8
Co-op City Times / July 22, 2023 'LUHFWRU¶V 9LHZSRLQW
'DU\O -RKQVRQ
Board Meeting Review, 7/12/2023 Surprisingly, we had a good board meeting on Wednesday, July 12, 2023. So, let’s see what happened. Cooperators Losing Money We have 15,372 apartments here. And, NYS wants to return money annually from the STAR program to everyone that owns an apartment here. But, can you believe that the STAR funds are only being issued to our shareholders that are living in about 5,000 apartments? And, that means that the other shareholders that are living in the other 10,000 or so apartments (we have vacancies) are not receiving any money from this program. To me, this is a shame because lots of information was published in the Co-op City Times about the STAR program. We also published information about the amount of money that was issued to our cooperators. So, a cooperator could receive approximately $100 if they were enrolled in the Basic STAR program. And, our seniors could receive approximately $200 if they were enrolled in the Enhanced STAR program. But, as you can see, the majority of our shareholders didn’t bother to enroll in this program. So, they lost money that actually belonged to them. Furthermore, it’s possible that they have been losing money for many years. So, I brought up these issues during this same board meeting. Then, I mentioned that we should try other means to get this information into the hands of all of our shareholders. For instance, we should place notices about the STAR program into the same envelopes as the monthly carrying charge statement. This way, there is no excuse for them to not enroll into this program. Then, our Executive General Manager Marvin Walton agreed to have the notices placed into everyone’s carrying charge envelope. Additionally, he said that he was going to make sure that the information concerning the STAR program will be distributed to everyone. Bottom line: How does it look for 10,000 shareholders to lose out on millions of dollars every year because they’re not enrolled into a program? Horrible! Therefore, from my perspective, we must step up and help them.
Apartment Downsizing Program Our shareholders previously had the opportunity to downsize their apartment. However, can you beOLHYH WKDW RQO\ VKDUHKROGHUV ¿ OOHG RXW SDSHUV WR downsize their apartment during 2022? Now, think, how is this possible when a lot of shareholders are paying their carrying charges late? Then, we have shareholders in housing court because they owe money on their carrying charges. So, do we have a problem in our community? Absolutely! And, one problem is that lots of cooperators are not reading our newspaper on a weekly basis. Therefore, they’re losing money because they’re not taking advantage of the information that we publish. %RWWRP OLQH :K\ ZRXOG DQ\RQH VWUXJJOH ¿ nancially just to stay in a large apartment—alone? Why would anyone want to receive a late notice from Riverbay? Why would anyone even consider spending a second in Housing Court? /RRN D EHWWHU FKRLFH LV WR HYDOXDWH \RXU ¿ QDQFLDO situation. Then, see how much money you can save on a monthly basis if you downsize your apartment. 7KHUHDIWHU PDNH D JRRG FKRLFH WKDW ZLOO EHQH¿ W you. Okay, we must consider placing this apartment downsizing information into the monthly carrying charge envelopes. Gas Turbine Control Systems Upgrade We had a big discussion on upgrading a gas turbine control system for the power plant. Here are the facts: 1. This project, from Siemens Energy, was priced at $435,345.60 plus tax. 2. The resolution then required a 10 percent contingency fee of $43,534.56. Contingency fee? Yes, management wanted a 10 percent contingency fee, just in case something went wrong. Therefore, I asked: “Why?” Then, I pointed to the hourly rates that they were going to pay their employees for this work. And, the regular pay and overtime pay numbers were hundreds of dollars per hour. Plus, they’re getting a very high allowance to cover basic issues per shift. So, I said that WKH\ DOUHDG\ ¿ JXUHG RXW H[DFWO\ KRZ PXFK WKH\ ZRXOG make off of this job. Therefore, do you think that they thought about several contingency issues? Absolutely! We were told that only Siemens Energy could do
this upgrade. And, that they could walk off the job if we FRXOGQ¶W IXO¿ OO RXU ¿ QDQFLDO REOLJDWLRQV 5HDOO\" /RRN they’re going to make $435,345.60 just for upgrading this gas turbine. Therefore, based on their employee payments, do you think that a ten percent contingency fee should have been placed onto this resolution? Former Board Director Jacqueline Smith Jacqueline Smith resigned as a board director on the evening of this board meeting. Thereafter, a prior resolution to remove her from her board position was withdrawn. On June 14, 2023, eight directors voted to stop the board election. Thereafter, some directors expressed their anger during this meeting. Then, the “n” word came up during this meeting. And, as mentioned before, there were some outbursts at our prior meetings. Bottom line: How do you feel about this election being stopped? Close I want to encourage our shareholders to please go online and apply for the STAR program. Then, if necessary, our seniors should consider downsizing their apartment. Thank you. Contact Information Please send a letter to: Board Director Daryl Johnson, Riverbay Corporation, 2049 Bartow Avenue, Bronx, NY 10475. Currently, here is my ONLY email account: djohnson@riverbayboard.com. Therefore, please do not respond to any message, with my name on it, that requests money, money transfers, gift cards, personal information, or anything from you. And, please do not ever send money or anything to anyone because you saw my name on a false message. Also, please call me ONLY at 718-671-4544 if you would like to have a brief discussion with me. And, please hang up your phone immediately if someone calls you and says that they’re Daryl Johnson or is associated with me and asks you for money or anything else. Okay, that’s it for now. So, please have a wonderful week. And, may God bless you and your family. Thank you.