Vol. 59 No. 51
December 21, 2024
$1.25
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'HF 2SHQ %RDUG 0HHWLQJ BY DANIELLE CRUZ
The Riverbay Board of Directors held an Open Board Meeting at the Dreiser Auditorium on Wednesday, December 18. Before the Board voted on several resolutions, shareholders were able to address the Board and Riverbay Management during the Gallery Session. Ten shareholders signed up to ask questions, ranging from concerns about the lighting in certain areas of the community, potential carrying charge increases and smoking in buildings.
After the Gallery Session concluded, the meeting was called to order by Board President Rod Saunders, who started the meeting by presenting his President’s Report to the community. At the start of his report, President Saunders conJUDWXODWHG WKH QHZ &&3' RI¿FHUV ZKR JUDGXDWHG RQ 'HFHPEHU IURP WKH LQ KRXVH 3HDFH 2I¿FHU Training Academy. President Saunders also shared with the community that when Governor Kathy Hochul visited CoRS &LW\ WR DQQRXQFH KHU SURSRVHG LQÀDWLRQ UHIXQG
&DELQHWV 6PRNLQJ /LJKWLQJ Increases & More Discussed DW 'HF WK *DOOHU\ 6HVVLRQ BY ROZAAN BOONE & DANIELLE CRUZ
At the December 18, 2024 Open Riverbay Board of Directors meeting, 10 shareholders signed up to address the Board on a wide range of topics during the Gallery Session. Below is a summary of shareholders’ questions and the answers that were presented by Board directors and Riverbay Management. 5LYHUED\ %RDUG 3UHVLGHQW 5RG 6DXQGHUV LQWURGXFHG WKH ¿UVW speaker, Ms. Barbara Rose, who stated that although the Dreiser area is much cleaner, there is still room for improvement and that more frequent cleanings are necessary. Ms. Rose also asked for Co-op City’s diversity to be taken into consideration when decisions are being made on restaurant leases so that a larger cross-section of the community can be served. She also bemoaned the fact that there is only one synagogue in Co-op City. “The culture, it’s like, we [white, Jewish members of Co-op City] don’t count anymore, that’s how I feel,” Ms. Rose said. (Continued on page 8)
(Continued on page 2)
RESOLUTIONS: See pages 19 and 22
MTA Expands OMNY for ReducedFare Riders BY BRANDON ORTIZ
0DQDJHPHQW 5HSRUW IRU 3HULRG (QGLQJ 1RY Management Report
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([HFXWLYH *HQHUDO 0DQDJHU On behalf of Douglas Elliman Property Management, Managing Agent, I am delighted to present the Management Report for Riverbay Corporation for the period ending November 30, 2024. This Management Report provides updates with the following elements: 6WDI¿QJ ± 3XEOLF 6DIHW\ Department • Heating Services In the Community • Garage Elevator Modernization\ • 2-year Budget Planning • Convector initiatives 3XEOLF 6DIHW\ 6WDI¿QJ 2Q )ULGD\ 'HFHPEHU ¿IWHHQ UHFUXLWV graduated from the Co-op City Public Safety Inhouse Academy. With these new additions to the WHDP WKH VWDI¿QJ VKRUWDJH GURSSHG IURP IRUW\ QLQH RU WR RU RI WKH 3HDFH 2I¿FHU SRVLWLRQV EXGJHWHG LQ &&3' $V RI 6DWXUday, December 14, 2024, below is a summary of recruitment efforts for the upcoming Academy: • A total of 37 recruits were scheduled for agility portion of the process.
Reduced-Fare riders will now have the ability to tap and go after the MTA announced an expansion to OMNY on December 13. The MTA started mailing out more than 1.5 million Reduced-Fare OMNY cards to current program participants last week to replace the former Reduced-Fare MetroCard. With the inclusion of Reduced-Fare customers, the MTA is another step closer to transitioning away from MetroCards. Reduced-Fare riders are entitled to a 24/7, 50% discount, for all subway (Continued on page 4) trips, as well as local, limited and select bus service. Express bus trips are also 50% off for reduced fare riders except during the weekday morning hours of 6 to 10 a.m. and evening hours of 3 to 7 p.m. Reduced-Fare riders can also apply their 50% discount toward the Metro-North Railroad for a one-way peak fare except during the weekday morning hours of 6 to 10 a.m. (Continued on page 3)
1HZ 5LYHUED\ 'HSXW\ *HQHUDO 0DQDJHU On Monday, December 16, Riverbay Executive General Manager Marvin L. Walton announced the selection of Joshua Blake as the new Riverbay Deputy General Manager. Mr. Blake has been a long-time employee of Riverbay Corporation, previously serving as the Director of Janitorial. ³, DP YHU\ H[FLWHG WR VWDUW WKLV QHZ SRVLWLRQ DV 'HSXW\ *HQHUDO 0DQDJHU ´ VDLG 0U %ODNH ³$V D VKDUHKROGHU myself, I am here to represent and support the interests of all the shareholders here in Co-op City. I am willing to VWULYH IRU H[FHOOHQFH DQG FXVWRPHU VHUYLFH , WKLQN LW¶V WLPH WR UDLVH RXU FXVWRPHU VHUYLFH WR WKH KLJKHVW OHYHO ZH FDQ ´ ³0DQDJHPHQW FRQJUDWXODWHV -RVKXD %ODNH LQ KLV QHZ UROH DV 'HSXW\ *HQHUDO 0DQDJHU IRU 5LYHUED\ &RUSRUDWLRQ ´ VDLG ([HFXWLYH *HQHUDO 0DQDJHU 0DUYLQ / :DOWRQ ³:H look forward to the contributions that Joshua will bring to WKH &RUSRUDWLRQ LQ WKLV QHZ FDSDFLW\ ´ ăă%UDQGL 6LPSVRQ Photo by Brandi Simpson
Joshua Blake