Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community.
New HCR deputy commissioner, regional director of HUD may visit Co-op City
© Copyright 2016 Co-op City Times
Vol. 51 No. 4
Saturday, January 23, 2016
Co-op City prepared for first major winter storm of the season BY BILL STUTTIG
By the time you read this newspaper, you will already know if dire predictions of a major winter storm hitting the New York City area were true. But whatever the case, all Co-op City operational departments were taking no chances throughout the day yesterday. Under the leadership of Interim General Manager Noel Ellison, each department laid out a specific plan for handling the worst case scenario, which, according to forecasters, includ-
ed up to a foot of snow and sustained winds of up to 40 mph with gusts reaching as high as 60 mph at times. “Safety is our first concern,” said Ellison as he met with the heads of each of the community’s operational departments early yesterday morning to iron out a plan of coordination for the entire community. “Our first priority is the safety of the residents and also the safety of the workers dealing (Continued on page 2)
Trucks and bobcats were outfitted with snowplows and snowmelt spreaders yesterday outside the Buildings and Grounds Department. Photo by Bill Stuttig
Drunk driver arrested after damaging five cars in Section 5
BY BILL STUTTIG
Public Safety officers responding to a report of an auto accident involving several parked cars, eventually ended up taking the driver of the vehicle which hit the parked cars into custody on suspicion of drunk driving. The accident occurred in front of Building 26 on Elgar Place during the overnight hours early Sunday morning, January 17th. According to a Public Safety report on the incident, the alleged drunk driver, a resident of Building 33, drove his vehicle into a parked Honda Odyssey on Elgar Place and the force of the impact then pushed the Odyssey into a third vehicle which then hit and caused damage to a fourth and fifth parked vehicle. Two of the cars ended up on the sidewalk. The initial collision was forceful enough to cause the airbag to be deployed in the vehicle which caused the chain reaction accident. Luckily, no one was in any of the other affected vehicles at the time of the impact. According to the Public Safety report, responding Public Safety officers, upon questioning the driver of
the vehicle, noticed that he was speaking with slurred speech and showed other physical signs of a significant level of intoxication. According to the report, the driver admitted to having a couple of beers after attending a funeral earlier that evening. He was not injured largely due to the fact that his vehicle’s airbag successfully deployed. The driver was then taken to the 45th Precinct stationhouse where he underwent follow-up testing for intoxication by officers from the NYPD’s Highway Division. Chief Frank Apollo, Commander of the Department of Public Safety, called the arrest an outstanding example of Public Safety officers following correct procedure right from the initial response to reports of the accident through the follow-up investigation which determined that the driver was intoxicated well beyond the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle. “By making this apprehension, these officers removed an individual from the street that could have potentially taken someone’s life with their vehicle,” Chief Apollo said.
25¢
BY JIM ROBERTS
Riverbay’s three primary lenders— HCR, HUD and Wells Fargo—have released a written agenda of an informal meeting they held in early January discussing Riverbay’s proposed change in management structure. According to the document, HUD, HCR and Wells Fargo want a third-party manager now, to be recommended by the Riverbay Board from the existing list of candidates, but are not adverse to a path leading to some form of selfmanagement. The document states that the third-party management company could be used by Riverbay to help develop a plan, with measurable benchmarks, leading to an alternative form of management. That pathway would involve Riverbay
working with the outside management firm to complete outstanding critical repairs, to file required financial statements and to avoid non-compliance issues for two years. HCR and HUD would require a well-documented management plan and approval by all the lending participants before agreeing to a self-management structure that would include participation of an outside management firm or some form of independent oversight acceptable to the loan guarantors. In addition to the points set forth in the document, (see page 4), Holly Leicht, the new Region 2 Administrator for HUD, and Mark Colon, the new HCR President/Deputy Commissioner, (Continued on page 4)
Co-op City resident arrested after breaking into mailboxes in Building 17 BY BILL STUTTIG
Responding to reports of a series of lobby mailbox break-ins in Building15A and Building 17, Public Safety assigned extra officers to patrol those locations more vigilantly and the move paid off late Monday evening as officers observed a man breaking into a mailbox in the lobby of Building 17 and arrested him. According to a Public Safety report on the incident, during a sweep through Building 17, after 11 p.m. Monday, the officers observed a man breaking into a mailbox. Officers contacted the resident
who the mailbox belonged to and confirmed that no one was authorized to go into the resident’s mail box. At that point, the officers placed the suspect under arrest. The man is believed to be responsible for numerous similar mail-box breakins. He is also believed to be responsible for the theft of some Christmas decorations taken from the annual display in the lobby of Building 15A. Captain James Keappock said that it (Continued on page 2)
Winter Storm Jonas A Blizzard Watch is in effect for Saturday, January 23rd, through Sunday, Jan. 24th. Expect heavy snow with strong and potentially damaging winds. Total snow accumulation is expected to be between 8 12”. Those with terraces and patios should remove or tie down any loose items. It is strongly advised that shareholders, especially seniors, not leave their homes as the sidewalks and streets will become hazardous. Please check in on your senior and/or disabled neighbors. Transient parking has been suspended at all garages with the exception of Garage #5. In emergency, call: Public Safety, 718-671-3050. For Maintenance, 718-320-3300, and choose option 3. Given the severity of the storm, response times may be delayed. Priority will be given to true emergencies. Please be safe.