Riverbay Election Supplement on pages 29-38
Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2011 Co-op City Times
Vol. 46 No. 19
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Riverbay recovers $3.9 million in tax overcharges from New York City BY JIM ROBERTS Persistence by Riverbay’s Finance Department is paying off with a $3.9 million refund from New York City for overcharges in shelter rent taxes paid by Co-op City over the past four years. Riverbay Finance Director Peter Merola credited the efforts of Lou Salegna, Riverbay’s Controller, for the successful conclusion to many months of work that finally convinced New York City’s Department of Finance that the city owed Co-op City shareholders the $3.9 million that the community was overcharged. “Every dollar that we are able to save
and/or make goes a long way in helping to meet operating expenses, keep our capital projects going and minimize the need for carrying charge increases to the cooperators of this community,” said Vernon Cooper, Riverbay’s General Manager. “I applaud the efforts of Mr. Merola and his staff for effectively and efficiently reconciling our accounts and determining that we were being over assessed shelter rent taxes, as well as their diligence in persistently demanding that said overage payments be reimbursed to us or credited, which, either (Continued on page 2)
Riverbay enlists help of New York in its battle with graffiti BY BILL STUTTIG With graffiti sightings on the increase in the community over the past several months, Riverbay management has arranged for help in cleaning graffiti from the exterior areas of the community by participating in the Forever Graffiti Free program administered through the Mayor’s Community Affairs office. Riverbay Ombudsman Joe Boiko said this week that he has already filed with the city to have Co-op City be a part of this program whereby city employees will come to the community, upon the request of Riverbay to clean away or paint over graffiti that appears on the exterior of buildings and in other areas such as playgrounds and walkways. Graffiti that appears on unpainted areas, for example, the exterior of Co-op
City’s buildings will be power washed away and graffiti vandalism that appears on painted surfaces, such as benches or painted doorways, will be painted over free of charge upon request. In general, in can take up to 35 days for the city to complete the graffiti removal upon receiving a request for clean-up Riverbay was informed of the availability of the free program from the Mayor’s office through its contact with George Torres, a Co-op City resident and the Bronx Borough Director for Citywide Latino Outreach of the Mayor’s Community Affairs Unit. The paperwork was filed through the Ombudsman office for Riverbay. Boiko said that the bulk of Co-op (Continued on page 4)
God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers. —Jewish Proverb
25¢
Second Candidates’ Forum Monday in Einstein Center Voting Incentive for 3 lucky shareholders who vote BY ROZAAN BOONE The second of two official Candidates’ Forums scheduled by the 2011 Election Committee for the Riverbay Board of Directors election will be held on Monday, May 9, 7:30 p.m. in Room 45 of the Einstein Community Center and all thirteen candidates running in this year’s race have been invited to attend. The first forum took place last Wednesday, May 4, in Auditorium B of the Dreiser Community Center. According to the 2011 Election rules, if a candidate cannot attend the forum, he or she can provide the Election Committee with a reason for the absence, and, with the permission of the candidate, the Chair of the Election Committee may announce that reason to the attendees of the forum. “I’d like to thank all of the candidates, as well as the shareholders who attended the Candidates’ Forum on Wednesday,”
said Director Bill Gordon, Chair of the 2011 Election Committee. “We had a decent turnout, but for those who could not attend, there’s a second chance this Monday when the forum will be held in the Einstein Center. Hopefully, we can get an even bigger turnout so shareholders can be in a position to cast an informed vote when they go to the polls on election day, Wednesday, May 18.” To publicize the Candidates’ Forums, prominent notices have been placed throughout the community as a reminder to shareholders of the event and its importance. To further increase interest in this year’s election and to help guarantee a quorum on election day, Wednesday, May 18, the Riverbay Board this week approved offering three shareholders who (Continued on page 2)
Absentee ballots Shareholders who require absentee ballots for the 2011 Riverbay Board of Directors election should contact the Riverbay Legal Department at (718) 3203300, Ext. 3326, and they will be mailed. —2011 E lect ion C om m it t ee
Elevator maintenance improves during first year of service by Ver-Tech BY JIM ROBERTS The report card is in for the first year of maintenance service by Ver-Tech Elevator, and the grades are very good, according to figures compiled by the Riverbay Ombudsman’s office. “I find their services to be far superior to the previous company,” said Riverbay Ombudsman Joe Boiko. “They are very thorough in seeing that the repairs are done properly. This company has a better schedule for routine maintenance.” Reports of stuck elevators dropped from nearly 2,000 during 2009 to 1,589 in 2010, a decline of more than 20%, during the first year that Ver-Tech took over the maintenance of Co-op City’s 180 elevators. Reports of people in stuck elevators declined by 12%, with a figure of 354 in
2010 compared to 401 in the previous year. After investigation, in both years, the actual number of people stuck was lower than the original calls indicated. In 2010, the actual number of people found stuck in the elevators was 186, down very significantly from 2009 when the number was 261. The number of maintenance repairs to call boxes on the elevators also dropped by a large margin, down to 59 in 2010 compared to 209 in 2009. Repairs to cameras were down to 70 in 2010 compared to 120 in 2009. The primary reason for the improvements in elevator maintenance during 2010 by Ver-Tech has been the company’s diligence in seeing that all the equipment (Continued on page 4)