Reported on Aug. 15, 2009

Tucked beneath the exposed steel and gleaming glass of newly built high-rise apartment complexes, the deteriorating brick walls of the Whitman-Ingersoll Houses sit grumpily in comparison.  Fort Greene’s rapidly changing landscape instigated many long-time, lower-income residents to question whether higher property values would push public housing out of the neighborhood.

Construction workers repair the facade of a building in Whitman Houses on Friday, August 14, 2009. Photo: Charisse Williams

“There were two options: move everyone out and destroy the current buildings to make room for townhouses,” said Ed Brown, President of the Ingersoll Tenant Association.  “Or, if they’re going to keep public housing they had to renovate it to fit in with the downtown renaissance.”

In March 2009, the New York City Housing Authority was allocated $423 million in federal stimulus funding, officially known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.  The housing authority set aside $87 million for renovations to the Whitman-Ingersoll Houses—the most federal stimulus funds given to any public housing development in the United States.  But even with millions dedicated to the project, residents of Whitman-Ingersoll question whether the use of the funds will meet the stimulus’ goals of redeveloping distressed housing and creating private-sector jobs.

Current problems with the Whitman-Ingersoll Houses go back to the developments’ creation. The Walt Whitman and Raymond V. Ingersoll Houses are technically two different developments, but built simultaneously and separated only by St. Edward Street, the developments have come to be known as Whitman-Ingersoll.  Completed on Feb. 24, 1944, the 35-building development was built for returning World War II veterans.  Rations on building material, limited wartime funding and hurried construction resulted in a haphazard building design.

“If these apartments were built today, they wouldn’t be up to code” said Howard Marder, spokesman for the New York City housing authority.

Some apartments have kitchen stoves in the middle of the living room.  Before the elevator renovations, some elevators in the six-story buildings did not reach the top floors, according to residents and city officials.  Another elevator in the same building would go to upper floors but not the ground floor.  People who lived on the sixth floor would have to transfer elevators to get to their apartments.  Add that to the normal wear and tear on poorly constructed 65-year-old buildings and it’s obvious that the city needed a major modernization project at Whitman-Ingersoll.

The housing authority plans to renovate the developments in three stages. The first stage, a multi-year $21 million elevator-repair project that started in 2007 with $9 million from the federal government and $7 million in stimulus funds, is 90 percent complete.

In the next step of the overhaul,  $7 million will be spent to remove toxic asbestos tiles and repaint.  Annette Smith, who has lived at 140 Washington Walk for 12 years, just finished having her apartment renovated.  The city generally encourages tenants to move during construction.  But Smith, who loves her new apartment, chose to stay while the work was going on.  “They did it right around me,” said Smith.  “I told them you do your thing.  I’ll do my thing.”

The projected completion date for the second stage is June 30, 2010.  The last and most expensive stage is an $80 million major apartment renovation to bring every unit up to code. “We’re going to have to blow out walls, replaster, repaint, build new plumbing systems and electrical upgrades,” said Marder.  “This is a major, major project.”

To get 100 percent of the federal funds allocated to the project, the city must adhere to a tight timeline. Some 60 percent of the money must be spent by March 2011 and all of the money must be used by Dec. 31, 2011, or the city will lose the remaining funding.  The entire $87 million is currently available to the housing authority, but first it must prove to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that all the projects are shovel-ready.

The large scope of the construction will mean some disruption for current residents, including possible relocation and a temporary hold on some amenities.

A 2006 report from Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. found that apartments in Whitman-Ingersoll were left vacant at an exceptionally high rate.  By that time the city had begun to relocate residents for the upcoming modernization project.  Residents rallied together, complaining that rodents and drug dealers were taking over the empty apartments.  The city responded by allowing some residents, like Smith, to stay in their units during construction and by expediting the work that must be done.

Currently, there are 487 apartments out of 1,826 that are not available for renting so that major modernization renovations can take place at Ingersoll, and 240 out of 1652 apartments at Whitman, according to the housing authority.  The city tallies vacancies for Whitman and Ingersoll separately.  There are 363 vacancies in Whitman and 646 at Ingersoll as a result routine turnover.  Typically apartments off the renting rolls for routine turnover are filled within three weeks.

Residents who were relocated for modernization renovations moved to other public housing facilities with the option to return to their old apartments when the overhaul was complete.  So far 297 apartments have been renovated and their occupants returned to Whitman-Ingersoll.

Not all residents are pleased with the construction.

“Our basketball court is gone,” said Cita Lowe, a 22-year-old resident of Whitman Houses.  “Look, it’s covered with construction equipment”

Other residents are worried that the city will increase their rent once construction is finished.  “We can’t do that,” said Marder.  “Public housing people pay 30% of their adjusted gross income.  Those are federal laws.  This is public housing. It’s going to remain public housing. There will not be an increase.”

The biggest shortfall of the project thus far is that it has failed to provide jobs for community members, a major goal of the federal stimulus package.  According to the city, between 66 percent and 75 percent of Whitman-Ingersoll residents are unemployed.

Residents and local elected officials say that the housing authority and the construction companies, AFG Group Inc. and Tetra Tech are not doing enough to hire residents. “They’re on schedule but they haven’t lived up to requirements of Section 3,” said District 35 Councilwoman Letitia James.

Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968 mandates that wherever federal funds are spent for public housing, economic opportunities will be given to residents to the greatest extent possible.

To qualify for a Section 3 job, residents must be on the apartment lease and be in good standing with the housing authority.  Therefore, young people living with older residents are not able to benefit from Section 3.  Since there are no specific guidelines of how many residents the construction groups are required to hire, its also difficult for local officials to hold the companies accountable.

AFG Group, the firm managing the construction, has hired five residents as administrative assistants or general laborers.  Brown, the head of the Ingersoll tenants group, is hopeful that the few jobs held by residents are longer-term, high wage positions.  “If they’re on the job for as long as this project lasts, the skills they learn there will help them gain other means of employment,” says Brown.