SEMINAR: Preventing Abuse of Our Elders

Dear Friends, Neighbors, Seniors, Community Workers and Educators,

You are invited to a very important Seminar that will have a huge impact on the quality of our lives. The topic is Preventing Elder Abuse and healing the underlying fears that prevent us from understanding when there is abuse and how to get help and report the abuse without fearing a backlash.

A huge antidote to this fear is INFORMATION ... if you know your rights and understand how you are being victimized, then you are empowered to assert your rights and win.

Come and learn how to protect yourself, meet other seniors who have experienced abuse and will share their stories of healing and how they survived, get information to take back to your families.

RSVP: (212) 283-7011

E-mail: harlemseniors@aol.com

Bill Named in Honor of Florence Rice

By Herb Boyd
Managing Editor, The Black World Today

Nov. 26, 2004 -- New York -- Prompted by the furor surrounding the eviction of a local senior citizen, Councilmembers Charles Barron and Latisha James have introduced a bill that addresses the unwarranted evictions of the elderly.

The bill, named in honor of veteran activist Florence Rice, whose battle with landlords sparked a recent series of rallies and demonstrations, is slated to amend the administrative code of the city of New York as it pertains to eviction of elderly tenants.

“With this bill, landlords will no longer be allowed to evict our senior citizens without recourse,” Barron told a group of supporters gathered at the steps of City Hall Tuesday afternoon. “Landlords now must go through the Housing Preservation and Development Department before any action can be taken.”

Among the bills’ stipulations are a notification requirement; provision of tenant assistance for eligible heads of households; reporting of action by the commission on human rights; and fines for anyone who violates the law. “This law is named in tribute to Florence Rice who has been unfazed by the most daunting challenges from Con-Ed and New York Telephone,” reads the proclamation given to Rice, and which will be officially conducted in early December in Council Chambers, said Paul Washington, Barron’s chief of staff.

Union leader Brenda Stokely and labor activist James Haughton were among those at the event to congratulate Rice. “Years ago, when they kicked Florence out of the garment union, she told them to drop dead,” recalled Haughton. “Legislation and bills are fine, but what we need is a revolution.”

“This is an important piece of legislation,” Stokely said, “and it comes at a time when they are disregarding working people. “I applaud the courage of the councilmembers for introducing this bill.”

Councilwoman James’ remarks occurred just as Mayor Bloomberg was entering City Hall. “Move this bill, Mr. Mayor, move this bill!” she called to him. The mayor came over and without committing himself one way or the other, offered a few words of praise for Ms. Rice.

“I am glad all of this happened to me,” Rice said, standing next to Beverly Griggsby, who has been battling so tirelessly on her behalf in court and elsewhere. “If it hadn’t happened to me we wouldn’t be standing here today. Landlords are saying they don’t need us anymore, so they can throw seniors into the streets whenever they want to. But we must join together and fight back. It’s not about money or color, it’s about education.”

There are several steps before the bill becomes law, Washington explained, but he was optimistic that it will pass and eventually provide protection for the elderly who at the moment have little recourse but to wage one-sided battles against landlords in courts where many of Rice’s supporters believe are no-win situations.

Paul Washington, chief of staff for Councilman Charles Barron (next to him), reads a Council Proclamation in tribute to Florence Rice (next to Barron) on the steps of City Hall in Manhattan. Photo by Herb Boyd

For Activist, the Battle Comes Home

By ALAN FEUER
The New York TImes

November 7, 2004 -- New York -- It is decidedly not typical behavior to enjoy a court fight with your landlord. Then again, Florence M. Rice is not a typical woman.
For the last five decades, Ms. Rice has been something of a one-woman consumer dynamo in Harlem, fighting utility companies, credit agencies, even furniture stores and banks on behalf of the poor. At 85, she still wears pins reading, ''Economic Racism.'' She is known uptown as the Ralph Nader of Harlem.

Now, Ms. Rice is fighting her own fight.
On Nov. 16, she will go on trial in the city's Housing Court, accused by her landlord, 536-540 West 158th Street L.L.C., of not paying her full rent. She, in turn, has accused the landlord of destroying her apartment, under the guise of renovating it, and forcing her out.

''I'm really glad it happened to me,'' Ms. Rice said the other day in the cafeteria of the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. State Office Building on 125th Street.

''I knew I could get support to expose this sort of problem. If it hadn't happened to me, it would have happened to someone else my age who might have ended up in a hospital or a nursing home.''

Ms. Rice's troubles have attracted the attention of elected officials and ordinary people alike. A woman who once produced the graphics for her protest signs has agreed to testify on her behalf, and politicians, like State Senator David A. Paterson and State Assemblyman Herman D. Farrell Jr., have written letters of support to the court.

''Her activism, especially in the energy department, goes way back,'' Mr. Farrell said. ''She was bringing fights against Con Ed years ago.''

''She's very tenacious,'' he added. ''When Florence came out against you, you knew you were in trouble -- no matter how big the utility or the battle.''
Ms. Rice's problems began in April when she discovered that her landlord had served her with eviction papers, claiming that, for almost three years, she had underpaid her rent by nearly $200 a month. Her legal guardian, Beverly Griggsby, said the landlord had illegally raised Ms. Rice's rent from $291 a month to $458 and, moreover, failed to inform her of the change.

Jesse Baker, a lawyer for the landlord, was on vacation and could not be reached last week. Another lawyer at the landlord's firm -- Guttman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfelt -- did not return telephone calls on Thursday and Friday.

In August, after a protracted court scuffle, the landlord agreed in a legal stipulation to repair Ms. Rice's apartment one room at a time so that she could remain while the renovations were being made. According to the stipulation, the landlord agreed to correct several housing violations in the apartment, ''starting in the kitchen and the dining room, then bathroom, then first bedroom, then hallway, then master bedroom, then living room.''

However, when the workmen arrived at Ms. Rice's apartment on Sept. 1, they immediately gutted it, Ms. Griggsby said. They stuffed Ms. Rice's belongings into plastic bags, she said, and tore down the walls so thoroughly that one could stand at the front door and look through an empty apartment at a toilet.

''When I opened the door,'' Ms. Griggsby said, ''there were no walls in the bedroom. Not only were there no walls in the bedroom, there was no bedroom. There was no closet. No sink. No bathtub. Everything was gone.''

Ms. Griggsby contends that the landlord planned to refurbish the apartment and force Ms. Rice to leave so it could be rented at a higher rate. She claims the apartment was segmented into three separate bedrooms, each with its own lock, suggesting that at least three separate tenants were planning to move in.

Ms. Griggsby acknowledged that the landlord had offered Ms. Rice another apartment in the building, but Ms. Griggsby refused to allow her to take it because it was on the fifth floor and Ms. Rice, she said, could not climb stairs.

For the last two months, Ms. Rice has been dividing her time among her family and friends, moving from place to place. She is bowed but clearly undefeated.
''They'll be sorry they ever messed with me,'' she said.

Tenants Protected in Big Bailout

Big Bailout Includes Tenant Protections

Organizers secured help for NYC renters.

By Dina Levy and The Partnership to Preserve Affordable Housing

There has been little reported about how the housing and credit crises are impacting affordable rental housing, particularly in NYC where speculative landlords and overzealous banks have placed unsupportable debt burdens on rent regulated and formerly subsidized housing.

Despite mixed feelings about the financial rescue package, a coalition of NYC housing advocates worked diligently to educate public officials about the need for renter protections as a result of this practice. The 1,200-unit rent-regulated Riverton Apartments in Harlem was the first multi-family deal to publicly unravel due to over-leveraging, but it won’t be the last. To date, the Partnership to Preserve Affordable Housing has tracked more than 500 buildings serving tens of thousands of renters which may be at risk.

When the enormous debt obligations behind these assets go bad, low and moderate income tenants will be left to suffer the consequences. The Partnership takes the position that any financial rescue package for Wall Street – which got us into this mess – must also provide protections for renters, who are innocent bystanders.

Thanks to the leadership of Senator Charles Schumer and Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, two of the three policy recommendations advocated by the Partnership made it into the final bill. The first is a protection for tenants who have existing subsidies and/or rent protections, such as rent stabilization, ensuring that they will not be preempted by any federal action resulting from this legislation. The second is a requirement that loan modifications must ensure that a building’s finances can support decent, safe and sanitary living conditions based on existing rent levels. A third provision giving units of local government a first right of refusal in acquiring any buildings sold or transferred by the federal government was cut out of the bill during late-inning negotiations.

As important as these protections are, they represent a modest victory considering the scope and magnitude of this historic legislation. In terms of protecting New York City’s affordable housing stock, there is plenty more work to be done. Looking ahead the Partnership and our national allies will turn our attention to winning the kind of banking regulation overhaul that could have prevented this crisis in the first place.

Dina Levy is director of policy and organizing at UHAB, the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board. UHAB is a member of the Partnership to Preserve Affordable Housing, a coalition that includes the Community Service Society, Legal Aid Society, Pratt Area Community Council, South Brooklyn Legal Services and Tenants & Neighbors.

Harlem Connects Prepares Seniors for Digital Transition

On Sept. 17, 2008 the Harlem Consumer Education Council and the Senior Tenants and Landlords Reconciliation Project hosted an educational conference to prepare Harlem’s Seniors for the digital television transition in 2009. Studies show that seniors are most likely to be left behind on February 17th, 2009, when all analog TV signals cease.





















Speakers from different organizations came out to answer Seniors' questions about the digital conversion. Ms. Florence M. Rice, Chair of Harlem Consumer Education Council (center); Joshua Breitbart, Policy Director of People's Production House (far left); Karen Maria Beverly, Consumer and Industry Affairs Specialist of the FCC (center left); Dennis Lane, Harlem Connects Facilitator and Harlem Consumer Education Council Board Member (top center); Joel Kelsey, Policy Advocate for Consumers Union (right center); and Francine Jefferson, Consumer Education Manager for U.S. Department of Commerce.

























Marjorie W. Moore, Director of Senior Tenants and Landlords Reconciliation Project, pictured with Evette Zayas, Chief-of-Staff for Assemblyman Adam C. Powell IV - 68th District.

























Ms. Florence M. Rice, Chair of Harlem Consumer Education Council pictured with The Friends of Thirteen - WNET New York Dorothy Pacella, Executive Director (left); Daniel Allen (center); and Gloria Park, Publicist (right).





















Upton Kimani Watson, left, and Kirsy Grullon, right, both Managers of Radio Shack helped Seniors fill out their coupon applications and explained how the converter box work.





















Hosts Ms. Florence M. Rice, Chair of Harlem Consumer Education Council, and Marjorie W. Moore, Director of Senior Tenants & Landlords Reconciliation Project make introductions and explain the implications of the digital transition to Harlem Seniors.


























Dennis Lane, Harlem Consumer Education Council Board Member, facilitates event and introduces guest speakers.






















Karen Maria Beverly, Consumer and Industry Affairs Specialist with the FCC explains the coupon application and process.





















Tappy Phillips of Eyewitness News 7 interviews participants at Harlem Connects event.

HCEC presents Harlem Connects

DATE: Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008


TIME: 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM


PLACE: Harlem State Office Building, 163 West 125th Street, New York, NY 10027 -- just east of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard (Seventh Avenue)



SPECIAL GUEST:

Florence M. Rice, Chair, Harlem Consumer Education Council
Joel Kelsey, Policy Analyst, Consumer Union
Other Speakers TBA:
FCC — Federal Communications Commission
NTIA — National Telecommunications & Information Administration
MNN — Manhattan Neighborhood Network Television

· Learn More About Digital Television (DTV)
· Learn about Connecting Your Digital Television Converters
· Come Swap your Coupons for a Digital Converter
· Learn about The Role of Harlem in the Digital Future
· Sign up for your Government Coupon toward the purchase of a Digital Television Converter
· Come Learn, Become Informed and Take Local Action


RSVP: Senior Tenants & Landlord’s Reconciliation Project (212) 283-7011 or harlemseniors@aol.com.

Harlem Seniors Discuss Transition to Digital

On July 24, 2008, Harlem Consumer Education Council, Inc. and the Senior Tenants and Landlords Reconciliation Project hosted an urgent meeting to discuss the theft of our right to control the air waves and the much publicized transition to digital which is scheduled to take place on February 17, 2009.


















Ms. Florence M. Rice, Chair of Harlem Consumer Education Council (HCEC) listening intently to the community discussion of the upcoming transition to digital.


















Ms. Florence M. Rice, Chair of HCEC, and Glen Ford from the Black Agenda Report address questions and concerns from the community.


















The Senior Community expresses their concerns about the transition to digital and how that will affect themselves and the community.


















Gina Cushion, Volunteer Program Assistant, always offering a smile and a helping hand was a key component to organizing the Transition to Digital seminar.

Senior Tenants & Landlords Reconciliation Project Annual Report

It seems only yesterday the Harlem Consumer Education Council Chair, Florence M. Rice, was constructively evicted from her rent-stabilized apartment in Washington Heights, an apartment she has lived in for more than 30 years. While he didn’t know it then, her landlord, seemingly driven by profit, bent on gentrification with a blatant disregard for tenants rights had harassed and uprooted the wrong person. Displaced and angry, the fearless 87 year old Florence, a long-time community activist, did what everyone who knows her well expected her to do—she organized other tenants and with the able assistance of her court-appointed guardian, Beverly Griggsby, went to Housing Court where, after a tenacious two-year battle, she won back her apartment.

Over the past 25 years, I have worked with Florence on a number of consumer education issues, for example, privacy rights, health, insurance and credit card debt. On any given day, on any issue involving injustice and the poor, Florence can be found toiling away to educate and instill courage among the least of us.

While hosting The Morning Show on Pacifica radio’s local station, WBAI, I invited Florence often as a guest, not only to discuss her housing plight but to address other consumer issues of interest to our listeners. The interactive format of the show enabled Florence to receive and respond to calls from all over the country from people who know her work. From the many phone calls the show received, I realized that Florence was not the only senior being harassed and evicted by her landlord. It quickly became clear that gentrification was going on all over the country in black and poor communities and that to make room for wealthier tenants or condo owners, senior citizens are being uprooted everywhere, many from apartments or homes they have lived in for decades.

Pondering the unfairness, I began thinking about how to protect our seniors, preserve their lives here in Harlem and prevent the wholesale eviction of tenants.

In June, 2006, Beverly Griggsby and I organized a meeting of community representatives and senior tenants at the Harlem State Office Building, sponsored by the Harlem Consumer Education Council, to discuss the housing problems of Harlem seniors and consider solutions. Our guest speaker was a major Harlem landlord, who, refreshingly, had agreed to listen to tenant concerns. During the meeting, Ms. Rice once again told her story. This time the reaction was very different.

Turning to Ms. Rice, our guest landlord, thinking she was homeless, offered her an apartment at the rent she was paying, in a nice location in Harlem. Those who heard the offer were ‘stunned’ because for all that this Harlem legend, Ms. Rice, had endured in the courts, in the streets, in the Harlem State Office building, telling her housing horror story, not to mention the extensive press coverage—prior to this meeting, no one had offered Ms. Rice any “concrete” assistance.

Ms. Rice had been out of her apartment a little over two years, with no significant offers of help, a very sad state of affairs. But her story visibly moved everyone in the meeting including the speaker, who shortly took further action. After offering to help Ms. Rice, he turned to me and said he wanted to help seniors and if I would write a proposal, he would help us….he would fund a program.

It took HCEC about 8 months to develop a comprehensive proposal. True to his word, the landlord accepted the proposal and provided a five-year grant. With grant funding the Council was able to develop the Senior Project, which launched its first year of operation in November, 2006. In this first Annual Report, (2006 – 2007) we have highlighted Year 1’s major accomplishments.

Weekly, we received 20 or more phone calls from seniors being harassed by their landlords. We took and still take telephone counseling very seriously. We allot as much counseling time to addressing feelings of fear, stress and being overwhelmed, as we do to the nuts and bolts of housing court and how it works. By appointment, we see people in our office, provide them the names of attorneys and free legal services and make referrals to other needed community resources.

We hope that we have become a haven where seniors can share their housing experiences, describe their solutions and obtain useful, accurate and timely information on various issues of concern.

Through relevant and informative Seminars, we try to change how seniors view themselves, to empower them to help themselves, so that they are unafraid to speak out and assert their rights in the community, in the courts and in the municipal bureaucracy.

In addition to housing, our Seminars covered consumer topics, such as identity theft, credit card abuse, and other issues that relate directly to our quality of life. Because many seniors came to the morning 4-hour Seminars without eating, we discovered it was important to provide a light, healthy breakfast as we sought to build strength and reduce fear through sharing survival stories and learning from different speakers and from each other. We began to improve our critical thinking skills as we became better negotiators, unafraid to confront the system or the landlord or whoever it is that wants to deprive us of our homes and the right to live in Harlem. To date, none of the seniors working with the Senior Project have been evicted from their apartments.

We have had a lot of help making the Senior Project successful. Besides the executive director, project staff consist of JoAnn Stephens, who assists with graphics, photography, writing and general outreach ideas; Jane Mejia, who keeps the budget, prepares monthly financial reports and assists with strategizing, proposal and other writing; and Helen Irazarry, who translated, assisted with computer issues, maintained the mailing list and outreach. Then there is Gina Cushion, who though developmentally disabled, assists in all phases of our operation. Recently, Gina, of whom we are very proud, received an award from the NYS Department of the Handicapped, for her work with our Senior Project.

I want to thank all those without whom the Senior Project would not have been possible. Especially, I want to thank the faithful seniors who regularly attend our meetings and Seminars and help publicize the Senior Project.

We will continue to invite and welcome to join us “landlords of conscience,” who are looking for a new way of doing business in communities like Harlem….who are empathetic to the housing plight of the poor and disadvantaged but most important are prepared to help with real solutions, an attitude and actions that break from the stereotypical image most poor people have of a landlord. The Senior Project seeks to provide a setting where landlords and tenants can sit down together to listen to each other and to develop mutually satisfying plans that protect and provide safe and affordable housing for the poor, the working poor and the low income, regardless of race. This is an achievable goal that the Senior Project will be constantly striving to meet.

Marjorie W. Moore

To receive a copy of the Senior Tenants & Landlords Reconciliation Project Annual Report, e-mail harlemseniors@aol.com.

Urgent Meeting: The Control of your Airwaves

Harlem Consumer Education Council, Inc. and the Senior Tenants and Landlords Reconcilation Project invite you to a very urgent meeting to discuss the theft of our right to control the air waves.

Don’t get lost in the hype! Come and learn what is actually going on during this much publicized transition to digital.

Date: Thursday, July 24, 2008 at 10 a.m.

Location: Church of the Intercession, 550 West 155th Street (Between Broadway & Amsterdam Ave)

RSVP: (212) 283-7011

A light breakfast will be served.

Seniors Discuss End-of-Life Issues

On Friday, Feb, 15, 2008 the Harlem Senior and Tenants Reconciliation Project hosted John H. Joyce, a Harlem funeral director by profession, but a man of many talents including accountant, musician and entrepreneur, to speak with Harlem Seniors about end of life issues, as well as healthy proxies, inheritance issues and other topics.














Marjorie Moore, Director of the Seniors Tenants & Landlords Reconciliation Project introduced guest speaker, Mr. John H. Joyce.















Ms. Florence M. Rice, Chair of the Harlem Consumer Education Council, pictured right of Mr. John H. Joyce, explains the importance of having your financial affairs in order.

















Ms. Helen McCoy asks a questions about health proxies.















Diane Smothers shares her experience of handling her mother's estate and affairs and the challenges she has faced in the absence of a health proxy.

















Shirley Saxon, Social Security Administration Public Affairs Specialist of the Uptown District Office, fields questions and shares her advice in handling social security issues facing seniors.












Beverly Sims, asks of Mr. John H. Joyce a question concerning the details of preparing for funeral arrangements.



















Ms. Florence M. Rice, chair of the Harlem Consumer Education Council (center) pictured with Shirley Saxon, Social Security Administration Public Affairs Specialist of the Uptown District Office and quest speaker, John H. Joyce (right).

February Seminar

Urgent Life Issues for the Senior Tenant

Friday, February 15, 2008
10 a.m. to Noon

Guest Speaker: John H. Joyce
A Funeral Director by profession but a man of many talents including Accountant, Musician, Entrepreneur.

· Where is your lease, your rental history and rent receipts? Do your family and friends know and understand their rights to succession of your rent controlled or rent stabilized apartment?

· Do you have some savings, insurance policies, retirement funds, some money in various bank accounts (doesn't matter how little or how much) antiques, jewelry, property of any kind, then you will want to make sure that you have provided for someone else to inherit your things, why let the state take it all?

· If you should find yourself unable to make medical decisions, have you prepared a health proxy laying out just what you want to happen? For example, should you be injured, do you want to be put on a respirator for some indefinite period of time? You need to assign a trusted person to make sure that your interests are protected when you are unable to respond.

· Do you want to be cremated or buried? Do you want a funeral service or a memorial? Is there a family plot somewhere that you want to be sent or is there a special place you would like your ashes dispersed? Do you have a Living Will?

Don't leave these important matters undone and then force your family and friends to take on the burden of trying to sort things out in your absence. Lets not leave our legacy helter skelter and up for grabs. Let’s take care of our business so that it reflects the order, hard work and commitment we put into living good lives.

As part of this seminar we will have Health Proxy’s on hand along with a Notary Public so that we can walk you through the process and you will leave the seminar with at least one important document done.

Please call (212) 283-7011 to reserve your seat for this very important Seminar. Light breakfast served.

Seminar will take place at:
550 West 155th Street
(entrance between Broadway and Amsterdam—through Gate)
Our offices are within the Church of the Intercession, right across the street on Broadway from Trinity Cemetery.

Sponsored by the Senior Tenants and Landlords Reconciliation Project & Harlem Consumer Education Council, Inc.
Chair: Florence M. Rice
Director: Marjorie W. Moore

Testimonials

Velma Jackson















"I have received very good information from the Senior Tenants & Landlords Reconciliation Project seminars each month. They give us a lot of important housing information in our meeting packets. I think I have attended all of the Seminars. The ones on rent and SCRIE and how to hold onto our apartments, living wills and health proxies and other papers that have to be prepared when you are a senior and avoiding getting caught up in financial scams, how to handle debt and my credit rights. I really look forward to the sharing each month with other thinking seniors and the great breakfasts are a good incentive. I am really looking forward to the next year. Thank you!" — December 14, 2007


Nona Vestal















“The Harlem Consumer Education Council and Senior Tenants and Landlords Reconciliation Projects have been informative in educating me and the community on our legal rights as tenants. The seminars have been a great source of inspiration and knowledge with the different speakers covering many useful topics from the Red Cross to credit card fraud to living wills. Thanks!“ — December 14, 2007


Betty L. Jones















"This is a wonderful program. I have been so enlightened about so many basic things that we need to live a good life as seniors. There is a big necessity for us to educate ourselves so that we won't be helpless. I got a lot out of learning about my rights to succession. Thanks to the highest for the Senior Tenants & Landlords Project and for this meeting place ... Marjorie, Florence, and the staff probably don't even know how much they have helped us. Thanks again, and thank God, bless you all and continue on and on and on." — December 14, 2007


Elaine W. Osborne















"We are privileged to have the Senior Tenants & landlords Reconciliation Project led by the dynamic Marjorie Moore who lives in Harlem with us. The Seminars are always full of useful information and inspiration. We have been learning about our rights as seniors and tenants and how to protect ourselves. I also like that there is a blend of consumer rights showing us how to think about our finances. The discussions at every meeting are great." — December 14, 2007


Eloise Henderson

“The Harlem Consumer Education Council and all the members of the Senior Tenants and Landlord Reconciliation Project have been a great support in my life. Ms. Florence Rice has supported my struggle for housing reform for seniors, young professionals and other tenants. Director Ms. Marjorie W. Moore has helped with sharing a lot of facts and information that also helps me and my family to secure my apartment and life. I want to give a great thanks to Ms. JoAnn, Helen and Gina for great print work and great meals. Every seminar is very helpful for all Seniors as well as the young adults who attends. I feel that this project is the best I’ve been too. Keep up the good work. Lots of thanks.” — December 14, 2007

American Red Cross Teaches the Importance of Prepardeness

On December 19, 2007 the Senior Tenants & Landlords Reconciliation Project hosted the American Red Cross in Greater New York who showed Seniors how to be prepared in the case of an emergency. They explained what to do in the case of a building fire, how to prepare an emergency bag in the case of an evacuation and the importance of making an evacuation plan for your family and neighbors.















Red Cross Volunteers Tara Pascual (right), Azizah Smith (center) and Terra Robinson explain the importance of having an evacuation plan in the case of an emergency.















Red Cross Volunteer Tara Pascual shows Seniors what parts of the city are flood zones.















Seniors were given maps by the Red Cross Volunteers to show where Emergency Centers are located throughout the city.















Red Cross Volunteer Azizah Smith answers a question about pet safety during an event of an evacuation.















Aziah Smith (left), Terra Robinson (center left) and Tara Pascual (right) pictured with Senior Tenants & Landlords Reconciliation Project Director Marjorie W. Moore (center) and Harlem Consumer Education Program Chair Ms. Florence M. Rice (center right).

Seniors Learn How To Protect Themselves Against Credit Fraud

On December, 7, 2007 the Senior Tenants & Landlord Reconciliation Project hosted Joel Balavram, Senior Consumer Frauds Representative with the State Attorney General's Office Harlem Branch to give Seniors the tools to deal with debt collectors who harass and constantly phone solicit. The highlight of the seminar was how to stop creditors from going into personal bank accounts and taking money without knowing. He also shared strategies on protecting your personal information and avoiding credit fraud.















Joel Balavram gives Seniors pointers on protecting themselves from creditors.















Joel Balavram gives Seniors an opportunity to ask questions and gave advice on how to negotiate with creditors.















Ziola del Castillo, a student at John Jay College and works in Joel Balaram's office, shared her tips and experience in working with seniors who have come to them for their assistance.

Dynamic Attorney Charles E. Simpson Describes Current Real Estate Realities to Help Seniors Deal with Aggressive Gentrification

On November 9, 2007, the Senior Landlords & Tenants Reconciliation Project hosted Attorney Charles E. Simpson, a Partner of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP, chair of the firm’s Bankruptcy, Creditors’ Rights and Workouts Practice Group, and who is a member of the Corporate and Securities, Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution and Real Estate Practice Groups. He discussed the current state of the New York real estate market and how it relates to Seniors in rent regulated apartments, as well as explaining Senior housing rights. He offered suggestions on how to negotiate and talk with landlords and how to keep their apartment records updated.
















Attorney Charles E. Simpson, right, speaks to Harlem Seniors about the current real estate market and how it pertains to them as Marjorie W. Moore, Director of the Senior Tenants & Landlords Reconciliation Project (left) fields questions from Seniors.















Ms. Florence M. Rice, Chair of the Harlem Consumer Education Council, shares her experience as a rent regulated tenant and her struggle with her recent constructive eviction.















Attorney Simpson answers questions from Harlem Seniors.















Attorney Simpson provides one-on-one advice after the seminar.















Attorney Charles E. Simpson pictured with Ms. Florence M. Rice.