Co-op City Times 07/16/16

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Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2016 Co-op City Times

Vol. 51 No. 29

Saturday, July 16, 2016

Riverbay pursuing court case against MSI for millions in damages BY JIM ROBERTS

Damages caused by the misconduct of former managing agent Marion Scott Inc. allegedly cost Co-op City shareholders millions of dollars and attorneys for Riverbay are continuing to pursue their case to recover that money in state Supreme Court. The counterclaims for damages against MSI have not yet been heard by the court, which delayed those proceedings for more than a year while hearing the original case brought by MSI against Riverbay. Discovery allowing attorneys from both sides to gather documents from each other can now proceed in the matter. “We expect to hear from attorneys for Marion Scott by the end of the month regarding discovery,” said Thomas Kissane, a partner in the law firm of Schlam Stone and Dolan representing Riverbay. “The rest of the case has to get started toward resolution.” In the case brought by MSI against Riverbay, State Supreme Court Justice Paul Wooten ruled last month that MSI’s November 2014 suspension as managing agent by the Riverbay Board of Directors was a de facto termination and breach of its management contract and ordered that a special referee determine the amount of damages, if any, owed to MSI. The judge decided that MSI would not be reinstated as managing agent nor be entitled to recover any attorney fees from Riverbay. In the previous class-action labor lawsuit filed in 2013 that potentially involved as many as 1,700

Religious and civic leaders join together in a program of dialogue and prayer about community and police relations

In a show of interfaith support, Rabbi Hadassah blows the Shofar as Shiekh Mussa Drammeh helps in amplifying the call.

BY BILL STUTTIG

Close to 200 Co-op City residents gathered at the lower outdoor plaza of Dreiser Center last Saturday morning, July 9th to join with religious and civic leaders from this community and elsewhere to take part in a program of prayerful dialogue in an attempt to comprehend the tragic events of the week, specifically the shooting of two African-American men by police officers, and the killing of five police officers who were covering a subsequent protest rally in Dallas on July 7th. While the prayerful event was planned before the

(Continued on page 18)

Co-op City receives final approval for Multifamily Conservation Program $1.2 million to be saved annually BY JIM ROBERTS

Riverbay has received final approval from New York City to convert its remaining residential buildings over to the Multifamily Conservation Program (MCP) that allows residential housing companies such as Coop City to pay a fixed cost for water and sewer based on the number of apartments in the building. Co-op City can now prepay New York City water and sewer charges for the remaining buildings and townhouses not already enrolled in the program, thereby saving the community and its shareholders another $1.2 million, or 12%, on annual water charges. More than 800 shareholders signed up to prepay their carrying charges for 12 months in advance to fund the MCP payment to New York City and will receive a one-time 6% credit after they submit their payment. Those shareholders will provide $10.2 million that Riverbay can use to prepay the annual water and sewer charges at the fixed, lower rate rather than paying the higher metered charges on a quarterly basis throughout the year. Shareholders who signed up to prepay their carrying charges are receiving letters this week explaining how the program will work for them. Their 12-month prepayment must be received no later than July 31,

25¢

2016. Any checks postmarked after that will be returned. “This is how a true cooperative should work,” said Peter Merola, Riverbay’s Director of Finance. “It’s not me and you and each individual apartment building – it’s everybody working together for the good of the whole community. “Riverbay will be saving money and some of that savings will be shared with the shareholders who pay their charges in advance. It’s truly a win-win for the entire community and the individuals who take part,” Mr. Merola added. Merola said the program has proven successful thanks to the outstanding participation from shareholders and the unanimous support of the members of the Riverbay Board of Directors. “Cleve Taylor as Board President was instrumental in pushing this forward and explaining it to the community and I think that contributed to the buy-in we had from the shareholders,” Merola said. The only remaining buildings not enrolled in the lower-cost MCP water savings program are the power plant, parking garages and commercial shopping properties not eligible for the savings. By enrolling all of (Continued on page 2)

Several Riverbay Board Directors joined Bishops Angelo and Nancy Rosario together in a prayer led by fellow director, Rev. Deborah Jenkins.

tragic events in Dallas, with e-mailed invitations send out even before the sniper attack took place, the attack just 36 hours before the event seemed to exacerbate the need for dialogue and the call for non-violent alternatives to racial hatred and prejudice. Bishops Angelo and Nancy Rosario of Co-op City’s Church of God’s Children and Pastor Deborah Jenkins of Faith at Work Christian Church co-hosted the three-hour program which featured nearly a dozen religious leaders from throughout (Continued on page 2)

New Executive GM hits the ground running

Board told of new initiatives BY BILL STUTTIG

Riverbay’s new Executive General Manager, Robert Klehammer of Douglas Elliman Property Management Inc., gave his first report to the Board of Directors at the Board business meeting Thursday evening. He said that his first eight days on the job has been filled with meetings to familiarize himself with the many issues facing this community, but he did report on some new initiatives and improvements that he sees coming in the near future. Mr. Klehammer began his service to the community as its new Executive General Manager on July 5th. He reported to the Board that one of his first days on the job included a meeting with the first Deputy to Mayor Bill de Blasio, specially arranged by State Assemblyman Mike Benedetto to try to negotiate some financial relief from Riverbay’s burdensome asbestos abatement requirements. Joining (Continued on page 9)


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