RPOCA Eyes Home Improvement Programs
Restoring historic buildings and replacing inefficient toilets were the hot topics at the Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association (RPOCA) meeting last Thursday night, June 5, at the Ridgewood Older Adult Center.
Jim Mahoney and Blair Walsh of the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving historic homes and buildings across the city, informed homeowners that they finance exterior restorations of their properties with a loan offered by the New York City Historic Properties Fund.
The program covers not only properties in Ridgewood’s two designated landmark districts but also structures listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places, Walsh stated. There are approximately 2,982 Ridgewood buildings on the national and state registers, including homes in the landmark districts, according to RPOCA Former President Paul Kerzner.
Homeowners can apply for restoration loans ranging from $35,000 to as much as $300,000, according to Walsh. Most of the funds would be used for exterior repairs such as masonry repointing or cornice and stoop restoration. The loan program also covers interior work deemed necessary to preserve a building’s structural integrity.
Walsh explained the short-term loans range from five to 10 years and offer an interest rate of about 5 percent. Much like standard second mortgages, the loans are secured through traditional forms of collateral.
“We’re not interested in accruing interest,” she said, noting the quick repayment is necessary to keep the Historic Properties Fund loan program sustainable.
Upon receiving an application from a property owner, she stated, the conservancy will inspect the property to determine if it meets qualifications. Homeowners approved to receive loans would be required to provide a commitment fee of 1 percent of the loan amount.
Thereafter, Walsh stated, the conservancy will arrange for architects and experts to plan the scope of work and “vet and qualify” workers for the project. Once the work is completed to the satisfaction of the conservancy, it will release the loan proceeds to the homeowner, who then pays the contractors.
For more information, visit www.nylandmarks.org or call 1-212- 995-5260.
Flushing away bad toilets
In the years ahead, homeowners across the city will be paid to replace their inefficient toilets, according to Vlada Kenniff, director of the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Water Demand Management division.
Kenniff explained the DEP’s Toilet Replacement Program, which is part of the agency’s “Water for the Future” initiative, aimed at reducing the city’s daily water consumption of 1 billion gallons. The initiative was launched in advance of the impending closure of the Delaware Aqueduct, one of the city’s main tunnels bringing in water from upstate reservoirs, for repairs.
The aqueduct is currently leaking between 15 and 30 million gallons of water each day, according to Kenniff, and it will be closed for several years to complete the repairs. With the city’s water capacity scheduled to be reduced, she noted, the Water for the Future program was created to boost water conservation citywide.
The Toilet Replacement Program is modeled after a successful campaign conducted by the DEP in the 1990s that reduced stress on the city’s water treatment plants, Kenniff stated. Homeowners would be offered vouchers of up to $125 to purchase high efficiency toilets using 1.6 gallons or less of water per flush.
Kenniff stated the first phase of the program will focus on properties with four or more units, while the second half would apply to owners of smaller dwellings. When finished, the city hopes to reduce water consumption by as much as 30 million gallons per day.
Property owners can obtain the vouchers through their “My DEP” online accounts at www.nyc.gov/dep. Once obtained, owners must use the vouchers within 90 days to purchase high-efficiency toilets from one of five approved vendors citywide.
After installing the new toilets, the old devices must be brought back to the vendor for recycling and the property owner must send the city a notarized form indicating completion of the work, Kenniff said.
For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/dep or call 311.
Membership appeal
Charles Ober, RPOCA president, encouraged members to assist the civic group in its membership drive, offering two incentives for their participation.
Ober stated the civic group would provide a free, one-year membership to any RPOCA member in good standing who recruits three new members. That member would also be entered into a raffle for a chance to win a new iPad.
The civic president stressed the importance of broadening its base, noting that its membership has aged and declined in recent years. An influx of new members, he indicated, would help boost its ability to advocate in the neighborhood’s best interests.
State Sen. Joseph Addabbo, who stopped by last Thursday’s meeting, echoed those sentiments, adding that civic activism on a personal basis remains important even as technological advances tend to keep people apart from one another.
“It’s so important to get out to interact with your neighbors, not just during the warm weather days, but certainly at civic meetings,” he said. “It’s a way that you get to interact with your elected officials. It’s a way to find out that a problem you may be having on your block is shared by your neighbors, and how we can address that issue together.”
“We’re losing that social interaction, and it’s a shame,” the senator added. “So grab your neighbor, get out … and maybe learn something. It’s good for a person to be social, to get out there and say hello to your neighbors.”
Other news
Kerzner advised the civic group is negotiating a bulk deal with Kidde to purchase photoelectric, combined smoke/carbon monoxide detectors at a discount to members. The devices, which run on a 10-year battery, retail for about $42, but Kerzner indicated Kidde was willing to offer them to RPOCA members for between $25 and $28.
Once the final detector price is set, the civic group will purchase 1,000 devices “off the press” and resell them to RPOCA members, Kerzner stated. Further details will be published as they are made available.
Jamie Taratoot of Linden Street distributed to members plastic signs she created advising advertising distributors not to leave circulars or junk mail on their property. She created the signs after being inundated with unwanted fliers and the distributors ignored her calls to stop.
Under state law, advertisers cannot distribute circulars to homes which post signage indicating they do not want to receive such fliers. Companies that ignore the signs face financial penalties from the state.
Addabbo announced the senior citizen job fair he held in Kew Gardens brought over 700 individuals looking for work, a sure sign of a pressing need in the community. As a result, he committed to holding additional job fairs for seniors in the years to come.
The legislative session in Albany is drawing to a close, and while Addabbo indicated things appear quiet in the homestretch, the legislature may take up a bill to authorize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
“We hear from doctors that if we regulate it correctly, it’s not about making money, it’s about making someone’s life easier when they are terminally ill and in pain,” he said.
The senator also announced he is co-sponsoring with Assemblyman Mike Miller a safety and health fair on Saturday, June 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Forest Park Bandshell parking lot, located off Forest Park Drive near Woodhaven Boulevard.
Addabbo is also holding a small business seminar featuring various city and state agencies on Wednesday, June 25, at 7:30 p.m. at Emanuel Church of Christ, located at the corner of Woodhaven Boulevard and 91st Street in Woodhaven.
The Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association will not meet in July and August. Their next meeting will be on Thursday, Sept. 4, at 7 p.m. at a location to be announced.
