Vol. 59 No. 36
Saturday, September 7, 2024
Installation of Natural Gas Detectors Set to Begin in Early Fall BY DANIELLE CRUZ
On Wednesday, August 28, the Riverbay Board of Directors approved the purchase of 15,707 natural gas detectors for Co-op City. This fall, Riverbay will begin installing these detectors throughout the community in compliance with Local Law 157, which requires the mandatory installation of natural gas detecting devices in residential buildings on or before May 1, 2025. Local Law 157 was passed back in 2016, in response to a number of deadly gas explosions in New York City in 2014 and 2015. The mandate required the Department of Buildings (DOB) to create specific regulations based on national standards. Those national standards weren’t finalized until 2023, when the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) published NFPA 715, which set forth requirements for the installation of gas detectors. The DOB used those standards to finalize Local Law 157, which officially went into effect on February 15, 2024. Under Local Law 157, gas detectors are required in every apartment and must be placed within 12 inches of the ceiling, at least 5 feet away from a cooking appliance, and at least 3 feet but no more than 10 feet away from gas appliances. According to Riverbay Compliance Director Sean Barravecchio, due to the relatively new standards there are only a few devices on the market that meet the specifications required under Local Law 157 and NFPA 715. The device being installed in Co-op City is the Denoa Detect 10-Year Battery Operated Natural Gas Detector with voice alert. The detectors will cost Riverbay roughly $898,126. It should also be pointed out that Local Law 157 (Continued on page 4)
Moving Ahead In my first PresPresident’s Report ident’s Report, I started off by congratulating the newly elected members of the Riverbay Board of Directors to their Executive Board positions, and then went on to congratulate three Board members who had been re-elected to the Board. I want to further recognize the two former Board directors who chose not to run for re-election to the Board – former President Sonia Feliciano, and former First Vice President, Claudia Sampson, for their previous multiple terms of service on the Board, on behalf of Co-op City residents. While having different Riverbay Board political allegiances, Sonia Feliciano is a friend. We always managed to agree on many more things that were good for Co-op City and our shareholders than we disagreed. We always had an excellent working relationship in speaking with each other, and we did so often. We almost always agreed on most of the important issues involving our community, and simply agreed to disagree on some as well. Since first being elected to the Riverbay Board of Directors in 2016, Sonia Feliciano served as Board treasurer, accepted the position as chair of the Buildings and Grounds Committee, and then presided as president of the Board for the past 2-years. More often than not, political views have a way of interfering with otherwise very good personal friendships. For the most part, that didn’t happen, however, when it did, I understood. Claudia Sampson was elected on the same slate with Sonia back in 2016. Claudia’s first Executive Board position was as the second V.P., then became president of the Riverbay Corp.’s Riverbay Fund, Inc. Claudia Sampson served on multiple committees including the Board’s Committees on Committees, and once chaired, then co-chaired the 2018 & 2024 (respectively) Riverbay Board Election Committees. (Continued on page 2)
Local Law 126 Grading Explained BY BRANDON ORTIZ
In response to a garage collapse near the financial district of Manhattan on April 18, 2023, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) amended Local Law 126 last year. Under the new amendment, the New York City Department of Buildings (DOB) officials set a deadline of August 1 for all parking garage owners to have an initial one-time inspection by a Qualified Parking Structure Inspector (QPSI). Before the amendment, Local Law 126 required all NYC parking garage owners to hire a QPSI “at least once every six years and file a report with the Department of Buildings documenting the results of the inspection,” according to the legislation. Complying with DOB’s amendment to Local Law 126, Riverbay hired the services of O&S Associates to inspect each garage. For initial inspections, there are three grades that garages are categorized by: Safe, SREM (Safe with repairs and/or Engineering Monitoring) and Unsafe. For a garage to be considered safe, the inspector cannot find any hazards and the overall condition of the structure must be in quality shape. A SREM grade means that the garage is generally safe but will need repairs or subsequent monitoring by an engineer. An unsafe grade means either the whole garage or only certain parts of the structure could potentially cause danger or harm to an individual. In a situation where only parts of a garage are deemed unsafe, it is the garage owner’s re-
$1.25
sponsibility “to immediately secure any unsafe area for public safety by removing the unsafe condition or safeguarding the area and restricting public access,” as was explained in Riverbay Executive General Manager Marvin L. Walton’s Management Report in the August 31, 2024 issue of the Co-op City Times. Following the initial inspection by O&S Associates, Garages 1 and 2 received a SREM grade while Garages 3-8 were deemed unsafe. Notably, the grade for Garages 3-8 was due to “unsafe conditions identified that are limited to certain areas in all levels of the parking structures,” as was also described in Mr.Walton’s report. Riverbay Director of Construction Rik Jakaj provided further context to the Co-op City Times this week. “Shareholders should be assured the entire structure is safe. The reason garages 3-8 were classified ‘unsafe’ as part of the initial Local Law 126 report is that there are some areas that have unsafe conditions, typically small areas where concrete has spalled. For that reason, the entire parking structure is then filed unsafe,” Mr. Jakaj said. “The engineer of record who performed the inspections and NYC DOB would require an immediate evacuation of the structure if the entire structure was determined to be unsafe. This is not the case,” Mr. Jakaj went on to say. Riverbay has been addressing the spalled concrete conditions in Garages 3-8 and expects the process to be completed by the middle of September.
Rod Saunders
Apartment Safety Tips BY DANIELLE CRUZ
Cleaning materials help keep your home clean, and appliances make your life easier, but it’s important to read the labels on these products to make sure you are using them correctly and reduce the chances of injury. Riverbay Safety Director Anthony Barzelatto sat down with the Co-op City Times to discuss some general safety tips shareholders should keep in mind. Cleaning Materials When using cleaning chemicals, like bleach, it is important to make sure you read and follow the instructions on the bottle, especially if you need to dilute the solution. Wearing protective equipment, for example, gloves, while cleaning is also advisable. Cleaning chemicals should never be mixed together. Mixing them can cause a reaction and release vapors that are dangerous to breathe in. “The thing you don’t ever want to do is mix and match,” Mr. (Continued on page 5)
SCHOOL IS OPEN! Please exercise extra caution when driving, especially around school zones, and watch for children crossing the street. Always STOP for a school bus with its red lights flashing and its STOP sign displayed.