Spring 2011 Newsletter

NOAH Welcomes Mayor Menino

Sporting a green tie on Saint Patrick's Day, Mayor Thomas Menino visited us to launch NOAH as one of three satellite offices to lead grassroots marketing and outreach for the City's "Renew Boston" energy efficiency initiative. (He is pictured here being introduced by NOAH Executive Director Phil Giffee.) The Renew Boston Program connects income-eligible Boston residents to a service that will help cut home heating and cooling costs by as much as 30%. Mayor Menino's goal is to reduce carbon emissions from Boston's older buildings, which would lessen the city's greenhouse effect, a leading cause of global warming. The Mayor said "We expect to reach 3,000 Boston households with no-cost energy efficiency services" through this program.

If you live in the City of Boston in a one- to four-family home and pay your own heating bills, Renew Boston could help you cut your energy costs. At NOAH, we hold free weekly Tuesday evening Energy Efficiency Clinics where residents can learn about this no-cost program; come learn about this City initiative to help you conserve energy, save money and lower your utility bills. For more information, please call Kim Foltz at 617-418-8241 or e-mail her at kim@noahcdc.org.

"Trinity Treasures" Event
on June 22nd 

Please mark your calendar for NOAH'S 'Trinity Treasures' fundraising and celebratory event on Wednesday, June 22, at 5 PM, located at Trinity House, 406 Meridian Street, East Boston. Please click here to register. We will honor such memorable figures as Dr. Edith DeAngelis, Grace Flynn, Ginny St. Cyr, Evelyn Morash, Judge Ferrino, Mary Cahalane; as well as contemporary figures Rick Dimino, Fran Riley, Joey Cuzzi and Mayor Thomas Menino, all of whom have helped make Trinity House the social and cultural landmark it is today.

NOAH wishes to salute the unique role that East Boston citizen-leaders have had in empowering East Boston residents through terrific Trinity House programs throughout the years. We want to ensure that the legacy of civic values embedded in the history of Trinity House is passed along to today's residents, especially to our youth. In part we will also observe the completion of the recent historic exterior rehabilitation of the 160-year old Trinity House, due to generous funding from the City of Boston and an anonymous donor. The $50 ticket cost will provide funding for NOAH's youth and children's programs. Refreshments will be provided. There are still great opportunities for corporate sponsorships; please click here to find out more. For additional information, please call Linda Miller-Foster at 617-418-8246 or email linda@noahcdc.org; contact Phil Giffee at 617-418-8240 or philipgiffee@noahcdc.org; or see the NOAH website or Facebook page.

Subprime Foreclosure Mitigation Services

NOAH has been awarded $182,857 in funding from Morgan Stanley to counsel subprime loan-related clients in order to prevent or mitigate foreclosure. Of this, $40,000 is available in financial assistance awards to subprime clients who have recently lost their homes through foreclosure.

NOAH has hired two counselors, Zaragoza Guerra and Andrea Perez, to perform this work. You may remember Zaragoza as having worked for NOAH previously on the Washington-Beech First-Time Homebuyer Program; he has experience in real estate and in the college admissions field. Andrea has also worked in real estate, and in the banking area, as well. Zaragoza and Andrea will provide education and counseling in various areas including: bankruptcy counseling, credit counseling, tax counseling, rental housing assistance counseling and 'know your rights' counseling to subprime loan clients. Consumers served generally will be those who are in receipt of a petition to foreclose or further along in the foreclosure process, and include those who have already experienced a recent foreclosure. NOAH intends to counsel 350 clients during the 12-month grant period. This award is being administered by the Mass. Attorney General's Office. For more information or to refer someone needing assistance, please contact Zaragoza at 617-418-8261 or zguerra@noahcdc.org.

Youth Environmental Songwriting &

Poetry Contest

The Know What's Up (KWU) NOAH youth crew held their annual environmental justice (EJ) song and poetry event this Spring. During the weeks leading up to the event, the KWU youth worked with East Boston High School students to teach about EJ issues and to help generate submissions. The concert began with an open-mic session, during which members of the community participated through poetry sharing, rapping and singing, and playing musical instruments. Following this, the East Boston High School students who were chosen to compete in the song and poetry contest performed their pieces. NOAH would like to thank all of the participants and attendees who made the event a success again this year.

NOAH's ESOL Student Honored 

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino and 150 business leaders, educators, funders and new immigrants gathered recently at Northeastern University to honor the 10th Anniversary of the City's "English for New Bostonians" program. Jose Ortiz, a student in NOAH's ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) class and NOAH tenant, gave a speech at the event, noting: "I am a student at NOAH (Neighborhood of Affordable Housing)...This program helped me and my family a lot, but it is also helping my community... Thanks to NOAH's English program, now I can take training in English to get closer and closer to my certification". Congratulations Jose! If you are interested in learning more about NOAH's ESOL program, contact Manlio Mendez at 617-418-8242.

Click here to watch video footage from the event

NOAH is on Facebook!

NOAH has joined Facebook, the social networking service that has over 600 million active users worldwide. Our Facebook page is utilized as platform to build relationships within our communities, and to connect with other organizations and the funders who support our work. Our Page will enable us to constantly update our online community with the latest happenings at NOAH, including links to events, photos, videos, and more. We are excited to be able to promote our values and services through this new medium. We invite you to participate in carrying out our mission by "liking" us on Facebook! And, we welcome your suggestions - please click here to reach Linda Miller-Foster with any of your ideas.

Phil Giffee: Celebrating 40 Years!

NOAH's Executive Director, Phil Giffee, just passed an important milestone: his 40^th year in East Boston. He began as an intern in the Planning Office of Urban Affairs under Father Michael Groden, who assigned several young men who were Conscientious Objectors to work in East Boston. The Archdiocese was working closely with the EB Neighborhood Council to form a new housing and community development entity which was to become the East Boston CDC (EBCDC). That entity produced two other East Boston Executive Director's: Al Caldarelli who has served as ED since the 1970's; and Mossik Hacobian of Eutaw Street, who recently left Urban Edge CDC in Roxbury after 33 years as their ED. Prior to heading up NOAH in 1987, Phil worked for the Cambridge Housing Authority from '78-'83. Phil also worked with Mossik and another friend, Larry Braman, to rehabilitate vacant housing, of which there used to be hundreds of units in the 1970's and 1980's. After a stint at the EBCDC, Phil was one of the many volunteer writers for the East Boston Community News, which was an active and valued local paper from 1971-1989. Phil, Larry, Bob Nakashian and Mossik (for a time) owned a house on Trenton Street until 1998. They were early into 'greening', as they installed solar equipment on their 112 Trenton Street house in the early 1980's.

Phil has many reminiscences of his tenure in East Boston, especially the passionate and dedicated activists and residents of all stripes, some who befriended him and some who did not. "No matter," he said, "They are great people all, who have taught me many lessons, and I continue to learn from them. This community has stood up for itself against some pretty strong forces. You have to love and respect people for their caring, wisdom and perseverance. I am eternally grateful for having landed here at a young age and been able to make a wonderful life. Thank you very much East Boston."

Phil married in 1998. He and his wife Nancy have a son, Justin. They now live in Framingham. In order to help solve affordable housing issues in the Commonwealth, NOAH also performs real estate development in suburban communities and municipalities, but Phil says, "NOAH's Community Building work is dedicated to our home community, and our heart will always beat in East Boston."

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