Co-op City Times 03/14/15

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

The Right to vote: Selma, Alabama to Co-op City

© Copyright 2015 Co-op City Times

Elected officials discuss community’s issues involving city and state agencies with Management Vol. 50 No. 11

BY BILL STUTTIG

Saturday, March 14, 2015

who have been filling in the gaps. “I believe that the interim management team has been doing a wonderful

As part of a renewed series of regular communication and meetings between Riverbay’s new interim management and the community’s elected representatives, City Councilman Andy King and State Senator Ruth HassellThompson met separately with Riverbay’s co-interim General Managers Noel Ellison and Peter Merola last week to discuss a number of issues concerning New York City and State governments and agencies, and their relationship with Co-op City. Councilman King said after the closed door meet- City Councilman Andy King (center) discusses Co-op City’s issues with Riverbay’s co-interim general maning which took place on agers Noel Ellison and Peter Merola. Wednesday, March 4th: “The Wednesday meeting with Noel job and have a true ownership approach, Ellison and Peter Merola was a very compared to what we’ve seen in the past productive meeting, filled with commitwith outside interests exhibiting less of ted people in the room. The theme of a commitment to this community,” King the conversation was building our relationships with the interim management (Continued on page 2

2015 Election Committee chair appointed Petition period begins March 23

BY ROZAAN BOONE

At last Wednesday’s meeting of the Riverbay Board of Directors, Board President Cleve Taylor appointed Director Andrea Leslie to chair the 2015 Riverbay Election Committee. Director Leslie, currently serving

her third term on the Riverbay Board of Directors, is chair of the Board’s Audit Committee. This is her first time chairing the Election Committee. “The position of chairperson of our (Continued on page 4)

Prestige Properties meets with Riverbay and CB10 over traffic concerns BY BILL STUTTIG

Last week, in what can be viewed as a breakthrough meeting at which two long-time neighbors finally agreed to work together to solve mutual concerns Riverbay officials – including co-interim General Managers Noel Ellison and Peter Merola, Riverbay Board President Cleve Taylor and Board Director Leslie Peterson sat down behind closed doors with executives from Prestige Properties, the owners and developers of Bay Plaza, to agree to work together to solve some of the problems shared by the two

large adjacent developments. The meeting also included input from Community Board 10 members, including its District Manager Ken Kearns and Board Chairperson Martin Prince, a Co-op City resident. The meeting was not open to the press, but Ellison shared some of the discussion with the Co-op City Times the following day and said the meeting – which included the participation of Prestige Properties Chairman Sam Shalem – was productive (Continued on page 4)

25¢

Dear shareholders: President’s Message on the streets and This month comin our view as memorates the 50th Americans. Anniversary of the WE’VE COME President march from Selma A LONG WAY to Montgomery, Alabama, from Selma to Co-op City. the state’s capital. This We have the right and privihistoric time in our lives lege to vote, yet, so many of was marked by one of the us do not take the opportunity greatest men of all-time, to help the very community the Rev. Dr. Martin that we share and live in. Luther King, Jr. Brave A BREATH OF FRESH Americans came from all AIR HAS ENTERED over this country and the CO-OP CITY as we try to world to join in this march return to a “True Cooperative to give African Americans, Spirit.” Please think of Latinos and poor Whites the right to yourselves as shareholders, and not as tenants. I need your help and vote in this country. participation to determine the future I can remember as a small child direction of our property before watching the events unfold on my Co-op City slips into the hands of small black and white TV (channels our mortgage lender, Wells Fargo 2-13). At the same time, my parents Bank, and/or Managing Agents. As cried to see what was unfolding on the you are aware, our last managing road to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. agent had questionable business Thousands of lives were sacripractices and as a result, made a ficed for us to have the right to vote; mess of our finances. the right to vote through its individThe “new” Board of Directors ual single action to shape those has made it possible for the first time events that collectively determine in the history of Co-op City for the our destiny. The right to vote for African Americans, Latinos and (Continued on page 2) poor Whites was granted by blood

Cleve Taylor

Bulk cable ballots being counted BY ROZAAN BOONE

As of press time yesterday, more than 7,134 shareholders out of the 10,248 needed to validate the referendum on the bulk cable agreement with Cablevision had cast their votes on whether or not they are interested in having the Riverbay Board move forward with a decision on signing the agreement. The Riverbay Finance Department has been counting the returned ballots that accompany the March carrying charge payments as they have been coming in since last week. As of close of business yesterday, ballots that had been forwarded by the bank to Riverbay’s Finance Department had yet to be counted. So far, 3,799 shareholders have voted “yes,” and 3,335 have voted “no.” For the referendum to be validated, not only must 2/3 of all shareholders respond to the survey, which amounts to 10,248, but 2/3 of those responding, or 6,832, must also vote “yes” for the bulk cable deal to move forward. “The Board has set a high standard for approval,” Board President Cleve

Taylor said recently. “It has to be an overwhelming number of shareholders who want the bulk cable deal for it to move forward, so if this is something you want, you should make sure you get your ballots in…” The Riverbay-Cablevision proposal is to have Riverbay purchase cable services worth a retail value of approximately $75 from Cablevision for only $25, a considerable bulk rate discount, and then Riverbay will pass this saving on to current Cablevision subscribers, and provide cable TV service to those residential units for a flat fee of $25 per month. This amounts to a saving of up to $50 for some Cablevision subscribers and a much more affordable cable bill, savings which could be used to help offset the proposed 4.5% carrying charge and 10% garage fee increases that are slated for this fiscal year to raise the $8M needed to help pay for the settlement of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) lawsuit and clean-up of the cooling tower after the (Continued on page 10)


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