|
WASHINGTON - Congressman Charles Rangel announced today that CITGO, the Venezuelan-owned oil company, would begin to distribute fuel to select low-income residents in Upper Manhattan through their Low Income Heating Oil Program.
"While most oil companies reap record profits, Americans are crying for help with their rising heating costs," said Rangel. "Here is a program that makes heat affordable so that no one has to choose between a warm home or a warm plate of food."
Under the pilot program between CITGO and local non-profits Hope Community Inc. and the Community League of the Heights (CLOTH), heating oil will be sold and delivered to these organizations at a 40 percent discount through April 30, 2006. The savings generated will be then passed to low-income tenants of the buildings managed by these groups in the form of rent reductions.
Up to 800,000 gallons of oil have been set aside to be distributed to close to 500 families across 23 buildings in Harlem, El Barrio and southern Washington Heights. That’s a vital boost to the wallets of struggling New Yorkers and the people who serve them, said Hope Community Executive Director William S. Jacoby. "CITGO's generosity is helping these families save money and helping our buildings weather the cost of higher heating bills,” said the leader of the East Harlem-based non-profit. “It's a program that stands in sharp contrast to our domestic oil industry's refusal to share windfall profits with low-income communities, and is an inspiring example of South-to-North aid."
“This year has been a real struggle for building owners and operators all across the city because of the sharp increases in heating oil prices,” said LaJuana Smith, Assistant Director for Property Management at CLOTH. “Obviously our low-income tenants were not in a position to absorb these increases, and neither were we, so the CITGO assistance is a great help.”
Rangel commended the company and the government of Venezuela for their efforts in helping the poor this winter and said he looks forward to next year when more families could benefit.
“We believe this is only the first step,” said Rangel, who helped broker the deal by working with CITGO to identify potential groups that fell within the program's eligibility guidelines. "CITGO has assured us that they are committed to working to expand the Upper Manhattan program so that more families can save and make ends meet.” The uptown pilot program is similar to one announced in December, 2005 by the Bronx Rep. Jose Serrano and others set in motion by CITGO and Venezuela in Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania and Delaware. In each instance, CITGO partners with non-profits to ensure that the savings from the discounted oil sales wind up in the pockets of low-income residents.
“This expansion of our New York program, along with programs in other states and our unscheduled deliveries of refined gasoline and other fuel in the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita to hold down price increases, is part of our effort as good corporate citizens to help Americans who need a helping hand,” said CITGO CEO Felix Rodriguez.
Nationwide, CITGO and Venezuela have made more than 50 million gallons of heating oil available to low-income families and to institutions serving the poor, including homeless shelters, nursing units and Native American tribal facilities.
"We're committed to using our resources to benefit those who have been forgotten at home and abroad," said Venezuelan Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez. “The poor of Venezuela have the same face as the poor in the rest of the world. What we are doing here in Harlem, reaching out to help low-income people, is consistent with what our Venezuelan government under President Hugo Chavez is trying to do at home, with social programs that have taught 1.5 million adults to read and given access to health care to more than 10 million Venezuelans.”
ABOUT CITGO
CITGO, based in Houston, is a refining and marketing company owned by the Venezuelan state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). It has eight refineries and 13,500 independently owned stations throughout the United States, including 740 in New York State.
ABOUT HOPE COMMUNITY, INC.
Hope Community is a non-profit community-controlled development corporation dedicated to the revitalization of East Harlem since 1968. It has redeveloped 70 buildings and has 1,100 apartments under management, and offers an array of community-building programs.
ABOUT THE COMMUNITY LEAGUE OF THE HEIGHTS (CLOTH)
Established in 1952, CLOTH's comprehensive mission has evolved to encompass development, advocacy and service delivery issues regarding affordable housing, youth, health, education and neighborhood improvement. Since the mid 1960s, it has renovated more than 40 buildings comprising 1,000 affordable apartments, many for low-income cooperative ownership.
### |
