Refurbishing Old Houses

I recently had the privilege in showing six visitors from Third Presbyterian’s sister church in Nairobi, Kenya, Habitat’s work in the JOSANA neighborhood. One of the questions they asked, which is one asked by others in the Rochester community, is why we don’t rehab houses?

We were on Campbell Street where there are a number of boarded up houses and one in particular caught the eye of our visitors. It was across the street from the Whitney/Campbell parking lot and had the tell-tale brown boards covering the windows and doors—an indication that the structure was owned by the city through foreclosure. On the surface it look like a solid structure, but the more I looked it became clear that this was a building that had probably been a store with an adjacent house that had been converted to three or four apartments. The paint was peeling, the chimney stacks unstable, and the roof in poor condition.

Historically, the neighborhoods where Habitat builds were home to waves of immigrants. These were working class neighborhood—some predominantly Jewish, others Italian, Polish, or Irish. As a progressive city, Rochester was the site of a number of settlement houses, established to in the early 1900s to support, educate, and acculturate immigrants to the American Way. The Lewis Street Settlement House (alas no more) served a large Italian population, and before its closing its clientele was mostly Hispanic. The Charles Settlement House (located on Jay Street) served Dutchtown.

The Power of One

It was with great sadness we learned that Verdis Ranking died in Florida during this past summer. Verdis was a remarkable woman who joined the Habitat family in 1991 as one of our pioneers on Trust Street.

A short street of mostly double houses Trust Street was once the home to Italian families who eventually migrated to other parts of the city and the suburbs. Habitat acquired six vacant properties and in the early 90s began their refurbishment. Although I didn’t arrive at Habitat until 1994 people have many stories about volunteering on these properties. In fact, one house was an early project of Nixon Peabody and Chase Lincoln Bank.

Verdis Ranking was a woman, short of stature, who had a formidable presence and a vision of what Trust Street could become. Unfortunately, the other 12 properties were owned by absentee landlords and their condition rapidly deteriorated as minimal repairs were done. Not surprisingly, given the condition of the properties, there was a high turnover of tenants causing a transiency that undermined efforts to create a community.

Verdis was disturbed at what was occurring and quality of life that quickly deteriorated as some tenants actively dealt in drugs and others had ‘pay to enter parties’ that went on late into the night. She formed a block club, actively engaged the help of Mayor Johnson and the NET (Neighborhood Empowerment Team) office, and Joan Roby-Davison, CEO of Group 14621 Neighborhood Association. Soon there was a neighborhood clean-up and residents developed a code of conduct.

One thing that troubled Verdis was the high density of children on this short street—as many as 60 at any given time. What were these mostly younger children to do after school and during the summer and holidays? Verdis, who owned a double house, converted one side into a children’s facility. During the summer she took advantage of the city’s free breakfast and lunch program and was able to offer nutritious meals to the Trust Street children. She purchased an adjacent lot and started to grow vegetables—aided by the children and local adults. There were also field trips and reading and computer activities.

Verdis brought hope to Trust Street and it seemed that at last there was a possibility that through her indomitable spirit it would become a place where it was possible to live in peace.

Sadly, this hope was dashed when through a medical error Verdis became paralyzed from the neck down, with only movement in one arm and a slight movement in her other hand. I visited Verdis at her nursing facility, where she was cared for with great kindness. Once her malpractice settlement was finalized, which took several years, she paid off her mortgage to Habitat (we had boarded up her house to keep out intruders) and eventually moved to Florida, where her brother lived.

Unfortunately, no other leader emerged to take Verdis’ place on Trust Street. The city has since demolished three houses and a number of rental properties are abandoned. So Trust Street is quiet and peaceful, but not the kind of peace and quiet Verdis had envisioned and worked for.

Pilgrimage to Americus

A group of us arrived early for our National Conference in Atlanta so we could visit the founding headquarters of Habitat for Humanity in Americus, GA. Americus is about 150 miles southwest of Atlanta—a two and a half hour drive through rural Georgia via a barely used divided highway, occasionally interspersed by some small towns and their many, many churches. Although spread out with the usual sprawl of fast food and big box stores, at the center was the town square with its imposing Court House. As we drove south we saw the red clay of Georgia and stunning displays of what looked like wild wisteria draping from the trees and giving off a lovely scent. We also saw a vast pecan orchard and an event vaster drywall manufacturing facility.

All of us (Bill Bartlett, Kelly Glover, Erwin McGeary and I) had never been to Americus before and had only seen photographs of our headquarters and glimpses of the town. Our headquarters, called the Rylander Builder after the company that originally occupied it, was impressive. We were met by two volunteers from Ohio and Indiana who gave us a tour of the building. Lloyd, the volunteer from Indianna, previously spent four months in Americus helping out. A builder by trade he had been the site manager for the transformation of what was a hulk of a structure into a beautifully restored building (actually three connected buildings). After that stint he had become the advance man for Jimmy and Rosalind Carter for all of their Carter Builds.

I think we were all in awe by how this was the center of the vast Habitat ministry since its founding 35 years ago (subsequently the executive team and associated departments moved to Atlanta). Americus is a town of 17,000 with Habitat being one of the larger employers. As the county seat of Sumter County there is the State Police building, court house and several blocks of period architecture including the Victorian Windsor Hotel (fully restored) and the historic Rylander theater (featuring “Nunsense” by the local thespians).

Another highlight of our visit was our tour of Habitat’s Discovery Center-a re-creation of third world slum dwellings and the simple and decent houses Habitat had built to replace them. Enter a narrow alley and we encounter a series of makeshift dwellings (if they can be called that) made from scrap corrugated metal, old wooden panels, plastic sheeting and basically anything people could get their hands on. Make-shift beds and shelving, dirt floors, maybe an electrical outlet for a television (electricity is often illegally tapped from a main line). Chickens roam around. There’s a ‘hole in the wall’ for a store and a tub in the open air for bathing. It’s a sad experience and almost surreal for us. While we’ve seen photographs of the hill clinging flavellas we wonder, can people really live like this? Of course the answer is yes, thousands to tens to hundreds of thousands live in places like this.

As we exit the slum our spirits are lifted by the site of simple, decent homes built by Habitat in various third world countries. We see examples from Mexico and Nicaragua (where we currently tithe to their house building program), Zambia and South Africa, and India (where our tithe built around 20 houses). These houses are all different and use local building materials. Some have running water, others don’t. There’s usually a kitchen/living area, and bathing area, and two bedrooms. I could just imagine families in these houses, which must have seemed like heaven after what they had been living in. I think we all shared pride in knowing that since our founding we’ve sent about a $350,000 to fund oversea house building. Currently, we tithe about $60K a year for house building in Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Hungary.

 Although the Discovery Center had information about housing need in the United States I thought there was a missed opportunity. To have had a rundown trailer, which represents housing for some in our communities, next to one of our 1000 sq ft simple decent homes would have brought home the critical need Habitat serves in numerous communities scattered throughout our United States

JOSANA Master Plan Charts Path to Neighborhood Renewal

It’s not unusual for people to react with groans of skepticism when told that a process is in place to create a master plan. In the case of the recently released JOSANA Master Plan such skepticism would be entirely unwarranted. After six months or so of study Interface Studio of Philadelphia has come up with a compelling and comprehensive document that will chart the path to the renewal of a long neglected part of Rochester.

The success of the Master Plan document is partly due to the expertise and creativity of the staff of Interface Studio and their wizardry in collecting and presenting a host of data to support their conclusions. However, it’s also due to the approach they took in gathering input from stakeholders. Not only were the typical stakeholders interviewed, but input from JOSANA residents, at the beginning, middle and end of the process, played a huge part in shaping the recommendations of the Report.

Interesting findings and recommendation:

• Given population decline, right-size the neighborhood by creating larger lots for house building and increasing green space.
• Demolish deteriorated rental and vacant properties and build new rental units in a variety of configurations.
• Even though there seems to be a store on every corner there is a limited market for retail. Concentrate retail on Broad Street to provide for a variety of shopping needs.
• Repurpose and redesign the parking, play and green areas around School 17 to create an area where children and teens can play and take part in sports.
• Create a positive buzz about the Rhinos Stadium by clever signage along I-490 (“Entering Rhinos’ Territory”), installing gateway landscaping at both the 490 exit and Lyell Ave., enhancing lighting and illuminating a bridge near the stadium, and painting large rhino footprints leading spectators to the stadium from the parking lots.
• Based on teen input create a dance studio and facilities to serve young adults.
• Use various plants such as sunflowers to leach out contaminants from vacant lots.
• Habitat—continue what you’re doing.

We at Habitat are excited that we can continue our work in JOSANA and we hope to build at least 10 houses during the 2011 construction season. We’ll also continue our “A Brush with Kindness” spruce up program for elderly or handicapped homeowners in the neighborhood. We’re also considering a repair program that will tackle more serious repairs. Exciting times are ahead!

(All images pulled from Master Plan created by Interface Studio.)

Libby Stewart Tribute

Anyone who knew Habitat for Humanity’s founder, Millard Fuller, would instantly recognize the Pied Piper in him. He was so passionate about the cause and exercised a charismatic quality that seems to be present in all founders. Our affiliate’s founder, Roger Cross, was cut from similar cloth. When driving to Florida in the early 1980s he stopped over in Americus and met with Millard. Needless to say he was hooked!

Libby Stewart at her tree planting in 2006

When Roger returned to Rochester he and his late wife, Barbara, began their campaign to establish an affiliate. Roger was known for his gregariousness and would recruit any likely candidate to volunteer. I’m not sure how Roger recruited Libby Stewart, but I know she was one of the early volunteers who might be considered co-founders to the affiliate.

Libby had a passion for the preservation of old buildings and for many years was associated with the Landmark Society. She was particularly active with the preservation of Corn Hill houses, which at the time were under threat of “urban renewal”. Given her interest in building it wasn’t surprising that Libby was drawn to Habitat, and as we know, once drawn, Habitat has a way of becoming an important part of someone’s life.

Libby enjoyed working on site, even into her late 70s when we had Board build days. She was an early board member who served many years, helping to guide the organization into what it has become today. Libby was Board secretary for all her terms as Director and after she ‘termed out’ was our volunteer secretary for several more years until deteriorating hearing led to her retirement.

In 2006 Habitat presented Libby with its President’s Award and also planted a tree at one of our Susan B. Anthony Square houses in honor of her service to the affiliate. Libby was thrilled to be so honored and I know she would occasionally drive to the square to see how her tree was doing.

When I spoke to Libby in the fall (2010) she told me she was under palliative care, but was still able to stay in her Valley Manor apartment. We talked a lot about Habitat and the progress of which she avidly followed through news reports. She hadn’t been able to visit her tree for a while and was thrilled when I told her it was thriving!

So, when I do my tour of house inspections and drive through Susan B. Square I’ll take a look at that tree and always be reminded of a wonderful person I and the affiliate was privileged to know.

Interesting Fact: (I hadn’t realized that Libby attended Swarthmore College around the same time my late father-in-law was an undergraduate there. In this small world of ours I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t know each other!)

Survey Calls for More Interactive WomenBuild

As I noted in a previous post, it’s important for any organization to embrace new  media. I know it’s not for everyone and, as suspected, when I contacted my older friends for a donation to “Woodward for WomenBuild” they balked at using the on-line application. Most people took one look at the application, decided it was too complicated to navigate, and sent a check! One friend took a closer look, made a payment through PayPal but decided this was not a way that would encourage him to give.

If you recall, our application included moving icons to the shell of a house resulting in a fully constructed home with windows, roof, porch and so on. Although many people liked this, especially using the color palette to paint the house, it was not the success we thought it would be. Basically, the application was not interactive enough and had none of the characteristics that make playing games so much fun.

Thanks to an on-line survey of WomenBuild participants, conducted by Tipping Point Media, we have some objective data on the project and the application.  Eighty percent of respondents reported that they used the on-line tool to make a donation or to forward it to others to make a donation, although some found navigation not very obvious. However, almost everyone liked the way they could see how their team was meeting their funding goal and how they compared with other teams.

In terms of the volunteer experience on the building site, respondents were very satisfied in terms of tasks accomplished, instruction, and the skill of the supervisor. Almost everyone wants to participate in the next WomenBuild.

Below are several comments made by respondents:

“The whole experience was great. I really enjoyed the full cycle of meeting the homeowner at the wall raising ceremony, working on the house, and seeing it completed at the dedication ceremony. I really felt a connection with the Powell family and enjoyed the camaraderie on the worksite.”

“Teresa did a great job and Erwin’s leadership on the job site was phenomenal.”

“This was the best tired/exhausted feeling I have experienced. What a great experience.”

Based on the on-line survey results and verbal feedback received from our team captains, we’re now working on modifying the application. Navigation will be easier and the ability of groups to interact with their team members will be enhanced by allowing each team to create their own fundraising page. We expect to launch the new application before the year-end and break ground on our next WomenBuild house in April!

Moved by Habitat House Move

One of the highlights of my summer was to see half a house maneuver the corner of Broad and Jay and slowly make its way down to its lot at number 588 Jay Street. The action became even more exciting as an enormous crane moved the house from the flatbed truck and effortlessly lifted it onto its foundation. As the crane operator swung the shell it nimbly avoided the adjacent structure by a few inches. Then the shell was pushed and eased into place and before long, the first half of the house made a perfect landing on the concrete foundation. Well, almost perfect. It was off by a mere two inches, and while that may of okay in some situations it’s definitely not acceptable in a house. So, with a bit of pushing and assistance from a layer of power washing detergent, applied to its base, the house became true and straight. Later that afternoon the second half was similarly placed.

This is not the first time that Habitat has moved a house, although in the case of the first two houses the circumstance were quite a bit different. The houses which are now located on Upper Falls Blvd are large two story structures with complicated roofing. In one case, Kodak was expanding a parking lot and rather than demolish a sound house, decided to give it to Habitat and pay for its move. In the second case Peihler Pontiac was expanding its dealership where a house was located. Moving older houses is not for the faint of heart. Not only are there significant structural issues to deal with, but the logistics of moving a large building through city streets is daunting. Nevertheless, thanks to Matthews Brothers (a company that specializes in moving houses-and recently moved a historical structure to Genesee Country Museum) the move was accomplished on a quiet Sunday morning. According to veteran volunteers, light fixtures and traffic lights were swung out of the path of the house as it crawled down Lake Avenue, turned left onto the Bausch Bridge and then over to Upper Falls Blvd. and its new location.

We hope that house moving becomes an annual event at Habitat. In September 2009 we entered into a partnership with BOCES-2 Construction Arts Program in Spencerport to support the construction of Habitat homes by students enrolled in the program. Not only would students get hands-on experience of building a house, but also be able to come to our sites in Rochester to participate in other aspects of our building program. BOCES-2 builds a house over a two year period. Year one students work on framing, roof, interior walls, rough electrical and plumbing etc. In year two, second year students work on drywall, finish electrical and plumbing, trim, cabinets etc. In September 2009 students began working on a house that will be build to Habitat’s specifications and that house will be moved to its JOSANA site in May 2011. We are eager to develop collaborative programs and we hope our BOCES-2 partnership is the first of many more.

In Remembrance of Jack Vandenberg

Recently, one of our long-time volunteers, Jack Vandenberg, passed away. After retiring from Kodak, Jack was recruited to Flower City Habitat and was probably one of our earliest and longest serving volunteers. Certainly, by the time I came to Habitat 17 years ago, Jack was a veteran. Jack, along with Harry Woedy, was one of the founders of our legendary electrical crew. In fact, we worked under Jack’s license for over two decades and the team he help found worked on every house Habitat has built.

Jack Vandenberg at the tree planting ceremony to celebrate his 20 years of service to Flower City Habitat.

Every Tuesday the electrical crew assembles, usually about 14 men and one woman, depending on winter trips and fishing excursions. Like a well oiled machine they can provide rough electrical for a house in just two Tuesdays. Then they move on to another house and eventually cycle back to complete the final electrical work. Lest we think this team is all work they have formed close friendships on and off the site.

In fact, our electrical crew makes up one of the largest contingent of volunteers attending our Christmas lunch and Annual Dinner. It’s hard to know how to thank people like Jack for all they have done. When Jack reached his 20th anniversary with Habitat we planted a tree in the yard of one of the houses he had worked on in Fulton Avenue neighborhood. The tree is growing and thriving and is a living testament to Jack’s goodness.

As we reflected on Jack’s passing we decided it was important to have a permanent acknowledgement of his contribution to the mission of Habitat. Jack will be the first volunteer to be acknowledged on our wall of remembrance.

Yes, Habitat is more than the sum of its parts. However, those parts, especially our volunteers make it all possible.

“Good Luck” for our Young Professionals

You might remember Fabrics and Findings in its glory days when it occupied almost an entire floor in the huge warehouse building facing Anderson Street. It was an amazing place with worn wooden floorboards and exposed piping and ductwork and, of course, although there were thousands of items there never seemed to be just the right fabric at the right price! Now a hefty portion of the old store has been transformed into Good Luck restaurant and bar. It still has that warehouse ambiance of exposed brick and ducts but instead of bolts of fabric there is now a comfortable bar area and large space for dinning.

Good Luck was the location for our most recent Young Professional Networking event. We were fortunate enough to reserve a portion of the bar area and an adjacent room for the group. I had not been to a YP event before, thinking that networking was just for the younger crowd to connect with one another and come together based on their common interest in Habitat. I soon realized how misplaced this view was and that networking is about getting to know people from all different points in their career path, not just the beginning

From my point of view it was a great event with about 45 young professionals in attendance. I met one YP who worked for a small company that does earthquake simulations for nuclear power plants. In fact, many areas of the world are in earthquake zones, more than you’d think. Here in Rochester we sit on a very deep fault line (hence the occasional tremors we experience and the presence of an Earthquake Research Center in Buffalo). This YP was particularly interested in learning some building skills and I was able to connect him with Tiffany Paine who places volunteers for Habitat. This is just one example of the great connections made that night.

I had some interesting conversations about social media with several YPs, two of whom have interned at Tipping Point Media (and one of whom has taken a full time position there). Joining in the conversation was our new hire Bethany Cramer, who had done several internships at Dixon Schwabl and had been recommended by them as a possible candidate for our Communications Associate position. I took part in the final interviews, which went well. However, what really impressed me about Bethany was her portfolio that clearly demonstrated her breadth of knowledge concerning social media. As we say in England, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” and the quality of her portfolio spoke volumes.

With lots of mingling and conversation ranging from the drawbacks of becoming a career politician to the economic benefits of recycling, the evening sped by. Now I’m hooked and I’m looking forward to the next event!

By the way, the food was delicious.

Going Greener with the Help of Volunteers

It was a beautiful sunny Saturday morning and when I arrived at the ReStore parking lot the excitement was tremendous.  Among bags of mulch, fertilizer, gardening tools and plants were a group of Habitat homeowners and volunteers.  Let the gardening begin!

The project originated from Habitat’s Family Support Committee and at first the idea was to create a park in the JOSANA area, where there are plenty of unbuildable lots and many children.  After giving thought to the complexity of the project, thinking evolved to developing vegetable gardens.  Then the issue of soil contamination by lead dust moved the thinking to a raised bed in which to grow tomatoes, peppers and the like.  The project was getting complicated – and expensive.  In the end the group decided to start off more simply by helping homeowners create a flower garden.

Was there interest among the homeowners for a gardening project?  Although a gardener myself, I have a healthy respect for those who just about manage to get the lawn mowed. The answer was ‘yes’.  Fifteen homeowners turned up to a Saturday morning information meeting.  Also attending were master gardeners and other volunteers that would actually visit a homeowner’s house to provide planning guidance.  And so on Saturday May 15th all the pieces came together.  Homeowners loaded up with tools, mulch and plants and met their master gardener team later.  Judging by the success of the project we can expect to see yards in bloom soon.

Next Spring the group will start again recruiting more homeowners and helping to beautify lots, and ultimately streets and neighborhoods.

The following Tuesday we had another green project.  Rochester Garden Club has worked with Habitat since 1991.  Each year they select beautiful flowering trees from Bristol’s garden nursery and plant at houses built the previous year.  Last year ten trees were planted; this year five were planted.  All told the Club has planted 89 trees at Habitat houses.  Some trees are now mature and provide a stunning show of blossoms in Spring and green cover until Fall.

We’re continuing the green theme here at Habitat and look forward to growth in our community on all fronts!