More affordable volunteer housing in Rockland

[res6cue 67]

Progress like this is always worth noting. I have to say, with a fair amount of bias I suppose, that Rockland really seems to be pretty progressive with issues like this. Tax breaks, housing, discount programs with local retailers, etc.

Rockland Housing Action Coalition Inc. to create affordable housing for volunteers

By CHRISTINA JENG

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original Publication: June 26, 2006)

VALLEY COTTAGE — Clarkstown emergency services volunteers can look forward to affordable housing as the Rockland Housing Action Coalition Inc. progresses in its efforts to build townhouses on Hess Road.

The coalition is working with Joseph's Home Inc., which operates Missing In America Residence For Adults at 67 Hess Road, to construct 12 townhouses on its 5.5-acre property, said Gerri Levy, executive director of the agency.

MIA plans to temporarily relocate its homeless veterans and build a modernized facility elsewhere. The plan coincides with the town of Clarkstown's push to provide affordable housing for its volunteers.

"It's a win-win situation," said John Murphy, co-founder of Joseph's Home and a county legislator.

"We began to realize that our facility needed updating," he said. "The town was very anxious for sites for volunteer housing and it became a marriage made in heaven."

Pending building approvals from the town, Levy said, the coalition and Joseph's Home will begin a joint venture to develop the property as soon as possible.

In October, the New York State Housing Trust Fund granted $540,000 to the Rockland Housing Action Coalition Inc. to create homes for lower-income families in Clarkstown. The money would go toward helping volunteers reduce the purchasing price of the homes, she said.

The Rockland Office of Community Development also granted the coalition $190,000 to help purchase property and to pay pre-development costs. The money is to go to Joseph's Home, she said.

Any additional money needed to pay for the construction of the homes will be borrowed from a bank that offers lower interest rates under the Community Reinvestment Act, she said.

Each of the 12 townhouses would be built with one-car garages, three bedrooms and 1 1/2 bathrooms, costing about $200,000 each.

Such a home would typically cost $400,000, she said.

Levy also is working with Clarkstown Town Board member Ralph Mandia on the Congers Volunteer Housing Feasibility Committee. Mandia said he was delighted the property would be available for housing.

Its location is convenient for volunteer firefighters from the Congers, West Nyack, Central Nyack and Rockland Lake fire departments, who must live no more than five miles away from their firehouses, he said.

"This will hopefully be a model for how other communities as well as Clarkstown might be able to create housing for volunteers to keep our young people living here," he said.

Elsewhere in the county, there are plans to build a $4 million market with a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments for Nyack's volunteer firefighters at the site of the former Tappan Zee Playhouse. The Department of Housing and Urban Development granted developer Jeff Sapounas an $800,000 Section 8 loan to build the 9,000-square-foot market and create 16 low-income jobs. The rest of the funding has already been secured. The project is expected to take 12 months once construction starts.

Frank Hutton, vice chairman of the Committee to Promote Volunteerism in Rockland County Emergency Services, said many fire department and ambulance corps volunteers had stopped serving Clarkstown because they had to move where it was cheaper to live.

Providing affordable housing would save taxpayers more money than if the county ever had to pay for emergency services, he said.

For paid fire protection alone, the county would have to pay $112 million when it currently only pays $13 million, he said.

"That's a big hit," he said. "You think it's hard to live in the county now?"

[RocklandFires 44]

Progress like this is always worth noting. I have to say, with a fair amount of bias I suppose, that Rockland really seems to be pretty progressive with issues like this. Tax breaks, housing, discount programs with local retailers, etc.

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Read that when I came home from work last night. Almost all the towns have been working on these projects for the past year. Piermont FD has a few apartments in a building already. Been waiting for something to materialize here in Clarkstown. Time to send Frank Voce from Congers an e-mail to get on that list !

[res6cue 67]

I'll tell you what, Frank Hutton deserves a ton of credit for a lot of the progress in these areas. I remember back in the late 90s he was down at our firehouse and I was talking to him for a good long while about all this stuff. It was right when they first started the county recruitment and retention committee, and they wanted me to get a website up and running for them. Anyway, it's really nice to see that a guy like Frank put his money where his mouth was, and it's nice to be able to remember back to the beginning and think about how far they've come. A lot more can still be done I think, especially with the housing aspect of it, but the progress is undeniable. Kudos to Frank, Gordie and all the other guys for continuing to push the towns and builders to step up.

[firecapt32 282]

kinda give new meaning to "volunteer" dosent it. pensions, housing, what next, hmmm lets sleep there so we can get out even faster.

[4truck48 25]

I've asked this question before and never got a good answer. At what point do you stop being considered a VOLUNTEER ? Housing, pensions, what's next free food ?

[WAS967 97]

I believe Cos Cob, CT does this. They provide housing At the firehouse for the volunteers so they can answer calls from station. Pound Ridge is similar. The residences for the firefighters are right across the street.

[res6cue 67]

kinda give new meaning to "volunteer" dosent it. pensions, housing, what next, hmmm lets sleep there so we can get out even faster.

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Sure, if you say so. Very original post, by the way. I've heard the same thing a million times over the years. If you, or anyone else, thinks that I started volunteering back in the early 90s with the hope of one day maybe getting some kind of compensation for it, you could not be more wrong. When I started, we didn't have a LOSAP program, there were no tax breaks, no local retailers who generously gave discounts, and you would've been laughed out of the room if you suggested that maybe some apartment building and condo owners set aside a few units at lower cost for local volunteers as a means to keep them in the community. But if you feel the need to spew the same old tired crap about how we're not "real" volunteers anymore, or how we take jobs from union firefighters, go right ahead and sh!t my thread up, if it makes you feel better.

*EDIT* - If that's not what you meant, or how you intended it to come off as, then I apologize. But I've just absolutely had enough of hearing career guys run their mouths all the time about the vollies.

Edited June 28, 2006 by res6cue

[firecapt32 282]

my statement wasent ment to disparage any one or any person. just a statment of facts. when compensation is given for services rendered, i just dont think that the work "volunteer" should be used. believe me i am not bashing any one.

you do not have to apologize to me or any one,and im not trying t9o get in a p-ssing match over vol vs career. just looking at the facts and making a observation. i might be way off base but again when you start to get compensation.

[res6cue 67]

Well, I'm sorry for flying off the handle anyway. You do have a legit point, obviously. I just think there's a fine line between actually getting compensated outright with a salary of some sort, and what is going on here. I don't really see things like offering cheaper housing or a little tax relief or even college tuition as compensation, per se. I agree that by definition all those things are indeed a form of compensation, but I also believe in today's day and age it's difficult to retain members if they can't afford to even live in the area because it's so expensive. I will say this, I can honestly say that I've never, ever heard someone tell me that they joined for the LOSAP or the prospect of maybe getting a cheap condo somewhere or any of the other "perks" that are popping up these days. Then again, because I joined before all of these things, I'm sure I have a different perspective on the whole issue. That's probably why I get a bit defensive about it also.

[res6cue 67]

Thinking on it a bit more, I think it needs to be stressed that this isn't FREE housing, it's DISCOUNTED housing. The taxpayers are NOT picking up the bill for this. These are deals made with private entities to set aside some units at a reduced rate for area volunteer fire and EMS personnel. The reason is obvious, this area has some of the highest property values and tax rates in the entire country, so this is a little incentive for guys to maybe stick around instead of fleeing to cheaper areas. While I agree that in this particular case, the units will be offered at half price, it's still hardly a handout or freebie. Nor is it "sleeping at the station". That's another matter entirely, let's not muddy the waters further by confusing the two.

As far as the question of "At what point do you stop being considered a VOLUNTEER ? Housing, pensions, what's next free food ?", this is where the contraversy always comes in. Just what does the word "volunteer" REALLY mean? The trouble is, it has a few meanings. Our armed forces are "volunteer", yet they get paid. The Red Cross is volunteer, yet they provide free meals and housing to their volunteers during deployments. A large portion of the fire service is volunteer, yet some of us have a free meal after a big fire. The list goes on and on. The only way ANY organization will EVER be truly 100% volunteer is when every single expense is paid out of pocket by the individual themself. No free soda, food, LOSAP, clothing allowance, t-shirts, hotels for conferences, etc etc etc.

We can go on and on about definitions and semantics all we want. The point is that "volunteer" firefighters in our county do not get paid a salary, nor do we get paid per call. We receive no direct compensation whatsoever. If our dept gives us free t-shirts or meals here and there, so be it. If the local businessman decides he wants to give us discounts in his shop because he appreciates the service we provide, so be it. If the owner of that 200 unit condo complex decides he wants to set aside 25 units at half price for us, so be it. If the taxpayers want to allow us to earn credit towards a LOSAP program that pays out a measely few thousand dollars a year at age 62, so be it. Call me whatever you want to, I don't care. The bottom line is that I'm a FIREFIGHTER, period. Why do we always have to qualify and quantify that word with prefixes like "Volunteer" or "Career" or "Union" or "Paid on call"? We're all here for the same purpose.

[firecapt32 282]

cant agree more with you firefighter is a firefighter. but do respectivly disagree with some things. when a developer is asked to set aside part of his development for volunteer firefighter's there is a direct effect on the tax base of that community. when a resturant owner gives away dinner or discounts dinner to volunteer theres a direct effect on his living.

when a community increases their tax bast to accomadate a losap program, there a direct effect on all taxpayers.

are you offering housing incentives for the library volunteers? or the volunteers in the hospital?

believe me i am not getting into a arguement over career vs vol but as a tax payer I am concerned.

all we have to do is look at the articles last year about spending in long island to see that sometimes--- things can get out of control.

If the condo owner is setting asides units for volunteers-- who sets the criteria. who followes it up? and what happens if the volunteer dosent meet the criteria??

as far as being a firefighter is concerned- my career probies just finished 13 weeks of traaining over 350 hours of class time plus 25 hours of class A burns plus passing a C.A.P.T.

I'm a little tired and cranky and apoligize for sounding off. please forgive me.

as they like to say debate is good for the soul as long as no one take a personal afront. I mean no disrespect to any one or organization.

[ex-commish 490]

I am curios to know what happens when the person who owns an affordable unit decides to sell? Does it get sold for a profit which usually is the case when you buy and sell real estate or is there a cap on the price?

[res6cue 67]

when a developer is asked  to set aside part of his development for volunteer firefighter's there is a direct effect on the tax base of that community.

The volunteers do NOT live free of property tax. The only thing discounted is the initial price of the unit. Yes, maybe a little bit of tax revenue is lost on the sale, but it's extremely minimal.

when a restaurant owner gives away dinner or discounts dinner to volunteer theres a direct effect on his living.

Sure there is, but he made that choice freely. Also, giving discounts is a normal part of running that type of business, be it coupons or discounts to volunteers. If I get 10% off my meals at the local Italian restaurant, guess what? I'm gonna be quick to recommend him to friends and family because "hey give so and so your business, he's a really good guy and takes care of us." He makes out in the end, believe me. It's no different than when they donate to the fire company, they know we're loyal to them and they gain a larger customer base.

when a community increases their tax bast to accomadate a losap program, there a direct effect on all taxpayers.

Yes, absolutely the taxes have to go up to facilitate a LOSAP program. Which is why it has to be voted on by the district taxpayers and why it's tightly controlled by the state. Again though, if you compare the cost of these LOSAP programs and the service the community is getting for their money (again, I'm ONLY speaking for my own dept here), it's a hell of a bang for their buck. If we were to go to a paid system in our district? Forget about it. We protect over 32,000 citizens in a roughly 15 square mile area and run just under 1000 calls a year. Our annual budget is just around 1 million. I'm not saying that's cheap, it's not...but compared to a paid system? I would guess it would probably be at least twice as much. That's pretty significant, a doubling of taxes.

are you offering housing incentives for the library volunteers? or the volunteers in the hospital?

I think we can agree that risking one's life and livelihood for the greater good of the public is just a TAD bit different than organizing a Dewey decimal card file (no disrespect to library vollies). Let's not get too carried away with the "volunteer" comparisons.

Incidentally, as I noted earlier, the military is considered "volunteer", but I don't hear you making a point of how they get compensated. Why not?

believe me i am not getting into a arguement  over career vs vol but as a tax payer I am concerned.

The argument of "paid vs vollie" is so overblown to begin with. Most areas of the country simply do not need a full time paid dept. That would concern me most of all, if someone was trying to tell me that I need to pay double or more the taxes for fire protection because they want to replace the volunteers with a paid system. Unless the vollie dept was so absolutely inept or out of control with spending, I don't see the justification for it in most cases. Certainly in the case of our district it's wholly unnecessary. In any case, it's better to be involved and concerned (as you are) than to be apathetic to it like many citizens are.

all we have to do is look at the articles last year about spending in long island to see that sometimes--- things can get out of control.

I agree, you won't get any argument from me there. Some of the antics that went on/go on out there give us all a black eye. Of course it's not just confined to LI either, we know that. I think the clear difference is that the stuff in Rockland is happening above the table. With the public's support, understanding and approval. Obviously the articles in the Journal News are proof enough, we WANT the public to get more involved and realize just how good they really have it with the volunteers. I promise you, if I thought we were a bunch of yahoos, I wouldn't be a member for so many years.

If the condo owner is setting asides units for volunteers-- who sets the criteria. who followes it up? and what happens if the volunteer dosent meet the criteria??

I can't say for certain, but it must have something to do with either time already served in the organization and/or a minimum percentage of calls and activities that I would guess the dept monitors. I can't answer that as I'm not directly involved in that aspect of it.

as far as being a firefighter is concerned- my career probies  just finished 13 weeks of traaining over 350 hours of class time plus 25 hours of class A burns plus passing a C.A.P.T.

I'm a little tired and cranky and apoligize for sounding off. please forgive me.

as they like to say debate is good for the soul as long as  no one take a personal afront. I mean no disrespect to any one or organization.

No worries, I like a good discussion and debate myself. Admittedly, I am a bit sick of how these types of discussions often seem to deteriorate into a "career vs vollie" mudslinging fest. That's a real shame, because I believe firefighters are firefighter no matter what other distinction you make of them. There are bad seeds on both sides, there are bad policies on both sides, there are wastes of money on both sides...and there are good things on both sides.

Edited June 29, 2006 by res6cue

[res6cue 67]

Even more positive progress.

Volunteer housing opens in Orangetown

By GERALD MCKINSTRY

THE JOURNAL NEWS

(Original Publication: July 8, 2006)

ORANGEBURG — Arthur Albanese this week showed a recently renovated house that he moved into with his fiancee as if he had built it himself.

Although the 29-year-old Pearl River native does not own the house, he invested hundreds of hours assisting with repairs at the long-vacant building so he wouldn't have to leave the county or his position as assistant chief with the Pearl River Fire Department.

"It's a big relief that I have a place to live," he said, standing in the main hallway of his new home this week. "It's a place to stay and start a family in the town that I grew up in."

Albanese, a plumbing-supply salesman who is getting married in September and who lived with his parents until recently, had searched long and hard for an affordable home in Rockland, but couldn't find anything.

In recent years, the median price of a house in the county reached $537,000, up $128,000 from three years ago, meaning that many of the county's younger fire and ambulance volunteers found it difficult to live, work and volunteer here.

"Everybody I know is leaving," Albanese said. "Nobody can afford it."

Although he is renting the house, the below-market rate will enable Albanese, who is expected to be a future fire chief, and his soon-to-be wife to save for a house. Had this opportunity not come about, Albanese said, his 13 years of experience as a volunteer firefighter could have been lost because he would have moved to Orange County or somewhere else he could afford.

A long-awaited plan to provide affordable housing for emergency-service workers in town moved forward this month as three such houses have been renovated and now have tenants. A ribbon-cutting is being held at 11 a.m. today at 184 Blaisdell Road.

The housing initiative was made possible with a $305,000 community development grant from the county, another $25,000 from the town, in-kind donations of material from many local businesses and a lot of "sweat equity" from the volunteers themselves, said William Harris, a former Pearl River fire chief who is vice chairman of the Orangetown Volunteer Emergency Services Coalition, the nonprofit group that has been working to secure affordable housing for volunteers.

"It's taken a long time. We have lost other youth," Harris said, emphasizing the need to keep the future of the department —those in their 20s and 30s — in the county. "We're happy to be talking in a carpeted house."

Orangetown purchased 348 acres from the state in 2003 for $7 million; the homes on Blaisdell, which have sat vacant for more than 10 years, were part of that. More housing is expected to be built as part of the town's plan to develop the property.

The current structures range between 2,700 and 3,400 square feet. All require extensive work, including roof repairs, windows, electricity, floors and plumbing.

As part of the initiative, the housing coalition rents the homes from the town for $1 a year and will help rehabilitate the 11 buildings. Tenants can stay for up to five years, depending on demand, Harris said, and must remain in good standing with their respective agencies.

Because the coalition now has paying tenants, rent revenues can help pay for some needed repairs in other homes and cover maintenance, said Bruce Leonard, a former Tappan fire chief who is chairman of the housing coalition.

Leonard said the nonprofit group, which has representatives from the town's volunteer emergency-service groups, has a list of about 67 applicants who were forwarded from the respective volunteer organizations.

He said providing affordable housing is also a valuable recruitment and retention tool.

Tayna Tolentino, a 26-year-old woman with the Orangeburg Fire Department, was another volunteer whom the department was in danger of losing. Tolentino, an admissions officer at Dominican College who lives with her parents in Congers, will soon move into one of the dormitory-style houses there.

"Trying to find something affordable in Rockland is impossible. I can't find a place in the area," she said, adding that she looked in Orange County, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. "It's a big relief. I have a place to live."

People like Harris are also relieved because if too many of the volunteers were forced to leave, the town would have to consider a paid department, something that could cost anywhere from $35 million to $50 million a year, he said. That would mean higher taxes.

For Albanese, who estimated that he spends 20 to 25 hours a week on fire-related matters like actual fire calls, training and meetings, the housing plan is the best way to keep volunteers in town.

"You're not going to come up with a better plan than this," he said.

Reach Gerald McKinstry at gmckinst@lohud.com or 845-578-2439.