Page 546 - Demo

Homeowner Csu^ht in Burssucrstic SnsfuBY JEANNETTE WALLSBarbara Collins is caught in a classic bureaucratic bind. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) claims that her Fort Greene brownstone isn%u2019t worth repairing. So it is going to pay her somewhere in the neighborhood of $35,000 so it can tear down the house that would probably cost $24-29,000 to repair.Before Collins bought the fourstory building at 242 Cumberland Street nearly 10 years ago, she had it FHA inspected and insured for $22,500. She was aware of FHA%u2019s policy not to insure structurally unsound houses, so, she said, she felt safe with the insurance.But, as it turned out, the house wasn%u2019t sound%u2014by 1974 it had two major faults that warranted significant repair: the internal staircase was failing badly and an illegally built partition, added in the 1930%u2019s, without a foundation began sinking into the ground, pulling with it the rest of the house.In 1976 Collins received a letter from her mortgage holder, Dale Funding, telling her that since the home was FHA insured, needed repairs for damages existing at thetime of the FHA inspection, might be funded by FHA. The funding program, known as 518B, was short-lived, and according to an FHA office worker, still has thousands of unprocessed applications.FHA official Leonard Duany, who handles claims made under 518B, says the program was put into effect in 1973 because %u201c it was felt, for some reason%u2019%u2019 that there had been an excess of inadequate inspections, though he could not specify the reason. The program closed August 3, 1976, when the application period expired.Because the damages to Collins%u2019 home were extensive, the estimated cost of repairs ($24- 29,000) exceeded the $22,500 for which FHA originally insured the house. %u201c No matter what the real value of a home is,%u201d Duany said, %u201cthe amount we insure it for is what we see its worth as, and we can%u2019t pay more to repair a house than it%u2019s worth. Because (the Collins house) was assessed several years back, and because the neighborhood has gone up in status, I%u2019m sure the value has$200 MillionBoards RequestingDevelopment FundsBY JEFF TRACHTMANCommunity Boards throughout jthe city are now beginning the arduous process of applying for federal Community Development (CD) funds for fiscal year 1980, even as comm unities await distribution of money from last year%u2019s applications.A list of preliminary priorities from each Board was due at the Departm ent of City Planning October 13, according to Sandy Hornick of City Planning, but apparently this date is not being taken too seriously.Hornick said that this year, CD V funds, totalling over $200 million, will be combined with the City%u2019s general capital budget, and that communities will simply submit a list of projects they want supported, to be financed from either source.In an effort to expand community boartj participation in the entire budget making process, Mayor Koch has also announced plans for board consultation on budget priorities with several city agency heads.WEEDED DOWNAlthough they originate with the federal government, CD funds are administered by the City. After neighborhoods submit projects for consideration, the City Planning Commission weeds them down, and a final list is prepared by June with the City Budget.Projects must still be approved by the federal Departm ent of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), based on these criteria:%u2022 Construction or reconstruction of public works, neighborhood facilities, excluding borough halls, police stations, schools, transporation facilities, and hospitals.%u2022 Code enforcement in deliniated areas.%u2022 Clearance and demolition of deteriorating buildings.%u2022 Public services and facilities for employment, economic development, child care, neaitn, etc., where other community development activities are concentrated.This year, says Hornick, 20 percent of the CD funds must be directed toward %u201c neighborhood strategy%u201d areas needing specialattention. Relatively affluent areas like the Village will not qualify. However, Hornick says that since the CD money will be combined with other City funding, there is no reason to believe that fewer Village projects will be funded.After preliminary priorities are submitted bv the Boards, consultaation with City agencies will take place, and the lists will be revised in November. Finally, public hearings will be heid in January, and the Boards will vote on their final priorities. Only then do the items fight it out for a spot in the City budget.Court OKs Time LimitThe Brooklyn Appellate Division of State Supreme Court has upheld the right of the Dime Savings Bank to impose time restrictions, of between 6 and 15 days, on crediting checks to free checking accounts.In a unanimous decision, a fourmember court struck down a lower court ruling that the Dime should stand trial on allegations that it engaged in false advertising and fraudulent concealment by not alerting depositors to the waiting period.The opinion, by Justices H. Henry Martuscello, Joseph Hawkins, Samuel Rabin and Frank Gulotta, noted that the Dime%u2019s restriction periods are longer than those imposed by commercial banks. But it said the periods were %u201creasonable,%u201d and that a statement of bank policy was printed on the reverse side of each of the Dime%u2019s checking account deposit slips.AppointedMichael J. Zavelle has been named the new Vice President for Administrative Services ana Finance at Brooklyn College.Zavelle%u2019s appointm ent comes after almost a year of searching since the former Vice President, Lester Brookner, left to become the vice president of a Florida university.increased, but nevertheless, the records remain the same.%u201dDuany said the damage to the Collins house is of a sort that might produce higher costs once the work gets underway. The FHA, he said, might be willing to go a little over the offered amount. But the agency is unsure of the actual costs, which might, Duany said, run as high as $40,000. %u201c That%u2019s all taxpayers%u2019 money and we can%u2019t have the records saying that we paid almost twice the value of a house to repair it.%u201dAs the situation stands, FHA is offering Collins a proposition called %u201c Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure.%u201d It states that the FHA will reimburse her for everything she put into the home to date. This would include the downpayment, closing costs, legal costs, the mortgage (in Collins%u2019 case, $20,000) all major repairs or additions to the house, and the cost of relocating the occupants (excluding tenants). Though Duany declined to estimate the cost, Collins has calculated the payment at $35,000.%u201c The whole thing seems totally ridiculous to me,%u201d Collins said.%u201cAll I want to do is keep my home and you%u2019d think, seeing that it would be cheaper for everyone to let me do so, that they%u2019d let me. I like the home and I love the neighborhood. Right now, I%u2019m in a situation where moving is the last thing I%u2019d want to do.%u201dBut Collins confessed that she can%u2019t very well stay with the house in its present state. The extension roof sags and leaks. Collins says the roof can%u2019t make it through a heavy snow. And sinking the way that it is, the addition is causing severe damage to the rest of the house. One construction company surveyed the situation and gave an estimate of $24,000, along with the solution of jacking the extension up and adding the foundation under it. Another company suggested that the extension wasn%u2019t worth saving. They proposed tearing it off and either rebuilding it or relocating the four rooms into the existing space. That%u2019s a surer solution, Collins feels, with the cost %u201c Somewhere in the high $20%u2019s.%u201d%u201c FHA couldn%u2019t fund th a t,%u2019%u2019 Duany explained. %u201c Reconstruction, is considered renovation, and weonly fund repairs...It%u2019s all a big %u2018Catch 22%u2019.%u201dTo complicate the situation further, Collins says the extension is an essential part of her living in the house. %u201c 1 really need that extra space,\a kitchen and three rooms in the extension make it possible for the house to accommodate two families. %u201c The only way I can afford to live in my own home in the city is to lease some of the space to tenants. If I lose that space, I lose my house.%u201dEven Duany says the situation is a classic example of %u201c beaucratic idiocy,%u201d and adds that he has several similar cases. %u201c I%u2019m trying to submit an Act of David or something to convince Washington that closing the house would be a mistake. This is a viable house in a good neighborhood,%u2019%u2019 he said, noting that closings can thwart the upward thrust of neighborhoods like Fort Greene. %u201c Mrs. Collins is just in a really bad situation right now,%u201d said Duany. \everything I can do to help, but till then, she%u2019s caught in the middle.%u201dOn O cto b e r 19, the Land m arks P re se rvatio n Com m ission presented the first set of m arkers designating Eastern P a rk w a y a scen ic landm ark.Parkway Receives First MarkersThe first set of markers, describging the flair and history of 104 year-old Eastern Parkway, was installed on the sidewalks of Grand Army Plaza library by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, October 19.About 75 people attended the ceremony to put in the first of eight sets of three markers each, whichwill be placed along the length of the scenic landmark. Afterwards, horticulturalists toured the parkway, deciding where to plant trees on the walkway.Said Landmarks Preservation Commission Chairman Kent Barwick, %u201c We are proud to be able to indicate the city%u2019s pride and concern for this area...by continuing to work with the people in the community, who are united in their concern for Eastern Parkway and their neighborhood.%u201dThe parkway, built in 1870-74 by Central Park designers Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux, became a scenic landmark on August 22. Also attending theNevins Center Gets More FundsThe Nevins Neighborhood Center, located at 406 Atlantic Avenue, has recently received additional funding for two new programs to be added to their Fall schedule this year.Funded by the New York City Division for Youth, the Demonstration Youth Employment Program is designed to provide full-time youth employment at the Center%u2019s storefront headquarters. The program will place ten in-school and ten out-of-school youths in subsidized training positions in the private sector.%u201c The participation of the private sector makes this program unique,%u201d commented Steve Schubert, Executive Director of the Nevins Neighborhood Center. %u201c The main theme will be the preparing of the young people for an %u2018unsubsidized world%u2019s experience%u2019 by giving them basic skills and good work habits.%u201d Remedial help and High School Equivalency Preparation will aiso be provided for the 20 youngsters.%u201c Neighborhood Preservation Companies Program,%u201d the second program, was funded by the New York City Department of Housing and Urban Renewal. This $25,000 grant is being used for the objective study and documentation of existing housing situations and for presenting a variety of optionsas solutions to the unearthed problems. The main thrust of the program is the identification of 31 buildings that can be renovated and cooperatively owned.A committee of Nevins Neighborhood Board members and community residents will monitor the program and discuss basic policy. %u201c We must create a vehicle for finding a common thread of ideas from the wide variety of opinions in the community,%u201d said Schubert. %u201c Then small scale, high focus work plans must be devised that are mutually agreed upon and are achieveable.%u201dOctober 26,1978, THE PHOENIX, Page 21