By JOE LoTEMPLIO
Staff Writer
April 13, 2008 10:23 am
—
Plattsburgh Housing Authority oversees a vast realm in the City of Plattsburgh.
It owns more than $22 million in property, with 600 families living in buildings spread across the city.
In many larger cities, federal housing units are known as "the projects" and have a nasty reputation as a haven for drugs, crime and other wanton behavior.
It is said that if you can make it out of the projects, you've done well for yourself.
But the Plattsburgh Housing Authority projects are hardly the gutter of the national stereotype.
In fact, some people live there for years and love it.
"I'd say that about 95 percent of the people living here are truly making a go of it," Plattsburgh Housing Authority Executive Director Patricia Lucia said.
CREATED IN 1951
The Housing Authority was created in Plattsburgh on March 20, 1951 -- the 18th such program in the state at the time.
The federal program was designed to provide affordable and safe living conditions for people with lower incomes.
Over the years, Plattsburgh Housing Authority grew to include John Collins Park, Lakeview Towers, Robert Long Apartments, Russell Barnard Apartments and units on McGaulley Avenue and Bushey Boulevard.
Some of the buildings are exclusively for senior citizens; the rest are family housing.
Tenants are chosen based on their income levels. A single person can make up to $32,850 per year and be eligible.
People can rent one-, two-, three- or even four- and five-bedroom apartments.
Rents are based on a percentage of a person's income, and they also get a utility allowance.
The Housing Authority prefers Clinton County residents, but anyone can apply as long they haven't ever been arrested for drugs.
"We have zero tolerance for drugs," Lucia said.
But families who live in Housing Authority projects have, for years, faced a kind of community stigma.
HUNDREDS LIVE THERE
Plattsburgh Housing Authority serves about 600 families, with rent payments of about $1.7 million per year.
The rental income goes into the authority's $4.2 million budget, which is also bolstered by federal operating grants of about $1.7 million and federal capital grants of about $771,000.
"We do bring money into the community," Lucia said.
She runs the day-to-day operations, and a Board of Directors made up of seven community members sets policy.
The total assessment for Housing Authority property is about $22,424,000.
The Housing Authority does not get a free ride from the City of Plattsburgh. It gives the city a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes of about $121,000 per year.
The authority also pays half of the salary and benefits of City Police Officer Charles D. Scott, who serves as the community police officer exclusively assigned to the housing units.
WAITING LISTS
Every unit in the Plattsburgh program is full, and there's a waiting list to get in.
How long you wait depends on what size unit you want. In non-senior housing, for a one-bedroom apartment, there's a waiting list of 92 people; for a two-bedroom, 37; three-bedroom, 22; four-bedroom, five people; and five-bedroom, just one.
For senior housing, 159 people are waiting for a one-bedroom apartment. Two-bedroom units are available.
Lucia said that with rents based on income, many Housing Authority tenants decide to purchase a home or move to a different location once they reach the higher rent scale. But some wish to remain when they compare rents on the open market.
It used to be that once tenants climbed over the income levels that made them eligible for subsidized housing, they had to leave.
But the rules were changed by the federal government in order to ensure a more diverse group of tenants.
"They wanted to encourage mixed incomes in the developments," Lucia said. "And it was better rental income."
jlotemplio@pressrepublican.com
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