Gmar hatimah tovah to shareholders observing Yom Kippur
Vol. 57 No. 40
Saturday, October 1, 2022
$1.25
7=>$=4/)1'$?''1.08$7'&/$@'41A$BC Riverbay Board Approves 7.5% Carrying Charge Increase
BY ROZAAN BOONE
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Officials from the federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Wells Fargo bank, New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR), Riverbay Management, Riverbay Board of Directors, and other Riverbay personnel met on Thursday, September 29, in Dreiser Auditorium B. Riverbay Executive General Manager Bob Klehammer discussed Riverbay operations over the last two years, as well as, accomplishments and progress. He also detailed unfunded mandates and their significant impact on the housing corporation’s budget, as well as inflationary pressures, supply chain issues and skyrocketing costs for natural gas, heating oil, insurance, water and labor, and the resultant carrying charge increase. (See Management Report on page 1 for a summary of Among the attendees were Eugene Walton, Resolutions Specialist, HUD; Cathy Pharis, Managing Director, Wells Fargo; Julia Bradley, Manager, FHA Servicing Group, Wells Fargo; Mohammed Saddiqui, Asst. VP/Asst. Dir., Mitchell-Lama, HCR; Denise Snyder, Homes & Community Manager, HCR; Robert Landy, Director/VP of Financial Operations, Office of Housing, Preservation, HCR; and Cathy Sparks, VP & Director, Office of Housing Preservation, State-supervised Mitchell-Lama Portfolio, HCR; Riverbay Board President Sonia Feliciano, First Vice President Claudia Sampson, Second Vice President Bishop Angelo Rosario, Treasurer Kevin Lambright, Secretary Bernie Cylich, Riverbay Board Directors Rod Saunders, Leslie Peterson and Michelle Marbury; Riverbay General Manager Noel Ellison, Assistant Executive General Manager Cary Smith III, Assistant General Manager Warren Mitchell, and Riverbay Director of Finance Averil James-Bonnette. Following the meeting, Mr. Klehammer said: “We report to and are regulated by HCR, HUD and Wells Fargo. This meeting gets all of them into one room so we can review the progress we have made to improve operations and the complex’s infrastructure, but more importantly, to hear what our present and future challenges are and how they might be able to help. Also, as people come and go at these entities, it is an opportunity for the Riverbay staff to connect with those they need to deal with now.” “The Stakeholder’s Meeting with Wells Fargo, HUD, HCR, our Management team, and eight of our Board members presented an opportunity for us to provide them with issues that are important and impacting Riverbay,” said Board President Feliciano. “Our Executive General Manager provided an extensive and detailed assessment of projects and areas we are challenged with. As the biggest housing development in the world, we have made excellent progress as we move forward together. We will overcome the challenges before us as we have done countless times. Having these important agencies meet with us shows their commitment to ensuring we continue to remain affordable and sustainable.”
2022 Management Report To Stakeholders September 28, 2022 Management Report
(Continued on page 4)
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Photo by Rozaan Boone
Annual Hispanic Heritage Celebration
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On Sunday, Sept. 25, the Spanish-American Community Club held its annual celebration of Hispanic Heritage in the Dreiser Auditorium. The celebration featured speakers as well as performances representative of several Hispanic countries throughout the diaspora.