Before Larry Conklin died this January, he was known as the mayor of Bailey House. It wasn’t because he was particularly popular or that he got involved with group activities. Over Conklin’s 11-and-a-half years there, hundreds of men and women passed through the halls of the country’s first group home for homeless people with AIDS. Somehow, “the mayor” always managed to hang on.

When City Limits talked to Conklin in 1989, two years after he was diagnosed, housing designated for people with AIDS (PWAs) was virtually nonexistent. Though there were an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 homeless PWAs in New York City, there were only 80 apartments specifically earmarked for them.

Today, there are 3,000 AIDS-supported housing units, where patients have access to health and mental health services, drug and alcohol abuse counseling, and nutritional assistance. A total of 26,000 PWAs receive rent subsidies from the city’s Division of AIDS Services and Income Support, which helps them pay for private apartments.

Yet the supply of housing is still woefully short of the need. Most of the private apartments that DASIS clients live in are in the outer boroughs, far from specialized hospitals and services, resulting in a strong demand for supportive housing. According to DASIS statistics, 11,000 of its 28,000 clients have applied for supportive housing, but there is room for just 9 percent of them in existing facilities. At the same time, says Jennifer Flynn of the AIDS Housing Network, even the city’s rental allowance–up to $480 a month–often isn’t enough to help limited-income clients obtain private apartments.

Paradoxically, the medical developments that have prolonged the lives of people with AIDS are the reason suitable housing is so difficult to find. In 1988, when Conklin moved in, Bailey House was a place to die. The average resident lived for six to eight months after arriving. But as new AIDS drugs were developed, people like Larry lived longer.

“Larry was probably the longest survivor of AIDS housing. He lived through three or four eras of the epidemic,” says Gina Quattrochi, executive director of Bailey House. “He is also symbolic of the challenges we are still facing now. The permanent supported housing units have not grown exponentially along with the epidemic.”

Back to the Old Neighborhood
Introduction
By Alyssa Katz

December 1996
Empowerment Zones Out
By Gillian Andrews

October 1996
A Teen in Trouble Finds a New Hang
By Megan Costello

August/September 1996
In The East Village, Rehab Is a Family Affair
By Megan Costello

June/July 1996
The Founder of a Needle Exchange Dies from a Dose
By Julia Lyon

November 1991
The Grandmother of Loisaida Fights to Keep Her Title
By Hilary Russ

February 1990
A Homeless Mother Wrangles with the City
By Megan Costello

August/September 1990
Home Health Workers Take Care of Business
By Abigail Rao

June/July 1988
Wronged Residents Form Their Own Salvation Army
By Hilary Russ

November 1987
City Condemns Concourse Apartments
By Seth Solomonow

November 1986
A Union for the Homeless Takes Hold
By Hilary Russ

March 1985
Job Training Opens Doors for the Homeless
By Daniel Hendrick

March 1980
Tenants Turn a Dump Into a Dream
By Larry Schwartztol

December 1979
Dilapidation and Death on Avenue C
By Seth Solomonow

February 1975
Adding the Final Touch: A Windmill and Solar Panels
By Abigail Rao