Information provided to residents in the meeting was consistent with that reported in the lead story of the September 25 WIRE. That report is available on-line at nyc10044.com/wire/2502/eastwood.html , and an unabridged transcript of the September 29 meeting is on line at nyc10044.com/wire /2503/ewd-tran.html.

These highlights of the September 29 meeting are drawn from the transcript. Both questions and answers are greatly condensed.

From the opening statement by Aaron Silberman, President of Roosevelt Island Housing Management (RIHMC):

"Roosevelt Houses, Inc., provided a Notice of Intent to the [State] Division of Housing whereby they indicated that they'd be paying off the original mortgage, which was provided by UDC, and terminating the HUD Section 236 [subsidy] contract on or about September 6 of 2005, that a conversion would occur... At the same time we [are asking] HUD... to provide a different, new subsidy called Section 8 enhanced vouchers. We estimate, based upon the income information that we have, that there are approximately 870 residents [who] appear to be eligible for the Section 8 enhanced vouchers, and another 130 that do not appear to be eligible... The Section 8 enhanced voucher is a pretty similar calculation that we are accustomed to... whereby [tenants pay] the greater of 30% of residents' adjusted gross income, or the current rent. In most cases, for residents that find themselves on all subsidy programs, your rent payment should be the same rent payment that you are currently paying... should be. For the other 130 residents, the landlord is developing a landlord assistance plan whereby the landlord will determine rent increases, which will somewhat resemble rent stabilization type of increases. The important point of that part for the 130, and the whole objective of this plan, is that not one family finds itself displaced from Eastwood as a result of this initial conversion, by virtue of the affordability. The biggest fear, at least for the 130, is, "What happens? Is my rent going to double or something's going to happen, I'm not going to be able to afford it?" So that's why, right in the beginning, I'm mentioning the plan for the 130, because we don't want people to be concerned that they're going to have to move or search for additional housing. Far from it, because the objective of the plan is to refinance the mortgage and to be able to put in millions of dollars into Eastwood to fix up the building itself, as well as the apartments themselves, and to rejuvenate the complex just like what we remember back in 1976. That is the goal. The Island itself, needless to say, is undergoing change. Eastwood residents and Eastwood do not want to sit idly on the side; we wish to lead, and lead by example.

"The plan itself that has been developed should provide the opportunities of maintaining the affordability for the residents of Eastwood who are here, fix up the place, and to greatly improve the quality of life."

"We currently have a [Section] 236 rent supplement contract. These do not go on forever. They actually expire in approximately nine years. And currently, if they were to expire, as things would be right now, then the subsidies would disappear, the subsidies may disappear, and the rents would have to increase astronomically. We do not know how many residents would find themselves displaced. It's important that we understand that, because life as we have it, even under the status quo, will change, and may negatively impact a substantial population within Eastwood.

"[This is the beginning of a year-long process, and] there will be many other meetings."

Q&A

Joan Blumberg (resident): "What happens if, once you start, you turn around and say, 'Oh, we're not making the kind of money we thought we were going to make? What will be the guarantee to residents? ... Please take away my cynicism."

Silberman: "We will be working closely with the Eastwood Building Committee to be sure that issues such as the one you have mentioned find themselves in writing."

Joyce Mincheff (resident): "I'm concerned about the 'comps' (rental rates for comparable buildings). I'd like to [know] how many years it would take for a person paying fair-market to be brought up to a comp that's an equivalent to Manhattan Park, which is a luxury doorman building."

Silberman: "Manhattan Park alone is not the rent comp. Companies take various properties and make adjustments when they do the comparisons, such as amenities, square footage..."

Mincheff: "I'm sure that all of us would like to see plans that would make [us] owners. I'm wondering whether [that] might be incorporated into your plan."

Silberman: "When we look at the tenancy income, we find that approximately 870, and maybe even above 870, [are] residents who don't have a great deal of income. It would not be consistent that these 870 would have the income to buy... Even on the 130 [not eligible for subsidies], you will find that although [they] may be above the income limits, it doesn't demonstrate the ability to purchase an apartment... It would not appear reasonable or likely based on what we have at this point in time."

Judith Berdy (former Eastwood resident): "When the people on Section 8 vouchers leave, who will get those apartments? Will they go to low or middle income people the way they do currently, or go on the open market?"

Silberman: "They will then go on the market for any external individual to come on, and they will not be subject to any type of limitations. It'll be a fair-market apartment."

Berdy: "So if someone leaves with their voucher, you won't rent that apartment to a voucher person."

Silberman: "I didn't say that. I only said that the rent itself will be fair market."

Berdy: "I'll just give you a ten-second observation. This is a disgrace. I know everyone is entitled to make a little more money, fix up their properties, [but] this is a City that is struggling. I mean, neighborhoods that you would never think of living in are becoming luxury. Roosevelt Island, the ideal community, built by the State for middle-income people, is giving up the best example of decent middle-income housing. It is really sad that you are doing this, and everyone is just going to be, 'OK, you guys are safe, but the hell with the rest of the poor people in the world.'"

Byron Gaspard (resident, Co-chair of the Eastwood Building Committee): "There's a bigger picture here. We're trying to keep affordable housing here on Roosevelt Island. With apartments becoming fair-market, it's just a matter of time before we don't have any affordable housing here. I think that you need to rethink the vacancy decontrol... You have [people] on the list already who applied for apartment[s] because these were affordable. Now that door is being closed. I don't think that's fair, and I don't think it's fair to the people here who have family members or friends who have gotten on the list to live in Eastwood, to have that taken from them. So I would urge you to maintain affordable housing here on Roosevelt Island. Rethink that plan, because I think that the plan we have now is not acceptable.

Maria Rocca (resident): "I have a question about income parameters. Who's eligible for the enhanced vouchers?"

Silberman: "It's based on the number of persons in the household. For one person the maximum income limit would be $41,750; for a two-person household, it would be $47,750; for a three-person household, it would be $53,700; a four-person household, it would be $59,750; for a five-person household, it would be $64,450; for a six-person household, it would be $69,200; for a seven-person household it would be $74,000; and for an eight-person household, it would be $78,750. So to the extent that the household's adjusted gross income is less than those amounts, then it would appear that the resident would qualify."

Susan Spedaloe: "If, God help us, George Bush is re-elected as President of the United States - and there's a possibility that Section 8 is not continued - what happens with this plan?"

Doryne Isley, General Manager, RIHMC: "Consistently, since the Housing Act of 1934, there has always been one protection or one program or another, and it seems like when the government phases out one program or puts a term limit on a particular program, there seems to be another program then to take its place, as in this case. I don't see... Maybe the enhanced voucher program will go out, but I feel reasonably sure that there will be another program to replace it as there is a program to replace the 236 program."

Chris Ingram (HUD): "There have been proposals by HUD administration to change some aspects of the program, but in no sense or no scenario have there been proposals to eliminate the Section 8 voucher program. There are approximately 100,000 families in New York City with voucher assistance, which is a significant number. There are about two million nationwide with Section 8 assistance. It has been in existence over 30 years. It is considered one of the more successful housing programs in existence. Nobody here has a crystal ball, and the voucher program is subject to appropriations through Congress, and it has been in the news a lot, but given all that, there have been no proposals to eliminate the program. The funding has been growing, and I don't see that as a fear that people should have."

Darlene Florenz: "Are we going to receive the same type of security that the other buildings on the Island receive?"

Silberman: "There are many issues that will be discussed with many individuals, one group being the Eastwood Building Committee, and that would be one item that will be addressed. Here we are two weeks into the beginning of a process and there [are] issues that have been raised here and this is on the list of issues. When we go through the list and we discuss, [there will be] some things we will be able to do, and some things will not be able to be done. What will happen is there will be a sharing of information and ideas prior to conclusions being made."

Laura Gillespie (resident): "I was mugged on the seventh floor of Eastwood, in 546. We need security cameras in every hallway - especially on the walk-through ones. They could watch, downstairs, and see if these toughs were doing anything... Some are doing drug deals, some are kids running through the halls, some are kids writing on the walls... I'm told there are people having sex in the halls sometimes."

Silberman: "You need an individual to watch cameras, and there are only a certain number of security cameras one can watch. Security cameras will be one issue [in] the list of items that we will be working on with the Eastwood Building Committee."

Gaspard: "My concern is that the downsizing efforts are fairly administered across the board. Anyone that is living in an apartment that is too large for them should be contacted, and not just some people, [which is] the way it seems to be now."

Isley: "We cannot work with everyone at one time, nor do we have enough apartments for everyone to relocate at one time. We prioritized our action plan and we started first with our subsidized units. What we do is we attempt to move people within the building as the apartments become available. As we move forward, as we accelerate our program, we will not always be able to do that, but we are trying to apply as much common sense as we can. We realize that these are your homes; many of you have been in these apartments for many years, we understand your attachment, but we ask you to please bear with us as we try to make the housing on this Island fair to everyone."

Mercedes Lugo (resident): "What about the Senior Center and the disabled? Are those apartments going to go fair-market? Are we going to continue having the Senior Center... the Senior building?"