Board of Directors Election Extended to Friday, July 26, 2024. Please VOTE today to avoid additional election-related expenses.
Vol. 59 No. 28
Saturday, July 13, 2024
HCR Tours Co-op City
Riverbay Board Approves Third Extension of Annual Board Election Riverbay Board Election
BY DANIELLE CRUZ On Wednesday, July 10, senior officials from the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) met with Riverbay’s executive management team for a tour of Co-op City. Before the tour, Management sat down with the DHCR representatives to give a brief overview of how Co-op City and Riverbay were structured and provided a packet with information on all the buildings and sections in Co-op City. “The sheet provided them information about the building or townhouse; which section it is located in; the type of building, whether it was a Chevron, Triple-Core or Tower; how many units are in that building; the number of floors in the building and where what garages are located within the parameters of that building… We provided them with that information so when they left here, they could really have a clear visual of how we conduct business here at Co-op City,” said Executive General Manager Marvin L. Walton. During the tour of Co-op City, the DHCR team was able to view a one-bedroom apartment and a three-bedroom townhouse, both of which are up for resale, and also visit the Peartree facility to see how garbage and recyclables are processed in Co-op City. The DHCR executives were also able to see the upgrades to the Dreiser Auditorium and visit the Call Center to talk to the staff and see how the center operates. “We were delighted to have our regulators come to the community to really get a clear understanding of the lay of the land here. So, as they receive letters, complaints, etc., they can now be familiar with what they saw,” said Mr. Walton. Pictured above, front row (L-R) are the HCR executives: Cathy Sparks, Director/Vice President Office of Integrated Housing Management; Rebecca Koepnick, Chief Strategy Office for Portfolio Preservation; Courtney Wolf, Vice President, Assistant Commissioner for Policy and Operations; Robert Franco-Tayar, Vice President of Strategic Preservation Initiatives; and Jason Pearson, Senior Vice President of Statewide Asset Management. In back row (L-R), Riverbay executive management team: Cary Smith III, Assistant Executive General Manager; Marvin L. Walton, Executive General Manager; Joshua Blake, Interim Deputy General Manager; and Jeffrey Buss, Riverbay General Counsel. Photo by Danielle Cruz
Co-op City’s Annual Fireworks and Concert
$1.25
230 Ballots Still Needed for Quorum
BY ROZAAN BOONE
The Riverbay Board of Directors held a special meeting on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at which they approved a third extension for two additional weeks of voting in the 2024 Riverbay Board of Directors election. Emergency Resolution 24-41 was approved by a vote of 14-0, with one director absent. The new voting deadline is Friday, July 26, 2024 at 9 p.m. The meeting of the Board was called by Board President Sonia Feliciano to vote on Emergency Resolution 24-41. The resolution was submitted by Director Anika Green-Watson, co-chair of the 2024 Election Committee, and Riverbay Board President Sonia Feliciano. It was seconded by Board Director Claudia Sampson, also a co-chair of the Election (Continued on page 2)
NOTICE to Shareholders – July Carrying Charge Statements Shareholders are advised to check their July 2024 carrying charge statements for the new monthly carrying charge amount since the HCR-ordered 8.1% increase became effective on July 1, 2024. Surcharges were also assessed effective July 1, 2024. Please confirm your payment amount prior to submitting to Riverbay Corporation or Zego.com to avoid late charges. Thank you for your cooperation. —Riverbay Finance Department
City Council Approves Fiscal Year 2025 Budget
YesElections at Einstein Center
BY BRANDON ORTIZ
Highlights from the annual Riverbay Independence Day fireworks show held on Saturday, July 6, on the Section 2 Greenway. See pages 12 and 13 for article and more photos.
Photos by P.M. Campbell
New York City Councilmembers voted to approve the Fiscal Year 2025 budget on Sunday, June 30. The $112.4 billion budget prioritizes several areas of investment, such as: housing affordability, early childhood education, public schools, student support programs, CUNY programming, public safety, community institutions and essential city services. A key challenge for this year’s budget revolved around restoring funding to programming that was previously buoyed by federal Covid-19 stimulus money. Fortunately, many of those critical programs and institutions that faced potential drastic budget cuts will have funding in the FY25 budget. As part of the FY25 budget, the City Council included 65 terms and conditions that need to be met. One of the main conditions in the FY25 budget requires the city to expand its reporting on several ongoing efforts, creating a more transparent budgeting process. The (Continued on page 4) City Council highlighted
On Tuesday, July 9, YesElections was at the Einstein Center from 12-6 p.m. to assist shareholders with voting in the 2024 Board election. YesElections will return to Co-op City on Wednesday, July 17, 4-8 p.m. in the Bartow Center, and on Friday, July 26, 4-8 p.m. at the Bellamy Loop basketball court. If you need assistance to vote, please visit the YesElections’ table or call the company at 855-701-9657. Photo by Brandon Ortiz