Paul Kerzner, Clip 6: Neighborhood Rehabilitation Projects

Collection: Queens Memory Project Collection at Queens College Libraries' Department of Special Collections and Archives: Paul Kerzner

Date: Time Period: 1978 - 2008; 2013-05-24; Interview recorded: May 24 2013 Material: Digital audio recording made using Zoom H2 digital audio recorder digital recorder and Adobe Soundbooth. Dimension: Total running time: 0:03:00

Creator: Paul Kerzner interviewed by Grace Sullivan and Chia-Yin Leslie Tu Identifier: aql:26257 kerzner-paul-clip6

Description: Paul talks about the Consolidated Edison Renaissance Housing Program's first project at 137 Guernsey Street in Greenpoint, an eight family brick building. Across the street, three homes had for sale signs. For two years prior, Paul tracked kilowatt hour usage of surrounding buildings and found there was an eight percent reduction in kilowatt usage because people were starting to disinvest or not upgrade. After the building at 137 Guernsey was finished, Paul tracked the kilowatt hour usage. The next two years showed an eight percent increase and two percent after that. They tested this strategy with the next four or five projects and the results held. Projects were done in areas that were on the cusp of things turning sour rather than in places that were burnt out. This was called â€œgrafting onto good skin.â€ The idea was to heal the problem and then push in.

Title : Paul Kerzner, Clip 6: Neighborhood Rehabilitation Projects

Collection : aql:16085; aql:20455

Creator : Paul Kerzner interviewed by Grace Sullivan and Chia-Yin Leslie Tu

Date : Time Period: 1978 - 2008; 2013-05-24; Interview recorded: May 24 2013

Summary/Description : Paul talks about the Consolidated Edison Renaissance Housing Program's first project at 137 Guernsey Street in Greenpoint, an eight family brick building. Across the street, three homes had for sale signs. For two years prior, Paul tracked kilowatt hour usage of surrounding buildings and found there was an eight percent reduction in kilowatt usage because people were starting to disinvest or not upgrade. After the building at 137 Guernsey was finished, Paul tracked the kilowatt hour usage. The next two years showed an eight percent increase and two percent after that. They tested this strategy with the next four or five projects and the results held. Projects were done in areas that were on the cusp of things turning sour rather than in places that were burnt out. This was called â€œgrafting onto good skin.â€ The idea was to heal the problem and then push in.

Subject : Housing rehabilitation

Relation : Queens Memory Project Collection at Queens College Libraries' Department of Special Collections and Archives: Paul Kerzner

Rights : Contact digitalarchives@queenslibrary.org for research and reproduction requests.

Coverage : Locations discussed: Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY Ridgewood (New York, N.Y.) Queens (New York, N.Y.)

Type : Oral history

Format : Digital audio recording made using Zoom H2 digital audio recorder digital recorder and Adobe Soundbooth.; Total running time: 0:03:00

Identifier : aql:26257 kerzner-paul-clip6