[The material referred to by Hon. Herman Badillo follows:] [From the City Record, Jan. 6, 1976] THE NEW YORK CITY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN General Locations of Lower Income Housing A. Identify General Locations on Map in this Application. B. Explanation of Selection of General Locations. Included in the application are maps of the City's rehabilitation pipeline and of publicly-aided new construction projects for low and moderate income households. The text of the Housing Assistance Plan indicates the City's priorities for low and moderate income housing. Section 8 assistance for new construction and substantial rehabilitation will be used for projects under construction or recently completed. Section 8 existing housing assistance will be concentrated in transitional and deteriorated areas, as indicated in the code violations and vacant buildings maps. CD programs will also be largely concentrated in these areas. Assurances (HUD 7015–12) (INSTRUCTIONS: The applicant must provide assurances and or certify to all of the following items: The only exception is item 10 for which the applicant must certify as to either (a) or (b), or to both.) The applicant hereby assures and certifies that he has complied with the regulations, policies, guidelines and requirements of OMB Circular No. A-95, and that he will comply with the regulations, policies, guidelines and requirements of Federal Management Circulars 74-4 and 74-7, as they relate to the application, acceptance and use of Federal funds for this federally-assisted program. Also, the applicant gives assurance and certifies with respect to the grant that: 1. It possesses legal authority to apply for the grant, and to execute the proposed program; that a resolution, motion or similar action has been duly adopted or passed as an official act of the applicant's governing body, authorizing the filing of the application, including all understandings and assurances contained therein, and directing and designating the applicant's chief executive officer as the authorized representative of the applicant to act in connection with the aplication and to provide such additional information as may be required. 2. It will comply with: (a) Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (P.L. 88-352) and in accordance with Title VI of that Act, no person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity for which the Applicant receives Federal financial assistance and will immediately take any measures necessary to effectuate this agreement. If any real property or structure thereon is provided or improved with the aid of Federal financial assistance extended to the Applicant, this assurance shall obligate the Applicant, or in the case of any transfer of such property, any transferee, for the period during which the real property or structure is used for a purpose for which the Federal financial assistance is extended or for another purpose involving the provision of similar services or benefits. (b) Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (P.L. 90-284) as amended, and will administer all programs and activities relating to housing and community development in a manner to affirmatively further fair housing. (c) Section 109 of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 and in conformance with all requirements imposed by or pursuant to the Regulations of the Department (24 CFR Part 570.601) issued pursuant to that Section, and in accordance with that Section, no person in the United States shal, on the ground of race, color, national origin or sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under, any program or activity funded in whole or in part with the community development funds. (d) Executive Order 11063 on equal opportunity in housing. (e) Section 3 of the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, as amended, requiring that to the greatest extent feasible opportunities for training and employment be given lower income residents of the project area and contrats for work in connection with the project be awarded to eligible business concerns which are located in, or owned in substantial part by, persons residing in the area of the project. 3. Prior to the submission of its application, the applicant has: (a) Provided citizens with adequate information concerning the amount of funds available for proposed community development and housing activities, the range of activities that may be undertaken, and other important program requirements; (b) Held at least two public hearings otobtain the views of citizens on community development and housing needs; and (c) Provided citizens an adequate opportunity to participate in the development of the appliaction and in the development of any revisions, changes or amendments. 4. The applicant will: (a) Provide fair and reasonable relocation payments and assistance in accordance with Section 202, 203, and 204 of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act (P.L. 91-646) and applicable HUD regulations, to or for families, individuals, partnerships, corporations or associations displaced as a result of any acquisitions of real property for an activity assisted under the program; (b) Provide relocation assistance programs offering the services described in Section 205 of P.L. 91-646 to such displaced families, individuals, partnerships, corporations or associations in the manner provided under applicable HUD regulations; (c) Assure that, within a reasonable time prior to displacement, decent, safe, and sanitary replacement dwellings will be available to such displaced families and individuals in accordance with Section 205 (c)(3) of P.L. 91-646; (d) Inform affected persons of the benefits, policies, and procedures provided for under HUD regulations; and (e) Carry out the relocation process in such a manner as to provide displaced persons with uniform and consistent services, and assure that replacement housing will be available in the same range of choices with respect to such housing to all displaced persons regardless of race, color, religion, or national origin. 5. The applicant will: (a) In acquiring real property in connection with the community development block grant program, be guided to the extent permitted under State law, by the real property acquisition policies set out under Section 301 of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act and the provisions of Section 302 thereof; (b) Pay or reimburse owners for necessary expenses as specified in Sections 303 and 304 of the Act; and (c) Inform affected persons of the benefits, policies, and procedures provided for under HUD regulations. 6. It will give HUD and the Comptroller General through any authorized representative access to and the right to examine all records, books, papers, or documents related to the grant. 7. The applicant will comply with the provisions of the Hatch Act which limit the political activity of employees. 8. It will comply with the provisions of Executive Order 11296, relating to evaluation of flood hazards. 9. The applicant's certifying officer: (a) Consents to assume the status of a responsible Federal official under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 insofar as the provisions of such act apply pursuant to this Part; and (b) Is authorized and consents on behalf of the applicant and himself to accept the jurisdiction of the Federal courts for the purpose of enforcement of his responsibilities as such an official. 10. The Community Development Program: (a) Gives maximum feasible priority to activities which will benefit lowor moderate-income families or aid in the prevention or elimination of slums or blight; (b) Contains activities designed to meet other community development needs having a particular urgency which are specifically identified and described in the applicant's community development plan summary and community development program. 11. It will establish safeguards to prohibit employees from using positions for a purpose that is or gives the appearance of being motivated by a desire for private gain for themselves or others, particularly those with whom they have family, business, or other ties. 12. It will comply with all requirements imposed by HUD concerning special requirements of law, program requirements, and other administrative requirements approved in accordance with Federal Management Circular 74–7. Legal Certification.-As counsel for the applicant and an attorney-at-law admitted to practice in the State in which the applicant is located, I certify that the facts and representations contained in Assurance No. 1 above are true in accordance with State and local law. (Signature of Applicant's Counsel) Part I: Community Development Plan INTRODUCTION As the second CD year begins the City and its residents face serious economic and social problems. Two successive recessions have resulted in business decline and job losses, reducing economic opportunities and the City's tax base. These conditions, combined with inexorably rising prices, have led to straitened circumstances for many New Yorkers. And the natural aging of our physical environment continues, exacerbated by unprecedented increases in the cost of maintaining housing and the urban infrastructure. In recent years, the City relied primarily on borrowed money to meet basic long term needs. State and Federal legislation and the reluctance of private investors currently restrict our ability to borrow against the prospect of a brighter economy and a commitment by the Federal government to meet its own social goals. Now, with only limited resources at the City's command, maintaining the status quo becomes an optimistic objective and adequately addressing severe problems of poverty, decay, and social deprivation becomes a quixotic deal. This, then, is the backdrop for the CD-2 Plan. The $102 million block grant is by itself inadequate to deal with the city's housing and community development problems. Yet the HCD Act requires the City to analyze community development needs, state long and short term objectives for meeting these needs, and propose a strategy for achieving the objectives. In order to make the CD-2 Plan a realistic statement of City policy and not a pie-in-thesky pronouncement, it is based on the following guidelines: Needs. The gap between the city's community development needs and available resources is so enormous that spelling out needs in detail might lead more to frustration than clarity. While it is useful to articulate the scope of the city's problems the statement concentrates on immeditae needs to be addressed by limited available resources. Long term objectives.-Long term objectives articulate goals achievable once adequate resources are available. Short term objectives.-Short term objectives focus on immediate steps necessary to tide the City over until adequate resources are available. Strategies. The mechanisms proposed for meeting short term objectives are set forth in this section. STATEMENT OF NEEDS Given the broad range of needs facing the City and the limited resources available, the following statement deals only with the most immediate community development needs. It is the City's priority to address the unique needs of low income and handicapped persons and to address the housing and related neighborhood needs of low and moderate income households. Low-income Households In 1969, according ot the last csensus, 1,165,000 people, or 15 percent of the city's population, were living in poverty. With the deterioration of the city's economy since then, this figure is probably substantially higher now. The city's low income population is concentrated in the Model Cities area and in the poverty areas designated by the Council Against Poverty. These areas are the city's most physically deteriorated and exhibit particularly pressing social needs. For example, rates of fire, disease, infant mortality, crime, juvenile delinquency, drug-related deaths and high school drop-outs are consistently and substantially higher in the poverty areas. The basic need, however, is economic, and points to a vicious cycle that only concentrated and extensive government attention can address. Poverty area residents, almost by definition, are not able to generate the personal income that in other neighborhoods pays for life's necessities. And existing conditions in the poverty areas hinder all attempts to achieve economic self-sufficiency. The government response, accordingly, must be essentially two-fold: to generate employment, and to provide services and physical improvements that can sustain basic living standards in these areas. Housing Despite attempts to upgrade housing, the grim conditions documented in the first year Community Development Plan have not improved. The city is continuing to lose housing at a much faster rate than it can construct new units. Meanwhile, disinvestment in housing is unabated. New York City has, according to the Sanborn survey, some 6,600 vacant buildings. Vacant residential buildings are blighting, hazardous and subject to rapid deterioration. In 1973 the 6,243 fires in vacant buildings were mainly in residential structures. Vandalism in vacant buildings is commonplace, yet undocumented. Without proper treatment vacant buildings become vacant lots, rubble-strewn and vermin-ridden. Close to 5,000 buildings with more than 20,000 dwelling units are currently in City ownership or receivership due to non-payment of taxes or owner neglect. In addition, 3,800 one-to-four family homes are vacant, foreclosed by FHA. FHA foreclosures continue at a rate of 50 per month. Some 5,300 residential buildings are currently considered unsafe. According to building violations records, some 70,000 multiple dwelling structures had code violations in 1974. The Housing Litigation Bureau received referrals of nearly 2,800 buildings between November 1973 and September 1975 for maintenance-related service. Since 1972, the City has made more than 103,000 emergency repairs for heat, water, or system replacement, minor repair and other problems. Such indices, while limited in scope, demonstrate a need for major systems replacement and minor repair. The high level of foreclosure and receivership indicates that the private sector is having severe difficulties in meeting the City's housing needs. Extremely little private mortgage money exists for rehabilitation or new construction. And now, government financed mortgages are unavailable from the City or the State. The private market has become, by itself, an inadequate mechanism for providing decent housing for low and moderate income households. The incomes of too many households are insufficient to support rents required to pay for needed repairs and, in many cases, basic ongoing maintenance and operation. In brief, immediate housing problems are poor housing conditions combined with a scarcity of private financing and rental revenue to support necessary improvements. Economic Development The national recessions hit New York City severely, As interest rates soared and credit tightened, construction dropped almost to zero. Retail sales fell, business failures were widespread and layoffs raised the number of jobless to over 385,000. Unemployment, now at 12 percent, has placed heavy burdens on city residents and higher living costs have exacerbated the situation. For example, despite wage increases, the "real" earnings of manufacturing workers in the city declined 5 percent between 1969 and 1974. Compared to 1974, however, some current trends portend a brighter economic future for the city. Private sector (non-governmental) employment has remained stable since June compared to sharp declines in 1974 and early 1975. Despite positive signals, though, actual recovery in New York City is likely to be slower than in the nation. The economic situation affects everyone-not just the unlucky jobless. Fewer jobs mean reduced purchasing power for local residents. The resulting erosion of the city's shopping districts fosters the decline of a basic ingredient of a healthy community-a vital convenient shopping area. To reverse these trends a share of community development funds must be targeted to projects which strengthen the city's economic base. By providing the stimulus to create job and increase purchasing power, economic development projects are a critical factor in the preservation of viable communities. Neighborhood Improvements Sewers. In many areas the age and condition of the sewer infrastructure post critical threats to public health and safety. In newly developed areas of Queens and Staten Island, sewers were never built or cannot accommodate the development that has taken place. Sewer backups, ponding and flooding have been increasing particularly in Queens. In outlying areas, sewage overflow and cesspool problems are regular occurrences. In some older sections of the city portions of sewers have collapsed and other sewers of poor structure are near collapse. Streets-New York City has an enormous backlog of needed street improvements. The surfaces are old and generally in poor condition. Of the 6,000 miles of mapped streets, 3,500 have permanent paving. One thousand miles have only temporary paving and 1,500 are not paved at all. Rapid deterioration results from heavy traffic, repeated underground utility work, and heavy use of salt in winter. Insufficient resources to keep up with required street repaving and reconstruction further exacerbate the problem. Parks. As in all other municipal services, there has been a decrease in staff to maintain park and recreation facilities over the last few years, just at a time when economic conditions have limited alternative recreational opportunities for the city's residents. Fewer than 3700 workers must maintain some 1100 park facilities which cover more than 24,000 acres. Heavy use and abuse of park accessible to New York's high density areas have accelerated a decline in condition. In an attempt to reverse the deterioration of the parks— which impoverishes rich and poor alike—the New York City Parks Department is giving priority to park rehabilitation in its current and projected budgets. Needs of the physically handicapped The problems of the handicapped have only recently been publicly documented. The 1970 census tallied 948,000 persons over 65 years of age and 466,000 disabled and handicapped persons between the ages of 26 and 64. In addition, there are currently close to 31,000 handicapped school age children. Median income for the totally disabled is $3,923, about half the median income for others; disabled families have a disproportionately high incidence of poverty. LONG TERM OBJECTIVES The long terms objectives for CD-2 are components of the City's overall goals for the future. These goals constitute a framework and the broad context for physical and social efforts. The long term objectives cannot be met by Community Development funds alone. Their achievement depends on the recovery of the city's economy. The long term objectives are as follows: 1. To increase personal economic opportunity and the City's tax base by promoting industrial expansion and job development, and by offering programs to make low and moderate income residents more employable Economic opportunity for low and moderate income persons can help to serve the City's financial needs as well as to achieve social purposes. If such programs are successful in expanding employment, revenues necessary to support an unemployed service-dependent population can be turned to other purposes. At the same time, low and moderate income persons can be assisted in supporting their own needs. 2. To reconstruct dilapidated areas Massive aid is needed to fight the symptoms and causes of major deterioration. The tools required include financing for housing construction and re |