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Co-op City Times / September 14, 2019
Two New Developments for Co-op City Blvd? Director’s Viewpoint
Daryl Johnson Plans were filed earlier this year for a 6-story building at 801 Co-op City Boulevard. Then, just recently, our board approved resolution 19-39 so that we can possibly transform our stretch of land on Co-op City Boulevard into a park. Rest, and Relaxation A proposal is on the table for Montefiore Hospital to get a new state of the art medical facility at 801 Co-op City Boulevard. If approved, this new 54,000 square foot facility will be near the Peartree mall. The proposal is for Montefiore to provide primary and pediatric care on the upper three floors. Then, the lower three floors will be used for 277 parking spaces. Previously, plans called for the first floor to contain 104 parking spaces for their neighbor, the Bay Park Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation. Then, the other spaces would be allotted to Montefiore. But, published reports stated that the developer tried to reduce the number of parking spaces. So, let’s see
Baychester Visual Arts Association
Our new season began on Tuesday, Sept. 10, and we hope your creative juices are yearning for release. As people have seen in the past, you will derive much pleasure from your artwork. Our 2019-2020 season portends to be one of the most exciting in our history – with art classes, art shows, lecture/demonstrations and workshops, free and open to the public. BVA’s classes are held in room 5, Dreiser Community Center. You can choose from two class schedules, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. or 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fees are as follows: Annual membership is $35 a year and a session of 10 classes is $60. This is the best bargain in the Bronx – maybe even the city – given the quality of instruction offered. Come and join us. Mr. Moses Groves, BVA’s own art instructor, will be the artistic guide for these classes. Mr. Groves is an accomplished artist who has studied at theArt Students League and NYU. He has exhibited work in the New York and New Jersey area and has won awards for his artwork. You can call M. Groves at 201-862-0847 or S. Lochansky at 718-379-1049 for more information. You can register by mail by indicating the class time desired. Tuition can be sent to Baychester Visual Arts, P.O. Box 678, Co-op City Station, Bronx, NY 10475. BVA is a non-profit, self-supporting organization that needs your support to continue offering high level art instruction at these bargain prices. So come join BVA on this fabulous artistic trek, take a class, make a tax deductible donation and feel the satisfaction of being a creator and/or patron of the arts. All checks should be made out as indicated above. Science is for the body and art is for the soul. —Sylvia Lochansky
what happens. Then, not too far away, you’ll see our property by the water – a dump. In fact, I cannot see how we can spend thousands of dollars to beautify our grounds and then leave this huge stretch of land alone. Acceptable? Never! How is it possible for people to see overgrown bushes, horrible looking fences, and litter as soon as they get off of a bus? In my opinion, this neglected piece of land looks worse than any other area in Co-op City. But, thankfully, resolution 19-39 is on the table to possibly convert a portion of this land into a waterfront park. “Management is directed to produce a report on the phased development and maintenance of a roughly four acre waterfront park for Co-op City residents along the Hutchinson River in the area between the Little League fields and the construction trailers.” Personally, I would like to see us clean up the entire stretch of land along Co-op City Boulevard. In other words, cut down the overgrown bushes, get rid of the litter, and make that area look really nice. Money? According to our budget, we should have 5 non-union workers and 40 union workers in our Grounds department. Plus, we can have other workers help out to save some money. So, I think that this is another job that we can do in-house to save a lot of money. Bottom line: In my opinion, we don’t want that stretch of land to become a wild hangout for people to drink, take drugs, and to act up. Therefore, we have to be careful with our design of this place. Riverbay Fund Just a few years ago, lots of effort and money were used to try to convert the former bingo hall into a youth center. So, was a grant in place to cover the heavy expenses of this unfinished development? No! Therefore, who do you think paid for these expenses? That’s right, $50,000 came from our shareholders. Now, I can go on and on and print my incontrovertible findings into this newspaper. But, we now have a new president for the Riverbay Fund. And, amazingly, she and I have agreed on a few things about how this entity should be managed. Furthermore, I was completely shocked when I heard her make some no-nonsense comments about the future direction of the Riverbay Fund. Personally, I would like to see the Riverbay Fund operate in a better manner. Therefore, we should work with our politicians and ask for grants for certain proj-
ects. Thereafter, we can do some events, some afterschool programs, and some other good things for our community. But, all of our activities must be transparent. This way, our community knows that we’re doing our best to make Co-op City into the best housing development in NYC. Please Drive Carefully One day, a school bus stopped to let students off. Then, a car made a right turn to go in the opposite direction of this bus. Next, there was a collision between that car and a young man that had left the bus. So, the young man was injured. Then, the school officials called for an ambulance to take him to a hospital. In NY, we have laws concerning these types of incidents. For instance, here is a state law about school buses: In New York State, it is illegal to pass a stopped school bus when the large red lights located on top of the bus are flashing. Flashing lights mean the bus is picking up or discharging students. All motorists are required to stop whether approaching a stopped school bus from the front or overtaking it from the rear. This applies whenever red lights are flashing, even on divided and multilane highways and on school grounds. “The first-time fine for illegally passing a school bus is $250 - $400, 5 points on your license, and/or possibly 30 days in jail. Repeat offenders can face up to $1,000 in fines and up to 180 days in jail.” So, I would like to encourage our drivers to please follow all of the driving laws. Furthermore, we should try to remember that children can run into a street at any moment. Therefore, we need to think about the severe consequences that can occur if we hit them. So, please drive carefully. Thank you. Close A lot of parents are doing a very good job of making sure that their children go to school on a daily basis. So, I hope and pray that their family will stay strong and continue to do the right things. Thank you. Questions or comments? Please send a letter to: Daryl H. Johnson, Riverbay Board Director, c/o Riverbay Corporation, 2049 Bartow Avenue, Bronx, NY 10475. Also, please call me ONLY at 718-671-4544 if you would like to have a brief discussion with me. Okay, that’s it for now. So, please have a wonderful week. And, may God bless you and your family. Thank you.
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