Vol. 54 No. 41
CB #10 schedules public hearing in Co-op City on downzoning 500 Baychester Ave.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
New garage doors
$1.25
BY TORIEA McCAUSELAND
The Riverbay Garage Department this week began changing the doors to the garages in preparation for the new key fob system being installed in residential lobbies. The same key fob will be required to access the garages once the project is completed, making it more convenient for shareholders. An added bonus is that the glass on the window on the doors is clear making it easier to see if anyone is behind the door as you enter/exit the garage. So far, new doors have been installed at garages 6 and 8 and garage 4 is in progress.
Downtown Gun Hill subway station remains closed as Co-op City awaits MTA bus response Photo by Brandon Ortiz
Bronx Community Board #10 urges shareholders to attend Thursday’s public hearing on rezoning 500 Baychester Ave. A presentation by the New York City Department of City Planning will be followed by a CB #10 board meeting. The hearing will be held in room 31 of the Bartow Center on Thursday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. Co-op City shareholders will be provided an opportunity to give their feedback during the hearing. Last Wednesday, Oct. 2, Bronx Community Board #10’s Housing and Zoning Committee met to discuss a New York City Planning Department proposal aimed at addressing Co-op City shareholders’ concerns about the large overhead electronic billboards erected at the corner of Baychester and Bartow Avenues in the 7-Eleven mini mall. The billboards negatively impacted shareholders’ quality of life and the peaceful enjoyment of their apartments, especially at night. The community board only has 60 days to respond to City Planning’s proposal, making it important for residents to attend and share their comments. The Uniform Land Use Review Procedure includes a vote during the public forum in which city planning will present its plan to the community to downzone 500 Baychester Ave. from C-7 to C8-2 in hopes of preventing the issues with the large billboard signs from reoccurring in the future. (Continued on page 2)
Co-op City seniors give back
BY JASON CHIREVAS
As a reminder to Co-op City shareholders, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released information this week indicating the Gun Hill Road subway station’s downtown platform remains closed for rehabilitation and downtown trains will skip the station for the duration of the work, which is expected to be complete in February 2020. In order to mitigate the inconvenience of the closed platform, and help subway riders get where they’re going, the MTA recommends the following: Riders can take an uptown, Dyre Avenue-bound, 5 train and transfer at Baychester Avenue to head downtown. To travel to the Gun Hill Road station from points north along the 5 line, the MTA recommends getting off at Pelham Parkway and taking an Eastchester-bound uptown 5 to the Gun Hill Road station. (Continued on page 2)
Happening this weekend…
Today, Saturday, Oct. 12 – Medicare education workshop with United HealthCare, sponsored by the Riverbay Disabilities and Accommodations Committee, chaired by Director Andrea Leslie, and Bronx Clergy Task Force, Bishop Angelo Rosario, president. The event will be held in room 49, Einstein Center. Admission is free. Two sessions: 9:30 a.m. – Continental breakfast offered; 11:30 a.m. – luncheon appetizers. If you have questions about Medicare, come get answers, tips and other information. Each session will last approximately 1 hr. Sunday, Oct. 13 – Annual NYC Disabilities Expo, “Building Inclusionary Bridges through the Arts,” sponsored by Co-op City Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Riverbay Corporation, Sen. Jamaal Bailey, AHRC NYC, and presented by the Disabilities & Accommodations Committee, chaired by Director Andrea Leslie. Event will be held in Einstein Center, rm. 45, 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. There will be exhibits, speaker series, interactive arts and clinics & workshops. Admission is free.
L-R: Sam Perry, Stanley Mallory, Adona Fleming, Vasthni Sanders, Margaret Chinnery, Voncile Mallory, Pat Raspberry (back), Barbara Wattley and Henry Wilson.
On Monday, Oct. 7, members of the Bartow Swingers/Dancing Gents line dance group in Co-op City traveled to the NAN Tech Center in Newark, NJ to deliver 68 cartons of water donated by members of the group, in collaboration with the JASA Advisory Board, for the residents of Newark who are dealing with lead-contaminated water. “In our line dance class, we asked people to bring in water and they did; we had a truck full of water,” said Margaret Chinnery, assistant to Ms. Voncile Mallory, president of the Bartow Swingers/Dancing Gents line dance group. “We are seniors giving back – that’s what we should do, that’s what we’re about and we’re happy about it,” Ms. Mallory affirmed. Ms. Chinnery noted that the Bartow Swingers/Dancing Gents line dance group is not just a dancing group. “We are very involved, she said. “Two years ago, we gave clothes and personal items to female veterans. Ms. Mallory wants to always give back to the community and try to help everyone. Under her leadership, we are always involved in the community.” In addition to Ms. Mallory and Ms. Chinnery, others who made the trip to Newark to deliver the much needed cartons of water included Vasthni Sanders, Stanley Mallory, Barbara Wattley, Adona Fleming, John Jerrell, Henry Wilson, Sam Perry and Pat Raspberry. Special thanks to driver Glenn Henry.
RIVERBAY OFFICES WILL BE OPEN FOR BUSINESS ON COLUMBUS DAY, MONDAY, OCT. 14, 2019