Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community.
Vol. 48 No. 46
© Copyright 2013 Co-op City Times
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Board approves exploration into the feasibility of televised Board meetings At an Open Board meeting attended by just roughly 50 shareholders Wednesday evening in Einstein Community Center, the Riverbay Board of Directors passed a resolution which could possibly open up most future Board meetings to far many more BY BILL STUTTIG
shareholders without some of those residents ever having to leave their homes. The Riverbay Board of Directors, by a wide margin, passed a resolution Wednesday evening which instructs (Continued on page 2)
Ben Topor, Vice President of Sales and Retention for Cablevision, addresses shareholders at an Open Board meeting Wednesday evening. Topor briefly explained Cablevision’s offer of a five-year bulk sale agreement with Co-op City residents which must first be approved by two-thirds of all shareholders by next month. Photo by Bill Stuttig
Cablevision bulk rate ballots delivered to Co-op City apartments
Co-op City shareholders began receiving their Cablevision Optimum Preferred bulk cable ballots yesterday and are urged to complete and return it before the deadline on December 11, 2013. Each apartment will receive one ballot which should be filled out and returned to either the lobby attendant, CSO office, Maintenance office or the Riverbay Executive Management office at 2049 Bartow Avenue, Bronx, NY. 10475. This offer is only for Optimum Video and does not affect Optimum Online or Optimum Voice services. Each ballot asks shareholders to check one option: OPTION 1: If you’re a current Cablevision/Optimum subscriber and would be interested in receiving the Optimum Preferred Package for only $24 a month, including taxes and fees, for the first 2 years, and a 5% annual increase in years 3-5, through the proposed bulk rate offer for Co-op City residents, check this option. The Optimum Preferred Package is valued at a monthly non—promotional rate of $74.95, and includes over 320 channels which are listed on the back of the ballot. BY ROZAAN BOONE
OPTION 2: If you are currently not an Optimum subscriber, but would be interested in receiving Cablevision’s Broadcast Basic Cable TV at NO charge, thereby receiving more channels and better picture quality than you are currently receiving on the master antenna, check this option. Cooperators who choose this option will receive one cable box and a remote, free of charge. OPTION 3: No, I am not interested in this offer. At the bottom of the ballot, shareholders are asked to print their name, sign their signature and list their building and apartment numbers to ensure that only one ballot is filled out per apartment to maintain the integrity of the survey. On the reverse side of the ballot is a listing of the Cablevision channels available in the Optimum Preferred Package being offered in the Co-op City cable bulk offer. Shareholders who have questions about the bulk agreement are urged to attend one of the three Open Management forums to get answers to their questions before filling out (Continued on page 4)
25¢
Governor Cuomo vetoes MTA accountability bill In what many consider to be a major setback for communities like Co-op City fighting to restore some, if not all, of the transit services cut by the MTA in 2010, Governor Andrew Cuomo late last week vetoed a bill, passed earlier this year by both houses of the state legislature, which would have forced the MTA to report directly to the state legislature and the Governor about the effects of those cuts and ongoing efforts to remediate those effects. In explaining his reasoning for the unexpected veto of the bipartisan bill, the Governor wrote: “In implementing service reductions, the MTA has conducted a comprehensive, transparent analysis of the needs of the communities impacted and the resources available to meet those needs. Federal law and the MTA’s own policies require robust public participation in considering all major service reductions. For example, in March 2010, the MTA conducted nine public hearings on proposed service changes at locations in Westchester, Nassau, Queens, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Manhattan, the Bronx, Suffern, and Riverhead. Members of the public and interested parties were invited to submit written comments on the proposed changes at those hearings, and could also comment on the service proposals at MTA committee meetings before the MTA Board vote and at the MTA Board meeting at which action was taken on BY BILL STUTTIG
the proposed changes. “In proposing service reductions, the MTA analyzes ridership trends and demands, geographical coverage, and other data as it seeks to balance the many competing needs of an integrated transportation network. Indeed, in conducting the analysis for the 2010 reductions, the last major round of service reductions, the MTA followed guidelines issued by the Federal Transit Administration to examine, in accordance with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, whether the proposed service changes would have any discriminatory impacts on minority and low-income communities. Based upon this very public analysis, no discriminatory impacts related to the proposed service changes were found. The Sponsors have proffered that this bill would ‘provide a clear picture of the service cuts and eliminations’ that were implemented. But there already is a ‘clear picture’ before any service reduction or elimination takes place. Moreover, the MTA announced this past July that it would implement $18 million in service enhancements to its bus, subway, and commuter train systems as a result of its mid-year financial plan review, restoring some of the services eliminated in 2010. Thus, what this legislation purports to seek already exists; it is unnecessary.” (Continued on page 3)
Car catches on fire in Garage #7
On Wednesday night, Nov. 13, at approximately 10:00 p.m., a cooperator entering Garage 7 in her vehicle was notified by the alert attendant, Manuel Calderone, who saw smoke coming from the vehicle, that her car may be on fire. The attendant immediately told the lady to exit the vehicle, grabbed a fire extinguisher and attempted to put out the fire, while the NYC Fire Department was en route. CCPD and Maintenance also responded to the scene. Thankfully, no one was hurt and the shareholder expressed her gratitude to Mr. Calderone for his alertness and quick response.