Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2011 Co-op City Times
Vol. 46 No. 26
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Department of Buildings rescinds vacate orders for 172 balconies BY BILL STUTTIG Riverbay received word on Thursday from the city’s Department of Buildings (DOB) that it was rescinding vacate orders issued in May, 2010 for 172 balconies. The order clears the way for Riverbay to reopen these balconies for use in the coming days. The balconies that will be reopened are all the D-line balconies (D apartments) from floors 3 to 24 in Buildings 1, 2 and 3, a total of 42 balconies in each building or 126 balconies in total. The D-line balconies in Building Department of Buildings clears way for re-opening of 172 balconies closed last year as precautionary 1 face Baychester Avenue, in measure after fatal mid-Manhattan accident. Photo by Bill Stuttig Building 2 face Co-op City Blvd. and in Building 3 face Dreiser Loop. completions and a re-opening of a number In addition, permission was given to of the balconies at Buildings 1, 2, 3 and 5. reopen the balconies on the G line (G Management representatives Anthony apartments) of Buildings 5 A and C, floors Rasulo and Liviu Zalman, along with Nick 3 to 26 facing Darrow Place, a total of 46 Massand of Massand Engineering and additional balconies opening in the very Taky Yacovon of Proto Construction and near future. Development Corp. have met with repreRiverbay General Manager Vernon sentatives of the Bronx Department of Cooper said: “We are very pleased to be able to announce the first phase of terrace (Continued on page 4)
Tuesday’s partial power outage caused by breakers opening BY ROZAAN BOONE Several high rise residential buildings and some townhouse clusters lost partial power on Tuesday, June 22, shortly after midnight when two large breakers at the Riverbay Power Plant opened thereby causing interruption in
normal power. In all, Buildings 1 thru 14, Buildings 23, 24 and 25, and the Broun Place, Cooper Place, Debs Place and DeFoe Place Townhouse clusters were affected, (Continued on page 10)
Riverbay adds convectors to maintenance check list BY ROZAAN BOONE Management has informed the Riverbay Board that convector inspections will be added to the maintenance check list in an effort to help reduce the number of convector leaks that have been occurring in apartments. In a memo to the Board dated June 23, General Manager Vernon Cooper said that it has been noted that the increase in convector leaks being experienced this year seems to be exacerbated by the failure in many instances in the convectors not being properly cleaned and checked prior to the air conditioning season. “At present, whenever a utility man does work in an apartment, there is a check list as follows,” stated Cooper,
before describing the 8 items on the check list which include bathroom vents; grout and caulking around the tub and soap dish; walls in bathrooms; leaks under sinks, from faucets and running toilets; and noticeable signs of leakage on ceilings or walls in the kitchen or bathrooms, among other items. He continued: “We are adding to this list a need to inspect the convectors for cleanliness, operations and frayed wires.” Cooper also pointed out in his memo that as part of Riverbay’s extensive convector overhaul program, the pipes in the wall in vacant apartments are re-pitched to alleviate convector flooding at the rate of 2 (Continued on page 2)
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Board approves budgets for next two years with 1% carrying charge increases BY JIM ROBERTS The Riverbay Board of Directors approved Resolution #11-18 at its June 22 meeting that approves budgets for the next two fiscal years. The two-year budget will set the general operations spending for Co-op City through March 31, 2013. The approved budget increases operations spending next year by just $221,214 or about one tenth of one percent, over the current 2010/11 fiscal year. For the second year of the new budget, spending increases by $6.5 million, or 3%, in the 2012/13 fiscal year. The budgets for the next two years will include carrying charge increases of just 1% each year. The first increase would take effect on October 1, 2011 and the second 1% increase would go into effect on June 1, 2012. The proposed carrying charge increases must still be reviewed and approved by the state Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) before they can be put into effect. Co-op City shareholders will be given the opportunity to comment on the proposed carrying
charge increases at a hearing the state HCR will conduct before deciding whether or not to approve the increases. According to Resolution #11-18, for the month ended January, 2011, the average carrying charges per room per month was $192.22, which includes utilities. This amount became effective February 1, 2010 based on authorization by the HCR in 2007. The new 1.0% carrying charge increase proposed for October 1, 2011 would raise the current average carrying charges from $192.22 per room per month to $194.14 per room per month. The 1.0% carrying charge increase proposed for June 1, 2012 would then raise the $194.14 per room, per month amount to $196.08. Board Directors voting in favor of the resolution were: Eleanor Bailey, Bernard Cylich, Leah Graham, Tony Illis, Francine Reva Jones, Andrea Leslie, Evelyn Santiago and Raymond Tirado. Directors voting against the resolution were Helen Atkins, Bill Gordon, Daryl Johnson, (Continued on page 2)
Management Forum in Dreiser Tuesday to discuss community’s refinance and capital projects BY ROZAAN BOONE A Management Forum to inform shareholders of the community’s refinancing with New York Community Bank and present an updated status report of capital projects will be held on Tuesday, June 28, 7 p.m., in Dreiser Auditorium A, B & C. Prior to the beginning of the forum, between 6-7 p.m., the directors of the various service departments at Riverbay Corporation will be available to answer questions and address any issues of concern that shareholders may have. The Management Forum will begin promptly at 7 p.m. and will be divided into three segments, the first of which will address the community’s refinance with New York Community Bank (NYCB) which was approved by the Riverbay Board last Tuesday, June 14, by a vote of 13-2, after extensive discussion among Board members and representatives of NYCB; Wells Fargo, which has been pursuing a HUD guarantee of a refinancing loan for the community, and their HUD specialists; and Deputy Commissioner Richmond McCurnin of the New York State Homes and
Community Renewal (HCR), the state supervising agency for Mitchell-Lama developments like Co-op City. “Management has been pursing a HUD loan for close to three years, but was told quite frankly that HUD requires a debt service reserve fund of $65 million, which possibly could be negotiated down to $35 million, and none of that money can be funded by a loan,” said Board President Helen Atkins in her report in last week’s Coop City Times. “If we had $65 million, we could use that money for capital projects and such and wouldn’t need such a loan. This may be resolved somehow with Wells Fargo and HUD, however, at the moment, the clock was ticking and we couldn’t afford to wait. Therefore, once again, I am grateful for the vast majority of the Directors on the Board for keeping an open mind, asking intelligent questions, and then ultimately voting in favor of the refinancing with New York Community Bank, which was truly the only way to go.” Representatives of Wells Fargo will (Continued on page 10)