Vol. 57 No. 34
Saturday, August 20, 2022
NYC Districting Commission Holds Bronx Public Hearing
Working Collaboratively to Deliver Improved Services to Cooperators President’s Report
BY BRANDON ORTIZ
The NYC Districting Commission held their Bronx Public Hearing on Wednesday, Aug. 17, to give borough residents an opportunity to voice their opinion on the Preliminary Plan for the new NYC Council District Map. Residents expressed their concerns in-person and through Zoom regarding the new map for just over three hours. Participants included Riverbay Board President Sonia Feliciano and Board Director Rod Saunders. One of the main issues discussed by those delivering public testimony centered around the changing of Council District 12. While Co-op City is not directly impacted by the new Council District 12, the district would potentially lose a portion of the Gun Hill neighborhood that includes Evander Childs High School and also dilute an important Riverbay Board Director and chair of the Board’s Legislative Committee, voting bloc of Black homeowners. Rod Saunders, speaks at the hearing.
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Arrests Made in Fatal Attack of Co-op City Cab Driver BY ROZAAN BOONE
morning killing of a Co-op City cab driver in the Edgemere section of Far Rockaway, NY have been arrested. Fifty-two year old Kutin Gyimah was attacked by the suspects at around 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, August 13, after he dropped them off in Queens Kutin Gyimah and they refused to pay the fare and tried to rob them. The driver chased after the group and was repeatedly kicked and punched. Towards the end of the attack, which was captured on video, one of the suspects now in custody hit Mr. Gyimah twice causing him to fall and hit his head on the ground. Mr. Gyimah later died at St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway. The Medical Examiner ruled his death a homicide resulting from blunt force trauma to his head. (Continued on page 4)
Early Voting for Republican Primary Reminder Early voting for the August Republican Primary election continues today, Saturday, August 20, and ends tomorrow, Sunday, August 21. The District 36 and House of Representatives Congressional District 14. Registered Democrats are not voting in this August Primary as State Senator Jamaal Bailey is running unopposed. Registered Republicans vote early at Villa Maria Academy, located at 3335 Country Club Road, Bronx, NY., between the following hours this weekend: Saturday, August 20: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday, August 21: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Republican Primary for the 14th Congressional district is between candidates Tina Forte and Desi Joseph Cuellar. There is no Republican Primary scheduled for the 36th Senate district. Election day for the August Republican primary is on Tuesday, August 23. Polls open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. See page 5 for a list of poll locations for registered Republican voters in Co-op City, compiled by former Board director, Mary Pearson.
Sonia Feliciano Dear Fellow Shareholders, Hope everyone is doing well. We had a very challenging day on Monday, August 15, 2022, in our Call Center as we suffered a one-day outage that affected the operations of the center and services to our residents. We are waiting a sub-division of Altice that manages the server for our calls. We won’t speculate at this time, but we will have more information as the investigation is completed. While we expected this outage to last about 2 hours, it became 4 hours and then the whole day. The Call Center was able to initiate the Avaya system we had prior to hiring Altice. Once the Avaya system became operational, emergencies and calls were then handled by CSO and the Call Center dispatchers. They also worked with (Continued on page 2)
NYCDOE Updates Covid-19 Guidance for 2022 School Year BY BRANDON ORTIZ
The New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) updated their Covid-19 guidelines for the upcoming 2022 academic year. A majority of the previous Covid-19 rules will still apply with some exceptions as the NYCDOE prepares to welcome children back into classrooms next month on September 8. Below is a rundown on the updated policies and prevention methods in place regarding Covid-19 safety, according to the NYCDOE website: Vaccination Starting with vaccinations, the NYCDOE continues to encourage parents to get (Continued on page 5)