Co-op City Times 01/27/24

Vol. 59 No. 4

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Co-op City Welcomes New York City Mayor for “Talk with Eric” Townhall

BY LAURETTA JAYSURA

The Dreiser Community Center in Co-op City was buttoned down on Monday, January 22, to welcome the 110th New York City Mayor, Eric Adams, to Co-op City, Bronx. Extra security was evidenced everywhere as neighbors and Bronxites clamored for seats to join and hear the Mayor.

Styled after town hall meetings, “Talk with Eric” series is designed to offer communities, neighbors and friends an opportunity to hear directly from one another and to (Continued on page 5)

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HCR Virtual Conference to be Held Tuesday on Proposed 2.1% Carrying Charge Increase Deadline to Submit Written Comments is Monday, Jan. 29

BY ROZAAN BOONE

Mayor Eric Adams addresses cooperators at the Co-op City “Talk with Eric” held in the Dreiser Auditorium on January 22.

Recap of January 24th Report to the Riverbay Board Management Report

Marvin L. Walton

Riverbay Executive General Manager On behalf of Douglas Elliman Property Management, I am pleased to present the Management Report for Riverbay Corporation for the period ending December 31, 2023.

This Management Report provides updates on the fire that occurred in Garage #1, LL11 Project, elevator outages and convector initiatives that have been in motion for the last several months.

Fire In Garage #1 At approximately 5:22 p.m. on 01/14/2024, CCPD contacted the Parking & Leasing Dispatcher to report a fire in Garage #1. Soon after the call, and just before staff arrived at the scene, the fire was extinguished. The incident occurred on the 2nd floor of the garage (D side). The fire started in one vehicle and spread to neighboring vehicles. In all, ten vehicles were affected, three of which sustained damages.

FDNY concluded there was no foul play.

The Parking and Leasing department contacted the owners of the affected vehicles.

(Continued on page 4)

Co-op City shareholders, their representatives and Riverbay Corporation will have the opportunity to meet with representatives from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) on Tuesday, January 30, to discuss Riverbay’s application for a proposed 2.1% carrying charge increase.

The Division has also been accepting written comments from shareholders since publication of the HCR Notice about the increase application in the Saturday, December 16, 2023 Co-op City Times. The deadline to postmark or email written comments to HCR is this Monday, January 29, 2024. Written comments should be sent to: George Simon (email address: george.simon@hcr.ny.gov) New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal Office of Integrated Housing Management Bureau, OHP 641 Lexington Avenue, 4th Floor New York, NY 10022 HCR invites shareholders to comment on the “allegations and figures” contained in the application. The directive states that cooperator representatives may assist them in preparing comments and that the HCR Commissioner may “fix carrying charges, appliances and parking (Continued on page 2)

Board Conducts January 24th Business meeting in Open Session in Bartow Center

BY ROZAAN BOONE

Shareholders were able to watch the January 24th Board Business Meeting on the Riverbay Crawler while others opted to attend in person as the Riverbay Board conducted its business meeting in Room 31 of the Bartow Center.

The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:08 p.m. The Roll Call was taken by Board Secretary Bernard Cylich, followed by approval of the agenda which was amended by Board President Sonia Feliciano to include an amended insurance resolution and addition of In-Kind Service/Room Rentals, cannabis dispensary, discussion of the May 2024 Riverbay Board of Directors election and elimination of the planned executive session. The Board approved the amended agenda as well as the Minutes of the December 20, 2023 Board Business meeting.

In her President’s Report, Board President Sonia Feliciano reviewed how financially challenging 2023 was for everyone, including Riverbay Corporation and its shareholders, due to cost increases in goods and services driven by “a volatile supply chain and increased demand for products.”

She informed shareholders that scaffolding associated with Local Law 11 work is being taken down and the affected areas cleaned up, adding that shareholders will be able to once again sit on the benches and walk through their neighborhood without going through a maze.

“The project cost us $77 million – a needed project that ensures the safety of (Continued on page 13)

Persons of Interest in Co-op City Package Thefts

Co-op City Department of Public Safety has identified two males, as well as one individual, all pictured above, as persons of interest in ongoing package thefts throughout the Co-op City community. The 2-man team operates with one male usually holding the elevator door. The second pillages the hallways retrieving packages that have been delivered at apartment doors. If you have any information on any of these suspects, take no immediate action. Notify Co-op City Detectives via the CCPD TIPS Line at (718) 879-6311. If there is no answer, please leave a contact number. Reports can be treated as confidential. Photos courtesy of CCPD

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HCR ––––– (Continued from page 1)

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

charges so as to secure, together with all other income of the company, sufficient income for it to meet, within reasonable limits, all necessary payments…”

The January 30th carrying charge conference will be held virtually and is scheduled from 7-9 p.m. on Webex. To join the video conference from your desktop or mobile device: 1. Go to https://riverbaycorporation-205.my.webex. com/riverbaycorporation-205.my/j.php?MTID=ma7f86b8de3e574ac51fa491a4fe2ea16, or use the shortened url: bit. ly/3vv3QJM. You may also scan the QR Code at right to connect faster.

2. If requested, enter your name and email address 3. If a password is required, enter the meeting password: fJxGCdCa687 (35942322 from phones and video systems) 4. Click “Join” 5. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen Shareholders can also join the conference on their phones by calling 1-650-4793208 (US Toll); Access Code: 2631 015 9320.

Hearing impaired shareholders may join the conference from a video system/ application by dialing 26310159320@webex.com, or 173.243.2.68 and enter the meeting number: 2631 015 9320.

The deadline for hearing impaired shareholders to request interpreter services from Riverbay Corporation was two weeks prior to the Jan. 30th conference date which would have been Jan. 16. If you have not yet done so, please contact Riverbay Finance immediately to make arrangements. Requests can be sent to the Finance department at finance@riverbaycorp.com.

The Riverbay Board of Directors approved Resolution 23-19, Riverbay’s proposed budget for fiscal 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 based on maintaining the current level of services to shareholders at the March 29, 2023 meeting. The approved budget includes funding for the Five-Year Capital Plan to provide essential infrastructure repairs to Co-op 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 HCR review, analysis, discussion and approval.

Riverbay’s application for a 2.1% carrying charge increase cites 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.

A 2.1% increase in carrying charges would add $5.37 to the current maximum

average carrying charge of $255.87 per room, which includes utilities, effective April 1, 2024.

HCR requires notice of their correspondence and budget projections to be served on shareholders and posted conspicuously in residential building lobbies and in the Management Office. These documents were also published in the Saturday, December 16, 2023 issue of the Co-op City Times, the official publication of Riverbay Corporation.

During the more than 30-day comment period, shareholders or their representatives can request to see the corporation’s financial records which are available at the Administration Office, 2049 Bartow Avenue, Bronx, NY 10475.

Following the virtual conference, shareholders’ input will be reviewed by DHCR accountants, attorneys and housing management representatives. Additional analysis may then be made of financial aspects of Riverbay operations and the financial schedules may be revised in light of information obtained from shareholders during the comment period, according to the HCR notice.

HCR staff will then make a carrying charge increase recommendation to the Commissioner. However, the HCR Commissioner will make the final determination on the necessity of an increase and, if so, in what amount. In making the decision, the Commissioner will consider the extent to which the present carrying charges are sufficient to enable the corporation to meet its expenditures, the vacancy rate, size of the waiting list, economic impact the increase would have on shareholders and market demand for apartments in Co-op City.

Once the Commissioner makes a final determination, HCR will issue a Carrying Charge Order which will state the amount of the carrying charge increase, if an increase is indeed approved, and the Commissioner’s basis for the decision. The Commissioner’s Order, which will be printed in the Co-op City Times, will also include any miscellaneous charges deemed necessary. The order will also state the effective date of the increase.

Senior and disabled shareholders who meet the respective criteria but have not yet applied for the NYC Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) and Disabled Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE) programs are encouraged to do so to help with this and future carrying charge increases.

Shareholders are advised that the platform utilized to host the Jan. 30th carrying charge conference (Webex) includes a feature that allows audio, any documents and other material exchanged/viewed during the carrying charge conference to be recorded. These recordings may be subject to discovery in the event of litigation. By joining the conference, shareholders automatically consent to such recording. To discuss concerns, shareholders may contact Mr. George Simon at george.simon@ hcr.ny.gov, or by calling (212) 872-0744 before the start of the recording.

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Co-op City Times COMBING

Find out what’s going on in Co-op City here...

Free Health Screenings on Feb. 10 Saturday, February 10, Amen Ministries and Church of the New Vision will present “A Blueprint for Wellness” at the church, 135 Einstein Loop, from 10 a.m.4 p.m.

Register by scanning the QR Code below or contact amenministriesrev314@gmail.com or ljscott_2000@yahoo.com.

This event is free.

Services offered include Pre-Bio Metric Health Screening, Covid-19 vaccine and flu shots, eye exam and blood pressure testing. Bring family, friends and guests. All are welcome.

Blood Drive in Einstein, Feb. 10 Riverbay Corporation and the NY Blood Center are co-sponsoring a Blood Drive on Saturday, February 10, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. in Room 45 of the Einstein center.

Please remember to eat, drink and bring ID.

Be An Engaged Shareholder

Shareholders are encouraged to submit input on how to improve services and service delivery as well as other ideas that impact the quality of life of Co-op City residents.

If you have a suggestion you’d like to share with the Riverbay Board and/or Management, visit the Home page of the official Coop City website, coopcity.com, scroll down to the bottom and click on the “Comments & Suggestions” link or scan the QR Code here to be connected.

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Front nd Page

In Memoriam – Diana Miyuki (Miki) Kindaichi May 21, 1981 – December 29, 2023 Through these brief paragraphs, we share the death of our daughter, Miki Kindaichi, from an aggressive cancer, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital. Miki had a unique personality – all who knew her, loved her.

Her smile and ability to bring people together were well-known.

She was born May 21, 1981 and died on December 29, 2023. It truly takes a village to rear a child and in Building 4, Section 1, we had a group of wonderful friends who she grew up with. Cookie Travieso, for one, was a dear pre-school caretaker of hers.

Miki was in the Exceptionally Gifted Program (EG) and attended schools in that program. She started high school at Bronx Science but graduated from Blessed Sacrament of New Rochelle in Arista and on the Honor Roll. She also participated in the YAC Program. After spending a year at Oswego University, Miki decided to work full-time. Her final and most loved position was with City Veterinary in upper Manhattan where she worked for 10 years.

Dr. Kaplan, director of the veterinary clinic, eulogized Miki as being devoted to her job, a creator of solutions and negotiator.

Miki has two super supportive sisters, Ayano Miranda and Dr. Mai Kindaichi, each the mom of pre-teen sons. She is also survived by her parents, cooperators Dave and Eva Kindaichi-Lazaar.

Our grief is forever. May she rest in peace and be free of pain.

Lovingly submitted, —Eva Kindaichi-Lazaar

3-K and Pre-K Applications Now Open

By BRANDON ORTIZ

NYC’s youngest students can begin their educational journey as both 3-K and Pre-K applications officially opened earlier this month.

Both 3-K and Pre-K applications for the 2024-2025 school year officially opened on January 10 and will close on March 1. Offers from 3-K programs will be available starting on May 16, and offers from Pre-K programs will be available on May 14.

Parents can apply online using their Myschools.nyc account or by calling 718-935-2009. Parents using their Myschools.nyc account should add their child to their account then click on “Get Started” to begin the application process. The website also allows parents to browse through different 3-K and Pre-K options.

NYC’s 3-K and Pre-K programs can accommodate all children regardless of their disability or accessibility needs, and children do not need to be toilet-trained to attend either a 3-K or Pre-K program, according to NYC Public Schools.

There are four different 3-K program settings parents can choose from when deciding the kind of environment they want their child to learn in: • NYC Early Education Centers – Community based organizations that partner with NYCPS to deliver 3-K programming. These are typically located at private schools or daycares, and sometimes offer early dropoff or late dismissal options for an additional fee.

• District Schools – Certain NYC public schools also offer 3-K programming. This option is for parents who prefer their child to learn in an elementary school setting.

• Pre-K Centers – Overseen by NYCPS, these centers only offer 3-K and Pre-K programming. This option is for parents who prefer their child to learn in an environment with only other young children.

• Family Child Care – Home-based programs overseen

by NYCPS and a Family Child Care Network. In this setting, a licensed and qualified child care provider delivers 3-K programming. This option is for parents who prefer their child to learn in a familiar home setting. Children in these programs are served in mixed-age groups alongside children from birth up to three years old.

Pre-K settings are similar to 3-K settings minus the Family Child Care option. In other words, parents can choose from three settings for Pre-K programs: NYC Early Education Centers, District Schools or Pre-K Centers.

Three different types of seats exist for Pre-K and 3-K

Walter Weir – Gone but Not Forgotten Mr. Walter J. Weir, a native of NYC and our friend and neighbor of Building 21B, passed away on Oct. 15, 2023.

Walter was an extraordinarily talented man, a graduate of CCNY with a Masters of Arts, also of the New School for Social Research of N.Y. He had received many prestigious awards including a silver medal from The Royal Society of Arts, London, England. Mr. Weir was also a devoted member of JASA of Co-op City.

R.I.P, Walter, and Happy Birthday, Feb. 11, 2024.

—Daisy Young

programs in the city: School Day, Extended Day and Year and Head Start, as explained by NYCPS. School Day seats provide children with early care and education for six hours and 20 minutes usually from September to June. All 3-K and Pre-K programs offer School Day seats.

Extended Day and Year seats offer children 10 hours of early care and education year-round, including the summer. These seats are free or low-cost for parents who fall under certain income requirements. NYC Early Education Centers offer Extended Day and Year seats for both 3-K and Pre-K programs. Family Child Care settings also offer this type of seat for 3-K programs.

Head Start seats also offer children 10 hours of early care and education year-round. Head Start seats are based on a family’s income and needs. NYC Early Education Centers offer Head Start seats for both 3-K and Pre-K programming.

As for how children are chosen for a 3-K or Pre-K program, there are several determining factors. Parents can choose up to 12 programs to apply for both 3-K or Pre-K, then they rank the programs they want their child to attend.

After parental preferences, program space determines the available seats.

The last step in determining placement involves admission priorities. Admission priorities are given to certain applicant groups before others. Here are some general examples of admission priority given to an applicant applying to a certain program: (Continued on page 6)

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Management Report –––––– (Continued from page 1) The NYC Fire department entered through the rear of the garage in Central Stores’ gated area. All gates had been secured. The area with the fire and the damaged vehicles was blocked off with caution tape. Multiple light fixtures were also damaged on the 2nd floor. The Power Plant Team was notified and arrangements were made to install temporary lighting. There was a significant amount of water on the entrance ramp and 2nd floor (D side) which began to freeze due to the low temperatures. Parking & Leasing staff salted the impacted areas of the garage. A Phone Tree was established and shareholders were notified of the incident.

The following morning on 01/18/2024, the Risk Management, Construction and Safety departments visited Garage #1 to assess the damage and determine if any further action was required. The garage remained open as usual despite the incident.

There were three light fixtures affected by the fire. An electrician from Parking and Leasing installed one (1) new light fixture, ordered a replacement for one, and repaired another. Temporary lighting will remain in place until the final fixture is delivered and installed.

The Risk Management department visited the garage the day after the fire. It was concluded that three (3) cars were totaled and seven (7) others had some damages.

They met with the FDNY at the firehouse to determine if the fire marshal would be investigating. The fire marshal stated they would not investigate because they did not suspect any foul play. Risk Management is waiting to hear back from our claims adjuster. The entire area of the garage will be power washed once we get the green light from our insurance company.

The Riverbay Construction Team inspected the garage on Thursday, 1/18/2024, along with the Safety and Parking and Leasing departments. The Construction department immediately requested a structural engineer to be dispatched by O&S Associates to provide an independent engineer’s report of the findings. The engineer was dispatched the same day. The engineer’s report of the findings is available in the Management Office.

The Engineer’s conclusion is as follows: “In summary, O&S found the fire affected area to be structurally stable. O&S will monitor the area for any signs of structural distress. O&S will provide repair drawings after discussing with the owner, Riverbay Corporation for the necessary repairs.’

The Construction department will coordinate another site visit with the engineer once the clean-up is fully completed to develop a plan for the other repairs needed in Garage #1.

LL11 Updates As of Friday, January 19, 2024, Management has completed all scaffolding repairs on Buildings 1 through 8 and 15 through 19. The sidewalk shed and fencing

are being removed at Buildings 4 & 18. Removal will be completed by the end of next week, weather permitting. The contractor has applied for sidewalk shed and fence removal with DOB at Buildings 17 & 19, and is pending their approval to begin dismantling the shed. Management expects the sign-off to be received by early next week, after which removal will begin. Dismantling of the sidewalk sheds can take up to two (2) weeks depending on weather conditions.

Management expects to be completely demobilized from the remaining buildings by the second week of February and ready to file “SAFE” by the February 21, 2024 deadline for Cycle 9c filing. Please note the following:  27 of the 35 high rise buildings have been accepted with a “SAFE” Status Report for Cycle 9.  Building #2 and #5 have been filed “SAFE” and are pending DOB approval.  Building #4 and Buildings #15 - #19 are the next set of buildings to be filed “SAFE.” Update – Elevator Outages As of January 24, 2024, below are the updates regarding elevator outages.

Champion Elevator has addressed two out of the three elevators out of service due to flooding from a pipe break. Water got into the machine room and shaftway walls.

Work completed:  Completed – Building 19 – water penetrating the machine room and shaftway walls  Completed – Building 26A – flooding caused by a shareholder Work in Progress: Building 27C – Water got into the machine room and shaftway walls. Work will finish 1/26/24.

Garage #5, Front Elevator – The elevator is out of service due to major water damage from the past storm. Due to the amount of lead time required to receive one of the components needed for this repair, Champion has informed Management they would shut down the rear elevator and remove the needed part for the front elevator until the part comes in. As a result, since the majority of usage is from the front elevator, there will be less inconvenience to shareholders while the part is ordered. With this change, we are estimating the front elevator to be operational by 1/26/24 Garage 8 Front Elevator – The elevator is out of service due to major water damage from the past storm. A proposal has been received and we estimate the front elevator to be back in service by 2/2/24.

(See charts on page 10)

DR. LEWIS WOLSTEIN Podiatrist – Foot Specialist • Practicing in Co-op City since 1975 • Board Certified in Foot Surgery • ALL conditions of the foot treated • Evening and Saturday appointments • Most health insurance plans accepted Se Habla Español

Call:

718.671.7226 100 DeKruif Place

Building 8 • Ground Floor Section 1 • Co-op City • Bronx, NY 10475

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

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Town Hall ––––– (Continued from page 1)

bring their individual concerns to the Mayor.

A full complement of the Mayor’s leadership team filled the dais, which included First Deputy Mayor Shana White; Bronx County DA Darcel Clark; Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson; HPD Commissioner Adolfo Carrion; DYCD Commissioner Keith Howard and NYPD Commissioners as well as other commissioners, heads of city agencies and other elected officials. Representatives from Community Boards 10 and 12 were also in attendance.

As a popular music video played in the background, First Deputy Community Affairs Commissioner Valerie Vasquez came forward to introduce the Leadership Team and thank residents of Co-op City for allowing the event to happen in their community. She acknowledged Riverbay Corp. Executive General Manager Marvin Walton for hosting. Next, it was time to meet the Mayor, who entered, exhibiting fine sartorial taste that he’s known for, amidst a rousing chorus of cheers and shouts of support from the Co-op City shareholders and other Bronx residents in attendance at the invitation-only event.

Adams, smiling broadly, said that he was happy to be in Co-op City and eager to highlight some of his success. He made it clear why he recently vetoed two bills put

Photos by Lauretta Jaysura

forth by the City Council, namely, “How Many Stops” and “Solitary Confinement” at Rikers. Both issues he adamantly disagrees with and feels that police should not be doing paperwork but police work. Additionally, the requirements for Police and Correction departments when transporting prisoners should be the same, he said.

“I look forward to working with the City Council to come together,” said Mayor Adams.

Then it was time for questions and answers. Each table had cards to write contact information and a question, which, if not asked at this meeting, a response would be sent via email within fourteen days. By having his staff of commissioners on hand, Mayor Adams could direct the question to the appropriate commissioner and the problems could get quick attention. The suit jacket was now off and a relaxed mayor went around the room engaging constituents at each table – sometimes hot, sometimes not.

“The best part of our task as mayor is bringing my team up here, the full complement coming up here and hearing from you,” he told the audience, who were ready with questions that ran the gamut from homelessness, migrant issues, education, crime, tourism, social media, community center, unfunded mandates and much more.

For instance, as one asked by Rod Saunders, shareholder of forty plus years and a Riverbay Board Director. Director Saunders highlighted the $14-15 million that Co-op City shareholders pay to have their own public safety, pointing out that the 45th and 47th Precincts need to be more involved in patrolling the campus as well, especially in the area of Education Park, to ensure the students get in and out of the community safely. He also talked about the community’s $18M water bill; the fact that we collect our own garbage and bring it to one central location for the Department of Sanitation to pick up so Sanitation does not have to make 65 trips throughout the community to pick up garbage.

“What would be wonderful is that if you could give us a multimillion dollar credit towards CCPD...towards our garbage collection, then it might be possible for us to return some of our garage attendants or some of our lobby attendants into the community,” Mr. Saunders said, explaining that they had to be let go since Riverbay does not have the income it had pre-Covid to keep them on and remain affordable.

Mayor Adams replied: “The trade-off is brilliant, what you just shared. And Assemblyman Burgess came to me, Shorehaven, I think it is. They had millions of dollars back in water bills…and I was able to go back to DEP, and we were able to excuse that interest on the water bills so they can get current… Now, the idea you’re sharing today, because we have a lot of Co-op Mitchell-Lamas like this. And so, we could just go back and see how can we ease some of the financial burden of working class people who are in these places… I can’t tell you that we’re going to replace $14 million or what have you. But we’re going to find a way that we can ease some of the burden like we did over at Shorehaven.”

Another Board Director Leslie Peterson spoke about unfunded mandates, specifically, Local Law 97 which has certain requirements that have to be met within a certain time period, and if not, then heavy fines will be levied which will affect affordability of the development.

“This is a city within a city, and so basically the things that they want us to accomplish and the things that they want us to do are really almost impossible for us

to accomplish without having to raise carrying charges and really making our home no longer affordable,” said Director Peterson. “…And so what we recognize is that NYCHA was given a pass on having to pay fines…. So, we would like for Co-op City and other Mitchell-Lamas, really — but mainly I’m talking about Co-op City, to be given that same courtesy where we are not fined as we continue to move forward to accomplish Local Law 97…”

Mayor Adams responded: “And sometimes idealism collides with realism, and you know, we make policies without understanding how does it impact real people.

You know? And what Rit did with the full understanding of how complicated this is for Co-op, for Mitchell Lamas, et cetera, there’s steps we are taking.”

The mayor handed the mic over to his Commissioner of DEP, Rohit Aggarwala, who stated: “The good news is Co-op City is already in compliance according to our projections for this upcoming compliance period that just started in 2024. So, 2024 to 2029, we’re seeing there’s already compliance in for the benchmarking data that we have.”

Photo by Charlotte Okoro

Building 23 Association president, Leah Graham, had a request for the Mayor related to his NYC Vision Zero initiative. She said she has observed drivers speeding in school zones, going faster than the speed limit, and requested the mayor investigate the signage and put up signs that warn drivers to “slow down.’

The Mayor called on Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez to investigate the area with Ms. Graham and the signage in the school zones in Co-op City. He recommended local politicians should also be contacted for help in this area.

Another resident, Alfonso Gonzalez, chairperson, Spanish-American Cultural Club, said to the Mayor, “Our children have nowhere to go for after school activities like I had growing up. How do we get our agencies together to help?”

Mayor Adams said that he “Gets stuff done’ (GSD) and has charged all his commissioners to help him “GSD” and report back to Co-op City. We need to help our youth and young children,” he said.

Andrea Mayo, president of Building 33 Association, had a question on the issues and pain resulting from long Covid that continue to affect many. For this, the Mayor offered, “It is time to make the medical companies accountable…on Rikers, nearly 50% are affected with mental health issues. Dr. Vasan, DOH Commissioner, has done an incredible job with telemedicine and other apps for the young who need help in mental health issues.” The mayor suggested the NYC Teen Space app which is geared for 13-17 yr. olds.

Providing a light moment, another long-time resident presented Mayor Adams with a copy of On Tyranny: 20 Lessons from the 20th Century by Prof. Timothy Snyder, historian. She told him that it could help him in his re-election run, pressing for an answer. This time, however, the Mayor would not commit, he only smiled.

Michelle Marbury, vice president of the Building 21 Association and a Riverbay board member, questioned the lack of a consistent maintenance plan to maintain the borders and medians surrounding Co-op City’s property line, especially the edge of Baychester Avenue and Hutchinson River Parkway. She stated it presents a very bad image and look for our community. Ms. Marbury requested a contact person in the city to follow up. According to her, repeated calls have been made to NYC 311 and she wanted to know what happens after a ticket is opened? There has been no response.

Mayor Adams responded that his NYCHA commissioner would be in contact.

He also said that the NYCHA Trust has been put at the top of his housing plan to make sure all residents are treated with respect and have a high standard of living enforced.

At one point, Mayor Adams interjected, “Give me the ball; I’m in the game to win. We still have a lot to do but we have done a lot also.”

He also announced the Summer Youth Program is launching with jobs to keep kids off the streets. He said that the city is trying to reach the kids who are not already motivated. Crime stats are down and many programs to help New Yorkers “feel” safe and good about their city are in place.

The consensus seems to be favorable but not without concerns, however, the Mayor offered hope. He has charged his Commissioners to help him “GSD: Get Stuff Done” and report back to the community of Co-op City, Bronx, NY, saying, “Thank you and pray for us.”

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

The Co-op City Times welcomes issue-oriented letters to the editor to be considered for publication. All letters, in prose, not poetry, must be addressed to the editor, not to third parties. All letters must be signed by the writers and include their addresses and phone numbers, which will be kept confidential, so that the editor can verify the authenticity of the authors. Anonymous or unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Letters cannot exceed 350 words. Ideally, they should be typed. All letters must be in the Co-op City Times office in Room 21, Bartow Community Center, by 3 p.m. every Monday to be considered for publication in that week’s edition. Views and opinions expressed in letters are solely the writer’s and not necessarily shared by the Co-op City Times or Riverbay Corp.

– • Letters to the Editor • –

Thank You for Community Support To the Editor: The Miller family would like to express their thanks and appreciation to the Co-op City Times and its staff for the article printed in our community newspaper on January 13th and its many years of support of our son, Matthew Miller. There are those who never have anything positive to say about our community and its residents and what they’re doing in their letters to the editor and directors’ viewpoints.

There are many youth in our community and adults who are doing great things but very few know about it for various reasons.

One of Matthew Miller’s friends and fellow Kung Fu dojang mate, Rhamil Ousley, also a resident of Co-op City, also graduated from his university last month. It would be nice to read about other youth from our community who will graduate from college or who have personal achievements the community should read about.

All is not bad here in Co-op City for there are residents here who are doing wonderful things in our community. Thanks again, CCT staff.

—Michael Miller

NYC Summer Youth Application Now Open The NYC Department of Youth and Community Development’s 2024 Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) Application for young people 14-24 years of age is available online at https://application.nycsyep.com. The application deadline is March 1, 2024. This program offers career exploration, project-based learning, work experience, community building and the opportunity to earn money. Selection is based on a lottery, and submission of an application does not guarantee an offer of summer employment. To find out more about SYEP, contact Community Connect at (800) 246-4646.

Applications ––––– (Continued from page 3) • An applicant currently lives in the same school district as the program.

• An applicant has one or more siblings who is already a student at the program.

• For Pre-K applicants, the student currently attends a 3-K program at the same school.

• Children of families that receive free or subsidized social services from the same organization that oversees the 3-K or Pre-K program the applicant is applying to.

Looking ahead to the spring when offers are sent out, both 3-K and Pre-K offer letters will also include any applicable waitlist information. Parents are advised to accept their child’s offer even if they are waiting to hear from another program, according to New York City Public Schools (NYCPS). Program offers will also include a

deadline for parents to respond.

Due to space limitations, not all 3-K applicants will receive an offer to enroll their child in a program.

For both 3-K and Pre-K offers, any child not accepted into a program will automatically be placed on a waitlist for that same program. If a child is not accepted by their first choice program, they will be automatically placed on the waitlist for any program they had ranked higher in their application.

When a child is placed on a waitlist, the program will contact their parents directly if a space on a waitlist has opened up.

General information on enrollment can be found online at schools.nyc.gov/enrollment/enroll-grade-bygrade.

Mayor Adams Announces Medical Debt Relief Program

By BRANDON ORTIZ

Working class New Yorkers suffering from crippling medical debt will now have a lifeline at their disposal after Mayor Eric Adams announced a new medical debt relief program on Monday.

The program will invest $18 million over three years to address and relieve over $2 billion in medical debt for more than an estimated 500,000 working-class New Yorkers. City officials will partner with RIP Medical Debt, a national non-profit organization based in NYC that focuses on “buying and ultimately wiping out medical debt to acquire debt portfolios and retiree debt from health care providers and hospitals across New York City,” as explained by the Mayor’s Office.

There is no application process for the medical debt relief program, but individuals need to satisfy certain eligibility requirements in order to qualify for the program.

Individuals need to fall under either one of the following eligibility requirements, according to the Mayor’s Office: ● If the individuals’ household income is at the federal poverty line or below 400% of the federal poverty line. ● If the medical debt is equal to or more than 5% of the individuals annual household income.

For New Yorkers who qualify under the requirements, their medical debt will be relieved in totality completely tax-free.

Logistically, RIP Medical Debt “will purchase bundled medical debt portfolios from providers like hospitals and commercial debt buyers to then abolish that debt at pennies on the dollar,” the Mayor’s Office said. “Debt relief recipients will then be notified that their debt has been bought by a third party and erased, with no strings attached.”

The Mayor’s medical debt relief program will kick off this year and extend for an additional three years.

During the announcement of the program, Mayor Adams discussed the importance of the medical debt relief

program and how it will impact the lives of working-class New Yorkers.

“Getting health care shouldn’t be a burden that weighs on New Yorkers and their families. Since day one, our administration has been driven by the clear mission of supporting working-class New Yorkers and today’s investment that will provide $2 billion in medical debt relief is another major step in delivering on that vision. Up to half a million New Yorkers will see their medical debt wiped thanks to this life changing program – the largest municipal initiative of its kind in the country. No one chooses to go into medical debt – if you’re sick or injured, you need to seek care. But no New Yorker should have to choose between paying rent or for other essentials and paying off their medical debt, which is why we are proud to bring this relief to families across the five boroughs, as we continue to fight on behalf of working-class New Yorkers,” Mayor Adams said.

Statistics provided by the Mayor’s Office show just how much medical debt impacts not only New Yorkers but Americans nationwide. Over 100 million Americans have medical debt, totaling over $195 billion.

Locally, data compiled by the New York Health Foundation showed that 6% of Bronx residents have medical debt.

Co-op City Times Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community.

(718) 320-3300, ext. 3375 cctimes@riverbaycorp.com

Rozaan Boone Editor-in-Chief

Jennifer Piovanetti Operations Manager

Ralph Henriquez

Production Manager

John Crow

New Media Producer The Co-op City Times welcomes issue-oriented letters to the editor to be considered for publication. All letters, in prose, not poetry, must be addressed to the editor, not to third parties. All letters must be signed by the writer and include their address and phone number, which will be kept confidential, so that the editor can verify the authenticity of the author.

Writers will be limited to one letter per topic. Anonymous or unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Letters cannot exceed 350 words. Ideally, they should be typed. All letters must be submitted to the Co-op City Times by 3 p.m.

Monday to be considered for publication in that week’s edition. Email cctimes@ riverbaycorp.com or mail to 2049 Bartow Ave., Room 21, Bronx, NY 10475.

Views and opinions expressed in letters and Directors’ Viewpoint are solely the writer’s, and not necessarily shared by the Co-op City Times or Riverbay Corp.

Advertisements and classified advertisements in the Co-op City Times do not necessarily reflect an endorsement from Riverbay Corp. of goods and services, but present greater options to cooperators of products and services available.

The Riverbay Corporation does not assume any responsibility nor is it a party to any contract or agreement between the cooperator and the vendor.

All matter published herein is copyrighted by the Co-op City Times. Permission for reprints of advertising or editorial contents produced by the Co-op City Times must be obtained in writing from Riverbay Corporation, 2049 Bartow Ave., Bronx, New York 10475.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR We welcome letters to the editor, only from Co-op City shareholders, at cctimes@riverbaycorp.com.

Letters should address issues of interest to the Co-op City community. Comments should be fact-based and responsible. Letters should not personally attack others and must be written in a respectful manner.

Only signed letters will be considered for publication. The Co-op City Times does not publish anonymous material.

Submissions must include the writer’s address and phone number – which will be kept confidential – so authenticity and residency of the writer can be verified.

Thank you for your cooperation.

7

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Public Safety Report

Bridging the Gap: Law Enforcement and Individuals with Special Needs

In recent years, the intersection between law enforcement and individuals with special needs has gained increased attention. The complex dynamics and challenges faced by both parties have prompted a closer examination of existing protocols, training methods, and community engagement initiatives.

Let us delve into various aspects of this critical issue, shedding light on the experiences, concerns, and potential solutions that can bridge the gap between law enforcement and individuals with special needs.

To comprehend the challenges faced by individuals with special needs, it is essential to first understand the spectrum of conditions encompassed by the term. From autism spectrum disorders to intellectual disabilities, each condition presents unique characteristics that may influence an individual’s interaction with law enforcement. It is essential to explore the diversity of special needs and how it impacts communication, behavior, and response to stressful situations. Law enforcement officers play a pivotal role in maintaining public safety, but ensuring they are adequately trained to interact with individuals with special needs is crucial.

We must examine current training protocols, highlight successful initiatives and identify areas that require improvement. Interviews with experts in law enforcement training and representatives from organizations advocating for individuals with special needs provide insights into the challenges officers face and potential solutions. Building trust between law enforcement agencies and communities with special needs is a key component of fostering positive interactions.

Examining the legal framework surrounding interactions between law enforcement and individuals with special needs is vital, as is existing laws, policies, and practices, evaluating their effectiveness in protecting the rights and well-being of individuals with special needs. Legal experts weigh in on potential reforms and the importance of aligning policies with evolving societal norms.

Highlighting success stories from law enforcement agencies that have implemented effective strategies for interacting with individuals with special needs can serve as inspiration for others. Case studies from cities implementing successful community programs offer practical insights into how such initiatives can be replicated and expanded. Interviews with officers, community leaders,

Public Safety Blotter

January 14 – January 20, 2024 January 14, 2024 99 Asch Loop A cooperator reported returning to his parked vehicle in Garage 4 and observing scratches to his vehicle by an unknown individual.

4240 Hutchinson River Parkway A cooperator reported that a confirmed delivered package was removed from the lobby area by an unknown individual.

January 16, 2024 100 DeKruif Place A cooperator reported that a confirmed delivered package was removed from in front of her apartment door by an unknown individual.

120 Elgar Place CCPD responded to the 33rd34th floor for a person loitering on the stairwell. Upon arrival, CCPD observed a guest of a cooperator on the stairwell who was unable to provide a valid reason for being there. The shareholder of record was issued a Community Complaint.

January 17, 2024 99 Darrow Place CCPD responded to Garage 1 for a fire. Upon arrival, CCPD observed three vehicles on the second floor of the garage on fire. FDNY was notified, responded and extinguished the fire. Parking and Leasing personnel also responded along with the owners of each vehicle. No injuries reported, several vehicles damaged.

Rear of 100 Elgar Place A Riverbay Maintenance employee reported returning to his work vehicle and observing that various work tools were removed from the vehicle without his permission.

January 18, 2024 140 Benchley Place A cooperator reported that an ex-boyfriend became physical with her, leaving her and fleeing the area.

EMS responded along with NYPD for reporting purposes.

140 Elgar Place A cooperator reported that a confirmed delivered package was removed from the lobby area by an unknown individual without her permission.

January 19, 2024 2085 Bartow Avenue CCPD and NYPD responded to reports of shots fired in the vicinity of the Red Lobster and Sangria Restaurant.

The shots originated off property in the vicinity of Red Lobster with one round penetrating the window of the Sangria Restaurant. No reports of injuries at this time and the investigation is ongoing within CCPD and the NYPD. January 20, 2024 900 Co-op City Blvd.

A non-resident reported returning to her parked vehicle and observing the side rear window smashed with the driver’s side air bag removed by an unknown individual. No other property was removed. NYPD was on scene.

and individuals with special needs share firsthand accounts of positive encounters and the impact of tailored approaches.

No discussion on this topic would be complete without addressing the challenges that still persist. Ongoing issues and potential opportunities for improvement, insights from stakeholders, including law enforcement professionals, advocacy groups, and individuals with special needs, contribute to a nuanced understanding of the road ahead.

On Friday, at 5:30 a.m., a Riverbay worker discovered a lost child between 5 and 6 years of age, in the lobby of a Triple-Core building. The child was visually impaired and special needs (non-verbal). An extensive review of surveillance video was conducted and multiple units arrived to locate the caregiver.

Complicating matters is the child used the staircases, so pinpointing an exact floor was impossible. CCPD officers methodically began an early morning inquiry, apartment by apartment. As we made our way up to the 5th floor, success! The grandmother was awakened to be informed of her granddaughter’s early morning escapades. Thankfully, we can report the reunion, a happy conclusion to this frightening situation.

Bridging the gap between law enforcement and individuals with special needs requires a multifaceted approach that encompasses training, community engagement, legal considerations, and a commitment to continuous improvement. Surrounding this critical issue, providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of affairs, successful initiatives, and areas in need of further attention. By fostering understanding and collaboration, we can work towards a future where interactions between law enforcement and individuals with special needs are characterized by empathy, respect, and inclusivity.

Domestic Violence

The Department of Public Safety reminds shareholders that if they are threatened or are being subjected to Domestic Violence, help is available. To get help, call 1-800-621-HOPE for the NYC Domestic Violence Hotline, or 311 and ask for the Domestic Violence Hotline.

OPPORTUNITIES AT CO-OP CITY For information on CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES ONLY, please contact: Lenya Garcia at Lgarcia@riverbaycorp.com; and Anatoliy Budnitskiy at abudnitskiy@riverbaycorp.com. Please note: emails should be sent to both parties.

Please DO NOT email resumes for EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES to the aforementioned emails. For EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, please see below for specific directions.

CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES There are no contract opportunities to list this week. Please check back.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES For employment opportunities, please visit these following sites: www.Indeed.com https://indeedhi.re/ 3SgTKEr

www.Glassdoor.com https://bit.ly/3SgI9Go

www.ZipRecruiter.com https://bit.ly/3Se8bdw

Candidates may review full position descriptions and apply at any site.

Current Riverbay employees should submit a transfer request and resumé directly to the HR department.

Thank you for your interest in working for Riverbay Corporation.

8

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024 Director’s’ Viewpoint –

Daryl Johnson

Report These Stairwell Problems There have been several complaints about people hanging out in our stairwells. So, let’s address those complaints.

Call CCPD Recently, a man went into building 5C with a blanket. Then, shockingly, he took off his boots and laid down near the front door and went to sleep. Again, near the front door. (Building 5C is not too far from the yellow schoolhouse on Baychester Avenue.)

In another incident, our Co-op City Police Department (CCPD) found a lady in a stairwell in building 18. This lady had frostbite. So, they took her to a hospital.

It’s reasonable to get upset when you see someone sleeping in common areas of our buildings.

Therefore, I want to encourage everyone to please call our Public Safety department at 718-671-3050 as soon as possible.

Now, some of our cooperators might think that outsiders are the only people that are sleeping or hanging out in their stairwells. But, as you continue reading, you might learn about a few issues that are going on behind some closed doors.

For instance, some of our young adults have slept in our stairwells. Now, why do you think that they made a choice to sleep in our stairwells when they might have a bed inside of an apartment here?

Do you see a problem here? That’s right, there may have been some conflicts in their home. So, they made a choice to leave their home and to spend their time in a stairwell.

In other cases, some young adults may have been madly in love. But, then, their parents may not have approved of their relationship. So, with extreme defiance, take a guess where some young couples made a choice to spend their night? That’s right, they made a choice to spend their night in a stairwell. But, most parents know what time and circumstances will generally do to young couples that make these impulsive decisions.

Hanging out? Some kids are messing up horribly bad. In fact, some kids have cut out of their school just to cause problems in our community. For instance, some young groups have no problem going into our stores and running out with stolen merchandise. Thereafter, they have no problem going into our stairwells to smoke weed and to get high.

Nevertheless, some of our cooperators have asked: “Where were our officers when these incidents occurred?” And, unfortunately, they seem to think that our officers can arrive at any location in an instant of time. But, is this the right way to treat

our officers? No! We have a very good police force under Chief Riley and Captain Frankie Torres. So, let’s see if we can work with them and their officers in a better manner. Thanks.

Bottom line: Again, please call CCPD at 718671-3050 if you have problems in your building.

NYC’s Budget Cuts In November 2023, NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced that every city agency had to cut their budget by 5 percent. Thereafter, every city agency had no choice but to follow that mandate. However, Adams somewhat backed down on this proposal after receiving pushback from several sources.

And, now, starting on July 1, 2024, the budget for NYC will be $109.4 billion. Therefore, Adams said: “We balanced the budget without burdening New Yorkers with tax hikes or major service disruptions.”

In Co-op City, we have been making way over $200 million for the past few years. Nevertheless, there are always issues about a budget shortfall.

Then, the major solution to these shortfalls is to tell our cooperators that they need to pay more money to live here. “Hey, everything goes up,” is what some directors will then go around telling everyone.

Now, that might be true in many circumstances. However, in my opinion, that statement is just a poor excuse to not reduce our budget. For instance, can Riverbay justify having 28 departments here?

Can we justify spending over $100 million every year to pay for about1,000 employees? What about justifying the questionable insurance commissions that are made to some brokers?

Can anyone state the name of just one minority or women-owned business that restores apartments here? No! On the other hand, why were just a few contractors chosen to get millions of dollars to restore our apartments? Who said that those contractors should receive $12,000 for labor and $5,000 for materials to just restore a 1-bedroom apartment? Is it possible that a minority or women-owned business can do the same work for a more reasonable amount of money? Absolutely!

Do you actually think that any contrac-

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tor should receive $12,000 for labor and $5,000 for materials just to basically restore our 1-bedroom apartments here? No! But, this is just one reason why our cooperators are receiving another carrying charge increase on April 1, 2024.

Bottom line: Can you think of one time within the past few years when Riverbay was asked to reduce the budget for all of their 28 departments by one penny? No! Close We need for our board and management to work together to reduce all of the budgets here.

Thank you.

Contact Information Please send a letter to: Board Director Daryl Johnson, Riverbay Corporation, 2049 Bartow Avenue, Bronx, NY 10475. Currently, here is my ONLY email account: djohnson@riverbayboard.com.

I will never ask for or accept money from anyone. Therefore, please do not respond to any message with my name on it that requests money, money transfers, gift cards, personal information, or anything from you. And, please do not ever send money or anything to anyone because you saw my name on a false message.

Also, please call me ONLY at 718-671-4544 if you would like to have a brief discussion with me. And, please hang up your phone immediately if someone calls you and says that they’re Daryl Johnson or is associated with me and asks you for money or anything else.

Okay, that’s it for now. So, please have a wonderful week. And, may God bless you and your family. Thank you.

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

9

Resolutions Board of Directors’ Meeting – january 24, 2024 First Reading – Resolution #24-10 SUBMITTED BY: Bishop Angelo Rosario SECONDED BY: Kevin Lambright & Andrea Leslie BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING, DATED: January 24th, 2024 WHEREAS, the Power Plant is looking for a company to provide natural gas procurement and daily services to optimize the power plant’s energy costs by coordinating fuel management, facility sales, demand purchases and demand response services; and WHEREAS, Procurement solicited bids from eleven companies to provide Energy Management and Demand Response Services for the Power Plant; and WHEREAS, six (6) of the eleven (11) potential companies submitted competitive bids which Management reviewed and recommends NRG Business Marketing LLC (NRG) for the energy management service and as the demand response provider for a two-year contract plus a one-year option to be exercised by

Management. (See attached January 18, 2024 recommendation memo); and WHEREAS, prior to voting on this Resolution, no Director has disclosed to the full Board any conflict of interest as required by NY Business Corporation Law Section 713.

NOW THEREFORE, LET IT BE RESOLVED: that the proposed Contract #3957A for Energy Management Services to NRG and Contract #3957B for the Demand Response Services also to NRG for a two-year contract plus a one-year option to be exercised by management, as per the terms described in the attached recommendation memo and spreadsheet be approved as submitted by Management in accordance with the Board of Directors Resolution #85-16 and amended by Board of Directors Resolutions #95-44 and #20-19.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that the President is hereby authorized to execute the contract or change order and Management is authorized to take all steps necessary to make this action effective.

First Reading – Resolution #24-11 SUBMITTED BY: Michelle Marbury SECONDED BY: Bishop Angelo Rosario, Leslie Peterson & Leah Richardson BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING: January 24th, 2024 WHEREAS, the turnkey contractors have successfully restored 395 apartments as of Jan. 19, 2024 and since the beginning of the 2023/2024 budgeted year, and we now need to allocate additional funding in support of the turnkey project; and WHEREAS: Management seeks approval to re-allocate $500,000.00 from the approximate $2,100,000.00 in savings in the 2023/2024 approved Asbestos budget, and adding this amount to the current approved $5,760,000.00 Turnkey budget in order to maintain the turnkey renovation work; and WHEREAS: Management anticipates the funds will cover the turnkey work until the end of March 2024 with an estimated target of 50 renovated apartments per month for a total 510 apartments for the year; and WHEREAS: Management request that the re-allocated $500,000.00 funds for the 2023/2024 approved budget period be dispersed as follows: Change order for Cove Home Improvements contract # 3425A: $250,000.00 Change order for Rainier Restorations LLC contract # 3425E: $250,000.00 WHEREAS: Management also recommends to allocate the remaining funds from Durablis turnkey contract # 3425B balance of $235,063.08 for testing of the two (2) new turnkey contractors with an estimated target of 20 apartments,

and that the funds be allocated as follows: MSS Golden Eagle Construction contract # 3974: $117,531.54 E. Sinani Service Corp. contract # 3975: $117,531.54 WHEREAS, prior to voting on this Resolution, no Director has disclosed to the full Boardanyconflict of interest as required by NY Business Corporation Law Section 713.

NOW THEREFORE LET BE IT RESOLVED, that notwithstanding Board of Directors Resolution #85-16 as amended by Board of Directors Resolution #95-44 and Resolution #20-19, that the Board authorizes the re-allocation of $500,000.00 from the 2023/2024 approved Asbestos budget. And add these funds to the Turnkey budget current approved $5,760,000.00 to maintain the turnkey renovation work and dispersed funds as follows: Change order for Cove Home Improvements contract # 3425A: $250,000.00 Change order for Rainier Restorations LLC, contract # 3425E: $250,000.00 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board authorizes to allocate the remaining funds from Durablis Turnkey contract # 3425B balance of $235,063.08 for testing of the two (2) new Turnkey contractors and that the funds be dispersed as follows: MSS Golden Eagle Construction contract # 3974: $117,531.54 E. Sinani Service Corp. Contract # 3975: $117,531.54 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the President is hereby authorized to execute change orders to the above contracts consistent with this Resolution and Management is authorized to take all steps necessary to make this action effective.

Amended Reading – Resolution #23-70 SUBMITTED BY: Anika Green-Watson SECONDED BY: Kevin Lambright BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATED: Wednesday, December 20, 2023 WHEREAS, the Board acknowledges the importance of fostering a sense of community and encouraging the use of shared spaces within Co-op City; and WHEREAS, the Board recognizes that community rooms are valuable amenities that benefit all cooperators and aims to make the use of such rooms more accessible and affordable for the community; NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that all shareholders in good standing and all certified Co-op City organizations in good standing are eligible to receive a discount on the cost of the use of all community rooms and all certified Co-op City organizations in good standing are entitled to free use of certain community rooms once per year, on a first-come, first-served basis, as set forth herein; and be it further RESOLVED, that qualified Co-op City organizations in good standing shall enjoy annually, once per year, complimentary use of a single community room, on a first-come basis, as available, with the exception of Auditoriums A and B and the patio adjoining Auditorium C in Dreiser; and be it further RESOLVED, that such once per year free use of a community room is non-transferable; therefore, community organizations that have not utilized their free room option within a given year cannot transfer the option to another; and be it further RESOLVED, that community organizations are only entitled to free use of a community room if their use of such room is for a program or event that is free of charge and open to the entire Co-op City community; and be it further RESOLVED, that such once per year free use of a community room does

not include use of Auditoriums A or B or the patio adjoining Auditorium C in Dreiser; although, rental discounts shall be available for use of those rooms as set forth below; and be it further RESOLVED, that shareholders in good standing shall receive a discount in the amount of twenty-five percent (25%) off of the regular outside rental rate for all community rooms; and be it further; RESOLVED, that qualified Co-op City organizations in good standing shall receive a discount in the amount of fifty percent (50%) off of the regular outside rental rate for such rooms, provided that their use of such rooms is for a program or event that is free of charge and open to the entire Co-op City community; and be it further RESOLVED, that the discount offered to shareholders and Co-op City organizations cannot be combined; and be it further RESOLVED, that the room rate discount offered herein is in addition to the annual allowance for in-kind services offered to bona fide community organizations pursuant to Resolution No. 90-17; and be it further RESOLVED, that Resolution No. 90-17 is hereby amended only insofar as requiring local community groups and organizations to contact the Parking and Leasing Department of Riverbay Corporation, instead of the Community Relations Committee, to request in-kind assistance; and be it further RESOLVED, that management is directed to communicate this resolution and the related policies and procedures to all shareholders and community organizations.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Lambright, Leslie, Marbury, Pearson, Peterson, Richardson, Rosario, Sampson, Saunders, Watson, Wright NO: Johnson PASSED (Continued on page 20)

10

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Management Report –––––– (Continued from page 4) Update - Convector Initiatives Tracker – Updates In Italicized Text

(Continued on page 11)

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

11

Management Report ––– (Continued from page 4)

Management scheduled two (2) sessions to discuss the process for getting repairs completed in apartments and townhouses. Building and Townhouse Association presidents were invited to these initial sessions to have an open dialogue on what’s wrong with the current process and how it can be reformed to better address condi-

tions in apartments, and to improve the quality of life for shareholders and their families. This partnership between Management and the association presidents should yield a positive outcome for the future of the Work Order process at Co-op City.

Below are the Key Performance Indicators for the month of December 2023.

(Continued on page 12)

12

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Management Report ––––– (Continued from page 11)

Community Protestant Church

Rev. Dr. Calvin E. Owens and the Community Protestant Church family welcome you to worship with us. We are located at 1659 East Gun Hill Road, Bronx, NY 10469. You may contact us by phone: 718-862-9172, fax: 718-6714416, or email: Administration@thecpcchurch.org.

Worship Schedule In person Sunday Morning Worship – 11:00 a.m.; Sunday School, 9:15 a.m.

Every Wednesday: “Hour of Power Noon Day Prayer,” 12:00 p.m. on the Conference Call Line (712) 432-3900. Access Code: 343284#. Every Wednesday: 7:00 p.m., Bible Study via Zoom.

Special Services On Sunday, February 11, at 11:00 a.m., Installation of Officers; Sunday, February 18, 11:00 a.m., Official Boards Day; Sunday, March 10, 11:00 a.m., The Usher Board Anniversary, and Friday, March 29, 12:00 p.m., Good Friday Service.

To our sick and shut in members, please know that we are praying for you and for your speedy recovery. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the family of our long time member, Mrs. Helen Mitchell, and to all who are mourning the loss of a loved one.

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” –Matthew 18:20 ––Lexa M. Mingo

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Board Meeting ––– (Continued from page 1)

our residents from falling debris,” the Board President said. “We will be repeating this again in five years as mandated by the city of New York. We hope to be in better shape when Local Law 11 rolls around again, avoiding costly fixes. Considering there’s always a project we have to do, we are in a better position than most developments. The Board and Management worked together to achieve a common goal.

Addressing two common themes that she often talks and writes about in her president’s reports in the Co-op City Times – sustainability and affordability – Board President Feliciano said: “As I stated in my previous article, capital projects alone was $124M and of that, we have about $88M left. While this is a hefty amount, it is not going to cover all the expenses and projects we need to complete. Finding available resources is the utmost priority.”

Board President Feliciano then reported on Mayor Eric Adam’s townhall meeting held with the Riverbay Board members, Management and shareholders on Monday, January 22, in Dreiser Auditorium. “Management, building presidents, community organizations and Board directors were present,” she said. “The Mayor discussed and took questions on pertinent topics important to our community – climate control, public safety, senior services, youth services, garbage collection, cleaning of our outer areas of debris and garbage, utilizing school space, using the Truman pool, asking for credit for services that we, as shareholders, continue to pay or receive no credit from the city. Every question was a good question and we hope that in the areas that we spoke of, he will be committed to addressing and hopefully we will see the changes.” (The Mayor’s Co-op City Townhall is being broadcast on the Riverbay Crawler daily at 9 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m. The broadcast will be available on the Crawler until Sunday, Jan. 28. It is also available 24/7 on the NYC Mayor’s Office YouTube channel. To view it, use https://bit. ly/3uan5Z1, or scan the QR code here: ) In addition, Board President Feliciano told shareholders that the Management team will be meeting with building presidents to discuss areas of concern, prioritizing repairs and maintenance in Co-op City apartments. “This new dialogue will only create a process where we can collectively drive change and building relationships working together,” she said, before moving on to some of the new, upcoming projects, such as new elevators for the garages, sustainable energy through carbon neutrality, townhouse repairs and others that she will continue to address in her president’s reports.

In addition, Ms. Feliciano said that last weekend, Board members attended a two-day Board training in Dreiser. Among the topics explained and discussed were governance, fiscal oversight, accountability, fiduciary responsibilities, and Roberts Rules.

“As Board directors, we have a responsibility to the shareholders who elected us. This training gives us, experienced and new Board members, available knowledge that we all can use to achieve long-term success for Co-op City,” President Feliciano stated. “What I would like to see from all of us is engagement through participation, whether it’s being part of a building association, being part of a committee, or submitting ideas where we can all win.”

In conclusion, she reminded shareholders about the Jan. 30th virtual HCR hearing on the 2.1% carrying charge increase.

The Management Report followed, presented by Riverbay Executive General Manager Marvin L. Walton (see page 1).

Pivoting to the Business portion of the meeting, the Board voted on several resolutions (See resolutions beginning on page 9).

On Reso. 23-70, Amended Room Rental Discounts, the maker of the resolution, Board Director Anika Green-Watson, highlighted the changes made to the last version of the resolution which was tabled at the December 20, 2023 Board meeting so updates could be made. She pointed to the second resolved in the amended resolution which addressed room rentals for qualified community organizations, which states that “…qualified Co-op City organizations in good standing shall enjoy annually, once per year, complimentary use of a single community room, on a first-come basis, as available, with the exceptions of Auditoriums A and B, and the patio adjoining Auditorium C in Dreiser; …” and also that “qualified Co-op City organizations in good standing shall receive a discount in the amount of fifty percent (50%) off of the regular outside rental rate for such rooms, provided that their use of such rooms is for a program or event that is free of charge and open to the entire Co-op City community; …”

Regarding individual shareholders renting rooms, Amended Resolution 23-70 states that “shareholders in good standing shall receive a discount in the amount of twenty-five percent (25%) off of the regular outside rental rate for all community rooms; …”

“Those are changes that you would have seen in the first iteration of Resolution 23-70 so the only addition to it is the organizations in good standing being granted the one free rental per year, and it’s written in the resolution but I’ll make a point here to say it, that it is nontransferable. So each organization gets one free room. If you don’t use it, that’s perfectly fine, but it’s not transferable.”

Director Green-Watson also reported that the In-kind allowance to certified community groups remains $1,500. “With the generous addition of a free rental, we thought that was fair,” she explained.

Director Claudia Sampson, president of the Riverbay Fund, agreed that she too believes that the offer was reasonable, fair and equitable. She said that organizations will have to become more creative in raising funds and not always depend on Riverbay Corporation to supplement or support their programs. “I think a lot of these organizations need some help in terms of getting funding and getting certified as 501c3 where they can apply for grants to help them support and sponsor a lot of their events and not rely on the corporation. This is a housing company and we have to behave as a housing company and a business…”

Resolution 23-70 passed by a vote of 14-1.

Next on the agenda, Director Rod Saunders was given the floor to discuss a let-

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ter of support from the Riverbay Board to bolster Community Board #10’s vote not to support the application for a cannabis retail dispensary in the Peartree Mall.

Referencing the Jan. 4th CB #10 public hearing on the Mello Tymes’ application for a cannabis dispensary at 675 Co-op City Blvd, which the community board subsequently voted not to support in concurrence with the wishes of the majority of shareholders who attended that hearing, Director Saunders said that his opposition was not based on the business or the people running the business, but on the potential “undesirable” individuals who may be coming into the community to patronize the business, a sentiment shared by several other shareholders who also testified at the public hearing.

“What I would like to do is to have the president of the Board to join that in a letter to the Cannabis Board supporting the opposition of the people of Co-op City… There can be dissenting voices made by members of the Board as shareholders just as I made mine as a shareholder rather than as a Board but as a Board, I think we should vote,” said Director Saunders.

Board Director Sampson respectfully declined putting her name on a letter to the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM). “I think this is a decision we make as individuals, as residents and shareholders, and I don’t think that the Board needs to step in and make any kinds of statements…”

Director Kevin Lambright agreed, adding that he believes it is a matter of education. He said that he researched the cannabis applicants as well as the difference between cannabis dispensaries and smoke shops. “I do know that a dispensary and a smoke shop are too different animals and what smoke shops are doing, not just in our community, but most communities of color, they are doing illegal activities and it is not being enforced. But when a dispensary comes into play, if you look throughout New York City, anywhere a dispensary comes into play, smoke shops shut down…”

Director Lambright went on to state that although many have expressed that a cannabis dispensary would attract “undesirables” into the community, he believes the fact is that many of the clientele are fellow cooperators who have the products delivered to their homes, as was the case during the pandemic. He also suggested that perhaps Riverbay should open its own dispensary. “So now that it is actually legal, we cannot stop it from happening, but we can control it if we own it,” he said.

Director Cylich said: “I’m going to speak against it. My sense is that if you look around the country, marijuana has been criminalized. We take a look at the prisons today, the overwhelming majority of those incarcerated are people of color, … New York State, before the Rockefeller Law was adopted, was 13,000 incarcerated in New York State. Today, there’s about 96,000 incarcerated, 90% are people of color, …. Well let’s take a look at the liquor stores that we have, right here. … you think they are all desirables? Take a look at Dreiser liquor store, who’s hanging around there? So when you start criminalizing … you’re actually carrying out a discriminatory policy and when you do that, I’m not going to lend my name to that and I’m opposed to it.”

Board President Feliciano restated that the request is for the Board to write a letter to OCM and for Directors who wish to, to sign the letter. The overall consensus of the Board, however, was to not send a letter to OCM expressing opposition to a cannabis retail dispensary at 675 Co-op City Blvd.

Board Director Leslie Peterson offered: “The dispensary would be directly across the street from my building and I can tell you those who live in my building have signed petitions against it. Some have, not everyone, so my feeling is that those in the community, … and those buildings who feel that strongly, have the option of preparing a petition and voicing their opinion as shareholders who reside here. I don’t necessarily think that it is something that the Board, we as Board directors, have to take up because we don’t really know how everybody actually feels one way or the other. I can speak for my building and I know the majority of people in my building, not that they are against the dispensary, they don’t want the dispensary in that location. That is the issue, that location, so … get a petition together and send it.”

She also advised that at this point, petitions should be sent to local elected officials. “… the community board has no say-so whether that dispensary goes there or not. They merely give an opinion. They send their opinion to the Office of Cannabis Management. The Office of Cannabis Management then gives their opinion and their opinion goes to the Cannabis Control Board. The Cannabis Control Board is who makes the actual decision as to whether that’s going to be there or not. So any support you want to get probably at this point would be best if it comes by way of your elected officials.”

Item #10 on the agenda was discussion of the May 2024 Riverbay Board of Directors election.

General Counsel Jeff Buss asked the Board to begin discussion on the upcoming election and to provide him with guidance on how the Board would like to go forward in May. “We have an election under the By-Laws every May. That will be upon us very shortly,” said Mr. Buss. “Last year, unfortunately, we did not reach a quorum so what I’d like to get is some guidance on how to proceed on the election for May, when do you want to set up an Election Committee, do you want to use an outside independent entity to conduct the election – I heard some debate about that – do you want to bid that out like we did last year and do you want to elect five, or actually six because you have vacancy; or eleven directors and I’d like to get a sense of how the Board feels about that. There’s pros and cons of both.

You could read your By-Laws to say every year you are supposed to elect five directors for a three-year term. When you don’t have an election, obviously, you haven’t elected anybody for a term. My suggestion, but it’s up to you as a Board to decide it, is not to elect 11 people, but to elect six, and I suggest that just because the idea of having a staggered board is lost because what you have is every three years, you’d have no election (Continued on page 14)

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Board ––– (Continued from page 13) and in another three years, you’d have election again. Last year, you had nine candidates running for the Board. If you had to fill 11 slots, you wouldn’t really have an election if you only had nine candidates. …”

General Counsel Buss also explained that one of the advantages of a corporation is its perpetual existence and part of that includes carrying on with some knowledge and expertise so every year, there is a turnover of potentially five directors, but not a majority, and the idea is the knowledge and expertise that veteran directors possess carry over to a new group of directors in some staggered order.

Board President Feliciano expressed her opinion on the matter. “Just about every year, we’ve gone through this where shareholders are not voting and we have to ask ourselves why aren’t they voting,…” she said. “But we cannot continue to run an election week after week, after week, after week hoping to have a different result. We are shareholders, we have a responsibility to this community. You came in here and you purchased your apartment, you have a responsibility to this community to vote…”

She said she believes the Board should try an independent consultant. “But I think to campaign basically to get the vote out is something that we should be talking about to our community over and over again to make sure that we have a successful election when it comes about. We don’t want what happened last year to happen again and running six people, I think, is better than doing 11 because you erode the skills and knowledge of your Board and there’s nothing in the guideline of the By-Laws that state that we cannot run six people, holding the ones that were supposed to run this year over to the next year…so that’s something that we should talk about but not spend too much time on it because time is getting short.”

Director Lambright referred to the Board election during the pandemic which was suspended and the directors who were supposed to run that year were held over for a fourth year. He said: “And it worked because we came down, up until last year, back to five or six. So if we do the same thing, I think it’ll be better but what I don’t agree with is, I am really tired of us hiring consultants and paying consultants for this. We need an independent outside company to do our election — it should not be run within. But we have a Board of intelligent people and we should be able to come up with strategies and find ways to invoke the pride that Co-op has already for people to vote and believe in what they have in order to keep it.”

Director Saunders also expressed his opinion. “Actually, the By-Laws say you are to run for one three-year term. The reason why it was stated we had a fourth-year term for one group of directors was directly because of the pandemic and, at the time, we could not figure out because we were still doing petitions and we didn’t know how we were going to get people together in order to campaign effectively so what we did was we let the fourth year go by. The next year when the elections came around, … that went well but the following year, we had a situation where we had to go to three extensions. This year, we did not make it to one extension when we could have gone to a second, and we could have gone to a third; the money was already there. The year before, when we went to the third extension, our attorney, Mr. Buss, said to us, you will need to have a third extension, in his opinion, because you do not want it to get to a point where you would run 11 people the following year. So, we did vote for a third extension.

That same claim was not made this year. We walked into that situation knowing that if you halted that election, and we didn’t have a quorum, that 11 people would need to be running …”

“My opinion is that yes, when we didn’t reach quorum, of course, the first thing we thought of is that where we’d have to have 10 candidates running and, of course, now it’s 11,” said Director Cylich. “And as you begin to practically decide how it’s going to be carried out, it appears to be impractical, it’s unwieldy, and it’s not illegal, it’s not in violation of any rules, or regulations or state laws that we can’t defer five positions to be voted on the following year so that we can have orderly, rational elections. …I believe that we need to present it as a motion so we can act on it… The second thing, I believe the By-laws stipulate that the election shall be conducted either by the directors, a Board of Directors committee, or designated committee by the Board which means it can be anyone who we agree to designate as a committee to run the elections… That does not mean it includes Board directors. The problem is that in years past, the Election Committee was composed of directors and they were partisan…I believe that to take the partisanship out of that, we agree to have a committee or even an outside consultant to run the election so that there is no question, one way or another, of partisanship in this issue.”

Director Daryl Johnson suggested that the Board should hire people to knock on doors and help “to get the vote out.” He said that notices should be placed in every building and the hired election workers can be assigned to specific buildings according to a set schedule which would be publicized so everyone knows when they will be in their respective building.

“Everybody should know exactly when these folks are going to come by and then they are going to say, ‘ok fine, we want to encourage you to vote. Can you vote right now?’ Just give it a try, encourage them … I think that we can overwhelmingly reach way above the quorum if we go that route,” said Director Johnson.

Board President Feliciano acknowledged that this issue needs to be further discussed by the Board as a team and promised to set up some dates for consideration.

Director Peterson said that she agreed with the sentiments expressed by Director Saunders. “… we are talking as if this is, oh my gosh, look what could possibly happen when this was absolutely known when it took place last year.

We knew what we were doing by stopping the vote which we only needed 230 somewhat votes left is what we needed? We needed 200 plus votes to finish the election? There were those who chose to stop the election knowing full well ok that means there’s going to be 11. I wish the speech that you just gave a little while ago, Jeff, you gave again last year because like Rod said … Where was it last year to encourage those who wanted to do that, not to do that? …”

Continuing, Director Peterson said: “And what I do want to say is Marvin has been going around to a lot of the buildings and showing his triangle and part of that triangle is talking about the stakeholders, and the shareholders are the stakeholders, so when we talk about how we are going to get people to vote, you have to make shareholders feel moreso that when they speak, their voices are being heard, that what they have to say is important. Sometimes what they say are things that we can’t do but we need to give them a valid and honest answer as to why we can’t do x, y and z, if we can’t, but they need to be made to feel more a part of the triangle.”

Director Peterson also informed the Board of a young lady she met at a building meeting who expressed that she would like the Board elections to begin earlier and to have more time to get to know the candidates before having to cast her ballot.

Director Mary Pearson said that she favors codifying the election rules and regulations to eliminate the need to change them every year. “Problems arise. I believe that we should just stick to what the By-laws of our corporation say that the supervision of election campaigns; the preparation, printing and distribution of the ballots and notices; posting of notices; and supervision of orderly voting is the only thing that should be done by the Election Committee. I believe we should have a Board committee discussing what elements we should codify.”

She also said that the Board election should be modeled after early voting so that shareholders are aware of exactly when voting will begin and end, and prevent variations on the length of the election and the number of extensions from year to year. “… I do not believe that the Committee should be comprised of directors just as it should not be comprised of candidates. I would suggest that all the building officers who wish to be on this committee should be drawn at random from a hat … I also believe that the candidates’ articles and the forums should all take place and be over with at the point that the ballots go out to get to know the people,” Director Pearson said. “In every lobby, we have our tv sets and we can have the candidates’ faces with their articles going over and over … I also believe it should be put in every lobby or in every elevator. No campaign stuff just why are they running, their pictures so people will know the election is coming…There should be more notification, we should start right away … and make an effort.

I think since the petitioning stopped nobody is making an effort to walk up to people and say I’m running. So…I think we need a committee to go over what it would consist of…”

Director Sampson said, “I think we have to realize that people are extremely, extremely committed to their community when it is in their best interest and a lot of people do not see that being on the Board is in their best interest so I think we have to do a better job making people want to serve on the Board by showing a little bit more camaraderie … because the word is out that being on the Board is a thankless job and people don’t get along and they are at each other’s throats.

If you really want people to participate and vote, you have to give them a good reason to want to vote and right now, I have yet to run into anybody who wants to vote … We have to do a better job educating people…”

Board President Feliciano said that what she’d like to do is give this issue some thought, brainstorm some ideas, and select some dates for the Board to meet as a team to make decisions based upon what they have to do the make sure the election would be a success this year.

Director Lynette Wright, who served as last year’s Election Committee chair, asked that budgetary concerns be at the forefront when decisions are being made regarding the Board election.

“I would also like that we plan to have extensions, if we are going to do that, or that we automatically bond the amount. We have not done any work thus far so it is not fair…that we consistently come down to the eleventh hour and decide that we need to do something,” said Director Wright. “…There is apathy within the community, there is a lack of understanding about what the Board is and what the Board does. There’s a lack of engagement that’s there and that isn’t going to be solved in the next five months so I think that we need to really have that discussion, yes, but we need to talk about what the budget looks like and we need to do that fast.”

Before adjourning, the Board chose the makers and seconds on two First Readings, 24-10 for Energy Management Services for the Power Plant, and 2411 for additional funds for turnkey contracts. The resolutions will be discussed and voted on at a future Board meeting.

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Resolutions ––– (Continued from page 9) Lease Resolution #24-01 SUBMITTED BY: Lynette Wright SECONDED BY: Rod Saunders BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATED: January 24th, 2024 WHEREAS, Dal Paint & Hardware, Ltd. has requested a lease from Riverbay Corporation for the premises at 129A Dreiser Loop, Bronx, New York, to be used for sale of paint, paint accessories, wallpaper, hardware, light fixtures, window treatments and items typically sold in a hardware store; and WHEREAS, the term of the lease is five years with a five-year renewal option and annual rental rates are within the provisions of Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the lease agreement for the premises at 129A Dreiser Loop Bronx, New York, by and between Riverbay Corporation, Owner, and Dal Paint & Hardware, Ltd., Tenant, containing the terms as negotiated by Riverbay Corporation’s Management is hereby approved as submitted by Management in accordance with Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President of the Corporation is authorized to sign the lease agreement and related documents on behalf of Riverbay Corporation.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Johnson, Lambright, Marbury, Peterson, Richardson, Rosario, Sampson, Saunders, Smith, Watson, Wright ABSENT FOR VOTE: Leslie PASSED

Lease Resolution #24-02 SUBMITTED BY: Lynette Wright SECONDED BY: Anika Green-Watson BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATED: January 24th, 2024 WHEREAS, United States Postal Service requested a lease renewal from Riverbay Corporation for the premises at 127 Einstein Loop, Bronx, New York, to be used as a post office; and WHEREAS, the term of the lease is 5 years and annual rental rates are within the provisions of Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the lease agreement for the premises at 127 Einstein Loop, Bronx, New York, by and between Riverbay Corporation, Owner, and, Tenant, containing the terms as negotiated by Riverbay Corporation’s Management is hereby approved as submitted by Management in accordance with Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President of the Corporation is authorized to sign the lease agreement and related documents on behalf of Riverbay Corporation.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Johnson, Lambright, Leslie, Marbury, Peterson, Richardson, Rosario, Sampson, Saunders, Smith, Watson, Wright PASSED

Lease Resolution #24-03 SUBMITTED BY: Michelle Marbury SECONDED BY: Kevin Lambright BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATED: January 24, 2024 WHEREAS, Church of God’s Children requested a lease renewal from Riverbay Corporation for the premises at 127 Dreiser Loop, Bronx, New York, to be used for services for the Church; and WHEREAS, the term of the lease is three years and a three-year renewal option and annual rental rates are within the provisions of Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the lease agreement for the premises at 127 Dreiser Loop, Bronx, New York, by and between Riverbay Corporation, Owner, and Church of God’s Children, Tenant, containing the terms as negotiated by Riverbay Corporation’s Management is hereby approved as submitted by Management in accordance with Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President of the Corporation is authorized to sign the lease agreement and related documents on behalf of Riverbay Corporation.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Johnson, Lambright, Leslie, Marbury, Peterson, Richardson, Sampson, Saunders, Smith, Watson, Wright ABSENT FOR VOTE: Rosario PASSED

Lease Resolution #24-04 SUBMITTED BY: Kevin Lambright SECONDED BY: Lynette Wright BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATED: January 24th, 2024 WHEREAS, Church of God’s Children requested a lease renewal from Riverbay Corporation for the premises at 131 Dreiser Loop, Bronx, New York, to be used for services for the Church; and WHEREAS, the term of the lease is three years and a three-year renewal option and annual rental rates are within the provisions of Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the lease agreement for the premises at 131 Dreiser Loop, Bronx, New York, by and between Riverbay Corporation, Owner, and Church of God’s Children, Tenant, containing the terms as negotiated by Riverbay Corporation’s Management is hereby approved as submitted by Management in accordance with Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President of the Corporation is authorized to sign the lease agreement and related documents on behalf of Riverbay Corporation.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Johnson, Lambright, Leslie, Marbury, Peterson, Richardson, Sampson, Saunders, Smith, Watson, Wright ABSENT FOR VOTE: Rosario PASSED

Lease Resolution #24-05 SUBMITTED BY: Rod Saunders SECONDED BY: Sonia Feliciano BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATED: January 24th, 2024 WHEREAS, Church of God’s Children requested a lease renewal from Riverbay Corporation for the premises at 159 Dreiser Loop, Bronx, New York, to be used for services for the Church; and WHEREAS, the term of the lease is three years and a three-year renewal option and annual rental rates are within the provisions of Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the lease agreement for the premises at 159 Dreiser Loop,

Bronx, New York, by and between Riverbay Corporation, Owner, and Church of God’s Children, Tenant, containing the terms as negotiated by Riverbay Corporation’s Management is hereby approved as submitted by Management in accordance with Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President of the Corporation is authorized to sign the lease agreement and related documents on behalf of Riverbay Corporation.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Johnson, Lambright, Leslie, Marbury, Peterson, Richardson, Sampson, Saunders, Smith, Watson, Wright ABSENT FOR VOTE: Rosario PASSED (Continued on page 21)

Riverbay’s Official Website is: www.coopcity.com

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

21

Resolutions ––– (Continued from page 20) Lease Resolution #24-06 SUBMITTED BY: Michelle Marbury SECONDED BY: Kevin Lambright BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATED: January 24th, 2024 WHEREAS, Church of God’s Children requested a lease renewal from Riverbay Corporation for the premises at 163 Dreiser Loop, Bronx, New York, to be used for services for the Church; and WHEREAS, the term of the lease is three years and a three-year renewal option and annual rental rates are within the provisions of Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the lease agreement for the premises at 163 Dreiser Loop, Bronx, New York, by and between Riverbay Corporation, Owner, and Church of God’s Children, Tenant, containing the terms as negotiated by Riverbay Corporation’s Management is hereby approved as submitted by Management in accordance with Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President of the Corporation is authorized to sign the lease agreement and related documents on behalf of Riverbay Corporation.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Johnson, Lambright, Leslie, Marbury, Peterson, Richardson, Sampson, Saunders, Smith, Watson, Wright ABSENT FOR VOTE: Rosario PASSED

Lease Resolution #24-07 SUBMITTED BY: Kevin Lambright SECONDED BY: Leslie Peterson & Monique Coleman BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATED: January 24th, 2024 WHEREAS, New Creation Health and Wellness Inc. has requested a new lease from Riverbay Corporation for the premises at 120 DeKruif Place, Unit A, Bronx, New York, to be used as a multi-specialty medical office; and WHEREAS, the term of the lease is five years with one five-year renewal option with a 5 month rent concession and annual rental rates are within the provisions of Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the lease agreement for the premises at 120 DeKruif Place, Unit A, Bronx, New York, by and between Riverbay Corporation, Owner, and New Creation Health and Wellness Inc., Tenant, containing the terms as negotiated by Riverbay Corporation’s Management is hereby approved as submitted by Management in accordance with Resolution #85-16 as amended

by Resolution #95-44; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President of the Corporation is authorized to sign the lease agreement and related documents on behalf of Riverbay Corporation.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Johnson, Lambright, Leslie, Marbury, Peterson, Richardson, Rosario, Sampson, Saunders, Smith, Watson, Wright PASSED

Lease Resolution #24-08 SUBMITTED BY: Lynette Wright SECONDED BY: Michelle Marbury BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING DATED: January 24th, 2024 WHEREAS, Andy’s Teriyaki and Taco Inc. has requested a lease from Riverbay Corporation for the premises at 171 Einstein Loop, Bronx, New York, to be used for Mexican food, rotisserie chicken, soup, salad, spare ribs, skewered chicken, beef and seafood; and WHEREAS, the term of the lease is five years with one five-year renewal option and annual rental rates are within the provisions of Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the lease agreement for the premises at 171 Einstein Loop, Bronx, New York, by and between Riverbay Corporation, Owner, and Andy’s Teriyaki and Taco Inc., Tenant, containing the terms as negotiated

by Riverbay Corporation’s Management is hereby approved as submitted by Management in accordance with Resolution #85-16 as amended by Resolution #95-44; and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the President of the Corporation is authorized to sign the lease agreement and related documents on behalf of Riverbay Corporation.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Johnson, Leslie, Marbury, Peterson, Richardson, Rosario, Sampson, Saunders, Smith, Watson, Wright NO: Lambright PASSED

Insurance Resolution #24-09 Amended General Liability SUBMITTED BY: Monique Coleman SECONDED BY: Sonia Feliciano & Claudia Sampson BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING: January 24, 2024 WHEREAS, Riverbay’s mortgage with Wells Fargo, N.A., the terms and conditions of various guaranties of said mortgage and a Regulatory Agreement issued by HUD, SONYMA, and NYC HDC, as well as regulations of New York State Homes and Community Renewal, require Riverbay to maintain liability insurance in certain minimum amounts; and WHEREAS, Riverbay’s existing Commercial General Liability Insurance (CGL) Policy, Excess Liability Policy (Excess), and Umbrella Liability Policy (Umbrella) expire on January 31, 2024; and WHEREAS, Riverbay desires to replace its liability insurance at the lowest available cost in a timely manner; and WHEREAS, the premium for the expiring CGL, Excess and Umbrella policies was $3,360,728; and WHEREAS, the Director of Risk Management sought bids for liability insurance from three (3) different brokers; IMA, Lockton and McGriff; and WHEREAS, McGriff did not respond, Lockton submitted a non-bindable, conditional proposal; and IMA submitted a binding bid; and WHEREAS, the Director of Risk Management recommends placing the CGL, Excess and Umbrella Liability Policies through the incumbent broker IMA, as follows: 1) A self-insured reserve (SIR) of $1 Million per claim; and a 2) General Liability Policy (GL) of $1 Million per occurrence and $2 Million in the aggregate, for coverage in excess of the SIR, with AXIS Insurance Company, for the same expiring premium of $1,133,225; and 3) Excess and Umbrella Liability policies totaling $10 Million per oc-

currence and $20 Million in the aggregate, as a layered program among the following insurance carriers: a) AXIS Insurance Company $3 Million in Excess coverage above the SIR and GL coverage, at an additional cost of $1,488,000; and b) Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Company and United Specialty Insurance Company, jointly providing $7 Million in Umbrella coverage above the $3 Million Excess coverage, at an additional cost of $890,694; and WHEREAS, the total combined premium for the required coverage for the policy period of February 1, 2024 through and including January 31, 2025 shall not exceed $3,511,919, representing a 4.50% increase ($151,191), over the prior year; and WHEREAS, prior to voting on this Resolution, no Director has disclosed to the full Board any conflict of interest as required by NY Business Corporation Law Section 713.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Board approves placing the Commercial General Liability Insurance Policy, with a policy limit of $1 Million per occurrence and $10 Million in the aggregate, above a Self-Insured Reserve of $1 Million, with AXIS Insurance Company for an annual renewal premium not to exceed $1,133,225; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Board approve placing Excess and Umbrella Liability policies totaling $10 Million per occurrence and $20 Million in the aggregate as a layered program among the following insurance carriers: AXIS Insurance Company, $3 Million in Excess coverage above the SIR and GL coverage, at a not to exceed additional cost of $1,488,000; and Westchester Surplus Lines Insurance Company and United Specialty Insurance Company, jointly providing $7 Million in Umbrella coverage above the (Continued on page 22)

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Building 6 Association

Happy Saturday, neighbors. I hope when you read this it finds you in good spirits. This week was eventful. On Monday, Mayor Eric Adams came to Coop for a roundtable discussion in Dreiser about the state of our community and how city agencies can help.

My main focus was to bring awareness of the lack of programs and opportunities for the youth. We have the Teen Center in Section 5. The Beacon inside the Truman Educational campus that are both underserved so I believe with the newly formed Bldg. 6 Youth Committee, in concert with building a coalition of Section 1 Associations and other buildings and section associations, we can firmly usher the children to these wonderful, free programs that are available on weekends so neighbors, let’s get to work!

Also remember, tonight is our Family Game Night in the Association Room from 5-10 p.m. The Building Association will be hosting a Family Game Night every last Saturday of the month.

This week, I confirmed with the FDNY EMT Unit that on Friday, Feb. 9, we are hosting an essential CPR class in the Association Room, 5:30-7 p.m. Slots are limited so please RSVP to 347-366-7690.

In March, we have a Self Defense class facilitated by CCPD. Look out for details in the Association bulletin board and the CCTimes.

If any neighbor has an issue complaint and/or compliment, please email the Association, Bldng6assoc@gmail.com. Until next time, I continue to pray safety over all. God speed.

“My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.”

–Archbishop Tutu ––Lauren K. Lassiter

African-American Association The African-American Association of Co-op City is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom Meeting today at 3:00 p.m. See log-in credentials below. Note: Due to security reasons, we require all attendees, must be on camera and visible during AAACC Meetings or you will be removed from the webcast. We thank you for your cooperation in our attempt to protect the sanctity of our gatherings.

To Show You How Much We Care About Your Presence …

We are offering a gift. Our very own stimulus package. In the spirit of Dr. King, we must unite in our communities through our organizations. These are important and pivotal years. We are passionate about the struggle of all people and the importance of banding together to show the generations after us the importance of our “push.” Our youth must see us helping, supporting, and pushing each other into a bright, productive, prosperous future.

Our gift to each member is a complimentary 4-night Hotel Stay or Cruise. Hopefully you will be stimulated enough, refreshed and renewed enough that you will “join us” and enjoy your “vacation on us,” and make an impact, just by being a part of the African-American Association of Co-op City. Tell a friend about this incentive. Help us put the AAACC on the map!

Join the African-American Association of Co-op City Membership is $25.00/year single membership and $35.00/year family/ household. You can Zelle us your payment to become a member using our email address. Email: aaaccpower@gmail.com. Call us at: 646-883-9095. The African-American Association of Co-op City, P.O. Box 702, Co-op City Station, Bronx, NY 10475.

AAACC Meetings & Events Today, Saturday, January 27, 2024 – General Meeting, 3 p.m. on Zoom.

Meeting ID: 810 8863 9252, Passcode: 234622 February 3, 2024 – Black Film Festival, 3 p.m. on Zoom.

February 17, 2024 – Open MIC, Fundraiser, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Dreiser, Room 15 March 16, 2024 – General Meeting, 3 p.m. on Zoom.

April 6, 2024 – Open Mic, Fundraiser, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Dreiser, Room 15 April 20, 2024 – Holistic Health and Wellness Fair, noon-6 p.m., Room 31 May 18, 2024 – Co-op City Spelling Bee, noon-5 p.m., Dreiser, Room 4 May 19, 2024 – General Meeting, 3 p.m. via Zoom.

June 8, 2024 – Open Mic/Juneteenth Celebration, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Dreiser, Room 15 June 30, 2024 – General Meeting, 3 p.m., Dreiser, Room 15 Note: The new number to reach the African-American Association of Co-op City is 646-883-9095.

The AAACC sponsors the following programs for your participation Belly Dance Classes with Xonia Wilson – Contact: Xonia, 646-301-9438 Evening Line Dance Classes with Cynthia Dixon – Contact: Cynthia, 917-903-7073 Yoga & Pilates Classes with Meena Sharpe-Hicks – Contact: Meena at 917-863-1507 Co-op City Baptist Church “Gospel Line Dancers” with Joyce Smith – Contact: Joyce, 718-320-0714 Be the change you want, for more in 2024.

––Michelle Marbury

Resolutions ––– (Continued from page 20) $3 Million Excess coverage, at a not to exceed additional cost of $890,694; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the combined premium for liability insurance coverage for the period of February 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025 year shall not exceed $3,511,919; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Management is authorized to continue negotiations to attempt to obtain a lower total premium; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: that the President is hereby authorized to execute the insurance contracts and Management is authorized to take all steps necessary to make this action effective.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution shall take effect immediately.

YES: Coleman, Cylich, Feliciano, Marbury, Pearson, Peterson, Richardson, Rosario, Sampson, Saunders, Watson, Wright NO: Johnson, Lambright ABSENT FOR VOTE: Leslie PASSED

Broun Place Townhouse Association

Lots of stuff to appreciate and acknowledge here in Broun Place. We benefit every day, being in Co-op City. Thank you to the many neighbors and friends who have sent their condolences acknowledging our daughter, Miki Kindaichi’s death.

January 22, in the evening, a Co-op City event led by Mayor Adams was held in Dreiser Loop. It was also available to be viewed. Mayor Adams was here to lead a community conversation. I hope to have watched it through the lead information given us. This week, there was also an Open Board meeting on January 24, and January 30, the virtual carrying charge conference is being held. Technology is amazing. Let’s use it and keep informed.

The weather has been a monster but Mr. Ambo and crew have kept up really well. Thank you to them for picking up the red garbage can lid from the ground which would have been very heavy if more snow had fallen. The ground was well cleaned after the snow. Please keep up-to-date with Co-op City happenings by reading the Co-op City Times. Our Board of Directors, President Sonia Feliciano and General Manager Marvin Walton write regularly to keep us all informed and educated about what is going on. Viewpoints are written by Board members to provide space for them to share their take on our issues.

Please take the time to read them. Last week, Board member Mary Pearson wrote a very thoughtful column. Its title drew me in right away, “My Fellow Complainers.” The use of quotes by George Bernard Shaw were spot-on to her column. Thank you for your intelligent oversight on our problems, “never let a righteous opportunity to kvetch slip by unaddressed.”

Remember to please step up and clean up; show pride in our neighborhood.

There are litter bins on the dumpster pads for house garbage and cans on many corners and in the basketball court for pedestrian garbage. Let’s use those receptacles correctly. Pedestrian cans are for disposal of garbage happening as you drink water or eat snacks! I pick up what I see as I come across it while taking a walk, which hasn’t happened due to the cold but just want to remind you, this is the way to do your part here. Remember, if you see a crime or something you know is illegal, call CCPD. Public Safety, thank you to them for being responsive. Neighbors, don’t forget, get your vaccines. The Flu vaccine, RSV and Covid boosters are available and valuable. They truly help save lives.

—Eva Kindaichi-Lazaar

Get Involved! Co-op City is Your Home!

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Community Fridge/Pantry in Section 5 Remains Open Despite Frigid Temperatures

Did you know... that despite frigid temperatures and inclement weather this past Saturday, the community fridge in Section 5 continued to distribute fresh produce to shareholders? In addition, supporting fridge volunteers by distributing fresh produce was Jahmal Yapp, Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of Council Member Kevin C. Riley. So join us and bring a bag or your shopping cart and be part of our “Saturday Produce Party,” located by the Mosholu Montefiore Community Center for Teens. Dedicated volunteers will be there with warm smiles to greet you and distribute a variety of fresh fruits and veggies!

Photo credit- Linda Brown

Black Forum Emergency Food Pantry 920 Baychester Ave., Bldg. 1A (basketball court). The pantry is open on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 11:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m. for grocery distribution. Guests are eligible to pick up food once a month. All guests must present a pantry card, at least 4-6 clean shopping bags with handles and a shopping cart to receive food. We require guests to wear masks when visiting the pantry.

Section 5 guests should visit the Co-op City United Methodist Church at 2350 Palmer Avenue to pick up groceries. They open on Thursdays from 11:00 a.m.1:00 p.m. Religious affiliation is not necessary to receive food.

New Client Registration & Re-Certification for Returning Guests The period of registration and re-certification is now open through April 2024. Guests must be 18 years or older to apply or recertify. The required identification is as follows: NYC I.D. (zip code 10475), NY State Driver’s license, or NY State Non-Driver’s license. Passports, Medicaid and Medicare cards, employment identification, and Access-A-Ride identification are not accepted.

At the time of registration or recertification, every member of the household must be present and produce valid identification. Every member of the household needs to have the same 10475 address. The intake forms will only include the number of household members who are able to show up in person at the office. Those living in Sections 1, 2, 3, and 4 will register or recertify at the 920 Baychester Avenue location. Those living in Section 5 will register or recertify at the 2350 Palmer Avenue location on Thursdays.

Upcoming Trips In 2024, Black Forum will sponsor an exciting season of events! Here’s what’s to come: Saturday, February 17 – Winds Creek Casino, Bethlehem, PA, $55. Full payment is due by February 2nd; Saturday, June 8 – Caesars Atlantic City Casino, NJ, $55, Rebate: $25. Full payment is due by April 26; Saturday, August 17 – The Nordic, RI and Foxwoods Resort Casino, CT, $225. First payment ($75) is due by March 15, second payment ($75) is due by May 24, third payment ($75) is due by June 28. The Nordic is a popular hangout with an endless supply of lobster, crab, prime rib, filet mignon, shrimp, salads, veggies, and much, much more. Saturday, October 19 – Black Eyed Sally Southern Cajun Kitchen & Bar, then MGM Casino, $120. First payment ($60) is due by September 6, second payment ($60) is due by October 4.

We are accepting payments for trips now. Nonrefundable payments will only be accepted in the following forms: cash, personal checks, and ONLY postal money orders. Please call 917-209-5334 to book trips and arrange payment drop-offs.

All proceeds, through the Black Forum of Co-op City organization, fund the Emergency Food Pantry, which has been feeding the community for over thirty years. We truly value your unwavering assistance.

Contact Us coopcityblackforum@gmail.com.

––D. Illis For up-to-date communication from Riverbay Corporation, read the Co-op City Times, delivered to your building lobby and the community centers on Saturdays, tune in to the Crawler on your home TVs and lobby monitors, and register for Phone Tree notifications.

Building 10 Association Greetings, fellow cooperators.

New Cooperators – Welcome all new cooperators. We look forward to seeing you at the next General Membership meeting.

Annual Window Guard Notices – The annual Window Guard Notices are in the mail and must be returned by February 15th. You can respond by mail, fax, phone (646-392-7233) or online at www.safebuildingsnyc.com. If you failed to receive the notice or misplaced it, please contact your CSO office for more information.

Laundry Room Etiquette – Please refrain from using the carts, benches, and tables for dirty laundry. And please remove your laundry from the dryers and washers promptly at the completion of the cycle so others can use them.

Vermin – If you see any evidence of vermin, i.e., roaches, mice, etc., please contact the Call Center so they can schedule the exterminator.

If You See Something, Say Something – For emergencies, call Co-op City Public Safety at 718-671-3050 and NYPD at 911. For non-emergencies, call 311.

You can also contact CCPD at their anonymous tips hotline: 718-879-6311.

Suicide Prevention – If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or in emotional distress, the number to call for help is 988; you can call or text. Someone is available 24 hours a day.

Questions, Comments and Suggestions – You can contact the Building 10 Association via email at Building10Assoc@gmail.com. We are also on Facebook, “Building 10 “ABC” Association.” Like our page and get notified of all the happenings in and around Building 10.

We would like to wish all who are born this month an incredibly happy birthday.

Celebrating an anniversary this month? Happy Anniversary!

To the homebound and sick, we wish you a speedy recovery.

To all who have lost a loved one recently, we offer our deepest condolences.

Have a wonderful week.

––Jewel Crawford-Duncan

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

National Council of Negro Women Youth Committee – The first big program that we will be presenting this year will be our 21st Annual Black History Celebration that will take place on Saturday, February 24, in the Bartow Community Center. Our Youth Committee is seeking talented youth groups and young adults interested in volunteering to showcase their talent in song, dance, stepping, playing an instrument, poetry, SpokenWord, drama skit, etc. Please contact the NCNW Youth Committee at 914-826-5644 or send a video of your performance to ncnwcoopcitysocial@gmail.com.

NCNW National – On Tuesday, January 23, president and CEO Shavon Arline-Bradley, during a virtual session, highlighted the wins and lessons of 2023 and NCNW’s plans, events, and projections for 2024! Vital and informative updates focused on NCNW’s New Era journey of mobilizing our people, advancing our policy, revitalizing our infrastructure, and solidifying our programs. Topics included 2024 Civic Engagement Strategy, Social Justice, Election Season Preparation, Do’s and Don’ts. These are considered among our “NCNW Priorities.” Our organization promotes education; encourages entrepreneurship, financial literacy and economic stability; educates women about health and promotes healthcare access and promotes civic engagement and advocates for sound public policy and social justice.

To join our efforts, go to our website, www.ncnwcoopcitysection.com, and consider visiting our next Co-op City Section membership meeting.

January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month (con’t) – Cancer is a disease in which cells in the body grow out of control. Cancer is always named for the body part where it starts, even if it spreads to ther body parts later. When cancer starts in the cervix, it is called cervical cancer. It occurs most often in people over age 30. Long lasting infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer. The most important things you can do to help prevent cervical cancer are to get vaccinated against HPV at age 11 or 12, have regular screening tests as an adult, and go back to the doctor if your screening test results are not normal. A Pap test result can be normal, unclear, abnormal or unsatisfactory.

An HPV test result can be positive or negative.

Social Media – Remember you can find us on our website: www. ncnwcoopcitysection.com; on Facebook: NCNWCoopcityBethune; on X, formerly known as Twitter:@NCNWCoop City; on Instagram: NCNW Co-op City and email: ncnwco.opcity@gmail.com.

––Joyce Howard

Building 19 Association

I want to thank everyone who attended last Friday’s Association General meeting. At the meeting, the Association held its election for positions on the executive board. I thank the members who cast their vote to choose officers of the Association for the next two years. Congratulations to the candidates who ran unopposed for the following positions: President-elect: Vacant; treasurer: Francine Brown; assistant treasurer: Charlotte Codrington; secretary: Leon Tulton.

Since Sonia Feliciano was elected president-elect in 2022, she will automatically transition to president of the Association after the conclusion of the January 26th General election.

Next month, the Association will be collecting its annual dues in the lobby. The yearly fee is $10. We will be collecting the dues on the following dates: Saturday, February 3rd: noon-6 p.m.

Thursday, February 8th: 4-8 p.m.

Saturday, February 10th: noon-6 p.m.

Saturday, February 17th: noon-6 p.m.

Saturday, February 24th: noon-6 p.m.

Upon making payment, you will receive a membership card. More dates will be added so please look out for update announcements via this newspaper and fliers posted in the lobby.

A lockbox was installed in the lobby this month. Its purpose is to use as a tool to help the Association serve its members better. It is for use for the following three situations: 1) to gather complaints from members who put in a work order request to Riverbay and have not received any service after two attempts to contact the corporation, 2) to obtain suggestions from members about ideas to help improve the Association, and 3) to make recommendations of Riverbay staff to be commended by the Association for doing an exceptional job for our building. Next to the lockbox is a form that you can fill out and put into the lockbox.

Please note that this new service from the Association is for members of the Building 19 Association in good financial standing only. The Association will not be accepting any submissions from outside of our building.

Please save the following dates for our upcoming Committee and General meetings for 2024: Committee: Jan. 16th, Feb. 6th, Mar. 5th, Apr. 2nd, May 7th, Jun. 4th, Sep. 10th, Oct. 1st, Nov. 6th, & Dec. 3rd General: Jan. 26th, Mar. 22nd, May 10th, Jun. 14th, Sep. 27th, Nov. 22nd, Dec. 20th (End-of-the-Year Party) In closing, this will be my last article as building association president. After eight years, I will be taking on a new role in the Association secretary. I want to thank both past and present officers of the executive board for helping me to run the Association to serve the cooperators of our building. I also want to thank the members who were willing to lend a hand for Association-related activities. As we embark on a new year with Sonia Feliciano as the new president, I want to wish her much luck and success in leading the Association and to reassure the members that we will be in good hands under her leadership. Thank you, Building 19 family, for a memorable eight years as your president.

—Leon Tulton

NAACP Mission Statement: Our mission is to secure the political, educational, social and economic equality of rights in order to eliminate race-based discrimination and ensure the health and well-being of all persons. Known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), it profoundly affected the struggle for civil rights and the course of 20th Century American History.

General Meeting, January 28, at 3 p.m. on Zoom. Meeting ID: 812 2611 1321, Passcode: 377043. Call in: 646-558-8656.

Branch T-shirt Fundraiser began January 2024. T-shirts are available in navy and gold. Hooded sweatshirt available in navy. Fundraiser finishes on January 31st. Fundraiser link is: https://www.customink.com/fundraising/we-areproud-members-of-the-naacp-and-our-co-op-city-branch-lets-represent-ourcommunity-4060.

Quality of Life Through Data: NAACP and Brookings have partnered on The Black Progress Index, a new analysis of the places where Black people

are thriving most, as measured through their life expectancy. The NAACP is working to provide insight into the local civic actions that can improve life expectancy outcomes.

The Black Progress Index focuses on life expectancy and the “social determinants of health” — such as homeownership rate, education attainment, business ownership rate, and air pollution — to help provide insight into the local civic actions that can improve life expectancy outcomes and a valuable tool for Community organizers and elected officials. This data will: • Serve as an invaluable resource that community leaders can trust and call upon for research and policy analysis.

• Elevate the national discourse on improving upward economic and social mobility in America.

• Advance policy ideas for adoption among federal, state, and local policy makers to accelerate economic opportunity for individuals and communities.

Youth Scholarship: The Bronx Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. has published their 2024 Youth Scholarship. Applications must be postmarked by February 23rd. Please share this with anyone you know who may need it. You can find out more by contacting scholarship@dstbx.org 2024 NAACP 55th Image Awards will broadcast live in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 16, at 8 p.m.

Voting: This election season, we hold the most powerful tool to make democracy work for Black Americans: our vote. The issues that affect our community will make or break how we continue to thrive in this country. We can fix America’s broken democracy, vote. For more information on the NAACP’s work to mobilize Black voters, visit naacp.org/vote.

NAACP Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays from 10 a.m.-12 noon.

Commemorative Pins and Journals available to purchase.

Follow us on Facebook: Co-op City NAACP – Become a member, gift a membership or upgrade your membership. Membership is the Lifeblood of the organization. Join the NAACP to help us do the work. We march to defend democracy. Take your advocacy further by joining in the fight for our sacred right to vote. Annual Adult, $30; & Youth, $10; or Silver Life, $750. Make check/money order payable to: NAACP Co-op City. Mail to: NAACP Co-op City, 135 Einstein Loop, Room 36, Bronx, N.Y. 10475. To leave a message, call the office phone at: 718-320-3210 or email: naacpccity2210@gmail.com or naacpcoopbb@yahoo.com.

––Brenda Brown

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Building 25 Association Greetings and Happy New Year to our fellow cooperators. As we start this new year, may we all experience good health, joy and peace. Welcome to our new neighbors. Happy Birthday to those celebrating in January.

On January 5th, our Building Association held its holiday celebration which was enjoyed by the attendees. Thanks for your contribution of food, specialty drinks, desserts, music, games, and most importantly, your presence. We look forward to your continued support, and participation in our building’s activities and our Co-op City community, in general.

Our first meeting of this year started with a very informative presentation by Ms. Merianne Fabian, Project Director of JASA Co-op City NORC Program.

Thank you for your time and the invaluable information you provided.

Goings and Comings: Ms. Wanda Bailey, who served as our recording secretary for many years, has resigned that position. We extend sincere thanks to Ms. Bailey for her service and wish her well in her future endeavors. Ms. Evelyn Herbert will serve as interim recording secretary, until further notice.

Your Building Association is dedicated to serving and acting on your behalf.

If you have issues or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Our new email address is bldg25association@gmail.com. We also have a suggestion box in the laundry room and welcome your input.

We extend our condolences to the family of Ms. Mercedes Santiago.

Our next Building Association meeting will be held on February 20 at 7:30 p.m.

—Evelyn Herbert

Co-op City Toastmasters

Toastmasters is an international non-profit educational organization that focuses on improving its members’ public speaking, communication and leadership skills. Through its network of clubs worldwide, Toastmasters provides a supportive and positive environment where individuals can develop these skills through a selfpaced, learn-by-doing program. The organization offers opportunities for practicing public speaking, receiving constructive feedback, taking on leadership roles and engaging in impromptu speaking exercises, all designed to boost confidence and personal growth in a professional and social context.

We are so fortunate here in Co-op City to not just have one but two Toastmasters Clubs. The Co-op City Toastmasters Club is for those just starting out in their Toastmasters journey and the Bronx Advanced Speakers Club for the more advanced speakers.

What’s In It for Me? Our Toastmasters Club is designed to equip you with the abilities and self-assurance necessary for effective self-expression in diverse scenarios. It caters to a wide range of individuals, including experienced managers, students, young professionals, career-focused individuals and community leaders. As the most efficient, encouraging, enjoyable and cost-effective approach to enhancing communication skills, Toastmasters helps you articulate and convey your thoughts clearly, unlocking a realm of new opportunities. This

experience not only boosts your interpersonal communication skills but also enhances your persuasiveness and confidence in public speaking.

Toastmasters can assist you in various ways, including: • Enhanced Public Speaking Skills – Gain confidence and proficiency in public speaking.

• Improved Communication Abilities – Learn how to communicate your ideas clearly and effectively.

• Leadership Development – Develop and hone your leadership skills through practical experience.

• Networking Opportunities – Connect with a diverse group of individuals and expand your professional and social networks.

• Supportive Environment – Benefit from a supportive environment that encourages learning and growth.

• Flexibility in Learning – Tailor your Toastmasters experience to your personal goals and pace.

Upcoming Events & Contest Information 177 Dreiser Loop, Rm. 5 Sat., Feb. 3, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Defensive Driving Education. Call 347-927-1069 for pre-registration.

Tues., Feb. 13, at 7 p.m. BAS Advanced Club. All are welcome.

Thurs., Feb. 15, at 7:30 p.m.

CCTM Hybrid Club International and Humorous Speech Contests.

Zoom Link: 955 852 7325, Passcode: x4by9C. ––Kathy Blount

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The Church of St. Thomas The Apostle

177 Dreiser Loop, second floor, Room 2.

Greetings, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The congregation and clergy of St. Thomas invite you to worship with us. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20) The annual meeting of the membership of The Church of St. Thomas The Apostle, Inc. was held on January 21st following a brief service for Covenant Sunday. As a church family, we are grateful to God for all who were in attendance and participated.

This Sunday is the fourth Sunday After The Epiphany. The theme for this Sunday is endurance. There are many, sometimes unpleasant, experiences we must endure in this life. The Psalmist reminds us that “weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning” (Psalm 30:5) Jesus confirms this statement and encourages us with these words: “Ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy…and your joy no man taketh from you.”

(John 16:20,22) Our joy is an eternal joy in the knowledge that we will spend our eternity with Jesus in paradise.

Second Sunday after the Epiphany January 14th, 2024: • 11:00 a.m. – Communion Service • Fellowship with light refreshments following the service Bible Lessons: • 1 Peter 1:2-8, 1 Peter 2:9 • John 16:20-24 Prayer: Father, we pray that we may bear within ourselves a calm and steadfast mind, that we may meet the blows of life with courage and with cheerfulness, and ever lift glad hearts to thee, who art the fullness of our joy; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

—Rev. Dorian Miceli

Retirees of Dreiser Loop

Greetings, retirees and friends, We hope that this article finds all of you and your loved ones doing well.

Wind Creek Casino – Bethlehem, PA. Wednesday, March 13, $60 with $25 bonus slot play. Payment is due by February 14. Bus pick up at 8:30 a.m. on Dreiser Loop in front of H&R Block. Return trip drop-offs at Einstein, Asch, and Dreiser Loops.

Atlantic City Overnight Trip – Tropicana Casino/Hotel. Wednesday, May 29-30. One-night hotel stay and tribute to the “Jersey Boys and Girls” show; $295pp/double, $345pp/single; $15 bonus slot play & $25 food voucher. Deposit of $100 required by February 14 with the remaining balance due March 19. Bus pick up at 9 a.m. on Dreiser Loop in front of H&R Block. Return trip drop-offs at Einstein, Asch, and Dreiser Loops.

Carnival Cruise 2024 –Eastern Caribbean 9 day/8 night cruise (traveling to Amber Cove (Dominican Republic), Grand Turks, and Half Moon Cay (Bahamas) on the beautiful new ship Venezia leaving from NYC on July 16 (cruising through July 24, 2024).

Please contact Serita at (347) 564-5722 for information regarding these trips.

Serita will be available in Room 19 from 1-3 p.m. to accept payments on Tuesday, January 30, and Wednesday, February 14.

Membership Committee – We are now accepting annual membership dues for 2024. Please remit your check for the $25 annual dues made payable to the “Retirees of Dreiser Loop” and mailed to: Retirees of Dreiser Loop, 177 Dreiser Loop, Room 19, Bronx, NY 10475. Please note “new member” or “renewing member” and the year(s) for the payment in the memo line on your check.

Questions may be addressed to Mary at (718) 655-9170.

Happy Birthday – Cheers to all our January birthday celebrants. We wish you an incredibly happy birthday and continued peace and happiness throughout the year.

Condolences – We extend our condolences to Diane and Nelson Sweeting on the recent passing of Diane’s mother. Our condolences are also extended to the family of Joy Harris (our longtime honorary member).

Good and Welfare – Please keep all of those who are sick and/or shut in in your thoughts and healing prayers. We hope they will soon see brighter days ahead. Please notify Lorraine Parker at (718) 671-6403 of any member illnesses or deaths.

General Meeting – Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, February 7, at 1 p.m. in the Dreiser Center, Auditorium C. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend. We look forward to seeing you there.

––Georgiana Rodriguez

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Co-op City United Methodist Church/IEMU de Co-op City Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds

Come and Visit Us – We are a multi- ethnic and bilingual, Bible-centered congregation with spirit-filled worship. We offer a variety of opportunities for spiritual growth, fellowship, and service to God and our community. Services are held in person at 2350 Palmer Avenue across from Building 30. Parking is available. You can also participate with us via Zoom (904 4685745) or Facebook live (United Methodist Church of Co-op City). You’re always welcome.

––Pastor David Jolly “…But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33 NIV You may have made New Year’s resolutions to improve your health, finances, relationships, etc. However, as the month of January is coming to an end, you might be feeling behind and overwhelmed with your plans or lack of plans.

The questions is, what does it mean to seek God’s kingdom first?

We live in a world where material and physical needs take precedence over our spiritual needs. So, instead of living in constant and fruitless worry, Jesus gives His followers a different outlet for their energy. Matthew 6:33 calls us to make a deliberate choice, recognizing that wholehearted commitment to God requires prioritizing Him above any other competing interests or desires.

It is also a reminder that when we seek God in Spirit and in truth, and follow Jesus’ teaching, He will provide for whatever it is we truly need in order to accomplish His will.

From creation, God has a unique plan for each one of us. He desires that we would seek Him to fulfill His purpose. Seeking God first is also turning

Building 2 Association

We extend our gratitude to Assistant Executive General Manager, Mr. Cary Smith, for joining our General Meeting on January 16th. His presence offered shareholders the opportunity to address questions and concerns. Mr. Smith actively engaged with attendees, facing challenging inquiries without hesitation.

He assured us that he would follow up with the Association and individual shareholders, having taken note of their input.

A friendly reminder for residents of Building 2: Please be considerate in the laundry room by not leaving your clothes unattended in the dryers or washers. As it is a communal space, extended waiting times inconvenience others.

Let’s practice courtesy towards our neighbors.

Our next Food Distribution is scheduled for Saturday, February 3rd, from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. (or while supplies last). The entire community is welcome; remember to bring shopping carts and reusable bags.

Mark your calendars for the upcoming General Meeting on Tuesday, February 20th, at 7:00 p.m., in our community room at the rear of 2B (920 Co-op City Blvd.). Feel free to bring a neighbor or two. For questions or volunteering, contact us via email at building2assoc@aol.com or leave a voicemail at 347514-7291.

Thank you!

—Al Quattlebaum

away from our self-made plans and trusting in His plans. God plans are better than ours. He wants to prosper us, and we can trust Him to accomplish what is impossible for us. Therefore, having a desire to deepen your relationship with God is a worthy goal that can be made anytime of the year.

As we move further into the new year, be encouraged to seek Jesus first.

Pray, Trust Him, and follow His lead.

May our needs be aligned with God’s purpose for our lives, for His glory to be proclaimed!

Come and Receive a Blessing Tuesday: Online Bible Study (Zoom: 904-468-5745) * Español at 12:15 p.m.: Estudiando El Libro de Daniel * English at 6 p.m.: Studying the Book of Daniel Thursday: Bilingual Prayer Service in person, 10 a.m.

Food Pantry, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

Thursday, February 1st: “Cut the Sugar,” bilingual workshop facilitated

by LCOA at 11:30 a.m.

Upcoming Events – Save the Dates. All are welcome!

Sunday, January 28: Spanish Service at 10 a.m. and English Service at 11:30 a.m.

Sunday, February 4: Bilingual Service and Communion at 11:30 a.m.

• Celebrating birthdays with prayer and cake.

• Selling soups and salad; donations: $5 and up.

––Grace Abadia

Building 13 Association

We talk about the weather but let’s also consider how climate change plays a part. Research from climate experts around the world has shown that more dramatic extremes in both hot and cold temperatures are a symptom of climate change.

Because of human emissions, the area is warming rapidly, and evidence suggests that polar vortex disruptions are occurring more often as a result. This can make cold outbreaks last longer, too. Good news, “It turns out that the colder seasons are warming up more quickly than the warmer seasons.” So for now, stay bundled up and layered.

As of this writing, all cooperators should have received the annual Lead Paint, Window Guard and Fire Safety Information official notice. Each unit has its own response code for identification purposes. There are several ways to complete the form, by mail, phone, fax, or online. The forms must be competed

by February 15, 2024. If you have not received your envelope with the notice, please contact our area CSO, Ms. English, at lenglish@riverbaycorp.com.

Building 13 Election: Nomination for offices shall take place at the Regular Membership meeting in February. The Election shall be at the Regular Membership meeting in March. The newly elected officers’ term shall commence April 1st following installations and shall be for a term of two (2) years. You must be a member in good standing (paid member) and have attended the Association meeting a minimum of three times in each of the prior years. Guidelines for Eligibility and Election for office is currently posted on the bulletin board.

Thank you to our vice president, Mr. Mattison, for collecting signatures and to those shareholders who shared their opinion by signing the petition against the proposed cannabis dispensary. Please continue to send your comments to Community Board #10, attn.. M. Cruz, 3165 Tremont Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461.

Or send your comment via email to bx10@cb.nyc.gov or Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), Attn: Chris Alexander, W. Averell Harriman State Office, Building Campus – Bldg. 9, Albany, NY 12226.

Reminder: The RRCG (Rivers Run Community Garden) and the Section 2 presidents along with SFD (Summer Fun Day) members are in the planning stages for Earth Day and Summer Fun Day so save the dates. The Earth Day Parade will take place on Saturday, April 20, and Summer Fun Day is scheduled for Saturday, June 22 (rain date: June 23rd). There will be fun activities and new adventures and, of course, all are invited to these free events.

“We cannot seek achievement for ourselves and forget about progress and prosperity for our community.” –Cesar Chavez Visit our Facebook Page at: Building 13 Association Inc.–Co-op City. Our website is http://www.bldg13assoc.com or e-mail us at building13assoc@yahoo.com. Contacts: Leslie Peterson, president, at 718-320-1370; or Wendell Mattison, V.P. at 917-330-1380. Thank you for supporting our team.

––Leslie Peterson

Share Your Comments & Suggestions with Riverbay Shareholders are encouraged to submit input on how to improve services and service delivery as well as other ideas that impact the quality of life of Co-op City residents.

If you have a suggestion you’d like to share with the Riverbay Board and/or Management, visit the Home page of the official Co-op City website, coopcity.com, scroll down to the bottom and click on the “Comments & Suggestions” link.

Be an engaged shareholder. Share your ideas to improve quality-of-life in Co-op City.

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

27

JASA Co-op City NORC Program Invites You for These In-Person & Virtual Activities

JASA FREE Tax Preparation. Income Limit: Single, $32,000; w/dependents $60,000. Start Date: Mon., January 29. Back of the JASA NORC Office, 2049 Bartow Ave. Mondays, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Call 718-320-2066 for appointments.

Agatha House Foundation - National Diabetes Prevention Program – Meet & Greet, Fri., Feb. 2; 11 a.m.-noon. Bring your cart for a Pantry Bag. Join our 6-9 month program. For more information or to register, call Coach Brittany, 917-943-3503.

Bartow OAC’s BHM Arts/Crafts Exhibition – Sat., Feb. 10; Rm. 31; 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (Free).

Dreiser OAC presents “It’s a Love Thing,” a celebration of love & togetherness w/dancing, music & special performances on Tues., Feb.

Bartow

Sat., Feb. 3

Fri., Feb. 2

Thurs., Feb. 1

Wed., Jan. 31

Tues., Jan. 30

Mon., Jan. 29

Room 31 unless otherwise noted

BARTOW CENTER CLOSED (NORC) Line Dancing w/Bartow Swingers (ONLY) 12-1 p.m., Every Mon.

13, at 11 a.m., Dreiser Auditorium B. Tickets on sale at Dreiser OAC in Rm. 7 for $6.

Bartow OAC’s BHM Celebration – Tue., Feb. 23, noon-2:30 p.m. Tickets on sale in Bartow OAC only, $3.

Einstein OAC trip to see the Musical Moulin Rouge! – Wed., Feb. 7, at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $40. Payment due by Feb. 2.

Limited seats available. Bus departs from Einstein at 11:30 a.m. & return stops at approximately 6 p.m. at Einstein, Bartow & Dreiser. Call Einstein OAC for additional info., 718-671-5161.

Bartow OAC trip to Sight & Sound “Daniel,” Lancaster, PA with all-you-can -eat buffet at the Golden Corral; Thurs., April 11. Cost: $195 per person. Please pay at the Bartow OAC Center only. Pick up times/locations will be given at the Center.

Einstein

Memory Matters – Coping w/Memory & Cognitive Changes presented by Alzheimer’s Assoc. in partnership w/JASA. Meeting weekly on Fridays for 9 wks. Feb. 9 – Education & Orientation; Feb. 16-April 5, weekly group discussions, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m., JASA NORC Office. Pre-registration by Feb. 2 is required.

Contact 646-651-4717 or rrkersey@alz.org.

Request a pre-registration interview. Please allow two business days for a response.

Caringkind – The Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving representative will be in the Bartow Main Office every third Mon. of the month, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. for Alzheimer and Dementia Consultation/Health Care Proxy & Power of Attorney Consultation & other services.

Steel Drum Classes – JASA NORC Office, on Wed., 12:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.

Medicare Information – Thurs., 9 a.m.-

Dreiser

Room 49 unless otherwise noted

Room 7 unless otherwise noted

Mindful Mornings Tai Chi 9 a.m.-10 a.m.

Line Dance w/Sassy 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Book Club, 11 a.m.-12 noon Ageless Facials & Self Care, 1 p.m.-3 p.m., Rm. 35 Appointments Only

Target Trip, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Chair Yoga w/ Charles Tyler 10 a.m.-11 a.m. Virtual. 863492-4183, Passcode: Dreiser23 Stay Well w/Denise 10 a.m.-11 a.m., Rm. 2

12 noon, JASA NORC Office.

Notary – JASA NORC Office, Tues., 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m.; Weds. and Thurs., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. By appointment.

Technology Class – Thurs., 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Dial in number: 929-205-6099, Meeting ID: 862 5043 9695, Passcode: 896989.

Line Dance with Bartow Swingers – 12-1 p.m., Wed. & Fri., noon-1 p.m., Dreiser Loop, Aud. A. Notary – Einstein OAC until Feb. 2024.

Notary Appointments only, Thurs., 11 a.m.1:00 p.m. Starting Feb. 2024 will be on Tues. & Thurs. for Affidavit Notarizations, etc.

Please call Einstein OAC – 718-671-5161, for: Hair Styling, 1st & 3rd Wed. of the month, 9-11 a.m.: Braids, haircuts, shape-up, twist, ponytails, curls and more. Facials & Manicure: Every Mon., 1-3 p.m. Call for Appointments.

LUNCH & DINNER MENUS Alternate Kosher Meals are available

LUNCH: KOSHER: Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers, Cous Cous, Yellow Squash NON-KOSHER: Curry Chicken. Homemade Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Green Beans w/ Onion NO DINNER SERVED

Wellness Morning, 9 a.m.-11 a.m.

LUNCH: KOSHER: Chicken Shawarma, Current Events, 10 a.m.-11 a.m.

Yellow Rice, Israeli Salad Game Time, 11 a.m.-12 noon Wellness Morning, 11 a.m.-12 noon NON KOSHER: Southwestern Black Bean Bridge to Care Arthritis Exer- Zumba w/Ola, 1 p.m.-2 p.m., Fajitas, Sautéed Spinach cise, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Rm. 45 Auditorium A DINNER: BARTOW ONLY Computer & Tablet Class w/Ralph Creative Arts & Painting, KOSHER: Chicken Shawarma, Yellow 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

1 p.m.-2 p.m., Rm. 35 Rice, Israeli Salad, Pear; NON-KOSHER: Dial in number: 347-893-2966 Black Beans Fajitas, White Rice, Sautéed Go Easy on us Computers Meeting ID: 854 2963 5300 Spinach, Apple 2:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Rm. 40 Passcode: Dreiser23 Stay Well Exercise w/Odessa Hair Care 4U, 9 a.m.-11 a.m. Game Time, 9 a.m.-10 a.m.

LUNCH: KOSHER: Baked Flounder, Barley, Appointments Only 10 a.m.-11 a.m.

Moroccan Vegetables; NON-KOSHER: Caesar Current Events, 10 a.m.-11 a.m.

Bereavement Hour w/Dorine Spring in Your Step Stretch Salad w/ Grilled Chicken, Whole Wheat Pasta Salad Arthritis Exercise w/Damion (1st Wednesday only per month) & Tone w/Ola, 10 a.m.-11 a.m., 11 a.m.-12 noon, Rm. 2 12 noon-1 p.m.

Rm. 45 DINNER: BARTOW ONLY Line Dancing w/Cynthia Afternoon Crafts w/Ines & Julesa KOSHER: Baked Flounder, Pearled Barley, Wed. & Fri., 12:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m. Action Bodies In Motion 1:15 p.m.-3 p.m.

Moroccan Vegetables, Banana 11 a.m.-12 noon, Room 45 Dominoes w/Jose, 1 p.m.-2:30 Drama Club NON-KOSHER: Curry Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, p.m.

Prize Bingo & Board Games Sautéed Green Beans w/Peas & Corn, Apple 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., Rm. 4 Dinner Hour: 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

1 p.m.-2 p.m., Rm. 49A LUNCH: KOSHER: Pepper steak. Vegetarian Arthritis Exercise w/Damion, Game Time, 9 a.m.-10 a.m.

LoMein, Oriental Blend Vegetables; NON10 a.m.-11:15 a.m.

KOSHER: Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken, Whole Visual Arts w/Laura via Zoom Visual Arts, 10 a.m.-12 noon Wheat Pasta Salad Current Events, 10 a.m.-11 a.m.

10 a.m.-12 noon DINNER: BARTOW ONLY Knitting/Crocheting with Lynne Salsa Dancing, 11 a.m.-12 noon Wellness Morning, 11 a.m.-12 noon and Betty, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

KOSHER: Pepper Flank Steak, Vegetable, Oriental Blend Vegetables, Orange Card Games with Frankie, Walk With Ease, 1 p.m.-2 p.m. Spanish Class w/Angelica NON-KOSHER: Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chicken, 1 p.m.-2 p.m.

1 p.m.-2 p.m. (Twice a month) Whole Wheat Pasta, Apple Dinner Hour, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Walk w/Odessa, On Break Until Spring 2024 Blood Pressure, 12 noon-1 p.m., (1st & 3rd Tues.)

Health & Wellness w/Ann 11 a.m.-12 noon Adult coloring, 12 noon-1 p.m.

Smart Phone & Tablet Class w/Julesa, 1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m.

Dinner Hour: 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Never Too Old to Learn Spanish, 10 a.m.-11 a.m., Rm. 35

Massage Therapy, 10 a.m.-12 Sewing Class w/Joy, 9 a.m.-12 Coloring for Calmness noon noon, Rm. 2 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m Manicure, 10:30 a.m-12 noon Knitting & Crocheting w/Loretta 10 a.m.-12 noon Chess Club, 10 a.m.-12 noon Line Dance with Cynthia Alert & Alive w/Cathy and Essie 12:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.

Blood Pressure Screening 10 a.m.-11 a.m., Rm. 4 Dinner Hour, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

10:30 a.m.-12 noon Line Dance w/Sassy, 1 p.m.-2 p.m., Drama Club w/Dazee Windley Let’s Get It on Zumba Aud. A 3 p.m.-4 p.m., in the back of 1 p.m.-2 p.m.

Bingo w/Gay, 1:20 p.m.-2:50 p.m., Rm. 4 the JASA NORC Office Intergenerational Arts & Crafts Menu Fee for lunch is $2 & $5 for guest. ALL meals served w/margaw/Denise, 10 a.m.-12 noon rine and fresh milk. Menu subject to change without notice.

Salsa with Rasheed For information, please call: (718) 320-2066. Schedule subject to change 10 a.m.-11 a.m. without notice.

Word Games Payments for trips at the Bartow office can be made Monday – Friday: 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

9 a.m.-12 p.m. & 2 p.m.-4 p.m. only Bingo on Saturdays, 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. in the Funded by: The NYC Department for the Aging, the back of the JASA NORC Office. NYS Office for the Aging and Riverbay Corporation.

LUNCH: KOSHER: Italian Roast Chicken, Spinach Noodle Kugel, Roasted Zucchini NON-KOSHER: Beef Meatballs, w/ Sofrito, Yucca with Onions, Oriental Blend Vegetables DINNER: BARTOW ONLY KOSHER: Italian Roasted Chicken, Spinach Noodle Kugel, Roasted Zucchini, Apple NON-KOSHER: Beef Meatballs w/Sofrito, Yucca w/Onions, Oriental Blend Vegetables Saturday: Lunch OAC servedLUNCH at 12:30 p.m.

BARTOW until finished: BARTOW KOSHER: Vegetarian Stuffed ONLY Cabbage, Instant Mashed Potatoes, Steamed CarKOSHER: Moroccan Style Roasted rots, Kiwi Chicken Legs, Brown Rice, Steamed Green NON-KOSHER: Baked Fish in Marsala Beans, Plum Sauce w/Mushrooms, Rice, NON-KOSHER: Soft TacoPerfect w/Vegetables., Mixed Vegetables, Banana Rice Pilaf, Baby Carrots w/Parsley, Banana

28

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

St. Joseph’s Episcopal Anglican Church St. Joseph’s is located at 155 Dreiser Loop, lower level, Co-op City, Bronx, NY 10475.

E-mail: stjosephsepc@aol.com. Church phone number: 718-320-0844. Priest-in-Charge: Fr. Simeon O. Johnson; cell: 917-227-4303.

Greetings! Due to the ongoing pandemic and related repairs to our space, St. Joseph’s Church has made some adjustment to our schedule of services until further notice. We are gradually getting back to normal. We are almost there!

In-person worship service for the fourth Sunday after The Epiphany will be conducted by Father Simeon Johnson at the church on Sunday, January 28, at 9 a.m. as well as via teleconference.

Please also remember to tune in for the usual teleconference weekday prayers at noon. To participate by teleconference, dial 1-425-436-6344, Access Code: 509 898, followed by the # sign.

It is that time of year again when we collect, complete and return our Pledge Cards which are vital in the completion of the budget. These cards are meant to reflect our financial pledge as well as an offer to volunteer our time and talent where and when possible. Please remember to pray about these commitments and do the best that you can.

Our Annual General Meeting will take place immediately after the church service. Please make a special effort to come out to service and stay for the general meeting. This is your opportunity to elect or re-elect your vestry members and officers of the church.

Sincere condolences to our members, families and friends who have recently lost loved ones.

May the souls of the departed rest in perfect peace.

To our sick and shut-in, we extend our well wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery.

Happy Birthday and best wishes to all the January birthday celebrants.

We at St. Joseph’s are collecting food (cans and dry goods) for the food pantry at Grace Episcopal Church, West Farms. If you can, please contribute for those in need.

Grace and Peace!

—Merville Chambers

Circle of Christ Church Iglesia Circulo de Cristo

Traditional Synagogue of Co-op City The Traditional Synagogue of Co-op would like to graciously thank Food Universe of Co-op City for its very generous donation to the congregation.

The synagogue would appreciate donations to keep our shul open. If you would like to help, go to www.Gofundme.com/Traditional-Synagogue-of-Co-op-City to donate, or mail to The Traditional Synagogue located in Section 5, 120 Erdman Place in the rear lobby of 27B. The synagogue will be serving a hot kiddush meal after Sabbath morning services. Entrance to our synagogue for Saturday services is on the side door of Building 27B. General Information The Traditional Synagogue is located in Section 5, 120 Erdman Place in the rear lobby of 27B. It is on the ground floor of Building 27B; it is handicap accessible, no steps. Phone #: 718-379-6920. Office hours are Thursday and Sunday from noon to 2 p.m. Please call the office before you attempt to come over. If no one is in the office, please leave a message.

The synagogue has Services on Saturday morning starting at 10 a.m. After Services, we always have a kiddush.

The synagogue has a Facebook page, Traditional Synagogue.

The synagogue needs donations. Whatever amount you can donate, big or small, would help. The synagogue needs men to help make a minyan. There are a lot of Jewish men who live in Co-op City who do not come to services. Please come by 10 a.m. so we can take out the Torah.

The Traditional Synagogue is the only synagogue in Co-op City.

Sabbath ends on Saturday, January 27, at 5:59 p.m.

Candle Lighting for Friday, January 26, at 4:45 p.m.

Good and Welfare We sell tree certificates, in Honor or Memory of a loved one. The cost is only $15.00 per tree (if you want to buy a tree, call 347-449-5005). Mazel Tov, to all having simchas. If you’re ill, wishing you good health. If you asked the Rabbi to say prayers for a sick person, you should make your donation to the synagogue.

To all Members Happy Birthday to Saul Weber and all members who will be celebrating their birthday in January. Please send me your name and I will add it to the list.

Fun and Games After services and kiddush, members play games. Your support for the Traditional Synagogue is greatly appreciated.

Wishing all our members and friends peace and good health.

––Bruce Gitelson

You Can’t Outgive God God instituted a universal law of sowing and reaping. Non-Christians call it karma. We eventually gain what we invest in, whether good or evil. Dr. Charles Stanley includes this as a life principle: “You reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.”

Proverbs 11:24 One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. 25 A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

2 Corinthians 9:6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

In giving, we align ourselves with God who is the greatest giver. He sustains life throughout the universe and allows us to make free choices daily. Yet he cautions us that givers receive while withholders eventually lose everything. Giving for God’s purposes leads to blessing.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who can do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, 21 to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

It is God’s power working in us. Therefore, God is only limited by the amount of you that you give to him. This includes time, talent, and treasure. Paul says that God’s blessing is immeasurable. It cannot be counted or contained but we have to appropriate it.

Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Jesus says Give. No amount is specified but givFamily Owned and Operated ing should be in proportion to prosperity. God creates the faith you exercise when you give to bless • Large Chapel • Pre-need counseling you further as you trust him. We demonstrate faith on premises by giving sacrificially. Faith has feet moving in • Out of town services • Ample Parking God’s direction. on premises A dignified funeral every family can afford.

Schedule • Cremations • Casket Showroom 147 Dreiser Loop (lower level).

All areas are handicapped accessible on premises During the mid-winter break, CCC children’s Amid ongoing concerns about the Coronavirus COVID-19, McCall’s Bronxwood Funeral Home is church (5-12 yrs.) will be hosting random acts of closely monitoring the latest reports from the CDC and is fully committed to providing the funeral and kindness memorial services you expect without interruption, in a clean and hygenic environment.

February 20-22, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Register at the entrance.

Personalized & Professional Care • 57 Years Serving Our Community Every 1st Sunday of the month, Bilingual Communion Service Worldwide Shipping including Caribbean, Africa & South America Sunday: Spanish, 9 a.m. & English Service, 11:30 a.m.

Tuesday: Prayer, 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Wed. & Thurs.: Non-perishable food distribution from 12-2 p.m.

Thursday: Prayer/Bible Study, 6:30-8 p.m.

Serving all Call Friday: Youth Service (Operation Grace), 6:30cultures 24 9 p.m.

LIVE STREAMING WORLDWIDE. Hours & faiths Saturday: All Fellowships are postponed until February. www.mccalls.net • director@mccalls.net Blessings in Christ, 4035 Bronxwood Avenue, Bronx, N.Y. —Pastor Luis F. Ramos Jr.

718-231-7647 Fax: 718-231-7665

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Church of the New Vision Greetings, in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The Church of the New Vision and Pastors Kenneth and Deborah Hodge welcome you to worship with us at 115 Einstein Loop North, Bronx, NY 10475. Church phone, 718-671-8746, and Pastor’s phone, 914-522-5039.

Happy, Healthy New Year to all.

Our scripture verse for 2024 is: Hebrews 12:2 NIV “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God.” Sunday service at 11:00 a.m. All are welcomed.

Masks are required and temperature will be taken.

Noon Day Prayer Line now open, 12-12:30 p.m. Wednesday Night Prayer Service and Bible Study, 7:00-8:00 p.m. The Conference Line number: 646-7699900; Access Code: 3099388#. Please mute your phone.

January 21, Worship Service Theme: “My Little Children Abide in Him.” Scripture: 1 John 2:28 KJV “And now, little children, abide in him; that,

when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”

Announcements & Save the Dates Saturday, February 10 – Amen Ministries and Church of the New Vision present “A Blueprint for Wellness” at the church location, 135 Einstein Loop, from 10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. Services offered are Pre-Bio Metric Health Screening, Covid-19 vaccine and flu shots, eye exam and blood pressure testing. Bring family, friends and guests. Everyone must register with amenministriesrev314@gmail.com or ljscott_2000@yahoo.com. All are welcome.

Wednesday, August 14 – Now accepting $50 deposits to see “Daniel” at the Sight & Sound Theatre. Adults, $215/Youth, $175.

We continue to pray for speedy recovery for the sick and shut-in, and offer condolences to families who lost loved ones and good health and wellness for all.

Your contributions, tithes and offerings can be mailed to Church of New Vision, P.O. Box 75-3037, Einstein Station, Bronx, New York 10475. Thank you.

––Brenda Brown

Newsong Church The Lord’s Prayer 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Matthew 6:9 (NKJV) We often call this section of Scripture “The Lord’s Prayer” because Jesus gives His disciples a template to help them connect with God in prayer. It’s not that Jesus’ disciples didn’t know how to pray, but they wanted to have the same kind of intimacy with God that Jesus had. Maybe you can relate? You love God, but you’re not sure how to talk to Him. Jesus teaches us that we can approach God as our heavenly Father, not because we’re so good but because He is. When we repent of our sins and trust in Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, we are adopted into God’s family. (See Romans 8:15) As Christians, we should look at our prayer time as having a conversation with our dad. Now it’s possible that you didn’t have a great relationship with your earthly father, but our God isn’t a deadbeat, He’s not abusive, He’s not distant, or angry. He loves you and is ready to

have a conversation with you!

About us Newsong Church is a life-giving church right here in Co-op City! We believe that every person can know God, find freedom, discover their purpose, & make a difference in this world! No matter what you’ve been through or where you come from, you are welcome. Join us for Sunday worship and see why God’s family is no ordinary family…Check us out at 135 Einstein Loop!

Sunday Worship Experience Our Sunday worship experience starts with celebration. We make music to please God and to build others up. Colossians 3:16 says, “Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” We sing to bring glory and honor to God, and celebrate who He is and what He’s doing in our church! Our Adult Worship Experience starts every Sunday morning, 11 a.m. in Room 45 Newsong Deaf Church, Room 35 Our deaf worship experience is in ASL so that our deaf and hearing impaired can worship and

AARP Chapter #4997

The year 2024 has come in with temperatures and weather we have not seen in our lifetime. The changes can be harmful to everyone, especially with viruses that are already affecting us. We need to be mindful of our health conditions and keep ourselves always protected.

AARP Chapter #4997 is proud to be supporting our National and State organizations for a one-day working trip to Albany on February 6th. We will be travelling to visit the elected officials in Albany for “A Visibility Day of Action” to remind everyone what issues are important to us as constituents. The political arena has changed so much that all votes are needed and mandatory if we are to maintain the rights that our elders fought for and acquired so that there would be equality for all. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rep. John Lewis, Andrew Young, Rosa Parks, Ralph Abernathy, A. Philip Randolph and many other strong believers in equality waged a battle that was costly, and we should not risk losing those rights. As of now, voting is a right that our Supreme Court has not yet taken away. This election year could prove to be a pivotal change for America.

Our CPR Training class scheduled for January 19th was rescheduled for March 14th due to the inclement weather we have been experiencing. The Tour Committee has a few remaining seats for the one-day trip to Wind Creek Casino on April 30th. This trip includes a presentation of “A Tribute to the Supremes,” time at the casino, with a casino voucher for your use. You will also receive a food voucher for your meal.

The cost is $169.00 per person, and you can contact Ms. Wright, 718-379-3370, or Ms. Brown, 718-3797962, for purchases or to get information. They can also give you updated information on the Hawaiian Cruise for September 2024.

Our office hours are Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., 177 Dreiser Loop, Room “0,” second floor.

Our telephone number is 718-320-1946 and our e-mail is aarp4997@gmail.com. We answer all messages on our next in-office day so please leave a message. As the health issues continue to be of concern to everyone, our offices and meetings are masked-mandated. If you do not have one, it will be provided to you.

There are different rules for various places, and there are 11 city hospitals who are now masked mandated so be mindful as you travel around the city. Ms. Baker, our membership contact, can be reached at 718379-2088 for new/renewal applications, information or to collect the annual dues of $20.

Mrs. Wilson, 718-671-5493, is sending continued prayers for all members as they move forward on their path to better health. She advises there is no new news for this week, which is a blessing.

Remain involved, active, and informed in all matters important to us as a community as well as personally.

We are here to serve – not to be served.

—Ann Purnell

Riverbay’s Website Address is:

www.coopcity.com

fellowship in their own language!

Kidsong, Room 49 We’ve created a place where children can have fun and learn about Jesus on their own level!

Newsong Church Youth NSCY is Newsong’s student ministry. Today’s middle and high school students will lead the next generation of the church and change the world.

At NSCY, our goal is to graduate students into a lifetime of following Jesus. NSCY meets every Friday evening, 7:30 p.m., Room 42.

So, what are you waiting for? There’s a God in heaven who loves you and has a purpose and plan for your life! Do you live outside of Section 5?

Remember, a church alive is worth the drive! Come and find hope. Come and find healing. Come and find freedom.

Contact Us Mailing Address: 135 Einstein Loop, Rm. 42 Email: CentralTeam@newsongchurchnyc.org Website: www.newsongchurchnyc.org Phone: 917-342-2559 Social Media: Instagram: @newsongchurchbx, Facebook: @newsongchurchbx, Twitter: @ newsongchurchbx, YouTube: Newsong Church NYC —Pastor Mike Tolone

It has already opened its doors!

The Spanish 7th Day Adventist Church, Co-op City We are located at 177 Dreiser Loop, Co-op City, Bronx NY 10475 Room #127 Our Day of Worship is every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and at the end we have a special lunch.

Come with your family and a warm church of good people who love God and their neighbor will be waiting for you.

For more information contact Pastor Elias Santana at 347-364-0601 “I was happy with those who told me: To the house of the Lord we will go.”

Psalm 122:1 We will wait for you!

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Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

Building 20 Association

Co-op City Baptist Church

Greetings to our neighbors and friends, Thank you to all the Building 20 residents who attended the January 17th Building 20 Association meeting. If you missed it, here are some highlights.

Report from the Buildings and Grounds Committee meeting: Robo calls: Everyone doesn’t get every robocall. An occurrence might be specific to one building, so the robocall only goes to that building. Call Center: Customer training is ongoing for the customer service agents. Laundry Room: Clothes should not be left in the washing machines and dryers unattended. They are working on an audio recording to remind cooperators. Window Guard Form: All shareholders must complete and return this form to Riverbay, whether or not you have a child. Building Association Presidents: They did not have holiday events because the community center room prices were too high.

At our meeting, cooperator reported that people appeared to be sleeping in the stairwells and teenagers are also hanging out there. Therefore, members questioned whether CCPD is still doing the scheduled security stairwell sweeps. Cooperators should be careful retrieving their packages from the Amazon lockers and try to go during the daytime because people have been seen lurking around the lockers.

Please continue to report what you see that looks suspicious.

The president reported that she received the License Agreement and other documents, from Vanessa Aldea, the CSO director. She thanked the members for their help with decorating the lobbies and our meeting room and expressed the need for more residents to assist. Also, thanks to the Riverbay Janitorial staff who helped us to remove the decorations. It was very much appreciated. We discussed planning a spring outing and/or having a fundraising event. Please share your ideas with us at the February meeting and we will select an event.

Our guest speaker was Dr. Adeyemi LaCrown Oloruntoba, president of the Coalition of African-American Churches & Community Organizations of Coop City, Inc. He discussed the Riverbay community center room rental rates and in-kind service. Cooperators are making an effort to reduce these rates. We are being priced out of our own community. We must come together and correct this wrong. He asked the cooperators for their support at the Open Board Meeting on January 24th.

Ms. Daisy Windley was the winner of the 50-50 raffle and gave the Building Association a generous donation.

Please note that the Building 20 Association meetings will be held on Thursdays from February until June. Our next meeting will be on February 15, at 7:00 p.m. in the Section B meeting room. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend.

Continue to have a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Prosperous New Year.

—Francine Jones

Rev. Dr. Sheldon E. Williams and the Co-op City Baptist Church family invite you to join us for Worship Service tomorrow at 8 a.m. in person only and at 11 a.m. in person and on Zoom. Sunday School classes for all ages will be held at 9:30am.

We are located at 135 Einstein Loop, Room 50 (lower level), Bronx, NY 10475. Telephone, 718-320-3774. Masks are required.

The service is also available on Zoom at https://us04web.zoom. us/j/9623430102 or Zoom Telephone Conference Line, (646) 568-7788, Meeting ID: 962 343 0102#, Password: 788175#.

The church’s Free Conference Call Line dial in number is 857-357-0254, Access Code is 660065#.

Rev. Williams asks everyone who calls into the Sunday Worship service to use Zoom through your computer or dial in using the Zoom information shown above.

Tomorrow, Sunday, January 28, we will have our Installation of Officers during the 11 a.m. service. The guest preacher will be Father Kareem Smith, pastor, St. Michael the Archangel Roman Catholic Church. All are invited.

This week’s events: Wednesday Bible Study Class at 1 p.m. by Zoom; no 5 p.m. Bible Study class this week; Prayer Warriors Prayer Service on Thursday at 12 noon; Friday Mid-Morning Prayer Service at 10 a.m.; no 7:30 p.m. Friday Evening Prayer Service this week. All are on the church conference call line.

The Scholarship Ministry invites you to cruise with them aboard the Celebrity Equinox Ship on Tuesday, July 30, to Thursday, August 8. Ports of call are Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Price for inside double occupancy staterooms is $3,995.00 per person. Only two staterooms in this category remain. To make the required deposit, contact Ms. Hermena Smith, travel agent, at 646-780-9813.

If you are interested in acquiring a balcony stateroom, contact Sis. Claudette Cutlar Day at 718-379-0541. Please be mindful of the date, April 1, 2024. This is the deadline for paying the balance on the July cruise. Before making your final payment, please check with Sis. Day for the amount of your balance. For your convenience, payments and balances will be accepted prior to April 1, 2024. Thank you.

The church has a free app available on your app store by putting in Co Op CBC. This app is open to all.

God will strengthen us as we continue to travel through this storm. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 The Co-op City Baptist Church exists to glorify God and to establish a living community of people who follow the teachings of Jesus the Christ through Worship, Prayer, Bible Study and Fellowship. We seek to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the church through ministry.

—Marilyn C. Williams

Goose Island Seniors

Goose Island Valentine Party – Wed., Fed. 14, at 1 p.m. in our club room 39.

Members only. Covered-dish. Bring something or pay $15 at door. Free for Feb. birthday members.

Mohegan Sun – Cancelled.

Wind Creek Casino – Bethlehem, PA. Tue., Feb. 20; $60, bonus $25 play. Pick up: Einstein Loop, 7:45 a.m.; Asch Loop, 8:15 a.m., and Dreiser Loop, 8:30 a.m.

Payment due Feb. 6. Make checks to Goose Island Seniors. Vaccination required.

Wind Creek Casino – Bethlehem, PA. Sat., Feb. 24; $60, bonus $25 play. Pick up: 8:15 a.m., Einstein Loop; 8:45 a.m., Asch Loop; and 8:55 a.m., Dreiser Loop.

Info: 646-579-1701.

Sight and Sound (Daniel) – Bethlehem, PA. Thu., April 25. Price: $215. Miller’s Smorgasbord Restaurant. For information, call 646-579-1701.

Sight and Sound (Daniel) – Bethlehem, PA. Tue., May 7. Balcony seats (2 or 3 steps down). Price: $195. Deposit: $50 to reserve seat on bus. Balance due April 17, 2024. Make checks to Goose Island Seniors or Zelle to 347-847-1941. Golden Corral restaurant before show. Vaccination required.

Villa Roma – Tribute to Diana Ross and Gladys Knight, Tue., June 11. Waitlist only. Price: $125. Down payment: $50 to reserve seat. Balance due by May 20.

Make checks to Goose Island Seniors. Mail to 135 Einstein Loop, Room 39, Bx., NY 10475 or Zelle to 347-847-1941. Vaccination required.

Tribute to Whitney Houston – at Tropicana Casino, June 27. Price: $150. Bonus: $25 slot play and $20 food voucher. Waitlist only. Deposit $50 to reserve seat on bus. Balance due: June 5th.

Holiday Hills – Prospect, CT. Tues., Aug. 20. Price: $130; $50 deposit to reserve seat on bus. Balance due by Wed., July 17.

2024 Norwegian Cruise – Hawaii, Aug. 31-Sept. 7. Call: 646-579-1701.

2024 Las Vegas Trip – Oct. 11. Call: 646-579-1701.

Notary – with Yvonne Menefee, Thursdays, 10:00 a.m.-5 p.m., 135 Einstein Loop, Room 34 or 39.

Bingo – Mon., Wed. and Fri., 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Members only. Admission: $5 for 3 cards, $0.25 each additional card; 12 games and jackpot. Refreshments.

Game day – Tue. and Thu., 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Dominoes, Bid Whist, movies, socializing and more.

To all members: Happy Birthday to our members who celebrate their birthday in the month of January: Diane Williams, Mary Roach, Yolanda Jones, Othelia Jones, Leona Weeden, Novella Thomas, Alma Cruz, Sarah Arteaga, Barbara Richardson, Zulma Medina and Dorthula C. Ahulu.

Sick and Shut-in – Our former president, Mary Pilla, is doing fine and says hi to everyone. Call her at (718) 753-1816. Ella L. Thorne sends her love.

Our club is at 135 Einstein Loop, Rm. 39, Bronx NY 10475, the Section 5 Community Center; (718) 379-9613, Stephen’s cell (347) 847-1941. Our email address is goose.island@optonline.net, $StephenCarlSr. Good health to all.

––Stephen Roberts, Sr.

Building 33 Association Good day, shareholders.

President’s Report: On Monday, January 22, the building presidents met with Mayor Eric Adams. In my last article, I asked if any of you had concerns regarding the community you wanted me to discuss with the Mayor, and I didn’t receive any questions. As of the writing of this article, the meeting hasn’t happened yet but if I get the chance to, I would like to ask the Mayor what his plans are regarding crime in the public transit system. Many of us and our children use the subways and buses, and crazy things are happening. A huge problem is New York citizens walking around with severe mental health issues. In this building, there are shareholders being kept awake at night with banging and it’s suspected that mental health is involved. Years ago, it was decided to close mental health facilities and integrate these patients back into the community. We need to know how that is working out. We and the rest of New York City residents should be able to ride the transit system and feel safe!

Environmental: Shareholders, please be mindful of what you are leaving in the compactor rooms. Many are not following the rules, and the consequences are dire. Nothing with food remnants should be left in the room for recycling.

Everything should be washed clean, and ideally, left in a plastic bag. Large boxes should be broken down, folded, left on the shelf, or taken to the basement. What you are doing affects everyone. For instance, someone dropped a cup of soda in the elevator. Not only did you not wipe up the spill, but you left the cup and ice for me to pick up. If you drop it, pick it up! If you spill it, do the best you can to wipe it up. These are simple things, people; wake up!

If you have an issue with pests, call Riverbay and make an appointment with the exterminator! If you clean your apartment with disinfectant and have the exterminator treat your apartment, they will die. So get to it before they leave your place and infiltrate your neighbors’! Another complaint about shareholders not cleaning after your dogs, and a shareholder witnessed an adults doing this. If you, or your child, is walking your dog, make sure what’s left behind is picked up! Stop being lazy. No one wants to see what your dog leaves behind! We have beautiful walkways we’d like to enjoy! This is simple people, wake up!

Social: Next month starts Black History Month. Do any of you know someone famous who could come to our building meeting? Let me know. We will have one in February. I will keep you posted on the date.

If anyone is suffering from a sickness or loss, the Building Association is praying for you. Let us know if there is anything we can do to help.

Blessings to you and yours for the week. Take care and walk good.

––Andrea D. Mayo

CLASSIFIEDS

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

31

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If you have knowledge or a concern of possible violations of law, accounting irregularities, or other suspected wrongdoing affecting Riverbay, you are encouraged to report it to law enforcement, or you may report it through an anonymous hotline by one of the following methods: • Go to an independent website, www.lighthouse-services.com/riverbaycorp, to complete online disclosure form; • Call independent third party whistleblower hotline: 1-833-290-0009 (English); 1-800-216-1288 (Spanish); • Email reports@lighthouse-services.com (the email must include “Riverbay” in the subject); • Send a fax to (215) 689-3885 (the fax must include “Riverbay” in the subject of the report).

32

Co-op City Times / January 27, 2024

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