Honoring the struggles, achievements and history of African-Americans
Vol. 59 No. 5
Saturday, February 3, 2024
HCR Projects 8.1% Carrying Charge Increase May be Necessary to Balance Riverbay’s 2024/2025 Budget %< 52=$$1 %221(
Riverbay’s application to the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) seeks approval for a 2.1% carrying charge increase, but the agency is projecting that an 8.1% increase may be needed to balance the corporation’s 2024/2025 budget based on the uncontrollable factors cited in the Riverbay application – skyrocketing insurance costs, utilities and real estate taxes. HCR representatives attending the Tuesday, January 30th carrying charge conference held with Co-op City shareholders emphasized, however, that a ¿QDO GHWHUPLQDWLRQ KDV QRW \HW EHHQ PDGH RQ WKH DPRXQW RI WKH LQFUHDVH ZKLFK the HCR Commissioner will issue at a later date, although the earliest that an increase would be implemented is April 1, 2024. *HRUJH 6LPRQ +&5¶V 0DQDJHU 2I¿FH RI ,QWHJUDWHG +RXVLQJ 0DQDJHment, and Co-op City’s state representative, facilitated Tuesday evening’s virtual meeting which was attended by approximately 33 shareholders, 14 of which were call-in’s to the conference. Mr. Simon introduced Riverbay Executive General Manager Marvin L. Walton to present on behalf of Riverbay Corporation regarding the need for the increase. In his presentation, Mr. Walton gave an overview of the corporation’s 2024/2025 budget, explaining that the WRWDO LQFRPH SURMHFWHG IRU ¿VFDO \HDU 2024/2025, which starts on April 1, 2024 is $274,953,900 and expenses are SURMHFWHG DW ZKLFK UHVXOWV LQ D GH¿FLW RI RU (Continued on page 4)
MTA to Hold Metro-North Penn Access Info Session in Section 5 The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is hosting a Penn Station Access Co-op City Information Session in Section 5 on Wednesday, February 7, 7-9 p.m. in Room 45 of the Einstein Center, 135 Einstein Loop. The Metro-North Penn Station Access project is a critical transit equity project that will bolster equity, regional connectivity and reliability by providing four new ADA-accessible passenger stations in the East Bronx, according to the MTA. One of those new stations will be built in Co-op City. Join the MTA this coming Wednesday, Feb. 7, in Section 5 for an information presentation and Q&A to learn more about the Penn Station Access Project and the Co-op City station design and location.
Mayor Adams Announces $43 Million Plan to Improve Gender Equity In NYC %< %5$1'21 257,=
Mayor Adams announced a $43M plan to improve gender equity efforts in New York City last Thursday, January 25. The plan, called Women Forward NYC: An Action Plan for Gender Equity, aims to address gender equity for women, transgender and gender expansive New Yorkers in NYC by focusing on four key aspects: economic mobility, health care, access to stable housing and preventing gender-based violence. Funding for the investment is provided by “city dollars, private and public partnerships, academic institutions, and federal grant funding,” as RXWOLQHG E\ WKH 0D\RU¶V 2I¿FH To improve economic mobility, the Mayor’s plan will focus on establishing professional pipelines to high-paying careers by connecting women ZLWK SURIHVVLRQDO GHYHORSPHQW SURJUDPV ¿QDQFLDO (Continued on page 11)
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Low Turnout For HCR Carrying Charge Conference 3UHVLGHQW¶V 5HSRUW
Sonia Feliciano Dear fellow shareholders, Our virtual DHCR carrying charge increase meeting on January 30, 2024, brought out a community of 33 residents along with eight Management, DHCR, legal, and myself. There were also about 15 emails to DHCR from shareholders with comments. I am disappointed that out of over 15,000+ apartments, we had a low turnout. Shareholders present asked good questions on bad debt, Con Edison sales, and vacancy rates both, residential and commercial. You all received the Housing and Community Renewal packet. We did not have an increase in our carrying charges in year 1 (2023). We currently pay $255.87 per room of which a requested increase of $5.37 per room, equivDOHQW WR FRYHUV D 0 GH¿FLW LQ \HDU '+&5 LV UHFRPPHQGLQJ DQ EDVHG RQ WKH &RQVXPHU 3ULFH ,QGH[ ZKLFK PHDVXUHV LQÀDWLRQ LQ the price of goods and services over time. It is representative of consumer spending patterns and changes in price. Those prices represent the change in consumer prices. There are increases that we cannot control, but our highest items over time are utilities, insurance, water, and sewer. Riverbay looks at the previous (Continued on page 2)
Reminder: 2024 Window Guard Forms due February 15 The Annual Window Guard form mailed to Co-op City households must be completed and returned by Thursday, February 15, 2024. You are required WR ¿OO RXW DQG WHDU RII WKH UHVSRQVH FDUG SODFH WKH FRPSOHWHG FDUG LQWR WKH SUH paid envelope and drop it in the mail. You can also respond by phone, online or by faxing the completed card. Please follow the instructions included in the mailing.
CCPD: Person of Interest in Package Thefts The Co-op City Department of Public Safety is working to identify and locate the individual in the photos above. He is a suspect in the ongoing investigation regarding package thefts. If you see him, call Public Safety at 718 671-3050. If you have information on his identity, notify Co-op City Detectives via the CCPD TIPS Line at (718) 879-6311. If there is no answer, please leave a contact number. All reports can be treated DV FRQ¿GHQWLDO