Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2012 Co-op City Times
Vol. 47 No. 1
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Con Edison provides Riverbay financial incentive for the study of energy saving measures BY BILL STUTTIG Last week, final approval was given for Con Edison to provide Riverbay with a $67,000 incentive to have a comprehensive study into improving the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the community’s heating and cooling system, as well as improving the efficiency of much of the community’s public area lighting. The $67,000 incentive comes from Con Edison’s Commercial and Industrial Energy Efficiency Program and will cover nearly half the cost of the study. The study is expected to begin later this month and take approximately three months to complete. Earlier in December, Riverbay contracted with the Manhattan-based energy consulting firm LC Associates to have them review the community’s 40-yearold heating and cooling system with an eye towards increasing the efficiency of the system, specifically the building control system and the primary pumping control system which, according to the consulting firm’s proposal, would significantly reduce the community’s natural gas consumption. In addition, the agreement calls for the energy consultant to study the community’s lighting in the community centers
and exterior public areas and suggest more efficient and less costly lighting for those areas. LC Associates has agreed to perform this dual analysis for a fee of $141,400 of which Con Edison has agreed to pay $67,000 which brings Riverbay’s total cost for the study to $74,400. The fee for the study and the energy consultant’s recommendations does not include the cost of implementing those recommendations, but it is expected that available energy reduction grants would cover the costs of implementation. According to management, Riverbay will not be required to make any payments until the recommendations made by the consultant are implemented and grants to pay for the implementation have been secured and received. Riverbay has already received $1.4 million of a $2 million grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) which was awarded to the community over the last year for the installation of new energy efficient equipment in the cogeneration plant. Payment of the remaining $600,000 from the NYSERDA (Continued on page 2)
In-house convector cleaning program to begin January 17 BY ROZAAN BOONE The in-house convector cleaning program announced by management last year to help reduce the number of convector leaks, which lead to costly flooring repairs, is slated to begin on Tuesday, January 17.
Going forward, instead of shareholders having to clean their convectors prior to the air conditioning season, teams of Riverbay porters/staff will clean the convectors and change (Continued on page 4)
The dancers and drummers of the United African Dance Troupe perform for an overflow gathering at the 15th Annual Kwanzaa Celebration hosted by the Coalition of African American Churches and Community Organizations last Thursday, December 29th in Bartow Community Center. The evening featured numerous celebrations of African culture including music, dance, food, poetry, prose and fashion. See story and more photos on page 3.
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New York State and City to guarantee part of possible HUD loan BY ROZAAN BOONE Wells Fargo has secured a state and city of New York agreement to guarantee the first $35M of a possible $600M loan to Co-op City from the US Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) through its 223F program, insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). On Thursday, a meeting was held in Washington between HUD and Wells Fargo to determine a future course of action, and details of the guarantee obtained from both the State of New York and the City of New York. However, full details of the discussions were not available at press time. “We do not know the details, but we are told that if we were to obtain a HUD loan insured by FHA, both the City of New York and the State of New York will guaranty the first $35,000,000. This is the latest positive news that we’ve received,” Riverbay management reported to the community this week (see page 5). The loan guarantee by the city and state of New York is the most recent positive news in what has been a very slow process for Riverbay as the corporation attempts to obtain a refinancing deal through the 223F program guaranteed by the FHA to take advantage of low interest rates. In June of 2009, faced
with Riverbay’s then current mortgage rate increasing from 5.2% to 6.2% in October of 2010 as the community began paying down the principal on the $480M refinancing deal of 2004, a majority of Board Directors voted to approve management’s exploration of the community’s refinancing options. Up until August of last year, HUD’s 223F program, which offers low interest 35 year loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), was only open to rentals, and not condos and cooperatives, such as Co-op City. Riverbay’s management, working with Wells Fargo, petitioned HUD to open up the program to condos and co-ops, and after an intensive 18 months of discussions, were able to get HUD to agree. Riverbay then attempted to file for the program, but were unsuccessful since there appeared to be no interest at HUD, with the size of Co-op City seemingly prohibitive. “Evidently, HUD did not want their first co-op 223F to be the largest co-op development (Co-op City) and loan. Also remember, the country was/is in the middle of a real estate crisis,” management wrote in their report. In the ensuing months, there have (Continued on page 2)
HCR Commissioner Towns promises to discuss Co-op City’s exorbitant asbestos abatement requirements with DEP BY BILL STUTTIG AND DEREK ALGER Commissioner Darryl C. Towns of the New York State Division of Home and Community Renewal (HCR) said last month that he plans to discuss with representatives of New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) “the appropriateness of the classification of Co-op City as an Asbestos Containing Material site.” Towns’ statement came in a letter addressed to attorney Stephen B. Kaufman, the former State Assemblyman who represented Co-op City for 18 years, in response to a letter that Kaufman wrote to him and Governor Andrew Cuomo asking the two high-ranking state officials to intervene and free Co-op City from DEP requirements for abatement testing which costs the community and its shareholders $4 million a year. "Now is the time for Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and Commissioner Darryl C. Towns to do the right thing by immediately rescinding the directive
requiring Co-op City to abate an asbestos problem that doesn't exist," Kaufman stated in his letter sent to the two officials in November. A month later, Kaufman -who has been representing Co-op City as counsel specifically assigned to affecting the rescinding of the asbestos abatement requirements -- received a written response back from Towns. Aside from saying that he was prepared to discuss the controversial matter with DEP officials, Towns went on to say, “We are well aware of the financial implications to Co-op City and its residents, resulting from the regulatory compliance being required. As we work towards a resolution of this matter, New York State’s focus will continue to be promoting Co-op City as a safe and affordable housing community for its more than 15,000 families.” After he received the letter from the HCR Commissioner, Kaufman said, “Commissioner Towns' response is very (Continued on page 2)