Vol. 55 No. 3
Saturday, January 18, 2020
President touts accomplishments & continued shareholder engagement community Linda Berk
President’s Message
$1.25
500 Baychester: No more turbines, signs likely to go too, Riverbay counsel says Three weeks after a wind turbine — that never should have been there in the first place — collapsed onto Bartow Avenue and flung its blades to points north and south, a lawyer for the owner of 500 Baychester Ave. told Riverbay General Counsel Jeff Buss there are no plans to replace the turbine or pursue anything like it on the property. Further, the city is looking to revoke all the permits for monopole structures on the property, which means the LED signs once believed to be permanent fixtures on the lot may also be dismantled. This, according to Mr. Buss, who reported to Co-op City shareholders at the Riverbay Board of Directors’ open meeting Jan. 15. “The city … recently issued a letter indicating they were opening a proceeding to revoke all permits, there are 10 different permits that were granted to that property owner,” Mr. Buss said, “including permits for the signs that are up there.” The 60-foot, tri-sided LED billboard at 500 Baychester was partially destroyed by the collapsing wind turbine Dec. 30, 2019. One of the sign’s three panels crashed to the ground in the 500 Baychester parking lot that day, another was removed by the owner pursuant to a stop-work order the city’s Buildings department issued to ensure the property was safe following the BY JASON CHIREVAS
President
(Following is the president’s address delivered at the January 15, 2020 open meeting of the Riverbay Board of Directors in room 31, Bartow Center.) Good evening, fellow Board directors, Management, staff and, most importantly, shareholders! Tonight, I welcome you all to this important meeting and applaud those shareholders who were able to be here this evening. To all, I wish you a wonderful 2020! Tonight, shareholders were given two documents for your information. One is a survey being conducted by the Riverbay Fund that should take only a few minutes to complete and return to Riverbay representatives. We ask that you review the brief survey and answer to the best of your knowledge. The Riverbay Fund president, Director Claudia Sampson, has set a path this year to review the Riverbay Fund’s activities to determine if we are meeting the needs and desires of the shareholders. While we may not meet every need and every wish, we agree that it is best to know what shareholders are thinking as we make our decisions. For that matter, we will keep notes of the issues raised by those who speak tonight in the gallery session for follow-up and appropriate action. The other document you have received is a list of projects we have completed, begun or are planning to do in the near future. As shareholders, it is important that you are kept abreast of what the Board and Management have been working to accomplish. When I joined the Riverbay Board of Directors in 2014, the (Continued on page 2)
Legislative Committee hosts NYPD Transit Police
(Continued on page 13)
MTA drops plans for limited service on BxM7 Assemblyman Michael Benedetto reported to the Co-op City Times on Thursday, Jan. 16, that he was contacted by the MTA and informed that they have dropped all planned changes for the BxM7 Express bus that was going to result in limited service on the route. Assemblyman Benedetto said: “Today, the MTA came down to their decision that they’re not going to change anything with the express buses. Once the MTA made that decision, they decided to give me a call knowing of my concerns from my discussions with them in the past and alerted me to it. I was happy to report the happy news.” In November 2019, release of the MTA’s final proposed bus redesign plan for the Bronx showed a reduction in service for the BxM7. The express bus from Co-op City to Manhattan would have ended as early as 3 p.m. on weekdays and included limited weekend rides. Additionally, Assemblyman Benedetto said that the Q50 bus will go all the way to LaGuardia Airport, as part of the Queen Bus Redesign plan – “A change that could be beneficial to the Co-op City community,” he pointed out. According to the Queen’s redesign plan, the new proposed route QT50 (Queens Temporary, not to be confused with the current Q routes), will depart from Pelham Bay (6 Train line) and end at LaGuardia Airport. The MTA plans on reducing redundant bus lines throughout the Queens borough. BY TORIEA McCAUSELAND
Riverbay administrative offices will be closed Monday, January 20, in observance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Please have a safe and enjoyable holiday. (See Co-op City Times deadline notice on page 8.)
The Riverbay Board’s Legislative Committee, chaired by Second Vice President Rod Saunders, and the office of Assemblyman Mike Benedetto, co-sponsored an open meeting last Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 in room 31 of the Bartow Center. Commanding officers of NYPD Transit joined the meeting to hear concerns about their interactions with Co-op City commuters regarding fare evasion. Mr. Saunders said, “This is a working community as well as an aging community; we’re not looking to be fare beaters, we just want to make (Continued on page 4) BY TORIEA McCAUSELAND
Board approves fire, public bathroom, Local Law 11 improvements in open session There are two aspects of the open sessions the Riverbay Board of Directors sometimes conducts that should be of interest to shareholders. One is the gallery session, for which shareholders can sign-up before the meeting to address the Board on, essentially, whatever topic he or she feels needs addressing. The other thing shareholders are invited to see in an open session is the Board members in action, discussing, debating and accepting — or rejecting — resolutions before them. In essence, doing what a board does. People seem much more interested in the gallery sessions. (Continued on page 3) With only one or two of the few hundred gathered
BY JASON CHIREVAS