Blog

Su Casa, Mi Casa

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

Yes, I know that the traditional phrase is Mi Casa, Su Casa which translates to My House is Your House. But for Judy Wells Aaron, the phrase  truly is “Your House, yes, but I care as if it was My House”. Spouse and partner of Birchez Associates’ Managing Member Steve Aaron, Judy creates the interior decorating and landscaping vision at the company’s extraordinary, affordable senior properties. These roles are in addition to her corporate responsibilities.

I was giving a tour at the latest gem among the Birchez communities, The Birches at Chambers.  We had arrived at the media room where residents will view recent releases and great classics on a theater quality screen and listen to scores on an accompanying state-of-the-art sound system, designed by Steve and Judy’s son, Josh Aaron.

One guest commented on the movie-themed artwork surrounding the theater foyer. “Where can you find this theater art?” was the question. I realized the guest had just started to appreciate Judy’s sense of caring for the communities that Birchez had created. (It should be noted that there was also fabulous, movie-themed pieces hanging outside the media room at The Birches at Esopus, completed last year.)

I next pointed out the adjoining kitchenette designed to service the media room – a place to make popcorn, keep beverages cold, for sure. But you could serve a small party from this well appointed space.

Then it struck me. The ultimate demo of the lengths Judy will go to! I opened the door to the stairs. (Bear in mind most visitors will take the elevator to the media room, not the stairs to the lower level. ) In a small stairwell one might expect to find empty or more likely cluttered with junk is a delightful vignette. A voluptuously shaped lacquered chest, topped with a tasteful cluster of silk flowers, is on view. Above,  Marilyn Monroe observes approvingly from a series of photos. So Hollywood, so sweet outside such a media room, so Judy!

Contributed by K.J. McIntyre, Director of Marketing, Birchez Associates LLC, kjmcintyre@birchez.com

Aging in Place: Birchez Associates’ Commitment to Health & Wellness

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

“It’s getting pretty hard to do things that I normally would’ve done.”  Those are the words of Alice Goldstein, a resident of The Birches at Chambers in the Town of Ulster.  In the last few years, Alice was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, the incurable, degenerative disease that could take away her ability to walk without assistance.  Alice even reports that she’s beginning to lose some of the ability in her hands.

So it’s come as quite a relief that The Birches at Chambers features fully adaptable, ADA-compliant amenities.

“If I do get in a wheelchair, the counter can be pushed back, so that’s great,” she says.  “That was one of my concerns, as a person who’s facing the possibility of being in a wheelchair.  It gave me great comfort to know that I don’t have to move out of this apartment.”

Ensuring that residents can stay in their homes and maintain their independent lifestyles is one of the core philosophies upon which Birchez Associates is built — aging in place (for a video on that commitment, click here).  Each and every apartment in the building has the capability to be adjusted to accommodate for changes in residents’ mobility.

But the commitment to maintaining residents’ wellness doesn’t stop at their apartments’ doors.  The Chambers at Birches and Esopus both feature a fully equipped fitness center, which, along with a trainer who specializes in age-appropriate exercises and stretching, is free of charge to residents.  This is a result of a strategic alliance forged by Steve Aaron with Kingston’s Signature Fitness owner Joe Perry. One-on-one appointments can also be set before or after open hours with the trainer, Barbara Devine, for a small fee.

“You can do all the exercises you need or you want,” says Joe Vanacore, a World War II veteran who lives on the first floor of The Birches at Chambers.  Joe worked in the construction business for fifty building stairs, but these days he uses a motorized wheelchair to get around, making stairs simply impossible.  Fortunately, the building is constructed for the ease of its residents, no matter what their method of movement.  Elevators cut out the need for stairs, while convenient access to mail, garbage, and laundry on each floor provides opportunities for residents to continue living independently.

Of course, when the need for medical assistance or advice arises, that’s covered, too.  Birchez Associates has formed a strategic alliance with Elant, Inc., a not-for-profit healthcare organization that provides a nurse with regular office hours at both The Birches at Chambers and The Birches at Esopus.  The nurse can be consulted, free of charge, regarding any medical questions a resident may have, including drug interactions.  Small, personalized touches—like being given cards with medical information gathered during sessions for future visits — help residents take control of their health and make better decisions to help them live better lives.

The end result of these and other amenities is that residents are given a place they can truly call “home.”  Many of the people living in Birchez Associates’ communities are lifelong residents of the Hudson Valley, and have had to face tough financial times where they had difficulty making ends meet on fixed incomes.  The communities built by Birchez Associates give them the option to stay in the area they’ve lived their whole lives, stay close to their families, while giving them the peace of mind that comes with affordable rent and adaptable, top flight amenities (just click here to see a video on our amenities) .

Joe Vanacore says it best when he recalls first laying eyes on his new home: “When I saw this apartment, I said, ‘this is it, I’ll never move again.’”

Brian Rubin for Birchez Associates, birchezassociates@gmail.com


Worth the Wait: Why Wait Lists Work

Monday, July 19th, 2010

It’s true: the wait lists are long for Birchez Associates’ senior affordable housing communities.  But don’t despair!  When we have an opening at a property, we go down the list of those who have checked that property on their application. Sometimes the people who are contacted aren’t quite ready to make a move, giving more opportunities to people lower down.  For example, an applicant has  planned a long visit with fer grandchildren, another applicant needs to sell his home before moving. . .

On top of that, when Birchez has a new property, we reach out to the wait lists at our existing communities.  That’s why some people on the waiting list for The Birches at Saugerties were able to find apartments in The Birches at Chambers. And others chose to stay on the wait list at The Birches at Saugerties. No penalty for declining the new property.

Even more important, the wait lists themselves can help create new affordable senior housing.  Case in point: New York State agencies can use wait lists as a region’s proof of need when they decide where to allocate funding.  The senior population in Ulster County continues to grow, and with it the need for affordable housing grows as well.  If local, state, and federal agencies can see hard proof of that need, funding will help fill that gap. New York State Senator John J. Bonacic spoke of the need for affordable housing at the recent dedication of The Birches at Chambers in the town of Ulster. Here are the Senator’s comments click here.

So what are you waiting for?  Sign up for the wait list!  It may not be as long a wait as you think…

Resident Profile: Joe Vanacore

Friday, July 9th, 2010

TOWN OF ULSTER, NY – Joe Vanacore, a native of Jamaica, Queens, has had the kind of experiences in his life that most people only read about in books.  And, in fact, when it comes to Joe, you can actually read about his exploits as a tank driver in Patton’s army in The Liberators, a book published in 2010, written by Michael Hirsh.

“We surprised Patton himself in terms of what we did to the enemy,” recalls Joe of his time spent in the European Theater of War.  “We never lost a fight to the enemy, and he started giving us all the dirty work because he could depend on us to do the job.”

As a tank driver, Joe got a first-hand tour of Europe—with the majority of his sights seen through the tank periscope—and, with the use of his bulldozer-modified tank, personally busted in the gates of the Ohrdruf concentration camp, located near Weimar, Germany.

As a veteran, Joe was chosen to open the recent dedication of The Birches at Chambers by leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

In the years after the war, Joe kept working hard, making his living in the construction business and moving up to Shokan in 1955 with his wife.

After over 40 years in Shokan, the couple made their way to Kingston because of health issues.    “My wife got pretty sick. So we got her a bed at Golden Hill, and she died there only a month later.”

Since then, Joe had moved into a senior complex in Kingston, a place that didn’t have much going for it, in his eyes. “The buildings were very cheesy, cheap,” he says.  Worse, this veteran didn’t feel safe there. So two months ago, after a recommendation from his granddaughter in the real estate business, Joe moved into his new apartment in The Birches at Chambers.

“Let’s put it this way,” he says of his new home.  “In the last 25 years, I moved about four times, maybe longer than that.  When I saw this apartment, I said, ‘this is it, I’ll never move again.’

“I find it very nice.  They keep you occupied.  You got a gym downstairs with a trainer, you can do all the exercises you need or you want.  You got the art room for arts and crafts, you got the computer room, you got a movie room, you got a card playing room.  Just name it—everything is happy.  The people are really satisfied.  I have never heard anybody say they didn’t like it.”

Part of what makes Joe’s home so good is the personal attention provided by the staff and management, particularly Birchez Associates’ founder and managing member Steve Aaron and his wife Judy.

“Their objective here is to make the people happy, and keep them happy.  And it’s not easy to do, when you’ve got that many old people,” he says with a laugh.  “They’ll complain about the air, for crying out loud.

“But he takes care of it, Steve.  He doesn’t let any complaints get by him.”

Brian Rubin for Birchez Associates, birchezassociates@gmail.com