Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. Vol. 50 No. 43
Saturday, October 24, 2015
Riverbay provides its hearing-impaired community with special accommodation Shareholders who are hearing-impaired can, at no cost, request special accommodation from Riverbay Corporation for a light signal which notifies them when their bell is pressed in the lobby or someone is at their apartment door. The Riverbay electrical shop installs specialized modules in the apartments of shareholders who have difficulties hearing as a way of accommodating this particular segment of the community and improving their quality of life. This issue was raised recently at a meeting of the Riverbay Board’s Disability and Accommodations Committee (DAAC), chaired by First Vice BY ROZAAN BOONE
President Linda Berk. And, upon further investigation, it was learned that Riverbay already provides the service. “There are so many shareholders living in Co-op City with hearing impairments, it is great news to know that we can provide a way to accommodate the hard of hearing with notice that there is someone at their lobby door,” said First Vice President Berk. “For those of us who don’t have hearing problems, it’s hard to appreciate how monumental this is for the hearing impaired community. Many thanks to the Riverbay staff for finding a way to solve this problem.” (Continued on page 2)
Riverbay CSOs are residents’ first step in securing essential services Riverbay’s Cooperator Service Office (CSO) has an office in each of the three community centers—Dreiser, Bartow and Einstein—which is charged with providing essential services to residents of Co-op City in a timely and efficient manner. Each CSO office is staffed with an Area Manager, Assistant Manager, Secretary and two Maintenance service representatives who provide a myrBY ROZAAN BOONE
iad of services to cooperators, including addressing everything from service requests to housekeeping and social services. Also, in addition to inspecting damaged apartments, walls and floors due to fire or floods, CSO staff take floor measurements for replacement and follow up with the flooring and plastering/painting departments, and with the (Continued on page 2)
Halloween Costume Dance Party and Haunted House with a twist planned for this year’s celebration The Riverbay Fund has finalized plans for its annual Halloween Costume Dance Party and Haunted House and this year promises to be more exciting than in the past, with both events opened to all ages, from children to adults. The community’s celebration of Halloween will begin on Thursday, October 29, with the Costume Dance Party held in the Dreiser Auditorium from 5-8 p.m. As is customary, although this year’s party is open to all ages, children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. For the enjoyment of the attendees, there will be a juggler, magic show, free popcorn, cotton candy, refreshments and Halloween candy. The costume contest will be the highlight of the BY ROZAAN BOONE
Elevator repairs targeted for early next week
© Copyright 2015 Co-op City Times
evening’s activities and prizes will be awarded to the 10 best costumes, so come dressed to win. The festivities continue on Friday, October 30, Halloween eve, and also on Saturday, October 31, Halloween day, with the annual Haunted House, which this year, will be even scarier than it’s ever been, said Michelle Sajous, Riverbay’s Director of Community Relations, the organizer of the Halloween events. “This year, to put a different spin on the Haunted House since the kids have gotten used to the regular maze, I hired a professional who will be making it a bit different and a lot scarier,” said Sajous. “I want to scare the adults this (Continued on page 4)
25¢
Service could be restored next week to elevators in Building 10B and 29A that have not operated for several weeks through an expedited inspection by New York City’s Department of Building (DOB) that will allow the elevators to operate safely at a reduced speed until permanent repairs are completed. Riverbay’s Director of Special Projects Joe Boiko has contacted the NYC DOB office directly to push for the expedited inspection required to get the elevators up and running by next week. The elevator contractor doing the work, TKE, must file the necessary paperwork with the DOB in order to get the inspections completed and allow the elevators to go back into service. The original repairs made to the faulty elevators still resulted in excessive vibrations even after TKE changed out the machinery under warranty. Operating the elevators at a reduced speed should eliminate the BY JIM ROBERTS
vibrations and allow the elevators to function safely if the DOB approves. The ride times will only increase by seconds, Boiko said. Elevators that have been out of service in Buildings 28B and 22A are also scheduled for inspections by the city soon and should be restored to service shortly. All four buildings have been operating with just one elevator in service for several weeks. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience that you have been experiencing as a result of having only one working elevator in your building, but rest assured that your safety is our paramount concern, and we have been, and will continue to work diligently to address this matter with TKE,” Boiko told shareholders effected by the outage that has left them with only one working elevator in their building. Riverbay interim General Manager Noel Ellison said he will continue to pursue a comprehensive solution to (Continued on page 4)
Co-op City on Social Media!
We are happy to inform shareholders that you can now connect with Co-op City - Riverbay Corporation on Twitter and Instagram at https://instagram.com/co.op.city/ and https://twitter.com/Co op city Stay tuned for our Facebook launch.
A fitting honor…Students of the Co-op City Tennis Club are the beneficiaries of the rich legacy left by the club’s founder, Mr. Milton Alexander, who was honored last weekend with the renaming of the west intersection of Bartow Avenue and Asch Loop to “Milton Alexander Way,” a tribute that was spearheaded by Winston Dinkins, coach of the Velocity Track Club New York, and Robert Hedgepeth, Photo by Lauretta Jaysura President of the Section 5 Association.