Daily News from New York, New York • 183

srr rrtenf pas Elect Hughes 01 xD sici -s fJf is attracting a growing number of merchants to the island. The community now boasts a variety of basic goods and services. A Sloan's supermarket started business this month. There also are a large and well-appointed delicatessen; an Italian restaurant; a stationery shop that doubles as general store; a laundry, dry-cleaning and shoe-repair shop; a liquor store, and a New York Telephone Co. store stocked with instruments for immediate installation.

A Bigelow's drugstore is under construction, and plans are underway for a coffeehousesidewalk cafe. Since October, Roosevelt Island has also had its own post office. Christine Flynn, executive vice president, of the Roosevelt Island Development attributes the accelerating rental and sales pace to an increased public awareness that Roosevelt Island has become a populous and thriving community with a life style all its own. "The highly advanced public school system and the day-care and after-school programs are particularly important factors in drawing families to Roosevelt island," Ms. Flynn adds.

The largest selection of rental apartments is in the award-winning East-, wood group, which contains, 1,000 units, of which 777 have been rented. Eastwood apartments are available to individuals and families whose "incomes do not exceed $25,000 and who qualify under the HUD Section 236 interest-reduction program. All Eastwood studios have been rented. Still available are one to four-bedroom apartments ranging from $256 to $421 a month. At Rivercross, the Island's luxury cooperative group, 143 apartments have been sold since the start of sales last June, of which 46 were sold during November and December.

Rivercross contains 376 apartments boasting truly spectacular views of Manhattan and the East river. The apartments range from studios to super-deluxe four-bedroom suites. Rivercross apartments are offered by prospectus only. -Rental and Sales Agents J. I.

Sopher Co. is the rental and sales agent for the Island House, West-view and Rivercross groups. UA Management Corporation is the rental agent for the Eastwood group. The population spurt (to over 3,000) Everything about Roosevelt Island is unusual even its renting patterns. During November and December, traditionally the slowest months for real estate marketing, the East River Island Development rented and sold more than 300 apartments, a spokesman reported.

Approximately 80 of the developments 1.760 apartments are now taken. Only 365 apartments remain available among all three of the Island's rental communities. Island House has rented 342 of its 399 apartments, the largest number still available are three-bedroom apartments ranging from $652 to $729 a month. Westview has rented 276 of its 360 apartments, which range in price from S320 for a studio to a top of $887 for a deluxe three-bedroom suite. Panoramic Views The widest choice of apartments still avaiable at Westview are one bedrooms ranging from $433 to $481 a month.

Both Island House and Westview are perched on the west bank of the Island, commanding panoramic views of the East River and Manhattan. PJ ci CO a 2 Brian Hughes, a partner in the Bean Homes building- organization, has been elected president of the Suffolk County Builders Association, founded in 1960 as the Babylon Town Builders Association. arc! Chief Lefralc Program Aids the Elderly ilect Levy determine whether they meet Section 8 criteria. These include an expenditure of 40 or more monthly on rent or residence in housing which creates physical hardship or is medically dangerous. After the person is approved, we arrange moving.

After they have moved into Lefrak City, they are turned over to a Lefrak City social service group. Dennis Chaleff, manager of Lefrak City, meets with them on all physical details of the apartment, including painting and special details such as hand rails in bathtubs which are helpful to older people. "Joseph Rosenberger of the Lefrak City rental staff handles all last-minute details of the physical move-in. Ed Campbell, Lefrak City community relations director, gives the older people an orientation program to the community and arranges ongoing medical care, if necessary, affiliation with local religious groups and other special services. Sibby Marmora, Lefrak City director of security, spells out the Lefrak City security system, including an escort service through which older people are accompanied on errands and other tasks by a security officer." Moskowitz summed up his attitude: "We can either sit by and do nothing when we hear of violent crime against older people, people who are virtually prisoners in their homes, or we can do something about it.

Our response is 'Operation New Life'." He said that the initial 123 Section 8 residents at Lefrak City are from high- The Lefrak Organization, the-city's largest landlord, has instituted "Operation New Life" a campaign to relocate older New Yorkers from high crime areas and place them in affordable apartments subsidized through the federal government's Section 8 program. Samuel J. Lefrak, chairman of the board of the Lefrak Organization, reports that 123 older individuals and families have been placed, through the program, in Lefrak City, the large mousing community owned "by the firm in Forest Hills. In order to meet the criteria of the Section 8 program, the Lefrak Organization has made voluntary decreases in rentals. One-bedroom apartments have been reduced from $230 a month to $206; two-bedroom apartments from S295 to $240 a month; and studios to $185 per month.

Federal Subsidy This is the basic rent. But the actual funds expended by the senior citizens for rent are much lower, since a large portion is subsidized by the Section 8 program. Lefrak said another 200 to 300 older persons from high-crime areas throughout New York are now having applications processed for residence in Lefrak buildings under Section 8. In all, Lefrak hopes to accommodate as many as 3,000 senior citizens. "Operation New Life" was designed originally as a.

program to accelerate the processing of qualified senior citizens into safe, privately owned housing. But the City Housing Authority lost federal- subsidy funds because of the time lag and the program foundered. Lefrak said that his organization began searching out qualified senior citizens when he was informed by the authority that it didn't have the necessary personnel and funds to push program forward. He said that his organization discovered that most senior citizens are not aware of their opportunities for a better life through Section 8. "We also discovered that many older people would rather live in dangerous and substandard conditions in high-crime areas than "undergo the emotional hardship of relocation.

They also feared any involvement with the bureaucracy in processing their applications for a Section 8 apartment," said Lefrak. His firm's response to the situation was to utilize the services of a Queens real estate firm, Better Life Renting Corp. The real estate firm formed a special group to accelerate the Section 8 program. An Ad Campaign The company began an advertising campaign to acquaint prospective tenants with the program. "We discovered that this wasn't enough.

Many older people are simply frozen into immobility. We discovered that intimate personal contact and counseling was the only answer," said Alvin Moskowitz, vice president of Better Life. Moskowitz and his colleagues then began meeting with, church and religious groups, senior citizens' clubs and social service organizations. "We went into the homes of older people and explained the Section 8 program to them. And, we discovered that simply renting older people a safe and affordable apartment wasn't the only answer." With this in mind, Better Life began what can only be termed a full social service program.

"We personally accompany the older people to the Housing Authority in order to process their applications and accompany them to interviews "which In a major realignment of its top executives, Cross Brown New York's largest independent commercial real estate brokerage and management firm, has elected Norman F. Levy chairman of the board and chief executive officer; Richard W. Seeler, president and chief operating officer; S. Dudley Nostrand, vice chairman of the board; Robert H. Abrams -and Robert E.

Waldron, executive vice presidents. Nostrand, who has served as chairman, chief executive officer and chief operating officer since 1962, will continue to concentrate on his specialty of real estate brokerage. He joined Cross Brown in 1945 as head of its sales department and became president in 1956. Levy, who has spent his entire career at Cross Brown, joined the company as a canvasser in 1934. He rose to vice president in 1946 and executive vice president in 1962 and has been president since 1967.

Seeler, executive vice president since 1967, joined the company in 1961 and became a senior vice president in 1965. He is also chairman of the Real Estate Board of New York. Abrams, a senior vice president since 1971, joined the company in 1959 and became a vice president in 1964. Waldron started with Cross Brown as an appraiser in 1954, became a broker in 1959, a vice president in 1963 and a senior vice president in 1969. Change for Eggers The Eggers Partnership, founded 40 years ago, has become a corporation and in the process acquired a new name: The Eggers Group, Architects and Planners of New York City.

In addition, the firm is moving from 100 Park Ave. to 2 Park Ave. crime areas in Queens, including Coro na, Flushing, East Elmhurst and Jamaica. Other applications now being processed are from all five boroughs. Moskowitz said older people or frends and relatives of older people can receive information on the Section 8 program by writing or calling Better Life Renting Corp.

On Vew in Florida Building Cost Up 6.2 Construction material and labor costs across the nation rose an average of $2 in the 12-month period ending Sept. 30, compared with 9.3 a year earlier, according to a survey by the Building Costs Services Department of McGraw-Hill Information Systems Co. Cost hikes were generally highest in the Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain states, up 9.4, followed by the northeastern and north-central states, up 6.1. The smallest increase, 4.4, occurred in the New England states, while the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area posted a gain of 4.7. ford Airport with twin runways and is a half-mile from Greenwood Lake and about a 40-minutt drive from the George Washington Bridge.

It is zoned for campus-type research-industrial facilities, offices and recreational use. William W. Wleck Jjrenior vice president ot the Summer laaddjfiarlment is-directing the- mar- $3M; Price Tag Put on Jungle Sive The Alexander Summer Co. of Teaneck, NX, reports that it has been appointed exclusive sales agent by Warner Communications for a tract of approximately 1,000 acres in West Milford that housed the former Jungle Habitat wildlife attraction. The asking price is Jungle Habitat was operated by Warner Communications for five years as a recreation and amusement park featuring animals of every variety which roamed freely while visitors viewed them from inside their automobiles.

Among site improvments are water and sewer systems, a complete interior road network and a number of special-purpose buildings, including a restaurant and equipment repair shop. There is also a parking lot. HmL: PassakCounty 4djolni4he-West Mil-. I J11" 1 i iW i r-- H'i unfa. II The Squire, a one-bedroom, one-bath home, is one of six models available for senior citizens who retire to Beverly Hills, Fla.

The retirement community, now in its 15th year, is being developed by the Rolling Oaks Corp. This spacious house, situated on a 65xl00-foot lot, is priced at $16,990 and offers an llxl6-foot patio, dining area, vinyl asbesto floors, as asi carport. vx..