Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2014 Co-op City Times
Vol. 49 No. 39
Saturday, September 27, 2014
CCPD and 45th Precinct team up to arrest five armed robbery suspects in one week It was a busy, but productive, week for officers and detectives from both the 45th Precinct and Co-op City Public Safety Department (CCPD) as they worked together to arrest five young men, each involved in an armed robbery in or around Co-op City over the past month. According to the CCPD Detective Unit, the first incident occurred on September 1st when a 20-year old female Brooklyn resident was lured to Co-op City via messages on the social media site Facebook which promised her involvement in a model’s photo shoot. She was told via Facebook to come to Co-op City’s Building 31A for the opportunity, but when she arrived there, instead of glamor, she was greeted
BY BILL STUTTIG
by a man unknown to her who pointed a black firearm at her and then stole her valuables, including her purse and an iPhone. After the incident was reported, a search of the area for the suspects was conducted, but came up empty. In the days that followed, a joint investigation by the CCPD and 45th Precinct Detective Units identified what was believed to be the home of one of the suspects in Building 33 and after further confirmation of the intelligence, detectives from the 45th Precinct went to the home and arrested the suspect, an 18-year-old man. That arrest occurred on Wednesday, September 17th and the following day, a known accomplice to
Co-op City’s young history makers (Continued on page 15) to receive Proclamation (Continued on page 2)
Today, Saturday, September 27, at 1 p.m. in front of Building 18, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto will present a Proclamation to the young authors of the Building 18 Scholarship Incentive Award Program (SIAP), who made history when their book, President Obama’s To Do List, was chosen for permanent display in the Smithsonian Museum. Shareholder Ruth Edwards initiated SIAP several years ago to expose the young people of Building 18 to cultural and educational opportunities that they may not have been able to experience on their own. A reception will follow the presentation in the Building 18 association room. Please attend and share in this proud occasion with Co-op City’s young history makers!
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Co-op City College, Career & Resource Fair to be held next Saturday in Dreiser Auditorium Next Saturday, October 4, the annual Co-op City College, Career & Resource Fair organized by Director Evelyn Turner and co-sponsored by the Riverbay Fund, will be held in the Dreiser Auditorium, starting at 9:30 a.m. Youth in Grades 3 through high school are encouraged to attend and take advantage of the resources and wealth of information that will be available at the fair. “One of the goals of this event is to encourage children to dream, set goals and high expectations for themselves,” stated Director Turner. The first session of the College, Career & Resource Fair will commence at 10 a.m. for students in Grades 3, 4, 5 and 6. This session will run until 12 p.m. and all attending youth must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Special guest, Suzette Clarke, author of I’m Your Teacher Not Your Mother, will share with parents the “real” reasons children fail in school. Ms. Clarke will provide simple solutions for parents to help get and keep their children on track, Director Turner said. The second session will be from 126 p.m. for students in Grades 7-12. BY ROZAAN BOONE
During this time, college and career representatives will be in attendance for the students to interact with. According to Director Turner, a number of colleges have already confirmed their attendance at the Oct. 4th college and career fair. “Presently, over twenty colleges and universities have confirmed,” Director Turner said. “Professionals will also be on site to talk about career opportunities.” Director Turner said that among those colleges and universities that have already confirmed their attendance on Oct. 4th are Temple University, Columbia University School of Nursing, Medgar Evers College, College of New Rochelle, Howard University, College of Westchester, York College, Mercy College, Shaw University, Bronx Community College, Kingsborough Community College, Claflin University, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Wesley College, Maritime College, Harvard College, North Carolina A&T State University, Bethune-Cookman University, Fisk University, Queens College, Queensboro Community (Continued on page 9)
Power Plant’s heat changeover begins today
The annual half-month period during which the Co-op City Power Plant transitions from cooling to heating begins today as the main chillers and cooling tower begin shut down for the winter and the plant transitions to heating service. Shareholders will no longer receive fully-cooled air from their home convectors as of today as the plant begins preparation for the start-up of the Dual Temperature Heat Exchangers which will provide heat to all convectors by Tuesday, October 14th. As is the case each spring and fall during the biannual changeover periods, Power Plant crews will perform a wide variety of maintenance functions to the essential equipment that is taken BY BILL STUTTIG
off-line only during these few weeks of transition from one basic plant function to another. Co-op City’s long-time Power Plant Director Brian Reardon explained this week that these transition periods are critical times for the plant engineers and crews because they offer the only limited windows of opportunity for required maintenance on critical plant components. In addition to the routine bi-annual maintenance functions, Reardon said that two-high-priority projects will proceed over the next three weeks. The first will be the completion of tie-ins to the plant’s new permanent water treatment facilities. The plant’s (Continued on page 20)
Extending a Helping hand … Board Director Evelyn Turner, organizer of the Co-op City College Career and Resource Fair set for next Saturday, accepts a $2,500 donation from New York Community Bank to help cover some of the costs of the extensive day-long fair which will apprise Co-op City youth and their parents of the myriad number of career and educational opportunities that are out there and within reach of all our youth. Presenting the donation on behalf of New York Community Bank were First Vice President of Premier Banking Vincent J. Balzano (l) and Vice President Ramyl Angco. Turner said: “I want to thank the bank for their support of our children. This will help us make next Saturday’s event the best and most comprehensive fair yet.” The fair will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Dreiser Auditorium. The morning session will feature information and presentations for grade school children and their parents and the afternoon session, from noon to 6 p.m., will be geared for junior high and high school students and feature information on career and college opportunities that are available to them as they plan for a successful life going forward. The fair is co-sponsored by the Riverbay Fund. P hoto by Bill Stuttig