President’s Message

- by Jean Hall

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS!

Rochdale Village provides affordable housing for 5,860 units serving over 25,000 people. We are a diverse middle-class community with residents from all walks of life, actors, comedians, singers, teachers, sanitation workers, hospital workers, caregivers, nurses, doctors, lawyers, accountants, union, clerical, administrative, volunteers, business owners, retirees, and so much more.

I can affirm to you that the Board of Directors’ commitment to keep this community affordable is our number one priority.

Your new board majority has been working hard since October 2022, just nine (9) short months ago. We are uncovering, discovering, and managing over twenty years of one-sided management and control. Our ability to read, comprehend the information presented and ask the tough hard questions is both welcomed and feared. This is evidenced by the campaign underway to misrepresent the facts, engage in re-writing history and most of all making you fearful. We will continue to take care of business in the most conventional way, caring about the bottom line, accountability, policy setting, and thinking outside of the box.

BUILDING COMMUNITY ROOMS:

Despite being told the community rooms were ready to re-open we soon found out that was not the case. This resulted in board members taking time to visit each community room to determine what work needed to be completed. We continue to resolve issues such as leaks, inoperable convectors, filling holes and more. In addition, I hold orientation sessions for keyholders to make sure everyone is on the same page. Although the process is taking longer than I would like, I want the rooms to be ready for your enjoyment. Four community rooms have been re-opened (5,8, 14, 18) with eleven pending.

FAÇADE WORK:

The NYC Façade Inspection Program (FSIP) also known as Local Law 11 requires that NYC buildings taller than six stories must have their facades inspected and repaired every five years to protect the structural integrity of the buildings. We are currently in cycle 9. NYC imposed new requirements for cycle 9 repairs involving “probe” work.

Despite the prior majority board approving a 195 million Refinance Package in 2019, they failed to ensure that Management allocated funds for façade work. Façade work is a critical and recurring capital project. The estimated budget cost for this work based on NYC new requirements is approximately 37 million dollars. Therefore, the challenge before us will be how to secure the needed funding and maintain affordability.

CAPITAL PROJECTS:

I developed my own spread sheet to review the capital projects from the Wells Fargo 195 million loan especially in light of the fact that no monies were allocated for local law 11 work. I want to make sure that the board has all the information needed to make sound decisions as we move forward, to determine what projects came in under budget and those projects over budget. Based on my conversation with management our information did not match because there were several variables and information that management has that the board does not. I have asked for that information to be able to complete my analysis, making sure everyone is working with the same baseline information. Once I have that information it is my intention to share those findings with you in next month’s President’s message.

NEW ACCOUNTING FIRM:

Audit rotation: most commonly the auditors or audit firm should be rotated every five years. This is not a mandate but rather a recommendation. The previous auditing firm has been at Rochdale Village for approximately 20+ years. Your new board majority decided to hire a new accounting firm to perform this year’s financial audit. It is anticipated that as a result there will be increased independence, better objectivity, fresh eyes and a fresh perspective.

COMPLAINTS:

All complaints and issues sent to me, and the board are taken seriously. However, there are times when shareholders and/ or circumstances require either legal or law enforcement to become involved. Once that happens the matter is taken out of our hands. It may appear that we are not responsive, but we must honor both law enforcement and legal remedies in housing court to take the forefront and we must step back.

MOVING FORWARD:

Your new board majority also engages in thinking outside of the box and bringing new events for your pleasure and enjoyment. The very successful Food Truck Event is one example. It was an overwhelming success and people keep asking, when is the next one!

We will continue to listen to your concerns, your ideas and your criticisms. It is our goal to be responsive and informative. We are not perfect, and we have had some missteps but what we hope to convey is that we are willing to work hard to get it right!

Taking care of business for you, I have only scratched the surface of what we are doing. Items we are working on, include laundry rooms, lot 1 trees, improving ADA compliance, renovation of senior center, parking, improving IT & Communications, environmental concerns, health initiatives, expanding youth programs, improvements within our apartments, maintaining senior programs and outreach to our homebound community, and accountability for everyone working here.

Taking care of business for you, listening, engaging, and holding ourselves accountable for results. We are a vibrant community headed in a new direction of innovation, inclusion and results-driven initiatives. Let us continue to celebrate community and each other.

Wishing you all Peace and Blessings!

“The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old but on building the new.”

- Socrates, father of Western philosophy