Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2009 Co-op City Times
Vol. 45 No. 8
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Comptroller William Thompson addresses Co-op City community leaders BY BILL STUTTIG City Comptroller and prospective mayoral candidate William C. Thompson, who built a strong reputation over the past eight years taking on the fiscal policies of the Mayor’s office and various agencies including the Dept. of Education and the MTA, addressed a gathering of nearly 200 Co-op City community leaders and Riverbay officials at a breakfast meeting Thursday morning in Dreiser Community Center. Leaders of churches, youth groups, political organizations and civic groups joined Riverbay Board Directors and management officials in meeting with the Comptroller and discussing changes that they would like to see in city government. In giving an assessment of the city’s financial condition during this bitter recession, Thompson estimated a loss already of more than 170,000 jobs in the city with steeper job losses yet to come. But he said that the good news is that millions will be coming to the city through the Economic Stimulus Package recently passed by Congress,
City Comptroller William Thompson at the Dreiser Community Center Thursday morning. Photo by Bill Stuttig
to create infrastructure improvements, economic development opportunities and jobs. “We know what tough times are,” said Thompson in referring to the city’s history of fighting through various
Co-op City portion of the Hutchinson River Parkway Greenway being redesigned
BY BILL STUTTIG Designers from the New York City Parks Department are currently redesigning the portion of the Hutchinson River Parkway Greenway that was planned to run along the highway through Co-op City. Two weeks ago, Parks officials, along with Riverbay representatives, toured the area of land where the Greenway was projected to be constructed, and after viewing some logistical details, determined that original designs need to be tweaked in order to make the planned bike and jogging path more convenient for residents wishing to take advantage of the pathway as it winds past Co-op City. Jesslyn Moser, a spokesperson for the Parks Department, explained, “The objective of this project is to extend the Hutchinson River Greenway from Pelham Parkway to Greenway connections in New York City’s northern border and Pelham Bay Park. The new greenway will be located adjacent to the Hutchinson River Parkway and the Hutchinson River extending about 2.5 miles. The greenway
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will be paved and landscaped, have greenway signage to direct the flow of traffic and have bicycle routes all along the way.” Parks officials met with Community Board 10’s Parks and Recreation Committee on February 9th to explain their plans for the Greenway’s extension into the Community Board 10 service area. The following week, representatives from the Department of Parks toured the affected area in the Co-op City vicinity with Riverbay and Community Board representatives. Community Board 10 District Manager Ken Kearns, who took the tour of the affected area along with Riverbay General Manager Vernon Cooper, Ombudsman Joe Boiko and Community Relations Director Michelle Sajous, said that the Community Board would hold off on giving their approval to the project until they are assured that the Co-op City community is comfortable with the plans at it affects the community. Moser from the Parks Department (Continued on page 4)
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Co-op City still affordable among larger Mitchell-Lama developments despite carrying charge increase BY ROZAAN BOONE Co-op City still remains one of the more affordable and desirable housing developments among the largest of the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal’s Mitchell-Lama portfolio, in spite of the 6% carrying charge increase that became effective this month. With a 99.84% occupancy rate, the housing development is virtually sold out and the waiting lists continue to grow with significant wait time for new move-ins, as well as for transfers within the development. As of this week, out of the 15,372 units in Co-op City, only 24 apartments are available for purchase — 6 one-bedrooms, 12 two-bedrooms and 6 three-bedrooms. “That calculates to an availability rate of only .1561%, which is just over 1/10 of 1%,” said Steve Gold, Riverbay’s Director of Residential Sales. According to DHCR, a number of the larger Mitchell-Lama developments, including Co-op City, Rochdale Village, Warbasse, Southbridge Towers and Amalgamated have either had or have
applied to the agency for increases in their carrying charges in the last year. Ellen Irizarry, Assistant Director of the Housing Management Bureau at DHCR, said recently that for the most part, many housing companies seeking an increase in their respective carrying charges are doing so because of utility costs which escalated to record levels during 2008, increases in their general operating expenses and the need for funding to complete capital improvements. In some instances, the refinance of loans is necessary to generate sufficient funds for both short and long term capital improvements. “Granted, the cost of fuel started to go down in the Fall of 2008, after skyrocketing to over $140 a barrel during the Spring and Summer, but for many housing companies, the approved budgets from 2007 could not support the increased fuel and utility expenses,“ said Irizarry. “So while the cost may have eventually dropped for some utilities, such as was the case with
Vacant Bartow Avenue lot now a truck impound center (Continued on page 5)
Impounded tractor trailers now sit on vacant land that was once considered an ideal spot for a new Bronx YMCA. Photo by Bill Stuttig
BY BILL STUTTIG Valuable vacant city-owned land on Bartow Avenue, once thought to be an ideal site for a youth, health, and community center, is now being used as a storage facility for tractor trailer trucks impounded in the Bronx. According to Community Board 10 District Manager Ken Kearns, the large
tract of land between the Red Lobster restaurant and the Project Hope senior residence is the property of the city’s Economic Development Corporation which has presumably allowed the NYPD’s Traffic Enforcement Division to use the site to store impounded trucks. (Continued on page 4)