“Al Hartsig, business development officer with the PathStone Enterprise Center in Rochester, cautioned small-business people against applying for loans from multiple institutions at once, a practice that he said can end up hurting their credit score. A better approach, he said, is to “go to the banks and interview them.”

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PathStone in Puerto Rico has been selected as a host organization for the “The Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship.”  The mission of the Rose Fellowship is to inspire and nurture a new generation of architects as lifelong leaders dedicated to creating sustainable communities for people at all income levels. 

 The Rose Fellows use their design and organizational skills to help their host organization create or preserve sustainable, affordable home and much-needed community facilities for low-income people in underserved communities.  They live where they work, forging community ties, developing leadership skills and expanding the capacity of the local host organization to execute projects with the best possible designs, meaningful community engagement and the most advanced green building features.

Chosen competitively from among the best and brightest emerging architects in the country, the Fellows work for three years as part of the host organization’s staff, assisting with real estate development tasks such as neighborhood planning, site acquisition, site planning, architectural plans, proformas, financing applications and public approvals.  Fellows are expected to help their host organization improve standards and practices for quality design, sustainability, and community engagement.

The host provides mentorship and guidance, supporting the development of the Fellow’s career by providing the necessary assignments, work environment, supervision and fringe benefits.  The host organization benefits from the skills, passion and commitment of a Rose Fellow, who works as a team member on the host’s staff to fulfill the mission of the organization.

As PathStone strives to increase its capacity to provide safe, decent, affordable housing on the Island, the Fellow will work with PathStone’s Puerto Rico development team to spearhead the creation of design standards that incorporate state-of-the-art design suited to the culture and availability of sustainable materials on the Island, and to identify and incorporate community planning principles into site decisions.

Specifically, the Fellow will be involved with PathStone farmworker housing projects in Orocovis and Lajas.  In Orocovis the Fellow will develop a housing concept and site plan that is feasible, green and reflects the needs of the farmworker population, and will obtain preliminary zoning permits.  In Lajas, the Fellow will review proposed site and building plans and analyze how they would successfully meet the needs of future residents, funding sources and green/sustainable criteria, and provide recommendations to the community.

The Fellow will also work with stakeholders to develop a housing model that reflects the best in design principles while being in conformance with funders’ requirements and meeting green/sustainable criteria.  The Fellow will work with the development team to review/revise/adapt PathStone’s “Project Selection Criteria” (Go/No Go) to the differences/realities of development decisions in Puerto Rico. 

Rochester, N.Y. –In the Marketview Heights neighborhood of Rochester, there is a group of residents who not only want to see change in their community but actively engage in changing it.  Called the Collective Action Project, it consists of three Action Teams: Safety and Security, Housing and Development, and Beautification.  For the past six years, the group is responsible for a multitude of improvements in the quality of life in the neighborhood.  There have been enhancements in the aesthetics of the neighborhood, namely the addition of several community gardens.  Also, the dedication and hard work of the group directly resulted in the building of Fastrac Markets (located on E. Main Street at N. Union Street), which provides fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy products, and is a welcome alternative to the unhealthy foods found in corner stores.

However, there has been one shortcoming: a lack of youth voices in the group.  With the assistance of Pamela Reese Smith, Community Project Administrator for PathStone Corporation, the group decided that there needed to be an addition: a Youth Action Team.  In early 2009, PathStone applied for a Rochester Youth Year Fellow to help in the development of a Youth Action Team for the Collective Action Project.  Rochester Youth Year is an AmeriCorps*VISTA sponsored program managed by the Rochester Regional Network, an association of seven local colleges.  Highly talented recent graduates are placed in community-based organizations for one year in order to establish or develop programs that address the various challenges facing youth and families in Rochester.

In late August 2009, Rochester Youth Year Fellow Jillian Paris, a recent graduate of Nazareth College, joined PathStone.  In mid-October, Pamela and Jillian met with Maurice Haskins, the director of a youth/adult partnership after-school program at the Community Place of Greater Rochester (CPGR).  After much discussion, they decided that a partnership between CPGR’s after-school program and PathStone’s new Youth Action Team would be beneficial to the youth in the after-school program; being apart of the team would give these young people an opportunity to be leaders in the community through the implementation of a civic engagement project.   In addition to the Collective Action meetings, the youth meet once a week.  In these meetings, they have been brainstorming different ideas for possible civic engagement projects and hope to have a project identified by spring.  After the youth complete their project, they will be heading to Washington, DC with the goal of presenting their project to Rochester’s federal representatives and lobbying on Capitol Hill for change in their community.

The Youth Action Team is made up of seven responsible, articulate, and intelligent young people.  Ranging in age from 15 to 18, these highly motivated young people desperately want to see change in their community.  Their unique perspectives will be an asset to the Collective Action Project as well as the community as a whole.

Local residents to train for ‘green jobs’ through federal grant

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$2.3 million federal grant will train 200 local residents for jobs

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January 13, 2010

Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand announced that PathStone Corporation of Rochester will gain access to $8 million over two years through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Green for Gold project to help individuals find jobs within energy efficiency and clean energy sub-sectors.  Funding for the Green for Gold project will be provided by the Pathways Out of Poverty Grants Program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and will fund both green job training and evaluation projects.  Low income workers will be taught the skills required in high growth industries, including energy efficiency and renewable energy.

“This funding is a win-win for the Rochester area.  It creates jobs and improves the quality of life for New Yorkers and their families,” said Schumer.  “In tough economic times, it is crucial to the region’s economic health that we invest in clean energy jobs and give our citizens the tools they need to remain competitive.  I will continue to push at a federal level to bring Rochester the support it needs to help create jobs and become a leader in the green energy movement.”

“New York manufacturing and businesses powered us through the 20^th century, but have been among those hit hardest by these tough economic times,” Senator Gillibrand said. “This federal investment will help give workers in Rochester the skills they need to get back to work and thrive in the new energy economy, and rebuild our economy with new sources of clean, homegrown energy.”

The Green for Gold project will train participants for employment in three energy efficiency and clean energy sub-sectors.  The program designed for the Rochester area will focus on deconstruction and specifically on city properties slated for demolition in the area.

“PathStone is thrilled to have been selected by the US Department of Labor to lead this important effort to train the workers that will be needed in the near future by Rochester area business and industry as this region takes its place as a national leader in the “green revolution,” said Stuart Mitchell, PathStone’s president and CEO.

PathStone will focus its attention on individuals who are living near or below the poverty level and who may lack basic literacy and job readiness skills.  To assist individuals in meeting these challenges, PathStone will integrate training and supportive services into a cohesive and comprehensive program that will help targeted populations find pathways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency through employment in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

Funding for this project is provided by the Pathways Out of Poverty grants program, which supports individuals who are living near or below the poverty level and may lack basic literacy and job readiness skills. To assist individuals in meeting these challenges, the Pathways Out of Poverty grants will integrate training and supportive services into cohesive programs that will help targeted populations find pathways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency through employment in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries.

Join elected offi cials, government partners, private supporters, business representatives and key stakeholders. This will be an opportunity for key leadership of our island-based PathStone operations, including staff, Board Members and Board of Advisors, to report on our past successes and discuss our future plans in Puerto Rico.

Networking Reception
January 13, 2010
5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
McConnell Valdés LLC
270 Muñoz Rivera Avenue
Adolfo Valdés Conference Room, 9th Floor
Hato Rey, Puerto Rico 00918

Poolside Reception & Dinner
January 14, 2010
6:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Ponce Holiday Inn
3315 Ponce By Pass
Ponce, Puerto Rico 00728

Elected offi cials, community partners, business representatives and key stakeholders located closer to Ponce will join the PathStone Board and staff in a presentation similar to the one given in Hato Rey.

Parque Platino
RibbonCutting Ceremony
January 15, 2010
1:30 p.m.
Lares, Puerto Rico 00669
14 apartments for very low-income seniors.

Alturas de Castañer
RibbonCutting Ceremony
January 15, 2010
4:00 p.m.
Castañer, Puerto Rico 00631
24 apartments for low- and moderate-income farmworkers

Please  contact Yesenia Ramos at 585.340.3396 or yramos@pathstone.org for more information.