Program makes homes more energy efficient, including new heating systems, appliances

Originally published in the Staten Island Advance
August 03, 2009
By Karen O'Shea

Federal stimulus dollars double the amount of Staten Island families eligible this year for a program that makes homes and apartments more energy efficient and reduces utility bills.

Thanks to the $4.7 billion being funneled to the Department of Energy for home weatherization, New York State will get four times the money to install new heating systems and more energy efficient appliances in low-income households.

On Staten Island, that means the nonprofit Northfield Community Local Development Corp. will get $2.6 million to weatherize 314 housing units in the borough.

Under President Barack Obama's stimulus plan, all homeowners are eligible for tax credits of 30 percent for purchasing and installing energy efficient products or solar energy systems.

But some are raising questions about how the government will be able to monitor direct spending to municipalities around the country and how the average individual will know to tap such resources on their own.

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is taking direct aim at the amount of money going to the weatherization program. Funding for the program, which is administered by the Department of Energy, jumped from to $227 million in 2008 to $4.7 billion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"That's a massive increase and it's all being funneled through the states and to the communication networks," said Leslie Paige, spokeswoman for the Washington, D.C.-based council. "How do you track this money?"

"It doesn't seem to me that there's been a huge amount of rigorous oversight of this program," she claimed.

"New York has a successful weatherization program in place and is well-equipped to handle this influx of funding," countered Emily Pethic, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), which administers the weatherization funds.

The state agency will be charged with distributing $395 million to local municipalities for weatherization. That's up from $98 million last year.

Port Richmond-based Northfield is getting double from the state what it got last year to weatherize homes for low-income families.

"It's an exciting time for sure," said Joan Catalano, Northfield's executive director. "But just like any other time of growth, you have to be up to the task."

Ms. Catalano said Northfield expects to hire more workers for their in-house weatherization team, as well as subcontractors to do additional work. She said her organization has been doing weatherization for 25 years and the program, which has a waiting list, is audited by the state.

Eligible families include those with incomes at or below 60 percent of the state median income. To qualify, for example, a family of four can't make more than $45,312 a year.

Joe Tori's 88-year-old mother, a Port Richmond resident who lives on a fixed income, recently tapped the program. Tori said Northfield replaced her heating system, an old refrigerator and replaced some doors and cracked windows. He said they also sealed and caulked all the drafts in the house.

"This is definitely a program that's worth the money," he said. "Not only does it help the elderly, but it saves energy and energy costs, and the government is screaming, 'Let's save energy.'"

The office of Rep. Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn) said the congressman is helping get the word out about incentives available under the stimulus package by including a Recovery and Reinvestment Act guidebook on his Web site. The guidebook shows government Web sites that provide funding and tax credits for various programs, including the home energy efficiency tax credits.


$46.7M in stimulus funds will free up city money for much needed improvements
Staten Island Advance, August 03, 2009

Some $46.7 million in federal stimulus funds have been directed to the Staten Island Ferry to assure the upkeep of its fleet of boats, lawmakers announced yesterday.

Nine million dollars will pay for maintenance programs, sparing possible ill effects of budget cuts down the road and ensuring the continuance 21 jobs which otherwise could have been in jeopardy, according to city Department of Transportation officials.

The stimulus funds account for more than 10 percent of an $82-million, 3-year maintenance budget that lets ferry workers to perform such preventative care as changing engine oil, readying boilers for heating during the winter and changing out pump components on schedule. Another $38 million allocated by the Transit Capital Assistance Grant funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will go toward assuring an already-funded dry-dock maintenance program will not be diminished.

By using federal stimulus funds to pay for the dry-dock project, the city freed up $38 million for other much-needed ferry infrastructure upgrades in the city, lawmakers said.

"This new funding will provide for upgrades to our ferry boats and piers so that all those who live and visit our city can travel safely," said Rep. Michael McMahon (D-Staten Island/Brooklyn), noting maintenance suffered during the 1980s fiscal crisis and with the city facing a potential $5 billion deficit next year, it could have been in jeopardy again.

"That is good news for Staten Island Ferries. There is certainty the boats will be running and there will also be safer conditions."

The decision to direct federal dollars toward maintenance of the boats comes after an awkward landing July 1 of the Sen. John J. Marchi jolted riders and caused damage to the vessel, prompting the borough's trio of councilmen to ask the Council's Transportation Committee to take a closer look at ferry service.

Before this most recent allocation, the Staten Island Ferry had already received more than $180 million in stimulus funds, including $6 million for upgrades to the retail space and $175 million for the rehabilitation of the bus ramps at the St. George terminal -- representing the largest single slice of stimulus funding in the state.

Several other city projects benefited from the redirection of the $38 million in federal transportation funds that had been previously earmarked as part of an $71.5-million program that brings Staten Island Ferry ships in the Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk, Va. for regular, dry-dock check-ups.

Access for people with disabilities will be increased at the ferry landings at East 90th Street, East 34th Street, Pier 11 (Wall Street), Brooklyn Army Terminal Pier 4, St. George Slip 7, Battery Maritime Building Slip 5, Yankee Stadium, and Pier 79 (West 39th Street).

"The city's ferry system is a vital link in our mass transit system, and the stimulus dollars will allow us to move four ferry projects forward that would have otherwise suffered due to funding shortfalls," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.