Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2014 Co-op City Times
Vol. 49 No. 29
Three senior Riverbay employees appointed as “knowledge assistants” to the Board To assist the Riverbay Board of Directors — and specifically the new Ad Hoc Search Committee assigned with beginning a bidding process for a managing agent — the Board, by a consensus vote of 9 to 1, approved a proposal put forth by President Cleve Taylor to appoint three pre-selected experienced senior Riverbay employees to serve in a role as “knowledge assistants.” The role of the three senior employees will be to help the Board gain detailed expertise of the specific functions of the massive Riverbay Corporation and its daily interaction with the managing agent. In a detailed, prepared explanation to his fellow Board Directors of the need to take the consensus vote to appoint people in these positions as soon as possible, President Taylor wrote: “It has come to my attention as President of the Riverbay Corporation that there are no senior Riverbay employees who have full knowledge of the Corporation’s operations, administration and finances. That information is a valuable corporate resource, and belongs to all of us as shareholders. The efficient operation of our community requires that this corporate information be captured, distributed, analyzed and BY BILL STUTTIG
Shareholders express frustrations with lack of cable choices at Open Board meeting
Saturday, July 19, 2014
utilized to maximize the delivery of housing services in the most cost effective manner. “In order to ensure the best services for our residents, to evaluate the efficiency of existing management, and to assist in determining what, if any, changes should be made for the benefit of our shareholders, it is essential that this intellectual capital be protected, and that knowledge of our property and operations be collected, reviewed and analyzed by the Board. Further, should any changes, improvements or transitions be required, our knowledge of these issues and the control of our intellectual capital will be critical. We must compile, manage and possess the knowledge and information that the operation of our cooperative requires, no matter how the competitive bidding for general manager or managing agent is decided.” The three Riverbay personnel selected for this new task, which will come in addition to their responsibilities as key Directors within Riverbay Corporation are: Peter Merola, Riverbay’s Finance Director; Noel Ellison, Manager of Cooperator Services Office 1; and Colette Ragin, Director of the Office of Organization, Development and Training. (Continued on page 2)
Cooperators were given the chance to express their preferences, problems and frustrations with the community’s cable service at an Open Board meeting held Wednesday evening in Bartow Community Center. Many residents came to the meeting hoping to be able to observe the Board meeting with Verizon representatives about the possibility of bringing Verizon FiOS service into Co-op City, as an alternative to the existing Cablevision service.
BY BILL STUTTIG
25¢
However, in the hours before the meeting, Riverbay General Counsel Jeffrey Buss informed the Board of Directors that Riverbay received a letter from Cablevision threatening to sue the corporation and its shareholders, the residents, if Verizon representatives were allowed to make a presentation at a public meeting in the Co-op City community on the grounds that such a meeting would be a violation of the exclusive marketing agreement Cablevision has (Continued on page 4)
At Wednesday’s Open Board meeting, Riverbay General Counsel Jeffrey Buss (standing) provided shareholders a detailed explanation of the exclusive marketing agreement Cablevision has in place with Co-op City and how it affects Verizon’s ability to market its FiOS service within the community. Photo by Bill Stuttug
Hiring for new Mall
Sidewalk repairs on Alcott Place … As part of our ongoing effort to maintain and improve the physical condition of the public space around Co-op City, replacement of sections of the concrete walkways are being performed as needed. This week, crews were on Alcott Place near Building 19, repairing a section of sidewalk on the east side of the street. General Manager Vernon Cooper said, “This work helps to eliminate potential trip hazards, making it easier for pedestrian traffic to walk along or ride along for people who are wheelchair-bound or need the use of canes, walkers, or motorized carts. Because of our size, we are over 330 acres of land, and the expense associated with this type of work, it has to be done in stages and therefore this work has been an ongoing project over the last few years and has been done section by section. Recently, extensive work was done around the shopping centers and now the focus will be on the walkways around the high-rise buildings and the townhouse clusters.” Photo by Alyssa Lumley
A storefront office for people interested in jobs at the new Mall at Bay Plaza has opened up in Bay Plaza just east of the Pathmark supermarket. A representative said the different retailers come to the office each day to interview new prospective workers. So far, 50 businesses are participating and more are expected to use the new location to fill jobs in the coming days. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. each weekday and job seekers are invited to come in with their resumes and see what interviews are available on any given day. An approximate schedule of what merchants will be at the office on specific days is available by visiting the Facebook page of the Mall at Bay Plaza. The hiring office is expected to remain open for several weeks or until all jobs at the new Mall are filled. Photo by Bill Stuttug