Co-op City Times / February 3, 2018
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147 Riverbay Employees Saluted For Perfect Attendance
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Annual African American Film Festival Is Today The African American Association of Co-op City is presenting its 21st Annual Black History Month Film Festival today, Saturday, February 3, starting at 12 p.m. The program will be held in room 31 of the Bartow Community Center and admission is free. Please make every effort to attend.
Food Pantry At Faith @ Work Christian Church Faith @ Work Christian Church is offering a food pantry beginning at noon on February 5, in Building 7, 120 DeKruif Place, Bronx, NY 10475. This service is free and there are no age restriction. A government issued photo ID is required. Please bring your shopping cart. Perishables and non-perishables. First come, first served, so come early. The Faith @ Work food pantry will continue every first Monday of the month. For further information, please contact Pastor Deborah Jenkins at 347-202-7006.
Reservations For Assemblyman Benedetto’s Black History Program Assemblyman Michael R. Benedetto will sponsor a Black History Month Celebration in Co-op City’s Dreiser Community Center Auditorium for 650 people on Thursday, February 15th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free, however, reservations are necessary. Please contact Assemblyman Benedetto’s Co-op City office at (718) 320-2220 to reserve your seat today. No one will be admitted without a reservation. Invitees will enjoy a full-course buffet dinner, entertainment, music and dancing. New York State Assemblyman Jeff Aubry will be the guest of honor. During the evening, three people who have contributed to Co-op City’s vitality will receive honors.
Management, Public Safety and Locals 153, 282, 94, and 32BJ employees who worked through 2017 without calling out sick once were honored for their loyalty and dedication to the community with a luncheon on Friday, January 26th in the Dreiser auditorium. Each employee was presented a certificate of appreciation from Riverbay Corporation. Riverbay Executive General Manager Bob Klehammer, Assistant Executive General Manager Cary Smith and Assistant General Manager Warren Mitchell, himself a perfect attendee, were on hand to offer their thanks and appreciation. Mr. Klehammer told the honorees: “I can’t tell you how much we appreciate the effort you put out all year on behalf of the shareholders of Co-op City. We have a lot of plans to continue to improve the development and make your work environment safer. Thank you for your efforts and keep it up as we try to continue to make this place the proud beacon of excellence that it is.” Employees honored were: Samir Hakim Farham Al-Gaylani, Tony Alcide, Leandra Alexander, Hector Algarin,, Jose Manuel Alvarez, Michael Ambo, Frank Apollo, Pamela Apollo, Steyvon Baker, Kiana Bartley, David Best, Pedro Jose, Bisono, Betsy Boiko, Joseph Boiko, Averil James-Bonnette, Victoria Bowman, Angel Bravo, David Brown, Stephen Brugman, Claudia Budnitskiy, Chris Bulat, Jonathan Caban, Bovell Campbell, Hugo Castillo, Akim Challenger, Ruben Chapparro, Jerome Dexter Christopher, Alexi Yovanny Claros, Raymond Cooper, Josue Coronel, Jose A. Cruz, Marissa Cruz, Omar Patricio De Los Angeles, Dzevat Dervisevic, Heriberto Diaz, Victor Adrian Dickson, Neyema Dolma, Kenneth Duchnowski, Luis Duquela, Kujitim Duraj, Anton Dusaj, Margaret Echevarria, Noel Ellison, Lois English, Kimberly Engrassia, Tanysha Farley, Mikhail Feyman, David Fraguada, Ryan Francis, Vincent Francis, Mark Giaccoia, Mark Gordon, Franc Hota, Calbert James, Nurissa Jacqueline James Cox, Theodore James Jefferson, Nelson Rafael Jorge Collado, Rafet Kalic, Hasan Karim, Toma Kastrati, Lanor Keitt, Raymond Francis Kenny, Sina Kim, Tamira King, Aleksandar Knezevic, Lush Kocaj, Filip Kocovic, Leka Kocovic, Vasilj Kocovic, Lynn Krantz, Genaro Lambert, Sami Lazellari, Anthony Ligato, Larisa Lipovetskaya, Alberto Lizasoain-Velazquez, John Lowe, Petar Markolovic, Anginet Ocasio Martinez, Hector Martinez, Therse Mavinga, Dennoya McLymont, Sheena McNeill, Michael McQuaid, Hector Melendez, James Melendez, Jesse Melendez, Peter Merola, Peter Miranda, Warren Mitchell, Joseph Monahan, Roberta Morgan, Michael Munns, Trenise Myrie, Hector Navarez, Danielle O’Connor, Kingsley Ofori, Obed Ortiz, Toma Paljevic, Dindyal Persaud, Hubert Phillip, Rosalind Pierce, Pashko Pllumaj, Peter Popovic, Alan Poretsky, Linda Pujols, Bautista Quinones, Eduardo Ramirez, Julio Ramirez, Jose Reyes Mato, Juan Reynoso, Alvin Rivera, Daniel Rivera, David Rodriguez, Frankie Rodriguez Gilberto Rodriguez, Wilmer Rodriguez, Louis Salegna, Louis M. Salegna, Benjamin Samalot, John Samura, Jose Sanchez, Michael Saunders, Richard Schmidt, Mark Shapiro, Tyronne Snell, Joanna Springer, William Stuttig, Antonio Suazo, John Sue, Shenese Talton, Robert Tausch, Andrea Tuberman, Justo Valdes, Marcelino Vargas, Ruben Vargas, Rudy Vargas, Filomena Velazquez, Felicia Velez, Kleber Vera, Anthony Warner, Marc Warren, Kirk Williams, Carl Wright and Filip Zadrima. Photo by William Stuttig
Co-op City Residents Join Voting Reform Rally In Albany
Several Co-op City residents, including Riverbay Board First Veep Bernie Cylich, joined hundreds of other New Yorkers in the Capitol to rally for Voting Reform recently. Voting Reform may not seem like the most exciting cause of the day, but the “one person, one vote” principle is the bedrock of democracy. Only 57.3% of eligible New York State voters cast ballots in 2016, ranking NYS #41 in the country in voter turnout. Let NYVote, comprised of nearly thirty organizations, called for the January 23rd rally in support of several measures to make voting easier in New York State. Most especially included in the list of reforms: Early Voting. Early Voting isn’t a Democratic or Republican idea. In fact, Texas was the first state to institute the practice. Early Voting is merely a means to make voting more convenient for students, seniors, the disabled, or people who work long hours. The rally was called to persuade our legislators to push to include funding for Early Voting in this year’s budget, since the bar-
rier, year after year in New York State, is money. After the rally, the group met with our own state senator, Jamaal T. Bailey, to thank him for his support of voting reform measures. The Democratic Conference, on that same day, sent out a press release calling for Governor Cuomo to include adequate funding for Early Voting in the 2018-19 state budget. In that release, Senator Bailey is quoted from a past debate on the state senate floor — the year NYS ranked #49 in voter turnout. The senator said: “Voting rights were once not guaranteed for women and people of color. Currently, New York has the second-to-worst voting record in the country. The power to vote is important, when we vote, our voice is heard. Instead of making it more difficult to cast a ballot, the Democratic Conference has organized a package to expand voting rights. This legislative package will protect and ease the process of voting for all New Yorkers.”
In that same January 23rd press release, Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins quotes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as once saying, “Voting is the foundation stone of political action.” Co-op City resident can also take action. Call Governor Andrew Cuomo at 1-518-474-8390 (#2) to insist on funding Early Voting.