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AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT Permanently Affordable Housing for Low, Moderate and Middle Income Families and Individuals CHDC develops affordable housing for a range of household incomes. While all CHDC developments are economically integrated, each development has a specific range of income guidelines. The majority of developments house households earning a maximum of 80% of area median income. Those limits range from $30,470 for a single person to $43,520 for a family of four. CHDC has taken the initiative to increase access for moderate and middle income households to its housing and is currently developing projects for families and individuals with household incomes ranging from $47,600 to $89,760. The majority of its developments are small apartment houses that were in poor condition. Originally 4 and 5 story walkup tenements, buildings are rebuilt entirely from within, and restored on the exterior. Often, small buildings are joined into one new structure an elevator installed. CHDC pays specific attention to location and integration of its developments into both the block and the neighborhood. Great attention is given to livability of apartments and overall building design. All apartments developed are kept permanently affordable through legal mechanisms regulating use and occupancy. Permanent Supportive Housing for Individuals CHDC's creates supportive housing in the Clinton community to meet two goals:
CHDC instead views these difficult buildings as a neighborhood opportunity. Working closely with Manhattan Community Board #4 and local block associations, CHDC has been able to carefully site and develop a number of supportive housing developments. Our development focus has two major emphases--quality building design and integration into the community of social service needy tenants. All supportive developments have integrated populations, 60% of the tenants are formerly homeless individuals and 40% community residents. Some developments further integrate persons with special needs such as seniors, the mentally ill or persons living with HIV within the formerly homeless population.
COMMUNITY PRESERVATION AND DEVELOPMENT Assistance and Support to Neighborhood Organizations CHDC provides administrative and staff support to block and neighborhood organizations. Meeting rooms, office facilities are available free for neighborhood use. CHDC also provides staff support for meetings, events and volunteer efforts. Annually, CHDC co-sponsors with the Hell's Kitchen Neighborhood Association a Spring Event Planting and Clean Up. Assistance and Support to Tenant Organizations CHDC provides technical assistance for tenant associations and tenant-owned housing cooperatives. Technical Assistance has included budgeting, developing scopes of work for building renovation, negotiating with city agencies, coordinating temporary relocation for tenants, building acquisition, coop conversion, assisting with landlord/tenant litigation and dispute resolution. Community
Building and Coalitions Coalitions that develop around current issues have built a strong community on the Westside of Manhattan. CHDC participates in such coalitions and has often taken a lead role. Both CHDC and the residents of the communities of Clinton, Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea share a common goal to foster the both the preservation and production of more permanently affordable housing in our area. CHDC's work in community coalitions is to provide information regarding housing development and zoning to more effectively communicate the community's goals. CHDC also provides research through surveys, planning and mapping to support a coalition's purpose and point of view to public and private sector stakeholders. Coalitions are often comprised of block associations, community board members, elected officials and groups organized specifically to address an issue. In recent years, one very successful coalition was the Hell's Kitchen/Hudson Yards Alliance organized to shape the newly proposed Westside zoning to balance development and preservation and prevent the construction of a football stadium.
HOUSING MANAGEMENT Clinton and Chelsea are neighborhoods of mostly small tenement buildings, many with fewer than 20 apartments, often in poor condition, and difficult to manage. This type of building is not a prime candidate for the property management private market. Clinton Housing Development Company (CHDC) provides neighborhood-based building management services to a variety of clients for a monthly fee of 5% to 11% of rent billed or collected. CHDC currently manages 699 units and 48 stores in 75 buildings located in Clinton, Hell's Kitchen and Chelsea neighborhoods of Manhattan. Neighborhood Management Services Standard Management Services Clinton Housing
offers the standard menu of property management services including
rent/maintenance billing and collection, complaints, contracting
for repairs, filings and registrations, bill payment, budgeting
and financial reporting, and resolving tenant disputes. Services
are tailored to the client. Some clients handle all repairs, with
CHDC responsible only for financial reporting. Others choose to
handle all financial functions themselves, with CHDC responsible
for day-to-day management of the physical plant. Most clients engage
CHDC to manage a full range of standard services. CHDC is often requested to assume management of buildings in crisis due to combination of past poor management, tenant/landlord disputes, or tenant cooperative internal disagreements. CHDC's tasks are particular to each case. Most requests include developing a plan for short and long term stabilization of the physical plant, regularizing tenancy, resolving outstanding tenant repair needs, commencing legal action to evict tenants involved in illegal activities and projecting financial needs. In most crisis-ridden buildings, such problems are interwoven and complex. CHDC's task to untangle them is usually completed within 12 to 18 months, at which time the building owners, in consultation with CHDC, can begin to develop long-term plans for the properties. Maintenance Services Since 1977, an in-house maintenance crew has provided a low-cost alternative to hiring expensive contractors. Through a work order system, jobs are scheduled on a weekly basis. The crew is experienced in all types of electrical, plumbing, plaster and masonry repairs. Most CHDC management clients use the service frequently for small repairs. In addition, the service can also complete medium-sized contracts, such as plastering and painting public areas, tiling bathrooms, stuccoing exterior walls and renovating vacant apartments. The maintenance crew of 12 performs over 800 work orders and 50 larger projects per year. Cooperative Purchasing Clinton Housing purchases superintendent and other maintenance supplies in bulk. Management clients request supplies through a work order system. Savings are between 30 and 40% of retail price even including a 2% CHDC administrative fee. Current Management Clients Low &
Moderate Income Cooperatives Developed by CHDC or individual Tenant Associations, these small low and moderate cooperatives range from 9 to 26 apartments. The shareholders, formerly tenants of city owned buildings have varying degrees of management experience. Most are extremely long term residents, between 20 to 62 years in the same buildings and apartments, very committed to their homes. These groups have been involved managing their homes since the late 1970's. New York
City Housing Programs CHDC has participated in many New York City housing programs. New York City's Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) often approaches CHDC to take over property management of troubled properties. Many of these buildings were a part of the city's in rem stock. Taken from the private sector for non-payment of real estate taxes, all were in extremely poor physical condition. CHDC's main management goal in such buildings is Crisis Intervention services detailed above. Subsequent to physical stabilization, all city programs move the building toward full renovation. CHDC has worked or is working with HPD's Tenant Interim Lease (TIL), Direct Lease, Special Initiatives Program (SIP), Community Management (CMP), Neighborhood Revitalization (NRP), and Supportive Housing (SHP) Programs. CHDC-Owned
Developments Clinton Housing
also manages housing it has developed through various New York City
housing programs, zoning requirements and incentives or private
financing.
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