Emily F. Keller: Journalist

Finkelstein: Sammamish Must Diversify Revenue

    Stan Finkelstein, executive director of the nonprofit Association of Washington Cities, gave a dire warning to the Sammamish City Council last week. He said the city must diversify its revenue sources and prepare for state and national funding reductions to maintain financial viability over the long term.

    Finkelstein told the City Council that Sammamish has benefited despite the economic downturn by setting aside capital funds, a luxury he said few cities enjoy. The city has also benefited from having a relatively high median income, which was $101,592 – almost twice that of similar cities – when the last U.S. Census was conducted in 2000. The closest contender was Redmond, which had a median income of $66,735.

    But Finkelstein warned that increases in the federal debt and health care costs will lead to reductions in entitlement programs and funding for services like higher education. He also said Sammamish is likely to face a rise in contract expenses and in the cost of delivering services, and it will need to diversify its revenue sources as new construction slows.

    Published in the Sammamish Review. Read the story.

Council Approves Town Center

   

    The future of Sammamish will have a public park topping off a “Green Spine”, a central business district with offices on the east side of 228th Avenue and stores on the west, and green building and low-impact storm water development techniques scattered throughout. It will provide housing for up to 5,000 new residents.

    The City Council approved a 243-acre development plan for the city’s center at its June 9 meeting, capping off years of discussion.

    Pictured: 228th and 8th avenues, where development could take place.

    Published in the Sammamish Review. Read the feature story.

A Tug-of-War at Habitat for Humanity

    Two years into the job, Habitat for Humanity International Chief Executive Jonathan T.M. Reckford is priming the homebuilding charity for a growth spurt. For more than three decades, Habitat has relied on a sparse, three-page document to outline its relationship with affiliates. But now it's putting the final touches on a 26-page agreement that Reckford says will protect the Habitat brand, create uniform standards and consistency among affiliates, and assure financial accountability to donors.

    The document, expected to be released in final form next month, marks Habitat's first move toward formalizing its relationship with more than 1,600 domestic affiliates. But it has led some in the Habitat community to grumble that Reckford—a former Walt Disney, Circuit City Stores and Best Buy executive—could be constructing far more bureaucracy than homes in his quest to sharpen and expand the organization, which has become a marquee partner of corporate social-responsibility programs. In its 31 years, the nonprofit Christian organization has built more than 225,000 homes in 100 countries.

    Published at BusinessWeek.com. Read the story.

A Closer Look at Foreclosures in New York

     Jim Buckley (pictured), executive director of the University Neighborhood Housing Program, has been working to help families in the Bronx avoid foreclosure since 1989.  Buckley said there has been an escalation in foreclosures on private homes in parts of the Bronx over the last four years, with a spike in the last two-and-a-half years.  He also said there has been an increase in auction sales following notices warning homeowners they are at risk of foreclosure – called Lis Pendens – leading many homeowners to sell at below market value. 

    To help homeowners avoid foreclosure, Buckley organized an informational meeting with bank and non-profit representatives in May 2007 to educate two-dozen attendees about how to deal with financial hardships and keep their homes.  He advised homeowners to contact their bank or lender to discuss their difficulty rather than failing to make payments, or to contact non-profits like his for advice. Buckley spoke on camera before the meeting, as cameras were not allowed inside.

Click here to watch the video in Quicktime, which has a higher picure quality and takes longer to load.

Tenants of Tivoli Towers Safe At Home Until 2024

    The State Supreme Court in Manhattan has ruled that the landlord of the 320-unit Tivoli Towers housing development in Crown Heights must maintain the development's Mitchell-Lama status through 2024. Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the story.

Disappearing Businesses Leave Many Tenants In the Lurch

    Residents of Walt Whitman and Raymond V. Ingersoll Houses are bracing for long walks through the snow this winter following a developer's shutdown of their neighborhood supermarket, ninety-nine-cent store, laundry and cleaning services. The business are being demolished to make way for a new development project on Myrtle Avenue from Flatbush Avenue Extension to Ashland Place, where the only remaining business is a Duane Reade drug store.

    Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the story. Read about the supermarket shutdown here.

Myrtle Associated Supermarket Closes Up Shop

    The ice cream and beer sold out first and the carrots and celery were among the last to go during a 50 percent off sale at an Associated Supermarket in Fort Greene that ended August 27 with the store's closure. The shutdown is part of a developer's afford to clear a strip of businesses on Myrtle Avenue to make way for a new development.

    Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the story.

    Read more about the development's impact on the neighborhood here.

Underground Railroad Came Through Here, Duffield Street Advocates Say

    Joy Chatel (right) and other property owners on Duffield Street are asking the city to cancel plans to demolish their homes for a development, saying the buildings were part of the Underground Railroad that African American slaves traversed to freedom.

    The homes could be seized by eminent domain and turned into an underground parking lot and public open space as part of the Downtown Brooklyn redevelopment plan. City Council Members Letitia James (above) and Charles Barron have joined the preservationists fight, along with the activist organization Families United for Racial and Economic Equality (FUREE).

    Chatel says sub-basement structures, described in a press release as “several unexplainable architectural abnormalities in the sub-basements” prove that her building, which is between Willoughby and Fulton streets, was part of the Underground Railroad.

    Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the story. Read a related story.

Atlantic Yards Opponents Say They Were Shut Out of Club's Vote

    Opponents to Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards development project were disqualified from participating in a political endorsement vote of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats for joining the organization at the last minute. Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the story.

Duffield Advocates Stick to Underground Railroad Claim

    Brooklyn residents who believe their Duffield Street basements were once part of the Underground Railroad, which African-American slaves traversed to freedom before the Civil War, are asking the city to take another look at their claims. Published in Courier-Life Publications. Read the story.

    View a related story with photos.