Vol. 59 No. 2
Saturday, January 13, 2024
$1.25
Written Comments on Proposed 2.1% Carrying Charge Increase Due January 29th HCR Schedules Virtual Conference to Hear from Shareholders BY ROZAAN BOONE
The deadline to submit written comments to the NYS Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) on the upcoming proposed 2.1% carrying charge increase is Monday, January 29, 2024. The carrying charge increase becomes effective on April 1, 2024, pending HCR’s approval. DHCR, the NYS supervisory agency for Mitchell-Lama developments such as Co-op City, is accepting written comments from Co-op City shareholders. Written comments must be postmarked or emailed on or before Monday, January 29, 2024 and addressed to: George Simon (george.simon@hcr.ny.gov) New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal 2I¿FH RI ,QWHJUDWHG +RXVLQJ 0DQDJHPHQW %Xreau, OHP 641 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor New York, NY 10022
,Q DGGLWLRQ +&5 KDV VFKHGXOHG D YLUWXDO FDUU\LQJ charge conference to hear directly from shareholders. The conference will be held on the evening of Tuesday, January 30, at 7 p.m. on Webex and shareholders can join the meeting using their laptops or mobile devices. (See log-in details at the end of this article.) DHCR has been reviewing Riverbay’s application for a 2.1% carrying charge increase due to a shortfall in operations expenses caused by rising insurance costs, asbestos abatement expenses, increased funding of replacement reserves and general price increases for supplies, materials and services. The Riverbay Board of Directors approved ResROXWLRQ 5LYHUED\¶V SURSRVHG EXGJHW IRU ¿Vcal 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 based on maintaining the current level of services to shareholders, at its March 29, 2023 meeting. The approved budget includes funding for the Five-Year Capital Plan to provide essential infrastructure repairs to Co-op
Bronx Metro-North Virtual Session Sheds Some Details on Co-op City Station
Representatives from the Department of City Planning, MTA, NY City Council and Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson hosted the virtual session on the Bronx Metro-North Penn Station Access Plan via Zoom and live streamed on Youtube. Wednesday’s event primarily focused on the Morris Park/Van Nest and Parkchester stations, but several details shared pertained to all four stops, including Co-op City. Chair of the City Planning Commission Daniel Garodnick kicked off the opening remarks for the session and highlighted how the Bronx Metro-North Penn Station Access Plan represents a “once in a lifetime opportunity” for New York City and especially Bronx residents. “We need to take advantage of this moment and create a brighter future in the east Bronx. To that end, the Bronx Metro-North plan delivers new housing and economic development that connects local residents with thousands of new jobs, improved open space, community services, enhanced transit access and much much more,” Garodnick said during his remarks. Bronx Borough President Gibson followed Garodnick discussing her excitement about the $ UHQGHULQJ VKDUHG E\ WKH 07$ GXULQJ :HGQHVGD\¶V project and emphasizing the importance of parvirtual session showing the potential layout of the ticipating in events such as Wednesday night’s BY BRANDON ORTIZ
Shareholders tuned in to the Wednesday, Jan. 10th Bronx Metro-North virtual session learned some details regarding the future Co-op City station currently in development.
Co-op City station.
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Riverbay Holiday closing and CCTimes deadline notice 7KH 5LYHUED\ DGPLQLVWUDWLYH RI¿FHV ZLOO EH FORVHG RQ 0RQGD\ -DQXDU\ LQ REVHUYDQFH RI 'U Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Because of the holiday-shortened work week, all material, including directors’ viewpoints, submitted for publication in the upcoming Saturday, January 20th issue of the Co-op City Times, must be submitted before 9 a.m. on Tuesday, January 16. Material received after 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 16, will be accommodated as space allows in the Saturday, Jan. 20th issue of the Co-op City Times. Submissions should be emailed to cctimes@riverbaycorp.com. We wish our readers a memorable and safe Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
City and a 30% increase in transient and parking passes for Co-op City’s eight garages which was approved and implemented on April 1, 2023. To maintain a balanced budget through March 31, 2025, Resolution 23-19 proposed a 2.1% carrying charge increase effective April 1, 2024, pending (Continued on page 2)
Maximizing Resources to Ensure Affordability of Our Homes 3UHVLGHQW¶V 5HSRUW
Sonia Feliciano Dear fellow shareholders, Happy New Year! On April 1st, 2024, a 2.1% carrying charge increase will take effect. This increase which we WDONHG DERXW ZLOO ¿OO D shortfall of $4.3 million that covers rising rates on insurance, replacement reserve (money set aside for future projects), and the replacement of supplies and services. Of the $124 million in reserves, we have $88M left to cover capital projects. Local Law 11 was our biggest which we just completed. Unfortunately, the $124M was not going to cover everything we needed. We have a 20-year program with the next 10 years looking at what has to be prioritized to secure our infrastructure and maintain our quality of life. When budgets have constraints as we had in 2023 and unforeseen challenges happen, we (Continued on page 4)
Dog Ownership – Being A Good Neighbor Although Co-op City has a “no-pets” policy, under local, state and federal laws, the Riverbay Corporation must allow some residents to have pets under certain circumstances, including dogs. For more information on Riverbay’s Reasonable Accommodations Service Animal Policy and Application, please visit the Resources page on the Co-op City website, coopcity.com, scroll down to “Legal” and click on “Reasonable Accommodations Service Animal Application.” The relationship between dogs and humans has been a special one throughout history. When given the proper care, encouragement and leadership and training, dogs can be noble creatures capable of doing so much good, from providing love and (Continued on page 9)
