Vol. 59 No. 48
November 30, 2024
$1.25
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Grounds Department Winter Preparations BY DANIELLE CRUZ
From clearing fallen leaves and installing holiday decorations to preparing for winter weather and pruning plants for spring growth, the Riverbay Grounds department is already hard at work and focused on keeping Co-op City’s grounds both maintained and vibrant throughout the colder months. Picking up leaves across all 320 acres of property in Co-op City is the Grounds department’s biggest task this season. “Leaf removal that’s every day and that takes up all our time, even on weekends,” said Grounds Director Michael Ambo. “On weekends, we do the basketball courts and the kiddie parks. During the week, we Grounds department putting holiday lights up for do everywhere, every the Bartow Tree Lighting Ceremony. Photo by P.M. Campbell part of Co-op City, from Sections One to Five, and we repeat that every day. We just make an attempt to remove as many leaves as we can on a daily basis until the leaves stop falling.” According to Mr. Ambo, his team usually starts picking up leaves in early October and will continue the process until the leaves have all fallen down. However, this year he said that a lot of the trees around the community have stayed green late into the fall season and haven’t fallen yet, due to the unusually warm weather this season.
The Grounds department also recycles the leaves they collect and turns them into compost, that they then reuse back on the property. “We use them back in our gardens and around our tree wells,” Mr. Ambo said. “We used to pay to get rid of those leaves, we don’t do that anymore. So, we recycle all the leaves. We separate the leaves from the regular garbage that we remove on property every day and we take those leaves to the empty lot that we have on Co-op City Boulevard, and we recycle them.” It takes the leaves about two years to be ready for reuse. Come spring, the Grounds department will be using a pile of leaves that they collected two years ago as fertilizer throughout the community. “The leaves that we’re putting in the yard now in another two years it’ll be ready to use,” Mr. Ambo said. “So, we’re saving Riverbay quite a lot of money by doing that recycling program with the leaves.” The unusually and historically dry fall has also impacted the Grounds department, due to the unprecedented spike in (Continued on page 2)
MTA Hosting Webinars on Congestion Pricing BY BRANDON ORTIZ
Shareholders can learn more about the Central Business District Tolling Program, also known as congestion pricing, during a series of webinars hosted by the MTA during the month of December. According to the MTA, the meetings will provide participants with information and details on “how the Congestion Relief Zone works, how the program benefits the region, discounts and exemptions, and what people need to know before tolling begins on Sunday, January 5.” Notably, the MTA will host two webinars dedicated to the Individual Disability Exemption Plan (IDEP) and a separate webinar on the Low-Income Discount Plan (LIDP). Both (Continued on page 2)
New York Set to Implement Ban on Retail Pet Sales BY BRANDON ORTIZ
New York will officially ban the sale of certain animals in pet stores statewide after a new legislation goes into effect on December 15, 2024. Called the Puppy Mill Pipeline Act, the law officially bans licensed pet dealers from selling dogs, cats or rabbits in their respective retail locations. The legislation was first signed by Governor Kathy Hochul in 2022 but provided New York pet stores a two-year grace period to begin modifying their operations in accordance with the new law. In purpose, the Puppy Mill Pipeline Act is de-
signed to put a stop to the cruel and inhumane treatment of animals trapped in the puppy mill-to-petstore pipeline. By prohibiting the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at retail pet stores, the legislation is also hoping to impact the financial revenue of the abusive breeders who oversee such heinous operations. Animals who are victims of puppy mills “are often mistreated and suffer from serious health issues,” as explained by the New York State Attorney General’s Office. Furthermore, the State Attorney General highlighted that many of the animals sold (Continued on page 2)
Governor Hochul Reverses Field and Unpauses Congestion Pricing BY BRANDON ORTIZ
New Yorkers will soon see congestion pricing after Governor Hochul’s decision to unpause the Central Business District Tolling Program (CBDTP) on November 14, 2024. The latest development in the ongoing congestion pricing saga picked up momentum rapidly in recent weeks following President-Elect Donald Trump’s victory over Kamala Harris. In May of this year, President-Elect Trump expressed his opposition to the CBDTP, which has led media outlets such as AP News to conclude the Governor’s recent reversal on congestion pricing was a direct response to the assumption that President-Elect Trump would try to stop the plan had state legislators waited until January. Hochul initially paused the CBDTP in June citing changing circumstances since congestion pricing was first enacted in 2019. She highlighted that the plan was developed before the city was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic and that NYC was still recovering economically. Gov. Hochul hinted that congestion pricing could be unpaused in January of 2025 during a September radio interview with WNYC’s “All Things Considered,” saying, at that time, that her “position is unwavering,” and that “$15 was too much for New Yorkers at this time.” While $15 was too costly in the eyes of the Governor, she ultimately decided that $9 was, in fact, (Continued on page 9) the right amount to charge drivers going into the Central Business District.
How to Avoid Online Shopping Scams This Holiday Season BY DANIELLE CRUZ
The holiday season is a busy time for both consumers and scammers, who take advantage of the uptick in online shopping to steal money and personal information through fake advertisements and discounts. “The holidays are one of the busiest times of the year for both shoppers and scammers,” said New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley. “While online shopping is a convenient way to purchase gifts and find deals, scammers often use this time as an opportunity to take advantage of consumers and steal their information or their hard-earned money. According to the New York State Division of Consumer Protection, in 2023, consumers spent $273.3 billion online during the holiday season nationwide and also reported $95.2 million in losses from online shopping scams last October through December. A new report released by data analytic company SOAX also revealed that in 2023 New Yorkers lost about $536 per fraud to Black Friday scams. Unlike other online scams that can sometimes target a specific age group, anyone can be susceptible to an online shopping scam. According to the Better Business Bureau, scammers will often entice consumers by offering steep discounts on viral items, beauty products and other hard-to-find items. However, while online shopping scams have become more sophisticated and creative over the (Continued on page 4)