RIRA Rep Defends Southtown From RIRA Housing Committee Report Alleging Affluent Exclusiveness & Gives Walking Tour Of Northtown - RIRA Common Council Responds To Report By Censoring Future Distribution Of Information

Image Of RIRA Southtown Resident Aaron Hamburger Defending Southtown

The Public Safety Committee Report presented to the Roosevelt Island Residents Association (RIRA) January 2011 Common Council Meeting was not the only controversial submission that resulted in a majority of RIRA Council members approving a Resolution censoring future reports for distribution to the Roosevelt Island community. The Housing Committee submitted a report which elicited a fierce, yet humorous, defense and response from Southtown Common Council Delegate Aaron Hamburger. Fortunately, we have a video of Mr. Hamburger's response provided by Roosevelt Island resident Trevre Andrews as well as the text of the remarks below.

You Tube Video Of January RIRA Meeting

RESPONSE TO RIRA’S HOUSING COMMITTEE REPORT TO THE 1/5/11 COMMON COUNCIL MEETING

In an outrageous attack on Southtown residents, the Housing Committee report charged that:

“We now have the phenomenon of a nearly complete lack of contact between the populations of Southtown and Northtown, leading to community conflict and the tarnishing of its reputation as an inclusive, caring place to live. Day and night, the million- dollar apartments of Southtown telegraph the message to the people of Northtown: We have money, you don’t; we do not need to know you much less lay eyes on you; ....... Southtown is where the money is; that’s why Southtown residents never set foot in Northtown and definitely do not care to interact in any way with Northtown residents”.

I first pointed out that if Southtown folks want no contact with Northtown people, why is over 21% of the Common Council composed of representatives from Southtown? Then I addressed the issue of Southtown residents not venturing into Northtown. Basically, few of us go to Northtown because there’s little there to attract us. Yes, many go to the Farmer Market, but that’s only once a week. My walk to Gristedes on Wednesday morning (1/ 5/11), illustrates the real problem. Leaving Southtown, the first thing I saw in Northtown was the Thrift Store. A terrible introduction to Main St. The front display window showed a disorganized and haphazard collection of items. The window was covered with pieces of tape and bits of paper and was probably the dirtiest window in all of Roosevelt Island. Then, if you go in to make a donation, they refuse to give you a receipt (the only thrift store I know doing this). So, many of us are now donating off-island to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Across the street is a chiropractor, who hasn’t been in business for about a year. Hidden in the basement of Rivercross are two excellent doctors and a fine dental practice. Many of us use these doctors, but that doesn’t get us very far into Northtown.

Continuing my walk, I next pass the Public Library. This library has a fair collection of reference books, children’s books, DVD’s and periodicals, but their general book collection is very limited. About 20% of the book shelves are empty. Usually, if you want a book, it has to be ordered from another library and that takes anywhere from one week to a month to arrive on Roosevelt Island. Oh, there’s no bathroom. Actually, there is a bathroom, but it’s kept locked for use by the staff only! Across the street is a nail salon, but we have a nail place in Southtown. Then, it’s the Trellis, which a number of us patronize especially on live music nights. Next is a dry cleaner, but again we have a good dry cleaner in Southtown.

Now I’m passing the Senior Center, where I have to maneuver around a large group of Northtown seniors waiting to get on the Shoppers Bus which will take them off-island to shop. This is while I’m going to Gristedes to spend my money on-island (and where I get a 10% senior discount on Tuesday and Wednesday and free delivery if I want). Is there something wrong with this picture?

Across the street is the deli, but we have a better deli in Southtown. Oh, I’ve already passed the closed fish store and soon pass the closed flower shop where many of us used to get our flowers. Then another nail place. Does Roosevelt Island really need 3 nail salons? In the final stretch of Main St, there’s the closed liquor store which a number of us routinely patronized, then China 1 where a number of us order take-out, and a new bank. The old bank closed forcing most of us to open accounts and get credit cards elsewhere - I transferred to Chase. Now nicely established at Chase, it’s not worth the hassle to come back to Roosevelt Island.

Finally, before I enter Gristedes, I go to the post office. This is the most customer- friendly, helpful branch post office I’ve ever encountered. So, I end my walk with a happy experience. On to buying my groceries at Gristedes.

To repeat, Southtown people don’t venture very often to Northtown because there is little there to attract them. We badly need more and better stores.

There’s a positive ending to the story of the Housing Committee report. After a bit of discussion, the RIRA Common Council voted to reject the report and asked the Housing Committee to rewrite and resubmit the report to the next Common Council meeting on 2/2/ 11.

Aaron Hamburger, Chair – RIRA’s Island Services Committee

Below is the RIRA Housing Committee Report submitted for the January 2011 RIRA meeting.This is the type of report that the majority of members of the RIRA Common Council do not want you to see in the future. For the record, this report was not preliminary, or mere work product waiting further refinement but was intended to be the official report of the RIRA Housing Committee to the full RIRA Common Council.

From the RIRA Housing Committee Report to the January 2011 Common Council Meeting.

Our Committee met to consider the three questions on the Agenda:

1. Section 8 tenants in Eastwood that eventually exceed the Section 8 income guidelines are not then automatically transferred to the LAP Program; this violates the exit agreement whereby all of the tenants of Eastwood were to be protected upon exit from Mitchell Lama.

2. Southtown is not in compliance with the guidelines set forth in the General Development Plan, as it was not developed inclusively and does not provide low-income or affordable housing, a vital component of the General Development Plan, which is still in effect. Unfortunately, the lack of affordable housing at Southtown and the sense that Southtown is an enclave has exacerbated social tension and resentment on RI. Whereas RI was previously an oasis where the socioeconomic mix provided opportunities for building bridges and friendships across the ethnic, economic, social spectrum, we now have the phenomenon of a nearly complete lack of contact between the populations of Southtown and Northtown, leading to community conflict and the tarnishing of its reputation as an inclusive, caring place to live. The divisions of NYC, which were previously absent on RI, have now arrived on RI. Day and night, the million-dollar apartments of Southtown telegraph the message to the people of Northtown: We have money, you don’t; we do not need to know you much less lay eyes on you; Northtown residents don’t count because they can’t afford million-dollar apartments; Southtown is where the money is; that’s why Southtown residents never set foot in Northtown and definitely do not care to interact in any way with Northtown residents. Buildings 7, 8, 9 should be developed as truly affordable Rent Stabilized housing open to tenants with fixed incomes, moderate incomes, and those receiving Section 8 subsidies– this would help rebalance the socioeconomic mix on RI.

3. The RIRA Housing Committee would be happy to assist and support efforts in any of the complexes on RI; however, we can only assist at the request of the building associations. If a building or complex does not have a building committee or association, the Housing Committee has no-one with whom to coordinate efforts within a particular building. Landlord intimidation may be a factor preventing tenants from organizing building committees in some buildings.

The attendees had a thorough discussion about the lingering issue of the Section 8 tenants of Eastwood, who, because of economic circumstances such as families doubling up due to rampant unemployment, children becoming adults, managing to get jobs but still not being in the position to move out because of high rents, or Section 8 tenants slowly getting pay increases through the years so that eventually their income may exceed the Section 8 guidelines, and many more possible situations whereby a household may no longer qualify for the Section 8 subsidy, these families are suddenly exposed to the excessive
market rate rents being charged by Urban American, and because of this unjust economic circumstance, are usually then forced to face the harm of having to give up their apartments. This represents an unfair displacement since the other tenants that were in place at the time the building exited Mitchell-Lama in 2005, those that did not qualify for Section 8 subsidies are permanently protected from excessive market rate rents by having been placed in the LAP Program. Yet all Eastwood tenants at the time of exit from Mitchell Lama were promised they would be forever protected from market rate rents. The Committee agreed there is unfairness with the above scenario – the loophole whereby the landlord can prey on Section 8 tenants that may wind up even slightly exceeding the Section 8 income guidelines
by suddenly imposing excessive rents on those tenants -- and considered how the situation can be corrected.

First, we must find out how many Section 8 tenants are vulnerable to displacement as outlined above. We agreed that many Section 8 tenants, those on fixed incomes for example retirees or disabled, would likely not exceed the income guidelines, but that many other Section 8 tenants, those whose children have grown up and gone to work but cannot afford to leave home, or other families that may have taken in a grown child or relative that may be down on their luck but eventually may earn some income, may be affected. It is possible that this data may be available from the DHCR so that we could have an idea of the size of the problem. If in the end it turns out that the number of households in danger of displacement is in the range of 300-400, then the issue is a major problem with the risk of displacement affecting hundreds of residents. We would like to have this data before proceeding with next steps such as having meetings with RIOC, Urban American, elected representatives, etc., to plead that the
exit agreement and the agreement worked out with the tenants and the new owner upon exit could be amended to extend LAP protection to Section 8 tenants that may eventually exceed the Section 8 income guidelines. We need to find a way to keep people in their homes especially in these times of high unemployment and high rents.

We recognize that the Tenants Association of Eastwood/Roosevelt Landings is currently fighting the landlord over electrical sub metering, that is, electrical sub metering the way the landlord wishes to carry it out –making electrical bills a lucrative source of income as well as providing another way to evict tenants that may be unable to pay grossly inflated electrical bills, by considering the non-payment of inflated electrical bills as equivalent to the non-payment of rent, and extending to the landlord the power to evict tenants even if the tenant can afford to pay the rent but cannot afford the unjustly inflated electrical bill. As the Tenants Association is currently focused on this problem which threatens the future of all Eastwood tenants, the issue of Section 8 tenants exceeding income guidelines and not being transferred into the LAP Program, may not be immediately addressed. Also, the above possible steps can only be carried out under the auspices of, and as an effort by, the Eastwood tenants and their organization. We discussed that it is vital for Section 8 tenants of Eastwood to become active and involved in the Tenants Association. If requested by the Tenants Association the Housing Committee is happy to lend support and help with these issues.

Preventing embarrassment to RIRA and controversy is not a good reason to restrict information made available to the Roosevelt Island community by their own elected representatives. Does Roosevelt Island need our own unique version of Wikileaks?

UPDATE 1/10 - Click here for the two RIRA resolutions and for spreadsheet showing how RIRA Common Council Delegates Voted.