## Milbank-Frawley to Undergo Rehab

Local initiative has finally gotten the upper hand in the rehabilitation of one of New York's slum areas. Last month FHA approved a mortgage commitment to the Milbank-Frawley Circle Community Council, a local group in East Harlem, for its HDA-approved rehab program. The concept, developed by architects Oppenheimer Brady & Associates with community assistance calls for utilizing the soundly built old tenements and vacant lots plentiful in the area. Utility and circulation cores will be built on the vacant lots to adjoin existing buildings so halls can be cre-

ated by breaking through small openings and bearing walls. These halls will run through three or four old buildings and connect to another core. The old buildings will then be completely gutted (except for sound joists) and repartitioned. Since old stairs and halls will be removed, space for apartment units will be gained. (Typical apartments offer several bedrooms.) Construction work will be done by a large housing contractor and a local construction cooperative consisting of a number of neighborhood black contractor members.

At present, the three kitchen fixtures -- the sink, range and refrigerator -- are arranged on three separate walls, a terrible inconvenience if you should want to use the kitchen for cooking. But this arrangement is worse than inconvenient, for it leaves no space in the room for counter space, storage or a dining table. Worst of all, the equipment cannot be moved by the residents without moving the plumbing, gas piping and wiring. By more rational arrangement of these appliances, space could be provided for counter-tops, storage, a dining table, and at the same time, work more efficiently as a kitchen, all without moving a single wall.