Reconstructing Summit Ave.

By Denáe Brewer
Editor in Chief

After nearly twenty years of urban blight — abandoned, run down or drug infested buildings on every block — Summit Avenue is undergoing massive changes. Walk down the avenue and you will hear the drills of work crews as they add the finishing touches to new floor paneling or the bang of a hammer as it strikes a nail into place.

“Summit is looking better than ever,” exclaimed Dorothy Sanders, a Highbridge resident. “I remember a time when I was afraid to walk down this block. Now it’s not so bad.”

Right now on Summit between 164th and 165th streets, there are three construction projects. Two of these projects are part of the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development’s Neighborhood Redevelopment Program.

Under the program, city-owned apartment buildings are renovated and then sold to nonprofit agencies to run as low-income housing complexes. These buildings were taken over by the city due to neglect by the previous property owner. The Summit Avenue project is run by the Parodneck foundation’s Community Assisted Tenant Controlled Housing (CATCH) program.

Rent is regulated at a fixed point—usually no more than 30 percent of the tenant’s income. Ultimately, those participating in the CATCH program become shareholders in the building. There is a board of directors, comprised primarily of tenants with representatives from CATCH as minority members.

“This is a cooperative,” said a spokesperson from the foundation. “We provide a way for people to have a say in their community right from the start. People working together is the only way to sustain tangible changes.”

Julio Gomez’s company Finer Point Construction is the subcontractor for the project. Pointing to both buildings — 997 and 1008 — he said, “They were really bad. We had to gut them before we could do anything with them.”

997 was the first building he started work on. Slated to house nine families, this four-story walkup is nearing rehabilitation completion. “There’s not much left to do here,” Mr. Gomez said. “The pipes are down, the floors are done. We need to paint and add the finishing touches.” He said that the building should be livable by summer.

The other building, 1008 Summit Avenue, is a different story. Work just began recently. The building will eventually house 18 families. Slated for completion sometime in 2004, 1008 will undergo the greatest transformation. An elevator is to be installed as well as a laundry and community room.

Currently, there are no applications available for either building.