November/December 2010 Newsletter

'Renew Boston': Free Energy Savings Resources; Attend NOAH's Annual Meeting for Information

In collaboration with the City or Boston, NOAH has launched free weekly energy efficiency workshops for Boston residents every Thursday evening. Both renters and homeowners may be eligible for up to $3500 in insulation and air sealing-work that could cut a family's home heating bill by up to 30%. The program is offered through 'Renew Boston', a Mayor Menino initiative to help Boston residents conserve energy, save money and lower utility bills. NOAH is providing these workshops so that residents can learn how to get free home upgrades and cut their energy use. All the air inside an average house is replaced by cold, outdoor air once every hour. If a house isn't well-sealed and insulated, residents pay to heat up that cold air only to send it out the cracks between the walls, around windows and doors, and surrounding ducts and wires. 'Renew Boston' is funded by $1.8 million from an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant and through existing programs administered by NSTAR and National Grid. Houses of one to four units are eligible, and households with an income between 60 and 120 percent of state median income qualify. (A three-person household would qualify, for example, with an income between $49,675 and $99,350.) Residents above and below the Renew Boston income range, however, are eligible for other energy efficiency programs. Workshops will be offered in both Spanish and English Thursdays at 6:30 at NOAH at 143 Border Street. Call Kim Foltz, NOAH's Director of Community Building & Environment, for additional details at 617-418-8241. 

Grand Opening for NOAH Public Art Project At "Our Garden"

On Friday, October 29th, NOAH and CCAG held a Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting at the "Our Garden" space across from the Umana Middle School Academy on Border Street. Formerly, the site was an unsafe, trash-strewn, pass-through to the school. The event celebrated the creation and installation of a public art project funded by the New England Foundation for the Arts and by Culture for Change. New mosaic benches, a table, and inset solar lighting were added to create a public outdoor classroom area. The benches were designed by the NOAH/CCAG E3C youth crew with help from the Umana students and input from the community. The project was overseen by East Boston artist and architect Gretchen Schneider, pictured receiving an award from two of NOAH's E3C youth: Jarelis Fonseca and Juliessi Pimentel.

Three New NOAH Board Members!

NOAH welcomes three new members to its Board of Directors! Ernani DeAraujo is the City of Boston Mayor's Representative and Neighborhood Coordinator and is an East Boston resident. Ernani graduated from Harvard College in 2003 before earning a law degree from Washington & Lee University School of Law. While at Harvard, the Boston Latin School graduate served as a White House intern for Presidents Clinton in 2000 and Bush in 2001 as a Ward Fellow. Adriana Rojas is an attorney at Bain Capital. She received her J.D. from Boston College Law School and her L.L.M. from Boston University School of Law. Adriana has been volunteering for NOAH's Foreclosure Prevention and Mitigation service line for two years. Michael Zaldumbide is the Branch Manager at the East Boston Central Square Citizen's Bank located near NOAH. He has served on the O'Donnell Schoolyard Committee in the past.

Donations from the Hyams Foundation &
Herman and Frieda L. Miller Foundation

NOAH is very grateful to have recently received funding from the Hyams Foundation for our Foreclosed Property and Neighborhood Stabilization programming in East Boston. The Foundation awarded NOAH $100,000 over two years. These funds will help in the purchase and rehabilitation of foreclosed or bank-controlled properties, which will then be sold to first-time, restricted-income, home-buyers with an 'affordable' deed-restriction. The majority of the buildings will be triple-deckers or other multi-families, ensuring that each project also will create much-needed affordable rental housing in the neighborhood. NOAH also partners with the East Boston Savings Bank to purchase properties both inside and outside of East Boston.

We are thankful, too, that the Herman and Frieda Miller Foundation is funding NOAH's programming through its Chelsea Creek Action Group and the Mystic River Collaborative programming for a total of $28,000. This will allow NOAH and CCAG to work on climate change mitigation and adaptation initiatives; expand the engagement of environmental justice populations along the Mystic River watershed so as to maximize improvements throughout the entire watershed area; engage in continuing community sessions on locations for rain gardens, rain barrels, 'daylighting' (uncovering old streams) and additional green space; create more public access to the Chelsea Creek while making improvements to water quality; maintain its robust E3C youth programming; and more.

These and other generous funders help NOAH in its affordable housing and its neighborhood and community work. Each and every donation goes a long way to putting together all the funding pieces needed for us to continue our work. On behalf of our 1,700 clients directly served each year, and all the many residents of the communities we serve, we would like to say "THANK YOU" to these and all our wonderful donors.
 

Trinity House Historic Capital Repairs

Trinity House is a beloved historic structure in the Eagle Hill neighborhood of East Boston. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places and a designated City of Boston landmark, it is a 16-unit SRO for homeless persons. The building was built in 1847 by Noah Sturtevant, an East Boston businessman and civic leader, as his personal residence. From 1917 through 1983, Trinity House was used as a community and social center for the neighborhood. After a fire in 1983, it was found to be too costly to repair, and was left vacant until 1988, when NOAH purchased the property from the East Boston Social Centers and redeveloped the building into 16-units of affordable housing. Thanks to funding from the City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Development, and an anonymous foundation, significant capital repairs are being made to Trinity House, both exterior and interior; and supportive staff from the Pine Street Inn will be on-site to work with residents.

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