Vol. 54 No. 14
Saturday, April 6, 2019
$1.25
Petition Period Ends This Monday, April 8
Board Approves 2-Year Budget
Thirteen shareholders have picked up petitions for 2019 Riverbay Board Election
Carrying Charge & Equity Increases Needed to Maintain Services to Shareholders
BY ROZAAN BOONE
As of press time Friday, April 5, thirteen shareholders had picked up qualifying petition packages from the Riverbay Legal Department indicating their intention to run for a three-year term on the Board of Directors. The deadline to return all signed petitions is 5 p.m. this Monday, April 8. This year’s voting period will begin at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, May 8 through 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, when the Annual Meeting of shareholders of the Riverbay Corporation has been scheduled to take place. If a quorum is not reached at that time, the election will be extended from 9:01 p.m. on Wednesday, May 22, to 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11. This year, the terms of Board Directors Bernard Cylich, Sonia Feliciano, Andrea Leslie, Leslie Peterson and Claudia Sampson are expiring. Director Evelyn Turner, who placed sixth in last year’s election and was seated recently after another director was removed from the Board, is also required to run in this year’s Board election if she wishes to remain on the Board. As a result, shareholders will be voting to fill six seats on the Board, the top five for 3-year terms, and a sixth to fill out the remaining 2-year term of former director Junius Williams who was removed for cause (Continued on page 2)
SCRIE, DRIE & Other Vital Services Added to Enrollment Event Held in Co-op City on April 8 The New York City Department of Finance (DOF) will not only hold open enrollment for Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE), but shareholders can now sign up for Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE), as well. The enrollment event is scheduled for Monday, April 8, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., in room 28, of the Bartow Center. Representatives from the DOF and LiveOn NY will host eligible shareholders who would like to apply for benefits or are interested in learning more about SCRIE or DRIE programs. (Continued on page 26) BY TORIEA McCAUSELAND
What’s Inside: 1. Annual Income Affidavits on page 2 2. Management Report on page 4 3. Cancer Walk on page 5
BY ROZAAN BOONE
The Riverbay Board approved resolutions at its Wednesday, April 3 meeting aimed at balancing the corporation’s budget for the next two fiscal years and reducing the level of financial burden on current shareholders, including senior and disabled residents who would like to downgrade to smaller apartments. Resolution 19-10 approved balancing Management’s fiscal years 2019/2020 and 2020/21 budgets for the Riverbay Corporation by implementing a 1.9% carrying charge increase, which equates to $4.27 more per room, effective July 1, 2019, followed by another 1.9% increase, or $4.35 more per room, effective July 1, 2020 in order to continue providing the current (Continued on page 15)
Protecting the Confidentiality of Shareholder Financial Information
Last year, the Riverbay Board of Directors requested a confidential, internal investigation of charges leveled against Board President Linda Berk. After a detailed investigation by former Appellate Division Justice Robert Spolzino and Nancy Durand, Esq., it was determined that the charges against Ms. Berk were untrue, that she did not receive preferential treatment, and that she was treated the same as all other shareholders. The investigation also determined that Ms. Berk’s confidential financial information, including her resident ledger containing a ten (10) year payment history, was improperly obtained and distributed in violation of laws which require Riverbay to maintain the confidentiality of shareholder financial information. Allegations related to her confidential ledger, as well as an erroneous analysis of information in that ledger, were widely circulated by individuals using a false e-mail address. That information was then picked up and circulated by others. As a result of the investigation, additional safeguards to protect shareholder confidentiality have been enacted by the Riverbay Corporation. —Jeffrey D. Buss, Esq.
Installation of Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Detectors Begins in Buildings 1 & 35
REMINDER
Presentation on 801 Co-op City Blvd. at CB #10 Meeting, April 9
The developers of the vacant property located at 801 Co-op City Blvd. will be making a presentation at the Housing & Zoning Committee of Community Board #10 on Tuesday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. at 3165 E. Tremont Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461. Co-op City shareholders are invited to attend and observe the presentation. The developers have applied for a variance to reduce the number of parking spaces that the property is zoned for (538) to 275 spaces. “There is a proposed 6-story medical building by a developer, and as of right now, in their opinion, there’s a stringent parking requirement and they are looking for a Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA) variance to ease that requirement,” said CB #10 District Manager Matthew Cruz. Following the April 9 presentation, CB #10 will schedule a public hearing either later this spring or summer where shareholders will be able to express their opinions and concerns about the plan before the community board votes. on the matter which will then be forwarded to the city’s Board of Standards and Appeals (BSA).
Two teams of Riverbay managers consisting of 12 staff members from the CSO, Risk Management, Safety, and Parking & Leasing departments accompanied six teams of American Red Cross (ARC) personnel to Buildings 1 and 35 to commence the smoke detector/carbon monoxide installation on Thurs., April 4. Riverbay staff will make initial contact with shareholders whose apartments are scheduled for the new installations, just ahead of the Red Cross team’s arrival. While onsite, Riverbay personnel will inspect the doors to the apartments to make sure they are self-closing, as well as the fire exits. Joe Spaccarelli, program director for the Home Fire Program of the Red Cross of Greater New York, said: “Today, we’re going to have 4-5 teams each with 2-3 members, depending on the team. They will meet with residents, they will do fire safety education, go through a check list of things residents should be prepared for and think about – fire safety, cooking safety, electrical safety, smoking safety...They will talk about escape route planning, making sure they know their way to get out of the building and then they’ll be installing alarms in each of the bedrooms and hallway in the apartment.” Mr. Spaccarelli also said that the Red Cross team will inform shareholders that they have two minutes to vacate the apartment in the event of a fire. They will also show shareholders where to locate the “hush” button on the smoke detectors to silence the alarm if they accidentally burn their food while cooking, rather than disabling the alarm which will render it useless. “It will be a good day to get residents educated well on fire safety,” he noted. Photo by Rozaan Boone