Co-op City Times 03/03/12

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

Vol. 47 No. 9

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Home visits to those who failed to return window guard forms in Buildings 1, 2, 3 and 4A this week

BY ROZAAN BOONE Shareholders in Buildings 1, 2, 3 and 4A who did not return their 2012 Window Guard forms by the Wednesday, February 15th deadline will be visited by Riverbay staff this coming week in an attempt to gather the vital information as is required by the City of New York.

The Riverbay Window Guard Office, which is located in Room S of the Bartow Community Center, will send out staff on Monday, March 5 through Friday, March 9, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to once again drop off the 2012 Window Guard forms to the shareholders who have not yet returned their completed forms, who did not sign their forms or those who did not answer the survey in a way that would let Riverbay know whether they need window guards or not.

Each window guard employee will prominently display their Riverbay identification card.

If the shareholder is home, the staff member will assist the shareholder in completing the form as accurately as possible. If, however, the shareholder is not

at home, the form will be slipped under the door and the shareholder should make every attempt to fill it out and return it as soon as possible to the Window Guard office in the Bartow Community Center, 2049 Bartow Avenue.

In the past, Riverbay has expended a significant amount of money ensuring that the Window Guard forms are completed by everyone as is required by law.

In addition to the initial mailing, there have been door-to-door visits by temporary employees hired specifically for this purpose and at an added expense to the corporation.

“Unfortunately, some residents fail to either return the notices or properly fill them out, which results in additional financial burden to the corporation,” said Vernon Cooper, Riverbay’s General Manager. “We are urging shareholders to please fill the notices out and return them as soon as possible. If you need any assistance or have any questions regarding the process, please do not hesitate to contact (Continued on page 4)

Extension of Riverbay’s Bookkeeping window hours continue through summer months

BY ROZAAN BOONE Riverbay Corporation will continue the extension of the Finance Department’s Bookkeeping window as a convenience to shareholders who work outside of the community and may need to utilize the service before leaving for work.

The Bookkeeping window, which is located in the Riverbay administrative reception area in the Bartow Community Center, 2049 Bartow Avenue, will continue to open at 8 a.m., instead of 9 a.m., on the two busiest days of the month for the Finance Department—the 10th of the month which is the last day for shareholders to pay their maintenance charges without the $50 late fee, and the last business day of the month when maintenance charges must be paid before legal action commences and a $200 legal fee is assessed.

“We are happy to be able to provide the extra hour for the shareholders to remit their payments during the two busiest days of the month,” said Riverbay’s Finance Director, Peter Merola. “This added service comes at no additional cost to the corporation’s shareholders because the Bookkeeping employees agreed to change their work schedule to accommodate the extended hours.”

Primarily, shareholders pay their monthly carrying charges by placing their payments in one of the 3 drop boxes located in each community center, but some also pay at the bookkeeping window. Prior to the extended hours being implemented, shareholders waited in the reception area for the window to open at 9 a.m., usually resulting in a crowded waiting room and sometimes with the line stretching out into the corridor.

Since its implementation, many more shareholders, including seniors and those who are disabled, have been taking advantage of the extended hours which also results in a crowded waiting room. As a result, Riverbay’s management implemented a ticketing system whereby shareholders take a number upon entering the Riverbay reception area, and then wait in another room down the hall until their number is called over the intercom and they are directed to report to the reception area for service at the Bookkeeping window.

Generally, 5-6 shareholders are called at a time so as not to overcrowd the reception area and create a safety concern.

“It has become apparent to us that the crowds which usually fill the reception (Continued on page 4)

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Building associations to register voters in lobbies on March 17th

BY BILL STUTTIG As part of a massive voter registration drive ongoing in Co-op City through the October registration deadline for the general election in November, volunteers from a majority of building associations will help register their neighbors in the lobby of their respective buildings from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 17.

Unregistered residents in participating buildings can go to their lobbies that day and get a registration form which they can fill out there and hand back to the volunteers or take back to their homes and fill it out and mail it back themselves. Posters have been placed in each participating building, advising residents of the drive on March 17th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

According to Riverbay Ombudsman Joe Boiko, most buildings will be participating on March 17th and other building associations who are not participating will hold similar drives on other days in the near future.

The voter registration effort on March

17th is part of a larger voter registration drive launched by Riverbay and taking place over the next six months to increase voter participation and, in turn, the political clout within the community, in an attempt to help the community receive a greater share of government services in the areas of transportation, sanitation, police and more in this year and years going forward.

Boiko, together with General Manager Vernon Cooper and Herbert Freedman, Principal for Marion Scott Real Estate Inc., attended the February 28th meeting of Cooperators United to explain Riverbay’s voter registration efforts to the building and townhouse association presidents and to get their support going forward in this effort.

Sonja Maxwell, President of Cooperators United, explained following the meeting, “We anticipate that all of our buildings and townhouses will participate in the voter registration drive. On

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Notice of Elevator #3 shutdown in Building #8 Riverbay will be replacing the hoist ropes to Elevator #3 in Building 8 from Monday, March 5, through Friday, March 9. To complete the repairs, it is necessary to take the elevator car out of service.

Every effort will be made to put the elevator back into service as soon as possible.

We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused as a result and thank you for your patience and understanding as we complete the repairs.

—R iver b a y M a na gem en t Advanced training…Detective John Hynes of the Pelham New York Police Department leads a class of Public Safety supervisors, detectives and officers on the proper procedures for taking juveniles into custody when a situation requires it. Lt. James Keappock, Public Safety’s training director, said that each officer, detective and supervisor will receive the specialized training in the next few weeks. The class covers the issuance of PINS (Persons In Need of Supervision) warrants, when and when not to issue Miranda rights to juveniles and doing it always in the presence of parents, procedures for contacting parents of a detained juvenile, the handling of felony crimes committed by juveniles, dealing with truancy issues, and the proper procedures for taking juveniles into police stations.

Ongoing training for both the officers and the general Co-op City community will continue on March 22nd at 7 p.m. with a Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention Seminar in Room 31 of Bartow Center. The seminar will be led by Public Safety trainers and speakers from the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit, and the Bronx District Attorney’s Office.

Photo by Bill Stuttig

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Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Voter Registration Saturday, March 17th, a majority of our buildings and townhouses will participate. The other buildings have already begun their drives and some will participate in voter registration at their general membership meetings. All of the attendees at our Cooperators United Meeting on Tuesday, February 28th, picked up voter registration forms and flyers.

“In speaking to our neighbors,” Maxwell added, “we will be emphasizing the importance of voting. Also, we will be stressing the importance of once again becoming an important voting bloc. We have had missed opportunities here in Co-op City because we do not vote in numbers. That has to change in order for us to get the politicians to listen to us and act on our behalf. It was not that long ago, in the late fifties and early sixties, we were prevented from voting and had to sit in the back of the bus. We had to fight to be heard, to demand that separate was not equal.”

Aside from the Building and Townhouse Associations, Riverbay’s ongoing efforts involve voter registration forms being available at all lobby attendant desks and Cooperator Services Offices (CSO), in addition to the Bartow Center reception area at the administrative office on a continuous basis through the October voter registration deadline for this year’s general election. Not only can forms be picked up at this location, but completed forms can also be dropped off there as well and Riverbay will make sure that each form is sent off for processing.

Residents also have the option to mail their completed forms back to the Board of Elections themselves if they wish. The goal is to have thousands of additional residents

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here register to vote in the time between now and October 12th, the voter registration deadline for the general election.

Posters have been placed in each building and community center throughout Coop City and reminders and updates will be placed on the crawler and printed in the Coop City Times on a weekly basis.

“All we are asking unregistered eligible voters to do is to pick up a form, fill it out in their homes and then return it to your building’s lobby attendant or volunteers in your lobby and we will make sure that the form is processed and you will be officially registered to vote,” explained Riverbay Ombudsman Boiko earlier this month.

Once you register to vote, you are registered for life. If you have moved, you have to notify the Board of Elections of your move. These voter registration forms will allow you to do that as well, if you are new to the community or you have moved from one building to another since the last time you voted.

The registration deadline for this year’s Presidential Primary Elections is March 30th with the Presidential Primary set to take place on April 24th.

The deadline for participation in the New York State Primaries, which goes a long way in deciding who will be our local representatives in Congress, the State Senate, the State Assembly and the City Council, is August 17th, with the primaries set for September 11th.

For the general election, which will decide who the President will be for the next four years, the registration deadline is October 12 with the general election set for November 6th.

CO-OP CITY FOOT CARE CENTER SECTION 5 • BUILDING 29C 4240 HUTCHINSON RIVER PARKWAY EAST

(718) 671-2233 DR. LOUIS JACOBS, DIRECTOR ALL FOOT CONDITIONS TREATED The in-office surgical correction of BUNIONS • HAMMERTOES • INGROWN TOENAILS PAINFUL CORNS and CALLOUSES The treatment of traumatic foot injuries, heel spurs, bursitis and arthritis of the joints of the feet, toenail and skin infections, as well as other conditions.

Most Union and Insurance Plans Accepted.

HIP CMO (Montefiore) Health Plan Accepted.

We participate in Postal Workers, Mail Handlers, Letter Carriers, Verizon Workers, 1199, GHI, Blue Shield, Empire Plan, Medicare, Travelers, United Health Care and many other union and major medical plans.

Se Habla Español MEDICARE ACCEPTED • HOUSE CALLS BY APPOINTMENT

Diabetic Patients with Medicare may be eligible for shoes.

The voter registration drive will continue in Co-op City through the October 12th deadline.

In addition to the voter registration drive, Riverbay will make the effort to coordinate with community groups and political clubs throughout the community to get the vote out on these important voting days.

“It is vitally important that all residents here who are eligible to vote, first register to vote if they haven’t done so already, and then vote, not only in the general election but in the local primaries as well,” said Riverbay Board President Helen Atkins .

Because Co-op City, like most of the Bronx, is comprised largely of registered Democratic voters, the Democratic primaries—held on the second Tuesday of each September, every two years including this year— largely decides who will be our local representatives in the U.S. Congress, the New York State Senate and Assembly and the New York City Council. In all cases, the winner of these primaries go on to win the general election because they either run unopposed, or opposing candidates from the Republican or other political parties do not or can not match the financial and political support offered to these Democratic Party candidates by the Bronx Democratic Organization. So for all intents and purposes, the primary elections decide who will be representing us in these important legislative bodies and, in turn, those elected officials largely decide which community to devote their resources to based on which community best exercises their electoral voice with a large percentage of the eligible community voting.

Riverbay General Manager Vernon

Cooper said: “First and foremost, voting is a right that people have lost their lives fighting for in this country and it should never be taken for granted. Secondly, Co-op City represents a huge voting block and if residents were registered in larger numbers and actually participated in the local and general elections, we would become an even more influential group as it relates to the services that the state and city agencies are supposed to provide in and around the community.

Although we certainly receive a lot of support from a number of our elected officials, I believe even more emphasis would be placed on the needs of this community, by a greater number of officials, if there were more residents voting on a regular basis.”

Registration forms will be available in both English and Spanish.

Lobby attendants and CSO representatives distributing the registration forms have been instructed to keep an accurate tally of the forms they distribute and the forms they collect.

During the last Presidential General Election in 2008, 16,323 votes were cast in Co-op City, a high number for the community when compared to other elections, but still representing an overall voter participation rate among residents above the eligible voting age of less than 50%. During recent primary elections which decided local representation to key legislative bodies, the voting rate was far lower than that.

“Our goal is to improve the community’s voting rate,” said Cooper, “because it directly affects our quality of life and management’s ability to deliver the available services and resources that you are owed through sound elected representation.”

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Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

2nd Combing ty p Cinext Blood Co-oDrive Next CB #10 Meeting The next Community Board #10 meeting will be held on Thursday, March 15, 7:30 p.m., at P.S. 12 Lewis & Clark School, 2555 Tratman Ave., Bronx, NY 10461. Meeting will be held in the Auditorium. Please make every effort to attend. For further information, please call contact Community Board 10 at (718) 892-1161.

2011 Co-op City Scholarship applications available Assemblyman Michael R. Benedetto recently announced that applications for the 2011 Co-op City College Scholarships are currently available for pick-up.

The Co-op City College Scholarship Committee has been giving out $500 scholarships for the past four years to deserving Co-op City high school seniors who plan to enter college the following fall.

Applications for the Co-op City College Scholarship, the brain child of Co-op resident Rose Kaufman, are available from the offices of Assemblyman Benedetto (Dreiser Community Center, Room 12); Congressman Joseph Crowley (Dreiser Center, Room 4), the office of the City News (Dreiser Center – lower plaza level), the office of Riverbay (Bartow Community Center) and from local high school college guidance counselors.

Enjoy Caribbean food with a twist The Riverbay Fund and the Garvey School will present “Jerked and Stewed,” Caribbean food with a “healthy” twist, in conjunction with Harvest Home Farmer’s Market on Thursday, March 8, 6-8 p.m. at the Garvey School in Co-op City, 950 Baychester Avenue, Bronx, N.Y. This is a special evening of food, family fun, raffle prizes, games and much more for the entire family.

For information & reservations, please email info@harvest homefm.org or call (646) 461-8875.

R em in d er : Vot er R egist r a t ion on Sa t u r d a y, M a r ch 17t h in t h e b u ild in g lob b ies!

FRONT PA G E

Riverbay’s Director of Communications to moderate panel discussion at prestigious writers’ conference Derek Alger, Riverbay’s Director of Communications at the Co-op City Times, will be moderating a panel today, Saturday, March 3rd, at a national writers’ conference in Chicago.

Alger, who holds an MFA degree in writing from Columbia University, has been selected to moderate a panel on memoir writing at the 2012 annual AWP (Associated Writers and Writing Program) Conference, where over 9,600 writers and writing students will be in attendance.

“This is a great honor, and proves that we definitely have a professional writer at the helm of our own Co-op City Times,” said Riverbay President Helen Atkins. “I’m proud that Co-op City will be so represented in Chicago at this annual conference with writers from all over the country.”

On the panel with Alger, will be DeWitt Henry, founder and longtime editor of the literary journal, Ploughshares, which celebrated its 40th anniversary, and author of the memoir, Sweet Dreams; Sue William Silverman, the author of two critically acclaimed memoirs; Kelly Cherry, poet, fiction and memoir writer; and Chicago writer Greg Herriges, the author of a memoir about meeting the reclusive writer J.D. Salinger in the late ‘70s.

Alger has worked for newspapers in Coop City for more than 2 decades, first serving as Associate Editor for City News for seven years, and then moving over to become the editor of the Co-op City Times in 1994. He was a regular contributor to New York Newsday‘s Bronx Neighborhood

Derek Alger

Page, where he wrote over 100 articles.

A published fiction and creative fiction writer, Alger has studied, and is friends with the novelist, playwright, and short story writer, Bruce Jay Friedman, who was raised in the Bronx, where he graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School, and was nominated for an AcademyAward for his screenplay for the movie Splash, starring Tom hanks and Daryl Hannah.

“Derek is a fine writer, a brilliant interviewer, and perhaps of greater importance, I’m happy we have become close and trusted friends,” said Friedman, author of a memoir, Lucky Bruce, published by Biblioasis, last fall.

Alger has studied with the novelist and historian, Thomas Fleming, who has published over 40 books of fiction and nonfiction, including Liberty! The American

Revolution, a main selection of the Book of the Month Club, which was named one of the best books of 1997, and Mysteries of My Father, a memoir about growing up in the rough and tumble world of Jersey City where his father was part of Mayor Frank Hague’s political machine prior to World War Two. “I first met Derek when he was a talented young writer,” said Fleming, whose novel LibertyTavern is due to come out later this month as an e-book from New Word City.

The AWP was founded in 1967 by fifteen writers, representing thirteen academic programs that featured creating writing.

Today, the AWP represents over 500 colleges, universities, and other forums, as well as 34,000 individual members.

Alger first attended an AWP Conference in Vancouver in 2005, and has attended four subsequent conferences, where he has moderated two previous panels, NewYork in the Fifties, based on Dan Wakefield’s book of the same name, and one on short story writing three years ago in Chicago.

“One of the greatest pleasures of the AWP Conference has always been the opportunity to meet in person writers one would otherwise meet only on the page, writers such as Derek Alger,” said Steve Heller, a member of AWP’s Board of Directors, who is also the author of The Automotive History of Lucky Kellerman, as well as Chair of the low-residency MFA in Creative Writing at Antioch University Los Angeles.

Riverbay and JASA to co-host Cabaret Lulu’s “Jukebox Serenade”

BY BILL STUTTIG some of Broadway’s best Distinguished Broadway talents, to the people of Comusical performers from shows op City. like Porgy and Bess, The Wiz, Cabaret Lulu offers a variand Ain’t Misbehavin’ will ety of Broadway revues percome to Co-op City’s Dreiser formed by Broadway profesAuditorium of Sunday, March sionals to a variety of commu31st to perform Jukebox nities, groups and programs Serenade, a tribute to the music throughout the Tri-State area. of Pearl Bailey, Louis Jordan Performances are staged out Lucille Gould and Ray Charles. of several Cabaret Lulu venues Riverbay’s Community Relations in locations such as mid-town Manhattan, office, under the direction of Michelle Connecticut, Hudson Valley, and New Sajous, will be hosting the special matiJersey. They also travel to several communee performance in association with nities throughout the area like Co-op City JASA’s Co-op City Senior Services. to bring the special Broadway magic to The show will feature some of the audiences who don’t regularly get to travel great show and pop tunes made famous by to the Broadway or off-Broadway theater. these three great African-American Producer David Weinstein helped singers of the past half-century and perfound Cabaret Lulu more than 20 years formed live by many of Broadway’s curago to help audiences throughout the rent African-American performers. region have access to Broadway quality Lucille Gould, co-producer and perentertainment without ever leaving their former of Cabaret Lulu for the past 20 community. years, said this week that she is excited Ms. Gould has been a producer/ perabout bringing the show, which features former for Cabaret Lulu since its incep-

tion in 1992. She is a Broadway veteran specializing in comedy. Her Broadway credits include The Balcony; Little Me, Three Penny Opera, Skin of Our Teeth and she co-starred in the off-Broadway production of Bits & Pieces, has appeared as a character actress in many motion pictures and on TV in PBS’ American Playhouse, CBS’ Stone Pillow with Lucille Ball and Fame.

Other performers for Cabaret Lulu coming to Co-op City on March 31st include music director Kuni Mikami, a pianist with the Lionel Hampton Band and the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He has also shared the stage with jazz musicians like Elvin Jones, Dizzy Gillespie. Illinois Jacket, Dakota Staton, Queen Esther Marow and many others, in concert at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center and in the famous jazz clubs of New York and the world. Movie appearances include Sabrina , Carlito’s Way and Year of the Dragon. He also directs and records with (Continued on page 4)

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Window Guards the Window Guard office or your respective Cooperator Services Office (CSO).

The staff will be more than willing to assist you.”

Through the years, Riverbay’s Computer Services Department has worked consistently and diligently, and with permission from the NYC Department of Heath, to automate the entry of the data contained on the form to make it more accurate and efficient.

“We use special software that scans the form, reads the data and stores it in a database,” said Mary Ahland, Director of Riverbay’s Computer Services Department, “During the course of the last three or four years, we’ve continued to evolve this form to make it more and more accurate.”

One of the improvements was the addition of a bar code which has significantly improved accuracy providing it is

Bookkeeping Hours area on these two days of the month when the Bookkeeping window is open for extended hours is not a healthy one,” explained Riverbay’s General Manager Vernon Cooper. “In addition to making it difficult for staff personnel to access the Administrative office, it also presents a potential fire hazard, and a safety concern.

As a result, we’ve taken steps to move some of the shareholders to another room where they can sit and wait more comfortably until

Cabaret Lulu his own group, East of the Sun. Featured performers include Roumel Reaux whose Broadway credits include Five Guys Named Moe, Porgy & Bess, The Wiz and Bob Fosse’s Big Deal. He has toured Europe and America in shows including Cabin in the Sky, My One & Only, Harry Belafonte in Concert, and Bob Fosse’s Dancin’; his television credits include Fresh Prince of Bel air, A Rage In Harlem and Fosse’s Steam Heat on PBS. Another featured performer, Tracey Conyer Lee, has had four of her own plays produced, including her solo show, Standing Up: Bathroom Talk & Other Stuff We Learn From Dad directed by Kevin R. Free in 2010’s New York International Fringe Festival. She is currently in pre-production for her one-hour television pilot Turning Tables. Acting highlights include roles at Weston Playhouse, Actors Theatre of Louisville, St. Louis Repertory, Cincinnati Playhouse, Florida Stage and many more national and international theater tours. She has starred on television in recurring roles on Law and Order; Criminal Intent, All My Children &, Guiding Light. This summer, she will perform in Ain’t Misbehavin’ at Cape Playhouse. She currently stars as Gloria in the offBroadway musical Sistas at St. Luke’s Theatre.

Performer D’Ambrose Boyd has shared the stage with such luminaries

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012 (Continued from page 1)

not torn or damaged in any way.

“It is 100% accurate,” Ahland said.

“And it tells us that we have gotten the form back from this building and apartment number. The software also recognizes the checks on the form and stores the answers in the database that is used to identify those apartments that need window guards installed or repaired.”

However, in addition to getting residents to fill out and sign the form before returning it, the next level of problems that has been encountered in the past is that residents do not complete the entire form fully.

“Because so many do not follow the instructions, over the course of time, we have become more and more and more compulsive about trying to get all of these answers,” said Ahland. “However, we can no longer afford to spend that amount of time and energy in getting every form answered correctly. Residents don’t sign

them, they don’t date them, they don’t answer all of the required questions, any possible combination that you can imagine is what we get.”

The Window Guard form asks for answers to very specific questions. For example, if a resident checks that there are children 10 and under in their apartment, they must tell whether or not they have window guards and whether they need to be repaired. So, simply acknowledging that there are children in the apartment is not sufficient.

“If they do not indicate that there are window guards, we assume that there are not and then we attempt to make an appointment which sometimes annoys them because they didn’t go the next step and let us know whether or not they do in fact have window guards installed,” said Ahland. “Our obligation once we are notified that there are children 10 and younger

in the apartment is to ascertain that there are window guards on the windows.”

The city’s Window Guard law was enacted to help prevent incidences of younger children being injured or killed in falls from unguarded windows. It requires owners of multiple dwellings (buildings with 3 or more apartments) to provide and properly install approved window guards on all windows in apartments where a child(ren) 10 years or younger reside or visit, although anyone, for whatever reason, may request window guards, even if you do not have children 10 or younger in the apartment.

Each week, Window Guard employees will deliver forms to 3 to 4 buildings.

Prior to visiting a building, the Window Guard Department will place a notice on the crawler and request that a sign be placed in the building lobby to alert residents when they should expect a visit.

Thursday, May 10 and Thursday, May 31; Monday, June 11 and Friday, June 29; Tuesday, July 10 and Tuesday, July 31; and Friday, August 10 and Friday, August 31.

In addition to shareholders paying their carrying charges at the bookkeeping window, or dropping them in the boxes in each of the three community centers, carrying charges can also be dropped off at New York Community Bank branch located

inside of the Pathmark store in the Bay Plaza shopping mall.

Riverbay does not accept cash; all payments must be made by personal check, bank check or money order. Shareholders should also write their account number and/or building and apartment numbers on any payment to Riverbay and return it along with the stub portion of their bill to ensure proper processing.

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they are ready to be seen at the window.

This will also eliminate shareholders standing and waiting in the hallway which also prevents the free flow of pedestrian traffic through the building.”

The Bookkeeping window’s early opening days this month are Monday, March 12, and Friday, March 30.

In the months that follow March, extended hours will be available on Tuesday, April 10 and Monday, April 30;

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as Eartha Kitt, Mickey Rooney, Brenda Braxton, Ken Page, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Frank Langella, to name a few. He has been on the boards of many Broadway, off-Broadway, regional and European theaters. Some past performances include: Ain’t Misbehavin’, Wizard of Oz, Five Guys Named Moe, A Christmas Carol, Babes in Toyland and Wall to Wall Broadway: A Century of Musical Theater . He can be heard on many cast recordings and voice-overs for Nickelodeon. New York audiences remember him from the off-Broadway hit, Little Ham. Tickets for the special performance on March 31st are $10, but they can be purchased in groups of 10 for $90. For information, contact Michelle Sajous at the Riverbay Community Relations office at 718-320-3300, extension 3352, or email her at msajous@riverbaycorp.com or call Jennifer Neumann at JASA at 718320-2066 or email her at jneumann@jasa.org.

Tickets will be sold at each of the community’s three senior centers. The dates when the tickets will go on sale at the centers will be announced in the near future in the Co-op City Times.

Seating is on a first-come, firstserve basis, so ticket holders are advised to get to the auditorium early.

The performance will begin promptly at 2 p.m.

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Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Grounds Department moves to Garage # 5 There is a need for us to have more of our materials and supplies stored “under one roof,” so to speak, and in an effort to have more of our inventory in one location, we would like to move the Grounds Department out of Garage #1. This will enable us to have more material used by the electricians, plumbers, painters and janitorial staff placed in Garage #1, under the control and supervision of Central Stores.

As a result, we are re-locating the Grounds Department into Garage #5 because it is the most underutilized garage that we have and therefore the decrease in the total number of parking spaces will not negatively impact the community. In addition, having these materials under tighter control will potentially save the housing company a lot of money in terms of having better inventory control.

The Grounds Department will be placed on the first floor, basically at the rear and along the west side of the garage closest to Co-op City Blvd. and Bartow Avenue. This would require that we re-locate some of the cooperators who currently have reserved parking spaces on the first floor to the second floor of Garage #5 and these new spaces will also be designated as reserved spaces for their convenience.

We are looking to have this change

Management Corner

Marion Scott Real Estate, Inc. take place this month.

We are also looking at the feasibility of renting more than three hundred parking spaces to the Honda motor vehicle company, who are looking for storage space for their vehicles. The ideal location for said vehicles would also be in Garage #5 because of the availability of permanent spaces. If we are in fact able to accommodate the Honda Motor Company, it will mean that we will receive a payment of approximately $13,500 per month which will go a long way in terms of offsetting costs associated with upgrades and maintenance of the community’s eight garages. We’ll keep the community posted in regards to our progress in this matter.

VAC ANT P RO F E SSI O NAL SPAC E S/M E DI C AL O F F I C E S We have several vacant professional spaces within the high rise buildings. Although we publicize the availability of these spaces on our website and periodically in various newspapers, the response has been very poor, particularly as it relates to the medical

profession. We believe the size of the spaces, which range between 800 to 1,200 square feet, has been the problem, given the fact that today it is common for a variety of physicians to open up facilities together as a medical group, which enables them to have their patients make multiple appointments in the same facility for most, if not all, of their medical needs.

That being said, we are reaching out to various hospitals and medical associations to see if there is an interest to lease space here at Riverbay. In the interim, we are approaching the various community organizations to determine if there is any interest on their part to rent some or all of the available space in question. However, more than likely, most of the organizations cannot or will not be able to afford to pay the rent.

How this would work, however, is that the organizations that are relocated into these spaces would become commercial tenants and would sign commercial leases and will have to adhere to the commercial leases rules, regulations and rates. Some of the organizations may have an operation that is not conducive to being inside a residential apartment building given the nature of what they do, considering noise and traffic issues. These leases will be in 3 year intervals as are all of

our leases for non-profit businesses.

Wi-Fi IS COMI NG TO CO-OP CIT Y Back in the Fall of 2011, Cablevision conducted a site survey of Co-op City to determine the feasibility of having WiFi for our community. For those of you who are not familiar with WiFi, it is the wireless connection for your laptops, iPhones and other devices to connect to the Internet without having to gain access by way of your cell phone provider, thus saving you money.

Another plus is that the WiFi speeds are much faster than the 3G that cell phones provide.

After several days of surveys, Cablevision reported back that they could blanket the open areas of Co-op City with their free Optimum WiFi service for all Optimum online subscribers. As of this week, Cablevision has commenced the installation process that will provide WiFi in the near future.

Please note that WiFi access will be available at the Bartow, Dreiser and Einstein Malls, in the common areas, in addition to the large Greenway for Sections 1 – 4 and the Greenway in Section 5. Cablevision is also planning to add service to the common areas in the lower level of the Bartow Center as well. We’ll keep you posted.

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Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Co-op City Times

Letters to the Editor

Our main problem with crime To t h e E d it or : Saul Weber is an esteemed writer of children books. Children stories are based on fantasies and fairy tales devoid of any facts. Facts are not necessary when writing make-believe but when you write a letter to the Times facts are necessary.

He refuses to accept the opinion of our general counsel Buss, after a consid-

erable investigation, that Co-op City is Bernie Cylich’s primary residence.

Unable to prove otherwise, he resorts to the STAR credit diversion. He implies fraud and cries out for punishment when all he had to do was to read Bernie’s directors viewpoint of 2-18-12. It explains it all. The STAR exemption was granted to the former owner of the prop-

erty not to Bernie.

Saul Weber was on the Board of Directors it seemed like forever. He served with a former President of the Board who did commit a crime and went to prison. Where were you when this happened? Didn’t you know what was going on? The community deserves answers.

—H a l Sa t in off

I have known and worked with Bernie Cylich at the Coalition to Save Affordable Housing for the nearly six years that I have lived in Co-op City. I know him to be a tireless advocate for workers’ rights and affordable housing. As Bernie states in his 2/18 CCT viewpoint, “The Buss Report” acknowledges that there is no evidence that my family applied for the $317 a year NYS Star Exemption while we received another

Rozaan Boone Editor-in-Chief

Bill Stuttig Associate Editor

Jim Roberts Jennifer Piovanetti Operations Manager

exemption as Co-op City residents.”

I was also troubled when I heard of these allegations. However, I will take Mr. Cylich at his word, the exemption was given without his knowledge and terminated by him when he learned of it.

I believe the investigation initiated by Board President Helen Atkins is the latest attempt to silence Bernie in his efforts to require the Board to follow its own by laws, e.g. regular open Board meetings and

oppose privatization and end outsourcing whenever possible thereby eliminating change order charges resulting in huge overpayments on contracted work.

I don’t know what Mr. Weber’s disagreements with Mr. Cylich are but I know Bernie is trying to preserve affordable housing for the middle class and restore the cooperative spirit here and is worthy of our trust.

—Br u ce Silb er m a n

Food for thought To t h e E d it or : Congratulations to Andre Leslie and Daryl Johnson for opposing the approval of a “saloon permit” to Palombo Bakery

Derek Alger Director of Communications

Business Manager

For safety’s sake To t he E d it or,

Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community.

(718) 320-3300, ext. 3375 cctimes@riverbaycorp.com

on Bartow. Such a proposal is big trouble just waiting to happen.

It is just unbelievable that our Board would approve of such, especially our

minister of God who should be ashamed of himself. The Board has reached a new low.

How are you going to keep the kids out?

—W illia m R . C r a ft

Ralph Henriquez Production Manager

Deborah Harris Editorial Assistant The Co-op City Times welcomes issue-oriented letters to the editor to be considered for publication. All letters, in prose, not poetry, must be addressed to the editor, not to third parties. All letters must be handsigned by the writers and include their addresses and phone numbers, which will be kept confidential, so that the editor can verify the authenticity of the authors.

Writers will be limited to one letter per topic. And to give everyone a chance, we will limit writers to one published letter every 30 days.

Anonymous or unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication.

Letters cannot exceed 350 words.

Ideally, they should be typed. All letters must be in the Co-op City Times office in Room 21, Bartow Community Center, by 3 p.m. every Monday to be considered for publication in that week’s edition. Views and opinions expressed in letters and Directors’ Viewpoint are solely the writer’s, and not necessarily shared by the Co-op City Times or Riverbay Corp.

Advertisements and classified advertisements in the Co-op City Times do not necessarily reflect an endorsement from Riverbay Corporation of goods and services, but present greater options to cooperators of products and services available.

The Riverbay Corporation does not assume any responsibility nor is it a party to any contract or agreement between the cooperator and the vendor.

All matter published herein is copyrighted by the Co-op City Times.

Permission for reprints of advertising or editorial contents produced by the Co-op City Times must be obtained in writing from Riverbay Corporation, 2049 Bartow Ave., Bronx, New York 10475.

If the Co-op City Times Was Not Delivered: Call 646.261.1761 on Saturdays ONLY, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Send us your

Letters! s r Edito City Timee.

Co-opBartow Av 5 2049 , NY 1047 Bronx

email: cctimes@riverbaycorp.com

7

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Public Safety Report CCPD reminds drivers of the expansion of the MOVE OVER/SLOW DOWN law

BY LIEUTENANT PAM APOLLO The Co-op City Department of Public Safety would like to remind all drivers of the expansion of the MOVE OVER law which took effect January 1st of this year.

The law expanded to include tow truck operators and other authorized vehicles performing roadside assistance or maintenance of roadways. Last year’s “MOVE OVER ACT” requires drivers to MOVE over and SLOW down when there is an Emergency Vehicle on the side of the road with its emergency lights activated.

Violations of this law can result in fines of up to $275, a mandatory court surcharge of $85 and two points on their Driver’s License. Drivers can also be sentenced to up to 15 days in jail for violations of the “MOVE OVER ACT.” The law requires that, when possible, motorists must change lanes when they approach an incident where there is a vehicle with flashing red or amber lights.

The new law adds the amber lights. When it is not possible to move over, or there is only one lane, drivers must slow down.

Tow trucks, “HELP” trucks and road maintenance crews are now a part of this act which serves to save lives on our nation’s roadways. Persons working on roadways provide a service to motorists and it is a priority to insure their safety.

The original law, also known as the “Ambrose-Searles Move Over Act” is named after State Trooper Robert W. Ambrose and Onondaga County Sheriff Deputy Glenn M. Searles. Trooper Ambrose was killed on December 19, 2002 when his patrol car was struck from

behind by another car, operated by a 20year-old drunk driver who was also killed, on the New York State Thruway as he was pulled over to investigate an accident. A person from the original accident was also killed. Ambrose was assigned to the State Police barracks at Tarrytown at the time of his death and had been a trooper for 5 years.

Deputy Searles was killed while assisting a stranded motorist on I-481 on November 29, 2003. Searles was attempting to remove flares from the trunk of his police car when he was struck by a minivan that slid across the snow and icecovered road into his car, pinning him between the two vehicles. A tow truck operator was most recently killed in November of 2011 in New York State.

The new law requires motorists to slow down when they come upon an emergency or service vehicle on the shoulder of a roadway. The law also requires motorists to “MOVE OVER” a lane if possible on highways and parkways.

Since 1999, there have been more than 160 law enforcement officers killed in the United States as a result of being struck by vehicles while performing police duties along highways. When driving and the eyes drift towards activity on the side of the road, the tendency is for the vehicle to veer towards that direction. In response, most states have adopted some form of the “MOVE OVER” law. Disabled motorists should also always pull as far off the side of the road for the very same reasons.

It is very important that all drivers are aware of this new law and adhere to its

provisions. The original law was the last official act of former New York State Governor David Paterson enacted prior to leaving his post.

Electronic signs along highways remind motorists of this new law. The law will help to greatly reduce the number of Emergency Response personnel killed in car crashes on the sides of highways in New York State, as well as the nation as a whole. The expansion of the law serves to save even more lives.

When the weather is bad, it becomes even more important to adhere to driving rules and restrictions. Always slow down and increase following distance when weather conditions limit visibility. Rain, snow, sleet, fog and ice make it take longer to stop. The “MOVE OVER” law becomes even more important in foul weather. Law enforcement is actively enforcing this law. Not knowing about the law is not an effective defense. Many summonses have been issued statewide.

Most other states have the same or similar laws. The law will eventually be in effect in all 50 states. When in doubt - SLOW DOWN and MOVE OVER for safety.

For more information please see the following websites: www.nysdot.gov, www.nydmv.state.ny.us, www.nsc.org and www.nationalsafetycouncil.org.

These websites are an excellent place to read up on this and other traffic laws.

They also contain information geared at improving driving skills to become a safer driver. Be sure all drivers in your household are aware of this new law.

Teen drivers are especially at risk of

becoming involved in a motor vehicle accident.

School is open, DRIVE CAREFULLY. Never pass a stopped school bus with a STOP sign displayed or its red lights flashing. This means children are loading or unloading. Be aware of pedestrians and bike riders when operating a motor vehicle. Bike riders must refrain from riding bicycles near buildings and shopping centers. Bicycle riders must give pedestrians the same level of respect that they expect from motor vehicles. Everyone needs to share the road safely.

Never operate a motor vehicle if you have consumed alcoholic beverages.

Always buckle your seatbelt; it will save your life in a serious collision. Avoid distractions and excess speed when driving; these are the two leading causes of collisions within New York State.

Always remember, if you see something, say something. If you see suspicious persons in the townhouse areas, in or around buildings or garages, notify the authorities. Call 9-1-1 and the Department of Public Safety at (718) 671-3050 or online at www.ccpd.us.

Callers may remain anonymous when giving information.

The Co-op City Department of Public Safety would like to thank all persons who have called in suspicious activity or sent information via our website. It is by your actions that the Public Safety Department is able to keep the crime rate low and maintain a high quality of life throughout the community.

Public Safety Blotter: Feb. 23 to Feb. 25

Black History Month Celebration…Lt. Col. Floyd Carter, one of the heroic Tuskegee

Airmen of World War II, was the special guest speaker as the Co-op City section of the National Council of Negro Women, in association with the Riverbay Fund, presented its 11th annual Black History Month Celebration on Saturday, February 25th in Dreiser Center auditorium. This year’s celebration paid tribute to two recently passed celebrated entertainers, Don Cornelius, former host of Soul Train, and the great Whitney Houston. Guest performers included the children from many of the community’s youth programs including: The Learning Ladder Day Care Center, the Section 5 Teen Center, The Garvey School, Kids for Christ of the Co-op City Baptist Church, the Choir of Harvest Restoration Ministries, the Co-op City Troop of the Girl Scout Council of Greater New York, the M.S. 180 Step Team, and the Undefeated Prayzers. Co-op City’s Brea Grate began the program with a rousing version of Lift Every Voice and Sing. Anike Cherry and Kendra Dean performed a special tribute to Whitney Houston and the program ended with the audience joining in on a Soul Train Line around the auditorium.

Photo by Bill Stuttig

February 25, 120 Elgar Place A complainant reported that an unknown male boarded the elevator with her and removed a wallet from her coat.

Officers observed the male and apprehended him. While in custody, the individual got into a fight with another prisoner at the precinct and later attempted to escape custody while being treated at the hospital.

February 25, Bartow Avenue and Co-op City Boulevard An individual was arrested after he threatened a CCPD officer and motioned as if he had a weapon. The male was issued a summons for disorderly conduct.

February 24, Various The NYPD and CCPD conducted another joint operation. As a result, 4 people were cited from both agencies, two for open containers, one for possession of a knife and the last was taken into custody for being wanted on an outstanding warrant.

February 24, 100 Benchley Place One family was displaced as the

result of a fire that broke out in a bedroom. The FDNY extinguished the blaze, but the apartment was deemed uninhabitable. As a result, the Red Cross offered housing assistance to the displaced family. There were no injuries.

February 24, Bruckner Expressway and Crosby Avenue Four CCPD officers en route to the 45th Precinct observed an NYPD Uniformed Officer struggling with two males that she was trying to arrest. The officers were able to assist the officer and the suspects were placed under arrest.

February 23, 100 Benchley Place CCPD officers responded to this location after someone reported seeing a suspicious male in a stairway. Upon arrival, officers observed the individual in the stairway. Initial investigation revealed that there was an active Order of Protection against the male and that he was prohibited from being at that location. He faces charges of violating a court order and other charges.

8

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

On the other hand...

I was amazed at the faulty logic displayed by Director Francine Jones in her Viewpoint last week, though I probably shouldn’t have been. I thought the days of Directors trying to take control of the Co-op City Times were over, but I guess that’s not true when something comes up that Director Bernie Cylich doesn’t like.

Let’s see, our General Counsel Jeffrey Buss concluded a report which discovered that while Co-op City could be considered Mr. Cylich’s primary residence, Mr. Cylich also owns homes in upstate New York, as well as North Carolina, and he improperly took a tax exemption on two residences when such an exemption can only be taken on one’s primary residence. The Daily News did a story on this, as did City News, but Francine Jones implies there should have been nothing published in the Co-op City Times, our true community newspaper. Well, if it’s good enough for the Daily News, why shouldn’t it be published in the Co-op City Times? I, for one, am glad the Coop City Times refused to risk undermining its credibility by ignoring Mr. Buss’ report. The Co-op City Times wasn’t responsible for what Mr. Cylich did or didn’t do, and took no official position on it, which is known as objectivity.

For Francine’s information, the

Director’s Viewpoint

Al Shapiro President has never had authority over the Co-op City Times, and we are fortunate to have true professionals at the Coop City Times, including our Director of Communications, who has been reporting on news in Co-op City for over 20 years. When I was President of Riverbay Corporation, when Leticia Morales was President, and when Othelia Jones was President, none of us interfered with the running or operations of the Co-op City Times. And things have not changed under President Helen Atkins—we have a free and open newspaper. If we didn’t, if the Co-op City Times was controlled like it was in former days long ago, I’m not even sure Francine’s Viewpoint would have run, but those were the old days and fortunately, they are long gone.

What was the Co-op City Times great crime? It ran Mr. Buss’ report on Cylich without editorializing, and even went so far as to take out the specific addresses of Mr. Cylich’s properties to ensure some measure of privacy, even though the information can easily be found online. Since Francine seems to think there is no issue, and Mr. Cylich

can do no wrong, she doesn’t see the need for the report to be published.

Wow, can this really be the position of a Bernie Cylich ally, to call for a coverup and interference with the Co-op City Times in the name of partisan politics?

My, how things change!

Also, since when did observations

by Directors in Viewpoints become personal attacks. I’ve said it before, I agree with Director Tony Illis, I don’t care how many houses Mr. Cylich owns, but it’s a fact, most shareholders in Co-op City don’t own both a “summer” home and a “retirement” home. Mr. Cylich prides himself on being a so-called worker among workers, and an average guy who is the member of the 99%, but anyone who owns two homes, whether underwater in value or not, is more likely to be considered part of the 1%.

When criticizing the Co-op City Times for publishing Buss’ report on Mr. Cylich, one should remember that these same Board members had no problem when the Co-op City Times published Mr. Buss’ investigation concerning former Director Leticia Morales. Different conclusions can be drawn from reports, but when reports run on their own, they are what they are. So, if Francine Jones’ logic stands, and Mr. Cylich has been vindicated as a hero of the people, who did nothing

wrong, logically, she should applaud Mr. Buss’ report being published in the Co-op City Times, but I guess that wouldn’t fit in with a parochial political mindset.

I must send a compliment out to my fellow Director Tony Illis for taking the lead and being up front on the issue of protesting Co-op City being forced to perform unnecessary asbestos abatement work on our floor tiles when there is no hazard. I also am glad our former Assemblyman Stephen Kaufman came to our aid, in large measure because he lived in Co-op City and loves our community, to fight against this bureaucratic travesty in which Co-op City is being unfairly punished. This is a case of government at its worst, allowing the selective enforcement of a regulation applied only to Co-op City and no other housing developments with similar floor tiles. Once again, I agree with Mr. Illis, why us?

Finally, in closing, I would like to say I am grateful we have a newspaper, the Co-op City Times, where the President of the Corporation does not have veto power over individual Viewpoints and whether or not they should run. I’m not sure things would be the same if Francine Jones or Bernie Cylich ever gained control of Riverbay Corporation.

Donizetti Building Four Association Do you or anyone you know need to register to vote? If so, please pick up a registration form from our meeting room. Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, March 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the meeting room in the rear of Building 4B. We are still collecting annual membership dues for the 2012 year. Building membership dues is only $5 per household. The

membership dues help to support some of the events held during the year, which also includes our annual college scholarship award. Your support is greatly needed and appreciated. **Envelopes will arrive shortly under your apartment door for those who wish to pay their dues or was not able to pay while we were in the lobby.

March 31st is our annual Atlantic City

fundraising event to the Showboat Casino for a day of fun. Want to shop? The mall outlet is within walking distance from casino. Cost of the round trip is $35 with a $25 casino rebate. A continental breakfast will be served from 8 to 8:45 a.m. Bus leaves from Donizetti Place at 9 a.m. SHARP! All tickets must be paid by March 10, no exceptions! Call (718) 671-6922 for more info.

Sa fety Tip: DO NOT OPEN LOBBY DOOR FOR ANYONE YOU DO NOT KNOW!!

Happy birthday wishes are extended to our March born. Get well wishes is extended to our sick and shut-in neighbors.

Remember, this is our home…IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING. —Yvonne Bur r us

Building 13 Association It is time for nominations for the Building 13 Association, Inc. If you are interested, please be present at the next monthly meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 22, at 7:00 p.m. Membership dues will be collected in March. Yearly dues collection dates will be posted in the building bulletin board. Please join. Your membership helps us continue our many programs and events. Membership dues are $5.

The Arts and Crafts and Writing Workshops facilitated by Ms. Gail and Ms. Denise and made possible with public funds from the Bronx Council on the Arts through the New York State Council on the Arts Decentralization Program began on Sunday, February 26. The next session, a writing workshop will begin on Tuesdays in March on the following dates, March 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th, youth from 6:15-7:30 p.m. and adults 7:45-9:00 p.m. A culmination show pre-

senting these works will be held on March 30, at 6:00 p.m. Donation: $5.

Anyone interested in helping or assisting is welcome.

Mark your calendar for the return of Game Night. We will introduce a fun new game, LEFT, RIGHT AND CENTER along with other fun games. It is scheduled for Saturday, March 10, beginning at 6 p.m. Donation: $2.

The Summer Fun Day in the park to be held on Saturday, June 23, from noon to 6:00 p.m. (rain date: June 30th) will be an event you don’t want to miss. If you love games, races, basketball, music, popcorn and cotton candy, then this is the place to be. Come out and meet your neighbors, have fun with your family, watch the fun or join the largest cupid slide in Co-op City. We are looking for volunteers to show youth how to play skelsys (skully), for the basketball competition and vari-

ous other activities. If you would like to help make this the best day ever, speak to the Youth and Adult Social Committee (info. below).

F loor ca p t a in s should submit items that need to be addressed or repaired on your floor to the Captain, Mrs. Santiago, in Apt. 27C. The information will be reported at the janitorial and grounds meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Association Room. We thank Riverbay for correcting some of the more urgent requests and look forward to additional work being completed. If you would like to be a floor captain, you are welcome to attend. We can always use more eyes to help us keep our building looking good.

Our next session of Women Keeping It Real is scheduled for Saturday, April 21, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Association

Room of Building 13 (100 Casals Place). It’s an INSPIRING, INSIGHTFUL, INFORMATIVE and often HILARIOUS social gathering of women of all ages discussing various issues.

Remember! You must be 18 and over to participate. YOU and your friends are welcome. DON’T MISS IT! For information on any events, check the bulletin board or contact: Leslie Peterson at 718-320-1370, Gail Sharbaan at 718-671-3801, Valerie Gunn at 718862-0308 or e-mail us at building13assoc@yahoo.com.

Help us to improve the quality of ALL of our cooperators.

Report any criminal activities to Co-op Public Safety at (718) 320-3050, and/or the 45th Precinct at (718) 822-5411.

For all NYC non-emergency inquiries, call 3-1-1.

—O lu b iyi Seh in d em i (M r. B)

Goose Island Seniors Happy birthday and happy anniversary to all who celebrate in the month of March.

Wednesday, March 7—Bingo game in Room 39 at 1:30 p.m. for members and a guest. Refreshments served.

Wednesday, May 9—Trip to Villa Roma starring the PLATTERS. Price is $63, which includes food, show, transportation. Pick-up

time is 7:45 a.m. at Einstein Center, 8 a.m.

Asch Loop (back of library) and Dreiser Loop. Only a few seats are still available.

Thursday, July 12—Going to Platzl Brahaus in Pomona. Price is $58. Come and spend a lovely day in Pomona. They have music, dancing, swimming, mini golf and Bingo, also a gift shop. Menu-Continental

breakfast, lunch is plentiful hamburgers, franks, sausage and peppers, all kind of salads, corn on cob and watermelon. Dinner is roast beef, roasted chicken and tilapia, ice cream, soda & beer all day. Future trip: Going to the Fiesta in Wood Ridge, N.J., showing International Jamboree. An afternoon of fun, great music, line dancing and a

comedy act. Menu - salad, chicken francese, roast beef, filet of sole, veg. pot special, dessert, 1 glass of wine, soda and coffee and tea. Price is $60. See Ann or Mary for more information, call 718-379-9613 or come to 135 Einstein Center, Room 39, Mon.-Thurs., 10 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. or call Mary 718-379—M a r y P illa 4899. Good health to all.

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

9

American Legion Post 1871 Our Post is located in Section 5 Community Center, 135 Einstein Loop, Room 41. Our office phone number is 718-320-8165 and you can also reach us by e-mail: post1871@optimum.net.

Greeting to all of our comrades who are home-bound and recovering from various medical operations.

Happy birthday to all of our Post members who have a birthday in March: Clifton Adams, Robert Dean, Jr., Raymond Riley, Jacob L. Randolph, Adeyemi Oloruntoba, Clarence Powell, Mum, M. Kerner, Raphael B. JaMs, Herbert Rosenburg, Norman Thomas and William A. Pace. If I have forgotten to include your name for your birthday,

please let me know ASAP and I will include your name in the next edition in the Co-op City Times.

For all our Post members, here is a list of the up and coming events for our Post members. Are you ready to “HIRE A VETERAN” for 2012? March 30, there will be a Department Commander’s visit at the Turner Club at 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Mark this date on your calendar; the cost is $35p/p.

Assistant Secretary Dr. Jonathan Woodson joined First Lady Michelle Obama on February 9th to announce changes to menus of 1,100 dining halls at military bases nationwide to serve healthier food to our troops and in vend-

ing machines that are placed on bases nationwide. This was needed to help stop the expanding waist lines of our troops and to start serving more nutritional meals to our troops. 30% of our recruits between the ages of 17 to 24 years of age cannot pass the military weight standards and the service discharges about 1,200 entry level candidates each year due to their inability to meet fitness standards.

Keeping your threads tight is easy, thanks to dry cleaning, a process invented

by Thomas L. Jennings in 1821. He also became the first Black to receive a patent in the U.S. Any Post member who would like to

purchase a baseball cap, dress cap and Post shirt, please contact the Post Commander for the price for each item that you would like to purchase. I trust all of our Post members have paid their 2012 dues. If you haven’t paid your dues, contact the Post ASAP so that you can make a payment of $40. for the year.

If you need more raffles, contact the Post ASAP. You’re getting older when the rocking chair feels like a roller coaster used to.

If I had known I would live this long, I’d have taken better care of myself.

This information was brought to you by your Post 1871 information officer, —R ich a r d I . L a wson, J r.

American Legion Auxiliary 1871 Here is the information we spoke about at the meeting: The county meeting will be held Wednesday, March 14 at the Throggs

Neck Memorial Post 1456, Shore Drive, at 7:30 p.m., weather permitting.

Bronx County American Legion Joint

visitation is Friday, March 30 at 7 p.m. A buffet dinner will be held at Michael’s Restaurant in the Turner Club, 748 Clarence

Avenue, Throggs Neck. Donation is $35 pp.

The date for Hunterdon Hills Playhouse is December 19.

Jewish War Veterans Post 500 The next meeting of Co-op City Post 500 is scheduled for Sunday, March 4th at 10 a.m. at the Town House Restaurant on Dreiser Loop.

To all members, Post 500 needs volunteers to help sell Poppies to benefit our hospitalized vets. The sale will be held at the end of March or early April and will be at the Bartow or Peartree Shopping Centers. If you would like to help sell the

poppies, call Adjutant Alan Kalter at 718-671-1144 and let him know.

On March 25th at 9:30 a.m., at the Lincoln Park Jewish Center, Yonkers N.Y., the Bronx County Council JWV, Department of New York JWV, and the Bronx County Ladies Auxilliary will be holding a breakfast meeting. The breakfast will be at 9:30 with the meeting following. Any member needing a ride to

this event, call Marvin at 718-379-4804.

The 78th annual Bronx County Council JWV Convention will be held on April 22nd at 10 a.m. in Room 3D22 at the Bronx VA Hospital. At the end of the morning segment, there will be the joint installation of officers for posts and auxilliaries followed by a Memorial Service for our departed comrades.

In the afternoon, at 1 p.m., a luncheon will be held at San Martino Restaurant, 12 Young Avenue, Yonkers, N.Y. The cost of the luncheon is $32.50 per person. For those wanting to attend, please bring a check payable to Bronx County Council JWV, to either of our next two meetings. The cutoff date is April 8.

—M a r vin Wa r m

NAACP, Co-op City Branch From the great historic facts and amazing people in African-American history that we particularly cited in February we flow right into March which is known as the month remembering women of particular accomplishment. All women have achieved tremendous personal missions but some have gone above and beyond.

State Senator Jeff Klein did a great thing this past Saturday, February 25 by combining the two themes, February’s African American History salute and March’s, recognition of women. He chose to honor some amazing women of color.

One of them hails from Co-op City, Ms. Robin Miller, an educator for 30 years and artist whose greatest talent could be how she faces each new day and teaches her students.

The bus for “Ace In The Hole” left

Monday, February 20, Presidents’ Day, totally sold out. Ms Eleanor Donnley reports it was a really great day and everyone had a marvelous time. Save September 29, for our Luncheon/Membership Drive & Fashion Show at Eastwood Manor.

Soon, we will be scheduling our audition dates for our models.

By this publication, our salute to our Black History Month Event will have been celebrated and we certainly hope you didn’t miss the festivities.

Mrs. Joan Murrell and the Freedom Fund Committee worked very hard to present a special program and organize this event. Thank you very much and many kudos to you for bringing this important film to us. Thank you and appreciation to everyone who made the evening possible including Ms. Michele

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Sajous and her staff. The Co-op City Branch of the NAACP looks forward to working with other Civic Organizations to register and “get out the vote” here in Co-op City. March’s meetings are on March 13 – Executive Committee at 2:30 p.m. in Room 28, Bartow Community Center, and our salute to women event on March 27, Room 28 at 6:30 p.m. (time not confirmed). Special surprise guest(s) will be announced in our next press release.

New members, it is time to get involved and become an active member of an NAACP committee. Come to participate with the NAACP, Co-op City Branch.

Each committee offers an opportunity to contribute to the NAACP community.

Contact the NAACP by mail, P.O. Box

75-3111, Einstein Station, Bronx, NY 10475 or phone 718-671-7856. Visit the NAACP website: http://action.naacp.org/ or the New York State Branch website for more news. In 2011: seminars, demonstrations, a walkathon, 75th anniversary celebration, health fairs and a Square Dance were held. This month, look for events marking great women in history.

Please write P.O. Box # 75-3111, Einstein Loop post office to submit a tiding for our press release. To all our friends and neighbors recovering from illness or accident, a speedy and total recovery is wished. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us should you need particular help or direction to solve a problem. This press release is submitted with the approval of President Jeannette Graves.

—E va L a za a r

10

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Ownership and Responsibility A cooperator sent me an e-mail saying that she was taking burned out CFL bulbs to the Home Depot on East Gun Hill Road for recycling. Now, that’s very conscientious recycling, especially if it is just a bulb or two. My hat is off to her because her expressed concern was keeping our community safe, clean, and healthy.

Recycling electronics, such as cell phones, televisions, and computers (along with rechargeable batteries found in many of these items), keeps potentially harmful materials out of the waste stream and the environment. If you want to manage electronics disposal responsibly, you can take advantage of take-back, reuse, and recycling programs provided by some manufacturers. Presently, NYC residents can legally discard items such as computers, monitors, keyboards, printers, VCRs, DVD players, and some portable devices like e-readers or tablets in the trash.

Long story, made short: take items such as those mentioned above down to the dumpster area in your basement for disposal. Do not put them in the compactor room on your floor. However, bulbs, even CFL bulbs, intended for disposal can be placed in the receptacle presently used for glass and plastic in the compactor room.

Director’s Viewpoint

Khalil Abdul-Wahhab W h a t Ab ou t M y Neigh b or ?

At a recent building association meeting where the CERT team gave a Ready New York presentation about being prepared for incidents and emergencies, a cooperator said that consideration should be given to requesting some additional schools in our community (besides Truman High School) to be made into evacuation centers. Her reasoning was that with more schools participating in an evacuation effort, there would be more space and expanded help for the disabled and seniors in our community.

The incidents mentioned demonstrate the concern that some cooperators have for their neighbors, friends, and the community at large. These cooperators took a position of responsibility. They expressed their concerns. That is something that we all need to do. To effectively demand our just due from the “powers that be,” the community must come together and speak with one voice.

We have been fortunate to have obtained our homes at an affordable price. We live in a stable, secure, and beautiful community. We are the OWN-

ERS of a large tract of land supporting comfortable housing. Our community is huge; it constitutes a ‘un-municipalized’ city of over 50,000 people. Yet, we fail to have the political clout that our numbers ought to demand. Why? At least three reasons: 1. A failure by cooperators to speak up when they have a concern; 2.

The apathetic attitude of many cooperators (to neither seek understanding nor get involved); and 3. The community’s failure to vote in numbers commensurate with our population density.

Peop le Power I said in a recent Viewpoint that ‘People Power’ is the fuel for the engines of progress and positive change. I am fully in agreement with having Open Board meetings. Open Board meetings allow dynamic dialog among cooperators, Board Directors, and management.

Any action that improves communication is a positive one, however, Open Board meetings are not a solution for apathy.

Individuals who endlessly focus on events from nearly a decade ago cannot properly deal with today’s problems.

This Board responds to cooperator concerns more effectively than many other Boards in recent history. We Directors – all of us – want to solve problems, address community concerns, and seek ways to bring additional benefits. To

do that effectively, we need cooperator input, support, and participation. The power of the community is maximized when all of us work together towards common goals.

If you think that you have the capability, run for the Board of Directors. If you do not want to run for the Board, then take time to read the brief descriptions written by the candidates, and choose those that you believe will continue our community’s advancement.

Help to find solutions. Help strengthen and preserve our community. Join in, speak up! Attend building association meetings. If you are busy, attend every other building association meeting.

Urge your neighbors to attend. Submit letters with your concerns or suggestions pertinent to Co-op City to the editor of the Co-op City Times. Vote for the candidate of your choice in the coming Co-op City election and make sure to register and vote in the national election. Make our numbers count. Vote, vote, vote!

If you see something, say something.

Share your suggestions, complaints, or special concerns with me. Send letters to Khalil Abdul-Wahhab, c/o Riverbay Corporation, 2049 Bartow Avenue, Bronx, NY 10475 or address e-mail to k wa h h a b10475@h ot m a il.com .

Building 21 Association P a y it for wa r d Now is the best time to get things done. Riverbay Board elections are coming up. That means people in high places will be trying to please you and will make every effort to communicate with us like never before. Now is the time to get some of the needs that you pay for here to come to fruition. Almost anything you need will be honored (within reason). Or they will

promise you the world. But you will never know if you don’t pursue the possibilities. I say go get ‘em!!!

By the time this article is ready, we would have had our meeting with our special guest speaker Andy King. If you were there, then you didn’t miss out on the information and the food. If you missed it, then shame on you…

Our meetings are mostly held on the

third Tuesday of every month. We are looking to have some programs within our building that run regularly every week. But we need to know what is needed and what is wanted. This is why we need to get everyone involved. There are skills and expertise that people have and take for granted. This is why we need to come together and figure out what those things are.

We will have a workshop discussion

meeting within the next 2 weeks to discuss this possibility. This meeting will be separate from our regular monthly meeting so look out for that date.

You may contact us at our new number: 347-504-1821 or email us at: 21association@gmail.com.

May God bless and continue to keep you and yours safe.

—Kevin L a m b r igh t

Building 18 Association Hi, neighbors.

Thank you to all who attended our last general meeting on Tuesday, February 21st. Mr. Vernon Cooper, General Manager of Riverbay, gave a very informative presentation and hand outs as well.

During question and answer period, many concerns and comments were voiced and Mr. Cooper’s responses were very knowledgeable. Thank you, Mr. Cooper, for a detailed presentation. Our next general meeting is scheduled for the (third) Tuesday, March 20th at 7:00 p.m. No scheduled guest speaker as of yet.

Please attend as many meetings as possible your attendance is very important to us, (as these meetings are planned with you in mind) and we know you want to know what is going on; we live here this is our home let us take pride. Looking forward to seeing all of you on March 20th.

Refreshments are always served at the meetings.

Our movie matinees are going well.

Thanks to all who came down to the movie on Wednesday, February 15th. Movie time is a good time to enjoy some quite time and have refreshments with your neigh-

bors, very relaxing. Next movie is scheduled for Wednesday, March 21st at 3:30 p.m. in the association room “we promise you an enjoyable afternoon.”

Membership Drive started on Wednesday, February 29, we will be in the lobby today to collect membership dues; only $10 per household for the whole year.

If you miss today you may contact Gertie Brown at 347-275-2995 or Lorraine Turner at 718-379-2145 to pay your dues.

Thanks to all who renewed their membership and thanks to all new members.

We stress again and again how we love hearing from you so keep your articles coming to our e-mail address: BLDG18 newsletter@aol.com. Thank you.

Lawson’s men meetings continues and it is not just for men anyone can join, come and find out what you can do in working together for the betterment of our community. Meetings are held every other Thursday, 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Youth are also invited to come to these meetings with new ideas and concerns, we welcome you.

Happy birthday to all with that special day in March and may that day be all you want it to be.

Remember Daylight Savings Time Begins on Sunday, March 11, so set your clocks 1 hour ahead before you go to bed on that Saturday night. Always SPRING FORWARD. Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all.

Our deepest sympathies to the bereaved families and to the sick and homebound we wish you a speedy recovery.

Stay alert: If you SEE something, SAY something!

—Ger t ie Br own

Co-op Insurance

11

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

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12

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Why Did HCR Order 3% Increases?

Much discussion has taken place about the two 3-percent carrying charge increases that New York State’s HCR (Homes and Community Renewal) ordered. Some significant parts of the story, however, haven’t received the attention they deserve.

Last June, management asked the Board to approve two 3-percent increases. Because some Board members considered the proposed increases too high, a vote was taken directing management to amend its budget to lower the carrying charge increases from 3 percent to 1 percent.

Several months later, HCR disregarded Riverbay’s amended budget.

The two 1-percent carrying charge increases the Board had recommended were ignored, and two 3-percent increases were imposed.

According to a November 17, 2011 memo to the Board from Riverbay’s Director of Finance, the HRC order was not based on any shortfall found in Riverbay’s operating budget. No shortfall was found in the operating or discretionary portion of the proposed $200 million annual budget-no shortfall, even counting a $1.5 million increase in those discretionary costs ($1.5 million, by the way, equals just 0.75% — less than 1% of those costs).

Nor was the HCR order based on a $4.7 million, or 2.25 percent increase in the nondiscretionary portion of the budget. Both budget increases would be covered by 1-percent carrying charge increases added to savings from the cogeneration plant.

Director’s Viewpoint

Bernard Cylich W E R E H C R C AL C UL AT I O NS C OR R EC T? Why, then, did HCR insist on returning to the original 3-percent formula that the Board had rejected? The reason may be found in what we heard from Riverbay’s director of finance who explained that there’s a problem with the way HCR has calculated the debt service on the new $555-million, 15-year balloon mortgage that replaced the $480-million, 15-year balloon loan of 2004.

HCR calculations did not deduct $20 million from the $555 million loan that the bank set aside for our capital construction projects. HCR’s calculation, therefore, failed to take into account the fact that our debt service obligation is reduced as we draw down on that $20 million to finance various capital projects. Our obligations were further exaggerated when HCR calculations included a July 2011 payment that Riverbay was not required to make. Hiking up the carrying charge increases from 1 percent to 3 percent seems to have been based on an overestimation of our obligations.

Riverbay’s Director of Finance now thinks those larger-than-needed increases will generate a surplus at the end of two years. The generation of surplus funds — a desirable outcome in ordinary circumstances - may be a

(Note: Th e r eleva n t section of th e River ba y Gener a l Coun sel’s r epor t wh ich Dir ector Cylich r efer en ces in h is viewpoin t a bove is pr in ted below.)

“Counsel for Mr. Cylich sought to explain the dual STAR filing as an error. He claims that Mr. Cylich was unaware that he was receiving the credit since his school and property taxes are paid by his lender. Mr. Cylich claims to have only learned that he was receiving the STAR exemption after General Counsel inquired. He further claims that Mr. Cylich terminated the STAR credit for the Copake Falls property on November 22nd of this year, approximately seven (7) weeks after General Counsel first inquired. Mr. Cylich’s attorney posits that the STAR exemption may have been automatically transferred from the previous owner.

“In the opinion of Counsel, the proffered explanation strains credulity and does not excuse the impropriety of receiving a dual STAR exemption. New York law is very clear that a person must apply for the benefit, and that only one property at a time may receive the benefit. Counsel attempted to obtain the actual application from both the Columbia County Tax Assessor’s office and from the New York City Department of Finance. Neither entity had retained a copy of the original application, just the fact that the exemption had been granted

for each location. As such, it was not possible to verify whether the actual application contained a representation of primary residence, as required by the current form. However, the law on this point has always been the same. The exemption may only be granted upon application and only upon a representation that the property for which the exemption is sought is the applicant’s sole, primary residence. Further, the 2007 and 2008 notices from New York State that Mr. Cylich’s application for a STAR exemption could not be approved is circumstantial evidence that applications were actually made by Mr. Cylich, which tends to contradict the assumption that the STAR exemption was automatically transferred from the previous owner. Since the benefit is based on residence, not property, this assumption is questionable. However, it is unclear why Columbia County, which administers the exemption, granted and allowed the STAR exemption when New York State indicated that Mr. Cylich was not entitled to receive it. Mr. Cylich’s violation of State law, intentional or accidental, and his responsibility for Columbia County school taxes, are issues of concern, but are not the primary responsibility of Riverbay.”

A M essa ge fr om t h e C .S.O . Dep t : Hammering after 6 p.m., vacuuming after 9 p.m., music or TVs played very loudly at any hour, doors slamming constantly at all hours... these are just a few examples of what can disturb the peace of fellow cooperators. Please, let’s work together to make Co-op City a peaceful community.

mixed blessing at a time when the earnings of working families are either stagnant or decreasing.

T UR NI NG A BUR DE N I NT O A BE NE F I T I suggested, at a Board Budget Committee meeting, that if that surplus does materialize, management should apply it to the installation of up-to-date, keyless lobby doors.

Co-op City is the largest naturally occurring retirement community, or NORC, in the nation. We regularly see more and more of our neighbors using canes, walkers, or wheelchairs. We are constantly aware of their effort to handle the simplest tasks, such as opening the lobby doors to exit and enter our buildings, with dignity. Even young parents with baby carriages and folks with shopping carts struggle with those doors.

In 2004, $5 million was set aside to replace all 65 lobby doors. In June 2006, however, that work was put on hold, the funds were deferred for other projects, and no money has been available since to replace those doors.

Management has now set 2016 as the target date for the door replacement work.

What better use could there be for anticipated surplus funds than to put that money into replacing lobby doors to make building entry and exit less burdensome for people with disabilities, and more comfortable for everyone else as well?

F O R T H E RE C O R D Riverbay Counsel Jeff Buss recently reported on an investigation of whether

or not Co-op City is my primary residence. A part of that report raises questions about whether I had applied for the New York State Star tax exemption —allowed only for a primary residence—for both my Co-op City apartment and my upstate vacation home.

In the report, Riverbay General Counsel Jeff Buss clearly states that he could find no evidence that I had applied for the Star exemption for the upstate property. Evidence presented by my lawyer showed that (1) the former owner of the upstate property - and not my family and I - had applied for the exemption; (2) the county automatically transferred the exemption to the property we purchased without notifying us and; (3) the lender who paid the taxes did not include that exemption in his annual tax report.

Without referring to any of the actual evidence, a number of Viewpoint columns by Board Directors have presented insinuations as “facts” impugning my integrity, and done so in violation of Board resolutions that prohibit personal attacks.

Even a former Riverbay Treasurer who served while Iris Baez was Board President has joined the smear campaign in a letter to the editor of the Coop City Times repeating the unfounded allegations posing as facts.

This appears to be a political witch hunt in progress.

I can be reached by mail: Attention Bernard Cylich, Director, Riverbay Corporation, 2049 Bartow Ave., Bronx, NY 10475, or email me at lichsr @earthlink.net, or call 718-379-5874.

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Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Harriet Tubman Independent Democratic Club Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday, March 6, Einstein Community Center, Room 35, at 7:00 p.m. We need your support to re-elect President Barack Obama. We will be discussing fundraising ideas for the campaign. Already, we have Obama buttons for sale and would like for cooperatives to come by and pick up some buttons for your collection. “It is critical that Democrats win up and down the ticket...at all levels from the White House and Congress, to statehouses and courthouses around the nation.” The HTIDC urgently needs your support in order for us to do our part. We have less

than 9 months to raise and get some funds to the campaign.

Some of President Obama’s achievements over the past three years have been: “32 million formerly-uninsured Americans will have access to the healthcare they need.” “We are successfully pursuing the terrorists who assaulted our nation, while also handing Iraq back to its people.” “We have reformed Wall Street.” “And while America was losing 700,000 jobs each month three years ago, we have steadily reversed this trend and have seen 22 months of private sector growth and the creation of more than 3 million new jobs.”

The Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club will hold its Regular Scheduled Monthly Meeting on Thursday, March 15, in the Bartow Center, Room #28, at 7:30 p.m. It is requested that all members attend this very important meeting, as items of extreme significance will be discussed regarding the upcoming Election Primaries and the impending General Elections for this year. Please

attend.

The club extends thanks and gratitude to all the persons who attended our St. Valentine’s Day Dance in Auditorium B on Saturday evening, February 11. This was our 9th Annual Affair which was also successful because of your participation.

We give special thanks to those volunteers who gave their time and effort who worked diligently once again to assure

Do we really think the Republicans will not reverse everything and push back, especially on the poor and minorities? Please listen carefully to the candidates and their code language for the “least of these” in our country.

We also would like to invite city, state and union workers concerned about “pensions” to join us for action before our Democratic Governor, who appears to have no conscious or concern for the unconnected and non-politicians, reform what’s in place that would put at risk a decent retirement income for the next generation. Our Governor and all elected

officials in both parties will be just fine when they retire. Come out and assist us in drafting a letter to the Governor, before it’s too late. Let’s stop being reactionaries. Thank you, Assemblyman Michael R. Benedetto, for advocating for increasing the minimum wage in N.Y. We will also be discussing community issues and why we are not getting more financial support for youth leaders to provide for more “outdoor” activities like track and football fields, etc. We need more than a guest speaker and fried chicken for our community.

—E velyn M . Tu r ner

Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club the success of this event.

The club extends get well wishes to those members who are home-bound and recovering from various medical procedures. Our prayers are with you for a full recovery. Best wishes are also extended to those members who are celebrating a birthday, anniversary, or special event during the month of March.

Please report all instances of personal

illness, death in the family, home-bound status, surgery, and hospitalizations to our Good & Welfare Committee, Ms. Gertie Brown, at 347-275-2995. She will take care of all acknowledgements from the club regarding these matters.

I would like to thank the membership and the community for their continued support.

—G eor ge T. C la r k e

Coalition to Save Affordable Housing AL L C OOPER ATOR S W EL COM E AT MAR CH 5th M EET ING OF COAL IT ION TO SAVE AFFOR DABL E HOUSING (CT SAH) Interested and active cooperators provide the best hope of preserving the affordability of our Co-op City homes.

Watch for flyer notices of our coming meeting March 5th posted in your lobby.

At CTSAH meetings you can examine and start taking part in issues affecting

our community.

W HY T H E H UD L OAN W O R K S F O R O UR C OM M UNI T Y One matter of great expectation is the possibility of a HUD-backed loan with more lenient terms than our current Community Bank loan. Find contact information for your Board of Directors in Co-op City Times and tell them you support the HUD loan for our community!

GR ASSRO OT S E L E C T I ON C AM PAI GN C O M M I T T E E BE I NG SE T UP It was also announced that in accordance with procedures enumerated in the by-laws of the CTSAH organization, an Election Committee will be established to interview potential Coalition to Save Affordable Housing candidates in the 2012 Riverbay Board Election and to prepare platform, funding and whatever else

is necessary for their campaign.

W E AR E T H E 99% Members of the Coalition and community residents continue to join others at the “Occupy Wall Street Rally” and other protest city wide. The struggle has not ended! We must support efforts to have the one percent pay their fair share of taxes! Come learn how to be a part of the movement.

—Seba st ia n Ula nga

Building 16 Association The Building 16 meeting was held on February 13th. Our guest speaker was Mr. Vernon Cooper. There were many questions asked about our building & surroundings. Most were pleased with the answers.

We had standing room at the meeting.

Thanks, let this be the first, not the last.

To the ones who helped with the dues drive, thanks! You can still pay dues at our meeting which is March 12 at 7 p.m.

Please bring your ideas for events for the year. We have to plan ahead. Our upcoming event is to Atlantic City Showboat on April 24. Cost is $35. Rebate $30. You may call 718-671-1754 or 718-379-0896.

To the ones who are having special occasions, congratulations. To the sick and shut-in, get well soon.

To the bereaved, you have our sympa—Cla r a Coston thy and our prayers.

Building 34 Association The association meeting was held February 23rd. Our guest speaker was Mr. Kevin Keenan, Director of Operations. Mr. Keenan wears many hats and some of the information he was able to provide the group were updates in the Restoration Department, new trainings for maintenance and improvements in the environmental and safety concerns of our complex. We appreciate the time Mr. Keenan gave addressing the global issues of Co-op City, but also taking the time for

individual concerns.

The Spirit of Philadelphia trip on May 19th is sold out. We would like to thank everyone who supported us and made this possible. We have started a wait list in case there are any last minute cancellations. The phone numbers remain the same.

Voter registration has begun in the lobby on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and will continue through-out the month on March. If you have not registered to vote, this

is a quick and easy way to do so. After registering to vote, the last step in this process is to make sure you come out in November and cast your ballot. This is the only way we can be assured that the politicians hear our voices. If you have already taken a form to fill out, please return it as soon as possible.

The last week in the month, building association dues will be collected. There will be a notice posted with dates and times.

Volunteers are needed.

Our building and individual safety begins with all of us. Please do not prop the back door of the building open. This allows easy access to anyone who does not have a key.

Try to avoid admitting people to the building who you do not recognize or know. If you feel uncomfortable boarding the elevator with total strangers, follow your instincts and wait for the next one. Finally, and as always, if you see something, say something.

—La Ver ne F loyd

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Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

15

16

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

The silence in Co-op City is deafening…

I assume most of us have been to a cemetery some time in our lives and regardless what time it is, you see no one and you don’t hear anything. In the last 10 years or more, Co-op City has been getting to be somewhat like a cemetery. The silence is deafening in this community.

We have lost many heroes in the many years I have been here. The people of this community in the past galvanized, and unified in droves to fight any and all injustices imposed by the state from HFA to DHCR, such as what may very well be the end of transfers as we knew it here in Coop City, thanks to an eager beaver Board member.

But what has happened to that activism lately? Have we rolled over and gone to sleep? We have seen in the past how some Board Directors, a social services mogul and now the politicians have turned a deaf ear on this community. It seems at times as if we don’t even exist.

We’ve seen us shelling out $20M in the last 5 years for an unjust program of asbestos abatement. We’ve seen increases that were imposed by HCR on us, without, it seems to me, full justification, and again, our politicians just sit idly by and pass a plate of food around and we are happy.

We’ve seen politicians like the “Teflon Don,” and I ask, what kind of example does this man exemplify for our young men? We see our youngsters being stopped and frisked at the tune of almost 700,000 per year. We’ve seen young men

Director’s Viewpoint

Tony Illis and women shoot at each other and hurt innocent bystanders and even children are not exempt from this senseless violence.

We see unemployment in our community higher than a thermometer can go. We’ve seen schools closed one after another for graduating youngsters who can’t even conjugate a sentence and whose fault is it?

I sometimes sit on the Cooperator Appeals Committee which is chaired by the very knowledgeable matriarch of the Board, Othelia Jones, whom I have the highest respect for, and I believe is a tremendous asset to this corporation, and I see some of these youngsters who are charged with anti-social behavior. Where do they get this from? Is it from the politicians who commit these penny ante crimes?

We see grandmothers raising their grandchildren due to sometimes a host of family afflictions which runs the gamut.

What about us, cooperators?

Why us, why you? Why them and why me? We must and have to come together.

We must take control over our destiny. We must work together, we must talk among each other and the only way this can be done has to begin with a thought—has anyone ever seen a mustard seed and the plant that grows from that tiny, tiny mus-

Coalition of African American Churches & Community Organizations The Coalition’s next general membership meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 6th, at noon, Dreiser Community Center, Room 15.

During the month of February, 2012, Black History Month, the Coalition commemorates African American achievements. The Thirteenth Amendment (1865) abolishes slavery.

The Civil Rights Act (1866): Designed to provide basic health and educational services for freed men. The Fourteenth Amendment (1868): Defined U.S. Citizenship. Fifteenth Amendment (1870): Established the right to vote. The civil rights Act (1875): Prohibited racial discrimination in public accommodations. The Universal Negro Improvement Association Speech, NYC (1922): By Marcus Garvey, the precursor of present day Negro National Movement.

THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACTS OF 1957 AND 1960: First comprehensive federal civil rights legislation in the 20th century, Letter From a Birmingham Jail (1963): This letter with the Birmingham Manifesto (1963) heralded Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy to African Americans. The Civil Rights Act of 1964: And subsequent acts manifestoes and executive orders expanded legislation and concerns for the rights of all Americans.

Please inform the Coalition of any suggestions that you may have. Patricia Bonaparte is the president of the Coalition.

Phone number, (718) 320-1861.

The Coalition is a non-profit organization dedicated to maintaining and improving the quality of life of cooperators and providing educational and culturally enriching programs for the community. We also act as one voice for all Coalition members where there are issues of common concern and human rights. Members of the coalition include the following: AfricanAmerican Association, Co-op City Baptist Church, Harriet Tubman Independent Democratic Club, NAACP, Co-op City Branch; Retirees of Dreiser Loop, St. Joseph Episcopal Church, and Zodiacs Track Club.

Please support our efforts by sending us your tax deductible contribution, made payable to: Coalition of African American Churches & Community Organization of Co-op City, Inc., Post Office Box 619, Bronx, N.Y. 10475. Churches and organizations that desire to join the Coalition may apply for membership by either writing or calling (718) 320-1861 or (718) 671-5957 for a membership application which should be returned with a letter on your church/ organization’s stationery and signed by the minister/president.

Read Coalition’s weekly column for information about events and issues.

Remembers, the coalition’s motto is: “Coming together is a beginning; Keeping together is progress, and Working together is success.”

—H a r m a n T. L e a c ock

tard seed? Well first, in order to plant that thought, we must come together. We must respect each other and teach our children the same so they too will respect themselves first and then others. This community has to stop and think, and think twice.

We don’t have a teen center where our youngsters can go. This community has been around for over 40 years and today there’s just talk and talk and talk. Our politicians, when night falls, leave Co-op City or hardly ever come to Co-op City except to hand out food at election time and to hold publicity stunts.

Our election voting numbers is almost at negative 0. Who cares? We must put a stop to this attitude. Our voting registry has fallen drastically and there are many, many 18 year olds, as well as middle aged and seniors who have never cast a ballot in Co-op City and some not even registered to vote.

A Board of Directors, people who administer over our budget of millions upon millions of dollars, which include policies that affect your life and pocketbooks, and yet, we don’t bother to get involved. In fact, we have sank to the level where we have to have a lottery for cooperators to vote as an enticement, when some of our ancestors shed blood and even died for the right to cast a vote.

So, like that little thought and that little mustard seed that grows into that mustard plant, this great mustard plant, I ask you to get involved. The first mile of any journey begins with that first step, that

first word, that first attempt and progresses to make that change and that change that sorely is needed within this community. Please, fellow cooperators, support your building association. Sometimes, when you go to the meeting, you probably hear the same thing over and over, but it is not a waste of time. You get up and redirect them, you get up and step up and plant that mustard seed of let’s move on, let’s change.

There’s an election about to take place in May for the Riverbay Board. I have asked for some volunteers who would like to come forward to run for the Board. If you’re willing to be the one to plant that seed, that thought, on that road to change within this community, give me a call.

This community once stood like the mighty oak tree. Every politician, from the presidential races, governors, mayors, state and city candidates for offices, used to come to Co-op City. But now, has it become a cemetery of silence, has it become a deafeningly silent community?

No, I don’t believe that. We are as good or even better than the past. We have influence, but we must use it and as the great, late Adam Clayton Powell once asked, What’s in your hand? He meant that precious vote that you can use at the ballot box.

Let’s make this positive change to a caring, involved community. Let’s talk.

Give me a call at (718) 320-8035, or email me at tonyshome10475@gmail.com—no attachments, please.

17

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Black Forum Next Defensive Driving Our next defensive driving course will be held on Saturday, March 17, Rm. 1, Dreiser Community Center, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Call today to register, 718-3208035. Lower your insurance cost by 15% and remove up to 4 points from your driver’s license. Please make your check in the amount of $35, payable to “the Black Forum of Co-op City,” and mail to P.O. Box 563, Bronx, N.Y. 10475 at least 1½ weeks before the class, or you can walk in on the day of the class but you must have $35 in cash to pay for the course.

Health alert!

How much do you value your health?

Obesity has been linked to several maladies that afflict the very young to those in their golden ages. It has become all

too obvious that Co-op City needs to lose weight—not tomorrow, but now. To help you, the Black Forum is embarking on a new health program. Look out for dates. Make this your new year’s resolution. This program will last for some time to come whereby you will be taught how to cook and eat sensibly, as a new way of life. We expect to have programs in both the Dreiser and Einstein Centers.

For more information, please call to register and begin a new way of life, 718320-8035. Don’t wait until it’s too late— YOUR HEALTH COMES FIRST. There’ll be guest speakers, nutritionist and motivational speakers to help you.

Black Forum Aerobics in session Aerobics classes have begun. Classes are held every Monday and Wednesday,

G r a n d Ba za a r & Ba k e Sa le – This event will take place on Saturday, March 10th, 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., Dreiser Center, Room 15. The Association thanks everyone who made a contribution to our bazaar. It was a wonderful beginning. Spring is right around the corner. Rather than discarding your clothing and household items, please donate your gently used clothing, antiques, appliances, jewelry, etc. on 3/5, 6-8:00 p.m., Dreiser Center, Room 15 to our Bazaar. Donations of fresh cakes, pies, etc. will be accepted on Friday, 3/9, 6-8:00 p.m. The proceeds will support our Scholarship Fund.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Association will present the musical sounds of great women in music at the Grand Bazaar & Bake Sale on March 10th, featuring Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Gladys Knight, Aretha Franklin and many more. Join us!

Also for Women’s History Month, the Association commemorates Fannie Lou Hamer (10/6/12-3/14/77) for her heroic actions during the civil rights era.

She fought for voting rights and was

instrumental in organizing Mississippi Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and later became the Vice-Chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, attending the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, NJ. Hamer and her colleagues are also remembered for being arrested on 6/9/63 in Winona, Mississippi on a false charge and jailed.

Once in jail, they were beaten savagely by the police, almost to the point of death.

NYC Police Ar e O u t of C on t r ol – Members of the African-American Association attended the home-going services for 18-year-old Ramarley Graham who was slain by a NYC police officer who broke into the apartment Ramarley had entered and shot him.

Family, friends, clergy, teachers, politicians and community activists in attendance, along with the Wakefield community, vowed to take action to investigate, prosecute and make every effort to change policing policies. To get involved, watch for updates or call 718379-5555.

Dreiser, Aud. A, 7:30 p.m. To register, please call (718) 320-8035. Nominal fee for each class.

Black Forum’s Lyons Mane Track Club Try-outs are ongoing. A small fee is required for participation. For further information, or to register your child, please call (718) 320-8035.

Emergency Food Program New Hours & Days We are now open on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 11 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in Room 20 at the Dreiser Community Center. Also, due to budget constraints and shortage of available food, you must live within zip code 10475 to participate in this program. You must also have your card with

you and bring two clean plastic shopping bags.

In order to receive food, you must present a current photo ID such as a non or driver’s license or any photo ID card with proof of address. You will then be issued a card in order to pick up food in the future.

We Need You - Join Us Today Now is the time for us to get involved.

Membership is $5 per year/person. Call (718) 320-8035 or write to Black Forum, P.O. Box 563, Bronx, NY 10475; email: coopcityblackforum@gmail.com. Help us keep independent community organizations alive in Co-op City. Everyone is encouraged to join. Call us or visit us in Room 20 in the Dreiser Community Center.

—Ton y I llis

African-American Association

Broun Place Townhouse Association Greetings, neighbors.

Many thanks to those of you who attended our Association meeting on Thursday, February 23. Our guest speaker was Ms. Ellen Lehman from the Department of Aging. She explained a relatively new program under the Department of Aging that is set up as a barter system called TimeBank. The program is being implemented throughout various parts of the city, including Co-op City. It is designed for people to help each other based on time usage. You can perform a service for someone and bank the time you accumulate as points. When you need a service, you draw from the points you have accumulated to have someone assist you in whatever area you may need help. Ms. Lehman distributed booklets describing the program in more detail, and applications. If you are interested, please let our Vice President, Ms. Roberts, or me know and we will give you the information. (We have a limited supply of brochures and applications).

We are still making inquiries about scheduling an outing to the new Queens Casino (at the old Aqueduct racetrack). If you are interested in and/or have any ideas to help in the planning, come to the meeting and let us hear them. We are open to all suggestions.

The next Association meeting is scheduled on Thursday, March 22, in Room 28 at the Bartow Community Center at 7:00

p.m. Mr. Vernon Cooper, General Manager of Riverbay Corp., is our scheduled guest. Mark this date on your calendar as a reminder. Everyone should make an effort to attend the meetings. After all, this is your home, too. It takes all of us working together to make certain we receive the services and quality of life we are entitled to. We will have our 50/50 raffle. Light refreshments will be served.

If you have not registered to vote, please do so now. We will try to obtain Voter Registration forms to distribute at the meeting. It is your duty to vote, whether it is a local or national election and/or the Riverbay Board of Directors. If we want our voices to be heard, we must let our representatives know how we feel.

By not voting, we are giving our vote away to an official running for election that we may not agree with. EVERY VOTE COUNTS! So please register and vote, vote, vote.

If you observe any suspicious activity, please call 9-1-1 first; then contact Public Safety at 718-671-3050.

We pray for a speedy recovery for all our neighbors experiencing health challenges and to the homebound.

Congratulations to those celebrating a special event. You can also email us at brounplaceassoc@hotmail.com. Be good to yourself and everyone else; after all, it will not cost you anything!

—M a r j or ie Helms

The following are ongoing programs sponsored and/or supported by the African-American Association and we encourage you to participate: Belly Da n ce C la sses – Mondays at 7:00 p.m., Dreiser Center, Room 2. Call Norma-Jean O’Garro, 646-281-4570.

C om p u t er /L a p t op C la sses – Bring your laptop and $5. Members get one FREE class. This class meets every 2nd and 4th Monday, in Dreiser Center, Room 15. Call 718-379-5555.

Bu sin ess O p p or t u n it y Wor k sh op – Wednesdays, 7:00 p.m. in the Dreiser Center, Room 2. Call Kevin Lambright, 646-721-8185.

E d u ca t ion – The Per Ankh Study

Group, led by Brother Kaba Hiawatha Kamene, meets every 1st and 3rd Monday, 7:00 p.m., Dreiser Center, Room 15.

G en er a l M em b er sh ip M eet in g – We always welcome new members. You can join or renew your membership at any time. If you cannot attend a meeting, you may send your check or money order (DO NOT MAIL CASH) of $15 for a single membership and $25 for families to: African-American Association of Coop City, P.O. Box 702, Co-op City Station, Bronx, NY 10475. Your membership helps to support this organization that sustains our community.

—F r a n cin e R eva J on es

Gregory S. Gang D.D.S., M.S. Complete Family Dental Care Cosmetic Bonding Periodontal (Gum) Treatment Endodontics (Root Canal) Dentures / Crowns / Bridges Participating Dentist UFT • Oxford • CSA • Con Edison Guardian • BC/BS • Aetna Cigna • HIP/Dental • PBA Most other dental plans as full or partial payment

Evening and Saturday Appointments Available

140-1 Casals Place, Co-op City Building 14, Section 2 - Bronx, NY 10475 Visit our website G r e g o r y G a n g D D S . c o m or email us at: smileggdds@aol.com

(718) 671 - 6000

18

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Let’s Create a Better Community Creating a better community starts with our beliefs.

I’ve read too many articles that have criticized our cooperators here. They’re apathetic. They don’t vote. They don’t get involved. They don’t attend meetings.

They don’t even read the newspapers.

And then, some of us might think negatively about our community. Nothing ever changes here. They don’t care about us. All they’re after is our money. Co-op City is a glorified housing project.

Now, what we need to do is to help our cooperators see the need to turn these statements around and change things here for our betterment. Therefore, that’s the purpose of this article.

G ood Beliefs We need to have good beliefs about our family, our community, and the things that go on around us. Also, we need people who are willing to step up and produce good efforts to make this place better.

Now, on the other hand, if you only believe in going to work, staying home, and not helping your community, then this place simply will go down.

The key players will simply give the best services and money to the communities that can produce the highest votes.

Don’t believe me? Again, look at our senseless asbestos abatement program that we’re spending $4 million on—annually. With over 50,000 people who live here, you would think that we would have enough political strength to make the city stop these tests.

However, we supposedly can’t get the city to even listen to us. This is wrong. So, we must work with everyone here so that they can see the need to help this community become better.

Now, a lot of people might be moving

Director’s Viewpoint

Daryl Johnson in from other places that did not encourage community involvement. Therefore, we wonder why people do not attend crucial meetings and take decisive actions to improve this community.

However, good leadership knows that we should work with new cooperators from day one. And, teach them the importance of helping out and to take a good interest in what goes on here.

Rea d In order for this community to grow and get better, we need to get involved in some of the day-to-day aspects of Co-op City.

Now, one way to do that is to read our newspaper. “Ah, there’s too much fighting and negativity in those articles.”

Skip those articles and only concentrate on the articles that are going to benefit you and this community.

Again, we need to fill our minds with intelligent material that is going to pick us up and move this community forward.

Now, I write a variety of articles for the benefit of everyone. Some of my articles will focus on financial issues, and things that are happening in this community.

However, for this community to be successful, I know that we have to deal with a lot of social issues. Therefore, I’ll

write material on social issues that will hopefully be beneficial to you and your family.

Meet One of the best ways to ensure that we improve this community is to meet and share ideas.

So please, start off with attending your building meetings. And, please make an effort to share a good thought to better your building or this community.

Vot e Presently, this Board is dealing with an incredible refinancing deal for this community. How does $600 million sound to you? That’s an increase from the previous $555 million deal.

That’s a lot of money. Now, guess who will have to pay all of this money back? You and I will. So, can you see why I am so insistent that we have budgets that are appropriate for our community?

Now, we need Directors who understand and can apply the concepts within this article. Plus, we need the politicians to understand that they must assist this community in many ways.

However, by voting people in and out of office, then we will make our voices known.

SH ARP Sem ina r, T h ur sda y, M a r ch 22, 7: 00 p.m . - 9: 00p.m ., Ba r t ow, Room 31 On Thursday, March 22, at 7:00 p.m., there will be a Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention (SHARP) seminar at 2049 Bartow Avenue, Room 31. And, there will be a special guest speaker from the NYPD’s Special Victims Unit and the Office of the District Attorney.

Now, I would like to encourage the community to please go to this event.

A Public Safety official stated that it is

important for people to be educated on how to avoid, as much as possible, being the victim of a crime.

Also, he continued by saying that criminals will realize that this community knows how to defend themselves, both mentally and physically. And, a welleducated and alert community, along with the police and Public Safety, are the best weapons against crime.

Therefore, you’re going to benefit from the information in this seminar. So, my best suggestion is to go and learn a lot of new ways to protect yourself and your family.

I’ll be there and I would love to say hello to you.

C losing T hought s In closing, we have the perfect opportunity right now to improve our standard of living in this community. As mentioned above, people in politics must be shown that they have to represent the people that elected them to their office.

Therefore, we must be determined to put people on this Board and in the higher political offices who can help us.

In other words, they must be able to bring something to the table to move this community forward.

Okay, please stay positive and let’s work together so that we can jointly improve our community.

Thank you.

Questions or comments? Please send a message to: Daryl Johnson, Riverbay Board Director, c/o Riverbay Corporation, 2049 Bartow Avenue, Bronx, NY 10475. Or, please send a message to me at darylhjohnson@ optonline.net.

Okay, that’s it for now. So, please have a wonderful week. And, may God bless you and your family. Thank you.

Williamsbridge Club The Williamsbridge Club of the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. is an organization dedicated to community service in the areas of health, employment, education and economic development.

The Adult Club meets at Dreiser Center on the second Friday of every month from September to June. We are always looking for new members with a like mind to join us. Ombudsmen are men of the community interested in decreasing

the high school drop out rate of the youth in our community. If you are interested in joining the Adult Club or the Ombudsmen, call Sandra Hall, Membership Director, 917-972-7732.

The Youth Club consists of youth 12 to 18 years of age. The Youth Club is dedicated to community service, education, technology and activism. If youth are interested in developing leadership skills, you should call Sylvia Hicks, Youth Advisor, at 917-921-5445, or the Membership Director, Sandra Hall, at the

above telephone number and join the youth of your community.

Our next community event is a rescheduled Economic Development program and a Health Fair. This dual event will be held in Dreiser Center on April 14.

We also invite the community to join us for our annual Founder’s Day Luncheon at Eastwood Manor on May 5.

Information about either of these events may be obtained by calling Eloise Paige, First Vice President, at 917-868-0331.

Information about the National

Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, Inc. may be found at www.nanbpwc.org. You may contact us at our mailing address: Williamsbridge Club, Post Office Box #6, Co-op City Station, Bronx New York 10475.

If you are interested in rendering community service, assisting with any of our programs or require more information call Eloise Paige, First Vice President.

Thank you for your continued support.

—Sylvia H ick s

Building 25 Association The Association would like to thank those cooperators who attended our last building meeting. The turnout for Chief Apollo was better than normal, but no where near what it should have been for a building of this size.

Chief Apollo was very informative about what is happening in Co-op City regarding our 'place,' Buildings 23, 24 & 25.

He stressed that he is here for us and is very receptive to the community's input. His email is fapollo@riverbay corp.com; the website for Public Safety is www.ccpd.us.

There is a seminar available called SHARP, “Sexual Harassment and Rape Prevention.” This seminar educates people in how to prevent becoming a victim and what to do if you are. So far, about 500 people have been educated. The Chief encourages everyone to read the Public Safety articles in the Co-op Times each week. They are there to keep you informed about what is happening in the community, and a good source of the accomplishments of Public Safety. Also, you should keep an eye out for upcoming 'SHARP' seminars.

The mobile command center which received such a favorable response while it was in our 'place' was moved to Alcott Place due to the conditions at that location. We hope we will see it again soon.

Our thanks to Chief Apollo for his informative and enlightening discussion.

There were items brought up by members such as odors coming into their apartments through the vents located in the bathrooms, illegal tenants (sublets) and the moving of the voting site from Dreiser Loop to Bartow Ave., a great inconvenience

to the cooperators who reside in the 'place.'

Also, there is still a need for floor captains.

The lobby attendants will have voter registration forms available to those who need them. Our next guest will be our new CSO, Ms. V. Aldea on Wednesday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. There were light refreshments available at the conclusion of the meeting.

Someone said, "However good or bad a situation is, it will change."

REMEMBER, IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING. Cooperators, —Dock Ha r vey not tenants.

Building 26 Association A very warm welcome to all of our Coop City families, neighbors, and especially our new residents. We'd like to extend a belated thanks to Mr. Bob Krutch, Supervisor of Maintenance, for attending our meeting. You provided us with valuable and important information.

Congratulations to all who are celebrating birthdays, wedding anniversaries, and any new births during the month of March.

A speedy recovery to all of our hospitalized,

home-bound, sick, and shut in. Our deepest condolences to those families who have lost a loved one. May they be eternally blessed.

As a reminder, the Annual In-House Convector Cleaning Program has begun.

Teams of Riverbay porters/staff will be cleaning your convectors as preventive maintenance so that we can cut back on the number of convector leaks during the summer season. Please be available for the work to be completed. Keep watch for postings in

your building and in the Co-op City Times.

March is Women's History Month.

Take time out to celebrate the women in your life for all they've done to make a better world for you!

Please do not litter. Deposit your garbage into a garbage can. Dispose of all cooking oils by pouring it in a container, bag it, and throw it down the garbage shoot. Never pour cooking oils down the drain, it will clog your sink. Let's work

together to keep our community beautiful, clean, and green!

Remember, security starts at home.

Ensure you know who you are allowing to enter through the front/rear lobby doors. If you don't know them, don't hold the door. It's better to be safe, than to be sorry! If you see something, say something by calling 9-1-1. The life you save could be your own.

—YuVonne L ewis

19

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Harvest Restoration Ministries Pastors Anthony and Andrée Davis, cofounders of Harvest Restoration Ministries, Inc., extend to you a warm invitation to come and worship the Lord Jesus Christ with us.

We are a community oriented nondenominational church that preaches and teaches the Bible in an exegetical style. Our

focus is to teach members of the ministry to use Biblical doctrines in a practical sense to be a blessing to both the home and the community. Pastor Davis has a particular affinity towards the empowerment the youth. His approach is to meet these young people where they are and to help transform them to meet their God given destiny.

We meet a t: 177 Dreiser Loop Community Center, Room 10, for Wednesday night Bible study and room 9 for Sunday morning worship.

Or der of Ser vices Sunday School – 11:00 a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship – 12 p.m.

Wed. Night Bible Study – 7:30 p.m.

Children’s Church – Every 2nd Sunday of every month.

Communion – 1st Sunday of every month.

Pastor Anthony Davis is currently being mentored by one of the most prolific preacher’s in America, Bishop Noel Jones of the City of Refuge, Gardena, CA. —Pa stor Ant hony Davis

St. Joseph’s Episcopal Anglican Church Fr. Taylor and the congregation of St. Joseph’s cordially invite you to worship with us in Co-op City at 155 Dreiser Loop, lower level, (718) 3200844. All are welcomed.

Week ly Sch ed u le: Sunday service and Sunday school are both at 9 a.m. Every 4th Sunday, our children participate in the reading of the lessons and every 5th Sunday, our young adults assist in the service. Bible study is held each Wednesday at 7 p.m., Choir rehearsal is

on Thursday at 7 p.m. and the Young Adults meet on Friday at 6:30 p.m.

We are looking forward to welcome you on Sunday, March 4 at 9:00 a.m.

C h u r c h C a le n d a r : During the Lenten Season, instead of Bible Study, Stations of the Cross will be held on Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Led by the Vestry on February 29, the Bible Study Group on March 7, the Women’s Guild on March 14, the Men’s Group on March 21 and the Youth Group on

March 28.

Consecration of Canon Andrew Dietsche as Bishop Coadjutor, Cathedral of St. John the Divine at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 10.

F u n d r a isin g E ven t s: Our cake sale will take place at the church on Saturday, March 17.

The Church’s Fifth Annual Luncheon will be held on May 19 at the Eastwood Manor, Eastchester Road in the Bronx. A rolling bar, cocktail recep-

tion, sumptuous lunch and music by DJ Carol are all included.

Donation: Adult tickets $75 and children tickets $21.

For more information on these events, please call the church at 718320-0844.

“All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness *to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

(Psalm 25:9) M e r ville C h a m b e r s —M

Retirees of Dreiser Loop ATTE NTION! The next RETIREES General Meeting will be Wednesday, March 7, 1:30 p.m., Dreiser Loop Auditorium. We welcome all. See you there.

R em in d er, m em b er s – Your 2012 renewal dues are payable now. The RETIREES annual membership dues are only $20.

The Spr ing Bash will be held on Wed., April 18th from 4–8 p.m. This affair is complimentary for those of you who purchased tickets for the Christmas Party.

Come join the RETIREES and friends for your weekday socializing pleasure in Clubroom 19 (718-379-0377). Have fun

and laughs as you play cards, board games, or just watch one of your favorite TV programs with others.

T R AVE L AC TI VI TI ES: Come with us: • On March 14th, the bus to see JONAH will be available for boarding between 8:308:45 a.m. on Dreiser Loop. NOTE: The bus will promptly leave Dreiser Loop at 9 a.m.

• March 20-22, (3 days/2 nights) to Atlantic City Hilton Hotel and Casino.

Price: $200/double and $265/single occupancy. Rebates: $20 slot bonus + $20 food credit + $20. Cash bonus.. FINAL PAYMENT was due March 1st. Contacts: Ida Morton/Virginia Stewart, 718-379-0377.

**On March 20th, the coach bus will be on Dreiser Loop. The boarding time will be at 9:30 a.m.

T HE ATR E C OMM IT TE E: All program prices include transportation.

• Sat., Apr. 28th, 8:00 p.m. - SMOKEY ROBINSON - $85 - at Lehman College. (meet van at 6:45 p.m. on Dreiser Loop) • See committee members in Clubroom 19 after 3 p.m. on Thursdays. After 7 p.m., any questions regarding Theatre shows, call 718-324-7847 or 718-671-8637.

All payments for parties, trips and shows will be accepted by check/money order only payable to RETIREES of Dreiser Loop.

GOOD AND W E LFARE : May hope and courage be the guiding light for Gladys Chisholm, who is also a guest at Regis Rehab Center. We continue to send best wishes to all members on the mend for a speedy recovery and a subsequent long and healthy life. “Sending a little sunshine to sprinkle in your day, reminding you that you’re thought of in a warm and special way!”

Contact Elinor Gordon at 718-379-8755 regarding illnesses and bereavements.

“Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, But beautiful old people are works of art.”

—Cla udette Davis

DR. LEWIS WOLSTEIN Podiatrist — Foot Specialist • Practicing in Co-op City since 1975 • Board Certified in Foot Surgery • ALL conditions of the foot treated • We

accept most health insurance plans

• Participating in the Medicare Diabetic Shoe Program • Evening and Saturday appointments

Dr. Lewis Wolstein

Call:

“Se Habla Español”

718.671.7226 100 DeKruif Place

Building 8 • Ground Floor Section 1 • Co-op City • Bronx, NY 10475

20

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Church of New Vision Pastor Anne L. Palmore and the congregation of the Church of the New Vision extend a warm and friendly invitation to everyone to worship with us every Sunday at 8:00 a.m. or 11:00 a.m. We are a church where inspirational messages from the Word of God, the Bible, are delivered every Sunday morning.

The church is designed to meet the spiritual needs of our community by offering anointed singing and preaching, and a general atmosphere of Christian love and friendly hospitality.

We also invite the youth of our community to attend our Sunday Morning services, which are designed to meet the special needs of our young people. Parents, please send your children to learn of the Lord Jesus.

Prayer Service takes place every Wednesday evening from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., followed by Bible Teaching from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Be with us to learn the truth from the Word of God. List of Programs and Events: Adult Sunday School is from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.

Youth Sunday School is also from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.

Holy Communion is served the first Sunday of the

month.

Youth Sunday takes place on the second Sunday of the month.

Missionary Sunday takes place on the third Sunday of the month Memorial Sunday (Men’s Day) takes place on the fourth Sunday of the month Seniors Sunday takes place on the fifth Sunday of the month.

Singles’ Ministry meets every third Tuesday evening of the month at 6:00 p.m.

Next Generation Choir & Club meets 1st & 2nd Friday of the month at 6:30 p.m.

Seniors’ Ministry meets 1st Wednesday of the month at 11:00 a.m.

Mid-day Bible Study meets every Tuesday afternoon from noon to 1:00 p.m.

Join the Pastor’s Aide as we celebrate our anniversary on Saturday, March 31 at 3:00 p.m. Our Theme, “New Place.

New Day, New Vision, without a vision the people will perish.” Guest speaker, Rev. Timothy Burkett of Christ Alive Community Church, Bronx, NY. All are welcome.

Please join us for our Good Friday service on Friday, April 6th at 7:30 p.m.

Please join us on Easter Sunday, April 6th for a 6:00 a.m. sunrise service and a regular Easter Sunday Service at 11:00 a.m.

Join us on Saturday, May 5, noon, for a special outreach service for the youth.

Come join New Vision’s “Partners in Reading Program” every Sunday afternoon from 1:15 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Students in Grades 1 through 8 discover the joy of reading while exploring and improving their literacy levels through small groups and reading partners. Parents, we encourage you to bring your children to benefit from this free program, taught by trained professionals. Registration is ongoing.You could contact the church at the number listed below.

The Church of the New Vision is located at 115 Einstein Bronx, NY 10415; Telephone: (718) 671-8748 or (718) 320-0409. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 753031, Bronx NY 10415.

Please visit our website at www.churchofnew vision.com.

—C a r ole H a q u e

Co-op City Seventh-Day Adventist Church What is a Seventh-Day Adventist? The obvious fact is that Seventh-Day Adventist worship on the Biblical seventh day of creation, while looking forward to the second advent of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

The story doesn’t end there! The SDA history began in the 1840s in New England when a small group within the Millerite movement rediscovered the Seventh-Day Sabbath. This group came out of the Millerite movement and was named Seventh-Day Adventist.

Adventist believe in a Trinity of three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit – make up one God.

Iglesia Cristiana Marcos 16:15 Pastor Fernando Figueroa and Pastor Thomas Garret and the congregation of Iglesia Cristiana 16:15 want to extend an invitation to you in worshipping the most high God. This invitation extends to all the brothers and sisters of this world, who want an extended family under God’s umbrella. If you need a friend to talk to, we will listen. If you need someone to pray for you about any situation, a problem which may be afflicting you such as health problems, marital problems etc., we shall pray for you. Consider us part of your extended family, all are welcome. Come and join our group of worshipers. My brothers and sisters, in life we all go through problems, but always remember that trouble is inevitable, misery is optional. God does not want us to live in anxiety and worry, he wants us living in trust, believing in him. If you are not stable in your faith, you will not be stable in other things. Trust me when I tell you, if you doubt in God, you will miss his blessing. After all, God speaks English, Spanish, German, French and every other language on earth, but his favorite language is, you guessed it, FAITH. So fear not my people. For God has said: “I will never leave you. I will never abandon you.” HEBREWS 13:5 C H UR C H H O UR S: SPANI SH Tuesday: Prayer Service 8:00 p.m.

Friday: Bible Study 8:00 p.m.

Sunday: Sunday School 10 a.m. — Evangelistic Service 12 p.m.

C H UR C H H O UR S: E NG L I SH Sunday: Evangelistic Service 4:00 p.m.

YO UT H SE RVI C E BI L I NG UAL Saturday: 7:30 p.m.

We have a live band of very young and talented musicians.

We are located in the Section 5 community center, Room 42. For any questions or prayers, call 718-6716112 or 347-275-5500.

May God bless you and may you always have health and prosperity.

—PAST O R S F E R NANDO & T H O M AS

As a fast growing church, the Seventh-Day Adventist now number about 16,307,880 members worldwide in over 68,225 churches. There are approximately 7,804 schools including tertiary, secondary and primary. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency International (ADRA) is in 118 countries and areas of the World. This agency, ADRA, operates from within a local area, state, national and international levels. ADRA is but one way we serve our community. Please see below for a list of our local community programming. For more information on how we serve Co-op City, please call for more information.

C o-op C it y SDA Bet t er L ivin g H ea lt h & F it n ess E d u ca t ion C e n t er · Children’s Exercise Program, Sundays, 11:00— 12:00 p.m.; Free · Adult Exercise Program, Sundays, 12:00 p.m.— 1:00 p.m.; Free NYC Wa lk er s for Welln ess – walk around Co-op City with this group, a distance of about 3 miles. Keep walking and receive your very own pedometer and tee: Sunday mornings, 7:00 a.m.; Free Wednesday afternoons, Free We h a ve a n a c t ive Disa b ilit ies M in ist r y. Our

church is designed with the disabled in mind. Please ask us about disabilities fact sheets featuring information for children and adults. Please tell us how we may best accommodate your needs.

Br ea d M in ist r y pick up on Saturdays between (2:30 p.m.—3:30 p.m.). Please take one for a neighbor.

We ek ly Wed n e sd a y P r a ye r M eet in g at 7:30 p.m.

Sa t u r d a y Sabbath Worship Services - 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m.

Afternoon Bible Studies at 3:00 p.m.

Adventist Youth program at 5:00 p.m.

A pot luck luncheon is usually served after services on Sabbath in our fellowship hall. Please join us in refreshments and fellowship.

The Co-op City SDA Church is located at 1010 Baychester Ave., Bronx, NY 10475. Pastor Okezie Erondu can be reached at 718-320-0518. You can reach us on the web at www.CoopCity SDAChurch.org.

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10; New King James Version (NKJV) —C h er yl C . Silver a

Family Owned and Operated • Large Chapel on premises

• Pre-need counseling

• Ample Parking on premises

• Out of town services

• Casket Showroom on premises

• Cremations

A dignified funeral every family can afford.

All areas are handicapped accessible

Personalized & Professional Care • 46 Years Serving Our Community Worldwide Shipping including Caribbean, Africa & South America

718-231-7647 Call 24 Hours

Fax: 718-231-7665 NOW WEBCASTING TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS ABROAD

www.mccalls.net • director@mccalls.net 4035 Bronxwood Avenue, Bronx, N.Y.

Serving all cultures & faiths

21

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Community Protestant Church On behalf of our Pastor, Reverend Dr. Calvin E. Owens, and our church family, welcome to Community Protestant Church, a church of love and understanding, located at 1659 East Gun Hill Road, Bronx, NY 10469; telephone: (718) 862-9172.

C h u r ch Sch ed u le Sunday School - 9:00 a.m.

Worship Service - 11:00 a.m.

Communion Service - Every first and third Sundays Prayer Meeting and Bible Study – Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.

T H E F O L L OW I NG P R O G R AM S AR E AT T H E C H UR C H ’S ANNE X: 2053 ASC H L O O P NO RT H (C O -O P C I T Y) Morning Prayer Services - Tuesday, 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.-

11:00 a.m.

Neighborhood Bible Study Thursday at 10:00 a.m.

Fellowship, “Life on God’s Terms” Every Friday (except 4th Friday) 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

O t h er Sch ed u led E ven t s: Saturday, March 10 - Join CPC Tours for a visit to the Annual Philadelphia International Flower Show and Shopping Spree at Franklin Mills, PA. This year’s show features Hawaii: Islands of the Aloha. From towering waterfalls and waves of orchids, to glowing volcanoes and serene sunsets, the 2012 Flower Show is an immersion in the dramatic landscapes and tranquil spirit of Hawaii. Remember to check out the Reading Terminal Market across the street from the Convention Center.

Tickets: $60. For tickets and/or additional information, call CPC Tours at (718) 671-1182.

Sunday, March 11th, 3:30 p.m., Observance of our Ushers’ 35th Anniversary.

Wednesday, April 18, CPC Tours invites you to a matinee performance of the Crossroads Theater Company presentation of “ The Last Five Years,” in New Brunswick, NJ. A 2002 Drama Desk Award Winner for Best Music and Best Lyrics, this engaging musical is a cleverly crafted romantic love story.

After the performance, enjoy an “AllYou-Can-Eat Buffet Luncheon. Tickets: $79. For reservations and/or additional information, call CPC tours at (718) 671-1182.

The Women’s Guild’s FANTASTIC

17-DAY AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL …WEST TOUR - June 26-July 12. Tour includes: round-trip transportation by Amtrak Rail and deluxe motor coach; reclining coach seat with leg rest or private roomette sleeping accommodation; first class hotel accommodations; 19 meals; sightseeing at the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco and Salt Lake City. For additional information, call (718) 671-5961; (718) 320-1435; (718) 798-3337, or (718) 320-2608.

The doors of Community Protestant Church are open to all to worship and fellowship with Christian believers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You are cordially invited to come in, join in and receive your blessing.

—E va n G . M it ch ell

Co-op City Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Sheldon E. Williams and the Co-op City Baptist Church family invite you to join us tomorrow for worship service at 8:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. Sunday School for children and adults is held at 9:15 a.m. We invite you to worship, study, and pray with us.

The Co-op City Baptist Church is located at 135 Einstein Loop, Room 50 (lower level). Our telephone number is 718-320-3774. Visit us on the web at www.coopcitybaptistchurch.org.

Join us for a mid-week spiritual pickup at our mid-week worship service which is held on Wednesdays at 12 p.m.

Bible study is held on Wednesdays at 1:00 and 7:30 p.m. Bible study will also be held on Wednesday, March 14 at 5:00

p.m. Prayer service is held on Fridays at noon and 7:30 p.m.

Men’s prayer service is held the 2nd Tuesday of each month at 7:30 p.m. We invite the men of the community to join us on Tuesday, March 13 for Men’s prayer service.

The Co-op City Intergeneration Outreach Center’s Senior program invites you to attend a Public Safety Forum on Keeping Yourself Safe on Tuesday, March 13 at 10 a.m. The forum will be held at 135 Einstein Loop, Room 51 (lower level). For additional information or to RSVP, call 718-379-5267 or 718671-8449 by Sunday, March 11.

March is Women’s History Month and you are invited to the First Lady’s

Rev. Dr. Gladys R. Little, Apostle, and Pastor & Evangelist Vernon Little greet everyone in the name of Jesus, that name which is above every name. We want you to know that you are welcome in this house of the Lord! It is His house by ownership: it is our house by stewardship: and it can be your house by membership; so come on in and join with us. May God bless you in this house!

There is no place where earth’s sorrows are felt more than in heaven. Let’s go into scripture to support this: Psalms 116:1-6:

1 I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my supplications.

2 Because He has inclined His ear to hear me, therefore I will call upon Him as long as I live.

3 The pains of death surround me, and the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I found trouble and sorrow.

4 Then I called upon the name of the Lord: “O LORD, I implore You, deliver my soul!”

5 Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yes, our God is merciful.

6 The LORD preserves the simple; I

Ministry HerStory “ The Power Of Women”, Luke 10:38-42 on Saturday, March 24, at 10 a.m. The keynote speaker is the Honorable Darcel D. Clark, Justice of the Supreme Court, Bronx NY. The donation is $15. For tickets or additional information, call 718-862-9243, 718-379-1064, or the church at 718-3203774.

Pack your bags! The Scholarship Ministry invites you to hit the high seas again. They will be sailing on the Carnival Miracle leaving from New York City on Monday, July 9, sailing to San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and Grand Turk. A deposit of $150 is due immediately. For additional information, call 718-379-0541, 718-671-7507 or the

church at 718-320-3774.

Rev. Dr. Williams has a radio show on WMCA 570 AM every Friday at 1:30 p.m. Rev. Dr. Williams is the author of Principle Centered Living: 9 Reasons To Maintain Your Values in a Pressure Filled World and founder of SEW Universal, Inc. Visit his websites: www.PrincipleCenteredLiving.com or www.RevDrSheldonEWilliams.com.

The Co-op City Baptist Church exists to glorify God and to establish a living community of people who follow the teachings of Jesus the Christ through worship, prayer, Bible study and fellowship.

We seek to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the church through ministry.

—H a t t ie L . L u ca s

Faith In God Church & Bible Institute was brought low, and He saved me.

I nvit a t ions: Our Sweet Hour of Prayer will be today at 3 p.m. Every Sunday, I offer a class for Sunday School at 10 a.m. followed by Worship Service at 11 a.m.

Every 3rd Sunday following the morning worship, we serve Holy Communion.

Leave the weekend of April 13 open on your calendar; we will be hosting an ‘Apostolic Government Glory Revival’ featuring Apostle G. Marie Carroll. It will be 3 days of Apostolic/Prophetic Blaze.

The April 13 & 14 time is 7:30 p.m., and

April 15 is 11 a.m. & 5 p.m. On April 14 at 10 a.m., there will be an ‘Apostolic/Prophetic Equipping Session.’

All seats are free! Registration is required for the equipping session. Apostle Carroll will be signing copies of her latest book.

We love you, and may God forever bless you is our prayer. We don’t worry about anything, but we pray about everything. We are located at 171 Dreiser Loop in Section 1. Our phone #’s are (347) 2764925 & (718) 671-3627. Jesus loves you, and so do we.

—Ap ost le G la d ys R . L it t le

COMMUNITY PROTESTANT CHURCH OF CO-OP CITY

C O-O P CI TY BA PTI ST C HUR C H

1659 EAST GUN HILL ROAD BRONX, NY 10469

135 EINSTEIN LOOP (Section 5) • Rooms 50-51 Rev. Dr. Sheldon E. Williams, Pastor

REV., DR. CALVIN E. OWENS, PASTOR CHURCH (718) 862-9172 OFFICE (718) 862-9179

An interdenominational Church of love and understanding, consisting of people of many faiths, races and cultural backgrounds, seeking to live the spirit of Christ with relevance.

CHURCH SCHEDULE WEEKLY: CHURCH SCHOOL - SUNDAY, 9:00 a.m.

WORSHIP SERVICE: SUNDAY, 11:00 a.m.

BIBLE CLASS & PRAYER MEETING - WEDNESDAY, 7:30 p.m.

MONTHLY: COMMUNION - 1 AND 3 ST

ALL ARE WELCOME!

RD

SUNDAYS

(718) 320-3774 • Sunday School – 9:15 a.m.

• Sunday Worship Services – 8:00 & 11:00 a.m.

• Midweek Worship – Wednesday @ 12 Noon • Bible Class – Wednesday @ 1:00 & 7:30 p.m.

• Prayer Service – Friday @ Noon & 7:30 p.m.

COMMUNION SERVICE EVERY FIRST SUNDAY. YOUTH DAY EVERY FOURTH SUNDAY. ALL ARE WELCOME TO WORSHIP WITH US.

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Bartow

Einstein

Dreiser

Library 9:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m., Rm. 31

Library 9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Rm. 49

Bingo 11a.m., Room 31

Dominoes 10 a.m., Rm. 45

Dominoes 2 p.m., Rm. 25

Line Dancing 10-11 a.m.

Crochet and Knitting 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Rm. 7 Library, Exercise Bike, Chat Session 9:30-10:30 a.m., Rm. 7 Stay Well Exercise Mind Teasers 12–1 p.m., Rm. 7 Gentle Yoga w/Anne 2-3 p.m., Rm. 2 Afternoon Movie 2–4 p.m., Rm. 7

Word Games 9:30 – 11 a.m., Rm. 31 Card Games 2–4 p.m., Room 25 Current Events: 10 a.m., Rm. 31

Around The Lunch Table 11:30 a.m., Rm. 49 Walking and Exercise w/Ms. Gaskill 2-4 p.m., Room 45

Dominoes: 10 a.m., Rm. 49

Bingo: 10 a.m., Rm. 31 Dominoes: 2:30 p.m., Rm. 25

Tai Chi: 11 a.m., Rm. 45

Word Games: 9:30 –11:30 a.m., Rm. 31

Bingo: 1 p.m., Rm. 49

Card Games: 2:30 - 4 p.m., Rm. 25

Matinee Movie w/ George: 2-4 p.m., Rm. 45

Thurs., March 8

Stay Well Exercise: 10 a.m., Room 31 Dominoes: 2:30 p.m., Rm. 25 Word Games: 9:30 a.m.

– 1:30 p.m., Rm. 31 Bingo: 2 p.m., Rm. 25 Blood Pressure: 1st & 3rd Wed., 9–10 a.m., Rm. 31 Card Games: 2-4 p.m., Rm. 25 Library: 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Rm. 31 Chat Session: 9:30 a.m.1 p.m., Rm. 31 Dominoes: 2:30 p.m., Rm. 31 Word Games: 9:30 11:30 a.m., Rm. 31 Bingo: 2 p.m., Rm. 31 Card Games: 2:30-4 p.m., Rm. 31

Fri., March 9

Wed., March 7

Tues., March 6

Mon., March 5

22

Movie Madness: 9:30 a.m., Rm. 31 Men’s Line Dancing: 9-10 a.m., Rm. 31 Women’s Line Dancing: 10-11 a.m., Rm. 31 Spelling Bee: 11 a.m., Rm. 31 Dominoes: 2:30 p.m., Rm. 31 Word Games: 9:30 – 11:30 a.m., Rm. 31 Bingo: 2 p.m., Rm. 25 Card Games: 2-4 p.m., Rm. 31

Dominoes: 10 a.m., Rm. 45 Spelling Bee: 10 a.m., Rm. 49 Spanish Practice Class: 10:30 a.m., Computer lab Bingo: 1 p.m., Rm. 49 Line Dance 2-4 p.m., Rm. 45

Dominoes: 10 a.m., Rm. 45 Stay Well Exercise: 10 11 a.m., Rm. 45 Spelling Bee: 11 a.m., Rm. 49 Bingo: 1 p.m., Rm. 49

Dominoes: 10 a.m., Rm. 45 Art: 10 a.m., Rm. 45 Bingo: 1 p.m., Rm. 49 Card Games: 2-4 p.m., Rm. 49 Blood Pressure: 2nd and 4th Friday, 10-11:30 a.m., Rm. 49

Library, Exercise Bike, Chat Session: 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., Rm. 7 Alert & Alive: 10:3011:30 a.m., Rm. 7 Mixed Cultural Dance: 10:30-11:30 a.m., Aud. B Mind Teasers: 12-1 p.m., Rm. 4 Zumba: 1:15-2:15 p.m., Aud. B Tuesday Movie w/popcorn: 2-4 p.m., Rm. 7 Library, Exercise Bike, Chat Session: 9:30 – 10:30 a.m., Rm. 7 Sewing w/Raymonde: 9:30–11:30 a.m., Rm. 7 Tai Chi: 11 a.m. -12 p.m., Rm. 2 Mind Teasers: 12-1 p.m., Rm. 7 Art Class: 1-3 p.m., Rm. 7 Yoga: 1st, 2nd & Last Wed, 2-3 p.m., Aud. A Library, Exercise Bike, Chat Session: 9:30-10:30 a.m., Rm. 7 Blood Pressure: 1st & 3rd Thursday 10-11:30 a.m., Rm. 7 Line Dancing: 3rd & 4th Thurs. 10-11 a.m., Aud. A Mind Teasers: 12-1 p.m., Rm. 4 Belly Dancing: 12:30-1 p.m., Aud. A Handi-Flex: 1-2 p.m., Aud. A Drama:1:30-4 p.m., Rm. 7 Piano Sing Along: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m., Rm. 7 Crochet and Knitting: 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Rm. 7 Library, Exercise Bike, Chat Session: 9:30 10:30 a.m., Rm. 7 Meditative Moments: 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Rm. 2 Mind Teasers: 12-1 p.m., Rm. 4 Card Games, Dominoes: 2-4 p.m., Rm. 7 *Schedule subject to change without notice*

We ask that members please call their center at least one day in advance to register for lunch.

WEEKLY TRIPS DATES

WEEKLY TRIPS

Mondays as scheduled: Stew Leonards 1st Mondays: Super Wal-Mart Fridays as scheduled Swimming Tuesdays Bowling

PRICE

PICK-UP TIMES

$3 $12 $3 $12.50

Bartow Dreiser 1:00 p.m. 1:15 p.m.

8:30 a.m. 8:45 a.m.

1:15 p.m. 1:00 p.m.

11 a.m. 11:30 a.m.

Einstein 1:30 p.m.

9:00 a.m.

1:30 p.m.

11:15 a.m.

To register for trips and classes, please call: (718) 320-2066 Monday – Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Funded by: The NYC Department for the Aging, The NYS Office for the Aging and Riverbay Corporation

Date:

Kosher

Mon., Orange/pineapple juice Arroz con pollo March Glazed carrots 5

Non-Kosher

Soups, Breads and Desserts

Turkey burger Steak fries Brussels sprouts

Whole wheat bread Banana

Tues., March 6

Apple juice Meat loaf Mashed potato California blend

Pork chops Mexican corn Collard greens

Rye bread Pineapple tidbits

Wed., March 7

Chicken a-la-King Egg noodles Oriental blend

Chicken cutlet parmesan, Brown rice Tossed salad

Whole wheat bread Apple

Thurs., March 8

Pineapple juice Spanish omelet Home fries Tossed salad

Shepherd pie Spinach

Fri., March 9

Tilapia w/lemon sauce Yams Italian blend

Pollack fish Baked potato Carrots

Rye bread Apricot halves

Whole wheat bread Orange

All meals served w/margarine and fresh milk *Menu subject to change without notice. We ask that members please call their center at least one day in advance to register for lunch:

Bartow Center (718) 320-2066, Ext. 2010 Dreiser Center (718) 320-1345 • Einstein Center (718) 671-5161

Upcoming Events/Trips E M P I R E C I T Y C ASI NO - $3 – Wednesday, March 14th. If your name is on the list, your payment MUST be made by the Friday prior to the trip. Trip includes round trip transportation and boxed lunch. Pick-ups: Einstein, 10:00 a.m., Bartow, 10:15 a.m. and Dreiser, 10:30 a.m.

WAL M ART - Monday, March 5. $12 includes transportation/boxed lunch.

Pick-ups: Bartow-8:30 a.m., Dreiser-8:45 a.m. and Einstein-9:00 a.m.

ST E W L E O NAR D’S – Monday, March 5. $3 – includes transportation.

Pick-ups: Bartow – 1:00 p.m., Dreiser – 1:15 p.m. and Einstein - 1:30 p.m.

SW I M M I NG – Friday, March 9th $3. Anyone interested in going swimming, please call the Co-op City Senior Services Center at Bartow Avenue, 718320-2066. Pick-up times: Dreiser – 1:00 p.m.; Bartow – 1:15 p.m. and Einstein 1:30 p.m.

C E NT R AL AVE NUE – Monday, March 12 - $13, 2 hrs. Xmas Tree Store, 1 hr. Trader Joe’s & 2 hrs. Amazing Savings – includes transportation/boxed lunch. Pick-ups – Bartow, 9:00 a.m.; Dreiser, 9:15 a.m. & Bartow, 9:30 a.m.

BE R G E N M AL L (New Jersey) – Monday, March 19 - $12 includes transportation/boxed lunch. Pick–ups: Bartow – 8:30 a.m.; Dreiser – 8:45 a.m. & Einstein – 9:00 a.m.

C ABAR E T L UL U performance of “Jukebox Serenade” will be on Saturday, March 31st at 2:00 p.m., at the Dreiser Auditorium. Individual tickets: $10; Group tickets; buy ten tickets: $90. For more information and group sales, contact: Michelle Sajous, 718-320-3300, x3532; Jennifer Neumann, 718-3202066, Individual tickets will be sold in each Senior Center, starting Tuesday, February 7th from 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

W E I G H T M A N AG E M E N T SUP P O RT G RO UP - Mondays, 10:00 a.m., Bartow Avenue, Room 25.

Maintaining a healthy weight is not easy, but with knowledge and practice it can

be. Come join the Weight Management Support Group to learn techniques and information that can help you maintain a healthy lifestyle.

C AR E GI VE R SUP P O RT G RO UP - A Caregiver Support Group can offer an atmosphere of understanding and support for caregivers to discuss issues and concerns. Whether you care for a loved one from a distance or in your home, you are most welcome. The group meets every other Tuesday at: 2049 Bartow Avenue, Room 31 from 1-2 p.m. The next sessions are Tuesday 6 and March 20. The support group is facilitated by a social worker. If you have any questions, please contact JASA at 718-320-2066.

DI ABE T I C SUP P O RT G RO UP Diabetes can seem to be an overwhelming disease because it impacts so many areas of your daily life. The Diabetic Support Group’s goals are to keep you informed and motivated on how to stay healthy. The group meets every last Monday of the month at 177 Dreiser Loop, 2nd floor, Room 7, from 1 p.m.-2 p.m. The next session is scheduled for Monday, March 26. For more information and to register, please contact Chidinma Ezihe, 718-671-2090 (Ext. 3011) or Rosella Stone, 718-320-2066 (Ext. 2003).

SE NI OR C E NT E R F I E L D T R I P P E R M I SSI O N SL I P – Effective immediately, all senior center participants are required to fill out a Senior Center Field Trip Permission Slip before going on any JASA senior center trips. If you are paying for someone to go on the trip, you must make sure that they bring the form with them on the day of the trip. All forms must be filled out prior to going on the trip; No exceptions.

BL O O D P R E SSUR E – Locations and schedule – 135 Einstein Loop, Room 45, every 2nd & 4th Friday at 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.; 177 Dreiser Loop, Room 7, every 1st & 3rd Thursday at 10:00 a.m.11:30 a.m; Bartow Avenue, 9:00 a.m. 10:00 a.m., 1st and 3rd Wednesdays.

23

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

FOR INFORMATION ABOUT UPCOMING EVENTS OR TO BOOK A COMMUNITY ROOM, PLEASE CALL THE SCHEDULING DEPARTMENT AT 718-320-3300.

PRESS #5 AT THE PROMPT. Anonymous calls to Public Safety Periodically, cooperators may witness someone violating the housing company’s rules and regulations, however, it has been reported to Management that some people are apprehensive about reporting the situation for fear of their identity being divulged to the violator in question.

Please know that you may request to remain anonymous when you contact the Co-op City Public Safety Department (CCPD) regarding said issues and the Public Safety dispatchers, officers and supervisors have been instructed to accept these calls and investigate, accordingly. If, however, you feel forced to surrender your identification in order to lodge your complaint, immediately request to speak with a supervisor.

Rest assured that you should feel comfortable placing these calls to our Public Safety Department, as oftentimes residents are the first to know when an incident has taking place and in most cases who the individuals involved are, as well.

Thank you for your cooperation.

—R iver ba y M a n a gemen t

Co-op City Department of Public Safety (718) 671-3050 • www.ccpd.us.

If you SEE something, SAY something!

Baychester Library Events VISIT THE LIBRARY - A GREAT WEALTH OF INFORMATION UPCOMING EVENTS Allegro Singers are back! - Saturday, March 3, 2012 @ 2:00. Sounds of Spring. Join us for an afternoon of your favorite arias & duets from GRAND OPERAS by famous composers... Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky & others... INNA LEYTUSH, piano.

Chasing the Job Searching Blues - Monday, March 5, 11 a.m. Theodore Henderson shows you how to refocus, retool, and recharge your job search and career strategy. Learn how to better position yourself for a shorter job search leading to the right position at the correct compensation levels that your talent and experience demand.

Learn to Knit - Tuesdays, 3/6, 3/13, 3/20, 4 p.m. Drop 1, purl 2! Make a hat, scarf, potholder, and more. All material will be provided. For ages 12 to 18 years old.

WEEKLY EVENTS KIDS Game On Nintendo Wii! - Every Monday @ 3:30 p.m.

Tween Time - Every Tuesday @ 3:30 p.m.

Teens TAG - Every Tuesday @ 4 p.m.

Read Aloud - Every Wednesday @ 3:30 p.m.

Teen Book Café - Every Wednesday @ 4 p.m.

Chess Club - Every Thursday @ 3 p.m.

Teen Time - Every Friday, 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.

Film - Every Saturday, 2:00 p.m.

The New York Public Library Baychester Branch • 2049 Asch Loop • Bronx, NY 10475

AARP Chapter #4997 NOTE : NO PEACHTREE CHAPTER MEETING IN MARCH (due to the special birthday celebration)… The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 9.

F YI : 85% of Americans 50 & older say hearing health is important.

However, only 43% have gotten their hearing checked during the past 5 years.

Do your friends and family complain that you play the TV or radio too loud?

Do you ask people to repeat themselves?

Do you need to look at them to understand what they’re saying? A “yes” answer may mean you have an untreated hearing problem, as was discovered in a recent survey by AARP & the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Learn how to deal with hearing loss at www.aarp.org/hearingguide.

NOT E : To our sick, on the mend and shut-in members, and those bereaved members, please know that you are in our prayers. Contact Frances Wilson, Good & Welfare Coordinator, 718-6715493.

2012 T O UR AC T I VI T I E S April 23-24, 2012 – “JONAH” – experience the mighty storm at sea that breaks apart an enormous ship; peer into the underwater world & see the giant fish swallow up God’s misguided Prophet Jonah – trip includes: a stop in Bethlehem (PA) known as the “Christmas City”; visit the Sands Casino ($35 Casino Bonus) — current photo ID or passport required; lodging at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Reading; wine & cheese reception w/a sit-down dinner and live Musical Comedy Show; 2nd day hot breakfast

buffet; visit an Amish quilt shop, cannery & Kitchen Kettle gift shops; w/reserved seats at the Millennium Theater for “JONAH”; stop for dinner (pay on your own) on the way home…$281/person double; $331 – single; trip insurance $14/each – double; $29/single; Limited seats available….call Jean, 718-379-3742 for registration info.

June 1–11 (11 days/10 nights) – Mount Rushmore, the Badlands & Black Hills of South Dakota – trip includes 10 nights lodging (w/4 consecutive nights in South Dakota); 10 breakfasts/8 dinners; visit Mt. Rushmore National Memorial; tour of Wildlife Loop Road at Custer State Park; admission to the Unique Journey Museum; guided tour of Deadwood, plus gaming at a Deadwood Casino; visit the Crazy Horse Memorial; & visit the Badlands National Park & much more…$905/double; $1265/single; $885/triple; trip insurance available upon request – contact Jean, 718-379-3742.

July 19 – Warm Daddy’s: Live Blues & Jazz (Phila., PA) – trip includes a delicious Southern-style dinner and show and a 5-hour stay at the Sugar House Casino w/a bonus of the day — $95/person – contact Daisy, 718-671-3241 August 9 – Triple Lobsters w/ “HuKeLau” in Chicopee (MA) – trip includes 3 Lobsters/person (w/a TakeHome Bag if you can’t eat all 3) or prime rib; and the famous live Hawaiian Show…$93/person – ($50 deposit due upon registration) contact Delores, 718379-2176.

—Delor es Deb n a m

Einstein Cancer Fund A Happy Birthday is wished to all celebrating this month of March.

Tuesday, March 6th will be the next general membership meeting at 1:30 p.m. in room 38. We will be taking deposits or full payments for trips pending.

Refreshments will be served.

We are going back to Showboat Casino on Tuesday, March 13th. The cost person is $30 with $30 slot play. Time of pick-up is 8 a.m. starting at Einstein Loop, followed by Asch Loop and Dreiser Loop. Bring a valid photo I.D. May 16 & 17 – 2-day trip to the Millennium Theater in Lancaster, Pa. for the showing of “Jonah” at 1 p.m. Then we check-in at the Hawthorne Inn and dinner in the evening at Miller’s Restaurant. Day 2 – breakfast at the Inn and then depart for the Sands Casino and bonus of the day. Cost per person: single, $265; dou-

ble, $245; and triple, $235. We are accepting deposits or full payments.

Balances must be paid in full by April 6th. Join us for this trip; everyone is surely welcomed. Seats available.

Wednesday, October 24th – Foxwood’s Theater plus casino for a tribute to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, “Oh What a Night.” Cost per person is $57 ($30 for bus and $27 for ticket).

Please send in the theatre ticket ($27) and the balance of $30 can be paid later. We need the count of tickets to insure that you are covered. You will receive the casino bonus of the day.

For all of the above, please call Mildred at 718-320-0288, Loretta at 718671-2958, or Lydia at 718-671-3005. For memorial cards, please call Loretta.

Good health and healings to all.

—Lyd ia R u a s

Handicapped Adults Association T H E VAN-To book a reservation with the van call JASA at 718-320-2066. Please do not call the office.

T H E O F F I C E -The new office hours are as follows: Monday and Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

F L E A M AR K E T –Come check out the Boutique Unique in Room #13, Dreiser Community Center. If you haven’t seen our new look, you’re in for a nifty surprise. Need a special gift? Would like a different CD to listen to, or a movie to watch, Room #13 is the place to visit.

—Ar len e R od r iguez

(Fully Wheelchair Accessible)

HOURS: Monday & Wednesday, 10-7; Tuesday & Thursday, 10-6; Friday & Saturday, 10-5.

Libros En Español (Books in Spanish). HORARIO DE LA BIBLIOTECA: Lunes 10-7, Martes 10-6, Miércoles 10-7, Jueves 10-6, Viernes 10-5, Sábado 10-5, Domingo Cerrado

718.379.6700 FREE ADMISSION TO ALL

The deadline for submitting club articles is Mondays at 3 p.m.

24

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

Purim Reflections

by Rabbi Solomon I. Berl Spiritual Leader of Young Israel Synagogue The source for the holiday of Purim is the Biblical Book of Esther.

Purim, the Feast of Lots, assumes unusual significance in modern times.

Modern anti-Semitism does not differ radically from the irrational hatred of Haman toward the Jews. Purim is particularly symbolic of the fate of Israel among the nations. It teaches the Jew not to place too great reliance on the goodwill of rulers, and not to despair in the face of cruel conditions which seem hopeless and unbearable. Salvation is to be secured by courage to fight for one’s convictions and faith in the Eternal.

Purim never grows old. In every age, the Jew is attacked by Hamans

and their like. Tyrants and oppressors have come and gone throughout the ages, but Israel and its cultural heritage have survived, and continue to flourish and create.

This holiday assures particular significance in our day. Not only Jews, but all persecuted minorities will find in it a ray of light and salvation. The Purim message to all peoples is to strive to make the world a better place to live in, and that can be achieved only by guaranteeing to all good people everywhere, their G-d given rights to live and to accomplish, and by regarding all human beings as equals, as they are in the eyes of G-d.

Young Israel of Co-op City Schedule of Purim Services at Young Israel of Co-op City Purim will be held at Young Israel on Wednesday evening, March 7th, at 6:30 p.m. with the chanting of the Megillah (Book of Esther) by Rabbi Berl.

Services on Thursday morning, March 8th, will begin at 6:00 a.m. with the read-

ing of the Megillah at 6:30 a.m. The holiday of Purim, which commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people throughout the Persian Empire from a plot hatched

by Haman, the chief Minister of King Ahasueros, to exterminate it - is chronicled in the Biblical book of Esther.

A happy Purim to all.

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Much of Learning Is Done Through The Eyes. Insist on a Professional Eye Examination.

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718-379-8029 Medicare and many insurances accepted.

DOCTOR’S HOURS: MONDAY: 1:30 - 7:30 PM • WEDNESDAY: 2:00 - 7:00 PM FRIDAY: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM • SATURDAY: 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM CALL FOR AN APPOINTMENT!

Castle Hill Funeral Directors, Inc.

SHALOM Jewish George Farr - Funeral Director funeral “The Bronx Jewish Community home, inc.

Memorial Chapel” (718) 828-9222 (718) 828-1700 1528 Castle Hill Avenue Bronx, New York 10462 Keeping Tradition Under Rabbinical Supervision Services from Our Chapel, Graveside or Synagogue Parking Facilities • Pre-Arrangements

Traditional Synagogue The Traditional Synagogue of Co-op City, Young Israel of Baychester, Section 5 (new address) at Bldg. 27B-120 Erdman Place (behind the Lobby), welcomes you to pray with them. Tel. for the Shule (Same old number), 1-718-379-6920.

Note: Office hours are on Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and on Sunday, we are here from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Candle lighting on Friday, March 9, is before 5:38 p.m. Shabbat ends today, Saturday, March 3 at 5:32 p.m.

Mincha services on Saturday, March 3 followed by Maariv around 12:30 p.m.

Men, you are needed for a Minyon. A Minyon is the number of men needed to read the Torah. The Important number needed is 10. Unfortunately, we are missing this number by 3 or 4 men each week.

Please be counted as part of the 10 men and make the Minyon. You will be doing a Mitzvah (a good deed). Thank you!

The community is always welcome to attend our various functions and enjoy a great day of fun and friendship.

C om in g E vent s: Saturday, March 3 at 9 a.m. -The Torah.

Shabbat ends at 5:32 p.m.

Sunday, March 4, at 1:00 p.m. -The Sisterhood sponsors an fun afternoon of Bingo. The cost is $3 per person and includes admission and refreshments.

Please join us and get out of the cold and into some friendship.

Wednesday, March 7, at 6:30 p.m. services - The reading of the Megillah.

Thursday, March 8 – Morning services at 11:00 a.m. The reading of the Megillah followed by Purim Luncheon at 12 p.m.

The cost is $10/person. Make your reservation early as our space is limited. The menu is a dairy buffet and includes: baked ziti, spinach lasagna and eggplant parm, salad, plus much more goodies. Call Mimi at 1-347-427-4526. We will be selling raffles and Las Vegas tickets. Try your luck!

Bring your board games, cards or Mah Jong. Join in the fun!

Friday, March 9 – Shushan Purim –Candlelighting is before 5:38 p.m.

Sunday, March 18 at 1:00 p.m. – The Synagogue sponsors an afternoon of Bingo. The cost is $3/person.

Good a n d Welfa r e: Come on down to the synagogue to purchase kosher wine.

Do you need a tree certificate sent “in Honor” or “in Memory” of a special occasion or a condolence? For information, you can call Mimi at 1-347-427-4526 and we can accommodate you.

Mazel Tov to Anita and Al Abel as they celebrate their 56 wedding anniversary on Sunday, Febraury 26.

Please! Support the Synagogue. We always need your help. Thank you.

Shalom!

—M ir ia m E velyn Ber lofsky

Co-op City Jewish Center The Co-op City Jewish Center is located at 900 Co-op City Blvd., Bronx, N.Y. 10475.

Saturday services are continuing thanks to those people who attend. Please try to attend whenever possible.

We would like to remind our members and any Jewish people in Co-op City look-

ing for a conservative synagogue, we are still here, and all are welcome.

Try to take a Saturday and come to services when you can.

Donations can be mailed to the Co-op Jewish Center.

—M a r vin Seid m a n

Building 30 Association Due to unforeseen circumstances Building 30 Association’s next general meeting will take place on the second Wednesday in March. The date being March 14th and the next Pokeno game will take place Friday, March 16th.

There will be no crochet class on Wednesday, the 7th.

Please be courteous to your neighbors and don’t place large boxes, bedding, furniture and large bags in the compact room. Please bring these items downstairs in the basement for disposal. Do not smoke in the stairwells and tell your guests not to smoke there either.

—L in d a Wer n er

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

25

Evangelical Church of Co-op City - UMC Open Doors, Open Hearts and Open Minds C om e & Visit Us – We welcome you to God’s House – Your House – One Family in Christ. We are a congregation with spirit-filled worship, offering a variety of opportunities for spiritual growth, fellowship and service to God and our community. We are a multi-ethnic, multicultural and bilingual congregation and all are welcome. Services are at the church at 2350 Palmer Avenue, across the street from Building 30. Parking is available. Visit our website at www.coopcityumchurch.org.

Su n d a y Ser vices – The first Sunday of the month is a bilingual service with communion at 10 a.m. All other Sunday services are as follows: English Service at 9 a.m. and the Spanish Service at

11:30 a.m. There are Bible studies in English and Spanish at 10:30 a.m. We also have a children’s service during the English service.

P r a yer Nigh t : We will be having a prayer night on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the church building.

Come and bring your prayer needs so we can all pray and become prayer warriors.

Bring a friend who would like prayer.

The Lord said, “whenever two or more are gathered in my name I will be in the midst of them.” Matthew 18:20 Also on Thursday’s mornings at 10:30 a.m., there is prayer till 11:15 a.m. in Spanish.

Aft er Sch ool P r ogr a m: In Room 43 of Einstein Community Center is a safe

environment where children can do homework, learn God’s word and just have some fun. Please call (718) 671-1033.

C r e sc e n d o C h r i st i a n M u s ic Sch ool: Learn piano, guitar, percussion, voice and theory. Contact Maestro Frank Colon at (917) 753-3644. The school will be open from Monday – Thursday, 2 p.m. – 8 p.m. Private and group lessons are available. Earlier lessons can be arranged. All ages are welcome. Registration is free and rates are affordable.

M en ’s Fellowsh ip : Every Thursday evening at 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Come and share your testimonies, explore your gifts and be blessed in the Word of our Lord.

Bring a friend so they can get a blessing

too. Hope to see you there.

Fa m ily Nigh t: Friday nights are for the family. We will be having Bible studies and other spiritual growth activities for all ages. There will be English & Spanish groups. Bring a friend or two or more.

Wom en ’s Da y: Saturday, March 17th. We will be having a day for women to get together and have a great time in the Lord. We will be making jewelry and tote bags. We will have a guest speaker and a nice lunch. There is a donation of $10, which covers everything for the day.

We will be starting the day at 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Bring a friend so that they can have a great blessing too.

—R ev. Dr. M ilca Alva r ez-P la u d

Church of the Savior Rev. Dr. Robert A. Smith, Jr., Pastor; Lady Theresa M. Smith, co-founder; Rev. McMillian, Assistant Pastor, and the Church of the Savior family extend an invitation to every person to worship with us. We are a non-denominational, inter-racial, inter-cultural, intergenerational fellowship of believers. We care about you, not your W2. We are not church as usual. Come as you are, we leave the judging to God. The Church of the Savior family extends love and affirmation to the Co-op City community; A warm welcome awaits you!! We love you for who you are, not what you have. Please call us at 718-320-0002 or 917-734-4058 for more information. Do you want a place that allows you to meet the living God? Do you want to be connected to people who

care about you not what you have on or how much money you make? A special seat and friend awaits you.

Church of the Savior is located at 120 DeKruif Place – street level, (under Building #7 near Dreiser Loop). Take the 38 to Dreiser Loop and DeKruif Pl. Our mailing address is: P.O. Box 86, Bronx, NY 10475.

Su n d a y M or n in g Sch ed u le: Adult Bible Study – 9:15 a.m.

Divine Worship - 10:30 a.m. Come and be blessed, we want an opportunity to love you. See you in church.

Our children’s Sunday school will teach and nurture your child/children in the word of God. All sessions are during worship service.

Do you know the meaning of Lent? Join us Tuesday evening 6:30 p.m.

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for an in-depth study of self examination to identify barriers that rob us of a fulfilling relationship with God. Please bring a special somebody and friend to an evening of growth.

Dr. Sm it h ’s Ser m on Top ic: “Faith’s Finest Hour.”

R ea d in g fr om Sa cr ed Scr ip t u r e: Acts of the Apostles 16: 16 through 31 Week ly Act ivit y Each Thursday at 10:00 a.m., Channel 70, Bronxnet. Tune in and be blessed. If this program has lifted you, please let us know. Dr. Smith can be contacted at 718320-0002. If you prefer to drop a personal note: P.O. Box 86, Bronx, NY 10475 is our mailing address.

Bereavement Support Group meets Monday evenings at 6:30 p.m. Are you grieving the loss of a loved one? Come,

our arms and hearts are open to you. God Bless You! “ I wa s h u n gr y a n d you fed me” …Church of the Savior is reaching out to individuals and families who need nutritious food. Our food pantry, coordinated by First Lady Theresa Smith, is just a phone call away. For more information in donating or receiving food, please call her at 718-925-5052.

I nvit a t ion s t o t h e C om m u n it y: SAVE THE DATE: October 6 Church 10th Anniversary. Eastwood Manor, Bronx, NY. Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, Senior Pastor, Abyssinian Church, Harlem, NY will be the Speaker. Tickets: $80.

T h ou gh t t o lift you : “Faith is praise turned inside out.”

—R ev. Dr. R ob er t A. Sm it h , J r.

26

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012

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Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012 Floors

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28

Co-op City Times / March 3, 2012