Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2011 Co-op City Times
Vol. 46 No. 16
Saturday, April 16, 2011
13 certified as candidates in 2011 Riverbay Board election BY ROZAAN BOONE All thirteen shareholders who returned their qualifying petitions to run for the 2011 Riverbay Board election were officially certified as candidates by the Riverbay Election Committee on Tuesday night, April 12, at the candidates’ certification meeting. After the candidates submitted their qualifying petitions on Monday, March 28, the end of the petition period, the signatures on the petitions were validated. The Election Committee also worked with the Riverbay Finance Department to verify that none of the potential candidates were indebted to the Riverbay Corporation. The thirteen certified candidates for this year’s Board election, in the order that their names will appear on the ballot on election day, Wednesday, May 18, are Daryl Johnson, Rev. Dr. Calvin E. Owens, John A. Rose, Kenneth Mercer, Michelle S. Davy, Leah Graham, Carmen M. Howell, Emmanuel Manny Torres, Eleanor G. Bailey, Tony Illis, Yolanda Canales Schumann, Krystal Serrano and Frank Belcher.
The official candidates include three of the five incumbent Directors whose terms are up this year—Rev. Dr. Calvin E. Owens, Eleanor G. Bailey and Emmanuel Manny Torres. At Tuesday’s Candidates Meeting, the qualified candidates received their instructions for running their campaigns according to the Riverbay election rules from the 2011 Riverbay Election Committee. The candidates also received the Co-op City Times guidelines and deadlines for the submission of their candidates’ statements and ads which must first be reviewed by the 2011 Election Committee and their attorneys before publication in the three election supplements to be published in the April 30th, May 7th and May 14th issues of the Co-op City Times. Also during the meeting, the names of the thirteen candidates were randomly drawn to determine the order in which they will appear on the ballot and also the order in which their candidate’s statements and ads will appear in the Co-op City Times to be distributed on Saturday, (Continued on page 4)
Board approves deferred payment plan for incoming shareholders BY ROZAAN BOONE At the April 13th meeting of the Riverbay Board, a resolution offering a deferred payment option to new shareholders purchasing apartments in Co-op City provided they put down 25% of the cost of their new apartment was approved by the Board. Pointing out that CitiMortgage, a member of Citigroup, is the only lender currently providing loans to incoming shareholders, and the fact that CitiMortgage has increased their scrutiny of loan applicants which has resulted in a more lengthy approval process, as well as fewer loans being issued, the resolution states that Riverbay has attempted to locate other lenders but has so far been unsuccessful.
The resolution further states: “Whereas, Riverbay must continue to sell the appropriate level of apartments every month in order to achieve its financial plan, now, therefore, let it be resolved that the Board of Directors authorizes that Riverbay Corporation will begin to offer a deferred payment option for new apartment sales.” In approving the resolution, which was submitted by First Vice President Rev. Calvin E. Owens and seconded by Riverbay’s Assistant Secretary Francine Jones, the Board directed Management to “put together and implement a plan whose terms will mimic Citimortgage’s,” however, Riverbay Corporation will also (Continued on page 5)
Happy Passover and Easter Greetings! We wish our readers celebrating Passover this week a happy and healthy Passover and for those celebrating Easter, a blessed Palm Sunday and Good Friday. Please note that Riverbay’s administrative offices will be closed at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 22 in observance of Good Friday. Limited staff will be available in some departments after 1 p.m. Please call ahead if you have an appointment. Thank you for your cooperation.
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Refinancing deal approved by Board of Directors BY JIM ROBERTS After two years of searching for the best way to stabilize its financial picture during an historic national recession, Riverbay Corporation has reached a deal to refinance its mortgage at a lower interest rate, to continue ongoing capital projects, rebuild its reserve funds and help address skyrocketing water bills from New York City. At a meeting on April 13, the Riverbay Board of Directors approved a recapitalization of the existing $475 million mortgage with New York Community Bank. Under the deal, Riverbay will pay off the existing $475 million debt and take out a new mortgage with New York Community Bank for $555 million. The interest rate on the new mortgage
will start at 5¾% for the first two years and then increase to 6% in the third through fifth years of the term. Interest increases to 6.25% in years 6 through 10, and then to 6.50% in years 11 through 15. Riverbay is currently paying an interest rate of 6.2%, but that interest rate is scheduled to increase to 6.7% in October, 2014. In an April 11 memo to the Board of Directors, Herbert Freedman, principal of Marion Scott Real Estate Inc., managing agent for Co-op City, explained why the refinancing is a good deal for the residents of Co-op City. “New York Community Bank is prepared to make a loan with interest below our existing interest rate,” Freedman (Continued on page 4)
Black Start generator should be ready for use by May BY BILL STUTTIG Riverbay’s new 63,000 pound Black Start generator, which was purchased to serve as an insurance policy against Coop City suffering the effects of a longterm regional black-out, like the one that hit the northeast United States in the summer of 2003, should be ready for use by the middle of May, in plenty of time for summer’s peak energy usage
season, according to Power Plant Director Brian Reardon. The generator is housed in a big green box that sits just inside the power plant grounds near the intersection of Bartow Avenue and Co-op City Blvd. It was moved to that location on February 17 and since then has been (Continued on page 5)
Major laundry room upgrades and cost savings are part of contract extension BY BILL STUTTIG The Riverbay Board of Directors approved a contract change order Wednesday evening which extends the contract with Riverbay’s laundry room vendor, Coinmach, Inc., for another six years while requiring a wide array of improvements to each laundry room including upgraded efficient new washers, new floors, and the installation of new televisions in each laundry room hooked up to basic cable. The contract option approved by the Board at the meeting Wednesday evening calls for Coinmach, Inc. to pay Riverbay a monthly rent of $260,000 plus 75% of all income collected in excess of $3.8 million. The increased rent and the savings generated through the installation of more efficient modern washers will bring to the community an estimated $1.4 million in additional savings and increased revenue, according to separate studies performed by Coinmach and Riverbay management.
The laundry room upgrades agreed to in this six-year contract extension include the installation of 570 brand new LG Energy Star Rated 22 lb. capacity front load washers and 140 brand new Speed Queen 30 lb. capacity front load washers. The contract also calls for maintaining the existing 310 sets (620 tubs) of Speed Queen 30 lb. capacity stack gas dryers. The upgrades will also include the installation of two additional Value Transfer machines for the Smart Card System in each laundry room which will enable residents to use credit or debit cards to transfer funds to the Smart Cards while allowing residents to receive due refunds through the Smart Card System on an around-the-clock basis, according to the proposal submitted by Coinmach, Inc. and approved by the Board. According to a recently conducted study of Co-op City’s laundry room (Continued on page 8)