By Becky Chapin, Archivist
In late 1954, the League of Women Voters started discussing the issue of housing in Geneva in their monthly meetings. Local Agenda Committee chairman Mary Adams, especially, was instrumental in keeping this topic alive into early 1955 when she reported on a round table discussion on local housing conditions.
In the March 1955 meeting, the League decided to move forward on examining local housing problems. In their discussion, they used 1950 census data to identify issues with substandard housing, the possibility of a low-cost medium priced housing development, stricter enforcement of local ordinances governing housing or adopting new ordinances, and support for further aid for planned construction of housing units at Sampson Air Force Base. State and federal agencies had already identified an acute housing shortage thirteen years earlier.
The resulting presentation to the Common Council led to the formation of the Mayor’s Council for a Better Geneva in April 1955. Mayor W. Erle Rogers was greatly impacted by the League’s work which identified 500 Genevans living in substandard housing. He decided the Council for a Better Geneva would be a group that studied a variety of municipal problems, starting with housing and rent control. The Council would be made up of representatives from veteran organizations, the Chamber of Commerce, labor unions, businesses, services clubs, all religions, and each political party.
Rent control was implemented by the state during war time but was approaching its expiry date in June 1955. There were pros and cons to rent control. Sampson Air Force Base personnel were on limited salaries, keeping the rent at a frozen rate would ensure they would maintain their housing while stationed here. Alternatively, landlords who needed to improve their buildings lacked the ability to raise the rent alongside rising costs of services. One landlord said their tenants could barely afford the low rent as is and even started taking apart the house for wood to burn for heat. In the end, the tenants left and the landlord demolished the house since there was almost nothing left.
The Geneva Times ran several pieces on substandard housing. The journalist visited 100 Sherrill Street which was home to 56 people, with most of the apartments overcrowded. The building itself was once the Hotel Sterling but was purchased during the Second World War by the federal government as housing for federal personnel. By the 1950s, it had been turned over to a private landlord. Issues started rising with old appliances and plumbing installed during a time when raw materials were short and of inferior quality (the best would have been used for war supplies).
The Council for a Better Geneva started meeting with housing authorities from other cities, in addition to owners and managers of local businesses who could identify issues in Geneva. Thomas Rauworth, Geneva Forge president, was invited to speak after conferring with his employees, most of whom encountered difficulties when trying to find housing in Geneva proper. Issues at the fringes of the city, where access to water and general utilities, like electrical power, the sewer system, telephone service, and fire protection were limited by Geneva’s lack of upgrades to the systems. In these prime housing and industrial development areas, this lack of access meant developers were finding land elsewhere.
In a meeting with the Auburn Housing Authority leader, the Council realized Geneva may benefit from their own housing authority which required a lengthy process in getting approval from the state legislature.
The manager of the Dixon Homes housing tract discussed with the Council about the status of the buildings. Initially built to be temporary, there were nine vacant buildings that once housed German prisoners of war which had been stripped to just the walls and a roof. Five were reactivated by the federal government, of which two were used for storage purposes; three of the remaining buildings were available to be renovated, each containing seven apartments for a total of 21 living units.
By September 1955, the Council for a Better Geneva made its recommendations to the Common Council and Mayor Rogers.
After submitting their housing recommendation goals, the Council moved on to its next focus: attracting new industry. Similar issues with lack of utility access on the fringes of the city, lack of appropriate sites, lack of city and town cooperation, and lack housing were identified as obstacles for new industry coming to Geneva. Building costs were also exceptionally high in Geneva; reported as the highest in the 20-county region covered by the Buffalo office of the Federal Housing Administration.
Because industry and housing were interconnected, the Council continued its discussion of housing issues into 1956. Additionally, the Council heard from Lucy Glunz regarding the increasing number of Spanish-speaking residents in Geneva. Council members urged the creation of a special office to aid Puerto Ricans in the area to assist them in adjusting to life in Geneva. Despite the increasing population, such an office was not created until 1973 with the Spanish Association of the Finger Lakes, though it was done without city support.
The Council continued pushing its housing agenda, however, and the Geneva Housing Authority was approved by the state legislature in early 1956. Following this success, the Council turned its attention to the issue with parts of the Seneca Lake park being turned over to the state.
By late 1956, the main topic was the lakefront and how to make it more attractive for residents and tourists. The Council provided its agenda in November:
In early 1957, the city dump was at the top of everyone’s agenda. Discussions about a new landfill location or use of an incinerator were highly controversial; a topic that continued into the 1980s and was also investigated by the League. After this, the Council for a Better Geneva was unofficially disbanded, likely because Mayor Rogers’ term was up.
Despite being short lived, the Council was mentioned many times in the years after. In 1959, a new housing code was passed by the Common Council. The ordinance incorporated all the suggestions given by the Council for a Better Geneva in 1955, bringing Geneva a new minimum housing standard code to take on the increased overcrowding and deterioration. Possibly inspired by the Council, the Chamber of Commerce introduced Geneva Growth, Inc. in 1961, a development fund of $225,000 to put Geneva on a competitive foundation with other communities in the fight for new industry.
For more information about the Dixon Homes project, read From Pre-Emption Park to Courtyard Apartments.
This article was brought to you in part by our supporters. Be our partner in telling Geneva’s stories by becoming a Historic Geneva supporter.