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In
the Next Issue of PACC TALK:
Info on upcoming lotteries
Notes from the second Dermot Tenant Meeting
Meet our newest Board Members
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PACC Talk Summer 2008
PACC TALK...
...Read about the pursuit of building an equitable, diverse, engaged
and flourishing community in central Brooklyn.
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The Hawthorne Condominium Ribbon Cutting
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The morning of May 30th, 2008 was a morning of achievement,
as Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, Councilmember Letitia
James, and
officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
along with
our lenders The Low Income Investment
Fund and LISC New
York joined in PACC's
ribbon cutting celebration at our newest development, The Hawthorne
Condominium-a beautifully restored 19th Century Romanesque residence.
Located
at 420 Classon Avenue in Clinton Hill, The Hawthorne will be an
affordable
12-unit condominium.
The Hawthorne was originally 3 separate townhouses, which
were combined into one building of approximately 11,000 square feet.
PACC
received two of the homes from a HUD program
that transfers abandoned
properties to responsible non-profits. The third home was purchased
from a
private owner. In order to make sure families in the neighborhood will
have an
opportunity to live in the building, eight of the units have 2-bedrooms
and 4
are 1-bedroom units. Earlier this year, the condos were marketed by
PACC
through a lottery process giving preference to residents within
Community Board
2.
Brooklyn Borough
President Marty Markowitz admired the
building's façade, and asked the General Contractor (Tony
Dipietrantonio of
P&P)
if the cornice was the original (it is not; rather the cornice was
replicated in fiberglass). Upon looking at the 'before' and 'after'
photos
posted in the welcome area, Marty was awe-struck at the transformation.
In his
speech, he commended PACC for being a community-based organization that
actually represents the community and preserves what Clinton Hill and
Bed-Stuy
mean to long term residents.
In addition to the ribbon cutting, PACC sponsored a
designer showcase at the Hawthorne, whereby two local celebrated
interior
designers (My Little India and Repop) designed an apartment each for
area
residents to view. Scores of people from the neighborhood stopped by
the
showcase over that weekend.
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Hawthorne part II: The Designers Showcase
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Following the ribbon cutting and continuing on to the next
day, guests and people from the community were allowed to tour
apartments 1A
and 1C on the first floor of the building. PACC asked local interior
designers,
My Little India and Repop to decorate the 2 bedroom units on the first
level.
Midwest transplants Russell Boyle and Carl Grauer own RePop,
a "95% Recycled" antique furniture store at 68 Washington Avenue
between Park
and Flushing. RePop is known for intriguing (and to quote from their
website)
"creepy" items. Russell and Carl captured the
essence of kitschy, with their design
in apartment 1C. The unit had the look and feel of a world traveler's
home. An
eye catching multi-colored throw hung above an aged leather couch,
was the focal point as you entered the living area. Antique luggage
nested underneath
the coffee table in the living room, made way to a breakfast nook
created by
the window looking out to Classon Avenue called for a lazy Sunday
morning with
the family. As you walked toward the rear of the apartment you'd notice
that each
room was distinct in the era it represented. One of the bedrooms evoked
the
styling of a 1950's parlor; the other was converted to a mod style
office/den. Contact
RePop for interior design, home rearrangement and apartment staging
services by
phone (718-260-8032) or on the web at www.repopny.com
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Across the hall in Apt 1A, many people were taken aback by the
design of a familiar name, My Little India (MLI). MLI owned by husband
and wife
team, John and Avian Carraby, infused hand crafted items imported from
India
with trendy Feng Shui chic creating a tranquil home with splashes of
color
everywhere. As you stood outside of the entranceway to the apartment,
you were drawn
in by the delicate scent of MLI's very own line of spa candles. In the
living
area, a hand carved armoire displayed candles and books inviting you to
kick
your shoes off and meditate. Grand furniture pieces were harmonized
with fuchsia
throw pillows, a lime green floral straw rug and the MLI paisley
curtains
hanging in the windows. The bedrooms carried the serene atmosphere
throughout
with MLI's hand woven bed sheets and matching décor. This
past spring MLI
closed their shop on Fulton and South Elliot to pursue other adventures
in
interior design. However, The Carraby's have a fully functioning
website where they
sell all of their products (from candles, furniture, bedding and
draperies as
well as spa soaps from France). They also offer a range of services
including custom
design consult, and imports directly from India. Visit them at www.mylittleindia.net
where you will
also find their calendar of events (street fairs and trade shows).
You can catch both designers at the Brooklyn Flea
in the Bishop Loughlin school yard.
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First Time Homeowners Share their Story: "We Won a
PACC Housing Lottery!"
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 2008 has been a year like no
other for college
sweethearts Greg and Suki. The couple was eager to begin their lives
after
completing their studies and soon yearned for a home of their own. So,
two years
ago they began looking for a house. They exhausted the real estate
section
of the New York Times as well as popular real estate websites. It was
in early 2007,
that Greg and Suki got wind of the PACC Community Homes lottery and
applied.
PACC 203K Community Homes is a development project that
rehabilitates decrepit 1-4 family homes, mainly brownstones in
Bed-Stuy, and
sells them to local residents. Existing tenants with a work history and
good
credit were given an opportunity to pre qualify for a mortgage and
purchase the
house before PACC marketed them via lottery.
After they entered the lottery, Greg and Suki were given a log
number in the low 50's. They were notified again and were informed that
they were not
selected because all of the homes were allocated. Hoping their luck
would
change in 2008, they resumed searching for homes the traditional way,
continued
saving and prepared to be new home owners even though they knew they
were not
chosen for the lottery. Some may say it was that optimism that kept the
odds in their favor.
Despite the let down a few months prior, they received a call "out of
the blue"
in January 2008 from PACC's Marketing Agent saying that they were next
on the
list and had in fact qualified for a home. They met with the mortgage
counselors at PACC's Home Services office (1124 Bedford Avenue) where
they were
advised on home ownership and mortgage lending. About three months
later they closed
on the property and were able to move into their very first home, a
three
family house in Clinton Hill!
Talking to Suki, she says that everyday is like Christmas
and she can't believe how fortunate she and Greg are. She continues,
"Our
family and friends have been very excited for us-everyone has pitched
in to
help us get our home ready (painting, moving, etc). We could have NEVER
afforded
a home this size/quality anywhere in NYC or the boroughs if we had not
won the
lottery. So we feel very blessed." Greg and Suki not only adore the
house they call
home but the neighborhood too. The diversity of their neighbors
including race
and age is another factor that makes the location that much better and
their
days like Christmas.
Suki and Greg shared some things they learned while
searching for their home:
-Look everywhere: Look online, in the newspapers, walk
through neighborhoods looking for "FOR SALE" signs, and even try your
local
real estate brokerage.
-Enter several housing lotteries:
Besides PACC they applied at other agencies as well. Most
Brooklyn based agencies are listed on the PACC website (view the list here)
-Save as much as you can:
Greg and Suki put a lot toward savings so that they could
afford a bigger down payment. They'd even forgone cable TV!
-Take the pre-home buyer/mortgage courses: PACC's home
services department is recognized by the New York Mortgage Coalition
and works
with quite a few neighborhood banks. Once you complete the course(s)
with PACC,
the banks acknowledge your certificate of completion, offering you
savings
towards closing costs.
Call 718 783 3549 x 10 for information on PACC's
lotteries and pre homebuyer courses.
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Dewitt Condos
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PACC is proud to announce the closing of the last market rate
unit at The Dewitt Condos. Located at 483 Washington Avenue
(between Fulton and
Gates) the Dewitt is a state of the art building equipped with a
parking
garage, roof deck and laundry facilities. Unfortunately, it wasn't
always
beautiful at 483 Washington Avenue.
Originally built as an upscale single-family home around the
year 1900, 483 Washington Avenue was an attached three-story masonry
structure.
Towards the end of the century, poor upkeep gave way to a structure
that was in
an advanced state of deterioration.
Outside, the roof was in dreadful shape and
was on the verge of collapse. Inside the house was even more decrepit
than one
could imagine. Despite the poor living
conditions, two tenants (friends of the previous owner) were given
permission
to live in the inhabitable apartments free of charge. After relocating
the
tenants, PACC was able to buy the property, demolish the previous
structure (and
with the help of Urban Builders
Collaborative and Mark Ginsburg)
erect the
Dewitt Condominium.
The Dewitt
has created 16 spacious condominiums in Clinton
Hill, 8 of which are below market rate. Under the supervision of HPD, PACC
was
able to market the condos as a lottery in 2006, giving preference to
residents
of community board 2. Applications were open to New York City
residents/families
with household incomes of $57,630 to $77,100. Amongst those who applied
and
"won" the lottery was a former PACC tenant. The new homeowner once
rented an
apartment in one of PACC's mixed income rental buildings.
To be on PACC's affordable homeownership mailing list,
please visit the contact page
of our website.
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LISC Big Apple Awards
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On May 30th, PACC staff attended the LISC NY Big
Apple Awards at Tavern on the Green. Deb Howard, was presented with
"Innovation
of the Year". The award (a hand blown glass apple from Tiffany and Co.)
was not
the first to be received from LISC. In 2005 we received the "Honoree
Award". We
thank LISC for
bestowing these achievements on us!
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PACC's 44th Annual Meeting
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This year's 44th Annual Meeting was a
huge success! On June
24th Over 125 staff, members and friends of PACC were in attendance as
we
showcased our successes of 2007 and honored members of the community
and organizations
that demonstrated outstanding support of PACC's visions.
 Held at the South
Oxford Art Space, guests were treated to
the sounds of gifted pianist Melinda Faylor
while attendees sipped wine
provided by Olivino. Board Chair Mariadele Priest opened the program
and began
the annual election of the board members. Two new members were
successfully
elected: The Reverend Doctor Curtis Whitney of Mount Sinai Baptist
Church and
Mr. David Rowe the Director of Housing at CAMBA.
This year PACC honored 35th District Councilmember, Letitia
James, The Tenant Association of 266 Washington Avenue and law firm
Stroock
& Stroock & Lavan, LLP. After the present ation of awards,
The PFR Music Studio
surprised the crowd as three young performers stole the show. Tyrajah
Legions
(age 9) commanded the stage performing two vocal selections. Her
brother,
Daquan Taylor (13), played sophisticated renditions of Solfeggietto by
C.P.
Bach and the Entertainer by Scott Joplin on the grand piano. The
youngest of
the three siblings, comedienne Tyjanae Legions, offered the crowd a
short set.
Photographer Jennifer Fiore
captured these memorable moments
in photographs. You can view them here.
We would like to acknowledge the sponsors that generously sponsored the
event:
Abu's Homestyle Bakery
Al's Men Shop
American Corporate
Benefits
BAM
Big B's Extermination,
Inc.
Bollinger Insurance
Solutions
Crunch Fitness
Fresh Garden
Jennifer Macfarlane
Moe's Tavern
Mirai Wellness and Spa MJGC
Spencer Place Bed and
Breakfast Zip Car
Vargas Ghigliotty and
Rivera, LLP
you can view more info on our 44th Annnual Meeting by clicking here.
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To find out more about PACC or to
become a member, email us at pacc@prattarea.org and visit us on the web
at www.prattarea.org
Sincerely,
Deb Howard
Pratt Area Community Council |
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