“I am hoping that these people will be protected in some way, whether it will be if they stay at the same rate, even if that’s nothing, until they can find and secure safe, stable and sober housing,” said Reeder. “I am hoping that they can be reasonable and we can be reasonable. But I am hoping that people who are living there paying nothing or partial-rent can have time to transition.”
Reeder added that she is beginning to see the redevelopment as a blessing in disguise and is looking toward the future. “This really is a sheep in wolf’s clothing,” she said. “It looks scary on the surface but in fact really is an effective motivator to accelerate in the direction we were headed into already.”
Lots of unknowns
Sangi said that he was unsure of the financial arrangements between Reeder and the residents, and therefore was unable to comment about the whether he would maintain any of those agreements. He did say, however, he will not be tolerating any nuisance behaviors. (Washington Manor neighbors have made complaints about disruptive activity by Manor residents, including trespassing, thefts and drug-use.) “We want Uptown people happy,” Sangi said. “When I ran [Washington Manor], we never had police calls.”
Sangi, owner of Life Enrichment Services of New York, is no stranger to boarding houses. He owned and operated Washington Manor between 1980 and 1989, during which time he also owned both Elizabeth Manor and the former Kingston Manor boarding houses. Sangi said boarding house operations require serious supervision and maintenance. Sangi said he is prepared to assume management of Washington Manor immediately; he plans to renovate it into an “elegant and formal” ADA-compliant space equipped to accommodate 60 residents. He said it will be completed over the next year in phases, starting with the building’s annexes, he said. Residents will be shuffled around the facility during construction. Target population for the planned pre-assisted living facility will be seniors and “pre-seniors,” said Sangi, who said he will charge on a sliding scale ranging from social services’ payments to whatever the market can bear.
The majority of the renovation and improvement work will be completed by Sangi’s son, John Sangi. John Sangi’s daily presence while doing work there will serve as an extra set of eyes on the place, the son said.
Stockade Group partner Richard Caggiano, who has been assuming responsibility for maintaining the property, said this week he is unsure about both the timeline for Reeder to leave Washington Manor and the Queens Galley’s future. He said he directed Reeder to the group’s attorney, Jay Kaplan, to hash out the particulars.
Need to make money
Caggiano cited the Stockade Group’s long-held and oft-stated goal of finally seeing the building make money as why they ended their agreement with Reeder. “[Reeder] withheld three months of rent,” said Caggiano. “I think we lowered the rent and she withheld three months, and then came up with all these things and had decided that they should be deducted against the back rent. We agreed to some of the things, but not all of them. She still owes us around $9,000 to $10,000.” Reeder contends that much of the back rent was used to make essential repairs on the facility and also included in-kind donations of repair services by Queens Galley supporters.
Another tenant that will have to find a new place to set up shop is prisoner re-entry program Save Them Now, which moved to the building after falling $20,000 behind in rent at their previous location in the same compound after its funding was cut. Previously, when it had their own bedrooms at the site, Save Them Now was able to house ex-cons transitioning back into the community; now, it just provides support services and support groups, however pays no rent.
“Should [Reeder] and the Queens Galley leave Washington Manor we will likely follow as it is through [Reeder’s] generosity and caring that we have our current space,” said Save Them Now Director Mat JeckerByrne. “[Reeder] and I have long seen ourselves and our organizations as partners and hope to grow together.” Reeder was unsure about STN’s fate; Sangi said he had no knowledge whatsoever of Save Them Now’s presence, and therefore was unable to comment.
Who knows?
Stockade Group attorney Jay Kaplan said this week that absolutely nothing has been inked between his clients and Sangi, nothing is in draft and there are no agreements. He said Queens Galley is not being evicted and reiterated that Washington Manor’s tenants will be staying on after Reeder vacates. “No one is evicting the boarders or even the soup kitchen,” he said. “She is the tenant and we want to change the management of that enterprise. The only reason we want to do that is to make it better for the boarders. It is not generating enough income to support the improvement of the infrastructure of the annex.”
Kaplan, who said he also was unaware of Save Them Now’s presence in the building, was unable to comment on that group’s future. Reeder said that she would know more after her appointment with Kaplan.
