PUTNAM COUNTY – Bill Huestis’ relocation from Kent to Beekman in Dutchess County has forced the lifelong Putnam resident after 45 years to resign from the Board of Directors of the Putnam Housing Corporation, a non-profit whose mission is to provide safe, decent, and affordable housing to Putnam residents in need.
In 1982, Putnam’s first County Executive, David Bruen, and Huestis, who was employed at the time as Putnam’s Director of the Office for the Aging, realized that a need existed for affordable senior housing for those on fixed and low incomes. A meeting attended by more than 200 was held at Temple Beth Shalom in Mahopac and the seeds were planted for the creation of the non-profit.
Huestis praised both Bruen and former County Planner John Lynch for fostering the initiative that led to several senior housing developments: “Chestnut Ridge in Cold Spring had just been completed with extremely positive outcomes and as a result our first project was to create a similar development on the eastern side of the county.”
A broad-based group of people came forward and volunteered their time and energy to create a non-profit group. Huestis recalled how Joel Greenberg, who has served as president of the non-profit for decades, the Rev. Henry Maertens, former pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Southeast, Rabbi Philip Fleischer of the Mahopac synagogue, Deacon John Scarfi, Ed Schaffer, Don Gipson and the late Alan Schneider all became catalysts.
A Neighborhood Preservation Grant was applied for through the federal and state government requesting seed money that led to the formation of a housing task force.
Huestis remembered how some towns were opposed to the idea of affordable senior housing: “While visiting town boards and planning boards, several voiced objections indicating: ‘We don’t want this riff-raff or kind of people in our community.’ This wasn’t about the Bronx but about helping residents in our towns and villages.”
Huestis gave praise to the late founder of Guideposts, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale: “The non-for-profit was created and the next step was to locate a suitable parcel of land for our first project. One day my phone rang and a lovely gentleman advised: ‘We might have something you are interested in!”
Guideposts was celebrating its 40th anniversary, and in conjunction, decided to donate 3.5 acres of land to the housing corporation. The property consisted of the old New York Central Railroad bed along Seminary Hill Road that today abuts the Putnam Bike Trail.
The result was the construction of 72 units of senior housing – Gleneida Court, completed in 1993; Gleneida Senior Apartments concluded in 1999 and Lakeview Senior Apartments constructed in 2005 – all built with federal and state housing grants exceeding $7 million.
Since that time, the housing corporation has developed 48 units of senior housing at the William Koehler Senior Center in Mahopac with $8.3 million in grants and, by partnering with Wilder Balter and Covington Management, built 137 units of senior housing in Southeast across from the Brewster Post Office for $18.2 million.
Over 85 percent of those residing in the corporation’s housing developments are people Huestis described as “locals. These are men and women who lived their lives in Putnam County and who want to remain close to their children and grandchildren and not relocate to Florida or the Carolinas and to die in Putnam. What a legacy.”
The corporation whose policy is one of equal housing opportunity for prospective applicants regardless of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status or natural origin provides additional services for county residents in need including a rental subsidy, a homeless prevention program providing cash assistance to prevent eviction or foreclosure as well as making repairs to maintain health and safety standards.
The corporation recently relocated from Seminary Hill Road to 102 Gleneida Avenue in Carmel hamlet and can be reached by calling 845-225-8493.
Bill Huestis was called a “public servant’s public servant” by his long time friend and colleague and fellow Rotarian Al Lotrecchiano.
When reminiscing about the past, Huestis called his many years in county government an “excellent run. I couldn’t have succeeded without my wonderful staff—people who really care. It was a tremendous pleasure and honor to have led these people for so many years.”
Huestis is a life-long resident of Putnam County. As a child he worked in his mother’s grocery store in Kent and later became Recreation Director for the City of Peekskill. In addition to his reign as Office for the Aging Director, Huestis served for many years as Director of Parks and Recreation for the Town of Kent. Senior citizens are the fastest growing segment of Putnam’s population: “It’s not senior housing that is bringing all these over 60 year olds to our county. It’s us locals who are turning older,” said Huestis.
Huestis said the county must provide “affordable programs for its seniors so they can stay healthy and volunteer in schools, libraries and even EMS. By staying active people live longer.”
Despite the fact that he has stepped down from the Housing Corporation’s Board due to its charter which indicates board members must reside within Putnam, Huestis said the “door had just begun to open. I’m hoping to remain in some capacity with the housing corporation in order to find board members for Kent and Patterson while continuing to work with our excellent staff. If I really become bored, I can go back to stocking shelves at one of our area supermarkets. That training a half century ago at my mother’s grocery store has never been forgotten.”
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