By:Andrew Coen
Temple and more than 60 other residents of the complex showed up at the Five Towns Community Center in North Lawrence on Tuesday evening, March 23, for a meeting hosted by Legislator Jeff Toback (D-Oceanside), to express concerns over their uncertain futures and to learn about their options.
The building was purchased by David Shemano from Goodstein Reality on Nov. 18, 2003.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development administers Section 8 rent subsidization for the many low-income tenants in the complex. These tenants spend approximately 30 percent of their income on rent.
Connie Lassandro, the Nassau County director of the Section 8 Housing Program, accompanied Toback to the meeting and tried to ease the fears of residents like Temple, who worry that they will be left without a home because of the area-s high housing costs.
You really have no fears. You are not going to become homeless, said Lassandro. The housing is a very important part of the county, and this county executive and we certainly are not going to turn around and make families or singles homeless. We have taken a very aggressive role in trying to combat homelessness in the county, and we certainly are not going to allow a whole complex to be in any fear of getting into a homeless state.
Despite the news that they will not be put out on the street, Temple was not happy after the meeting about the prospect of moving. Do I look like I need to go rummaging around at my age? she said. I have a heart condition.
Norbitt Brown, who has lived in the complex almost all of the time he has spent in the U.S. since he immigrated from Jamaica in 1974, said that if he were forced to leave, he would not be able to remain in Inwood because of the high cost of living. If they say we have to leave, we have to leave, Brown said. We have no choice, and I-ll find somewhere else to go, but it won-t be in Inwood, because I don-t see affordable homes here. I-ve been here all my life, so it-s a part of my family, so it-s definitely sentimental.
Betsy Daniel said that even after 15 years of living in her apartment, she doesn-t mind leaving, because it is not a safe area. I really want to move, because we don-t have too much security, she said. I would like to get into a better neighborhood.
If the owner eliminates Section 8 housing from the building, those tenants will be provided with vouchers from the county, which they may use in other Section 8 housing elsewhere, or they may remain in the building and pay higher rents. Other Section 8 housing is located at Mary-s Manor in Inwood, and in Baldwin, Long Beach, Rockville Centre, Freeport, Uniondale and Hempstead.
The residents who receive the vouchers will not be put on a waiting list for other Section 8 housing, according to Lassandro.
Lassandro and many of the residents found the letter from Shemano very confusing. It was very non-committal. It was a terrible letter, said Lassandro.
She said her office will help guide the residents through the process once their leases are up. We will come to the building, we-ll work with each person individually. We have housing specialists we-ll walk you through the process, and if there is a particular problem with one tenant, we-ll work it out with you, said Lassandro. We-re not going to have you out there on your own. We will work very closely with all the tenants.
Toback felt the meeting was successful in terms of making people aware of their options. We-re starting a dialogue, and we-re going to try to follow up to make sure everyone is informed, he said.
Toback also tried to encourage residents to explore the option of the county-s home-ownership program. If you-re incomed-out of Section 8, you might transition right into a home-ownership program, said Toback. He also informed them that the new affordable-housing building planned for Inwood would give Inwood residents first crack at it.
Everyone can-t take advantage of [home ownership], so the people that are by reason or circumstance [already Section 8] have to remain [Section 8], said Bayview resident Karen Brown. Some people do not want to have to leave.
During the meeting, Brown also brought up a rumor that has been circulating but has not been confirmed that the owner would eventually use the apartments as dormitories for the Sho-or Yoshuv Institute, the rabbinical college on Cedar Lawn Avenue in the Lawrence. Toback said there-s no reason to believe that there-s any truth to the rumor. Unless he-s really doing something underhanded, it appears that he intends to take the tenant-based Section 8, and we-ll investigate that further and report back, said Toback.
Nobody from the yeshiva could be reached for comment on the rumor.
Toback said that in addition to getting in touch with Shemano, his office will set up a meeting with representatives from the county, the Town of Hempstead, if they wish to attend, and the building department, and will then contact the residents by mail.
Shemano could not be reached for comment.
According to Lassandro, the county vouchers have provided affordable and safe housing for 851 families and more than 1,800 people in the last 15 months.
