TCAction Weatherization

Tompkins Community Action Weatherizes 50 Units of Senior Housing in Dryden

Thanks to Tompkins Community Action, the residents of Willowbrook Manor, a 50-unit affordable housing complex for seniors owned by Dryden Senior Housing Corporation, will experience more comfortable and efficiency heating, lighting, and water use.

By the end of March, TCAction’s crews will have sealed up places where drafts permeate the building, added 8 inches of cellulose to the existing insulation to bring the 20,000 square foot attic to a total value of R-60, installed more energy efficient lighting throughout the apartments and common areas, installed low-flow aerators and showerheads in apartments, and replaced more than half of the older refrigerators for the tenants with new EnergyStar models.

"The energy usage of most of the residents was pretty low to begin with but in this day and age we should all be constantly looking for ways to cut consumption even more," notes Mark Goldfarb of Dryden Apartment Company who has managed the building since 1979, the year it was completed. "I'm glad that TCAction has identified some areas that could be improved and is performing the work. We are all looking forward to both the savings and the additional comfort their efforts will surely produce."

“The building has been very well maintained, but the opportunities to reduce drafts and improve comfort are always there,” explains Fran Rice, TCAction’s Energy Services Quality Assurance Coordinator.

TCAction’s Energy Services Department is completing the work through its Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which is federally funded through the Department of Energy and Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and administered in partnership with NY State Homes and Community Renewal.

“Weatherization and LIHEAP funding are two of the programs we are watching carefully for budget cuts federally," Lee Dillon, Executive Director of TCAction, points out. "We’re very proud of what we have accomplished with these funds to keep people warm in the winter and help them reduce their energy use.  Cuts to LIHEAP, especially, could be very serious for our seniors.”

For more information about TCAction's weatherization assistance program, click here.