Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. © Copyright 2011 Co-op City Times
Vol. 46 No. 42
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Public Safety arrests 12 over a five day period BY BILL STUTTIG As part of a continuing quality of life crackdown by Riverbay’s Department of Public Safety, a total of 12 different individuals were arrested and summonsed on charges ranging from criminal trespass to theft over a five-day period from Thursday, October 6th through Tuesday, October 11th. “The actions taken by our officers during this 5-day period has displayed that the Department of Public Safety has zero tolerance for anti social behavior in our community,” said Public Safety Chief Frank Apollo earlier this week. “I applaud the efforts of our patrol staff and detective squad in that their actions help to improve the everyday quality of life for the residents of this community. Any individual who decides to commit a crime in the Co-op City community should be forewarned that the officers of my department will make every effort to apprehend the violator and bring them before our justice system.” The busy period began on Thursday at approximately 11 p.m. when officers and a squad commander responded to a report of narcotics use in the vicinity of Building 11. When the officers arrived, five people were observed at the scene and were approached and asked to show their identification. According to the report, four of the individuals were found to be residents of the community and not in any violation of the law, but a fifth individual was found to be in possession of marijuana and taken into custody, summonsed and released. A summons for anti-social behavior was also issued against the apartment where the young man lived. The following evening, at approximately 8:30 p.m., units arrived at Building 35 to investigate a report of narcotics activity on the 25th floor. When the officers arrived, they found seven individuals ranging in age
from 14 to 16 in the 25th floor hallway with no stated reason to be in the location. All seven individuals were given summons for criminal trespassing. Five of the seven were Section 5 residents. Also on Friday, another young man was arrested for disorderly conduct at approximately 2:30 p.m. after he verbally attacked an officer because he believed that Public Safety officers had notified his parents that he was not attending school. According to the report, the loud, profane attack caused a group of youth to form and begin reacting to the proceedings. The young man was taken into custody and eventually released to his father at the 45th Precinct stationhouse after a report of juvenile misconduct was filed by Precinct officers. On Saturday afternoon, at approximately 5:30 p.m., officers responded to a call of a bicycle being stolen from the vicinity of the Carver Loop basketball courts. The suspect allegedly ripped open the lock that chained the bicycle to the playground fence and rode off on the bicycle. He was captured by Public Safety officers moments later and then subsequently found to be in possession of 33 yellow plastic bags believed by officers to be cocaine, according to the report. The suspect, who was only 15-years-old, was transported to the 45th Precinct for processing. His parents were notified of the arrest and came to Public Safety headquarters to accompany their son as his case was processed, according to the Public Safety report. On Tuesday, October 11th at approximately 1:20 p.m., two older men, ages 31 and 41, and both not Co-op City residents, were issued summonses for criminal trespass after they were observed in the process of removing items from the ash cart room of Building 6.
Co-op City resident wins another round in front door access case BY ROZAAN BOONE Co-op City’s resident and disabled advocate John Rose has won another round in his fight to gain access to his Coop City building through the front door. In a decision by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Mary Ann Briganti-Hughes on Tuesday, October 11, she agreed with the New York City Commission on Human Rights that Riverbay Corporation violated the city’s Administrative Code and discriminated against Rose, who was born with cerebral palsy and now uses a motorized scooter to get around, but she significantly reduced the monetary compensatory damages awarded by the Commission to Mr. Rose. Last November, the NYC Commission on Human Rights ordered Riverbay to pay
Rose $51,000 for his pain, suffering and mental anguish, and fined the corporation $50,000 for what it referred to as “outrageous conduct.” The Commission further ordered Riverbay to pay Rose $1,000 for damages caused to his scooter when he used it to push the doors of his building open. While she agreed with the Commission’s application and interpretation of the city’s Human Rights Law, Justice Briganti-Hughes noted that there were no prior findings of discrimination against Riverbay and therefore trimmed the compensatory award of $51,000 down to $15,000 and the fine of $50,000 to $5,000. (Continued on page 5)
25¢
Garvey School granted lease at yellow schoolhouse BY DEREK ALGER The Riverbay Board of Directors voted this week to approve a lease with the Garvey School to occupy and provide services for children at the Yellow Schoolhouse on Baychester Avenue, previously occupied by the Gloria Wise Community Center. The emergency resolution, proposed by Director Othelia Jones and seconded by Director Eleanor Bailey, was approved Wednesday evening by a vote of 8-2, with four abstentions. The Garvey School is committed to providing and facilitating the optimum learning experience for each student to prepare them for the rigorous demands of the 21st Century, according to the school's mission statement. Originally, Riverbay Corporation was prepared to approve a lease with AllCare Provider Services, Inc., which initially wanted the space, but that organization notified Riverbay it was no longer interested in leasing the property and wanted to focus instead on improving and increasing enrollment at its Aldrich Street day care facility. “I'm glad we finally have a place for kids and the yellow schoolhouse is no longer being underutilized as it was in the days of Charlie Rosen," said Othelia Jones,
a longtime proponent that an occupant of the Yellow Schoolhouse should pay market rate rent. "This has been a political football for too long and I'm glad the situation has finally been resolved," said Jones, who previously served as President of Riverbay. In addition to Jones and Bailey, President Helen Atkins and Directors Bill Gordon, Leah Graham, Daryl Johnson, Al Shapiro, and Khalil Abdul- Wahhab voted in favor of a lease with the Garvey School to be used as a not-for-profit early childhood development day care program, a pre-school program, and an after school program at the Yellow Schoolhouse. "I voted for it because we've gone too many months with that building sitting there and Riverbay not receiving any income," Bailey said. "I was sorry that AllCare was not able to get the funding they needed, but under the circumstances that the Garvey School has two functioning operations in Co-op City, I wholeheartedly agreed that we could extend or give them the lease for the Yellow Schoolhouse based on past performance. "They must be doing something right," Bailey continued. "We have had a lot of trivial, inconsequential discussion about (Continued on page 2)
MTA adds buses to the Bx. 30 line; rerouting along Asch Loop is possible BY BILL STUTTIG At a recent meeting with State Assemblyman Mike Benedetto over requested upgrades to bus service in Coop City, MTA government relations officials told the Assemblyman that buses have been added to the Bx. 30 line with rush hour service now running approximately every eight minutes. In addition, Benedetto said that he was told by the MTA that a proposal is under consideration to have the Bx. 30 run across Asch Loop as it travels to and from the west Bronx. The Bx. 30 currently begins its run from Erskine Place in Section 5, goes across Bartow Avenue, north on Baychester Avenue, east on Coop City Blvd. and then exits the community via Connor Street and accesses the west Bronx via Boston Road and East Gun Hill Road. Under the MTA’s new proposal, the line will be rerouted to restore some of the service lost to Asch Loop when the MTA reconfigured many of the lines serving Co-op City in June of 2010 in an attempt to cut costs. Many of the changes, including the lost service along Asch Loop were protested by the community for over a year, but the
cries seemingly fell on deaf ears. Earlier this year, Benedetto made a written request that New York City Transit Authority President Thomas Prendergast tour the community with him and see first-hand the service the community was receiving. Prendergast accepted Benedetto’s invitation in part, meeting with Benedetto and select Co-op City community representatives in the Assemblyman’s Co-op City district office in late May. At the close of the meeting, a promise was reportedly made to report back to the community by the end of summer on the requested changes. While no follow-up report came in the summer, Benedetto last week did hear from the MTA government relations division about the added buses on the Bx. 30 and the proposed rerouting of that line onto Asch Loop. Deidre Parker, a spokesperson for the MTA, has confirmed that the MTA Board will be voting in November on a proposal to change the Bx. 30 route and bring it across Asch Loop. (Continued on page 2)