Greenbelt cooperator., 1941-12-05
Coop Housing Aduances
With Dedication of 3 Houses

Twelve years after the estab-
lishment of the first project of the
Amalgamated Cooperative Hous-
ing development, New York CO.
operators turned out Saturday,
November Is, to dedicate three
new housing units in Americas
largest cooperative housing prof.
ect and to rededicate the cooper
ative movement to the problem
of reconstruction that faces the
world.
"To solve the coming postwar
crisis" Congressman Jerry Voor-
his declared in his address of
dedication, "We must have meth
ods of reconstruction that come
up from the grass roots, methods
of reconstruction through which
people work together without gov
ernment help or interference"
'In the coming crisis govern
ment action will not be sufficient
to meet the needs of America. We
can't and we won't get enough
public works to alleviate the stu
alton even if 80 billion dollars are
set aside for that purpose. This
amount spent in government prof.
ects will not solve the crisis unless
the people learn to do things for
themselves"
The Congressman described the
three new units housing 48 fami-
lies in two and three room apart
ments as symbolic of a new way
of life which is 900 per cent
construction and which can never
damage any one"
There are now 686 families
living in the Amalgamated Co.
operative Housing development,
providing themselves with low-cost
housing facilities right next to
New York's Van Cortlandt Park.
The cooperators also operate their
own cooperative power plant
which has demonstrated the eff
fectiveness Of small unit in pro-
viding electric light and power
cheaper than the giant power COM
pany is willing to provide it. They
also operate their own grocery
store, milk distribution, laundry
service, credit union and other
facilities with service totaling well
over quarter of million dollars
yearly.
Speaking as a representative of
the Amalgamated Clothing Work
ers' Union, which played an i'm
portant part in initiating the CO.
operative project, Mrs. Bessie
Blumberg said, "In these days Of
sorrow and chaos when funda-
mental values are changing, it is
happy thing to find one spot and
one set Of principles that go for
ward constructively building for
the future"
Speaker after speaker at the
dedication pointed out that the
Amalgamated is mot only a group
Of buildings but homes for work.
ing people with confidence in
themselves" They also paid trib-
ute to the brilliant management
of A. E. Kazan who guided the
cooperative through the depres-
sion years without the loss of
equity to single cooperative fam
lily and in providing a rent yard
stick for people in that section
of the city. Robert Sold, presl-
dent Of the Amalgamated Cooper
ative Housing Association, chaired
the dedication.
"a worldwide contest between
the principle of dictatorship on
one hand and democracy on the
other is now in progress" Con-
gresham Voorhis declared. "This
contest is going to be determined
not so much by military process
but by the successfulness of the
way of living of the people as
whole.
"The reason why our American
form of government spread
throughout the world was not be-
cause of the military strength Of
a little hand of people who inau-
gurated it, but because it gave
yearly?