Design Criteria

The Guidelines are intended to assist in applying standards to projects generally; consequently, they are not meant to give case-specific advice or address exceptions or rare instances. For example, they cannot tell you which feature of the building are important and must be preserved. This kind of careful case-by-case decision-making is best accomplished by seeking assistance from qualified professionals in the planning stage of the project. Such professionals include architects, architectural historians, historians, archeologists, and others who are skilled in the preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration of the historic properties.

1) Historic Photos should guide the rehabilitation project. During the 1930’s, local governments began to use photography as a tool for appraising real property for taxation purposes. New York City was the largest municipality to adopt this technology. The result was 720,000 35mm black and white images of every property in the five Boroughs. These photos can show historic elements that have been hidden, such as transoms and cast iron posts.

2) Improvements should create storefronts that 1.) Preserve the original character of the storefront, 2.) Facilitate commercial activity on Victory Boulevard and 3.) are in accordance with the City of New York’s guide for storefront improvement

3) Improvements should make certain that no damage is done to the facades. These projects should ensure long-term benefits to the improved buildings; hence, it is important to work with professionals well versed in the rehabilitations that you are contemplating (i.e. cast iron, masonry, wood, etc).

4) Projects should not bring about changes to the building that are of a different style than the original. This is not to say that all improvements must be bona fide replicas of the original design, but that the goal of the improvement should work to respect the original design and character of the building as much as possible.

Tompkinsville Façade Improvement Program

Funded by New York Main Street Grant & Office of Community Renewal

New York City Department of Small Business Services

The Staten Island Foundation

TOMPKINSVILLE FAÇADE IMPROVEMENT

PROGRAM FACT SHEET

The New York Main Street Program for the Tompkinsville community provides partial grants for the restoration, repair and renovation of commercial and residential units.

The following activities can be funded in part through the NYMS Program:

Building Renovation: Local Program Administrators (LPAs)* may provide participating owners with matching renovation grants of up to $50,000/building for first and/or second floor civic/commercial use, plus an additional $25,000 for each residential unit, not to exceed 75% of Total Project Cost or $150,000/building, whichever is less. Building renovation grants may be for façade renovations or interior work. All work must comply with the standards of the State of Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, for properties eligible for the historic register, and with local design guidelines. If the façade does not meet design standards as noted above, a façade renovation will be required.

*The Downtown Staten Island Council (LPA) received $175,000 in funding for Building/Façade Renovation.

Streetscape Enhancement: Grants of up to $60,000* for programs to plant trees and other landscaping, install street furniture and trash receptacles, provide appropriate signs in accordance with a local signage plan, and other appurtenant activities. Distinctive street lighting may be eligible for funding where applicants can satisfy all feasibility issues.

*The Downtown Staten Island Council (LPA) received $25,000 in funding for Streetscape Enhancements.

Project Requirements:

All projects must be approved prior to any work being done by Downtown Staten Island Council staff and advisory board members.

This program will reimburse completed projects when it is deemed complete by fulfilling the approved scope of work by the DSIC staff and Advisory board members.

Projects must meet the following programs requirements and be located within the approved Tompkinsville Improvement District target area.

Requirements for eligible properties

• First-floor Façade of commercial buildings within the target area.

• Building renovations which include first floor facades and the interior space of the residential units.

• Meet residential unit requirements for post-construction tenancy.

Priority grants will be given to:

• Projects which demonstrate a stabilizing effect on the Tompkinsville community.

• Properties where immediate action will help alleviate or prevent dangers to the health and safety of the community.

• Historic properties in danger of being lost in part, or in total, to disrepair or damage,

• Properties where façade improvement would reduce blight or contribute to the economic recovery of the target area, or

• Commercial properties with a residential component

Notification/Outreach Process:

• The Downtown Staten Island Council (DSIC) will provide informational workshops on the New York Main Street program.

• To find out dates and to attend our workshops, please visit our website at: www.downtownsi.com

• Downtown Staten Island Council (DSIC) will also be conducting outreach in the community with information provided by door to door canvassing, press releases and news stories in the Staten Island Advance. Information is also posted on the DSIC website.

Target Areas:

To find out if your property or business is in our target area, please visit our website at www.downtownsi.com or call our office to receive a fax listing of eligible storefronts and properties at 718-273-6369. Please leave your name, property address, phone and fax number to receive a listing. Fax: 718-720-1976

Application Process

• Applicants will be considered in the order they are received by Downtown Staten Island Council and until funds are available.

• Applicants will be notified within 30 days of the submission of a completed application of the disposition of the application.

• A formal letter will be sent to all applicants and approved projects will also be published on the DSIC website.

• A member of the Downtown Staten Island Council will discuss the ‘scope of work’ and initial estimate of cost with the applicant.

• A site visit will be conducted by DSIC staff and the Advisory Board to determine that the applicant has met the eligibility requirements.

The applicant will be responsible for paying all agreed upon repairs, but Downtown Staten Island Council will not reimburse more than the costs identified in the 2009 Request for Proposals document.

Interim Financing

Downtown Staten Island Council will assist applicants with exploring opportunities for outside financing.

Priorities for Scope of Work

1-     Immediate health and safety concerns

2-     The correction of code violations

3-     Addressing any lead-based paint hazards that may exist in buildings that contain residential units.

4-     Installation of energy conservation measures

5-     Consistency with any other local program design guidelines

6-     Preservation of historic elements of the building

Scope of Work:

DSIC and property owner will sign-off on a scope of work before the owner is authorized to seek bids for work.

Scope of work must meet requirements of the New York Main Street program, the Office of the State Historic Preservation Office and the Housing Trust Fund Corporation.

Contractors:

• DSIC will provide a list of recommended contractors which meet the standards of the program. This includes women and minority owned vendors.

• A minimum of two bids are required prior to project approval.

• All contractors must be based on Staten Island and be licensed and insured. Proof is required.

Contracting Procedures:

DSIC will enter into a contract with the property owner to provide details on the agreed upon the New York Main Street grant, subject to the property owner entering into a contract based on the agreed upon scope of the project and work beginning within 30 days of DSIC approval.

Contract between DSIC and the property owner will specify that the payment will be made after all work is completed and approved.

DSIC has the right to inspect all work at anytime and cancel the contract should the work being done be inconsistent with the standards mentioned in the preceding sections or if problems arise with the workmanship or if insurance is not maintained by the contractor.

Obligations of Property Owners:

• Required to maintain the property assisted with New York Main Street funds for a period of seven years after final payment is made.

• Residential units assisted with the New York Main Street funds must be marketed and priced for low income households for the seven year period.

• A declaration must be signed by the property owner and approved by the Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) and registered at the office of the Richmond County Clerk.

• In the event of non-compliance or resale, the amount of grant funds will be subject to repayment in accordance with a simple annual declining balance, based on the seven- year enforcement period.

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In December the MTA unveiled a package of service cuts that is a slap in the face to millions of New Yorkers across the five boroughs.  Your borough now faces critical cuts in service that will negatively affect the commutes of thousands of Staten Island residents each day.  Please click here to sign our petition and oppose these cuts!  Also, please attend the MTA’s public hearing in Staten Island and the NYC Council’s oversight hearing on these cuts.  Details are below:

MTA Public Hearing

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

6:00 p.m.

College of Staten Island, Springer Concert Hall

1P Building, 2800 Victory Boulevard, Staten Island

NYC Council Transportation Oversight Hearing

Thursday, February 25, 2010

10 a.m.-1 p.m.

Council Chambers, City Hall

(For a complete list of public hearings by the MTA, click here.)

Among the proposed cuts to your borough are:

• Elimination of Student MetroCards
• $40 million in cuts to Access-a-Ride
• Buses to be Completely Eliminated: X6, S42#, S60, S67, X6, X9, X13#, X16, X18 and X20
• Buses to be eliminated on Weekends: S54, S76, S86 and X28
• Buses to have Shortened Services: B64, S54, S57 and S66
• Discontinuation of the Staten Island Railway Special Service

# Service partially or entirely replaced by another bus route

Take Action!

Help us collect signatures for our petition, which we will deliver to each of the MTA’s public hearings.  You can find our petition online by clicking here.

Sign up to volunteer!  If you would like to volunteer, please contact Nick Rolf at NROLF@council.nyc.gov.

Message from Council Speaker Christine Quinn:

Urge the MTA to find alternative ways to prevent these terrible cuts.  To contact the MTA by phone, dial (212) 878-7483; to contact them by e-mail, click here. The NYC Council and the Straphangers Campaign have proposed an alternate budget solution that will allow us to avoid these painful service cuts.  To read more about our plan click here.  Or click here to read our Op-Ed in the Daily News. With your help we can stop these drastic cuts and ensure greater input from Staten Island residents in the MTA’s budget process.

Downtown Staten Island’s New York Main Street Program

About New York Main Street

Throughout the country, Main Streets – the once thriving centers of commerce and social activity of most communities – have struggled to compete with shopping malls and experienced a period of decline. Realizing this underutilized potential, Governor George E. Pataki announced creation of the New York Main Street Program (NYMS), an innovative funding program that is designed to strengthen the economic vitality of the State’s traditionally designed central business districts or “Main Streets” and is alive and well under Governor David Paterson’s administration. The cornerstone of the NYMS Program is a multi-million dollar Housing Trust Fund Corporation (HTFC) grant program administered by the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) to provide financial and technical resources to help New York communities with their Main Street revitalization efforts. The NYMS Program was established in 2004.

The New York Main Street program provides financial resources and technical assistance to communities to strengthen the economic vitality of the State’s traditional Main Streets and neighborhoods. The New York Main Street grant program provides funds from HTFC to business improvement districts and other not-for-profit organizations that are committed to revitalizing historic downtowns, mixed-use neighborhood commercial districts, and village centers. New York’s Main Streets are in transition. While many downtown and neighborhood retail districts have seen new life, with significant investment in the development of civic, commercial and residential projects, others have not yet experienced this trend. Many of these communities can once again thrive with proper management and strategic investment of public and private resources.

Main Street grants are revitalizing our downtowns through targeted commercial/residential improvements such as facade renovations, interior residential building upgrades and streetscape enhancements. Cultural anchors, such as theatres or museums, have also been renovated with Main Street funds. Funds are not available for new construction.

Availability of Funds for Tompkinsville Property and Business Owners:

The Office of Community Renewal (OCR) has awarded $200,000 to the Downtown Staten Island Council, LDC (DSIC) in August 2009; the DSIC received these funds to help subsidize costs for the much needed streetscape enhancement and façade improvement in the Tompkinsville area of Downtown Staten Island.

The DSIC will receive $175,000 in matching grants for property and store owners who wish to participate in the program, and $25,000 in streetscape enhancement funds for town center signage, outdoor art and plantings. These streetscape and building improvements will challenge the poor perception of the area and encourage residents and tourist to shop or reside within the neighborhood of Tompkinsville and will seek to connect shoppers, tourists and residents to the commercial district and enhance the aesthetic appeal of the neighborhood, and complement a newly renovated Tompkinsville park.

Funds are to be allocated as $10,000 matching grants to property owners that choose to rehabilitate their entire building facades, or to property owners or merchants interested in renovating both their storefront interiors and exteriors. The match is a 1:1 grant up to $10,000, meaning that if you spend up to $20,000 you will be reimbursed for 50% of your expenditures; expenses over $20,000 will still only be matched at $10,000.

Due to limited funds and strict program guidelines, DSIC will choose those proposals that best comply with the NYMS Grant Program vision: To respect the original design of the buildings, and to be consistent with the Tompkinsville main street commercial corridor.

Target Area and Boundaries:

The boundaries that are eligible for NYMS funding include Victory Blvd beginning at the intersection of Bay Street to 84 Victory Blvd; Corsen Avenue; from 3 Corsen Avenue to 15 Corsen Avenue; 2 St. Pauls Avenue to 16 St. Paul’s Avenue beginning at Victory Blvd; and even numbered street addresses from 206 to 220 Bay Street off Victory Blvd.

Priority Areas:

1. Immediate health and safety concerns and the correction of Code violations
2. Buildings where immediate action will stop deterioration of a significant façade
3. Historic properties in danger of being lost to disrepair
4. Vacant properties where façade improvement or retail space renovation would reduce blight and improve commercial activity
5. Building that will undergo substantial façade renovation

Note: DSIC encourages you to discuss your proposed plans at the earliest stages of planning and to begin construction once your proposal has been approved for funding.

Application Documents:

Please submit the following documents to the DSIC at 63 Montgomery Avenue, Staten Island, NY 10301:

1. A completed application form
2. An historic photo of the building (A high-quality photocopy is fine). Between 1939 and 1941, the city photographed every house and building in the five Boroughs.  Copies of these images are available for purchase online for about $35 at http://www.nyc.gov/dorforms/photoform.jsp or by mail (see the attached form: 1940 Tax Photos Order Form).
3. Exhibit F. This form allows the NYS Housing Trust Fund Corporation to have use of the photo.

Project Selection Guidelines

1. Applicants will be notified of their status within 30 days of application submission.
2. Attention will be given to those projects that address the priority areas (mentioned above) and the Design Criteria.
3. The DSIC will focus on projects that have the greatest potential to positively impact the Tompkinsville Improvement corridor. Namely, buildings that need significant amounts of repair to be brought up to code or address immediate health and safety concerns.
4. The DSIC will distribute available funds as equitably as possible. Therefore, no one property shall receive more than one grant before other candidates are reviewed. Nevertheless, buildings with more than one façade are eligible to receive two grants ($20,000); this is generally the case for large, corner-lot buildings.
5. Projects selected to be funded are determined by the NYMS-DSIC Advisory Committee and DSIC staff according to previously mentioned program principles and guidelines.
6. Applicants must consent to sign Exhibit E upon project completion. This is a maintenance agreement which requires that improvements be maintained for a period of a minimum of 7 years (“Regulatory Period”). Improvements that are removed or altered during the Regulatory Period shall be recaptured on a pro rata basis to the HTFC. The amount to be recaptured shall be determined by reducing the original grant amount by one seventh (1/7) for each year of the Regulatory Period that the Recipient was in compliance with the Agreement.

For more information go to:

Tompkinsville Facade Improvement Program Fact Sheet

New York Main Street Grant Program: Design Criteria

Happy end of summer! Hope you all had a safe, quiet and enjoyable summer here in Tompkinsville.

It came to my attention that many of you were not receiving the Tompkinsville Neighborhood Watch (TNW) emailed updates, so I retyped our entire email list and I hope everyone who we met back in March 2009 and over the last many months are now receiving our emails.

Just a recap on what we’ve been doing, and what more we have in the works:

- Noise violation reductions on Van Duzer Street

Thanks to the Community Affairs division of the 120 Precinct, and undercover work by the NYPD borough enforcement division, we have heard a substantial reduction in noise violations on evenings and weekends this summer. What was once the imminent noise, drinking and gang activity expected on Thursday through Sunday nights from April to September, is now a mostly quiet and safe evening experience on Van Duzer and surrounding blocks. Thanks to all who supplied annecdotal stories, called 311, and provided video surveillance of the area. And a special thank you to Officer Santinello for taking time out to talk to our neighbors, landlords and local businesses about noise and litter issues!

- Honoring our fallen on Memorial Day

Thank you to John and Nancy Biggs for organizing a well-attended Memorial Day wreath laying at our GreenStreet at the intersection of St Pauls Ave and Van Duzer Street. Not only did over 20 local neighbors attend, we had Chris Bauer from Assembly Member Titone’s office attend, the Pledge of Allegiance led by our Boy Scout leader Danny, as well as media coverage by NY1.

- Canine waste enforcement on St. Pauls Avenue and surrounding streets

We have posted signs along St Pauls Avenue provided by the Department of Sanitation that warn dog owners of the rules on removing dog waste. We laminated and secured those signs to wooden posts, and they have helped to mitigate canine waste violations in the neighborhood. If you or your neighbors would like a PDF version of the Sanitation sign, let us know and we’ll email you a copy. Just laminate them, post them in your neighborhood and remind all dog owners that canine waste violations are not only unsanitary, but now come with a $250 ticket for each infraction.

- PS 65 parking and litter

We have been in talks since early Spring 2009 with Principal Scamardella of PS 65 to alert her to the litter and parking issues in the surrounding area, during the school year. Thank you to Principal Scamardella and her team for working to reinforce proper parking and litter etiquette amongst her staff and faculty, and working to secure additional litter baskets from Council Member Mitchell’s office. Additionally, DOT has confirmed that they have worked to maximize the number of available parking spots in the surrounding area. Should you encounter issues with parking and litter during the school year, please let us know by documenting the license plate and make and model of the car, the time of the infraction and location of the car, and we will pass along the message to the principal. If you see a need for more litter baskets, let us know that too so we can secure more baskets.

- Traffic assessment of the interestion of Victory Boulevard at Van Duzer and St Pauls Ave

Thank you to DOT for replacing and correcting street signage at the intersection of Victory Boulevard at Van Duzer and St Pauls. For a few years now, we have seen signs stolen, bent and incorrect in their directional orientation. DOT was nice enought to look at the signage and correct all those issues. If you know of other signage issues, let us know so DOT can address them as quickly as possible.

- Tree planting and greening in Tompkinsville

If you had a empty spot in front of your home where a street tree could be planted, chances are you have seen a new tree planted in that space in the last two years. Thanks to John Kilcullen of NYC Parks for being an amazing leader on this effort. Thanks to Mayor Bloomberg’s MillionTreesNYC program, the North Shore has seen a restocking of street trees on every block. If you know of an empty tree pit, or a stump that needs to be removed, we can have a tree planted in that location. Email us the address of the location. And, if you have street trees that aren’t growing well, or need some attention, please let us know and John and his team will be there to provide necessary TLC for these trees. Lastly, if you’d like to be a tree steward or learn more about street trees, let us know and we can provide you with information.

- We’ve done a lot, but more needs to be done…

Admittedly, while we’ve seen much success over the last half year in terms of major quality of life issues in the area, there are many more issues to address and deal with in the coming months. Considering we have no money in our budget but just sweat equity and time to give to solving these issues, we will do our best to address continuing issues like (1) the maintenance in and around vacant lots, (2) proper grooming and maintenance around local businesses, and (3) continuing issues with traffic, parking and speeding. These are just a few of the issues to attend to and we hope to report back on more successes in the future.

The only way we can help you is when you let us know what’s going on in the neighborhood. Keep in touch 24/7 with TNW… email us at TompkinsvilleNeighborhoodWatch@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at 309-415-7823. We’re here to help.

Have a great end of summer and a happy fall season too. Keep in touch!

Mike

–
Tompkinsville Neighborhood Watch
http://tompkinsville.weebly.com

TompkinsvilleNeighborhoodWatch@gmail.com
voicemail 309-415-7823