HOME-BUILDING DIN MUSIC TO THEIR EARS.

Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY 

In most neighborhoods, the noise emanating from a construction site is about as welcome as a barking dog at 2 a.m.

On Pierce Street in Pacoima, though, it's a symphony.

The noise of hammers and saws means that work on the stalled Habitat for Humanity project, providing homes for 20 low-income families, is finally starting up again.

It means fathers and mothers like Nick Enriquez and Eva Mendez won't have to look into the disappointed faces of their kids again this Christmas - kids living four or five to a room - and tell them sorry, maybe next year.

``The waiting has been very disappointing and frustrating, but what can you do?'' said Enriquez, a 39-year-old factory worker who lives with his wife and three kids in a one-bedroom mobile home in Pacoima.

You can do nothing - but wait.

It was November 2000 when the Enriquez, Mendez and 18 other families attended a groundbreaking ceremony on Pierce Street, smiling gratefully after being selected from a lottery to occupy 10 duplexes being built by Habitat for Humanity.

The deal was simple. They would get their own piece of the American dream for a small down payment, an interest-free mortgage they had to repay, and the promise that they would volunteer on weekends to help build the homes.

The first phase of the complex was expected to be completed by Christmas 2001. But 2 1/2 years after that ceremony, not one duplex has been completed.

All 20 families are still living in converted garages, cramped apartments, or like Enriquez, crowded mobile homes.

They're all still waiting.

``It's been so tough on these families, but they're starting to come back to help on weekends now that we have supplies again,'' said Matt Febbi, one of about a dozen retirees who volunteers on the project two days a week.

The revised dedication for the 10 duplexes is now Nov. 15, in time for the families to move in by Thanksgiving, said Tom Neary, president of the board for Habitat for Humanity of the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys.

There is no shortage of reasons why the project has taken so long, according to Neary, board member Jack Shine and state Sen. Richard Alarcon, a big supporter of the program.

Bad weather and slowdowns in private grants and contributions since Sept. 11 have hurt. But so have bureaucratic delays in releasing the $1 million, and a general lack of understanding by volunteer Habitat officials on how the political funding system works.

``The money was always there, but there were some folks in the bureaucracy who had a tough time understanding that it was specifically designated for Habitat-type purposes,'' Alarcon said of the affordable-housing bill he authored and got passed by the Legislature in February 2001.

``Because Habitat is an organization that relies on volunteers, it also took time to help them work through the administrative reporting process to get the funds,'' Alarcon added.

Neary and Shine agreed that the all-volunteer organization was not very sophisticated in dealing with the state's complex paperwork process.

``I think everybody involved meant well, but things don't always go as smoothly as you want,'' said Shine, who called the $1 million in state funding a ``huge shot in the arm.''

The money is buying building supplies and paying bills. But the real shot in the arm for this project is the volunteers, like Febbi, who have stuck with it, and the apprentice carpenters from Local 209 doing the heavy lifting for free.

``We're committed to seeing this project completed, and getting those families moved in,'' said Jim Beatty, coordinator of the carpenters union training facility in Sylmar.

So, the hammers and saws are back out on Pierce Street again - and the noise is beautiful.

For information on volunteering or providing building materials, call Habitat for Humanity at [phone].

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Photo:

Apprentice carpenter Claudio Arvizu Jr. works on one of 20 Habitat for Humanity homes being built in Pacoima. Lack of funds had shut down construction, begun in 2000.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer