Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2012 Co-op City Times
Vol. 47 No. 44
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Forethought and good fortune saved Co-op City from Sandy’s devastation BY BILL STUTTIG As Co-op City residents woke up on Tuesday morning following a night of Sandy’s hurricane force gusts, they looked out onto a community that, except for some broken branches and some downed trees, was virtually unscathed by the havoc they heard howling outside their home the night before. That message was further made as they turned on their televisions and computers that next morning and began to see the devastation that struck communities through the northeast, particularly the Tri-State area and New York City. Yes, in the hours and days that followed, Co-op City residents were forced to deal with the inconveniences and hardships caused by the storm such as lost work, missed school, an extremely compromised transportation system, long gas lines or no gas at all, sporadic communication systems, and much more. But the community and their home were safe, secure and relatively undamaged. “First and foremost, let me say thank you to the cooperators who all heeded our warnings and the warnings from government officials in the days prior,” said Co-op City General Manager Vernon Cooper, “and took this storm seriously, made sure all loose items were removed from their terraces and patios, protected their homes and loved ones, and made sure their neighbors were safe as well. “Our extreme gratitude also goes out to the many departments and staff members
who came in during the storm and performed, in many cases, heroically during the height of the storm. We had cases of Public Safety officers, Buildings and Grounds, Maintenance, and Construction staff, staff from our vendors and many others going out in the teeth of the storm Monday evening to do things, such as containing damage of collapsed scaffolding or removing trees that were blocking roads and emergency access to large sections of our community. Staff from our elevator contractor, Ver-Tec, ventured up onto a few rooftops in 70 mph gusts to protect some of our elevator motor rooms that had become exposed to the elements due to the high winds. These actions prevented some of our elevator shafts from being flooded and those buildings losing elevator service for days and weeks. “The fact that we are a community of 50,000 people and yet we had no major injuries or major damage illustrates that everybody here was well-prepared and working together – residents and staff alike. “However, we were also very fortunate as well, because many people throughout the Tri-State area, who prepared just as hard as we did, were not so fortunate as the sea rose up and came into their community and homes, creating the devastation that we’ve all seen in the past few days on the news. Our thoughts and (Continued on page 4)
25¢
White House and all local legislative seats on the ballot Tuesday Riverbay to provide van service between buildings and polling sites BY BILL STUTTIG In what many consider to be one of the most important elections in the nation’s history, voters will go to the polls in Co-op City Tuesday to help decide not only who will be the president for the next four years, but who will represent Co-op City in all federal, state and New York City legislative bodies. Riverbay will be helping Co-op City residents get to the polls throughout the daylight hours on Election Day, Tuesday, November 6th. Three vans provided by Riverbay will be running continuously throughout the community, transporting people between their buildings and the community’s various polling places. According to Riverbay Ombudsman Joe Boiko, three vans will be used, with one van covering Sections 1 and 2, one van covering Sections 3 and 4, and one van covering the larger Section 5. The vans will operate between the hours of 9 a.m.
and noon and 1 to 3 p.m. passing by every building approximately every half hour. The vans will be marked “voter transportation” and have a Riverbay logo as well. The vans will take residents to and from polling places for each respective section. Cooperators may flag down the vans as they slowly pass each building. Cooperators will need to know their polling sites as drivers will not know that information. The last van returning from polling sites will be 3 pm. When Co-op City residents go to the polls, they will be going largely to decide who the nation’s President will be for the next four years. Co-op City residents had a record turnout in 2008, when President Barack Obama was first elected to the White House and the same is expected this year. Incumbent President Obama and Vice (Continued on page 2)
Energy efficient lighting in compactor rooms estimated to save $29,000 annually BY ROZAAN BOONE The energy efficient lighting fixtures being installed in the compactor rooms in Co-op City are estimated to save shareholders approximately $29,000 per year. Riverbay Management reported to the Board last week that the fixtures with sensors have been purchased and Riverbay electrical staff is installing them in the compactor rooms. To date, out of the community’s 2,170 compactor rooms, 952 have been addressed, with 1,218 remaining. “The lights go on when a person enters the room…,” the memo to the Board noted. “Savings are projected at $29,000 a year.” The suggestion to install the energy efficient lighting fixtures in the compactor rooms that are also motion sensitive came
from a Riverbay shareholder who relayed the idea to Board Director Khalil AbdulWahhab, who, in turn, passed the information on to Management for consideration. Management looked into whether the upgrade could qualify for energy efficient grants, but their search did not prove successful. “As reported in March, we were unable to obtain grant money but, we decided to proceed anyway to install fixtures with sensors since pay back will be less than one year,” Management reported to the Board. “This is an excellent example of what can happen with input from cooperators,” said Director Abdul-Wahhab. “A cooperator (Continued on page 8)
Daylight Savings Time Ends The gas station at the northeast corner of Bartow Avenue and Baychester Avenue was not pumping gas any longer as of Thursday morning and the two gas stations on the other side of I-95 and the one just north of Co-op City on Tillotson Avenue were without fuel as well leaving Co-op City residents no choice but to drive miles to wait in long lines elsewhere to fill their tanks. Photo by Bill Stuttig
As we move our clocks back one hour this weekend, it’s a good time to replace your smoke detector batteries. You may also want to check the batteries in your flashlights. —Riverbay Safety Department