTOR OF DVnOPMENT. The Lesbian and Gay Community
Services Center seeks a development director to oversee an organi-
zational revenue budget of $5.1 million and a capital building cam-
paign in excess of $10 million. Principle duties include: managing and
supervising a development team of seven including three develop-
ment officers for grants, donor relations/ capital campaign and spe-
cial events; serving as a key strategist to identify new methods of
expanding the agencies major donor, planned giving, and capital
donor programs; and work closely with the Executive Director and
CFO/COO in the planning and presentation of the annual operating
budget. Please send a resume and cover letter with salary expecta-
tions to Human Resources, Lesbian and Gay Community Services
Center, OAe Little West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014. Fax:212-
924-2657. Women and people of color are encouraged to apply.
Please visit our website at www.gaycenter.org.
The Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center seeks a CONTROU.ER
to manage all daily accounting functions for operating, capital cam-
paign and AIDS Ride Budgets. This includes supervision of Rnance
Staff, monthly close, accounts payable, budget to actual reports and
management of government grants. Requires a BA in
AccountingjRnance and 4+ years of fiscal management experience
with budgeting and grants. Please send a resume and cover letter with
salary expectations to Human Resources, Lesbian and Gay Community
Services Center, One Little West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014,
fax, 212-924-2657. Women and people of color are encouraged to
apply. Please visit our website at www.gaycenter.org.
EXE.aIT1VE DIRECTOR: Historic, liberal Unitarian Universalist congregation
seeks individual for marketing, financial management, contract oversight,
and special projects. Competitive salary and benefits. Send resume and
salary requirements to: Minister, Fourth Universalist, 160 CPW, NY, NY
10023.
Brooklyn CDC seeks VICE PRESIDENT OF OPERATIONS for Asset
Management Division, to assist with the strategiC direction of the division,
to manage property management team, to establish effective operating
procedures, develop projects/strategies within managed properties to
carry out housing development goals. Must have 5-7 years experience in
managing urban, residential , low income properties, overseeing multiple
CITY LIMITS
contracts, strong communication, computer and organizational skills required.
Must have demonstrated ability to build and manage staff and must be k n o w ~
edgeable with budgets. Salary commensurate with experience. Fax cover letter
and resume to J. Anglin, 718-857-5984 or mail to J. Anglin, BSRC, 1368 Fulton
Street, Brooklyn, NY 11216.
Brooklyn based corporation seeks PUBUC REUmONS MANAGER to assist with
planning and implementation of the organization' s publ ic relations policies and
procedures. Individual will assist with the preparation of news releases, feature
articles, speeches and drafting articles for the publication. Will assist in the
coordination and promotion of corporate and community sponsored events;
also will assist with design and preparation of art work and mechanicals for
poster, flyers, brochures, newsletters and advertisements. Acts as liaison
between printers, photographers, typesetters and corporation. Advises on the
preparation and presentation of corporate products, displays and exhibits.
Qualifications: BA/BS in Communication Arts/ Rne Arts, three to five years expe-
rience in public relations, media or related field. Superior management, super-
visory, leadership, and public speaking skills necessary. Fax cover letter and
resume immediately to J. Anglin, BSRC, 718-857-5984.
SENIOR ACCOUNTANT. Senior Accountant in charge of commercial activities to
prepare monthly management reports, quarterly external financial statements
of commercial subsidiaries, and prepare quarterly estimated tax and annual
returns. Also responsible for analysis of monthly expenses and revenues,
monthly closing entries, band reconciliations; review of cash receipts, and dis-
bursement entries affecting commercial subsidiaries. Qualifications: BA/ BBA in
Accounting. Minimum 5 years experience in public accounting or 5 years in
medium to large for profit organization. Must have working knowledge of
Microsoft Word, Excel , and American FundWare. Excellent benefits. Salary com-
mensurate with experience. Fax cover letter and resume immediately to: BSRC,
c/o J. Anglin, 718-857-5984.
DIRECTOR OF FAMR.Y SERVICES AND COORDINATOR OF FAMIlY HOUSING. Forest
Hills Community House, a multi-service settlement house serving the borough
of Queens, is seeking qualified persons to fill the positions of Director of Family
Services and Coordinator of Family Housing Services. Qualifications for DIREC-
TOR'S position include: MSW, supervisory experience, 2 years experience
working with families. Director is responsible for oversight of services to home-
less families, supervising the agency's Child Health Plus enrollment program
and assisting immigrant families. Salary: Mid 30' s. The coordinator's position
requires minimum of BSW or 2 years experience, some supervisory experi-
ence, and experience working with families. Bi-lingual , Spanish speaking pre-
ferred. The Community House is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Send
Resumes: Forest Hills Community House 108-25 62nd Drive, Forest Hills, NY
11375. Attn: Mary Abbate.
DIRECIOR OF FINANCE & 0PER4T10NS. The Audre Lorde Project, a Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual , Two Spirit and Transgender (LGBTST) People of Color center for com-
munity organizing, focusing on the NYC area seeks a Director of Rnance &
Operations to oversee fiscal, administrative and operations policies and func-
tions. Qualifications include: Commitment to organizational mission and
LGBTST People of Color issues; Proven ability working with multi-racial, multi-eth-
nic, multi..gendered communities; strong knowledge of LGBTST POC communi-
ties; 3-5 yrs in finance and administration of community based organization, or
equivalent; 2 years supervisorial experience; Excellent interpersonal, writing and
communications skills; Proficiency in word processing, spreadsheet and
accounting software; Salary: $35- 40,000, plus fringe. Please send resume,
cover letter (stating poSition of interest), and names/telephone numbers of 3
professional references to: ALP, 85 South Oxford Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217,
Fax: 718-59&1328.
PROPERTY MANAGER. Bronx Based CDC and RE Management Co. seeks indi-
vidual with the ability to oversee staff and overall maintenance of several build-
ings. Must be knowledgeable of housing codes and violations. Must have two
years experience in Property Management and computer literate. Send resume
with cover letter: Director of Property Operations, Mount Hope Housing
Company, Inc. 2003-05 Walton Avenue, Bronx, NY 10453. FAX: 718-583-6557.
No phone calls please.
Community Guardian Program seeks: SOCIAl. SERVICES SUPERVISOR (MSWl to
supervise 4-5 Caseworkers. CASEWORKER (BAIBSW) . Travel to Boroughs.
Experience with MICA, elderly & substance abuse clients preferred. Excellent
organizational skills. Ability to respond to crisis. Excellent opportunity to grow &
develop. Fax/ send resume to 212-791-3740.
JULY/AUCUST 2000
PROJfCT COORDINATOR..socw. SERVICES. Major norrprofit seeks responsible
individual for developing and conducting training workshops on govemment
benefit programs. Coordinate and manage the Public Benefits Information
Line. Client consultation. Coordinate data collection with staff analyist, and
other CSS Units. BA in social work or related field required. Min. two years
working with public entitlements. One year experience in volunteer manage-
ment, training or conducting workshops. Demonstrated written, oral , interper-
sonal and computer skills. Salary $30K. Excellent benefits. Send resume and
cover letter to: Human Resources, PP-22, Community Service and Society of
New York, 105 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010. Fax: 212-614-5336 or
email :lwoods@cssny.org EOE.
CSS VOl.UNI&R MANAGER..socw. SERVICES. Experienced volunteer manager for
nonprofit organization, experienced in all aspects of volunteer management,
including recruitment, interviewing, screening, training; excellent communication
skills. BA degree in social sciences or Certified Volunteer Administrator
required. Three to five years experience in volunteer administration.
Demonstrated skills in community relations and/ or human resources requi red.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills. Salary $30' s. Excellent ben-
efits. Send resume and cover letter to: Human Resources RS-36, Community
Service Society of New York, 105 East 22nd Street, New York, NY 10010. Fax:
212-614-5336 or email : Iwoods@Cssny.org. EOE.
PROGRAM COORDINATOR..socw. SERVICES. A Retired and Senior Volunteer
Program. Recruit, interview and select senior volunteers for entitlement out-
reach program in the Manhattan and Queens area. Traveling involved. Train v o ~
unteers in advocacy and public entitlements. BA preferred. Experience with v o ~
unteers and working knowledge of public entitlements. Strong oral and written
skills. Salary $27K. Excellent benefits.Send resume and cover letter to: Human
Resources RS-40, Community Service Society of New York, 105 E. 22nd Street,
New York, NY 10010. Fax: 212-614-5336 or email: Iwoods@Cssny.org.
PROJfCT DlRECIOR: Jamaica Neighborhood Center, Queens. Creative self-start-
ing person experienced in community organization/ administration to continue in
development of the JNC and Advisory Council. Responsibilities: working with
local agencies; managing/writing grants; working with Site Manager; developing
other collaborative endeavors. BSW or equivalent, full time, salary negoti able
based on experience. Resume to: Margaret A. Krajci , OP; 555 Albany Avenue;
Amityville, New York 11701.
1IAM LEADER. Major social service organization has openings on its Mobile
Outreach Team that assists individuals living on the street. Candidates should
have the ability to engage individuals, and assess and make referrals to social
service programs. MSW and experience working with MICA clients and the abil-
ity to supervise staff and coordinate clinical services. Experience working with
homeless population and knowledge of social service programs preferred. Shift
is Monday-Friday 8am to 4pm. Salary range: $40,000. Candidates must have
valid drivers license and the ability to work in a team environment. Qualified can-
didates should send resume to: Human Resources Representatives, The
Partnership for the Homeless, Inc. 305 Seventh Avenue, Box TL, New York, NY
10001. AA/EEO M/ F/ D/V/ SO
0UT1IEACH WORKER. Major social service organization has opening on its Mobile
Outreach Team that assists individuals living on the street. Candidates should
have the ability to engage individuals, and assess and make referrals to social
service programs. Experience with MICA clients, knowledge of homelessness a
plus. BA/BS preferred. Shift includes evenings and weekend hours. Salary
range: mid 20's. Candidates must have valid drivers license and the ability to
work in a team environment. Qualified candidates should send resume to:
Human Resources Representatives, The Partnership for the Homeless, Inc.,
MOR 305 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10001. AA/EEO M/ F/D/V/ SO.
HOUSING SPECIALIST. Norrprofit organization seeks Housing Specialist to assist
elder1y clients locate permanent/supportive housing. The Specialist will oversee
coordination of services that help clients develop independent living skills and
become housing ready. Client advocacy with state and city agencies is essen-
tial. Candidates should have knowledge of community-based services, public
assistance/ entitlements and the supportive housing network. Ability to work
with clients with a history of substance abuse and/ or mental illness desirable.
BA/ BS required, bi-lingual desired. Salary range $30,000. Send resume and
cover letter with salary requirements to: Human Resources Representative, The
Partnership for the Homeless, Inc. 305 Seventh Avenue, Box HS New York, NY
10001. AA/EEO M/ F/ D/V/ SO.
(continued on page 42)
-
(continued from page 41 )
SENIOR GRANT WRITER. Major social service organization seeks an experi-
enced writer to join a team of creative fundraisers to expand the funding
base for the organization's programs and new initiatives. The writer will have
an opportunity to develop innovative grant requests to corporations, founda-
tions, and major donors, and to work on a variety of presentations and pro-
motional materials. Ability to work in a diverse, fast-paced, yet relaxed envi-
ronment. Salary range: Mid-$40's. Send resume and letter with salary
requirements to: The Partnership for Homeless, Director of Human
Resources, Box SGW, 305 Seventh Avenue, 13th Aoor, New York, NY
10001. AA/EOE M/F/D/V/SO.
GROUP 1IACIIER. Goddard Riverside Community Center, and Upper West Side
settlement house, is seeking teachers for its Early Childhood Program, which
provides educational and social services to families and children. This pro-
gram promotes the social and intellectual growth of young children, preven-
tative health and social services, nutrition, parent involvement, and family ser-
vices. Job deSCription: Under the supervision of the Director, plan and lead
the educational program in a classroom of the Day Care Center. Supervise
Assistant Teacher and Teacher Aide. Report directly to Day Care Director.
Required: BA/MA in Early Childhood Education, New York State Certification,
Able to work as part of a team effort, self-motivate individual. Preferred
requirements: Two years experience as a group teacher. Salary: ACD scale.
Send resume to: Ellen Eisenman, Goddard Riverside Community Center, Fax:
212-595-6498.
EXECUT1VE ASSISTANT. West Side settlement house with wide array of commu-
nity programs seeks highly organized individual to work directly with Executive
Director and senior management to handle variety of administrative tasks;
coordinate activities of Board of Directors, organize meetings and special
events; maintain corporate records, draft correspondence, handle calendars,
respond to general inquiries, assist with govemment contracts, etc.; strong,
writing, oral and interpersonal skills required; ability to be flexible and work as
part of team; salary commensurate with experience, excellent benefits, fax
resume with cover letter to Executive Director, Goddard Riverside Community
Center, 212-595-6498.
GROUP WORKER. To provide group work services to formerly homeless tenants
living in the Capital Hall, a single roorTH>Ccupancy facility located at 166 West
87th Street. Under the supervision of the director to tenant services. The
Group Worker will do the following: works in part of a social service team in
developing and implementing a wide range of group activities; will work with
tenants in scheduling floor meetings on a regular basis; works with other
social service staff in assuring access to needed services for Capitol Hall ten-
ants; coordinates with local community organizations educational and
ization activities which will benefit tenants; will maintain up-to-date records on
all client-related activities, including group events and. individual work.
Qualifications: M.S.W. or related degree, prior work experience with homeless
individuals is helpful but not required, must have social service experience
and good interpersonal skills. Fax resume to: Howard Aeishman, Director of
Tenant Services in Capital Hall, 166 West 87th Street, New York, NY 10024.
Fax: 212-877-0256.
The Brooklyn Bureau of Community Service seeks PlACEMENT SPECIALIST.
Identify, develop, and maintain relationships with employers to gain employment
opportunities for partiCipants. Create job opportunities with employers. Conduct
assessment interviews and evaluate employability of participants. Assist voca-
tional counselor with the development of monthly calendars of speakers and
trips geared toward career exploration. Develop and present pre-
vocational/vocational readiness workshops. Monitor placed partiCipants and
provide support during their transition into the working world. Position requires:
BS/BA in related field; 2 years experience securing employment for
youth/adults; knowledge of children's mental health and special education sys-
tems; 2 years experience working with emotionally disturbed teenagers;
lent interpersonal, organizational , and communication/writing skills; Fax
resume/cover letter to: Janice Sequeira, 718-566.Q311.
DIRECTOR OF CONS1TIUENT SERVICES. East Side Assemblyman Steven
Sanders seeks articulate, energetic, confident, compassionate,
quick lea mer to handle constituent services .. Familiarity with city and state gov-
emment, landlord-tenant issues and public entitlements preferred but not
required. Moderate to heavy caseload, especially seniors and tenants. Excellent
benefits. Salary: low 3Os. Will consider new college grad. Fax cover letter and
resume to 212 979.Q594.
-
NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund, a leading national women's rights orga-
nization, is seeking a PROGRAM ASSOCIAlI for its project, the National Judicial
Education Program, who will work for the Director of the program to begin June
2000. Please refer to our web site, www.nowldef.org for further details.
DEVEi.oPMENr ASSOCIAlI. The Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center
seeks a development associate to assist development officers in individual
donor, capital, and foundation fundraising. This person will also assist with gen-
eral departmental support. Requirements include a minimum of 2 years of
development experience, experience working as part of a team, and excellent
organizational, writing and interpersonal skills. This is a great opportunity for an
individual wanting a career in fund raising. Please send a resume and cover let-
ter with salary expectations to Human Resources, Lesbian and Gay Community
Services Center, One Little West 12th Street, New York, NY 10014, fax, 212-
924-2657. Women and people of color are encouraged to apply. Please visit our
website at www.gaycenter.org.
The Citizens Advice Bureau has an opening for a STAfF ACCOUNTANT to recon-
cile, analyze and classify expenditures in accordance with GAAP and govemment
accounting. Qualifications: BA in accounting, 2 years experience with fund
accounting, good working knowledge of budgets and reimbursements, comput-
er literacy and the ability to work well under pressure in a high volume job.
Located within walking distance to Yankee Stadium. Send resume with cover let-
ter to CABfiscal, 1130 Grand Concourse, Bronx, New York 10456 or fax (718)
5904771.
DEVROPMENT DlRECTOR- Part-time, flexible hours. Park Slope Geriatric Day
Center is the premiere NYC social adult day services program serving phys-
ically and cognitively frail older adults. Must have successful experience
organizing and implementing annual campaigns. Knowledge of corporate and
foundation funding. Strong written, verbal and people skills. Salary com-
mensurate with experience. EOE. Fax resume and cover letter to PSGDC
718-768-2119.
The Consortium for Worker Education seeks a SOCIAL SEIMcE MANAGER for the
Satellite Child Care Program. This manager will oversee case manage-
ment, classroom training, and the child care intemship, and will serve as the
liaison with affiliated day care agencies. Major responsibilities include super-
vising, mentoring, training, and supporting the Employment and Training
Assistance Program (ETAP) staff; establishing and maintaining standards for
case management; identifying and analyzing trends in social service
issues/problems; advocating for broader solutions; meeting regularly with
Satellite trainers and training supervisors; and collaborating with child care
agencies to identify issues/concems, and suggesting solutions. The ideal can-
didate will have MSW and 3+ years of senior supervisory experience, clinical
and case management work history, knowledge of local social service systems,
and excellent oral and written communication skills. A candidate
with welfare-to-work programming experience is preferred. Salary
$50,OOO/commensurate with experience, and excellent medical, dental, union,
vacation, sick, and retirement benefits. Please fax resume to Barbara Zerzan at
212-414-4125.
DEVEI..OPMENT ASSOCIAlI: Leam the fundamentals of nonprofit fundraising, with
Significant advancement opportunities for highly motivated individuals. The suc-
cessful candidate must be familiar with office software programs, have strong
writing skills, and be very detailed oriented. Salary is mid to high teens. Send
resume and cover letter to Project Vote, 88 Third Avenue, Third Aoor, Brooklyn,
NY, 11217. EOE. Women and people of color strongly encouraged to apply.
HOUSING REI..OCA11ON MANAGER. Westchester Social Service Agency has open-
ing in its housing division for a person to supervise staff in a housing relocation
program and provide post relocation services for formerly homeless families. A
Bachelor' s degree with three years of supervisory experience serving home-
less/special needs population is required. Must have excellent
written/oral/computer skills. Some weekends and ev.enings required, must
have own car and a valid/clean NYS drives license. Send resume to: Director of
Human Resources, Westhab, 85 Executive Blvd. Elmsford, NY 10523. Fax: 914-
345-3139. EOE.
DEVELOPMENT COORDINIO'OR. For a new position, we're seeking a fundraising
pro who's excited by a challenge and can help take our small , innovative
hunger organization to the next level. The job is to manage and expand a
tifaceted development program, including government, individual giving, foun-
dation and corporate grants. Candidates should have top skills in grantwriting,
program development and administration. Four-{jay work week, benefits. Mid-
thirties. Send resume to: 212-825-0267 (Fax) or nyccaah@juno.com.
CITVLlMITS
GRANT WRITERIPROJECT MANAGER: Innovative consulting firm serving nonproflts
seeks grant-writing assistant. You: detail oriented, good writer, analytical, expert
at Word & Access. Duties: grant writing and clerical. Check out www.lp-associ-
ates.com before applying. 3-days or FfT. Great pay/benefits. Cover letter,
resume, writing sample, salary history, three references to: Laurence Pagnoni ,
549 W. 123rd Street, Suite 18H, NY, NY 10027.
The Women's Prison Association and Home, a social services agency, seeks a
DIRECTOR OF 0PERJm0NS for oversight and coordination of WPA programs and
administrative operations. Ensures programs operate in accordance with clini-
cal and funding reqUirements, with proper administrative support. BA w/7 years
working in direct service and 3 years as supervisor w/administrative responsi-
bilities. MA preferred and knowledge of criminal justice/social services, bHin-
gual a plus. Salary/benefits competitive. Send resume to: WPA, 110 Second
Avenue, NYC, 10003. Fax: 212.677.1981. NO CALLS.
The Women's Prison Association and Home, a social services agency, seeks a
PROGRAM DIRECTOR for their Transitional Services Unit, which provides a variety
of services to women in prison, jail and the community. Director provides super-
vision to managers and is responsible for overall administration of unit and its
contracts. BA/4 years experience, 2 supervisory/administrative. Background in
related area with clinical experience. Masters preferred. Salary/benefits
($65,000-$70,000). Send resume to: WPA, 110 Second Avenue, NYC, 10003.
Fax: 212.677.1981. NO CALLS.
SERVICE COORDINATORS: Innovative non-profit scatter site housing program serv-
ing the homeless psychiatrically-disabled/MICA population throughout
Westchester County has several positions available for caring, energetic BSW,
MSW, CSW, RN, CASAC, CRC to provide case management and support ser-
vices. Candidates must be flexible, creative and willing to go the extra mile.
Driver' s license a must. Fax resume to: Pathways to Housing Inc., Attn: J.
Jennings, 914-965-6101.
nNANT ORGANIZER: Community law office seeks experienced tenant organizer
to assist low-income tenants. Will conduct all phases of case load from intake
to resolution. Position includes policy, administrative, paralegal and advocacy.
Familiarity with housing issues and Spanish a plus; Start July 1st. Salary mid
20s to 30s depending on experience. Fax letter/resume to: 212-721-1514.
The Police Athletic League seeks qualified and energetic candidates for the
lowing summer and full year positions in its citywide high school jobs program:
DIRECTOR OF YOUTH EMPLOYMENT: Supervise and develop operations of
Department of Youth Employment and Summer Youth Employment programs.
Must have the experience, training, motivation, and vision to lead the depart-
ment in services to urban youth. Masters and three years related experience
preferred. SENIOR CASE MANAGER: Includes intake, assessments, counseling,
referrals and development of service plans for Youth Employment Program.
Supervises summer case managers and personal caseload. Program admin-
istration and fieldwork required. MSW preferred. Benefits included. CAREER
COUNSELOR: Design and implement career counseling and job development
program. Supervises summer job readiness instructors. Masters in
ing; experience in curriculum design and career workshops preferred. Benefits
included. JOB READlNESStCOMPUTER TEACHERS (through 8/25): Four positions.
Responsible for implementing computer training program. Teaching experience
a plus; computer skills required. $420/ week. SITI MONITORS (through 8/25):
Sixteen positions. Responsible for monitoring summer job sites, supervising
timesheets, submitting payroll and distributing paychecks. $280/week. CASE
MANAGERS (through 8/ 25). Two positions. Responsibilities include intake,
assessments, counseling, referrals and development of service plans. MSW,
therapeutiC recreation or counseling degree preferred. $525/week. ASSISTANT
CASE MANAGERS (through 8/25): Six positions: Case management responSi-
bilities include intake, assessments, counseling, referrals and development of
service plans. BSW or similar preferred. $420/ week. For above positions mail:
Department of Youth Employment, 34 1/ 2 East 12th Street, NYC 10003. Fax:
212-47H)589. RIDING INSTRUCTOR: Supervise disabled youth for Riverdale
program. Experience needed: part-time Monday-Wednesday starting July 10.
Fax: 718-858-2307.
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT: RAICES, a program to preserve Latin music history in
NYC, seeks fundraiser with 3-5 years experience to create a museum/archives in
E. Harlem. Identify funders; write proposals; establish membership program; and
plan events. Qualifications: Bachelors degree (Master's preferred) and knowledge
of arts/museum funding. Resume/writing sample to: Steve Sagner, Boys Harbor,
1 E. 104th St., #544, NY, NY 10029. Fax: 212-427-2311.
Community Service Society of New York PROGRAM COORDINATOR-SOCIAL SER-
VICES. A Retired Senior Volunteer Program. Recruit, interview and select
senior volunteers to entitlement Outreach program in Staten Island. Travel to
Manhattan once a week. Train Seniors in advocacy and public entitlements.
Develop volunteer sites. BA preferred. Experience with seniors and knowledge
of public entitlements. Strong oral and written skills. Excellent benefits.
Salary $27K. Send resume and cover letter to: Human Resources R5-39,
Community Service Society of New York, 105 E. 22nd Street, New York, NY
100101. Fax: 212-614-5336 or email : Iwoods@cssny.org.
Seeking office space for progressive policy research consultant in City Hall /
Tribeca / Soho / Financial District area. 100-200 sq. ft. sublet wanted from sim-
patico office, firm, or nonprofit, ideally with receptionist, copier, conference
room available. Call Craig Chamey at 212-665-1120.
The HIV Law Project seeks office space (rental or sublet). 6500 square feet,
centrally located, near multiple subway lines, with good natural light. Please call
212-674-7590.
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