E-Newsletter

Posted: March 16th, 2009

Meet Andy Padian

Andy Padian has recently been hired as the Vice President for Energy Initiatives for CPC. In his new role, Andy will play a key role in the implementation of a range of new energy efficiency programs for affordable housing developers. Andy will also train CPC’s mortgage officers in identifying appropriate efficiency measures and will conduct energy audits to help owners select optimal energy retrofits for their buildings, be it through CPC or government entities, such as NYSERDA. In the following interview, Andy speaks about a wide range of energy and sustainability issues.

CPC: Where are you originally from and where do you live now?

Andy: I’m originally from Basking Ridge, NJ (?) but I’ve lived in New York City for the past 20 or so years and have been married for the past three years.

CPC: Your early passion for greening affordable housing came about when you were an undergraduate at Syracuse University. What made you become so environmentally aware back at Syracuse U. in the late 70s when most people weren’t too concerned with such ideas?

Andy: In my more formative years I remember getting into my mother’s car and driving miles to a gas station with my sleeping bag just to turn the car off and wait in line over night so we could get a tank of gas during the gas shortage of 1972. Then, in 1975, I read Mankind at the Turning Point: The Second Report to the Club of Rome by Mihailo Mesarovic and Eduard Pestel during my Freshman year at Syracuse U. and it made a real impression on me.

The environment has changed, we have less fuel than we once had. Speculators realized this last year and we all saw the effects first hand as the price of a barrel of oil jumped and the price for home heating oil jumped tremendously and gas prices became so inflated.

I host a lot of sessions on sustainability and energy efficiency in the hopes of enlightening my peers about the simple changes they can make to conserve energy. We can all make a contribution but we must act rather than just talking about it.

CPC: What was it like when you first became a proponent of energy efficiency for multifamily housing?

Andy: I started working for Mary Brennan (now my current supervisor at CPC) in 1981 when she was Asst. Commissioner for Energy Conservation at HPD. We saw the energy crisis in housing first hand when New York City foreclosed on 11,000 units partly due to the high cost of oil to heat the housing.

In New York City today, electricity costs 30 cents per kilowatt which is three times the national average cost. The price of oil to heat homes is also expensive and when there is a shortage of fuel, prices increase as we’ve recently witnessed across the country.

CPC: How do you define Green vs. Sustainability? What defines energy efficiency?

Andy: GREEN is a particular idea like bamboo flooring. It’s a trend but not really something you put into practice in your day to day living. Sustainability is something bigger; it entails making virtually no cost changes to existing specifications to ensure energy efficiency. These changes are good and you’re helping the environment. And in so doing, you’re conserving energy.

CPC: What sort of initiatives are you helping to put in place at CPC’s workplace? What suggestions do you have for energy efficiency at home?

Andy: Conserve and stop the waste! Doesn’t everyone have a coffee mug at home that they can bring to work? The same goes for water bottles. If we all had thermoses we wouldn’t use so many plastic bottles. I am constantly lobbying for energy efficiency. We should all be turning off the lights in our offices when we aren’t there. Also, we should set our computers to go off 75% of the time which is at night and on the weekends. It costs $80 per year to run each screen saver.

The many printers we have at CPC Central should also be powered off when not in use. The same goes for the copy machines. And obviously, we should all be recycling by throwing paper and other non-food waste in the blue garbage pails throughout the office.

At home, there’s plenty we can all do. Do you know how much energy your cable boxes on top of your TVs use? New York State alone has two power plants just to keep the cable boxes powered off. I plug all my entertainment equipment into a power strip and turn it off when I’m not using them. I do the same for my appliances other than the refrigerator and I’ve saved $8 per month on my electric bills.

CPC: CPC is about to implement a new energy efficiency program which will launch sometime this spring. Can you give us a preview?

Andy: Apartment buildings are in constant need of major repairs and equipment becomes outdated and must be replaced.

Typically, many multifamily residential buildings use twice the amount of energy they should and 5-8 times as much as single-family homes.

Why not make virtually no cost energy efficient changes to multifamily residential buildings that provide residents with the same or better comfort than they are used to more efficiently? The efficiency upgrades not only provide sustainability but also healthy, safe, and comfortable surroundings at affordable prices. Conserving this energy also helps building owners save money. Typically, developers buy into making their buildings more energy efficient after a lot of kicking and screaming, but once they see how much money they save as a result of these retrofits, they never approach rehabs the old way again.

Our goal is to show borrowers and developers that this approach works and they, along with their residents, benefit.

478 Main Street, Downtown Beacon, NY

Posted: March 16th, 2009

CPC’s Main Street Summit Series Provides Tools to Revitalize Hudson Valley’s Downtowns

CPC’s Hudson Valley office is hosting the third seminar in a series of free Main Street Summits on Friday, April 17, 2009, from 9am-1pm at The Howland Cultural Center located at 477 Main Street in Beacon, NY. This particular seminar, titled “Key Main Street Topics in Today's Economy” will focus on the challenges business owners face in this turbulent economy with an emphasis on marketing and economic development strategies to help retail stay afloat in Beacon and the surrounding cities. Other topics include the New York State Main Street grant (with featured speaker Joe Rabito, Deputy Commissioner, NYS Division of Housing & Community Renewal Office of Community Renewal), and parking solutions. A panel of experts has been designated to address these issues. The unique perspectives of all speakers are sure to generate an informative discussion of best practices and innovative approaches to downtown revitalization.

CPC has chosen the City of Beacon as the location for the third Main Street Summit because Beacon’s downtown has one of the more inspirational renaissance stories in the Hudson Valley. When CPC began to finance projects in Beacon, the east end of its Main Street was a series of boarded up properties and dilapidated buildings. Beginning in the late eighties, CPC financed the historic preservation and reuse of many of the abandoned structures along East Main Street, turning vacant shells into affordable apartments, restaurants, and stores. Through its partnership with Dutchess County, the City, the local utility company, and Federal Home Loan Bank, CPC completed eight projects comprising 15 buildings which now house 17 storefronts and 51 apartments. This redevelopment helped to generate a vibrant antique and art district, making Beacon a hub for art enthusiasts throughout the Hudson Valley.

The first two events held in conjunction with local Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), in New Rochelle and Middletown, NY, focused on the ongoing successful downtown revitalization in these two cities, and on various topics of vital importance to local business owners and elected officials. The inaugural New Rochelle Summit addressed ideas for redevelopment of vibrant Main Streets and downtown areas and featured key presentations on the New Rochelle Model and Success Story since it is undergoing one of the most successful downtown revitalization efforts in the region. The most recent summit, held in Fall 2008 in Middletown, concentrated on strategies for retail attraction and retention to help further revitalize downtown areas. Topics discussed included the retail attraction process, market analysis, retail recruitment and retention strategies.

These seminars enable community leaders, economic developers, government officials, and business leaders to network and share ideas and best practices on how revitalizing main streets and downtown areas has a positive impact on the economic health of individual cities, and even entire regions. CPC has been closely involved with downtown renewal efforts in many towns throughout the Hudson Valley, financing both housing units and façade improvements for storefronts. CPC’s initiatives have enabled building owners to restore their historic Main Street storefronts and draw people back to the once-vibrant downtown areas.

Posted: March 16th, 2009

CPC & Partners Celebrate the Completion of Housing for Formerly Homeless Vets in the South Bronx

CPC, ENPHRONT Veteran Services, government officials, and Inner City Development joined city and state housing officials and proud new residents on March 11, 2009 to celebrate the grand opening of The Jackson Avenue Veteran Complex at a ribbon cutting ceremony. Seven newly-constructed, three-family row houses with a total of 21 units will house formerly homeless veterans in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx which has seen significant redevelopment financed by CPC and its NYC and NYS partners. An average of three to four vets will live in each unit.

“We are so proud to stand here today and help give back to those who have given so much for this country,” said Michael Lappin, CPC President & CEO. “These heroic veterans deserve a wonderful place to call home and the opportunity to start afresh -- the Jackson Avenue Veteran Complex will allow them to do just that.”

CPC provided permanent financing of $4 million which will be sold to the New York City Pension Funds including The New York City Employees’ Retirement System, The New York City Police Pension Fund, and The Teachers' Retirement System of the City of New York. The pension funds have participated in hundreds of deals with CPC over the past 30 years. SONYMA has provided mortgage insurance for all of these loans, which is critical to the New York City Pension Fund Program.

The developers, Inner City Development, worked with the Veterans Affairs (VA) and ENPHRONT Veteran Services, a leading housing and social service organization for homeless veterans and their families, to construct the seven three-family row houses, containing two- and three-bedroom units. Rents range from $650 for a one-occupancy bedroom with a private bath to $530 for a shared-occupancy bedroom with a communal bath.

In addition to the housing, residents will be provided with a variety of social and educational services including job training and placement courses, HRA and legal assistance, educational assistance and referral program with La Guardia and Bronx Community College, financial responsibility and budgeting programs, individual counseling with caseworkers as well as access to a wellness center and computer resources room. Each building also has ground floor communal space where educational, medical and recreational services will be administered.

The Department of Veterans Affairs referred all of the veterans to ENPHRONT and Inner City Development and will provide case management with the assistance of a social worker for each veteran in residence.

1613-1631 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, one of the many properties CPC has financed along the Eastern Parkway Corridor

Posted: March 16th, 2009

CPC’s 30 Year Investment in Brooklyn’s Eastern Parkway Corridor Neighborhoods Results in Thriving Communities

CPC’s mission has always been to concentrate its investments in distressed areas that could most benefit from rehabilitation. When CPC was founded in 1974, its focus was concentrated on two neighborhoods, Washington Heights in upper Manhattan and Crown Heights, Brooklyn. After CPC opened its first Brooklyn office on the Eastern Parkway corridor in Crown Heights over 30 years ago, its initial goal was twofold --- to rescue and preserve hundreds of deteriorating large apartment buildings along the Parkway and its surrounding areas, and to learn how to work closely with and meet the needs of the local community.

The diversity of communities surrounding Eastern Parkway, particularly in Crown Heights, has evolved significantly over the years starting with the arrival of immigrants from Jamaica in the 1930s. During the '40s, '50s and '60s, many middle class Jewish families moved to the area, bringing about the construction of several large synagogues along Eastern Parkway. In the seventies, African American families from the South moved to Crown Heights, Haitians arrived in the nineties, and Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe also settled in this area. Currently, Crown Heights is headquarters of the Lubavitch Hasidic Jewish sect, whose main synagogue is on Eastern Parkway.

In the 1970s, New York City was in the midst of a long period of severe financial decline due to inflation, the energy crisis, and rising operating expenses. Hundreds of buildings within the neighborhoods intersected by the Eastern Parkway became vacant due to countless families fleeing to the suburbs. As a result, there was an excess of housing inventory, schools declined, and quality of life deteriorated dramatically in this area as well as other Brooklyn neighborhoods. Several neighborhoods along the Eastern Parkway corridor experienced a wave of arson, started by the vacant buildings’ own landlords, who sought to benefit from the insurance proceeds.

In 1975, CPC closed its second company-wide loan in Crown Heights. CPC was a major player in former Mayor Edward Koch’s 10-year plan to develop low- to middle-income housing in New York City’s deteriorating areas, which included the Eastern Parkway corridor. CPC worked with the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) and financed the purchase of buildings through HPD’s Vacant Buildings Program, which allowed qualified developers to rehabilitate buildings on the verge of being demolished. CPC joined with City and State agencies to increase the supply of affordable housing and continue the revitalization of Crown Heights and its surrounding neighborhoods. Since the 1970s, CPC has partnered with HPD to finance approximately 90% of the sites in HPD’s Vacant Building RFP program.

The riots sparked by racial tensions in 1991 did not deter CPC’s commitment to focus its lending in this area but they did make CPC more sensitive to the enormous tensions within this neighborhood. Community leaders joined together quickly after the riots and their efforts to keep this neighborhood from becoming further destabilized proved to be successful.
CPC’s success along the Eastern Parkway corridor has been astounding. During the past three decades, CPC has financed more than $400 million in over 250 projects which encompass more than 8,000 housing units along Eastern Parkway and the surrounding area, including rental and for sale properties. Buildings, once vacant and abandoned, have been renovated into quality, affordable housing for Brooklyn families.

An explosion of private investment also occurred as this area recovered. The revitalization in this area generated interest from private investors who were able to build without subsidy, allowing for scores of ground floor commercial spaces in the newly renovated buildings and nearby to open. The rehabilitated buildings inspired additional developers to build new market-rate developments and an influx of new families and businesses.

Today, the communities surrounding the Eastern Parkway corridor contain some of the most vibrant and culturally diverse neighborhoods in all of New York City, including African American, Hasidic, West Indian and Hispanic residents. CPC’s investment in this neighborhood has laid the groundwork for the renaissance taking place in Crown Heights, Brownsville, and Prospect Heights, signified by the feasibility of unsubsidized development and the resurgence of Brooklyn’s great cultural institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens and the Brooklyn Library.