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Birchez Associates featured on Senior Services panel

Friday, June 10th, 2011

At the recent annual conference for the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH), a panel on senior housing featured Birchez Associates. Speaking for Birchez were Founder & Managing Member Steven L. Aaron and Director of Marketing, K.J. McIntyre. Known to provide market rate plus services and amenities at affordable rents for seniors, Birchez Associates has built and manages four affordable senior communities in the Hudson Valley, as well as one workforce affordable community.

Entitled Serving Seniors: Innovative Ideas and Opportunities, the panel was chaired by Peter Florey of D&F Development. In addition to the Birchez representatives, the panel included Ken Harris of the NY Association of Housing & Services for the Aging, Evelyn Wolff of Selfhelp Community Services, Julie Behrens of the NYC Department of Housing Preservation & Development, and Stuart Zalka representing NYS Homes & Community Renewal.

Among services and amenities provided for residents, Birchez Associates employs a Senior Advocate, Alice Tipp, who had served for 30 years in the Ulster County Legislature and chaired the Health Services Committee. Ms. Tipp provides a knowledgable bridge to resources and services in the greater community. At residents’ meetings, she frequently invites service providers to meet with the residents. Augmenting the advocacy team is the Director of Community Services, Paul Watzka.

Working with agencies such as the Ulster County Office for the Aging and Jewish Family Services, Birchez has brought services to the doorstep. Both physical and mental health issues are attended to at the Birchez Communities. This spring a mental health social worker was on hand to meet with seniors dealing with issues such as bereavement and depression and to recommend longer term services available often at no cost to the senior. One result of this has been the formation of a weekly group at The Birches at Chambers.

Physical health is improved at the Fitness Studios available at both The Birches at Chambers and The Birches at Esopus (although open to all Birchez residents). Here a specially trained senior fitness coach is available at no cost to work out at the residents ability and speed.

Augmenting amenities include Media Centers with state of the art projection and sound for the latest Indie or Classic film. Community rooms encourage gatherings, the library/game room to meet with friends, and a computer lab for instruction and free use.

The crafts room allows seniors to show off crafting ability and to learn new ones. A team of knitters created nearly 100 caps for young children this past winter at both the local neighborhood center and Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital. Among the participants were three male seniors, two of whom were in wheelchairs. None of them had ever knitted before but they took to the project with zeal.

Steven L. Aaron, Founder & Managing Member of Birchez Associates LLC, is a board member of NYSAFAH. Birchez Associates was a Gold Sponsor for the annual conference held in New York City each spring. Birchez Associates LLC, founded in 2002, has built five affordable housing communities in the Hudson Valley.

The New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH), formed in 1998, the New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH) is the trade association for New York’s affordable housing industry statewide. Our 300 members include for-profit and nonprofit developers, lenders, investors, syndicators, attorneys, architects and others active in the financing, construction, and operation of affordable housing. Together, NYSAFAH’s members are responsible for virtually all of the housing built in New York State with federal, state, or local subsidies. is the trade association for New York’s affordable housing industry statewide. Our 300 members include for-profit and nonprofit developers, lenders, investors, syndicators, attorneys, architects and others active in the financing, construction, and operation of affordable housing. Together, NYSAFAH’s members are responsible for virtually all of the housing built in New York State with federal, state, or local subsidies.

Case Study in Excellence: The Birches at Esopus

Wednesday, May 4th, 2011

New York, NY: The New York State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH) honored Birchez Associates’ affordable senior community, The Birches at Esopus, as Case Study in Excellence at a reception and presentation held in New York City at the REBNY (Real Estate Board of New York) headquarters.

Already recognized by NYSAFAH as Project of the Year — Upstate for 2010, The Birches at Esopus served as a case study in successful public and private partnership, innovative financing, and green energy efficiencies. At its ribbon cutting, the community was also acknowledged as an Energy $mart Building by NYSERDA, in part because 70% of domestic hot water and 30% of the heat comes from solar thermal panels. Further, The Birches at Esopus was one of four national finalists for Senior Project of the Year in Affordable Housing Magazine.

The panel (shown to the right) was introduced by Jay Seiden, Seiden & Schein, PC, and comprised Birchez Associates Founder & Managing Member, Steven L. Aaron, The Honorable John Coutant, Supervisor of the Town of Esopus, John Kelly, Esq. of Nixon Peabody, Marian Zucker of New York State Homes & Community Renewal, Peter King representing the Federal Home Loan Bank – NY, and Rita Wyatt Esq., principal of Wyatt & Co. Judy Wells Aaron and K.J. McIntyre both of Birchez Associates also participated in the presentation. Available for the Q&A were the Town of Esopus clerk, Diane L. McCord, town council member Gloria VanVliet and chair of the planning board Roxanne Pecora (shown in the lower left photo from right to left).

Key topics introduced both by panel participants and the audience included:

Finding financing for affordable housing projects and how that has changed in today’s economic market

Creating market rate amenities to both attract residents and to fulfill aging in place goals

Structuring a public – private partnership and the political courage it takes to succeed in bringing quality affordable housing to a community

Changing environment in the now combined DHCR and nyhomes, now New York State Homes and Community Renewal

Attendees included developers, financiers, architects, attorneys and other members of NYSAFAH.

Spring Expo shows off Birchez Associates

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011

This year’s Lions’ Club Expo at the Hudson Valley Mall featured a new participant: Birchez Associates. Shown to the left with our booth are Teri Sola, Property Management Compliance, and Cheryl Meehan, Property Manager at both The Birches at Esopus and The Birches at Saugerties. Throughout the two day event we were also represented by Judy Fitzpatrick, Senior Property Manager, Paul Watzka, Director of Community Affairs, and K.J. McIntyre, Director of Marketing.

Last but certainly not least, the one and only Alice Tipp, Senior Advocate for The Birches Communities, held court for several hours on Sunday. After her 30 years in the legislature and over five years with us, Alice is known far and wide. One couple who stopped by, married for over 50 years seemed to take almost more pride in their voting record for Alice from the beginning of her career in public service.

One unexpected treat for the staff was the number of residents who stopped by, frequently showing off photos or stopping to point out parts of the videos being shown to their friends and family. We hope that many of our visitors will in fact submit applications so that we might add them to the wait lists. Sooner you are on the list, the sooner a spot might open with your name on it! If you didn’t make it to the mall, stop by one of our communities (call first to assure a tour and application will be ready for you). Just click on the communities tab or one of the community photos on the home page for contact information.

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

When Medication Leads to the ER

Thursday, March 10th, 2011

Maybe it was having one of our residents checked out at the ER today that tweaked my interest when I saw a posting picked up by msnbc.com – Health. As reported by My Health News Daily, older Americans face a greater risk of harmful reactions to medications than younger individuals, a new study suggests. The study, conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), found adults ages 50 and older comprised 51.5 percent of all emergency department visits in 2008 that were due to reactions to medications. That’s about 1.1 million visits. And of those visits, about 61 percent were made by people aged 65 or older, and 60.9 percent were made by women.

Older people may be more likely to react badly to their medications because of physiological changes that occur with age, or because they’re taking multiple medications, the researchers said. These reactions may pose an increasing public health challenge as the number of older Americans continues to grow in decades to come.

“Individuals taking medications need to take personal responsibility, and not assume that just because the medications are legally prescribed that they are without risk,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde. “People should monitor how they feel when on medication, ask their doctor about what signs to look out for, and not hesitate to contact a doctor if they feel the medication is having adverse effects on their health.”

Birchez Editor’s Note: I’d go one step further. Ask your doc for a review of medications when a new med is prescribed. Sometimes the prescribing physician is only looking at the top page or so of the chart and may not be aware of other meds that may interfere with or magnify the effects of the new med. Also, keeping all your prescriptions at one pharmacy may catch some harmful drug interactions and reactions BEFORE they happen.

Most of the emergency visits involved reactions to just one medication. Reactions to pain relievers accounted for the largest share of these visits (24.3 percent). Other cases involved cardiovascular system medications, metabolic disorder treatments and psychotherapeutic drugs. Nearly 33 percent of emergency room visits by older adults resulted in hospitalizations for further treatment, the study showed.

The study was based on data from SAMHSA’s 2008 Drug Abuse Warning Network (DAWN). DAWN is a public health surveillance system that monitors drug-related hospital emergency department visits reported throughout the nation.

Pass it on: Older Americans make up the majority of those who visit the emergency room for adverse reactions to medication.

Article passed along by K.J. McIntyre, Director of Marketing, Birchez Associates.

Making sure home health aides are helping

Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

Senior Housing News reports that while home and community based service delivery is a critical component for the future of senior care, a new study finds that paid caregivers may not be up to the task. One more reason to work with licensed home health care agencies. Check into the training and screening that the agency provides. Our Senior Advocate, Alice Tipp, as well as Director of Community Affairs Paul Watzka can assist in providing information on local agencies, as can the property managers at The Birches senior communities. Here is info cited in the article:

A new study, titled “Inadequate Health Literacy among Paid Caregivers of Seniors”, by Northwestern University finds that more than one-third of caregivers had difficulty reading and understanding health-related information and directions. Sixty percent made errors when sorting medications into pillboxes. The study, which will be published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, surveyed non-family caregivers in the Chicago area and assesses their health literacy levels and caregiving tasks. The study is serving as a basis to work on establishing employment screening tasks as one of the long-term goals of the study.

“We found that nearly 86 percent of the caregivers perform health-related tasks,” said Lee Lindquist, MD, assistant professor of geriatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and physician at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and lead author of the study. “Most of the caregivers are women, about 50 years old. Many are foreign born or have a limited education. The jobs typically pay just under $9 per hour, but nearly one-third of the caregivers earn less than minimum wage.”

– K.J. McIntyre, Director of Marketing, Birchez Associates LLC

Baby Boomers: How a Retiring Generation is Keeping Community and Wellness in Mind

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Kingston, 11/10 by Meghan Zanetich

Active Adult Communities (AAC) are continually changing and upgrading the concept of amenities, offering more to potential residents than ever before. These days, the 55-and-better community is taking notice, and choosing to retire in places where they can continue to live full and enriching lifestyles.

In these communities “active” is the operative word. It is active participation by the residents that is attracting attention. “There has been much more focus on personal control in your life,” says Barbara Devine, personal trainer at The Birches at Chambers, one of five Birchez Associates, LLC, communities. She says that people are looking to improve their quality of life, and physical activity is a huge part of that. “Workouts give people a chance to socialize, talk, and most importantly, gain confidence,” Devine says.

In addition to a fitness studio, The Birches at Chambers offers a community room, media room, computer lab, crafts room, and library, all with full accessibility to residents like 63-year-old Candace Belles. “All of the amenities are geared to keeping you active as possible – one of the reasons I wanted to be here,” Belles says. She was recently elected activities chair and says that people are taking interest in developing clubs and participating in many things. Bus trips to the Monticello Casino and Raceway and the Eastern States Exposition Fair in West Springfield , MA, are being planned, in addition to movie nights and dance lessons. “Dancing is very big around here – we’ve even had salsa dancers come to our community room,” Belles says.

While most activities are done on-site, a lot of residents’ hard work is sent off into the community. Groups will gather to weave and embroider lap blankets for local hospitals, or even to become foster grandparents in the community, like Belles does. The range of activities in most of these communities is based around your state of mobility, but many places offer buses for non-driving residents. . .

As the baby boomers redefine the “golden years,” this active generation will once again start a trend of what retirement can really mean. As they downsize their homes and downshift from corporate careers, they will continue to live a life full of socializing, educational, athletic and service-oriented activities, wellness, and fun. In addition to the lifestyle they will continue, or begin, in an AAC, the 55-and-better demographic will see longer days while keeping a sense of community in their life.

Photographs with captions: top left “At The Birches at Esopus, residents meet in the two-storied foyer as they wait for a ride into town, allowing them to spend time with the others in the community.”

middle right: “A fully-equipped fitness studio staffed by a skilled trainer at The Birches at Chambers allows residents to build strength and gain confidence, while improving their health and wellness.”

bottom left: “Residents at The Birches at Chambers gather in the media room to watch classic films and independent movies produced in the Hudson Valley.”

Excerpted from the full article, Baby Boomers: How a Retiring Generation is Keeping Community and Wellness in Mind, in the Boomer’s Guide to Living 2010 published by Schein Media (Kingston, NY)

The publication is currently available by clicking here.

Going Green: Affordable housing can also be sustainable

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

08/22/2010 12:38 PM YNN for the Hudson Valley by Terry Ettinger

Click here for link to broadcast

Affordable housing can also be sustainable, energy-efficient housing – case in point, a new 66-unit senior citizen apartment complex recently dedicated in Ulster County.“Radiant heat in the floors, 70 percent of our heat and hot water is produced with solar power, a 50 kw photovoltaic electric system, every single apartment is air-blower tested for air infiltration, the air conditioning systems have the highest efficiency ratings available, the heating systems are European in design and they know about saving energy over there because they’ve been paying more than we have. Our boilers, for example, are 97 to 98 percent efficiency,” said Steve Aaron, Managing Member of Birchez Associates. Birchez Associates was able to do this in part by obtaining state grants.

“New York State has a number of programs that help support builders and developers who are interested in trying to provide a sustainable approach to construction. I divide them into two groups; one is at the single- family level (individual homes) and the other is for multi-family homes and building support as well,” said Paul Crovella, Sustainable Construction Management and Engineering, SUNY-ESF.

Paul Crovella teaches sustainable construction management.

“The single-family home, New York State currently has a program for builders interested in going through Energy Star certification for the home. It provides money for the builders to do that and essentially offsets quite a bit of the cost,” said Crovella.

Similar programs are available for multi-family construction like senior citizen housing offering incentives for developers to think green when they’re in the design stage for upgrading the insulation, window quality and the efficiency of the heating plant, like they did at the new Birches at Chambers, and Crovella believes it’s a worthwhile program.

“It makes a lot of sense in that the individual who is building a project like that, if they know they’re not going to be paying the utility bills over the life of the building then they have very little incentive to put in a better window or improve the efficiency,” said Crovella.

Central Hudson’s Almanac Salutes Birchez’ Green Affordable Commitment

Saturday, August 21st, 2010

August 20, 2010: Paul Tesoro, Director of Communications for Central Hudson, hosts a daily broadcast called Almanac aired on multiple Hudson Valley radio stations. We were pleased that he featured The Birches at Chambers and The Birches at Esopus in today’s broadcast. Paul highlighted the amenities that our communities offer and how they contribute to the quality of life for our residents. In addition, the broadcast covered the green aspects that ultimately contribute not only to health but also affordability. To listen to the broadcast, click here (it takes a moment for the intro to kick in).

The next phase for Birchez Associates

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Aaron’s Birchez Associates opens fifth affordable housing facility in Ulster

Kingston Times, July 15, 2010 By Carrie Jones Ross Pictured Below Right: Library/Game Room at The Birches at Chambers

The enigma stealing sleep from the burgeoning legion of baby boomers – “Where can I afford to live when I retire? Will it be safe? Will it be clean? Will I be lonely?” – just got a little easier to figure out.

Dignitaries from the county and state joined other people of influence and three full tents of perspiring seniors during last Thursday’s oppressive heat wave to cut the ribbon commemorating some 75 seniors (62 and older) moving into the fully sustainable and LEED-certified 66 newly-constructed, 600+ square-foot apartments at Birches at Chambers on Maple Lane in the Town of Ulster. Chambers is fifth in a line of desperately-needed affordable housing projects in Ulster County built by developer Steve Aaron; his previous projects include Chambers Court, Birches at Esopus, Birches at Saugerties and Birchwood Village. The $16 million complex will be the first platinum-rated LEED-certified project of its kind in Ulster County.

Imagine paying a fixed monthly rent between $596 and $721 for a one-bedroom apartment. What would you get? Well-lit, freshly-carpeted halls with security cameras? Laundry rooms furnished with handicapped-accessible, brand-new machines for the long-gone bargain price of $1 a wash on every floor? A secure computer room with four flat-screen panel monitors? A free gym filled with new machines and classes just an elevator ride away? A beautifully furnished library with games and a community room with a kitchen and French doors leading to a patio? Media room with kitchenette? Would you expect beautifully kept grounds with a full-time groundskeeper and state-of-the-art security? In all likelihood, no, but Aaron’s new project promises all those amenities.

The community was designed for those who earn less than 60 percent of the area median income (currently $29,480 for a single person). The shift to friendlier colloquialisms reflects our slowly evolving views on affordable housing. Aaron emphatically concurred with the opening ceremonies speech given by County Executive Mike Hein when he stated, “It’s not about bricks and mortar, it’s about people – dignified housing for people.”

Aaron explained that his company has been dedicated to answering seniors’ and working families’ mounting housing crisis and has “gotten a little smarter” with each project. “We didn’t start off wondering what to do to be LEED-compliant,” Aaron explained. “But we found that we were already doing all that anyway.”

Birches at Esopus and Saugerties got the ball rolling forward with Energy Star appliances and energy-efficient radiant floor heat. Aaron took the Birches at Chambers project all the way, by including even more things like 97 percent-efficient Swiss-made boilers to accommodate the smart-design European heating system and solar hot water heaters. There are also energy recovery units recycling air through HEPA filters also pouring into a series of cooling condensers for air conditioning, eliminating the potentially harmful bacteria that collect in vents and ducts and saving big money for residents on extra-tight incomes.

Birchez is also referred to as “phase two”, conjoining the 2005-built Chambers Court community, oriented for 55 and older active lifestyle seniors. Aaron broke ground for Birches at Chambers in February 2009 to build the facility for residents with mobility issues. A community dining hall is in the works, at which point Birches at Chambers may likely go in the direction of assisted living, he said. Each apartment does have a kitchen (equipped with Energy Star appliances), however, those residents who do not cook rely upon the Meals on Wheels program.

Elant Home Health Care has an office in Birches and holds twice-weekly wellness clinics. ”We meet with the families, and if they opt for services we link with their primary practioner and devise care plans,” Elant health coordinator Kelly Ketcham explained. The goal, Ketcham stressed, is, “to keep people in their home setting, prevent hospitalizations and nursing home placements.” She added, “I do this for my head and heart, because that’s what I would want done for me.”

Aaron, who sits in good company on the executive committee of the Ulster County Housing Consortium, has his eyes on the horizon line of several locations including Fishkill, New Paltz and Ellenville. Aaron recently also submitted a building proposal in the Town of Rosendale in response to their request for affordable senior housing.

A myriad of agencies came together to make the building possible, including Enterprise Community Investments who notably found investors to actually finance portions of the project during this tight-fisted economy. One such financier was the “Oracle of Omaha” – Warren Buffett, who according to Aaron, has been financing affordable housing for years.

It did not come together without some issues, though. Aaron, who supported and employed former Town of Ulster supervisor Nick Woerner, got into a dispute earlier this year over alleged safety issues at Chambers Phase II with the town board led by the man who beat Woerner, Supervisor James Quigley. The spat held up the project’s temporary certificate of occupancy, which held up some of the first residents’ moving-in dates. Charges and counter-charges flew between Aaron and Quigley, but the dispute was resolved on March 31, allowing residents to claim their apartments.

They love it here

A group of residents rested in the bright, crisp entrance room from the day’s oppressive heat during the ribbon-cutting and subsequent luncheon, talking excitedly in a group about their appreciation of the new facility. Resident Clara McGill said that she always enjoyed visiting Kingston as a place to shop and dine, but never before considered living there until Birches at Chambers was built. “I have rented most of my life, and I have never seen anything like this place. It’s incredible here. Sometimes I even feel guilty for having this place,” McGill said. Lifelong Kingston resident “Mary” agreed. “We have fallen into a gold mine here. It was a little rough in the beginning, but I don’t think we could ask for a better place to live. The amenities are incredible.”

The residents commented on how often they see Aaron and his wife Judy, and how easily they can communicate with the couple. They love the decor (for which Judy is responsible), the fitness studio, their apartments (“It’s beautiful!” they crooned), and asked the Kingston Times to put out a message of sincere thanks to everyone on their behalf; to the Aarons, groundskeepers, maintenance and security.

To discuss the article in Ulster Publishing’s forum, click here and scroll to the bottom of the article.

Hudson Valley Senior Housing Community Named National Finalist

Monday, June 14th, 2010

HOUSING FINANCE NEWS

April 9, 2010 The Birches at Esopus named National Finalist for Readers’ Choice Awards

AHF Announces Sixth Annual Readers’ Choice Finalists

Affordable Housing Finance is pleased to announce the finalists of its sixth annual Readers’ Choice Awards for the nation’s best developments of 2009-2010. Finalists were announced in nine categories; readers will vote on the finalists as they are presented in the July issue of Affordable Housing Finance magazine. In the category of senior housing, the following four projects were selected for national voting:

• Alta Torre in Palo Alto, Calif.; developed by BRIDGE Housing

• The Birches at Esopus in Ulster Park, N.Y.; developed by Birchez Associates, LLC

• Senior City Apartments in Federal Way, Wash.; developed by Korean Women’s Association

• The Terraces on Tulane in New Orleans; developed by Volunteers of America

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