Co-op City Times 02/25/12

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Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2012 Co-op City Times

Vol. 47 No. 8

Saturday, February 25, 2012

HCR alters policies for incoming and transferring shareholders shareholders to pay the current equity of $4,500 per room for the apartment that they are transferring to. According to correspondence sent to Riverbay’s management by DHCR’s Assistant Commissioner Richmond McCurnin, “Procedurally, the current equity payment will need to be paid in full at the time they take possession of the new unit and the refunded equity, less restoration charges, can only be paid upon the restoration and resale of the vacated unit.” Consequently, DHCR disapproved of Riverbay’s prior policy of requiring transferring shareholders to accept their new apartments “as is,” with the incoming shareholder paying for the restoration and refurbishment of the new apartment. As a result of this, DHCR directed Riverbay “to refurbish and restore all apartments to be transferred to existing cooperators or to be assigned to new cooperators moving into the development for the first time.” Based on this new DHCR directive, (Continued on page 2)

New washers reprogrammed to allow for additional water BY BILL STUTTIG The new LG front load washers now being installed in laundry rooms throughout Co-op City have recently been reprogrammed to allow for up to three gallons of additional water per wash. According to Riverbay Ombudsman Joe Boiko, the new 22lb. load machines are designed as high efficient washing machines that need considerably less water than the older machines used here. The highly rated LG machines, which were rated the number one washers by Consumer Reports magazine for two consecutive years and number one in customer satisfaction by JD Power and Associates for three consecutive years, distribute water based on the amount of clothes in each wash. “Shareholders grew accustomed to the older front load washers and seeing water fill up halfway,” said Ombudsman Boiko. “With the new machines, the usage of that amount of water at the outset of the washing cycle is no longer necessary. The machines are programmed to distribute the water based on the amount of clothes in each load and distribute it on an asneeded basis.” Nevertheless, the ombudsman said that he has heard from numerous shareholders who feel more comfortable with addition-

Quality of Life crackdown nets 15 arrests in 10 days BY BILL STUTTIG

BY ROZAAN BOONE The New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) has issued new guidelines for Riverbay to implement immediately which will affect outgoing and transferring shareholders. Going forward, outgoing shareholders will be responsible for the payment of carrying charges for up to 90 days from the date they surrender their keys, or until the apartment has been sold, whichever is earlier, as set forth in DHCR’s regulations at 9 NYCRR § 1727-5.2(b)(7). Riverbay’s prior policy required outgoing shareholders to pay their carrying charges until lease expiration or until the apartment was sold, whichever is earlier. The new guidelines also specify that whereas Riverbay’s prior policy as set forth by the Board of Directors requires transferring shareholders to pay the equity for the new apartment that they are moving to at the same rate at which they paid equity at the time of their original admission to the development, to assure that all shareholders are treated equally, DHCR now requires all transferring

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al water, so Coinmach, the vendor installing and maintaining the new laundry room facilities, agreed to go back to the machines’ manufacturer to have the front load washers reprogrammed to increase the maximum water distribution by approximately three gallons. The new washers still take considerably less water than the old washers, even with the additional three gallons of water, but the additional water should ease fears that the clothes are not being cleaned sufficiently. Each of the new machines already installed and the ones being installed in the near future will have the increased water distribution capacity. Boiko added that even with the additional water being distributed on an as needed basis, residents will still not see the water filling up the basin as they did with the older style, less efficient washers, because the water is being added on an as needed basis, not filling up the basin prior to the wash cycle starting, which is what occurred with the previous washers. These new machines also require the use of HE or High Efficiency detergent. Both powder and liquid are available from local stores, but the use of liquid is preferred by the manufacturer and the vendor. (Continued on page 7)

As part of a continuing initiative to enforce the community’s rules and bylaws regarding such offenses as loitering and public consumption of alcohol, Public Safety officers arrested 15 individuals over a ten-day period on charges ranging from minor offenses, such as loitering, to felony crimes for assault and possession of controlled substances. Chief Frank Apollo, commander of the Riverbay Public Safety Department, said earlier this week that “extra vigilance regarding certain violations of the law is needed in order to prevent more serious crimes from occurring.” The Quality of Life patrols have been conducted in partnership with the 45th Precinct in recent months and also as part of Public Safety’s own strategy to enforce the community’s quality of life regulations. The string of arrests began late in the evening of February 10th as officers moved to break up a large assembly of youth near Alcott Place. While this was taking place peacefully, officers on the scene observed a 23-year-old man remove a 12-inch butcher knife from his jacket and lodge it into the ground. The

man, a Co-op City resident, was arrested for unlawful possession of a knife. About 90 minutes later, officers again responded to a report of a dispute between two groups of young men in the area of Alcott Place. According to the Public Safety report, one 16 year old male refused to leave the area after repeated commands to do so and was placed under arrest. The youth then told officers he was involved in the dispute and suffered a bruised lip. His mother was notified and she came to Public Safety where she signed a statement refusing medical assistance for her son, according to the Public Safety report. When the young man then reported that he had a jacket stolen during the dispute, Public Safety notified the 45th Precinct of the theft but when precinct officers arrived to take a police report on the alleged theft, the mother of the young man refused to cooperate, according to the Public Safety report. Also, on the evening of February 11th, officers responded to the lobby of Building 12 after a lobby attendant reported that a group of four young men refused his request to disperse and leave (Continued on page 2)

Petition period for 2012 Riverbay Board election begins in two weeks BY ROZAAN BOONE Shareholders who are interested in running for a seat on the Riverbay Board can begin picking up their qualifying petitions on Monday, March 12 through Monday, March 26 when all signed petitions are due back to the Riverbay Legal Department by 5 p.m. Petitions will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday from the Riverbay receptionist at the Administrative Desk in the Bartow Community Center, located at 2049 Bartow Community Center, Bronx, N.Y. After 5 p.m. and on the weekends,

petitions can be picked up at the Public Safety window in the Bartow Center. All petitions must be picked up and signed for by the prospective candidates, not by any representative, friend or family member. In addition, candidates for the Riverbay Board must be the shareholder of record as indicated on the candidate’s stock certificate, occupancy agreement and the current occupants Annual Affidavits of Family Income. The Riverbay Board voted on (Continued on page 7)

Upbeat about the Bronx… Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. chose Co-op City’s Truman High School as the location for his third annual State of the Borough Address delivered on Thursday. In his speech, Borough President Diaz highlighted significant advancement in the borough in the areas of economic development, education, health care and green technology and specifically mentioned significant initiatives in the Co-op City area including the impending development of an indoor mall at Bay Plaza, creating 1,700 permanent jobs for local residents; the achievement of Truman High School in becoming a model for other high schools in developing an innovative career-oriented curriculum for local students, and the ongoing work towards bringing Metro North stations to Coop City and other Bronx communities, which will lessen the community’s and the borough’s dependence on bus service in future years.


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