Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2017 Co-op City Times
Vol. 52 No. 3
Saturday, January 21, 2017
25¢
Co-op City Tickets Sold Out To Women’s March On Washington Bus Caravan Heads to D.C. BY LAURETTA JAYSURA
On Wednesday, January 17, a PreMarch Rally was held in the Dreiser Community Center to send-off five sold-out charter buses to the nation’s capital in Washington, DC to be a
part of the Women’s March on Washington today, Saturday, January 21, 2017 where tens of thousands are expected, and Co-op City will be proudly represented. This March on Washington is a
Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. (at podium) thanked outgoing US President Barack H. Obama for his service and for embracing all Americans during his tenure. Among the other officials present at Wednesday’s pre-march rally were Congressman Eliot Engel, State Senator Jamaal Bailey, Female District Leader Shirley Saunders; Male District leader George Clarke; Councilman Andy King; and President of the Co-op City branch NAACP Jerome Rice. Photo by Lauretta Jaysura
Two new Co-op City ESU officers begin serving the community tomorrow BY BILL STUTTIG
The Co-op City Public Safety Department’s (CCPD) Emergency Services Unit, which provides around-the-clock emergency medical care for the entire community, will add two new Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) to their ranks this weekend, Lieutenant Chris Bulat, commander of the specially-trained unit announced this week. Officers Ryan Wilkins and Victor Reyes successfully completed the 110-hour training course administered by New York State earlier this week, with Officer Wilkins receiving honors as the Top Student in his Code One Training Academy, the first time a Co-op City Public Safety officer achieved such a distinction. The two new EMTs will begin their service to the community this weekend as part of a 24-hour emergency medical service provided to the community above and beyond the coverage provided by FDNY’s Public Safety’s two new ESU officers, Ryan Emergency Medical Services Wilkins (l.) and Victor Reyes. Photo by Bill Stuttig Bureau. In the case of Co-op City, with the ESU unit based in the community at all times, the department’s EMTs most times arrive on the scene of a medical emergency in the community minutes before the FDNY EMS arrives, which can often mean the difference between life and death. (Continued on page 2) On two occasions over the last few years, quick
loud and vocal protest of the new administration and any governmental changes that will “take us back” hundreds of years eradicating many of the “human rights” gains made thus far. The pre-rally provided community residents and friends an opportunity to show their support and be a part of an historic moment in America as the 45th President of the United States, Donald Trump, takes office. The pre-rally drew a crowd of several hundred solid supporters from within and around Co-op City who had gathered in the community center to help in making signs, posters and in any other way necessary. Young Girl Scouts and youth choir members were busy at tables that had been set up Riverbay Board President Linda Berk with all the tools needed for the addressed the overspill audience gathered event. Lite refreshments were also in the Dreiser Auditorium Photo by Leandra Peters provided. Jerome Rice, president, Co-op City march til hell freezes over and then Chapter, NAACP, said, “We will we will march on the ice!” Through(Continued on page 4)
Riverbay Board passes resolution to promote in-home water conservation and dishwasher use BY BILL STUTTIG
Alarmed by recent findings that indicate that the average Co-op City resident uses an average of 1,000 gallons of water per week in their household, the Riverbay Board last week narrowly passed a resolution instructing management to promote semi-annual water conservation education campaigns each spring and fall and to encourage the increased installation and use of dishwashers in Co-op City homes. The resolution’s sponsor, Riverbay Board Assistant Secretary Rod Saunders, said that increasing the presence and use of dishwashers in the community has two major benefits. Washing dishes by hand, as opposed to in a dishwasher, uses approximately 5,000 gallons of water more per year, per apartment on average or 76 million gallons community-wide per year. “When most families wash the dishes in the sink by hand each night, they tend to keep the faucet running throughout the process usually at a force that is strong enough to adequately rinse the dishes,” Director Saunders explained. Compounding the problem is that in these times of high-tech devices, he added, people are very often multi-tasking as they are doing routine household chores which, in the case of washing dishes, only adds to the nightly waste. Mr. Saunders also pointed out that dishwashers have the capability to wash dishes at a much higher water temperature than human hands can tolerate, thereby killing germs and decreasing the spread of such illnesses as the common cold, the flu and possibly more serious diseases. He added that people who wash dishes by hand tend to do so every night at least, if not after every meal, while people who use dishwashers generally wash only after the machines gets filled and that means washing only 2 to 3 times per week rather that 7 to 10 times per week. (Continued on page 2)