People have heard the saying, “one person can make a difference,” so often that it has become dramatically cliché. Could one person rehabilitate and rebuild multiple houses in a neighborhood traditionally neglected and overlooked? Probably not. Could two people morph a decrepit neighborhood block into a revitalized and resolute area? Who knows?
Three employees work for the Heart of the City Neighborhoods Inc. -- an executive director, a housing development specialist and an accountant.
HOCN is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving Buffalo’s lower West Side by attracting affordable housing and providing assistance for both current residents and those looking to move into the area, according to http://www.hocn.org.
“Our organization is guided by a concept of stewardship,” said Stephanie Simeon, HOCN’s executive director. “We understand that our decisions today will have a lasting impact on tomorrow, so each decision must be carefully considered.”
HOCN is a state-funded nonprofit organization. The organization receives its operating funding from Albany and its rehabilitation funding from the city of Buffalo.
Much of what HOCN has accomplished is, more often than not, in spite of consistent difficulties. Most difficult is property acquisition. Simeon said that the city’s lack of marketing and “product promotion” renders many housing organizations impotent. Moreover, it takes nearly three years for a foreclosed house to become available to buyers. This time lag creates an unnecessary maintenance backlog on an already devalued property.
An example of what HOCN does can be found in the “Plymouth Avenue Reclamation Project.”
For the project, HOCN purchased and rehabilitated two dilapidated houses on Plymouth Avenue. Simeon said the area was chosen because it was on the “tipping-point.” Realtors would not list in the area, property values were plummeting and many residents were beginning to leave.
The project took more than five years.
Simeon said once the neighbors saw a commitment and investment being made, the entire neighborhood changed - as she said, “it helped stabilize a community.”
“A $300,000 investment is all it took to turn an entire street around,” said D. Darlie Al-Haqq, HOCN’s housing development specialist. “Now people want to be on this street. You don’t find that much around here.”
HOCN’s newest efforts have been influenced by current trends. The organization has been gradually streaming its energy into becoming “rehab-green” -- rehabilitating a house using green technology.
Because the lower West Side is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city of Buffalo -- many houses were built in the 1840s -- applying a new technology to an old standard is difficult and costly.
HOCN is countering this by using a piece-by-piece approach. From building a roof with reused tires to geo-thermal heating, the organization is exploring the affordability and efficiency of certain green technologies.
Schenectady, NY, has become their model. Schenectady’s award-wining green-rehabs have been touted as “some of the most cost-effective and influential green works in the state of New York.” (http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2008/aug/10/0810_bystryn)
“This neighborhood (lower West Side) has a high rate of asthma and poor-air quality,” Simeon said. “So we want to make sure that when we provide green housing, it is clean, safe and affordable.”
HOCN is an organization that takes pride in building “strategic alliances.” According to HOCN’s Web site, “strategic alliances” are collaborations with other lower West Side housing agencies and nonprofit organizations. Simeon said that if another organization is better equipped for a particular service, the collaboration of strategic alliances affords the community an interchangeable benefit. For example, if an organization’s home-owner’s counseling department is highly-regarded, HOCN will recommend that organization to the prospective buyer.
Simeon said keeping the lines of communication open with other organizations is critical because the work benefits the community. HOCN relies heavily on collaboration. The organization contracts out the physical construction and the construction monitoring of a house under rehabilitation. Additionally, HOCN regularly collaborates with Kleinhans Community Association and Brush Up Buffalo.
“We have a duty to our community,” Simeon said.
Someday, someone will rehabilitate and rebuild multiple houses. Someday, someone will morph decrepit neighborhood blocks into revitalized vigorous areas.
Maybe not one or two, but three people do make a difference.
Someday is now.