The Committee presents Our 54th Anniversary Gala “Celebrating Sustainability”

The Gala Committee, & The Steering Committee of The Cooper Square Committee thank you for joining us in celebrating 54 Years of Community Organizing, Preserving & Developing Affordable Housing, Community & Cultural Spaces. ❖ Thursday, October 24, 2013 Colors Restaurant 417 New York, N.Y. 10003 The Cooper Square Committee wishes to thank The Sponsors of our 54th Anniversary Gala ❖ Community Champion Co-Sponsors The First Presbyterian Church In the City of New York The Owners of Ten ❖ Community Advocate Sponsors Barbara Shaum Community Access, Inc. The Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association ear Friends, DWelcome to our Fall Gala! Thanks for being part of our struggle to protect tenants’ rights, develop affordable housing, and maintain the diverse character of our community. Whether you have been supporting our efforts for decades, or you joined us more recently, we value your More than 250 of our MHA participation in helping to make neighbors have become a better . first time homebuyers in Living in a densely developed city, we can sometimes forget we are part the past year! of a larger ecosystem. Superstorm Sandy was a painful reminder of how vulnerable we are to the forces of nature. When it struck last October 25th, The staff of the Cooper Square Committee: Joshua Sellers, Community Development it damaged countless neighborhoods, and Association; Steve Herrick, Executive Director; the Lower East Side was hit especially hard. Christian Valerio, Housing Specialist; Brandon Kielbasa, Housing Specialist; Yonatan Tadele, Basements east of were flooded and Housing Specialist; Daniel Weinberg, Office many people were without power, heat, safe Manager; Angee Cortorreal, Greening Coordinator. drinking water and proper sanitation for weeks.

Cooper Square Committee leaders reached out to neighbors in the wake of the storm, especially vulnerable seniors, to make sure they had the vital supplies they needed until power was restored. In the weeks after, we placed half a dozen people made homeless by the storm into temporary MHA apartments.

The Cooper Square Committee 4 5 Our 54th Anniversary Gala uperstorm Sandy increased our resolve to bring greening resources to many low S income cooperatives (HDFCs) east of that suffered flooding and damage n addition to our efforts to promote a more environmentally sustainable Lower from Superstorm Sandy. We have been outreaching to dozens of HDFCs, and working I East Side, we and our community partners have achieved some major milestones. to build relationships with their boards, and find out what can be done to make The Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association’s cooperative conversion plan was their buildings more energy efficient and resilient. Tonight we will honor some of our declared effective last year, allowing the MHA to sell shares to their low income community and non-profit partners who are creating a greener Lower East Side. apartments. More than 250 of our MHA neighbors have become first time homebuyers in the past year!

Early this year, the Housing Authority proposed plans to develop luxury 80/20 housing at eight projects in Manhattan, including five Lower East Side projects – Smith Houses, LaGuardia Houses, Baruch Houses, Campos Plaza and Meltzer Tower. The more than 2,000 proposed apartments threatens to destroy playgrounds, parks and ball fields, transforming the character of these developments. These proposed luxury apartments would hurt not only the tenants, but would gentrify the surrounding communities, displacing stabilized tenants. Cooper Square Committee leaders and their allies have lent their support to NYCHA residents fighting these plans. They have had success in slowing down the process, and they succeeded in getting Democratic Mayoral primary winner Bill DeBlasio to publicly oppose the NYCHA’s plans.

Cooper Square staffers Angee Cortorreal and Christian Valerio with Wasim Lone Cooper Square Committee secured of GOLES at a rally protesting NYCHA’s long-term housing for Elizabeth Duravich luxury housing plan. after her Brooklyn home was destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.

The Cooper Square Committee 6 7 Our 54th Anniversary Gala fter years of community planning and organizing led to a compromise plan, the e have added several new staff members in 2013, and we are working on on ASeward Park RFP was issued in January, and the City announced the winning W a three year strategic plan that will make community organizing a more development – L&M Development Partners, Taconic Investment Partners and Don central part of our work. With the City about to transition to a new Mayoral Capoccia’s BFC Partners – at a press conference on September 18th. Their plan administration, affordable housing advocates are pushing for an ambitious eight year contains 1,000 mixed income housing units, a 250,000 square foot office building, plan to develop and to preserve several hundred thousand square feet of retail and community space, including an 150,000 affordable apartments, expanded Market, an Andy Warhol museum, a community center run by and we aim to work in support Settlement, and a dual-generation school operated by the Educational of those efforts. We hope you Alliance. A 15,000 square foot park is also included. In the coming years, a new mixed- will be part of our organizing income community will take shape. The project is expected to be completed by 2024. efforts in the coming year.

Cooper Square Committee members speak out against NYCHA’s luxury housing plan at our membership meeting on April 24, 2013.

ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS Tenant Organizing, Coalition Building and Leadership Development

We’re committed to organizing tenants to deal with problem landlords. Our Lead Organizer, Brandon Kielbasa, has successfully organized a lot of tenant associations, especially to deal with disruptive renovations, which have caused a lack of services, electrical fires, collapsed ceilings, and chronic harassment by Renderings of the Seward Park development plan. landlords who want to push out rent stabilized tenants. In one building at 143 Ludlow Street, the Larry Lui inspects a collapsed Tenants Association brought an HP action and ceiling at 143 Ludlow Street before and after repairs. 7A proceeding, with our organizing assistance and legal representation by the Urban Justice Center, that resulted in a four month rent abatement for the tenants and the remedying of scores of housing code violations. Brandon is also building coalitions of tenants who have the same landlord – such as the tenants of Samy Mahfar, Jared Kushner and Marolda Properties.

The Cooper Square Committee 8 9 Our 54th Anniversary Gala Disruptive renovations have become the most common building-wide problem in our 10 Stanton Street: Several community community. In response, Brandon has organized a DOB Committee that is pushing for rooms — including a meeting room, a the agency to deal with unsafe conditions in a timely manner. Committee members computer room and a gym — in this project have proposed legislation, including stiffer fines and faster “real time” enforcement. based Section 8 building will be outfitted We are working with the office of Councilmember Rosie Mendez to draft legislation with equipment as part of a community to address the issue. benefits agreement the Tenants Association negotiated with the owners, with the help Thanks to an initiative for Neighborhood and Citywide Organizing (INCO) grant of Cooper Square Committee and the Urban from ANHD, we are launching a series of leadership development workshops to train Justice Center. We are assisting the tenants tenants in power analysis, organizing strategies, and give them an understanding of with finalizing plans, getting bids and tenants rights and the agencies that enforce the rent laws and building codes. Our goal ordering equipment. is to develop a new generation of tenant leaders to reenergize the struggle for stronger tenant protections at the state and city level, and to bring them into leadership Executive Director Steve Herrick and Urban Fellow Joshua Sellers are working to move positions in our organization. these projects to a successful conclusion, and to explore other development opportunities.

Community Development Greening of More Than Two Dozen Buildings

Finding potential development opportunities in an overheated housing market is not Since late 2011, we’ve partnered with environmental specialists at the Northern easy. However, we are partnering with other non-profits on some exciting projects. Manhattan Improvement Corporation, the Community Environmental Center and the Franklin Energy Services to deliver an array of energy The Bea Arthur Residence: Last year we secured $3.3 million in NYC capital funding retrofits to more than two dozen low income cooperative to develop housing for eighteen homeless LGBT youth in partnership with the Ali buildings, including seventeen buildings managed by Forney Center. Since then we have been doing the necessary pre-development work the Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association, and to form the Bea Arthur Residence HDFC with the help of the Lawyers Alliance of New more than half a dozen Housing Development Fund York, and to finalize the design with our architects from Magnusson Architecture Corporations (HDFCs) between Avenue B and D. Nine and Planning, and prepare for closing. We expect to acquire the property and start buildings have benefited from new boilers since the renovation in a few months. summer of last year, three have received new windows, La MaMa: In December of last year, we were awarded and they’ve all received a variety of other upgrades such an $180,000 Urban Initiatives grant, nearly all of as common area lighting fixtures, radiator air vents, which will be regranted to the La MaMa Experimental energy star refrigerators, Maria Rodriguez shows off her new energy star refrigerator in her apartment at 63 Theatre Club to renovate the basement of their building basement replacement East Fourth Street. at 66-68 East Fourth Street to create a dance space and doors, roof air leak sealing, smoke and CO media center. We have helped them get environmental detectors, door sweeps, low flow showerheads, and historic preservation clearances. They recently kitchen faucet aerators and weather stripping in completed the design process, and are in the process of individual apartments. bidding out the work. The La Mama Theatre at Energy star refrigerators delivered to 66-68 East Fourth Street. 56 and 58 East Fourth Street.

The Cooper Square Committee 10 11 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The MHA buildings we have enrolled in the Weatherization Assistance Program over the past two years include Housing Counseling and Social Services 13 Stanton Street and 16-18 Second Avenue, each of which received new gas fired boilers in September, 2012. Since Our housing counseling staff works to prevent evictions, educate and empower tenants then, they have reduced their Con Ed gas bills by over to protect their rights when dealing with lease renewals, subletting, rent overcharges, twenty percent. 16-18 Second Avenue (aka the Cube preferential rents, fraudulent rent registration, building) also received new energy efficient windows. harassment, lack of services and much more. We 56-58 East Fourth Street and 23 East Third Street received are pleased to have increased our staffing by hiring new high efficiency oil burning boilers and 21 East Third Street Yonatan Tadele in early September. With added 13 Stanton Street’s new gas fired boiler has reduced heating costs received boiler upgrades capacity, we aim to counsel more tenants, conduct by over 20%. last Fall. 614, 616, 618 and periodic tenant rights workshops, and engage more 620 East Ninth Street, comprising four buildings, is closely with the larger housing movement. also in the process of receiving a new dual oil/gas Our Social Service Specialists, led by Christian Valerio, assist low income residents fired boiler this Fall. to secure their entitlements. They assess their income support needs, and helps them Numerous MHA buildings have benefitted from the with Section 8 recertification, SCRIE/DRIE, family tax credits, SNAP, Medicaid or Empower New York Program, including 9, 25 and 27 other supports they may be income eligible to receive. She also refers residents seeking East Third Street and 57, 60, 63, 65, 71, 75 and 77 job training and placement services, ESL, GED or East Fourth Street. citizenship classes to the appropriate providers.

Our greening work, led by Angee Cortorreal, has been Our staff helps homeless individuals and families, made possible by a grant from the Con Edison Settlement 23 East Third Street received and victims of domestic violence to obtain a new energy efficient boiler Fund, part of which we are re-granting to HDFCs to last Fall from NMIC. temporary and permanent housing. We refer use towards their matching fund requirement when residents to job training and placement services, they qualify for weatherization services. ESL, GED and citizenship classes. We’re especially pleased to be bringing greening We help people take control of their lives. resources to many cooperatives that suffered flooding and damage from Superstorm Sandy. We We’ve won a lot of victories over have begun doing an assessment of storm damage in the years, and with your continued some of the more than 75 HDFCs east of Avenue B support, we plan to be here fighting for since Sandy with the aim of helping them develop affordable housing for years to come. a plan to make their buildings greener and more Yours truly, resilient in the event of future storms. The Cooper Square Committee

56-58 East Fourth Street received a new energy efficient boiler last Fall from NMIC.

The Cooper Square Committee 12 13 Our 54th Anniversary Gala 614, 616, 618, 620 East Ninth Street HDFC Ayo Harrington, Secretary of the Executive Housing HDFC

Cooper Square Committee is pleased to honor the board members of the 614, 616, Cooper Square Committee honors Ayo Harrington, Secretary of the Board of the 618, 620 East Ninth Street Housing Development Fund Corporation (HDFC), a Executive Housing HDFC, which owns 336 East Fourth Street, for her efforts to thirty-two unit limited income cooperative, for their greening work. Board members foster its long-term sustainability. include President Catherine Wolcott and Officers Cal Hedigan, Cecil Hedigan, Natia After six years of intensive sweat equity during which DiVincenti and Naoko Okabe. The four buildings that comprise the 614, 616, 618, 620 members worked to completely gut and rebuild it, the East Ninth Street HDFC were purchased from the City of New York in 1991. Executive Housing HDFC bought their eighteen unit When Cooper Square Committee outreached to the cooperative about the building from the City of New York in 1989 for just $250 Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) last year, the HDFC’s Board agreed to per apartment. Twenty-two years after shareholders enroll in WAP, administered by the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation began self-managing their cooperative, board member (NMIC). In the midst of this process, Superstorm Sandy struck, and the flooding Ayo Harrington saw the need for capital improvements damaged an already less than optimal boiler. NMIC’s energy audit in February of 2013 to weatherize the building. found that the HVAC systems were in With board approval, in January 2012, Ms. Harrington need of replacement. This included an contacted CSC to enroll their HDFC in the Weather- inefficient boiler, outmoded windows, ization Assistance Program (WAP). Amidst budget and a deteriorated chimney. related delays their boiler gave out and had to be The Board of the HDFC rallied their replaced that summer. However, CSC worked closely with Ayo, and Northern shareholders to provide their income Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC) certified it as income eligible for other documentation so that the building weatherization efforts in early 2013. An energy audit was done in February, 2013, and could be successfully income certified NMIC put together a scope of work in May, 2013, value at $106,920. NMIC provided by NMIC and work could be done over $56,000 towards the cost of the work, CSC re-granted $6,000 from Con Edison’s before the heating season gets well Settlement Fund to the project, with the HDFC picking up the rest of the cost. The East Ninth Street HDFC board. In front, Natia DiVicenti. underway in the Fall of 2013. The total Back row, (left to right) Cal Hedigan, Catherine Walcott, Cecil 336 East Fourth Street recently received new windows, common area lighting fixtures, Hedigan and Naoko Okabe. cost of the weatherization work came radiator air vents, energy star refrigerators, basement replacement doors, roof air leak to roughly $271,000. $200,000 of the cost is covered by federal grant funds that sealing, smoke and CO detectors, door sweeps, low flow showerheads, kitchen faucet NMIC administers, and CSC has re-granted $10,000 in capital funds we received aerators and weather stripping in individual apartments. from a Con Edison Settlement Fund grant. The HDFC is providing over $60,000 in matching funds towards the weatherization work. The cooperation and participation of the HDFC, and most notably Ayo Harrington throughout almost two years, made this successful partnership possible. Her leadership We salute the 614, 616, 618, 620 East Ninth Street HDFC for their hard work and and negotiation skills helped deliver needed weatherization improvements meant to leadership in making their building a model of energy efficient affordable housing. reduce the use and cost of energy for their building and for our environment!

The Cooper Square Committee 14 15 Our 54th Anniversary Gala Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation The White Roof Project

The Cooper Square Committee recognizes the outstanding work done by Dan Rieber, the The Cooper Square Committee recognizes the White Roof Project for its outstanding Weatherization Director of Northern Manhattan Improvement Corporation (NMIC) and his environmental work benefitting low income and non-profit buildings. The White Roof entire staff: Energy Auditor Jordan Bonomo, Crew Chief/Post Inspector Robert Mercado, Field Project’s mission is to educate people about the economic and environmental benefits of Technicians Lucas Carela and Jennifer Romano, Field Technician/Auditor Joseph Vega, Income white roofing, and to activate a network of volunteers to paint roof tops white to reduce the Documentation Specialist Manrique Vallar, and Production Coordinator/Intake Jackie Gomez. heat island effect. White roofs can reduce cooling costs up to 40% in the Summer. They’ve used advanced energy conservation measures to improve the energy efficiency of low Formed in 2010, the White Roof Project income housing. Not only does NMIC’s work reduce consumption of gas, oil and electricity, but has coated the rooftops of hundreds of these energy savings reduce the operating costs for low income residents, promoting the long-term low income and non-profit buildings, environmental and affordable sustainability of the low income housing stock. mobilized over 1,000 volunteers and NMIC has been a valuable partner of CSC over the past two years. Last year, we worked in close worked with more than 175 community collaboration with NMIC and with the MHA to weatherize seven MHA buildings, comprising 102 partners, including apartments. The contractors they hired replaced and the Cooper Square Mutual Housing four boilers, serving five buildings: 13 Stanton Association. Their work helped create Street, 16-18 Second Avenue, 23 East Third the first white roof model block in New Street, and 56-68 East Fourth Street, upgraded York City on East Fourth Street in 2011, including about a dozen MHA buildings and many the boiler at 21 East Third Street; and they cultural buildings on the block. Their Do-It-Yourself packet has helped large companies replaced windows at 16-18 Second Avenue. In all, over $400,000 in weatherization work was across the United States paint their own white roofs. They’ve been consulted by multiple cities done. The new gas fired boilers reduced heating from Chicago to Phoenix; and those cities have modeled their own white roofing efforts costs by 40-50% in the two buildings we monitored in the months after installation. partially on our program.

This year, CSC has been expanding our outreach to HDFCs further east, near Avenues B, C and D. In the Lower East Side/East Village, We have partnered with NMIC to enroll limited equity cooperatives at 336 East Fourth Street and the White Roof Project has coated or 614-620 East Ninth Street into the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP). These efforts have helped Do-It-Yourselfers complete leveraged over $375,000 in public and private investment in these buildings, greening fifty affordable about fifty rooftops in recent years. housing units. Additional buildings are in the pipeline, including several more MHA buildings. CSC has referred numerous HDFCs The cooperation, support and technical expertise of Dan Reiber and his staff has been critical to the east of to the success of these weatherization efforts. Our working relationship has involved effective communication, White Roof Project in the past couple flexibility on their part when HDFCs were working with tight budgets, and the ability to prioritize the of years so that they can realize the most cost effective work scopes when working with limited dollars. We look forward to an ongoing, cost saving benefits they are able to productive and mutually beneficial relationship with NMIC in the years to come. bring to low income buildings.

The Cooper Square Committee 16 17 Our 54th Anniversary Gala Community Environmental Center

The Cooper Square Committee recognizes the valuable energy efficiency upgrades that Community Environmental Center (CEC) has done in New York City since it was formed in 1994. CEC has completed more than 850 projects with over 20,000 apartments since 2009.

CSC has partnered with CEC since early 2012 to carry out retrofits in fifteen buildings managed by the Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association, benefiting over 200 apartments. Under NYSERDA’s EmPower New York Program, CEC has provided free energy star refrigerators, CFL bulbs, low flow showerheads, carbon monoxide detectors and smoke detectors, helping to reduce shareholder’s electric bills and the buildings’ water usage charges.

Cooper Square Committee thanks all of the staff at Community Environmental Center that have been wonderful partners in bringing these energy saving measures to the Mutual Housing Association residents. A number of CEC personnel who we worked with are no longer there due to budget cuts, but we want to acknowledge Richard Cherry, Chief Executive Officer; Olga Lucia Souto, Carol Wiggins and Dejon Barnes, Director, Assistant Director and Intake Assistant of the Low Income Program Services Department respectively.

The Cooper Square Committee 18 19 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 20 21 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 22 23 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Mutual Housing Association Congratulates our Project Partner, the Cooper Square Committee, on their 54th Anniversary! l Thanks for providing our residents with counseling and social services and for helping our buildings qualify for over $400,000 in energy efficiency improvements during the past 18 months! l We wish you continued success and look forward to a long, productive partnership! l And Congratulations to the Honorees, especially the Northern Manhattan Improvement Corp. the Community Environmental Center and the White Roof Project, for the work you did to benefit our buildings and the community! l COOPER SQUARE MUTUAL HOUSING ASSOCIATION Cooperatively owned resident controlled and permanently affordable housing 59-61 East Fourth Street, New York, N.Y. 10003 Phone: 212.477.5340

The Cooper Square Committee 24 25 Our 54th Anniversary Gala and STUDIO RENTAL Congratulates Cooper Square Committee 2013 Honorees 62 East Fourth Street / NYC (between Second & ) Phone 212.674.9066 [email protected] www.rodrodgersdance.org

The Cooper Square Committee 26 27 Our 54th Anniversary Gala Congratulations to Cooper Square Committee on 54 years of service to the LES

Congratulations to All the Honorees and Thank You to Joyce Ravitz for Her Hard Work as Chair and Thank You to Frances Goldin for her Amazing Inspiration. k Charles & Anne K. Johnson

The Cooper Square Committee 28 29 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 30 31 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 32 33 Our 54th Anniversary Gala Luis Marcel from Olio E Più, West Village

Supporting Homeless Youth

The Cooper Square Committee 34 35 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 36 37 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 38 39 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 40 41 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 42 43 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 44 45 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 46 47 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 48 49 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 50 51 Our 54th Anniversary Gala The Cooper Square Committee 52