Co-op City Times 051725

2025 Riverbay Board of Directors Election Supplement,

Management Updates

Building 4 A, B & C Shareholders on Gas Outage

By ROZAAN BOONE

On Thursday, May 8, Riverbay Management met with approximately 300 shareholders who reside in Buildings 4 A, B and C, to apprise them of the gas leak that necessitated a complete gas shutdown in their building and the required steps to facilitate repair and restoration of gas service.

Riverbay Executive General Manager Marvin L. Walton informed Building 4 shareholders gathered at the Dreiser Auditorium that the leak was discovered on Monday, April 28, during a gas system piping inspection mandated by Local Law 152 and conducted by a Licensed Master Plumber (LMP) or a qualified individual working for a LMP.

Local Law 152 requires these inspections every four years and involve all exposed gas lines from the point of gas entry into the building, including service meters, up to individual resident apartments. Inspectors look for evidence of excessive atmospheric corrosion or piping deterioration which could result in dangerous conditions, illegal connect and noncode compliant installations.

The inspector also tests public spaces, hallways, corridors and

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2024 Income Affidavits Due Now

Co-op City shareholders who have not yet submitted their 2024 Income Affidavit are urged to submit their income affidavits to the Finance Department at 2049 Bartow Avenue no later than Friday, May 30, 2025. Completed affidavits can also be dropped off in the carrying charge boxes located in the Bartow, Dreiser, and Einstein community centers.

Effective Tuesday, July 1, 2025, shareholders who have not submitted their income affidavits will be assessed a 50% surcharge unless the Finance department receives the required documentation no later than May 30.

Please note that the electronic form is now available.

Income affidavits could also be submitted using the paper form.

Shareholders who need another copy

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Candidates’ Debate Public Safety, Quality of Life and Board Responsibility at First Candidates’ Forum

BY DANIELLE CRUZ

The first Candidates’ Forum of the 2025 Riverbay Board of Directors election was held on Saturday, May 10, in the Dreiser Auditorium.

The meeting was moderated by Bella Wong, from the League of Women Voters; students from the Bronx High School of Science also participated. Thais Rutledge from the League of Women Voters was also present as the timekeeper along with Election Committee co-Chairs Leah Graham and Monique Coleman.

Nine of the 11 certified candidates were in attendance and each candidate was able to present a minute-long opening and

Riverbay Board Election Field Down to 11 Candidates

Final Two Candidates’ Forums Scheduled for May 21 & May 27

By ROZAAN BOONE

The 2025 Riverbay Board of Directors election ballot will feature the names of 11 certified candidates from which shareholders will choose five to represent them on the Riverbay Board for a period of three years.

Earlier this week, Tanya Clark-Ingram withdrew her candidacy. She is the third of the initial 14 candidates who were certified by the 2025 Election Committee on Friday, April 25, to leave the race. Over the past two weeks, Ronald Hartridge and Sonia Feliciano also pulled out of the election.

The remaining candidates in the election are:

1. Kevin Lambright

2. Bishop Angelo Rosario

3. Leslie Peterson

4. Anika Green-Watson

5. Keith Logan

6. Daryl Johnson

7. Shacara Cudjoe

8. Idalia Reyes

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Message from 2025 Election Committee to Shareholders

Our First Election Forum Was a Success! 2025 Riverbay Board Election co-chair Leah Graham this week extended heartfelt thanks to the League of Women Voters for moderating and timekeeping during the May 10th Election Forum.

closing statement. The candidates were then asked eight questions that were handed in by shareholders and were given a minute to respond to seven of the questions and 15 seconds to respond to one of the questions in a lightening round.

The following is a summary:

Q. What leadership qualities do you think are most important for serving on a residential board?

Kevin Lambright: I think a person who serves on a residential board should know something or most about the residents that they want to be a Board member in. If you're not living the life of a true resident, you'll never understand what the people are going through. So,

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New Chief of CCPD Brings Wealth of Law Enforcement Experience

By ROZAAN BOONE

Honesty, transparency and trust – those are the qualities Andre Waring says shareholders of Coop City can expect from him as the new Chief of the Co-op City Public Safety Department (CCPD), following the announcement of his selection by Riverbay Executive General Manager Marvin L. Walton earlier this week.

“Management conducted an extensive search for the Chief of the Department of Public Safety interviewing approximately 25 qualified candidates,” said Executive GM Walton. “The first round of interviews, candidates responded to a set of questions focusing on law enforcement. The second round, candidates were asked to prepare (in advance) a detailed oral Microsoft PowerPoint presentation explaining how they would structure the Co-op City Department of Public Safety for the most effective, proactive, and collaborative approach in helping to prevent crime in the Co-op City community. The

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“Their professionalism ensured an organized, and informative event for all who attended,” said Election co-chair Graham. “Special thanks to the students from Bronx Health School of Science for their participation and support. We’ve already begun planning for Forum #2 and

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17th

Monique Coleman Leah Graham

I think a person just needs to know what it’s like and what people are going through in that community in order to serve that community.

Q. What improvements would you advocate for in the Co-op City Department of Public Safety, including staffing, training, or leadership accountability?

Leslie Peterson: The qualities that I think are most important is the ability to listen, the ability to compromise, the ability to work with others. Because we have a team, it’s a team of 15 Board directors. No individual or their individual agendas should be more important than what is on the table when we are working together, trying to do the best for the entire community. I have certain things that I’m passionate about, but I put those things sometimes aside when I realize that other things that people have told me about they are equally passionate about and I need to listen to those concerns also. And so, the most important things are listening, compromising, and the ability to work together. A leader should have those things, those qualities.

Keith Logan: I think that one of the most important qualities is selflessness. You’re living in a community with at least 40,000 other people. You have to consider what their struggles are and what they’re going through. So, compromise is very important in that process but not compromising on integrity. If you don’t believe in something, then don’t stand for it, but also having empathy for other people, and putting yourself in other people’s shoes and listening is a great quality as well.

Daryl Johnson: You have to have very good communication skills. You have to be willing to talk to cooperators, shareholders, everybody here. You have to be willing to work positively for all the residents here. You have to have a very good knowledge of the business, okay? That’s a major, major problem here in this community here. You have to work for the best interests of this community. And plus, overall, you have to have integrity, okay? When you read my viewpoints, you’ll see the things I point out, what’s right and the things that’s wrong in this community here. For instance, I mentioned before about the resolutions that we have, look at how many Board resolutions that has been voted on in this community. Look at how far it has hurt this community. I’m not about that, okay? You have to vote for people that care about you, care about this community, work for the best interests of this community here, and to make sure that people can see that you’re doing a good job. And also, you have to be willing to educate the community through viewpoints, write effective viewpoints for this entire community.

Shacara C. Cudjoe: I believe leadership is about listening, understanding, and executing. I’ve held leadership positions in many capacities. Yes, I’m new to this Board, but I do have the skillset. And coming up with new ideas, innovative ideas, talking to people, being welcoming, so people want to approach you. Being approachable is very important, because how can you understand your community if they don’t feel that they can come to you and talk to you. So, that’s my approach with leadership, and being a part of this Board, I think that is what I would be able to contribute to the leadership team.

Idalia Reyes: First and foremost, I’m relatable to a lot of things that are going on, because I speak to a lot of cooperators, and I listen, and that’s key… I’m also a great team player, so I am very fair in listening to what people have to say, and what we can do to help, because honestly, if we all come together as a community, and we don’t listen to what the shareholders need, things are not gonna get better. We need to move forward, but we need to listen to what people have to say. So, as a team player, I think that is a great quality I have, and also to listen very carefully.

Grace Solomon: Some of the skills that I think is very vital to bring to the Board would be, of course, reading, writing, speaking, as well as listening. I have an ability in grant writing. I think that’s a very important skill, because that brings money into our community. Another skill that I have is team building. We need to be able to unify, unite each other, galvanize, and come together to make decisions that’s going to bring us into the future. The skills that will work for us are listening, speaking, reading, listening, and understanding law. I have those skills. I have skills as a legislative representative, and I have a skill, once again, as a state inspector. This is what we need on the Board.

Leah Richardson: I think communication skills is very vital. You need communication skills in order to be able to communicate with the community itself. Integrity is important, transparency, team playing, bringing innovative ideas and showcasing your skills, as well as knowledgeable about the relevant issues that is going on day-to-day in the community. Able to make sound decisions, active listening, of course, and conflict management as well. All these, and all of what everyone else said… on this panel here, are the necessary tools that we need to have in our community, in order to communicate with our community.

Darnell Lopez: Yes, the leadership qualities that I understand for a Board director to possess would be collaboration. We have so many different parts of our community, but yet no one knows each other that much. Conflict resolution. It’s 15,000 apartments, there’s gonna be some conflict and we have to find better ways to resolve them peacefully. We’re all adults. We have to find better ways to get along. Effective listening. Many of us have our own opinions. Many of us feel we want the community to go a certain way, but we understand that nothing can be perfect. So, we need to effectively listen to one another and find common ground to reach the other side of success, whether that be you get everything you want or some of it, because nothing from nothing is nothing.

Keith Logan: What I would do is recommend, according to the budget, if we can afford more officers to help better safely police our community. Also organize events that we can get together and get to know our police officers in a better way. Just keeping that line of communication between the shareholders and the police to make sure that we’re on the same page and we’re striving for the same goals.

Daryl Johnson: Okay, a few things that we need here, and I’ve brought this up before. We need officers in this community here; we need them to be visible. They’re doing their best, they have a limited amount of personnel, that we understand. Also, what I would love to see is us bring in far more cameras. We need cameras on our buildings, on top of the buildings. When somebody throws something out that window, they have to get caught. If somebody is breaking into a car, they have to get caught. If somebody is messing up in the community, the dog situation here, they have to get caught. They have to get a Community Complaint. We can do that. Also, I want our shareholders, every apartment, just like… you can see the cameras in your building, you can see the cameras in the lobby, I want us to make tremendous improvements with that. If you have a child walking into the building, you’ll be able to see that child or anyone, any loved one, you’ll see that child walking into the building, in the elevator, any elevator, and then from there you can call Public Safety if there is a problem.

Shacara C. Cudjoe: I would say it’s very similar to what they said, but my number one thing is lighting. Walking in the community, we need better at lighting, we also need more public safety as well. I also think that we can bring something new, if not already existing, like a neighborhood watch. Something that we as a community can do together. Other things I’ve thought about for safety was like our packages, that’s a big problem. Our packages are being stolen. There are things we can do to prevent that from happening. More things that we have already done, and we have moved forward with the… in the lobby, but I think there’s other things we can do. That’s a major concern that a lot of people have.

Idalia Reyes: Including myself, there has been a lot of concerns I hear about the safety and I feel the same way about it. But I think definitely more cameras… like I said if I became part of the Board I would know more or less the budget, and things like that, because all those things cost money, but we always have a problem with the budget. So, we need to find better ways to get our cameras installed, because we sometimes don’t

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GOT FOOT PAIN?

Co-op City Times

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Find out what’s going on in Co-op City here...

Annual Co-op City Spelling Bee

The Annual Co-op City Spelling Bee will be held today, May 17, at 1 p.m. in the Dreiser Community Center, Rm. 4. Organized by the African American Association of Co-op City, children from grades 4-8, will put their spelling skills to the test as they compete for the grand prize. Come out to support the youth of Coop City as they participate in this exciting competition.

Co-op City Annual Community Fair

Calling all vendors! The Coop City Community Fair is on Saturday, June 14, 140 Benchley Place (Greenway). For more information and to reserve your spot, email community@riverbaycorp. com.

Givan Avenue Clean-Up

Volunteer needed to help clean up Givans Avenue, Saturday, June 21, 10 a.m.-12 p.m. This event is sponsored by Council Member Kevin Riley, ConEdison, NYCH2O and Riverbay Corporation. Make a Plan & Plan to Vote!...

... in the 2025 Riverbay Board of Directors election. Keep reading the Co-op City Times and vote to help make the quorum to avoid extending the election.

Your Health Matters!

Come out to the Health Education & Resource Fair on Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m.2 p.m., in the Bartow Community Center, Rm 31. Join us for an engaging and empowering day with health screenings (Blood pressure, Diabetes, and Vascular), a panel from Family Caregivers Resource Experts, food & refreshments, givea-ways, and free raffles. Take the first step towards a healthier you!

BY BRANDON ORTIZ

Governor Kathy Hochul signed a legislation package as part of the State Budget for FY26 that included several policies designed to put money back in the pockets of New Yorkers.

Specifically, the legislation package included inflation refund checks, free school meals, a lowering of taxes for the middle class and an expansion to the state child tax credit.

In December 2024, Governor Hochul visited Dreiser Auditorium to deliver news that she was working on new legislation in the upcoming State Budget to provide inflation refund checks for eligible New Yorkers. Delivering on that promise, single filers with incomes under $75,000 will receive $200, while single filers with incomes between $75,000 and $150,000 will receive $150. Joint filers with incomes under $150,000 will receive $400 and joint filers with incomes between $150,000 and $300,000 will receive $300. There are no additional forms, age limits or requirements to qualify for a check. “If you filed a tax return, are below the income (NYS AGI) thresholds, and no one else claimed you as a dependent, you will receive a refund,” according to the Governor’s Office.

Governor Hochul expects to deliver the inflation refund checks later this year, and more details on the logistics will be announced soon.

The Governor’s legislation package will also revamp the child tax credit, by expanding the eligibility so more families qualify and increasing the amount per child. Eligibility will be expanded by both removing a prior provision that barred the poorest families from accessing the credit while also lifting the ceiling on the income threshold so

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Inflation Refund Checks, Free School Meals and More Included in Legislation Package

more middle class families can qualify for the tax credit.

Under the revamped system, families can expect to receive an annual child tax credit of $1000 per child under the age of four and $500 per child between the ages of four through 16. Governor Hochul’s Office expects the expansion to double the average credit amount going to families from $472 to $943.

For a family of four that has an income under $110,000 with both a school-age child and a toddler, that family would receive $1500 for their child tax credit.

Also related to taxes, the legislation package included with the State Budget will cut taxes for many New Yorkers. Starting in 2026, the Governor’s Office said, “Nearly 80% of New Yorkers will start to see fewer state taxes taken out in your first payroll check.”

Students in New York will soon not have to worry about paying for breakfast or lunch, as the legislation package also ensures that “all of New York’s over 2.7 million students can receive breakfast and lunch for free at school, including roughly 280,000 students who would not otherwise be eligible for free meals,” as stipulated by the Governor’s Office.

Governor Hochul explained her reasoning behind the legislation package and her hope for the impact it may have.

“The cost of living is still too damn high, so I promised to put more money in your pockets — and we got it done,” said Governor Hochul. “Putting money back in the pockets of millions of families means helping New Yorkers afford the rising costs of groceries, raising kids, and just enjoying life. When I said your family is my fight, I mean it — and I’ll never stop fighting for you.”

NY To Implement Smartphone Restriction in K-12 Schools

BY BRANDON ORTIZ

Governor Kathy Hochul announced on May 6 that New York will be implementing a smartphone ban in public K-12 schools.

Beginning this fall for the 2025-2026 school year, the Governor’s new policy prohibits the use of smartphones on school grounds during school hours, which includes lunch, classroom time and study hall periods. This new restriction will apply “to all schools in public school districts, as well as charter schools and Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES),” according to the Governor’s Office.

Schools will have the latitude to develop systems for students to safely store their phones during class hours. For schools needing assistance with implementing solutions for phone storage, the Governor highlighted that part of her plan includes $13.5 million in funding specifically to help with those purchases.

Notably, the smartphone restriction does not mean parents will not have a way to contact their child. Governor Hochul’s policy requires schools to provide a way for parents to contact their child during the school day “when necessary.” To develop those policies for communication, parents, teachers and students will “be consulted in developing the local policy,” as pointed out by the Governor’s office.

While students may not have smartphones, the new policy does not prohibit cellphones without internet connectivity or internet-enabled devices such as laptops or tablets used as part of instruction in the classroom. Additionally, there are exceptions such as if a smartphone is needed to manage a student’s medical condition or if one is needed as part of a student's Individualized Education Program.

Before Governor Hochul made the decision to ban smartphones during the school day, she led a statewide listening tour to gather feedback on the impact smartphones have on learning and student mental health. From that tour, she put together a report titled, “More Learning, Less Scrolling: Creating Distraction-Free Schools,” in which she details her findings from gathering feedback. The report highlighted three main ways that smartphones are detrimental to students’ ability to learn and socialize with their peers:

• Smartphones both distract students and hinder their ability to learn and be creative.

• Phone-free schools are not compromising student safety. Furthermore, “members of law enforcement participating in roundtables have indicated that, in their experience, students may be safer in phone-free settings during an emergency when their attention is solely on following the direction of teachers or administrators trained for an emergency.”

• Phone-free schools improve mental health for both students and teachers. Notably, “adolescents who spend up to three hours a day on social media are more likely to experience mental health issues such as depression and anxiety, and 73% of teenagers who have been cyberbullied have experienced it on social media.”

Governor Hochul discussed the importance of removing distractions enabled by smartphones to help improve the learning experience and mental health of students.

“New York was the first state to target addictive social media feeds — and now we’re the largest state to restrict smartphones in schools throughout the entire school day. I know our young people succeed when they’re learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling — and that’s why New York continues to lead the nation on protecting our kids in the digital age,” the Governor said on May 6.

Governor Hochul’s decision to prohibit smartphones in K-12 schools built on the momentum of prior legislation signed in June of 2024 designed to protect children when they use social media.

Under the first piece of legislation, called the Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act, children are shielded from addictive algorithms used by social media platforms. The second piece of legislation the Governor signed bolstered the New York Child Data Protection Act.

For users under 18 years old in New York, the SAFE for Kids Act prohibits social media companies from implementing addictive algorithms in their feeds unless parental consent is explicitly given. Addictive algorithms drive user feeds on social media platforms, often designed to find content that keep users consistently engaged with

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feel safe going to the laundry room. There’s not enough cameras down there... There’s some areas in my building that are not great. So, I really want to come out and see what we can do to improve that situation.

Darnell Lopez: With regards to public safety, I feel first and foremost we should bridge the gap. I’m from this community. I’ve been outside, when there’s been random calls and CCPD moves us off the street. There needs to be a better outreach as far as CCPD reaching out to the community and our community leaders bridging that gap. But that’s one part of it. I totally understand that a lot of people don’t feel safe here, and there are definitely different initiatives and ways to go about this. One way would be surveillance. We’re in the year 2025, there are technological, innovative ways, cost cutting, that may be able to help that. One other way is we can always revamp the budget, look over it, see what cost-cutting measures we have there. And last but not least, I always come to this, it’s the collaboration of us in the community because we can keep our community safe.

Leah Richardson: I totally agree with what everyone’s said so far. Yes, we do need more CCPD presence. We need more money allocated in the budget. We need more cameras, we need more. We also need as a community ourselves, shareholders, we need to help CCPD as well. We need to also be the watch dogs in our community, not only depend on CCPD to always do it. Obviously, we don’t have enough money in the budget and we can’t even keep the officers here. So, we need as a community to also help, you know, with the safety, as far as safety is concerned in Co-op City. And we also need community policing. So we should have, again, our community help. We definitely need the community’s eyes as well.

Grace Solomon: One of the ways that I think that we’re gonna show improvement with our Co-op City Police department is by providing them with state-of-the-art training, providing them with state-of-the-art equipment as well as resources. We need to work with our police in order for them to be able to understand and be trained in working with people with mental health issues. More police in various positions so that they become police-friendly and understand the people in their community. Training and compassion with working with our immigrant community, as well as understanding… with local, federal, and state agencies.

Leslie Peterson: First and foremost, I just wanted to say that we live in New York City and there’s an uptick in New York City of crime. And so, yes, we have a bit of an uptick. I’ve been living here for 40 years, and I have seen that also that we are still one of the safest communities in Bronx and New York, I would venture to say but maybe I’m a little bit more passionate. I also agree with the increase in technology. We do have money that is allocated for public safety. The biggest part of our budget, we have public safety. But my thing is this, is that we often wait until we get ready to have classes, public safety classes and training to recruit people. And I think we should be recruiting people and we should have an ongoing lists. So that when we want to have those classes, we are ready and able to just contact those people who wanted to work with us. And the visibility… living here years ago, we’ve been very visible.

Kevin Lambright: It seems that visibility has always been an issue here. Well, at least in the last maybe 10 years, a lot of the complaints I’ve heard was we don’t see public safety. We know that we had, well, the numbers were down in public safety as far as personnel, and they’re starting to come back up. But one of the things I would do is institute more cameras, but not just cameras. Also people to monitor those cameras, because it’s one thing to look back and see something that’s already happened, but if you can see things when they are actually happening, it’d be important. I would also produce a public safety watch program for residents, because like some of my colleagues here have said, that we need to get more involved. We’re always asking for public safety officers, where are they, where are they? I know that they’re there. I see them, but the criminals don’t see them all the time.

Q. What is your plan to improve building and garage security without increasing shareholder costs?

Darnell Lopez: The only way we can do that is by going over the budget with a fine-tooth cover. There are things that we are spending money on that we don’t necessarily need to. We can offset that by what the actual cost may be to increase security. Now at the same time, we have residents, we have people who are looking for jobs, we may be able to find qualified citizens at under market rate, but we have to figure out where we can shave at first. If we wanna change something that costs money, we need some money to allocate to it. Now, through the collaboration with the Board as well as the corporation, I’m sure there’s some fact-finding things that we can uncover. I’m sure there are things that are not going so great that we don’t need to continue with, and I’m sure there could be some market rate uprising, not to the carrying cost, but maybe to the commercial renters. But without collaboration, once again, and a fine-tooth comb, we will not be able to do it. But if we do it, we will.

Grace Solomon: One of the ways that I would improve safety within buildings and garages would be through, without raising the budget, would be grant writing and lobbying for funds. I think that it’s very important that we keep… what’s working well, such as the cameras in the lobbies, the cameras in the garages, and also the policing that they do, the rotation within the garages, those things are working very well and I would continue to support that. But also, I would use grant writing and lobbying to possibly get back some of the attendants that we had and also the lobby attendants that we’ve had in the building. So those are opportunities to do that kind of work.

Leah Richardson: Well, I also agree that by going, we need to go line by line when we’re doing the budget to see if there’s anything that we may shift around to find this money that we need for the garages. But I also like the idea of what Ms. Solomon said about the grant writing, finding some grants and so forth that

Riverbay Directors’ Corner

Sheena McNeill, Director, Residential Sales Department

Hi, I am Sheena McNeill, director of the Residential Sales department.

I would like to briefly discuss the Residential Sales department and give a quick synopsis of our role here at Co-op City.

Our office is located at 2057A Bartow Avenue in the Bartow Shopping Center.

We manage the daily intake and processing of applications for potential shareholders. In addition to new admission applications, we handle and process other applications and issues beginning with:

1. Transfer Applications: Many of our cooperators have life changes that may require them to move into a bigger unit or, in some cases, a smaller unit. (Examples: marriage, divorce, growing family death, etc.) As a current shareholder, you would be able to transfer to a different unit, as long as you have been a resident of Co-op for at least 3 years, fit the family composition for the size unit you would like to transfer to and have completed your deferred equity payments in their entirety.

2. Downsize Application: A senior (age of 62 and older) making no more than $59,000, or an individual with a handicap, would be eligible to for the downsize transfer application.

3. Shares Transfers/Shares Transfer (Death): (If there are two shareholders) Shareholders who divorce, move out or pass away may require a transfer of shares to the remaining shareholder. This form can help with that.

4. Withdrawal: If you are looking to leave Co-op City (Move Out) we refer to this as a withdrawal. We have information that will help you navigate your move.

5. Estate Withdrawal: This is for when the shareholder of record has passed away. The information in this packet will help you and your family navigate the process during this difficult time.

6. Certificates of Insurance and Permits: When doing Moveins and Move-outs, you must acquire certificates of insurance from licensed movers for the Residential Sales dept. to issue permits. Please be aware that partial move-in and move-out permits are issued by your Cooperative Service Office (CSO).

For more information, please contact the Residential Sales Office at 718-320-3373.

may be able to offset some of this cost, because… we don’t want to lay people off, fire people and so forth, well not fire, but lay people off or, you know, take money from the places, resources that we may need in the future. So, I do, I really like the idea, Ms. Solomon, that you said, in reference to grants.

Leslie Peterson: One of the things that we did do to improve safety in the garages was to install call buttons. Call buttons that we have in our lobbies, we also have call buttons on all of the floors. I know people often talk about garage attendants. Garage attendants, even if something happened in the garage you’d have to go down to where the attendant was, but this way you can actually hit the button by the elevator where the call button is. When we get additional officers, which we have been doing because we’ve been increasing our classes with CCPD, we will have more patrols that will be able to go into the garages and check more frequently on what is going on in there. At the gate where you come into the garage there, you have the machines right there, and there is somebody that watches 24/7, and we have looked into trying to find things and cameras that would be cost-effective that we could put on the different floors, but until that happens, I think the increased surveillance..

Kevin Lambright: There are lessons that we can all learn from people who are looked down upon and what some people might call Third World countries, what they do is they look after each other. They protect each other. There was a time, I was told, sometime before I was born where we used to do that here in America. We used to look after each other. Your neighbor, if there was a problem in a building, you would make a phone call. We have the slogan here where we say, “if you see something, say something.” Unfortunately, some people feel, well, I’m going to mind my business. This is your business right here. Community basically means people together, people working and living together. And when you worry about some of the things that our young people are doing and people are afraid to go on the elevator because someone young is in the elevator, it’s ridiculous. Why don’t we put an apprenticeship together and hire some of those young folks.

Idalia Reyes: You know, we used to have garage attendants, and that made people feel safe. Maybe if the budget allows us to maybe have them part-time different shifts and then have CCPD maybe circle around during the evenings, because that’s when things do happen. But if, you know, we’ve got to review the budget and see what happens because it’s a big concern with the garages and cars getting stolen. And we all know, in Co-op City everybody needs a car. Nine-

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ty-five percent of us have cars and we want to keep them. So maybe that could be a part-time garage attendant to come in and then shift it over to CCPD.

Shacara C. Cudjoe: I would say we can start with knowing the budget, going through what we’re currently paying for, going over current contracts and seeing if they’re overcharging, making sure that everybody sees the contracts and the bids and making sure the right people are doing the work that we need them to do. Because sometimes we have to repeat work because the first contract did not, the contractor did not do what they needed to do. So, I would say going through the contract, making sure that we are spending the money the way it should be spent. Also, lighting. I think that would increase people’s understanding of just what’s around them, what’s in their area. Single moms, single dads, children, everybody, they want to feel safe in the garage. Technology, I have seen some improvements over the years that I have been here with the garage, but we can still improve those things, and it does not always have to cost so much money if we know all the different technologies.

Daryl Johnson: A lot of folks will talk about the budget and things like that. Our budget’s over $300 million per year. The thing is when Management produces a budget, full of fluff. We have 130 vehicles here. Think about that. They cannot leave this community. Yet, you have folks driving these vehicles here, brand new vehicles, 130 vehicles, not all of them, but we have... That’s a major problem, all right? We can put officers in our garages, we can have cameras, that’s the main thing. So, as soon as somebody goes, and says, okay, I’m going to go in there, and steal a catalytic converter, I’m going to break into a car, that camera can get them, and that officer can go out and arrest that individual. So that’s one thing that we can do. We have to increase, like I said before, our personnel. Now, if you have people here on this Board here, if you elect people that’s good with budgets, that’s good with math, that’s good with education, things like that, we can show you how, and Management, how to do that budget in a proper way.

Keith Logan: I think that reviewing the budget, as everyone said, is key to seeing where there is money to save. I don’t think just sticking cameras everywhere is always a solution. We have to have more of a community approach, because then we still have, some people could think of it as not really having privacy, just having cameras everywhere. So, I think as fellow shareholders, we need to look out for each other. I think the lighting could be better. I think that scheduling officers and scheduling people in the buildings could be looked at to make it more efficient and better for whatever traffic is going on to make people feel more safe. But I don’t think the answer always is just to throw a camera there.

Q. Do you support expanding the use of surveillance cameras throughout the property, and how would you balance surveillance with privacy concerns?

Leslie Peterson: I think it’s very interesting because Keith almost just mentioned that, and I am in agreement. You have cameras all over New York City, especially in Manhattan. It does not stop crime. It merely helps you to know who did the crime, even if you have somebody that’s watching. So, I do not think that cameras are always the solution. However, cameras are necessary, and in our lobbies, I think that the cameras that we’ve had there are outdated, and I think they need to be changed so that we have a wider view. We have nooks and crannies in the lobby, we have nooks and crannies in the basement, and I think first and foremost, those are the cameras that I would want to take care of. I think in the garage, we have looked at cameras for there, and we can continue to do that and get something that’s cost-effective, like I said before.

Kevin Lambright: As far as privacy is concerned, I’m starting to realize in my little bit of age here, at 63, that everywhere I go, no matter where I go, there’s going to be surveillance and cameras. So, I can’t speak for everyone else, but I like the protection of the cameras. I’d rather have the

protection, instead of worrying about if someone saw me pull out a wedgie, something like that. I’d rather have a camera protecting my family when my family enters and exits the building. I’d rather have that. I’d rather stay alive than not be alive. So as long as we have signs letting people know that there’s surveillance, privacy doesn’t come into play for me.

Shacara C. Cudjoe: I would say that when it comes to balancing that, I would say improving the camera quality. I think I spoke a little bit earlier about the neighborhood watch. I think that’s very important. I think that we can also contribute to the watch of our cars as well. And I think that there is a concern for privacy, right? But I think that the more pressing issue is making sure our cars are safe, making sure that if they are broken into, we have the right person to go after if they did damage our cars.

Daryl Johnson: Let me explain something to you. If you go out your apartment door, if you go out your building, everyone needs to know that there should not be an expectation of privacy. Just like I can see all you folks here, and I can see you folks outside and so forth, why would you think that you needed… that’s there’s an expectation of privacy? No, let me explain something to you. If somebody breaks into your car, and the damages your car for $2,000, you’re going to wish that they had cameras there to view that person, and you’re going to wish that they had public safety officers there to arrest that person there. All right, $2,000 bill. We have folks that throw items out of the window, repeatedly. Urine out their window. What should happen to them? We need cameras on our building. This nonsense about, oh yeah, we don’t have, we don’t need cameras in this community, oh we need less amount of cameras… that’s complete nonsense to me. No. We have to protect this community in a proper way. If somebody mugs you, you’re going to wish that we had cameras there that could arrest them.

Keith Logan: Let me clarify my last, I mean it’s leading into this question as well. So, I’m not saying that I don’t agree with cameras, but cameras need to be placed strategically where certain incidents are happening. It’s not going to be cost effective to put a camera everywhere. And as we are adults, and we are in the community, we should engage in our community and take some responsibility for what goes on in our community. I do believe in the balance between privacy and monitoring people, because sometimes this information is used for the wrong purposes. So that’s what I say in regards to that, just having a balance between the two and being responsible if we are putting cameras.

Idalia Reyes: Cameras, to me, are important. And when a crime is going to be committed, we want the criminals to think twice, because if they come to our community and they say, oh they have cameras here, here’s not a good place to go, I think that’s safety. And that would make them think twice about coming to our community and try to steal what we have, our property, to damage our property. Our lobby cameras are very outdated. We can have cameras in the lobby… when you press the intercom, you can see who is coming in the building... I always thought about that, but again, this is my first go around, and I don’t know what the budget is like. But I really do think that I could bring those things to the Board and see what we can do. Because we need safety in order for the thieves to stay out of our neighborhood.

Darnell Lopez: Yes, first and foremost what we need to do is identify the high crime locations. Let’s just make sure we have some surveillance there. Now that will also let us know where our low crime surveillance is and we may not need as many cameras there, so that way we can do more with what we have instead of using more money.

(Continued on page 9)

– • Letters to the Editor • –

The Co-op City Times welcomes issue-oriented letters to the editor to be considered for publication. All letters, in prose, not poetry, must be addressed to the editor, not to third parties. All letters must be signed by the writers and include their addresses and phone numbers, which will be kept confidential, so that the editor can verify the authenticity of the authors. Anonymous or unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Letters cannot exceed 350 words. Ideally, they should be typed. All letters must be in the Co-op City Times office in Room 21, Bartow Community Center, by 3 p.m. every Monday to be considered for publication in that week’s edition. Views and opinions expressed in letters are solely the writer’s and not necessarily shared by the Co-op City Times or Riverbay Corp.

Good Samaritans

To the Editor:

On Friday, May 2, 2025, at lunchtime, I was returning home from the supermarket and walking on Asch Loop. I was next to the bleacher seating and basketball courts.

I don’t know what happened, but I fell down. The next thing I remember is that approximately 10 teenagers (both males and females) came running to help me. Two males helped me get up. The females asked if I needed medical help and comforted me. One female took me to sit down

To the Editor:

and stayed with me until I felt better. The care and concern extended to me by all the teenagers was overwhelming. I failed to ask their names, but I want to extend my thanks and gratitude to all of them.

There is so much negative news about young people today that I wanted to share what happened to me to show that there are some good, kind and helpful teenagers in our community.

Many thanks,

—Ms. Florence McShall

Food Truck Must Be Removed

I agree with the letter to the editor submitted by shareholder Vero Maldo about the presence of a large food truck on Co-op City Blvd. and Bartow Ave. In my opinion, we must protect the interests of our community. We lease space to the businesses on our property, and we need to ensure those businesses thrive to generate revenue. Our community is not designed for vendors to vend out of trucks, carts, or tables on the sidewalks. It is designed for storefronts. For those of you who are not aware, the rules for vending require at least a twelve-foot-wide sidewalk. It is not a legal location for the food truck or any other vendor business. We lose the safe flow of pedestrian space. The location is residentially zoned. Even if licensed, the NYC Vendor Regulations prohibit that truck from legally operating at that location.

For those shareholders who view this issue as insignificant or harmless, think about this: the truck generates garbage that will be left at the location. Our Riverbay staff cleans the corner; now they must remove commercial gar-

bage at no cost to the vendor. The truck is stored at the location in violation of the NYC Traffic Rules and Regulations about residential street parking. The street will not be cleaned during alternate side parking, no parking turnover, and neon lights blinking until the wee hours of the morning, disturbing shareholders whose buildings face that location. The truck will generate traffic congestion from double parkers, affecting the buses/vehicles that turn from Bartow Ave. onto Co-op City Blvd. The traffic exiting Bay Plaza traveling down Co-op City Blvd. will be impacted/bike lane will be blocked. If you live in Section Five and travel along Bartow Ave., expect more delays. Where is the benefit to our community? The truck will only attract more vendors. The overall impact on the community is negative. Our community is an oasis, a suburban feel living in the city. This is not Manhattan, where the city never sleeps. Board members, please address this issue with the precinct, community board, and our elected officials.

—Ruth Sharma

BBB Scam Alert: That Sponsored Ad Might Be a Scam. Here’s How to Tell

BBB Scam Alert: That Sponsored Ad Might Be a Scam. Here's How to Tell Sponsored content is everywhere online. From the top results of your search engine to the tempting deal you scrolled past on social media – it’s hard to avoid.

While most sponsored ads are legitimate, some aren’t. Just as real, trustworthy businesses can purchase sponsored ads to boost their content in your search results or social media feeds, so too can scammers that create impostor websites.

BBB Scam Tracker continues to receive reports from consumers who are tricked into clicking on fake websites that are advertised on search engines and social media as “sponsored.” These scams are not only specific to retail websites and merchandise – there are also reports of sponsored ads for fake passport renewal services, healthcare open enrollment websites, lost and found services, puppies for sale, and more.

How The Scam Works

It starts with a simple search. Let’s say you’re looking to buy sneakers, and the top result of your search is a “sponsored” ad for a retailer selling your item. Or, you may see a sponsored ad on your social media feed for the same product.

You click on the link and are taken to what appears to be a legitimate website. The merchandise may even be majorly discounted, and you think you’re getting a great deal. At checkout, you enter your personal and financial information and make your purchase.

At this point, you may never receive your merchandise. If you try to contact the company’s customer support, they may not have a record of your purchase, making you realize that you purchased from a fake website. You may not be able to find the original website that you purchased from or their contact information may be disabled.

As mentioned, these sponsored ad scams are not always tied to fake retail websites. One person shared their experience on BBB Scam Tracker, “I did a [search engine redacted] search for “Apply Global Entry” and I clicked on the first link that showed up. I didn’t realize it was a sponsored link. I filled out all my daughter’s personal information including name, date of birth, address, passport information thinking I was on the U.S. government’s website and realized only when I arrived at the payment page that this was a scam.”

How To Avoid Sponsored Ad Scams No matter what, always confirm you are on a legitimate website. Even if a website is sponsored and shows

(Continued on page 14)

Important Notice to Shareholders of Building 35

Article SIXTH of your Occupancy Agreement provides, in part, that your lease automatically renews for an additional three (3) year period. You need to do nothing if you want your lease to extend for another three (3) year period. If you will be moving out at the end of your lease, notify Riverbay, in writing, Attention: Sales Support Office, 2049 Bartow Avenue, Bronx, NY 10475, ninety (90) days prior to lease expiration.

Building 35

100 Elgar Place

Current Lease Expiration

August 31, 2025

2028

Co-op City Times

Co-op City’s official newspaper serving the world’s largest cooperative community. (718) 320-3300, ext. 3375 cctimes@riverbaycorp.com

Rozaan Boone Editor-in-Chief

Danielle Cruz Managing Editor

Ralph Henriquez Production Manager

Jennifer Piovanetti Operations Manager

John Crow New Media Producer

Sheldon Green

Multi-Media Advertising Manager

Brandon Ortiz Media Assistant

P.M. Campbell Media Assistant

The Co-op City Times welcomes issue-oriented letters to the editor to be considered for publication. All letters, in prose, not poetry, must be addressed to the editor, not to third parties. All letters must be signed by the writer and include their address and phone number, which will be kept confidential, so that the editor can verify the authenticity of the author.

Writers will be limited to one letter per topic. Anonymous or unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication. Letters cannot exceed 350 words. Ideally, they should be typed. All letters must be submitted to the Co-op City Times by 3 p.m. Monday to be considered for publication in that week’s edition. Email cctimes@riverbaycorp.com or mail to 2049 Bartow Ave., Room 21, Bronx, NY 10475.

Views and opinions expressed in letters and Directors’ Viewpoint are solely the writer’s, and not necessarily shared by the Co-op City Times or Riverbay Corp.

Advertisements and classified advertisements in the Co-op City Times do not necessarily reflect an endorsement from Riverbay Corp. of goods and services, but present greater options to cooperators of products and services available. The Riverbay Corporation does not assume any responsibility nor is it a party to any contract or agreement between the cooperator and the vendor. All matter published herein is copyrighted by the Co-op City Times Permission for reprints of advertising or editorial contents produced by the Co-op City Times must be obtained in writing from Riverbay Corporation, 2049 Bartow Ave., Bronx, NY 10475.

Public Safety Report

Summer Car Safety for Children

As part of our ongoing commitment to community safety, the Co-op City Department of Public Safety is providing this special report on summer car safety—a particularly critical topic during the warmer months. Tragically each year, there are cases of children left unattended in vehicles, sometimes with fatal consequences.

risk of injury or death.

Child Restraint Guidelines:

Under 1 year old: Use a rear-facing infant car seat in the back seat.

Heat Risks in Parked Vehicles

Leaving any person or animal inside a parked vehicle— even for a short period—can be life-threatening. On a sunny day, the interior temperature of a vehicle can rise by more than 20°F in just 10 minutes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Cracking the windows or parking in the shade does not provide sufficient protection.

Never leave children, elderly persons, or pets in a parked vehicle—even momentarily. These dangers exist year-round, though they are heightened during summer.

Safety Tips for Caregivers

• Double-check your vehicle every time you park to ensure no child is left behind.

• Establish a habit: "Look before you lock."

• Place a personal item like a phone, handbag, or briefcase in the back seat as a visual reminder.

• Use a stuffed animal system: Keep a toy in the child’s car seat when it's empty. Move it to the front seat when the child is placed in the seat.

More tips are available at www.nhtsa.gov/heatstroke.

Proper Use of Car Seats

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and NHTSA. Using the appropriate child restraint system significantly reduces the

Public Safety Blotter

May 4 – May 10, 2025

May 04, 2025

120 Benchley Place – CCPD responded to a call for a group loitering in the stairwell. Upon arrival, CCPD observed three cooperators loitering on the stairwell. Each cooperator was issued a Community Complaint for loitering.

May 05, 2025

100 Benchley Place – A cooperator reported that a confirmed delivered package had been removed from the lobby area by an unknown individual without their permission.

May 06, 2025

In Front of Garage 1 – CCPD assisted NYPD with two suspects who were removed from a vehicle and fled the scene. A canvas of the area was conducted by both CCPD and NYPD and both suspects were apprehended and placed under arrest by NYPD. A firearm was recovered from the vehicle. Both arrestees were issued Community Complaints for Anti-Social Behavior.

120 Donizetti Place – A cooperator reported a confirmed delivered package had been removed from in front of their apartment door by an unknown individual without permission.

May 07, 2025

100 Erskine Place – A cooperator reported leaving their laundry cart unattended in the laundry room and an unknown individual taking the laundry cart without their permission. The individual left the area in an unknown direction.

900 Co-Op City Boulevard –CCPD respond to a call of a suspicious male inside of the building. A canvas of the building was conducted and CCPD observed a male on the 17th floor who fled

down to the 8th floor where he was apprehended. The male, a non-resident, was placed under arrest and charged with Trespassing.

Corner Of Asch Loop/Bartow Avenue – A non-resident male flagged down a CCPD officer and stated that he had been robbed while making a food delivery by three males wearing all black and displaying a firearm. The suspects removed his personal property, an e-bike and food, and fled towards Alcott place. CCPD conducted a canvas of the area with negative results. NYPD was notified and responded.

May 08, 2025

140 DeKruif Place – A cooperator reported that a confirmed delivered package had been opened and that its contents had been removed.

140 Debs Place – A cooperator reported that a confirmed delivered package had been removed from the lobby area by an unknown individual without their permission.

May 09, 2025

99 Earhart Lane – A Riverbay employee reported returning to his parked vehicle inside Garage 8 and noticed that the vehicle had been removed from the garage by unknown suspects without his permission. The canvas of the garage by CCPD yielded negative results. The Garage department and NYPD were notified.

May 10, 2025

2057 Bartow Avenue – A non-resident reported leaving his cellphone on the counter of the liquor store before leaving the store. Upon his return he observed that the cellphone had been removed by an unknown suspect.

1 to 4 years: Use a forward-facing car seat with a five-point harness, also in the back seat.

4 to 8 years: Use a belt-positioning booster seat until the child is tall enough (usually 4' 9") to use a seatbelt correctly.

8 years and older: Seatbelt may be used if it fits properly. The lap belt should lie snugly across the upper thighs, not the stomach, and the shoulder belt should cross the chest and shoulder, not the neck.

Car seats must not be used if:

• They have been in a crash.

• They are past their expiration date (usually 6 to 10 years from manufacture).

• They are missing parts or have visible damage.

Free Car Seat Inspection Sites

Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians are available to check for proper installation. Visit www.seatcheck.org or call 1-866-SEAT-CHECK.

Local Inspection Locations:

Bronx Safety City (NYC DOT)

837 Brush Ave, Bronx, NY 10465

By appointment only (Mon–Fri)

Contact: Holly Malone – (212) 839-4750

NYC DOT Access Safety City

672 W 158th St, New York, NY 10032

Contact: Andrea Baskerville / Renso Vidal – (212) 839-4750

Installation Tips

Read both your vehicle owner’s manual and the car seat manual carefully. Utilize the LATCH system (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children), available in all passenger vehicles manufactured after 2002.

Car seats can also be installed with seatbelts if LATCH anchors are not available or suitable for the seat’s position.

Seatbelts and Airbags

Everyone in a vehicle must wear a seatbelt, regardless of age or seat position. Airbags are not a substitute for seatbelts and can be dangerous to unbelted occupants. They deploy at approximately 200–250 mph.

(Continued on page 14)

OPPORTUNITIES AT CO-OP CITY

For information on CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES ONLY, please contact: Lenya Garcia at Lgarcia@riverbaycorp.com; and Anatoliy Budnitskiy at abudnitskiy@riverbaycorp.com. Please note: emails should be sent to both parties.

Please DO NOT email resumes for EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES to the aforementioned emails. For EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, please see below for specific directions.

There are no contract opportunities to list this week. Please check back. CONTRACT OPPORTUNITIES

www.Indeed.com https://indeedhi.re/ 3SgTKEr

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

For employment opportunities, please visit these following sites:

www.Glassdoor.com https://bit.ly/3SgI9Go

www.ZipRecruiter.com https://bit.ly/3Se8bdw

Candidates may review full position descriptions and apply at any site Current Riverbay employees should submit a transfer request and resumé directly to the HR department.

Thank you for your interest in working for Riverbay Corporation.

City Times / May 17, 2025

Director’s Viewpoint Mary Pearson, Assistant Secretary

Co-op City Convectors: Part II

Now, where were we? Ah yes. Our CHP (combined heat and power) Power Plant does it all. Actually, more than all. Our combined heat and Power Plant cogenerates electricity and heat but also provides our DHW (domestic hot water) and our AC. Boilers, turbines, and generators engage in producing electricity. Different hocus pocus provides the hot water for our personal needs.

As for the air conditioned or heated air within our apartments – after the boilers, turbines, and chillers finish their part of the process, the cooled or heated water heads out to our piping array and to each of the 3000 risers where it travels to and through our 65,000 convectors before circulating back to the Power Plant.

Unless a piece of that heavy machinery is having an issue, during the heating season, that process is relatively uneventful.

But we're in between seasons right now, rapidly heading to AC time … and AC headaches.

You know the expression, “They’re not making them like they used to?” Lucky for us, that applies to our risers. According to people who inspect and test such things (if you don’t take the risers’ 9000 cranky expansion joints into account), after 50 years of rusting away, the risers are still good for another 50 years.

That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that the cranky expansion joints get crankier during switchover season and currently there’s no easy way to predict when one will give out and take out an elevator with it.

Will the future deliver a solution at a cost Co-op City can afford? That’s what people betting on AI (Artificial Intelligence) believe.

Meanwhile, the convectors may not exactly be on their last legs but they’re getting old and rusty, too, and ‘tis the season for wet mishaps.

Coils will break. When it’s their time to go, the costly mess will be dealt with and the coil replaced. Drainpipes will clog and blocked condensate will spill out and do its damage. So much has been tried to deal with those too-small-in-diameter,

bent, wrongly positioned, gravity fighting drainpipes. Maybe a different safe-for-aging-pipes, liquid-plumber solution will be found and perhaps tested on some of our chronic second floor apartment convectors.

But something must be done. This constant mopping up has got to stop!

According to our EGM (Executive General Manager) Marvin Walton, we’ll soon be looking at some data and making some decisions. Mathematically, we can only afford to replace the convector in each of our living rooms and other essential areas such as the high-rise foyers, lobbies, and basements and a smattering of other locations.

What good is replacing just the one convector and why was the living room chosen?

Brand new convector coils don't break. Brand new drip pans send less rust and whatnot down the drainpipe along with the condensation, pretty much guaranteeing that no blockage will cause condensate to start spilling onto the floors. And since the foyer and the hallway are attached to the living room, a coil break or severe condensate spillover would require the most asbestos abatement and wooden flooring replacement, and therefore be the costliest to remedy.

The thinking also is, with a new efficient living room unit set on “auto,” and with all windows closed to keep out the humidity, the whole apartment just might feel just right. Chilled water will continue to circulate through the other units, so even with their fans shut off to minimize condensation, the wafting could keep the entire apartment comfortably cool.

Wafting?

Wafting is the natural circulation of air that rises from a unit even when the fan is shut off. The higher the humidity and the faster the fan pulls in the hot air, the more dripping. The more dripping, the more likely it’ll be too much for an old, clogged up drainpipe to handle.

Wafting: sometimes it’s enough to keep you comfortable and sometimes it’s too much.

On a warm day in winter, that extra heat rising from the unit is unwanted. Same thing goes for a chilly summer day.

The Bldg. 14 pilot convectors’ thermostats come with thermostat-controlled, energy-saving, stateof-the-art fans that eliminate any wafting problem. Once the temperature set point is reached, the fans and the flow stop. The cold water in summer, or the hot water in winter, is automatically shut down. The water supply bypasses that convector for a while keeping you comfy, saving energy, and saving money. On top of that, all energy savings contribute to satisfying Local Law 97 carbon reduction requirements and lessen future fines, if or when they kick in once 2035 arrives.

Those convectors are the same ones that have been estimated to save Rochdale $1.4M a year once their project is complete. That savings is solely due to the fans’ efficiency. No one has yet to crunch the thermal numbers.

And that’s the case for the convector replacement project. But even if that happens, we can’t stop worrying about the other 40-something-thousand unprotected convectors.

Next time, the case for 40-something-thousand magic gizmos.

Calling Co-op City Players. One of our musical residents is fixing to form the first ever Co-op City community band, filled by music makers of all ages and skill levels. For more information, please contact me.

D&A Corner: The Disability and Accommodations Committee members have marked their calendars and are looking forward to the not-to-be-missed caregivers health and resource event happening one week from today, on Saturday, May 24, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Bartow Center, Room 31.

We’re also eager to continue spreading the word about Co-op City Smart Curbs to our residents and our local officials. Want to know more? A Power Point presentation is yours for the asking. Have a good week, everybody; MPearson@RiverbayBoard.com/718-219-2211.

2025 Co-op City Scholarship Honors Rev. Dr. Robert A. Smith Jr.

Application Deadline: May 26, 2025

Assembly Member Michael R. Benedetto has announced the kick-off of the 2025 Co-op City Scholarship, which began on May 3, 2025.

This year's scholarship, honoring the memory of long-time Co-op City shareholder, the late Rev. Dr. Robert A. Smith, Jr., is sponsored by New York State Assembly Member Michael R. Benedetto and United States Congressman George Latimer.

This initiative will help students who live in Co-op

City achieve their dreams of attending college.

“I don't need to tell parents that the cost of attending college has become increasingly more expensive,” said Assembly Member Michael R. Benedetto, chair of the New York State Assembly Committee on Education.

Qualifications for the scholarship are as follows:

*Applicants must reside in Co-op City

*Be in their senior year of high school

*Currently serving, or have served, their community in a volunteer capacity, and

*Have a C+ or better grade average.

This year, the Co-op City Scholarship Fund will award three scholarships of $1,000 each to high school students to use for school-related expenses like books or tuition.

The Co-op City Scholarship Fund has awarded approximately 50 scholarships since its inception in 2011.

Applications for the scholarship are available via the QR code at right and on flyers located on community bulletin boards, via email at coopcityscholarship@gmail.com, or aapplications can be picked up at the Assembly Member Benedetto’s office located at 177 Dreiser Loop, Room 12.

The scholarship application period will end on Monday, May 26, 2025.

For more information, please contact Linda Collins at 718-320-2220 or by email at collinsl@nyassembly.gov.

Co-op City is Your Home! Get involved with your building association, join a Board Committee and/or community group, or write a Letter to the Editor about quality of life concerns!

Forum –––––– (Continued from page 4)

Okay, second part of that, we can always look at what technology cameras we have. I’m not sure when they were purchased but it’s possible they could be outdated. There may be some smaller, more effective cameras out now that may have some tech such as infrared, nighttime, different things of that nature. But… you’re gonna always have a camera somewhere. This is an urban city, we’re a big city, this is New York City. The cameras will be there, I just think that strategically they need to be in the proper places to deter crime…

Leah Richardson: I agree with everyone as well. I do support the cameras. I feel that we all know that the cameras is not going to stop crime, but I think that they are a solution. If someone is going to commit a crime, they are going to commit the crime, but they are deterrent. I feel protected with the cameras, yes. However, the technology, we need to research technology and see what is the latest technology out there that is maybe more innovative and cost effective. That meets our community needs. Also, we need to, as a community, what we need to do is act like a community, if we see something, we say something. As far as privacy is concerned, there is no privacy really, but we need to act like a community and be as one and if you see something, say something.

Grace Solomon: In regards to surveillance in my community, I believe that surveillance is a good idea to deter crime. I am a full supporter of technology because I believe that technology is the future. However, we need to inspect who is monitoring those cameras. Next, we need to track what is being done with the information. Lastly, we need to watch how this information is being used and collected and shared, in order that it is not being racially biased against our community.

Q. Do you support the use of unarmed civilian safety ambassadors or explorers as a compliment to public safety. (Lightning Round: 15 seconds to answer)

Darnell Lopez: Yes, that would be definitely similar to something Ms. Gibbs said, community watch, definitely unarmed, definitely…

Leah Richardson: Yes. Well, I’ll say yes because any kind of services that we can get outside of officers that have guns and so forth is good.

Grace Solomon: I totally agree and at this time I think it’s very important that we have… I would like to say that civilians are very important, having ambassadors, having explorers are very important.

Idalia Reyes: Yes, I do agree. I think that’s good to get the youth involved. I know some kids that do it and they love it and it gives them a path for the future.

Shacara C. Cudjoe: I will say absolutely. In my opening statement I said we need to do neighborhood watch. I would say it’s about building trust and not fear within our community. So, I would say yes. Compassion not suspicion.

Daryl Johnson: Yes, absolutely. I definitely support having you know those… groups in our community. What they can do is deter a lot of crime, place them near each building and you’ll see some positive results for this community…

Keith Logan: I would support having people from those sections help out in that capacity because they know their section and know their community and could deter crime in that way as well.

Leslie Peterson: I would say unarmed civilians no, explorers yes, because they do have some guidance

Kevin Lambright: I would say yes. As a former auxiliary police officer in my youth it was very effective, and we had the proper training and if we get that here that’d be excellent.

Q. What is your understanding of Board responsibilities beyond the topics that we’ve already talked about today?

Shacara C. Cudjoe: I would say that it’s about our community, knowing your residents. I would say the responsibility is going over budget. Working with the clubs, there are a lot of clubs within Co-op City, and I think working with them, with their budgets, seeing how we can help them, as well as working with the newspaper, making sure we get information out to the community. I think

that was one of my things when I was living here, or as I live here, it’s not always knowing all the information that is behind closed doors. So that would be something I think is imperative so that the youth, everybody in the middle, and the seniors know what’s going on, where our money is being spent, a lot of times we do not know. So, as I’m on this Board or on this committee, I’m learning so much, just in the last four or five days, that I wish I knew and if I could just share that information and how we share communication is different now. It doesn’t always have to be a flyer. There are many ways that we can share information and people will read it and see it.

Idalia Reyes: I believe that it’s very important to, when you’re on the Board, to hear each other out. Bring in new ideas, maybe something that has never been done before, but be very transparent. Let the cooperators know what we’re doing, write it in the paper, communicate… Also on the shareholder side, they need to be more involved. We need to hear, they need to hear our voices. This is why I’m running on the Board, because I want to know what’s going on, and I want to know what’s going on in my community. So, if you listen and you be transparent, things will really get... you’ll get great results.

Keith Logan: I think you won’t truly know all of what is involved until you get there, but from my understanding, it’s to help balance the budget, to hold Management accountable, to keep this community affordable and sustainable, and I guess everything in between. It’ll be a learning experience.

Daryl Johnson: You have to have integrity. As the Board of Directors, people have to see that, hey, you’re no nonsense, you’re going to do what’s right for the community, you’re going to to protect this community. Look at all of the bogus resolutions that have come before our Board, and look at how those resolutions were voted on. Okay, completely bogus. I pointed out before, 130 vehicles here, all right? This is just irresponsible, okay? So you need Board directors that’s going to have good integrity. You’re going to need Board directors that are willing to vote responsibly. When you see my vote in that newspaper… no. I mean business, okay? So, that’s because I care about this community. I want to protect this community. I want to protect our finances. I want to write good viewpoints to educate this community, to help them to see, hey, this is the direction that we should go in, and also be willing to develop very good solutions to the issues that we have here. Not just complain all the time. Just recently, I sent this Board and … something, a very good idea to stop the convector leaks in this community. Everything stops if this is developed.

Leah Richardson: So, my mission and my goal as a Board director is to support the continued growth and success of Co-op City, by representing the voices of all residents, promoting transparency and ensuring fiscal responsibility. I believe that residents should have meaningful input in the decisions that affect their lives. and I’m committed to ensuring all the shareholders are fairly represented.

Grace Solomon: One of the ways that I think that I can help as a Board member is by working with the general managers, building capital, and sustaining wealth. I believe that it is very important that we inspect different departments and also find a way to galvanize the community so that we’re able to bring them together to listen to their concerns and their needs. In addition to that, I think that it’s important that we learn how to set priorities. What do we need to do immediately versus what can wait for the next two years? Having our mission together, having our vision together, setting timelines, benchmarks, and also designing assessments that work.

Darnell Lopez: Back to the question, as far as the responsibilities outside of what we spoke about. The main responsibility being the liaison between the corporation and the people in a fiduciary role… for the betterment of everyone. That’s really the main goal. When you kind of look at what we would be for the people, it would be kind of similar to what they call the IRS, the Audit com-

mittee. We are together collaboratively to make sure that the corporation is doing the best for us at every given time. Now maybe in the past it wasn’t done to the best ability, but we’re here today to try to bring those efforts together so we can definitely get to a better place, so we can have a way better quality of life. I know a lot of people have thought about it that way, but that’s what we’re here to do, and that’s the main responsibility that’s not spoken about often.

Kevin Lambright: There’s a misconception on what the Board, what the Riverbay Board is supposed to do, and I just want to state that according to HCR, the Board is there to set policy, not manage, but to set policy. And we do that collectively as a Board representing the shareholders. When we as a Board circumvent the process by going to certain departments and trying to make something happen, it really messes up the system. It creates a problem. It may help that one certain incident right there, but it creates a major problem. So, the Board is supposed to set policy and Management is supposed to execute those policies.

Leslie Peterson: Okay, part of the duties and responsibilities of a Board director is to make sure that we have a fiduciary responsibility, to make sure that we take care of the complex, but we also do not diminish the quality of life of the services to the shareholders. When you read the rules and regulations, it will also tell you that you should interact with the community, with the residents that live here, because you’re not here just to selfserve, you’re here to represent, to be a voice for the community. And so, Lambright is absolutely right. We’re here to set policy. And in setting policy, a lot of our information comes from our committees, which I implore many of you to join the committees. Those committees bring back recommendations to the Board, and if agreed upon, some of them we are able to pass and act upon. So, yes, we have a fiduciary responsibility, and we do not manage day-to-day, but we set policy.

Q. What is your approach to building strong working relationships with fellow Board members and executive leadership?

Leah Richardson: So, the Board and the community must work hand in hand to build a safer and more sustainable neighborhood. It is time for us to move beyond blaming and pointing fingers. We are stronger together, then we are divided. And only by working collaboratively can we truly uplift one another and make a meaningful progress. I want to take a moment to encourage all shareholders to support the efforts of Management and the Board in building up this community. Your involvement, your voice, your constructive input is vital. While it’s true that many remember a time when the community may have been stronger, we must face the reality that these are times that have changed, and so must our strategies. Our parents, our community leaders, we have a responsibility to be the village our youth so desperately need. They are trying to survive and thrive in a world that often feels stacked against them. That’s why we must invest in resources that matter.

Grace Solomon: I think it’s important that we bring everyone to the table and respect their various forms of expertise. We need to be able to listen to each other. We need to be able to understand what we’re able to bring to the table and then utilize those expertise to handle the different areas of concern for our constituents. Another way I think that it’s really important is that we take a look at past experience as well as what we have planned for the future. So that is one of the ways I think that’s very important to work with the current members of the Board because we’re all brings strengths and talents to the table that we all need to respect and utilize.

Darnell Lopez: You want to treat it like a relationship that you never want to go away. What I mean by that is we have to always work together. Take the time when it comes to executive leadership to understand the role, not just critique when things are not going in the way that you need positive. Find

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To the Youth Who Will Take Over After Us

You are the residents, partners and shareholders of Co-op City’s Riverbay Corporation, let’s show our governing entities what we know; that we all can and must do better, when we are united… Young people coming up to take over after us, hear this, each day is another chance for us to step-up our individual games, and get it right… Let’s vow tolook at this community with fresh eyes, expecting the best for it. Let’s say, “OK, I will join this club, I will be an active member of my building association, I will encourage another? I will take part in the fix, because my community needs it, my community deserves it and I want all who are engaged in this corporation called Riverbay/Co-op City to give it their all. The time is now, shareholder. The time is now, Co-op City community. You want the best from living here, but don’t forget to give your best. It doesn’t take a lot. Start with the Riverbay Election. Go to the next forum. Hear the candidates, make an informed decision, VOTE and encourage others to do the same. This is not hard work but it can be devastating to our community if we do not engage and unite. Let’s get it done!

Okay, so I Must Repeat

The Riverbay Board of Directors of Co-op City is not the life’s blood of Co-op City; you are. Cooperators view the Board as an entity that directs

the shareholders, when, in fact, it is the other way around. While “we,” the shareholders, are supposed to have the final say in most decisions made in this community, we cannot all be in charge simultaneously, as such, we elect a Board of Directors to represent the voice of the people, (i.e., the community, the shareholders, the cooperators…). Each of us has some issue, topic or agenda that is close to our heart. Members of the Board must remember that their personal agendas, while relevant, must only factor in as a part of the best decision for the community at-large.

We Are All Responsible

Shareholders, residents, neighbors and friends, take responsibility for this royal oasis we all call home. That means the little things like saying hello to your neighbor, who may have needed that greeting in ways that you could never understand. Things like using the trash receptacles on our property, and if there aren’t enough, then report it to your Building Maintenance supervisor until there are enough of whatever is needed. Things like picking up after your “service dog” so that shareholders who may take issue with animals or have allergies, etc., are not inconvenienced. These are the things that make a responsible resident and friend. This is what we all signed up for when we accepted the contract, the role, and the privilege of calling ourselves “cooperator” and “Shareholder” of the Riverbay Corporation, aka Co-op City.

Co-op City Safety News Alert

Avoiding Dryer Fire

Clothes dryer don’ts

• Don’t overload the dryer.

• Don’t dry anything containing foam, rubber or plastic. An example of an item not to place in a dryer is a bathroom rug with a rubber backing.

• Don’t dry any item for which manufacturer’s instructions state “dry away from heat.”

• Don’t dry glass fiber materials (unless manufacturer’s instructions allow).

• Don’t dry items that have come in contact with anything flammable like alcohol, cooking oils or gasoline. Dry them outdoors or in a wellventilated room, away from heat.

Your Duty and Responsibility

Your job as a shareholder is to vote in the annual Riverbay Board Elections. Most complaints come from cooperators who don’t participate in the community and who form their opinions from rumors. This causes a breakdown in communications and results in a vicious cycle of misunderstandings which leaves you and this community, on the short end of the stick. It is not enough to come out once a year and vote for someone whose name is familiar to you. What does matter is involvement by you. Your involvement and mine is not only necessary, it is imperative. I am one person, humbled to represent you in the Board Room; I have stepped up, now it is your turn. After reading this article, make darn sure that 10 others have read it as well.

Young People, Elders, Shareholders who are Owners, Not Renters

The 1st Candidates’ Forum was poorly attended. Let’s do better. The next Candidates’ Forum will be held on Wednesday, May 21, at 7 p.m. in the Einstein Center’s Room 45. Let’s support the shareholders who are stepping up to represent all of us in the Board Room. Time to show up for what is yours to protect.

Thank you

Thank you for the compliment of reading my viewpoint. I can be reached at mmarbury@riverbayboard.com.

“Each one of us, multiplied by all of us, equals “A FORCE FOR GOOD…”

time to understand, and what they’re doing, the ins and outs of the jobs. If you’re a part of the Board, you’re gonna have that access. Then that way, we can collaboratively come together with things that actually work and subtract the ones that don’t work. But without that frame of open-mindedness, it will always be seen as dictatorship, totalitarian, where it’s my role, my role, I say this, we want this. We have to come to a place of understanding first before we can reach any resolution.

Leslie Peterson: My approach to building relationships with Board members and with the community is, a lot of people tease me because they see me all over the place all the time, and so I try to interact with all different types of organizations that we have here. And I try to bring in my fellow Board members and invite them to the different functions that we have. So I really try to get to know… We have a very diverse community. People come from all over. People come and have different experiences when they move here, or they live here. And you cannot just judge from what you know and your own environment. And so to me, it’s very important to get to know someone, where they come from, what they’re about, acknowledge them, embrace them, and bring them into the fold of cooperative living.

Kevin Lambright: But I’m gonna tell you, being on the Board and dealing with a lot of different personalities, trust me when I tell you, it’s not always what you’re seeing, or what it seems. But you have to be the type of person that says, no matter what, I’m gonna check my ego at the door because most of us that are on the Board, and I get on the Board, are coming from a position of leadership, whether it’s your building association and even your family. So it takes a lot to come in, take the ego, put it aside, and say, I am going to get something done with the people that I’m here with. And with the different personalities, sometimes other people make that hard, but you have to be resilient. You have to remember why you are there. And trust me when I tell you, there’s been many times I had to question that.

Idalia Reyes: Being the building president, I wanted to get more people involved, and I went around and I did my due diligence. I had actually Leslie Peterson as our first guest when I became president, because I wanted people to know who our Board of Directors are. People got to know her, it was great, and guess what, then I had other people come in. I joined a lot of committees. Why? Because I wanted to get to know who these parties are. So, I suggest to have a great relationship with people in your community is to get involved. I’ve made nice relationships, I’ve got to know different people on different levels, and it’s good because then now I feel like I’m part of a community. I really didn’t want to get involved at one point either, but this is my journey now, and I love it because you know what, there are some nice people, and like Kevin said, you got to check your ego at the door, but you got to come with an open mind and great ideas.

Daryl Johnson: That’s a good question. However, we have to make some couple of points, in reference to that question. First of all, you have to be peaceful with people, okay? You have to listen to people. But then sometimes you might discover that some folks might have agendas that might not be the best interest of this community here. Management might have an agenda that might not be the best interest of this community here. What do you do at that point? You have to make a decision, are you going to vote with everyone or are you going to work for the best interests of this community here? That’s my goal, is to always work for the best interests here. I will work with any Board Director. I will work with any manager. But it has to be for the best interests of this community here. Sometimes you have to work alone. You don’t see me working with other people most of the time. I will work with them, but I’m saying I want to be a type of director that says, look, I will work with you, but I want to see something good from you and I want to see something good from Management. Then we can work together in a very positive way.

people may be and work together for the better of their community. I’m not going to lie, I was a little disengaged in the community from my experience working here and just kind of seeing how the politics go here. So, we need to set aside a lot of that and work together, because this community… I didn’t grow up in a community like this, I grew up in projects. So, I don’t want to Co-op to turn into that. I feel like I’m able to raise my family in an affordable community like this. And I feel like if we work together and lean on the expertise of the people who are the experts in their field, I feel like we can sustain this community and keep it affordable for years to come.

Shacara C. Cudjoe: I would say for me, I work in a company and like all companies it’s all types of people. And I say, I approach with kindness, welcoming, firm on my ideas and my opinions. But I think as long as I’m open-minded and I talk to you like you’re a person, you know, how do you make friends these days? You make friends by getting to know the person, understanding them, understanding their point of view, not just forcing your agenda on someone. So just in my experience, I think that going in with an open mind, even if they have a bad reputation, because people can have that. But through time, people also change. And it could be the approach that everybody’s choosing to take with that person. So, I go in openminded, I go in talking, smiling, and being positive. And I think that may be a different approach to getting things accomplished and working together as a team. We are always on the same team. And that is what my approach would be. We’re on the same team, whether you like me or not, we’re on the same team. So, let’s get this done. What’s the best way to get this done?

Q. How do you envision our community in five to 10 years and what role should the Board play in achieving that vision?

Daryl Johnson: The first issue that we’re gonna have to think about is what is gonna happen to this community once that transition comes into this community in Section Five. Okay, Section Five is going to explode. Everybody’s gonna be after Section Five. We want to move to Co-op City. We want to be in section five. So that is a major issue that we’re gonna have to consider. We have to keep our budget low as for now. We have to make sure that we work with Management in a very positive way. Our budget increased by $29 million up to $315 million. All right, that’s irresponsible from my point of view. Okay, this community cannot continue to work that way. So, you need strong Board directors here that’s going to work with this community that have a very good knowledge of business. Work with everyone here to keep and protect this community in a proper way. That’s my goal as a Board director. And I wanna make sure this community, we have a lot of good programs for kids. We have good public safety here. We’re gonna keep and protect our community in a proper way.

Idalia Reyes: Five to 10 years, I will still be here, hopefully. And I think that we, if the Board continues to stick together, we grow as a team, I think positive things will come. But the train is coming and that’s gonna be… we’re gonna be hot and people are gonna want to live here. People already want to live here. If not, we wouldn’t have a long, long waiting list. But you know what, I think we could come together as really caring about our community and make the changes that we need, from safety to whatever maintenance things we have. We need to address them wisely, and I think that is the way we work, and we could be better, we could be together, I mean, it doesn’t happen overnight.

Keith Logan: In five to 10 years, I see me serving on this Board and helping to bring this community into the future. In five to 10 years, I would like… for this community to continue to be affordable, because sometimes it’s impossible for increases not to happen if insurance is going up, and the cost of managing electricity is going up, and these things are going up, but if it does go up, which it inevitably does, but to keep it where it’s affordable, and it’s still the best deal in the Bronx.

of community. I would love to keep it affordable because I live here as well. I know that I would love to bring technology. I know that’s maybe scary, but I think change is inevitable. And I think that we can lower costs with things. I believe I love the resources that this community has. But my number one thing is getting the message out to the people, finding ways for people to know all the wonderful resources that the clubs provide, that the administration provides. And I love the small mom and pop stores. There is a lot of techies out here. There’s a lot of entrepreneurs. And I want to increase people being able to say, I’m in my community, my business is in my community, and let’s invest in our community. That’s what I see our future in Co-op City being.

Leslie Peterson: I might veer off a little bit, but one of the things that I cannot let this forum go by without saying, what I would like to see in this community is a center for our youth. We have a lot of places. We have three centers here. We have a lot of our seniors. We have a lot of activities for them. And while basketball… are fantastic, there are a lot of very talented youth that we have here in this community. And I would like to see their spirit and their passion explored also within a community center that they can call their own, some place for them to go. The other thing that I want to just implore everybody to do is be very aware of what’s going on when you have community boards. There is gentrification going around. We are in a diamond right here. We have large apartments, they just don’t come anymore, and we need to keep our eye on the ball and make sure that we stay engaged in what’s going on around and about our community. And I envision that for our future, staying aware and alert.

Kevin Lambright: I have two visions. One being us living in prosperity, me retired, kicking back in my massage chair because everything in Co-op City is beautiful. No crime. Youth are working. We have that community center that you talked about and everything is so smooth. Our carrying charges have, ten years from now, would have dropped by a couple of hundred dollars. This is a vision. Either that or I will be right here like I have been for the last 25 years fighting to make things better.

Grace Solomon: My five/ten-year plan is to increase wealth, build wealth, sustain wealth, put the money back in our shareholders’ pockets. I would like to support our police. I would like to lobby our politicians. I want to reduce our sewer bill. I want to obtain Verizon. I want to get certified funding for our youth center, certified funding for our senior resource center, and certified funding for immigration resources and improvement. I would like to have… reviews of our directors, certified skilled employees. I would like to have opportunity to unify our cooperative and our community through community engagement. But most of all, I would like to have a progressive, futurefocused mentality with technology.

Leah Richardson: Everybody said everything I was going to say, but I ditto Kevin Lambright and Leslie Peterson and the rest of the Board who spoke already and continue to advocate for Co-op City. I would also like to see a greener community. More funding for CCPD. I would also like to see Co-op City maintain its affordability. Better communications and for us to be a more active community as well.

Keith Logan: I think you have to start off being positive. I think you have to be optimistic. You need to put aside what your preconceived notions of other

Shacara C. Cudjoe: I think in five to 10 years I will be here. I believe I will be on the Board. I believe I will be able to bring a new, light, refreshing sense

Darnell Lopez: So, in five to 10 years, I expect to see progress and the continuation of progress on the latter of the ten years. I expect to see… better relationships with our executive leaders, with our youth, with our community leaders and with public safety. One thing I think that we definitely can do that gets done on a corporate level in all other financial institutions and educational institutions is a type of funnel program. Riverbay has public safety. We have executives. You have the Grounds people. We can use that as a tunnel for our youth to get them as interns to show them different jobs that they can have as they’re growing. That is something we can reach out to our youth to keep them off the streets to keep them safe and to educate them beyond their wildest measures sometime. That’s what I see and envision here in five to ten years.

Each candidate was then allotted one minute for closing statements to conclude the forum. Forum –––––– (Continued from page 9)

(Continued from page 4)

primary focus of the presentation was departmental structure and the proposed approach for policing the community.

“We were most proud to see Co-op City’s Sergeant Andre Waring rise as the top candidate for Chief, Co-op City Department of Public Safety. Management extends a genuine appreciation and special ‘thank-you’ to Captain Frankie Torres, who stepped up to serve in the capacity as Interim Chief until the search process was completed. We look forward to Captain Torres’ continued contributions to the Co-op City community as well as Chief Andre Waring leading the Public Safety Team. The safety of the Co-op City community is in ‘Good-Hands’,” Mr. Walton reported.

In Sept. 2019, Sgt. Waring was encouraged by former CCPD Chief Joseph Riley to join CCPD’s Detectives Squad and to share his extensive investigatory and technical knowledge with the unit. Since that time, he has distinguished himself not only as a skilled and experienced law enforcement officer, but also as a good listener, a hard worker, and a leader who is approachable.

“I would like to think I am one of the most professional people that you’ll ever meet,” said Chief Waring. “If there is something I can do, I’m going to do it. Trust – That’s what I’m going to bring to the table. If I can do something, I’ll do it; if I can make a change, I’ll do it, and if I can’t, I have to be honest enough with myself and with you [shareholders] to let you know that’s something that I can’t do.”

As for the rank and file, Chief Waring said: “They’ll get respect, they’ll get leadership in the department, … and one of the things that I have become good at, is providing structure. And so, they’ll get structure in the management of the department, and so therefore, I can send my men and women out there knowing that they can be confident that they are supported, that the community will support them because they support me and knowing that all I ask are three things.”

Those three things, Chief Waring said, are qualities that he himself intends to uphold. “Show up,” he said, meaning physically, mentally and emotionally, “because without those three things, we’re not showing up, we’re just here and I don’t want them to be just here,” he stressed.

Number two, show out. “This is the business of customer service and we have to give this community the best customer service that they deserve.” Chief Waring explained that he has been in the security field for approximately 15 years working in some of the city’s worst residential buildings and properties. “I tell the officers and their supervisors you have to treat this as if it were Park Avenue or 59th Street because you know you would act differently there than you do here, so don’t do that to yourself, don’t do that to the organization, don’t do that to the community because at the end of the day, yes, they pay for the service but even if they didn’t pay for it, what’s it costing you to be nice to somebody, to say ‘hello’ to somebody, to say ‘goodbye’ to somebody?”

And, number three, the Chief said: “I expect from them, which they can expect from me, go home the way you came in. And that’s what the community and officers can expect from me, those three things. I’m going to show up, I’m going to show out, give them the best service that they deserve, lead my troops and lead by example.”

Chief Waring said that when he initially came to CCPD in 2019, then-Chief Riley interviewed him and indicated that he would like him to work with the Detectives Squad and teach the officers, share his experience in how to manage cases, how to manage case folders, how to do in-depth investigations.

“And so, I came in as sergeant and ran right with it. I automated the case system, and once we got the case system up in order, we were able to then create a digital report form. Once we got that in place, then it was just about managing their cases and making sure that they go out, because in the beginning, that was something I didn’t understand,” said Chief Waring. “When I was with NYPD, detectives had to go out and talk to people. Yes, it was nice to talk to them over the phone, but there’s nothing like that one on one, so you could see people and get their reactions to questions and know how much of a case you have.”

Like the former CCPD chief, Chief Waring also retired from the New York City Police Department (NYPD) after an exemplary 20-year career. Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, he said that he knew since the sixth grade that there were at least three occupations that he wanted to aspire to – detective, lawyer and an actor. His inspiration was his uncle who was a court officer.

“I would sometimes go to his job, and I would see the respect that people gave him,” said Chief Waring. “And sometimes I would go in the courtroom with him, and I would listen to the cops that would come in and testify and stuff like that, and that inspired me, and so I said, well, that’s what I want to be.”

During his senior year of high school, Chief Waring landed a job as a clerk with a law firm in Midtown and worked his way up to where he was doing paralegal duties, although he did not pursue certification.

“That was how I was starting to groom myself for the lawyer part, but it was in that office that I learned, there are a lot of lawyers who don’t like being lawyers, and to me, that’s sad,” Chief Waring said. “But having had to go into court sometimes for him [his boss], I can understand it. It’s not only a thankless job, but it’s one of those jobs where, whether or not you do good for somebody, there’s always a negative aspect of it. And of course, the bureaucracy of always a delay. You’re ready for your case to go, but now it is delayed, and now, here’s another delay. And so that then transitioned me more into, okay, it’s time for me to be a police officer, because that’s really what I want to do anyway. Now I see how it is to be an attorney, I’m going to focus on being a police officer.”

Chief Waring said he took the NYPD test three times and turned it down twice before committing. The first time he was called, he was 23 years of age. He was cautioned by family, friends and even the attorney he worked for that the job was going to harden him; he was “too nice” to be a police officer. But he was steadfast.

Two years later, when Chief

“I was like, well, I can’t be anything other than who I am, so I don’t think it’s going to change me that much and it’s what I want to do,” said Chief Waring, who retired in 2006 from the NYPD as a Second Grade Detective. “I could honestly say I might have had one or two bad days and that’s it. I enjoyed every moment of it.”

Chief Waring joined the Police Academy in January 1986 and completed field training in mid-July of that year.

In September of 1986, he was pulled out of uniformed patrol duty to do undercover work with a pilot Bias Unit in the Bronx, NY that was assembled after an incident in Howard Beach. After the Unit was disbanded nine months later, then-Police Officer Waring returned to uniformed patrol in the 48th Precinct. Prior to going into the Bias Unit, he was being recruited by the Narcotics Division and once out of the Bias Unit, because he enjoyed being out of uniform, he transferred in May 1988 to Narcotics where he worked initially in Brooklyn, NY and a month later, he was transferred to Queens, NY.

“I worked at Queens Narcotics for approximately five years, and I then transferred to the Major Case Squad for Narcotics, where we were doing large weight kilos of sales. We were doing money laundering. We were doing seizures of upwards of millions of dollars, drugs, everything,” said Chief Waring. “And we did some good work in Queens. We actually were responsible for cleaning up South Jamaica, which would have been the equivalent of Hunts Point in the Bronx. We cleaned up that area to the point where there was this big park called King Park. People did not like going into King Park. By the time we were done with what we accomplished there, families were back in King Park. Kids were playing back in King Park, and that made me feel proud, because we did that. I was a part of that.”

From the Narcotics Major Case Squad, Chief Waring went to the NYC Department of Investigations (DOI) at the invitation of one of his former bosses who he worked under in Narcotics. Although he did not know much about DOI at the time, he said once he learned that they do investigations of city agencies, except for the NYPD, he was open to the opportunity. “I said, fine, as long as I’m not investigating cops, I’m good with that,” he said.

When the city administration changed over from Mayor David Dinkins to Mayor Rudolph Guiliani, the new mayor tapped Bill Bratton as the NYPD Commissioner and Commissioner Bratton promoted the lieutenant that Chief Waring worked under at DOI to the Commissioner’s Unit and he brought Chief Waring along with him. Chief Waring remained in the Unit for 3-4 years and during that time, did valuable work with CompStat under Deputy Commissioner for Operations and Crime Control Strategies, Jack Maples, who developed the methodology to track crime patterns for effective police response.

“And so he [Maples] had brilliant ideas of how to do policing. One of them was the undercover decoy unit… The second piece of it is the broken windows theory. Everything based on that is, you can always tell where the crime indicators are based on broken windows theory,” said Chief Waring. “And so with that, he started CompStat because he said, we have all these stats, we know all these numbers and we do nothing with it. And so he formulated this template to track the crimes, look at the numbers, and that’s how you know how you can target crime.

“So we were the guinea pigs to use it. We put it all together for him,” said Chief Waring. “We would then give him, each detective assigned to the unit, the seven major crimes. I had the robbery and the burglary …”

Chief Waring eventually requested to be transferred back to the Bronx to work in the Detective Squad and was assigned to the combined Burglary/Robbery Unit operating in both the 49th and 45th Precincts in the Bronx, which was in line with the work he was doing in the Commissioner’s office. That Unit was later separated and he was assigned to the 45th Pct.

“I enjoyed my time there and worked on a lot of good cases,” said Chief Waring. “I was there for approximately three years and was enjoying every minute and I would have stayed but then my supervisor who was in charge of the squad got transferred to Bronx Robbery and he was trying to bring me but for whatever reason, they would not let it happen,” said Chief Waring.

Nevertheless, because he enjoyed the work he was doing in the 45th, Chief Waring was at peace with the decision. His new supervisor, however, began making changes within the squad and realizing that he perhaps wanted to build his own team, Chief Waring met with the Commanding Officer at the 45th Precinct at the time, who was newly appointed, and asked to be transferred to Bronx Homicide, who had been recruiting him since his return to the 45th Pct. He had resisted because, he said, even though he is good at investigating homicides, he did not want that to be his focus, but recognizing that he needed a change, he resigned himself to going, doing good work, and hopefully bringing closure to affected families.

“It just so happens that the Chief heard my history and he said no,” Chief Waring said. “I got, no, I know who you are. I know where you’ve worked and you’re going to get me prepared for CompStat every month.”

Chief Waring said although he pressed his case, the Chief insisted that he remained in the 45th Precinct. “I said, I’ve been there, done that, I don’t really want to do that anymore. I have two, maybe three years left, I just want to work some good cases and ride into the sunset. And his response was, well, I’m the Chief and so you’ve got to do what I say. Any questions?

“I said, well, when you put it that way, Chief, can I have weekends off? Of course you can, he said. Can I make overtime? Of course you can, he said. Then I’m happy, I said, however, I’ll do this, but just know, this is not how I really want to end my career. So, I’ll do this for two years … We’re gonna have this conversation again in two years. Be prepared. And he said, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

(Continued on page 13)

Chief –– (Continued from page 12) Cellphones – (Continued from page 3)

Chief Waring again approached the CO for a transfer to Homicide, he was again denied. The CO said he still needed him and if he was worried about getting grade, he needn’t.

“I said, Chief, it’s not about the grade; I could do without the grade. My whole career, I’ve always been able to choose my destiny. I’ve been fortunate for that,” said Chief Waring. “And the reason why I’ve been able to do that is … I produce. I make my bosses look good. I make the department look good. And that’s why I’ve been able to do the things that I’ve been able to do. Even after, when I was in the Academy, they said to all of us, get used to always being in uniform because you’re never going to get out of that uniform. And that’s not ever been my example. So if that’s your final decision, thank you. Thank you for my last couple of years here. It’s time for me to go.”

Chief Waring put in for retirement from the NYPD and went into the private sector. He started his own licensed private investigation company, and also worked with major security companies holding prominent positions within those organizations before coming to CCPD.

He said that since his appointment as the new Chief this week, he has been meeting with officers on all tours.

“I’ve told all of them, my door is always open. The only thing that changed about me personally is my title, and so if I see you walking in or walking down the hall, you’ll still get a hello, good morning, how are you doing, …” said Chief Waring. “…I care about everybody, and having worked with these people for the last six years, I care about all of them and so that’s my thing to them, I’m here and I’m listening and I’ll always give you the opportunity to say what you need to say. I don’t know how I might be able to help but at least it starts with a conversation and let’s have the conversation.

“I work hard for what I believe in and as I tell my officers, you’ll see I’m the first one in the door and I’ll be the last out the door as long as I know my men and women are safe and that’s what they can expect from me.”

the application. “Addictive feeds, or algorithmically driven feeds, facilitate unhealthy levels of social media use,” according to the Governor’s Office.

The SAFE for Kids Act also prohibits social media platforms from sending notifications to underage users between the hours of 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. Underage users can still search or follow content creators of their choice, but their feeds no longer include suggested content from accounts they do not follow, which might otherwise lead to a user remaining on the social media platform for a longer period of time.

Gas – (Continued from page 1)

mechanical and boiler rooms with a portable combustible gas detector to determine if there are gas leaks, as long as these spaces contain gas piping or gas utilization equipment.

If a leak or corrosion is detected, the inspector notifies the building owner; the utility, in this case, ConEdison; and the NYC Department of Buildings. In addition, the building owner is required to take immediate steps to correct the condition in compliance with the New York City construction codes.

During the April 28th inspection, a leak was detected in the gas meter room which supplies gas to the A, B and C sides of the building, home to 500 families. ConEd immediately shut off gas service to the entire building and Management began steps to address the leak. Building residents were notified about the outage and kept updated through Phone Tree messages and flyers posted in the building.

This week, Management informed Building 4 shareholders that the permits to begin the repair work had been obtained. To facilitate repairs and upgrades needed in the building to ensure gas service restoration, Riverbay’s Certified Master Plumbing contractor, Express Plumbing, would need to gain access into each apartment during the week beginning on Tuesday, May 13—Friday, May 16, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Underscoring the importance of shareholders’ cooperation to allow the contractor to enter their apartment, Mr. Walton advised them to designate a family member or trusted neighbor or friend to make sure the repairs can be done when the contractor knocks.

“The master plumbing contractor will be knocking on doors to gain access to replace the gas valves, hoses and place the valves in the closed position,” said Executive GM Walton. “All employees of the

As for the second piece of legislation the Governor signed that strengthens the New York Child Data Protection Act, no online platform or device connected to the internet is allowed to collect, use, share or sell personal data of any individual under 18 years old. The only exceptions to this expansion of the NY Child Data Protection Act are if the individual consents to having their data recorded or if collecting that data “is strictly necessary for the purpose of the website,” as explained by the Governor’s Office.

contractor will have Riverbay I.Ds visible to shareholders. In addition to replacing the gas valves and hoses, upgrades are required for the 20 gas risers located throughout the buildings which will require wall breaks in certain apartments.”

Shareholders who would be unavailable May 13May 16, and did not have anyone to provide access to their apartment, were advised to contact CSO to make alternate arrangements.

“Please note that gas restoration protocols require interaction and coordination between our Maintenance staff, Express Plumbing, DOB and ConEd, along with the cooperation of you and your neighbors,” Executive GM Walton told shareholders.

Once inside the apartment, valves would be installed, followed by air pressure testing of the gas line riser in each apartment to ensure the system’s integrity. If the pressure test is successful, no further work would be required in the apartment line. If, however, the pressure test fails, indicating a gas leak in the line, the plumbing contractor would test sections of the gas line to identify the leak and replace the defective piping. This step requires access to every apartment on the affected line to locate and resolve the issue, and in some cases, requiring the opening of walls inside the apartment. Following each repair, another gas pressure test would have to be conducted until the line passes inspection. All of this work has to be done in compliance with NYC protocols.

After Express Plumbing completes gas pressure testing on each line in the building, the company will request a Department of Buildings inspection. Riverbay will notify shareholders of the date of the DOB inspection once it is set. DOB will require access to each apartment so Building 4 shareholders will have to make arrangement if they will not be available for the DOB inspection. If the building passes the DOB gas pressure test, DOB will then submit their report to ConED.

Next, ConEd will conduct their own inspection to confirm the integrity of the gas line. Once the ConED inspection date is finalized, Management will notify shareholders so arrangements can be made for access to their residential unit. If the ConEd inspection is successful, the utility’s Gas Restoration Division will visit the building and restore service to the building.

“Management will continue to keep shareholders informed as each phase of the process progresses,” Executive GM Walton said. “To ensure you receive updates promptly, please complete and submit a Phone Tree Application to the CSO. This will allow us to contact you quickly as schedules or conditions change.”

Executive General Manager Walton also reminded Building 4 shareholders that as per Board Resolution 23-33, a one-time credit of $100 will be applied to their monthly maintenance bill after 30-days of gas service disruption. “We do not know at this point, but this process could take up to six months or more,” he said. “I cannot stress enough how important it is for shareholders to cooperate and coordinate with other relatives and/or neighbors if you will not be home for a scheduled appointment to access your home. We appreciate everyone’s patience and cooperation. Together, we can ensure a safe and timely restoration of gas service.”

Public Safety –––––

(Continued from page 1) Affidavits ––––– (Continued from page 1)

Airbags are not a substitute for seatbelts and can be dangerous to unbelted occupants. They deploy at approximately 200–250 mph.

An unbelted passenger risks being ejected or becoming a projectile in a crash, causing injury to themselves and others.

Modern vehicles are engineered to protect belted occupants by preserving the passenger compartment.

Additional Safe Driving Tips

Never hold a child on your lap in a moving vehicle. In a crash, you cannot physically protect them.

Do not remove a child from a car seat while the vehicle is in motion—even if the child is upset.

Do not allow children to ride in the front seat before age 13 due to airbag risk.

Consider taking a Defensive Driving Course, which may reduce your insurance premiums and driving record points.

Discounted Online Course:

Register now for the New York DMV-Approved National Safety Council Defensive Driving Course

Save $5 with discount code 070 Only $27.95 Visit www.ddcnsc.org/ny and enter referral code 070 at checkout.

Pedestrian and Cyclist Awareness

Drivers must remain vigilant for pedestrians and cyclists, especially in residential and commercial areas. Likewise, cyclists must obey traffic laws and yield to pedestrians.

Alcohol and Distraction Awareness

• Never drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

• Always assign a designated driver.

• Avoid distractions such as texting, eating, or using electronic devices while driving.

• Speeding and distracted driving are among the leading causes of crashes in New York State.

Report Suspicious Activity

If you see something, say something. Report emergencies to 911 and to the Co-op City Department of Public Safety at (718) 671-3050. Callers may remain anonymous.

Stay safe this summer. Buckle up, stay alert, and never leave children or pets alone in a vehicle.

Thank you to the community members whose vigilance and involvement help us maintain a safe and high-quality environment in Co-op City.

Self Defense Training & Education Class

of the paper form can either pick one up at the Finance department or download a fillable PDF that is available on the Riverbay website. To access the PDF, visit coopcity.com, click on the “Resources” tab and then select “Finance” from the drop-down menu. Instructions on how to complete the form can also be found there. For additional questions/concerns about the 2024 Income Affidavit, shareholders should call 718-320-3300.

Scam Alert ––––– (Continued from page 1)

up at the top of your search results, always confirm that you are on the correct website before making a purchase or entering your personal information. Scammers are easily able to create lookalike websites that seem like the real deal. See BBB’s tips for identifying a fake website.

Use caution when making purchases through social media shops. Sometimes, sponsored ads on social media platforms take you to purchase products on the app’s shop. You may not be able to tell if the retailer or merchandise is legitimate through the app’s shop. If you’re unsure, you can search for the retailer on your own and find their real website to purchase from. See BBB’s tips for buying from social media ads.

Be wary of too-good-to-be-true deals. Major discounts on otherwise expensive products often trick people into purchasing items on fake websites. If the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Do a quick search to compare prices on other sites to get an idea of what the item really costs.

Use BBB to verify business information. If you’re questioning whether the website you’re visiting is an impostor site, check with BBB.org to find the business’s information and verify its web address. If you’re not familiar with the business, you can also see if there are any customer reviews or complaints listed.

Be proactive and keep trusted contact information handy. Having official websites bookmarked or customer service numbers saved can help you avoid scams when you’re in a hurry and searching for a business. See BBB’s recommendations for what contact information to save.

For More Information

Read BBB’s tips for smart online shopping. Keep an eye out for online passport renewal scams.

When searching online, keep in mind that fake customer support scams are also common – read these tips about fake tech support, airfare customer service, and customer service accounts on social media.

Have you experienced a sponsored ad scam? Report it to BBB Scam Tracker to help warn others.

https://forms.gle/a7QKBtEKUBjesiKN7

On Tuesday, May 13, shareholders had the opportunity to participate in a Self Defense Training & Education Class. Hosted by Co-op City’s Public Safety Department, in partnership with the 45th Precinct Community Affairs Unit and the CERT team, shareholders learned practical techniques to help boost their knowledge and confidence to protect themselves in real-life scenarios.

Photos Courtesy of Community Relations

Building 6 Association

Happy Saturday, neighbors. I hope when you read this, it finds you in good standing. This afternoon is the Mothers Month Soiree from 3-6:30 p.m. in the association room located under the rear portico. Come and partake in the sharing of stories of mothers while listening to jazz, indulging on delicious Hors D’ oeuvres and desserts, and strengthening connections with the neighbors of Co-op City. Last Thursday night there was a leak in the B-line affecting over 10 apartments. Hopefully, this week we can all configure times and availabilities for the inspectors to come and start the process of restoring the affected apartments. If any neighbor has an issue in their apartment that needs attention, please contact president Lassiter, 347-366-7690, or vice president Centeno, 917-417-5709, so they can advocate on your behalf. The all new Building 6 executive board is at your service. Building 6 would like to give kudos to Deputy General Manager Joshua Blake and Supervisor Luis Lopez for replacing the broken and missing tiles on various floors. Director Michael Ambo’s grounds personnel was seen outside Saturday digging up and planting new shrubbery around the building’s entrances and walkways, laying the groundwork for the spring planting of the beautiful flower beds. Co-op City is gorgeous this time of the year, so, neighbors, let us all do our part by housekeeping after ourselves. Do not be a litterbug. Please curb your pet and please stop letting your dogs urinate and defecate underneath the buildings porticos, as that is incredibly disgusting and disrespectful.

CCPD Officers Radio and Gesque were seen speaking to neighbors in regards to the rash amounts of violence that have been occurring in the De Kruif place cul-de-sac. Neighbors, we must do our part as well. When we see something, say something. Call 718-671-3050 or dial 911. We should make our safety and quality of life a priority. We all want to live in a clean, safe, healthy and harmonious environment. We have all earned the right to do so. This is our home, so let us take back the feeling of why we most moved here in the first place. As always, pick up a copy of the Co-op City Times and look to the associations bulletin board for current information. The best neighbor is an informed one. If everyone does a little, most will not have to do a lot. As always, I pray for safety over all. God speed.

“If you see someone without a smile, give them yours.” – Dolly Parton

Lauren K.

Lassiter

Building 13 Association

Join the Election Block Party taking place today in Section 5 near the Einstein Shopping area from 12-3 p.m. Come and meet the candidates.

Save The Date: Our Section 2 Summer Fun Day will be on Saturday, June 21 (rain date June 22). All are welcome to join us. Shirts for the event are on sale so look for the flyer on your bulletin board and for information posted in Co-op City Times articles. There will be free shirts for the first 50 youth. Music and free goodies (while supplies last) and of course Name That Tune and Salsa Contest.

Summer Get Your Shirt: Adult: $20 (4x and above $22), Youth: $15. Shirts can be ordered on May 7th and May 21st in the Building 10B, 11B and 12 in association rooms. By the way, get your boots on the ground, ours will be! We have our fans! Practice makes perfect!

Funding for SFD was made possible by Councilman Kevin Riley, NYC Department of Youth & Community Development, Assemblyman Michael Benedetto, Attorney Stephen B. Kaufman PC, The Co-op City Tire Co., Bob Cares Charitable Organization, McCall’s Bronxwood Funeral Home, Riverbay Corporation, CCPD, NYPD and FDNY.

We want to take the opportunity to thank our porters who are doing an excellent job keeping our building looking good. However, we still need your help. Once their work is done it is up to us to make sure we follow good housekeeping rules. Properly dispose of your garbage in the compactor room. Do not leave bags with raw food on the floor. Look at the sign located in the compactor room and place the proper items in the recycling bags.

We still see some residents with their pets not on a leash. When in public spaces (that includes the lobby and elevators) they should be wearing their leash. Additionally refrain from having your pet relieve themselves under the buildings. Take them to the curb and pick up the poop.

“Calling All Men”: This could save your life. In collaboration with Councilman Riley, Congressman Latimer, Assemblyman Benedetto, State Senator Bailey, Ron Hartridge-NYC Public School Sr. Coordinator and father Advocate, Joyce Dixon, RN, and DR. Wiltz, MD invite you to attend a health workshop on Saturday, June 7, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Dreiser Center, Auditorium C. See flyer to RSVP or call tking@riverbaycorp.com.

Stay in the know of what is going on in and around your community. Attend the Riverbay Board meetings, Community Board 10 meetings and the 45th Precinct Community Council meetings.

“A united people, striving to achieve a common good for all members of the society, will always emerge victorious.” —Samuel Nujoma, Former President of Namibia

Visit our Facebook page at: Building 13 Association Inc.–Co-op City E-mail us at building13assoc@yahoo.com. Contacts: Wendell Mattison, V.P. at 917-330-1380. Thank you for supporting our team.

—Wendell Mattison

Building 10 Association

Greetings, fellow cooperators.

New Cooperators – Welcome, all new cooperators. We look forward to seeing you at the next general membership meeting.

Estates, Wills and Trusts – On Sunday, May 18 at 3 p.m. in the Building 10 Association Room (located in the rear of 120 Debs Place), Hugh W. Campbell, Esq. will present “Estates, Wills and Trusts.” Learn about the importance of planning for the future and protecting your assets. Financial security for your family is perhaps the most important objective of a well-devised estate plan.

Building 10 Association Dues – The collection of building association dues for 2025 has begun. Building association dues are $10 per apartment. We will be collecting dues in the association room (rear of Building 10B) on May 21 from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. Please note, the money collected is used for association-related expenses, i.e. flyers, meeting and party supplies, holiday lobby decorations and refreshments etc.

Summer Fun Day T-Shirt – Pre-order your Summer Fun Day T-Shirt from 5 p.m.-7 p.m. on May 21 in the Building 10 Association Room, located in the rear of Building 10B. Please see the flyer in the lobby for more information.

General Membership Meeting – Our next general membership meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 29, at 7 p.m. in the Association Room located in the rear of Building 10B. Our guest speaker will be Lois English, Property Manager, CSO. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. All questions must be submitted by 7 p.m. on the date of the meeting. Paper and pens will be available. We are looking forward to seeing everyone. Light refreshments will be served.

Section 2 Summer Fun Day – Save the date: Section 2 Summer Fun Day will be held on Saturday, June 21. The rain date is Sunday, June 22. More details to follow.

Tip Of The Week – Prepare for the unexpected. We must prepare ourselves for unexpected occurrences such as power outages, hurricanes, snowstorms, elevator outages and even earthquakes. Go to https://www.ready.gov to get information on making a plan and how to prepare for an emergency. “Disasters Don’t Wait. Make Your Plan Today.”

Suicide Prevention – If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide or in emotional distress, the number to call for help is 988; you can call or text. Someone is available 24 hours a day.

Questions, Comments and Suggestions – You can contact the Building 10 Association via email at Building10Assoc@gmail.com or drop a note in the suggestion box in the laundry. We are also on Facebook, “Building 10 ABC Association.” Like our page and get notified of all the happenings in and around Building 10.

We would like to wish all who are born this month an incredibly happy birthday. Celebrating an anniversary this month? Happy anniversary! To the homebound and sick, we wish you a speedy recovery. To all who have lost a loved one recently, we offer our deepest condolences. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.” – Oprah Winfrey —Jewel Crawford-Duncan

Co-op City Times Photo Submissions

When submitting club articles with pictures to the Co-op City Times, please DO NOT EMBED picture/s in your Word document. Rather, send the picture/s as an attachment along with the Word document for proper print reproduction. The images should be 300 DPI. All submissions must be emailed to: cctimes@riverbaycorp.com. Thank you.

Building 12 Association

Greetings, Building 12.

What a wonderful week we have had. Our Mother’s Day celebration was very successful. It is always delightful to see the unity of Building 12 when we come together. We spent two days in our lobby giving out raffle tickets to our dues-paying mothers for a chance to win one of five great prizes. On Saturday, May 12, we randomly selected our five lucky winners and celebrated all the moms in attendance with music, cupcakes, well wishes and good vibes.

Please join us for our upcoming Bingo Nights, to be held on Friday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, May 31, at 5 p.m. Our monthly meeting will be held on Thursday, May 29, at 7 p.m. We will discuss upcoming building activities and address community concerns. Our special invited guest speaker is the Honorable Borough President Vanessa Gibson.

Riverbay's Board of Directors election will be May 30th, with in-person voting at Dreiser Auditorium. Please let your voices be heard by voting!

—Tanya Clark-Ingram

Building 28 Association

Dearest shareholders,

At our most recent building meeting, we had a packed house with two distinguished guest speakers, District 12 Council Member Kevin Riley and Shekera Algarin, Esq. Kevin administered the oath of office to the association's executive board and discussed numerous significant accomplishments and upcoming initiatives for Co-op City and the North-East Bronx. Shekera Algarin addressed the importance of knowing your rights as a civilian. We were delighted to see new faces and the shareholders who consistently attend to stay informed about their community.

Various activities are taking place in Section 5. Today, May 17, from 12-3 p.m., the 2025 Election Committee will host a Block Party, providing an opportunity to meet and greet the candidates running for the Riverbay Board of Directors this year. Attendance is encouraged to get acquainted with the candidates, as it is crucial to know who is running and ask questions. If you are truly concerned, stay informed, participate and make sure your voice is heard when it comes time to vote.

“Without a sense of caring, there will be no sense of community.” —Anthony J. D’Angelo

—Brenda

Brown

Broun Place Townhouse Association

Spring has really arrived. Mother’s Day 2025 is now history. We especially recognized mothers/nurturers last week and celebrated them. This week, happy birthday wishes go out to grandson, Benjamin Kindaichi Raines. Have you seen the beautiful tulips and blossoming spring trees in this area? Compliments to our Grounds crew, especially Daniel, for taking such great care of our green areas.

We are having an issue regarding disability parking spaces with CCPD and e-bikes. Under DOT’s direction, two regular spaces were cut and are now spaces to corral bikes. This is a slap in the face for cooperators who truly need the parking spaces. Yet, a couple came home and saw two parked cars, without placards, parked in the cul-de-sac spaces designated for disability parking. CCPD was called, and they came but didn’t inspect all the parked cars in Broun Place. They went in the opposite direction, so we called again and gave them a more specific location, but they never came back. Please report to CCPD, 718-671-3050, or the 45th Precinct if you see a car without a placard. Tickets will be issued to those without placards. Please write letters in support of correct policing in this area.

Attend the election forums on May 21st and May 27th. Riverbay Board election and income affidavit season are upon us. Please plan to complete these two requirements of Co-op City. As the deliverer of news, our community teacher, the Co-op City Times, reminds us of these important dates. It’s our responsibility to get these two cooperator responsibilities done correctly. The income affidavit is a requirement; study the ways and means. Regarding the annual Board election, save the corporation the expense, study the candidates and vote

Neighbor Thea Lowe (Colombo) celebrated her birthday on April 30th and we are happy to announce Ms. Colombo is home. Her condition continues to improve. What a great birthday and homecoming.

Just saw Building 4, Donizetti Place on Channel 12 and feel very bad for these cooperators. I hope Riverbay is doing all they can to get the necessary repairs accomplished.

The Broun Place Townhouse Association accepts new members any time. The membership fee is $12 a year. Dues go to supplies and support of emergency efforts, for example, in case a neighbor or family member dies.

Who is responsible for cleaning the Stillwell Avenue and De Reimer Avenue local streets? Attention must be paid to this area. It is being used like a dump. The Police Athletic League and City Harvest are receiving a donation from Broun Place Townhouse Association in lieu of our usual donation to CCPD’s collection.

Call the following number on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., to report non-delivery of the Co-op City Times, 1-407-666-8317. We urge you to read your Co-op City Times

—Eva Kindaichi Lazaar

Section 5 Association

The weather is warming up and spring is here with beautiful pink and white flowers blooming all around. Happy belated Mother’s Day to all.

MetroCard – If the card has not expired, it is still good until that expiration date.

Community Board 10 – Manager Matthew Cruz informed the community of Co-op City that the NYC DOT will present its Safety Improvement Plan of Baychester Ave. (between Darrow Pl. and Aldrich St.) This meeting took place on April 30 in the Dreiser Loop Auditorium.

Gas Detectors – We received robocalls notifying the shareholders to expect Riverbay workers to install the new gas detectors.

Spam Interruptions – If you receive constant spam calls, report it to your provider. It is also best to not answer, nor leave your answering machine on.

SCRIE/DRIE – If you know someone who needs help with SCRIE (Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption), DRIE (Disability Rent Increase Exemption), or other assistance, they can call JASA Bartow at 718-320-2066 during business hours Monday-Friday 9-5 p.m. No walk-ins are allowed at JASA or Bartow Center.

It is with sadness to report our longtime neighbor, Ida Edwards, passed way and the funeral was held on May 1. Ida was the wife of Stuart Edwards. Happy birthday to those celebrating this month. If you have knowledge of a neighbor who is sick or in the hospital, please contact Section5association10@gmail. com. To those in bereavement, you have our deepest sympathy.

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be change until it is faced.” —James Baldwin

—Hattie Overman

Building 24 Association

Thanks to all our neighbors who contributed their fabulous baking and all those who came for our Cake Sale. It was a great success. We truly appreciate everyone who contributed their great baked creations and everyone who came for the sale. Now we’re in another election cycle for our Board of Directors. You can find out about the candidates, who they are, and why they’re running by reading their remarks in the Co-op City Times Election Supplements or by attending one of the two remaining Election Forums. The second forum will be held in the Einstein Center, Rm. 45, on May 21, and the third forum will be held in the Bartow Center, Rm. 31, on May 27; both start at 7 p.m.

I hope you will take the time to read the candidates’ remarks or hear them at the forums and give your vote to the ones you like the best. We can also submit questions for the candidates to the Election Committee at Riverbay2025election@riverbaycorp.com. The submission must include your name and building. Let’s all get involved in choosing our representatives on the Board. Let’s vote! Notices for any Building Association meetings before we break for the summer in June will be posted in the lobby. Enjoy!

—Bruce Silberman

IMPORTANT!

For up-to-date communication from Riverbay Corporation, read the Co-op City Times, delivered to your building lobby and the community centers on Saturdays, tune in to the Crawler on your home TVs and lobby monitors, and register for Phone Tree notifications.

Building 22 A&B Association

The conclave has elected a new Pope, Leo XIV from America, Chicago, Illinois. Blessings to the world. I hope everyone enjoyed their Mother’s Day celebrations. Pick up your Co-op City Times, everything you need to know is waiting for you.

Our next meeting is May 19, at 7 p.m., in the association room at 120 Coop City Blvd., first floor. We're having a special guest, Diane Cooper from Caregivers Outreach, so please come and give her your support and ideas to accomplish our goals for the year. If you haven't paid your building dues ($5 per apartment) you can pay at the meeting.

Everyone had a great time at our Game Night and are waiting for the next Game Night.

The 2025 Board of Directors Election is coming up. Get to know your candidates, follow their platform, and find more information about the election in the Co-op City Times. Get ready for our June fair.

Compactor Room: Please continue to follow the instructions, fold small boxes, bring larger ones to basement, and place raw garbage in the chute. Be helpful.

Laundry Room Etiquette: Continue to return on time for your clothes. Please refrain from using the carts, benches or tables to sort dirty clothes. Clean out the lint tray and pick up fabric softener sheets.

Happy birthday to all. Our prayers to all who lost loved ones. Please check on the sick and shut ins. If you see something, say something. Blessings to all.

—Betty Leak

Building 9 Association

Greetings, Building 9 Association family and friends.

First and foremost, I must thank the “Nine Diamonds” for their outstanding work all year round. Wanda Randall, Evelyn Mavins, Janet Yarrell, Linda Holley, Shirley McCann, Shirley Johnson, Barbara Cloud, Marva Malone, Theresa Gorden, Pam Bryant, Dinora Tirado, Scarlett Parker, Darlene Walker-Reid, Elizabeth Manning, Matse Jenkins, and Gwen Anderson.

Again, I thank all 195 members who joined our Building Association during our 2025 Membership Drive. Our Building Association is dependent upon you. We could not do the work we do without the membership. I thank you for your willingness to participate.

Our next meeting is scheduled to be held on Thursday, May 29, at 7 p.m. in the Building 9 Association Room, located in the rear lobby of Building 9-B. This will be our 10th annual Volunteer Recognition dinner dedicated to our Building “Nine Diamonds.” We will never be able to thank you enough for all you do for our members.

May will be our final meeting until September 2025. Mr. Cary Smith III will be our guest speaker for this event. We have a new CCPD chief, Chief Waring. Please join us in welcoming him to the position. He has been an officer and a sergeant for quite some time. Summer is here. We need to work with the 45th Precinct and Public Safety to ensure that there is a plan in place to keep us safe and sound in Co-op City all summer long.

I thank you all in advance for joining us at our May Volunteer Recognition event on May 29.

Please be reminded that the Income Affidavit season is closing. The Riverbay phone and computer systems were down last week.

We will resume having Pokeno Tuesdays every other week beginning June 10 at 1 p.m.

We are planning another art class on June 7 at 7 p.m. The cost will be $20 per person. Please RSVP so that we have a count for required supplies and refreshments.

Please be reminded that the Co-op City Scholarship Fund Competition, sponsored by Assembly Member Michael R. Benedetto, is accepting applications from high school seniors residing in Co-op City with at least a C+ grade average and community service activities. The application period is open from May 3 through May 26.

Please see the article in the May 3rd edition of the Co-op City Times or see the flyers posted on bulletin boards throughout the community for more information. The Co-op City Times article and the community flyer display a QR code that will link directly to the online application. There is also a website address listed if you cannot access the QR code directly. There will be a few print copies of the application available in the assembly members’ office located at 177 Dreiser Loop, Rm. 12.

Please let me know if there is something you would like to address at our next meeting.

“For while we have our eyes on the future, history has its eye on us.”

—Linda Collins

Building 27 Association

Hello, neighbors. Spring is here and the trees are blooming everywhere. Please wear your mask, if needed.

Happy Mother’s Day – To all mothers, wishing you had a blessed and joyful day.

Pokeno Night – On May 23, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Watch out for the posted fliers. Light refreshments.

Reminder, the Building 27 Association meeting will be on May 29 and we will have three guest speakers Diane Cooper from Caregivers Association, Ms. Nicole Marchand of Section 5 CSO, and Ms. Shekera Algarin.

Section 5 Family Fun Day – On June 28, 12-4 p.m. on the Section 5 Greenway. For information or vendors, please contact 718-684-5509.

Gas Detector – If you have missed your appointment, please call the phone number provided and make arrangements to take care of this. This is now a mandate that will benefit us all.

Committees – Building 27 Association is in need of a treasurer and entertainment members. If you are interested, please contact Aaron Carnegie, president of the Building 27 Association, at 917-561-7121.

Laundry Room – Our building services three 26-floor high risers. When we clean the lint from the dryer screen, please empty the lint and the dryer sheets in the garbage containers and not on our clean floors. We are blessed to have a laundry room, so let us be clean and appreciate it.

Happy birthday to all celebrating this month. To those in bereavement, you have our sympathy. We wish all the best of health and safety. Contact Lydia Rondon at 718-583-3040 and she will gladly acknowledge your birthday by sending you a card; she is excellent in sharing good will. Also, notify her of any illness, or if a neighbor has deceased or transferred to a nursing home.

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

—James Baldwin

—H. Overman

Email sgreen@ riverbaycorp.com for our affordable rates.

Co-op City Creatives: Damien Hines

By P.M. CAMPBELL

Damien Hines, 46, started working at Riverbay one month ago, but also recently explored an additional career path—acting.

He has lived in Section 1 of Co-op City for nearly thirty years and balances his time between his jobs at CSO, as a personal trainer, and in front of the camera. While he has spent much of his life in front of the camera, last year was his first time in a feature film.

or to work out,” he said.

He started his modeling career at the age of 19, when his friend recommended he pose for a photographer. This was his first paid job and led to him walking on runways, featuring in catalogues, and appearing in Nike commercials. Though he could not sustain himself as a model and eventually shifted careers, his family and friends continued to support him. “They’re the ones who put the battery in my back,” he said

More than two decades later, he reappeared on camera in a different way—as a social media influencer. His audience has grown from a few hundred to 3,000 since last fall when he started live streaming exercise routines. Just like his job as a personal trainer, social media allows him to help others meet their goals.

“My purpose is to motivate, whether it is to change their life for the positive

Last year, a friend informed him of an opportunity to be in a film. When the director, Frank Blenman, saw Hines’ social media accounts, he secured him a paid spot in the film on the last day on set. No audition was required, Hines found out about the opportunity on a Wednesday and was in front of the camera on Thursday.

He plays the protagonist’s bodyguard in the film titled, “Capital Punishment.” His family and friends highly anticipated the urban action film which released on Tubi on May 1. “I love trying to play a character playing a role that you can be totally different from and be able to convince an audience.”

While the idea of playing an action hero (or villain) excites him, he is primarily motivated by the enthusiasm of his community. The unwavering support of his family and friends has led him to seek out casting calls and possible acting classes.

Damien thinks that becoming a live streamer helped him become more comfortable in front of the camera, advising new performers to develop their confidence. “Don't be shy,” he says. “If it's something you really wanna do you’re gonna have to kick that shyness to the side.”

Happy Birthday – Adele Murray

A happy birthday to Adele Murray, who lives on Bellamy Loop and celebrated her 108th birthday on Thursday, May 8, 2025 with a room filled with friends and relatives, cake and balloons. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, she made her entry into the world demanding attention by screaming and kicking as if to say, “Go lightly on that spanking, it hurts.” There has not been too much of a change since that time because, at this age, she is still quite vocal and persistent.

Adele came to New York with her family when she was a youth. She graduated from Haaren High School in Manhattan and worked in the fashion industry. While residing in Manhattan, she became a member of Mother AME Zion Church in Harlem and after relocating to the Bronx, she joined the Community Protestant Church where she served as a missionary for several years. When asked to give her advice to others about life longevity, her advice is to always praise the Lord. (Psalms 34).

—Jo Ann Harris

Rivers Run Community Garden

What a wonderful weekend we just had! New York Cares provided families who volunteered at the garden on Saturday. They planted flowers and helped fill beds with dirt. We were also grateful for the sunshine on Mother’s Day

and all who showed up and showed out. Beautiful colorful creations filled the space! The painting workshop was led by artist Valerie Gunn and fun was had by all.

Please tell your friends and family about this amazing place where we not only grow fruits and vegetables, but we grow knowledge and friendships. Rivers Run Community Garden, located on Co-op City Blvd., next to the baseball field, is a movement towards improved mental and physical health. We provide all types of workshops including nutrition, meditation, edible and medicinal wilds identification, planting, construction, and crafting. We are the outdoor classroom for the local schools, daycares, residents and neighbors. We are a place of beauty and peace. Visit. Stay. Experience us.

Event Dates at Garden (Weather permitting. All are welcome)

May 23 – School to visit

May 30 – PS 153 to visit

June 15 – Father’s Day Paint and Chat

Membership Requirements: $20 per year fee and a minimum of 20 volunteer hours. There is a waiting list for beds. Members who are actively fulfilling volunteer time are moved up on the waiting list. Volunteers are welcome

Email: Rivers_run@yahoo.com

Physical Address: Co-op City Blvd. (Between Bellamy Loop and Peartree Ave.)

Mailing address: 100 Casals Pl #32K, Bronx, NY 10475

Call: 917-232-2982 or 718-671-3801.

—Gail Sharbaan

The Co-op City Times accepts credit/debit cards for advertisement purchases. Call 718-320-3300, ext 3384 for more information.

Building 19 Association

Greetings, Building 19 Association Members.

On Friday, May 9, Building 19 held its general meeting. Our guests were: Captain Frank Torres, Sgt. Andre Waring, Sgt. Joseph Vargas and Detective Ramirez. We asked about areas of concern that involved shootings, door knocking and ringing, package thefts, and car vandalism.

There is a TikTok challenge where youths are knocking/kicking on doors, ringing doorbells, and running away. This is something that is occurring all over. We must prioritize our safety and security. Call CCPD or 911 and never open the door. Package theft is a big concern, and in some cases, it involves Co-op City residents who, if identified, will get a Community Complaint.

CCPD is not staffed as appropriately as we would like. A second class is graduating to increase the number of officers, improving the quality-of-life issues.

In the case of a missing child, verticals are done in the building where the child is suspected of being lost.

We asked about the theft of vehicles/vandalism. Captain Torres discussed a possible deterrent, with an OBD port lock, a security device that attaches to the vehicle's OBD-II port, preventing unauthorized access and tampering with the vehicle's computer. It deters criminals from using the OBD port to steal the car, clone the fobs, or disable the security system. The 45th Precinct has mentioned obtaining a steering and airbag shield used with the club.

We asked about putting up flyers of suspects. This is considered a violation of their privacy and cannot be done. We hope to have a better phone system to avoid what can be perceived as a long hold time when calling CCPD.

CCPD works collaboratively with the 45th Precinct on matters of quality of life. We have a Sector car that we share with City Island, and we hope to have our own Sector car.

New officers are actively engaging with the community, especially with our youth. Building trust and rapport improves communication and cooperation. We would like to see community policing as we had many years ago. Voicing our concerns in committee meetings and Board meetings can bring about change. We must stay active.

We thank Captain Torres and the CCPD officers for taking the time to meet with us. By sharing our perspectives, we will have more effective strategies for policing. We are tentatively planning to have a Bake Sale on May 31. This fundraiser will support our scholarship fund and other projects for the building.

We are still collecting dues ($10) for the year. You can drop by our next meeting, or if you have any questions, you can call Sonia at 718-862-9264.

We are sending best wishes to our ill and shut-in residents. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

Birthday wishes to our May celebrants. Wishing you a year filled with joy and laughter.

Our next meeting will be on June 13, before our summer break. We will be presenting our Frances Williams Scholarship recipient.

Shareholders First – We Matter

—Sonia

Feliciano

Cooperators United

Greetings, fellow Building and Townhouse Association presidents

The next meeting of Cooperators United is scheduled to be held on Monday, May 19, at 7 p.m. in the Bartow Center, Rm. 31.

This will be our last meeting until September 2025. Please attend, as this will be an opportunity to discuss where we are with the most recent shots fired incidents, the recent carjacking attempt, and the general state of safety and security in our community. Also, we will discuss where you would like to see our organization put its focus in the near future.

Summer is upon us. We need to know that there is a plan to keep us safe as we enjoy warm days and cool nights.

The Annual Riverbay Fair is scheduled for June 7. Please come out and support our vendors.

I have scheduled a meeting with our Public Safety department for May 19. We also have a new CCPD chief, Chief Waring. It is my hope that Chief Waring will be available to join us on May 19. Please join me in welcoming him to his new position.

Our April 30th meeting with Executive General Manager Marvin L. Walton was packed full of information, especially the breakdown of the upcoming 2-year projected budget. Remember, projected budgets are impacted by unforeseen circumstances.

Building 4A, 4B, and 4C have suffered a gas outage due to the detection of a gas leak. If there are any helpful suggestions or assistance you may be able to offer to fellow shareholders in Building 4, please contact Building 4 president,

Dawn Mitchell. She is doing an outstanding job informing the shareholders as information becomes available. She has also been extremely proactive in advocating for her shareholders. Please join me in commending Dawn Mitchell for a job well done!

Good news, the garage entry arms are once again operational.

Also, remind your members that the Co-op City Scholarship Fund Competition, sponsored by New York State Assembly Member Michael R. Benedetto and U.S. Congressman George Latimer, is accepting applications from high school seniors residing in Co-op City who have at least a C+ grade average, as well as any relevant community service experience. The application period is open from May 3 through May 26.

Please see the article in the May 3rd and 10th editions of the Co-op City Times or see the flyers posted on bulletin boards throughout the community for more information. The Co-op City Times article and the community flyer display a QR code that will link directly to the application. There will be a few print copies of the application available in Assembly Member Benedetto's office, located at 177 Dreiser Loop, Rm. 12. All required documentation, such as transcripts and references, must be uploaded and attached to the online application. If you submit a printed copy in person, you are responsible for ensuring all required documentation is attached. Good luck.

Please let us know if there is a topic you would like to address at our next meeting.

—Linda Collins

National Council of Negro Women

Bethune-Height Recognition Program – Our 51st annual BHRP Program is being held today, Saturday, May 17, from 12 to 4 p.m., at Leonard’s Palazzo, 555 Northern Boulevard, Great Neck, NY 11021. The theme of this year’s program is “Speak Truth to Power: Silence is Not an Option.” At this program each year, all 18 of the NCNW Sections from New York State and New York State Affiliates gather to honor outstanding women in our communities, welcome new Life Members, Legacy Life Members and Achievers, all to raise funds for the maintenance of our national headquarters that is located at 633 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. This program that is presented by sections all over the United States is named after our founder, Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, and our National President for forty years, Dr. Dorothy I. Height. Co-op City Section is proud of our members who

will be receiving awards today. Achiever Award recipients: Lori B. Melton, Akeisha Neely, Julia Price, Tina M. Thompson, Lisa Wade-Stewart, Joyce Miller Howard, and Honorable Kim Adair Wilson, J.S.C. Life Member Award recipients: NMaat-Ra N. Ankhmeni, Khaya Baker, Denise A. Gerrald, Kayla S. Grant, Elita Celeste Hodges, Keisha A. Sasso, Nikita Singletary, Janice Hemby and Dr. Michelyn Johnson, DNP, RN., Maxine Campbell and Jenifer Jackson.

Health Committee – GirlTrek will be meeting each Saturday morning, around the Dreiser Loop Community Shopping Center lobby area at 8:45 a.m. We usually begin walking promptly at 9 a.m. in the greenway area to promote the benefits of walking in our community.

NCNW Youth Group – From brushstrokes to blooming roots, our Youth Group celebrated

IMPORTANT NOTICE to Certified Community Clubs and Organizations

The deadline for submission of articles from clubs, religious institutions and community organizations is 5 p.m. each MONDAY Articles received after this deadline will be considered on a first-come, first-served basis, and as space allows The deadline for Directors’ viewpoints is 5 p.m. on MONDAYS. Submissions should be emailed to cctimes@riverbaycorp.com, or dropped off to Room 21, Bartow Center.

Mother’s Day with color, creativity and love. At our monthly meeting in May, we prepared wonderful Happy Mother’s Day gifts for all our amazing moms! Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our Paint and Plant Workshop.

NCNW National – The National Council of Negro Women joined a coalition of leading civil rights groups to announce they have signed onto an affirmation in defense of Black history, texts and art, as the current administration continues to attack the critical civic infrastructure that allows the public to understand that Black history is American history and that empowers all in the fight to protect democracy. We must protect our history not just in books, schools, libraries, and universities, but also in museums, memorials, and remembrances that are sites of our national memory. Democracy is a constant struggle, and the erasure of our history prevents us from fighting to preserve it.

Social Media – Remember you can find us on our website: www.ncnwcoopcitysection.com; on Instagram: NCNW Co-op City and email: ncnwco. opcity@gmail.com.

—Joyce Howard

2025 Riverbay Board Election 2025 Riverbay Board Election

2025 RIVERBAY CANDIDATES

1. Kevin Lambright

2. Bishop Angelo Rosario

3. Leslie Peterson

4. Anika Green-Watson

5. Keith Logan

6. Daryl Johnson

7. Shacara Cudjoe

8. Idalia Reyes

9. Grace Solomon

10. Leah Richardson

11. Darnell Lopez

Saturday, May 10

Saturday, May 10

Saturday, May 17

Wednesday, May 21

Saturday, May 24

Tuesday, May 27

Wednesday, May 28

Thurday, May 29 -

Friday, May 30

Saturday, May 31

Wednesday, June 11

Thursday, June 12

Friday, June 21

Wednesday, June 25

2025 Board Election Schedule

Publication by Co-op City Times of first Election Supplement

First Election Forum, 1 p.m., In-person & broadcast live from Dreiser Audit.

Publication by Co-op City Times of second Election Supplement

Second Election Forum, 7:00 p.m., In-person & broadcast live from Einstein Center, Rm. 45,

Publication by Co-op City Times of third Election Supplement

Third Election Forum, 7:00 p.m., In-Person & Broadcast live, Bartow, Rm. 31

Annual Meeting, Election Period & Voting begins

Election Period & Voting continues

Election Period ends at 8 p.m. (If no quorum, see Extended Voting period below)

Election Committee Public Meeting to Certify and Announce Final Count of Ballots (In-person & Live Broadcast, 7 p.m., Rm. 31, Bartow Center)

Public & Electronic posting of Official Results, 10 a.m.

Deadline to file electronic Challenges (5 p.m.)

Swearing in of Newly Elected Board Members

Candidates’ Statements appear on pages 23-29

NOTE: THE VIEWS EXPRESSED WITHIN ARE SOLELY THOSE OF THE CANDIDATES AND NOT THOSE OF RIVERBAY CORPORATION.

BALLOTING

Voting will be conducted by absentee mail-in ballot or in-person ballot.

BALLOT RETURN PROCEDURE

To ensure the integrity of the election, ALL ballots must be returned DIRECTLY to the election vendor. Under no circumstance should your election ballot be mailed back or delivered to Riverbay Corporation, or enclosed with your carrying charge payment.

Absentee mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Saturday, May 31, 2025 Please follow the directions included in your ballot envelope to cast your vote.

Election Committee Notice – Ask the Candidates

There will be three official Candidates’ Forums in the 2025 Riverbay Board of Directors election. The Election Committee is accepting questions from shareholders to be asked at the forums. Questions are being solicited in the following categories: Safety & Quality of Life, Budgeting, Leadership, Future of Co-op City, and miscellaneous topics relevant to the candidates’ election as members of the Board of Directors.

Extended Voting Period (if no quorum)

Questions should be submitted to the Committee at Riverbay2025Election@riverbaycorp.com. The submission must include your name and building.

The three Candidates’ Forums will take place on: Sat., May 10, 1 p.m., Dreiser Auditorium; Wed., May 21, 7:00 p.m., Einstein, Rm. 45; and Tuesday, May 27, 7:00 p.m., Rm. 31, Bartow Center.

Extended Voting Schedule

Sat., May 31, 2025 Continue election (as of 8:01 p.m.)

Friday, June 9, 2025 Election period ends at 9 p.m. or earlier if quorum is obtained

Monday, June 16, 2025 Election Committee Review and Certify Final Count of Ballots (Bartow, Rm. 31, 7 p.m.)

Tuesday, July 9, 2025 Public and Electronic Posting of Official Results, 10 a.m.

Wed., July 10, 2025 Deadline to file Electronic Challenges to Election, 5 p.m.

Wed., July 17, 2025 Swearing in of Elected Board Members, Bartow Center, Rm. 31, 7 p.m.

Additional Extended Voting Period (if no quorum)

Monday, June 9, 2025 Continue election (as of 8:01 p.m.)

Monday, June 16, 2025 Election period ends at 8 p.m.

Monday, June 23, 2025 Election Committee Review and Certify Final Count of Ballots (Bartow, Rm. 31, 7 p.m.)

Tues., June 24, 2025 Public & Electronic Posting of Official Results, 10 a.m.

Wed., June 25, 2025 Deadline to file Electronic Challenges to Election, 5 p.m.

Wed., July 2, 2025 Swearing in of Elected Board Members, Bartow Center, Rm. 31, 7 p.m.

Darnell Lopez

I am a seasoned financial professional with over 14 years of experience, announcing my candidacy for the Riverbay Corporation Board of Directors. Raised in Co-op City, I have returned to the community as a shareholder, demonstrating my enduring commitment to the area.

I am the founder of the Co-op City Basketball Classic (CCBC), a tournament that has become a staple in the community, providing youth with opportunities to engage in athletics and build camaraderie. My dedication to youth development extends beyond sports; I aim to implement programs that promote STEM education, business acumen, and athletic involvement.

With my financial expertise, I plan to bring a strategic perspective to the Board, focusing on fiscal responsibility and sustainable growth for the community. My vision includes creating partnerships with organizations that can offer resources and mentorship to young residents, preparing them for future success.

My deep roots in Co-op City and my professional background position me as a candidate who understands the community’s needs and possesses the skills to address them effectively.

My campaign emphasizes transparency, community engagement, and the empowerment of residents through education and opportunity.

As the election approaches, I encourage residents to participate in the voting process and share their ideas for the community’s future. I believe that collaborative efforts between the Board and shareholders are essential for fostering a thriving and inclusive environment in Co-op City.

For more information on my campaign and initiatives, residents are encouraged to attend upcoming community meetings and engage with campaign materials distributed throughout the neighborhood.

Vote for me, Darnell Lopez, along with Kevin Lambright, Bishop Angelo Rosario, Grace Solomon, and Keith Logan. We are TEAM UNITY!!!

We had a meeting in Dreiser on Saturday, May 10, 2025, for all of the candidates that are running for the board. So, let’s review some of the issues presented and my opinions about those issues.

The first issue was about the overall characteristics of a good board director. In my opinion, good directors should be able to provide good service to their community. Are they willing to communicate with everyone? Can you have a discussion with them about community issues?

Directors should also be able to evaluate resolutions, budgets, and other matters with management. Can a director stand up, alone, and tell management and everyone that there are bad issues with some of the resolutions and our budget? Are they willing to vote no for those resolutions and budget issues? Are they willing to publish the reasons behind their vote?

Also, I brought up a point about integrity. It’s easy for a director to respond to a cooperator’s question by saying that a budget should be reviewed for cuts to fund another project. However, did that director previously agree with management and state that nothing can be cut? Did that director ever make a suggestion to management about cutting a bad budget?

Another issue arose about adding more cameras here. Look, despite what anyone says, some cooperators are throwing horrible things out of their windows. Then, some cooperators are refusing to clean up after their dog. Also, horrific acts of violence are occurring here. So, we need more cameras inside and outside of our buildings, our garages, and our public areas.

Bottom line: Please Google the ‘Co-op City Times’ to read my prior viewpoints on these matters before you vote. Then, please vote for the candidates that should properly represent our community. Thank you.

Daryl Johnson

Based on my history, here are a few things that you will get if you vote for Daryl Johnson:

1. You will get a director that will be willing to communicate with you and our entire community.

2. You will get a director that will offer outstanding service to our entire community.

3. You will get a director that will write weekly viewpoints to keep everyone abreast about the important issues that are affecting our community.

4. You will get a director that will analyze resolutions in a proper manner.

5. You will get a director that will analyze our budget and all other matters in a proper manner.

6. You will get a director that will represent this entire community in a proper manner during our board meetings.

7. You will get a director that will not simply vote along with everyone else.

8. You will get a director that will stand up for you when things are not right here.

9. You will get a director that will offer good solutions to avoid the constant carrying charge increases here.

10. You will get a director that will always push to make positive improvements here.

Now, are you new to our community? If yes, then, I want to encourage you to please go online and verify every word within this candidate statement. So, please do a search on the ‘Co-op City Times.’ Then, please read my previous viewpoints.

Thereafter, you will know that you’re voting for a strong director that has always represented this community in a proper manner. I care about you and our entire community. So, please make sure that you vote for candidates that will work in a positive manner for you. Thank you.

Darnell Lopez

Daryl Johnson

Daryl Johnson

Anika Green-Watson

Division –

Greetings, neighbors,

For those of you who have followed my Board journey over the past 4 years, it will come as no surprise that I am a complete numbers nerd. So, the chances of getting through this election cycle without me mentioning math is pretty much zero! Let’s do some quick board math!

Addition – We’ve all heard the saying, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts." A group can be more powerful, effective, or valuable than its individual members. I have found that to be true in my time on the Board. I believe some of our best work has been done in groups and that is why I believe that we are Stronger Together!

One great thing about living in a cooperative is the division of costs, but we can’t forget that being part of a larger group provides the opportunity for division of labor, as well. Each person must do their part to support the whole and that goes for boards too!

Remember, if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together. My work in this community and on the Board, specifically, is colored by my desire to work cooperatively to advance the interests of Co-op City.

I stand by my statement from last week – Board composition is one of the most efficient tools we have for ensuring our community’s success. In fact, I have already been hard at work during my tenure on the Board and I look forward to continuing this work.

That is why I want your vote!

Vote to re-elect Anika Green-Watson, Leah Richardson, and Leslie Peterson and to elect Idalia Reyes. We are STRONGER

TOGETHER!

Shacara C. Cudjoe

My name is Shacara C. Cudjoe—mom, wife, daughter, sister, and your neighbor—and I’m proud to have called Co-op City my home for the past 17 years. Today, I’m excited to announce my candidacy for the 2025 Co-op City Board of Directors.

I’m running to be a voice for everyone, from young adults building their futures to the seniors who laid the foundation for this community. I believe we all deserve to feel heard, supported, and connected.

With over 15 years of experience in counseling, IT work, and running educational workshops, I’ve led mom groups, managed teams, and worked closely with families. Always balancing people, priorities, and outcomes. I’ve led one-on-one and group sessions focused on personal growth, planning, and communication.

My Commitments to You:

• Preserving Affordable Housing: So residents aren’t priced out of the homes they love, while enjoying beautiful grounds and accessible community programs.

• Smart Maintenance Spending: Ensuring maintenance fees are spent responsibly and that contract opportunities are open to all qualified workers.

• Community Awareness: Expanding how we connect and share information so that every resident feels included, informed, and engaged.

Let’s be honest—Co-op City is more than just buildings. It’s very diverse with hard working residents, and one of the best communities I've witnessed. You’re asked to vote often, but this vote truly matters. The Board directly shapes our everyday experience. Whether you vote or not, decisions are being made, so let’s make sure your voice is part of the major decisions.

Vote Shacara C. Cudjoe for Co-op City Board of Directors – Our Voice. Our Neighborhood. Our Vote.

Anika Green-Watson

Shacara C. Cudjoe

Idalia Reyes

Hello to all my fellow shareholders, We've all heard that actions speak louder than words; I'm a firm believer in seeing tangible efforts match our aspirations. Our community is ripe for unity, and it's heartening to see us come together, our collective voices making a powerful noise. This is an opportune time to build meaningful relationships within our community. We are an attractive community to others seeking to join us. Let's protect our community's interests, as they can be easily compromised if we're not invested.

When we stand united, our message resonates even louder. The safety and well-being of our shareholders is especially important in these challenging times. We cannot continue to just complain and not be present for what we believe in. By looking out for one another, we can foster a culture of accountability that drives positive change. United, we can achieve greatness; divided, we risk achieving nothing. It's our responsibility to protect and uplift our youth and our seniors, ensuring they thrive and feel safe within their community. I'm passionate about showcasing our community's strengths and resilience. This is why I am fully committed and I know I will be an asset to serving on the Board. By raising our voices collectively, we can drive meaningful transformation and create a brighter future. We need our collective energy to inspire lasting change. We must be present in our community and proud to call Co-op City our home.

If this is what you want and feel it, show up and vote for the qualified Stronger Together Team—empowering fierce advocates for neighborhood success. Re-elect the dedicated Leslie Peterson, Anika Green-Watson, and Leah Richardson. Elect the passionate Idalia Reyes.

My Priorities

My name is Bishop Angelo Rosario and I am running for a seat on the Co-op City Board of Directors. As a resident and a former Riverbay employee with 25 years of experience in Maintenance, Restoration, and Management, I bring both the technical knowledge and the hands-on experience needed to help guide our community forward.

For over two decades, I worked behind the scenes to ensure the comfort, safety, and functionality of our buildings and shared spaces. I know how our infrastructure works—and more importantly, I know where improvements are needed.

My familiarity with the day-to-day operations gives me a unique perspective on the Board.

1. Efficient Maintenance and Timely Repairs.

With my knowledge, I’ll push for proactive maintenance strategies, improved response times, and accountability in repair work.

2. Restoration and Modernization

I’ll advocate for long-term planning that balances modernization with cost-efficiency, ensuring our buildings are updated while preserving affordability.

3. Transparency and Communication

As someone who worked closely with residents, I believe in open dialogue and making sure shareholders are fully informed and involved in decision-making.

4. Cost Control and Smart Budgeting

I’ve managed projects and know how to keep costs in check without sacrificing quality. I’ll bring that same mindset to Co-op City’s finances.

5. Respect for Workers and Residents Alike

Having been on the job myself, I understand the challenges our workers face. I’ll support policies that encourage strong labor practices while also ensuring top-notch service for residents.

I’ve dedicated much of my life to this community. Now, I’m ready to take that dedication to the next level as your representative on the Board. I will always act with integrity, listen to your concerns, and work tirelessly to improve our home.

Vote for TEAM UNITY: Myself, Bishop Angelo Rosario, and Kevin Lambright, Keith Logan, Darnell López, Grace Solomon.

Idalia Reyes

Bishop Angelo Rosario

Bishop Angelo Rosario

Grace Solomon

Vote for Team Unity! I’m Grace Solomon, and for over 50 years, Co-op City has been the “best deal in town” and possibly the nation! For over 25 years, I’ve been a shareholder and permanent resident of this community, and truly believe that Co-op City is a jewel in the crown of New York City. If elected to the Board of Directors, I’ll be committed to keeping Co-op City safe, clean, “green” and affordable.

I promise to attend all Board of Directors meetings, to ensure effective communication for efficient budget management. I will work closely with our General Manager, Marvin Walton, as well as, listening and responding to shareholders’ concerns and lobbying our elected officials. First, by asking for quarterly reviews from various departments to ensure quality management. Also, by writing federal grants that will provide added funding and resources for vital building maintenance and improvements. Next, by prioritizing Co-op City’s commitment to safety, by supporting our community police. Additionally, by hiring and training more members to our police force and providing them with state-of-the art, eco-friendly vehicles, such as, segways and bicycles.

Another priority will be keeping our community clean and “green” by bringing in funds to support new, state-of-the art apartment convectors, assuring energy compliance, sidewalk repairs, composting training, recycling and litter management. Lastly, by utilizing cutting edge data, being proactive and forward thinking regarding new and innovative technologies. Co-op City must be prepared for future advancements, by installing technologies to improve the quality of life for our residents, especially our seniors and people with special needs. As well as, to develop computer labs and “tech teams” to train our employees and young residents on new and specialized devices.

Please vote for Kevin Lambright, Keith Logan, Bishop Angelo Rosario, Darnell Lopez and myself, Grace Solomon. Team Unity!

Kevin Lambright

I am Kevin Lambright; at 63 years of age, I am proud to be blessed with amazing people and neighbors who continue to be in my life that I can still call family.

While serving on the Riverbay Board, I simultaneously took on five committees and temporarily burned myself out. I was overzealous when I first got on the Board. I thought that if it wasn't being done, I had to do it. Fortunately, experience is a great teacher. So, I learned early that I cannot take on the world alone and battles are won when there is cooperative collective participation. That is how you pull a community together so that everyone wins. You don’t have to be friends with everyone you work with, but there must be mutual respect.

I am aware that just about 90% of quality-of-life issues here can be solved in less than 30 days. It just takes cooperation and at least 8 people on the Board to say Yes. Team Unity is ready. That’s five. Guarantee those five and I have commitments from more than 3 others who are not running to get these things done. This is why it is critical to elect all 5 candidates from Team Unity.

With Team Unity, the skillset is in place to tackle those things that have been lacking for years; the easy fixes will be the first surface changes while the difficult issues will be working behind the scenes strategically turning things around. These will be things you can actually see and feel immediately.

All we need you to do is get your neighbors out to vote with you. We can all do this together as a community. Vote for Kevin Lambright, Bishop Angelo Rosario, Keith Logan, Darnell Lopez and Grace Solomon. Team Unity.

Grace Solomon

Kevin Lambright

Leah Richardson

• Keep Co-op City Affordable

“Stronger Together”

I am asking for your vote to re-elect me, an independent thinker, to the Riverbay Board of Directors. I am a 27-year resident of Co-op City, and a community activist. Experienced, transparent, and 110% committed! We can only maintain that high quality of life if we remain informed and engaged. I am a persistent leader who gets the job done. To that end, I am passionately committed to protecting our affordable housing and improving the quality of life here in Co-op City.

Riverbay Board Accomplishments:

Zero Equity senior downsizing, new lobby doors and intercoms, new elevators, energy savings.

I will be dedicated to:

• Monitor Convector Pilot Program

• Improve and Maintenance and Restoration service to residents.

• Increase CCPD Visibility

• Review the cost & execution of all Capital Projects

• Establish clear communication channels to ensure shareholders needs are met efficiently.

Community Affiliations:

• Current Board Director, Co-op City

• Officer, Co-op City Democratic Club

• Co-op City Legislative Committee member

• Former president, Building 9 Association

• Former chair, Education Committee, NAACP Co-op City Branch

• Former chair, Economic, Empowerment & Professional Development Committee, NCNW Co-op City Section

Education:

John Jay College of Criminal Justice – Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Communications.

Achievements:

Mayor David Dinkins’ Role Model of the Year Award; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. “Reflection of the Dream” Community Service Award, National Organization of Blacks in Law Enforcement (NOBLE), NYS Unified Court System, Judith S. Kaye Community Service Award, and numerous community service citations and proclamations.

Keith Logan

I am Keith Logan, and I am running for a seat on the Riverbay Board of Directors. You should have a heart for this community to make a great board member. I'm not going to lie; throughout my time working and living in this community, I lost my heart for it. The politics and the cronyism turned me off and made me disengage.

I received a call from a friend and current Board member, Kevin Lambright, asking me to run, and I was hesitant to accept. As I thought about it, who could help make change within this community? The answer was me! I am glad I rediscovered my heart for this community and realize I never stopped loving it. It was the process I didn't like.

This community has given me a lot. The trade I learned here helps me provide for my family. If and when I earn your vote, I will represent you to the best of my ability. I will listen to your needs and work with the rest of the Board to deliver results, not just empty promises.

One of my primary focuses is to help get more out of our elected officials. I feel as though they think our vote is a foregone conclusion. We should get more support from them, especially with these unfunded mandates. We need a youth center!!! Nothing against pets, but our youth should have been a priority! Our children need and deserve more from this community; they are our future.

I don't have all the answers our community needs, but I will strive to serve you through my integrity, strong work ethic, and collaboration.

Please vote for me, Keith Logan, Kevin Lambright, Bishop Angelo Rosario, Grace Solomon, and Darnell Lopez – TEAM UNITY!!

Leah Richardson

Keith Logan

Leslie Peterson

I am humbled by all of the support and encouragement I have received during my time on the Board.

Running for the Board of Directors of a multifamily complex like Co-op City is an important responsibility that requires a good understanding of various factors along with facts and considerations you must keep in mind to fulfill your oath of office.

An understanding of the governing documents such as the by-laws and rules and regulations are important guidelines that familiarize you with the responsibilities and powers of the Board, as well as the rights of shareholders.

It takes willingness and patience to review budgets and make sound decisions that ultimately affect us all. Board Directors have a fiduciary obligation to maintain the quality of life without diminishing the safety and overall maintenance of the buildings. Important to the corporation’s overall health is seeking improvements and promoting beneficial changes.

Taking an interest in the needs and priorities of the residents is essential. Engaging with residents and listening to their concerns, suggestions and expectations help you represent everyone’s interests effectively.

I look at this endeavor, running for the Board of Directors, to be a rewarding way to contribute to my community. Being well-prepared and knowledgeable about property management and the responsibilities involved has helped me during my tenure as a Board member.

Co-op City has improved the quality of life for many people by offering affordable housing. With the times we are living in now, it is even more important than ever to maintain affordability. We must use our strength wisely and advocate strategically. Together, we can make necessary changes but it requires your vote. Participate in your future.

Vote to re-elect Leslie Peterson, Anika Green-Watson, Leah Richardson and elect Idalia Reyes – Fierce advocates for neighborhood success. We are STRONGER TOGETHER.

2025 Riverbay Board Election Rules and Regulations

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO THE RIVERBAY CORPORATION’S

A. GENERAL RULES

1. The Annual Shareholders Meeting of the Riverbay Corporation shall be held on Wednesday, May 28th, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the Dreiser Center Auditorium. At said meeting, the following order of business shall be observed:

• Proof of Notice of Meeting.

• Reports of President and Executive Manager.

• The election of at least five (5) resident shareholders to serve on the Board of Directors of the Riverbay Corporation for a three (3) year term, and as many as may be needed to fill any vacancies for the balance of any unexpired term created by said vacancy transaction of such other business as may properly come before the meeting.

2. In-person voting for the election of Directors of the Riverbay Corporation shall commence at 7:00 p.m. on said day and continue on Thursday, May 29th; Friday, May 30th; and Saturday, May 31st, 2025.

3. If a quorum is not obtained as of 8:00 p.m. on May 31st, 2025, the Annual meeting shall be continued for such additional period of time as the Board shall determine, for purposes of obtaining a quorum and collecting and counting ballots, (hereafter referred to as “Election Day”).

(Adopted April 9th, 2025)

4. The election shall be supervised by an Election Committee of the Board of Directors of the Riverbay Corporation (hereinafter, the “Election Committee” or “Committee”).

The Committee shall be appointed by the President and approved by the Board of Directors. The Election Committee Co-Chairs for the 2025 Election are Monique Coleman and Leah Graham.

(a) The Co-Chairs of the Committee, (hereinafter the “Chairpersons”), shall be members of the Board selected and appointed by the President of the Board (the “President”), and approved by the Board.

(b) No member of the Committee shall be a candidate for election to the Board of Directors, or a member of a candidate’s family or household. All members of the Committee shall be resident shareholders.

(c) The Committee shall be assisted by Riverbay’s General Counsel.

(d) No member of the Committee or their immediate family shall in any way engage in any campaigning either for or against a candidate or slate of candidates. Committee members shall, to the extent possible, refrain from publicly commenting upon any issue in the campaign and shall not engage in any activity that may create the appearance of

partiality.

(e) A member of the Committee who violates the provisions of Paragraph A (4) (d) or whose family member violates the provisions of Paragraph A (4) (d) shall immediately be removed from the Committee.

(f) Nothing contained herein shall be construed as limiting a member of the Committee or a member of his/ her immediate family from voting.

(g) The Committee shall be allowed to conduct various “get out the vote” activities provided said activities are conducted in a manner which does not support any particular candidate for election.

5. There will be one vote per occupied unit by residents who were shareholders of record on April 1, 2025. Quorum shall be determined based upon one share per occupied unit and not based upon a percentage of dwelling units.

6. Voting shall be in-person or by absentee mail in ballots in accordance with Private Housing Finance Law 13-c, as interpreted by NYS Homes and Community Renewal Housing Management Memo # 2023-B-11, dated September 24, 2023.

7. Casting a vote via an electronic voting machine located at the housing company’s designated polling site where it is overseen by

the election company is allowed. Remote voting through an election company’s on-line voting system is not permitted. In the event that onsite electronic voting machines are employed, the system must preserve a paper or electronic record of each ballot which may be audited in the case of a contested election result.

8. The deposit of a duly-completed absentee ballot in a secure on-site dropbox accessible only by an independent election company is allowed and shall constitute “in-person” voting.

9. Building wide mailing of absentee ballots shall occur on May 15th, 2025, to all shareholders of record.

10. The building-wide mailing shall be made by an independent, third party election company. The mailing shall include a notice advising shareholders of the date of the election, how eligible shareholders may vote, the name of all candidates, a brief biography of each candidate, if provided, a photograph of each candidate, the URL address of an official election web page created and maintained by the independent election company containing information approved by the Election Committee regarding the election and the candidates, and an absentee ballot.

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Leslie Peterson

2025 Riverbay Board Election Rules and Regulations

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO THE RIVERBAY CORPORATION’S 2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION (Adopted April 9th, 2025)

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11. Absentee ballots shall be sealed within two envelopes. The outer envelope shall include the shareholder’s signature and name to allow the election company to validate the votes and certify the election results. The absentee ballot itself is not to be signed by the shareholder entitled to vote. Absentee ballots may be mailed to the independent election company prior to the date set for the election, but must be postmarked no later than May 29, 2025, in order to be counted. Ballots without a post mark, or post marked after May 29, 2025, will not be counted.

12. All voting must be conducted using secret ballots. Shareholders’ ballots, and how they voted, must be kept confidential by the election company and may not be accessible by other shareholders, including board members.

B. RULES FOR ELIGIBILITY OF CANDIDATES

1. A candidate must be a resident shareholder as indicated on the candidate’s stock certificate, occupancy agreement and the current Occupants Annual Affidavit of Family Income. Candidates must continue to reside in Co-op City for the entire term of office in order to serve as a Director.

2. No more than one resident shareholder of a single unit may be a candidate for the Board; and no more than one resident shareholder from a single unit may concurrently serve as a Director.

3. No candidate may be indebted to Riverbay on the date candidates are certified or on the date votes are counted. In addition, all candidates must remain current throughout the election period for unpaid carrying charges or other debts to Riverbay until the candidate is sworn in if elected. A candidate shall not be indebted to Riverbay for purposes of this rule if their monthly carrying charges and maintenance are fully paid by the 10th day of the month in which it is due, or if they are current on a payment plan issued in the ordinary course of business on terms available to all shareholders. At the close of business one day prior to the certification of candidates, and on the 10th day of each month thereafter during the Election, Riverbay’s Finance Director will provide a written list to the Chairpersons of the Election Committee of all candidates’ indebtedness to Riverbay, if any. If a candidate is indebted to Riverbay on any of those days the Chairpersons shall provide written notice of the indebtedness to the candidate. If the candidate fails to cure said indebtedness within three (3) business days of receiving notice of their indebtedness from the Chairpersons, the candidate will be disqualified.

4. Prospective candidates may, after signing the required authori-

zations for background checks and upon verification that they are current on their indebtedness to Riverbay, be certified as candidates for election to the Board if they:

• are shareholders of record;

• maintain their primary residence at Riverbay,

• do not hold a political party position or public office subject to the New York State Election Law,

• have not been convicted of a crime against the Corporation, or of a violent felony, or be a convicted sex offender,

• have not been removed from the Corporation’s Board of Directors, or from employment with the Corporation for cause;

• are not subject to an outstanding federal tax lien for which a payment plan has not been negotiated and accepted; and

• are otherwise in compliance with the requirements and qualifications of the Corporation’s by-laws, governing documents and their occupancy agreement, and not party to any pending hold-over proceeding.

(a) Prospective candidates shall sign and complete a Statement of Intent in the form annexed hereto as Exhibit A, and submit the executed Statement of Intent to the Election Committee by email, addressed to Riverbay2025Election@riverbaycorp.com, on or before 10:00 p.m. on April 21, 2025. In the event that the prospective candidate lacks access to email, the prospective candidate shall return the completed Statement of Intent to the Legal Department during normal business hours, or to the Public Safety Department outside of normal business hours, attention Riverbay 2025 Election Committee. On the following business day, the financial status of the prospective candidate will be checked, and a background check shall be initiated.

(b) In addition to the Statement of Intent, prospective candidates must also execute and return with the Statement a document acknowledging the candidate’s receipt of these Rules, the candidate’s agreement to abide by these Rules, and an authorization to perform a confidential background check of the candidate by the Riverbay Legal Department.

C. CERTIFICATION OF CANDIDATES

1. The Committee will verify a prospective candidate’s eligibility as valid or reject them as invalid by 12:00 noon on Friday, April 25, 2025. Notice of the Committee’s certification will be provided to each candidate by the close of business on April 25th, 2025, and published in the Co-op City Times on Saturday, April 26, 2025.

2. The Committee shall hold a briefing on the Rules for all candidates or their designees on Monday, April 28th, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. in

Room 31 of the Bartow Administrative Building, at 2049 Bartow Avenue, Bronx, N.Y.

3. A random drawing will be made at the April 28th meeting to determine the order of placement of candidate statements and free campaign ads in each of the three election issues of the Co-op City Times and the order of speakers at the candidates’ forum. The drawing will also determine the relative position of each candidate’s name on a ballot, but candidate names on the ballot will automatically rotate. The name of each candidate on the ballot must correspond to the name of the candidate as it appears on his/her occupancy agreement and signature card, or the name by which each candidate is commonly known.

D. CAMPAIGNING STANDARDS OF CONDUCT

1. Except as provided in Rule E (3), no audio and/or video equipment, other than personal electronic devices, may be used at Election Forums, outdoors in Co-op City, or in building lobbies, elevators, or common areas, by candidates or by those campaigning for candidates in connection with the election.

2. The posting of all campaign signs, literature and other material (posters, gummed stickers, etc.) in Co-op City is prohibited except on personal property, or within a shareholder’s premises, with the owner’s permission. This specifically includes, but is not limited to, lobbies, elevators, bulletin boards, laundry rooms, walls, doors, garages, vehicles, commercial stores located on Riverbay property, and common areas. Candidates and their supporters are prohibited from posting campaign material on New York City property if said posting violates any City, State or Federal law.

(a) Residents, employees, candidates and their supporters may remove any improperly posted non-electronic campaign material, as a service to Co-op City, and the Committee will cause a notice to this effect to be published in the Co-op City Times

(b) Candidates shall, if requested by the Committee, remove or modify any electronic campaign material or data posted to any website, Facebook page, X (Twitter), Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or similar electronic forum, under the Candidate’s control, if the Committee, in its opinion believes that said material is false, defamatory, deceptive, or constitutes a personal attack on another candidate. Examples of a personal attack include, but are not limited to, comments upon a candidate’s physical appearance, disability, religious beliefs, gender, race, mental state, mental capacity, or false assertions of criminal acts.

(c) In addition, Candidates

shall, if requested by the Committee, disassociate themselves from, and request that any third-party or third-party website, Facebook page, X (Twitter), Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, or similar electronic forum, cease and desist from the publication of any emails, materials or posting relating to the election or any candidate for election, if the Committee, in its opinion, believes that said material is false, defamatory, deceptive or constitutes a personal attack on a candidate.

(d) Candidates shall not (i) use social media or email anonymously or under an assumed name, (ii) engage in personal attacks on fellow candidates or shareholders, or (iii) make defamatory statements. Any such conduct shall be a violation of these rules and the candidate may be subject to sanction by the Committee.

(e) Candidates and/or their supporters, shall not use robo-calling or similar systems to contact shareholders for campaigning or election related purposes.

3. Except for the material prepared and published by Riverbay as described herein, all campaign material used, posted, transmitted or distributed by or for a candidate must include the name, address, or post office box of the person or organization who issued such email or campaign material, and in the case of an organization, the name of the chairperson or treasurer.

4. Campaign literature may be slipped under apartment doors between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., and campaign handouts are permitted.

5. The unauthorized use of the Riverbay logo in any form is prohibited for use in or on campaign materials, including electronic forms such as social media and e-mail.

6. No member of the Election Committee, the Board, or any of Riverbay’s employees, management staff, or contractors, can participate in, or receive any prize(s) or award approved by the Board during the election period for the purpose of increasing shareholder participation in the election.

7. Riverbay shall not be liable for any defamatory statements made by any candidate, or by any person or entity in the course of the election campaign, nor shall Riverbay be required to insure, defend or indemnify any such candidate or conduct. Candidates agree to indemnify Riverbay for any and all costs and expense incurred by Riverbay, including attorney’s fees, incurred by Riverbay in the defense of any defamation claim arising out of any statement or publication of any kind made by said candidate, or by any person or entity acting on their behalf, during

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2025 Riverbay Board Election Rules and Regulations

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO THE RIVERBAY CORPORATION’S 2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION (Adopted April 9th, 2025)

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the election.

8. It is inappropriate for any person or entity doing business, or soliciting business with Riverbay, including present or prospective managing agents, contractors, vendors, professionals, unions, their employees, commercial tenants, or persons having a direct or indirect interest in such companies, to make campaign contributions or pay campaign expenses, whether in cash or in-kind, of persons running for the Board. Directors of a corporation act in a fiduciary capacity with respect to the corporation and are required to place the corporation’s interest above their personal interests. Accepting campaign contributions from parties who contract with the corporation creates an appearance of a conflict of interest and, in most circumstances, an actual conflict as well. Any candidate who knowingly accepts campaign contributions or payment of campaign expenses, direct or indirect, in cash or in-kind from any person or entity doing business or soliciting business from Riverbay, including but not limited to the managing agent, or any vendor, union, commercial tenant, professional or contractor, their employees, or persons having a direct or indirect interest in such companies, will be disqualified.

9. No campaigning by any candidate or prospective candidate, or any person or committee acting on behalf of a candidate or prospective candidate, shall begin until April 29th, 2025, the day after prospective candidates have been certified as eligible candidates for election. This includes, but is not limited to the distribution of campaign materials, the publication of campaign related articles, letters, viewpoints or ads in the Co-op City Times or on any social media platform, canvassing, or public meetings. Any candidate engaged in campaigning activities prior to certification will be subject to sanction by the election committee, including the possibility of disqualification.

E. USE OF CO-OP CITY FACILITIES FOR CAMPAIGN ACTIVITIES

1. There shall be three official candidates’ forums conducted in person, if possible, and virtually. One forum shall take place on Saturday, May 10, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. in the Dreiser Auditorium. The second forum shall take place on Wednesday, May 21st, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in the Einstein Auditorium. The third forum shall take place on Tuesday, May 27th, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. in Room 31 at Bartow.

(a) The Committee shall televise the forums over Riverbay’s public access channel and re-broadcast them on the web throughout the election period. The transmission by Riverbay of any statement made by any person at the forum shall not be an endorsement of any such comment or statement by

Riverbay and Riverbay shall not be responsible for, nor shall it indemnify, any person or candidate who makes any false or defamatory statement.

(b) All certified candidates will be invited to participate in the forums in accordance with the rules and procedures established by the Committee. If a candidate cannot participate in the forum, and the candidate provides the Chairperson with the reason for non-participation, the Chairpersons may announce the reason the candidate cannot participate to the audience.

(c) The Committee shall establish rules and procedures for the civil conduct of all forums, including the establishment of time limits for questions and answers, the limiting of participation, the editing of statements, and the muting, either visual or auditory, or both, of individuals, including candidates, who, in the opinion of the Chairperson, are disruptive to the orderly conduct of the virtual forum or who engage in personal or malicious attacks, or who make defamatory statements.

2. The use of any outdoor space owned by Riverbay for campaign rallies or organized campaign activities related to the 2025 Board election is prohibited.

3. No candidate or organization may use the facilities or public meeting areas, community rooms, lobbies, hallways, mail rooms, building association rooms, or similar areas of the Riverbay Corporation for campaign rallies or activities, except as provided herein.

4. Building Associations may actively promote voter participation in the election in a manner which does not endorse or oppose a particular candidate, or slate of candidates. Building Association rooms, which are property of the Corporation, shall not be used for meetings to support or oppose any candidate.

5. At no cost, Riverbay will publish pictures of each candidate and up to three (3) different narrative statements or articles by each candidate in successive print and electronic issues of the Co-op City Times beginning with the Saturday, May 10th, 2025, issue. The Editor shall set the deadlines and technical standards for these submissions. The Editor shall attend the Candidate Orientation meeting on April 28th, 2025, to distribute the rules and procedures governing publication of candidate articles and advertisements. All candidates’ articles will be reviewed by the Committee prior to publication. The Committee reserves the right to delete any material which in its exclusive opinion contains libelous statements, personal attacks, or material misstatement of fact.

(a) In conjunction with the statements described herein, Riverbay will also publish at no charge a ¼-page campaign ad by each candidate in

successive print and electronic issues of the Co-op City Times beginning with the Saturday, May 10th, 2025, issue. The same ad will be used in each of the issues and will appear opposite each candidate’s article for that week. The Editor shall set the deadlines and technical standards for these submissions. All ad copy will be reviewed by the Committee prior to publication. The Committee reserves the right not to publish, or to delete any material, which in its opinion constitutes a libelous statement, personal attack, or material misstatement of fact.

(b) Starting on the day candidates are certified and continuing during the period of the campaign, board members who are not running for election shall be free to write Viewpoints of a “non-political” nature, except that a board member may endorse candidates in one viewpoint only. It shall not be deemed to be “political” for a non-candidate Board member to describe the activities and achievements of the Board as a whole, including the activities of any incumbent candidates. In the event Board members wish to publish a joint Viewpoint, they may do so, but only if the Viewpoint has been unanimously approved by the full Board, excluding any Board members who are candidates.

(c) Management shall not endorse any candidate or slate of candidates. However, information of a non-political nature, for example, relating to the operation, management, finances, budget, maintenance of the property, or to an emergency may be published by Management during this period of time.

(d) In the event that an article appears in a print or electronic publication other than the Riverbay sponsored publication, which is currently titled the “Co-op City Times,” in which the actions of the Board as a whole, or of an individual Board member are challenged, the Board, or the individual Board member who is challenged, shall have the right to respond in the Co-op City Times to such challenge, without regard to whether the Board member is a candidate in the election and without regard to the political nature of the comment. Any such response shall be limited to the subject matter of the challenge.

(e) Similarly, a candidate who is not a Board member may respond to a challenge directed at the conduct or action(s) of that individual candidate.

6. Campaign ads other than those provided by Riverbay may be placed in the Co-op City Times, subject to Paragraph D (3), but must be paid in full at least 48 hours before the normal deadline of an issue. The Committee will review all paid campaign ads prior to publication and reserves the right to reject any copy which, in its sole judgment, contains libelous statements, personal attacks or a material misstatement of fact.

7. (a) The election of directors to the Board is a right of residents of Coop City. Employees living in Co-op City are encouraged to exercise their rights as residents of the community during the election within the scope of this policy. All Riverbay employees are reminded that as employees they have a duty of loyalty to Riverbay and should not engage in any activity that raises the appearance of impropriety. Participation in the electoral process must not interfere with employees’ work duties. All employees shall refrain from engaging in any activity that may be construed as an attempt to abuse their positions as employees to influence the outcome of the election. Examples of acts that may be an abuse of an employee position include soliciting donations for candidate(s), distributing campaign material for or against particular candidate(s), or engaging in any other activity that may be viewed as an abuse of position.

(b) Candidates who encourage, accept, or knowingly benefit from such prohibited participation are subject to disqualification by the Committee.

(c) This policy does not affect employees’ right to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, or their right to refrain from any or all such activities.

F. BALLOTING AND CERTI-FICATION

1. Voting will be in person or by absentee, mail-in ballots, in accordance with Private Housing Finance Law 13-c, as interpreted by NYS HCR Housing Management Memorandum 2023-B-11, revised as of September 24, 2023. The form and content of the ballot shall be approved by the Election Committee.

2. In accordance with Riverbay’s by-laws, only one vote per occupied residential unit, cast by a resident shareholder of record residing in said unit, shall be counted.

3. All ballots must be cast by an eligible, residential shareholder of record, and verified by such means as the Election Committee determines to be reasonable, in its sole discretion.

4. Any eligible, resident shareholder of record residing in an occupied unit may vote, but only one ballot may be cast by a unit, regardless of the number of shareholders of record residing within said unit.

5. Mailing, tabulation, collection, processing, initial counting and preservation of election ballots shall be conducted by an independent, third-party company, selected by the Board pursuant to a written contract, duly approved in accordance with all corporate and regulatory requirements. The name and address of any such independent third-party, shall be published in the Co-op City Times

6. One ballot will be mailed by the (Continued on next page)

2025 Riverbay Board Election Rules and Regulations

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO THE RIVERBAY CORPORATION’S 2025 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION (Adopted April 9th, 2025)

(Continued from previous page)

independent third-party on or about Thursday, May 15th, 2025 to each residential unit occupied by one or more eligible residential shareholders of record at the address set forth for said shareholder(s) of record on Riverbay’s books and records as of April 1, 2025.

7. In the event that more than one ballot is received from a single unit, only the earliest dated ballot, shall be counted. All other ballots received from said unit shall be disregarded, but preserved until five (5) days after the period to challenge the election has passed.

8. Unless the voting period is extended or modified by the Board of Directors and/or the Election Committee, any mail-in ballot must be postmarked no later than May 31st, 2025, and received on or before 5:00 p.m. on Monday, June 9th, 2025.

9. In the event that the voting period is extended or modified by the Election Committee for purposes of obtaining a quorum, the Election Committee may count any valid ballot postmarked or cast by a shareholder eligible to vote during the modified period.

10. All ballots received, including disqualified ballots, shall be preserved until the time to challenge the election has lapsed.

11. The initial count, as recorded by the third-party independent company, shall be provided to the Election Committee no later than 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11th, 2025. The initial count shall set forth the total number of ballots cast, the total number of votes received by each candidate, the total number of votes cast for each candidate by building, the number of votes disqualified and the basis therefore, and the total number of ballots required for a quorum.

12. The Election Committee shall, in an open, public meeting to be conducted at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11th, 2025, certify the final count of the election ballots. The meeting shall also be broadcast on Riverbay’s public access channel.

13. Upon completion of the count, the Committee shall certify to the Board that a quorum has been obtained, the total number of votes cast, the total number of votes disqualified, the total number of votes cast for each candidate, and the names of the candidates who have been elected, as follows:

(a) The five candidates who have received the highest number of votes will be certified to the Board as having been elected to full three-year terms.

(b) The candidate receiving the sixth highest vote shall be certified as having been elected to a vacant Board seat, if any, which will have the longest unexpired term.

(c) The Committee shall continue the certification of candidates by certifying the candidate with the next

highest vote for each vacancy by the longest unexpired terms, if necessary, until all vacant seats on the Board are filled.

14. Unless an extended schedule is in effect, the Election Committee shall cause the official Certification of the Election to be publicly posted by 10:00 a.m. on June 12th, 2025 or if the Certification has not yet been completed, as soon thereafter as possible after the conclusion of the Election Certification Meeting. Posting may be by electronic means.

15. If a quorum is not reached, the Committee may recommend that the voting period be extended during which time shareholders eligible to vote in the election who received a ballot but did not cast a vote, shall be allowed to cast their ballot.

16. If a quorum is not reached at the end of the extended voting period, the Board may, in its discretion, either extend the voting period for an additional extended voting period, schedule a new election, or cancel the election. The fact that a director may be a candidate for re-election shall not disqualify any such director from voting on any such resolution. Until such time as a quorum is obtained and a valid election conducted, existing Directors shall continue to hold their office.

G. DISQUALIFICATION OF CANDIDATES FOR MISCONDUCT

1. The Committee may recommend the disqualification of a candidate for violation of these rules, or impose an administrative charge, not to exceed $300.00 per violation, on any candidate that it determines has violated, caused or knowingly permitted others to violate these Rules. The Committee may do so on its own initiative, or upon the complaint of another candidate or resident. However, the Committee is under no obligation to initiate a proceeding under this Section, or Section H, unless the Committee, in its sole discretion, believes it to be appropriate.

2. No candidate may be disqualified for election to the Board unless the Committee has provided the candidate with notice of its intention to consider the candidate’s disqualification for election, and conducted a hearing in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section H below.

3. The Committee may impose an administrative charge, without conducting a formal hearing in accordance with Section H, if the Committee has provided the candidate with prior, written notice that it may impose such a fee, the reason the Committee is considering imposing a fee, and an opportunity for the candidate to appear before the Committee to contest the imposition of an administrative fee.

4. Notification of the Election Committee’s decision to impose an

administrative fee will be delivered both electronically and personally to the candidate at the email address and street address provided by the candidate to the Election Committee.

5. Upon delivery of the notification of a fine, the candidate is indebted to Riverbay and payment is due on the third business day following personal delivery of the notice. Failure to pay shall render the candidate ineligible for election.

6. Any candidate may object to a determination of the Committee to impose an administrative charge, and may, within three (3) days of delivery of said determination to the candidate, request a review of such determination by the Board. The Board, in its discretion, may affirm, modify, or reverse the determination, or decline, with written explanation, to review the Committee’s determination. A request for a review shall not stay a candidate’s obligation to make payment of any administrative charge levied by the Committee.

H. CHALLENGES TO VOTING RESULTS

1. Any aggrieved resident or aggrieved candidate may challenge the certification of a candidate for election, or the results of the election, or the election of any one candidate, based upon election irregularities or the failure of a candidate to meet required qualifications, by notifying the Chairperson of the challenge, by an email addressed to Riverbay2025Election@ riverbaycorp.com.

2. The challenge must be in writing. Such written challenge must specifically set forth the reason and the factual basis for the challenge. Any challenge by the Committee shall be on written electronic notice to the candidate, or candidates impacted by the challenge, delivered to the candidate(s) by email and personally at the addresses provided by the Candidate when they are certified.

3. A written challenge by a candidate or shareholder eligible to vote in the election must be delivered electronically to Riverbay2025Election@riverbaycorp.com no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 13th, 2025. The written challenge shall state the factual or legal basis for the challenge. Failure to file a timely electronic challenge by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 13, 2025, shall preclude consideration of the challenge by the Committee. In the event a quorum was not obtained by the May 31st, 2025, close of the Election Period, the time to file an objection to the Election shall be extended until one (1) business day after the Election has been certified, to 5:00 p.m. on said day.

4. Should the Committee find the challenge to be without merit, it may dispense with a hearing and reject the challenge in writing.

5. If, after reviewing the chal-

lenge, the Committee determines that the challenge sets forth substantial questions concerning the certification of any candidate or candidates, or the results of the election, the Committee may hold a formal hearing, virtually or in-person at the discretion of the Committee, to review the challenge.

6. All hearings under this Section H shall be scheduled upon prior notice to the challenger and to the candidate(s) whose qualifications, certifications, or election are being challenged.

7. The hearing shall commence no later than five (5) business days after the Committee’s receipt of the challenge. The Chairperson may request that a member of the Committee recuse him/herself from the hearing if such committee member has a conflict of interest.

8. Upon notice of a formal hearing by the Committee, the challenger or candidate whose certification is being challenged may submit electronic affidavits to the Chairperson, setting forth the charges and facts upon which the challenge is based. Such affidavits and supporting documents shall also be delivered by the challenging party, to the opposing party’s e-mail address, at least one day before the scheduled hearing.

9. At the hearing, either party may present live, or virtual testimony supporting the challenge, subject to cross-examination.

10. The proceedings shall be recorded; however, any person or party requesting a copy or transcript of any such recording shall be responsible for the costs of producing said recording or transcript.

11. No witness will be allowed to present testimony except under oath as administered by the Chairpersons. No witness will be called on behalf of a challenger, unless the challenger has submitted an affidavit from the witness prior to such testimony providing the sum and substance of the witness’ testimony and served said affidavit upon the Committee and the opposing party in the manner set forth above. The challenger(s) shall also be required to appear at such hearing and may be subject to examination by the Committee or the challenged candidate(s).

12. At any hearing, General Counsel to Riverbay, or an attorney designated by General Counsel, shall advise the Committee. Any candidate or resident participant shall be entitled to be represented at the hearing by counsel of his or her own choice at his or her own expense.

13. At such hearing, the Chairpersons shall be the presiding officer and shall make any ruling with respect to the procedure to be followed, or the testimony or evidence to be introduced. The Committee need not follow formal

(Continued on next page)

2025 Riverbay Board Election Rules and Regulations

GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS RELATIVE TO THE RIVERBAY CORPORATION’S 2025

(Continued from previous page)

evidentiary rules applicable to the Courts of this State. In the event a member of the Committee present shall dispute any such procedural or evidentiary ruling by the Chairpersons, the Chairpersons may be overruled by a majority vote of those members present. After testimony by a witness for either party, the opposing party shall have the right to question the witness.

14. At the conclusion of such hearing, the Committee may uphold or void the election results, disqualify the candidate for a violation of these Rules, apply other sanctions as set forth in Paragraph G (1) of these Rules, or dismiss the charges brought. To void any election result, or to disqualify a candidate, such violation must be deemed to be material by the Committee in light of the number of votes cast for the candidate and the number cast in the election.

15. If a candidate who is disquali-

(Adopted April 9th, 2025)

fied received one of the highest vote counts, the disqualified candidate shall be ineligible to take office. The candidate who received the next highest count will be certified to the Board in their place. (If more than one candidate is disqualified, the next candidate or candidates with the highest vote will be certified.)

16. The decision of the Committee shall be addressed to the Board, shall be in writing, shall state the basis for its recommendation, and shall constitute the Committee’s final certification of the election results, or the qualification of a candidate.

17. The Board, by majority vote, shall determine whether to confirm or reject the Committee’s determination. The Board shall make such determination within ten (10) days of the date of any written recommendation of the Committee. The Board’s failure to determine the issue within ten (10) days shall, except for good cause shown,

Candidates –––––– (Continued from page 1

9. Grace Solomon

10. Leah Richardson

11. Darnell Lopez

The candidates are featured in the second Election Supplement published in this week’s Co-op City Times (see pages 2328). Next Saturday, May 24, the third and final Election Supplement will be published in which the candidates are allowed space in the newspaper to promote their candidacy.

In addition to the physical newspaper delivered to residential building lobbies, townhouses and three community centers on Saturdays, the Co-op City Times is also available online at issuu.com/cctimes, and on the Home page of the Riverbay website, coopcity.com, as well as, on X, Threads and Bluesky, @ coopcitytimes.

To get to know the candidates, shareholders are encouraged to read the three consecutive supplements that are printed in the Co-op City Times and to attend or watch the candidates’ forums in which they debate issues pertinent to the community as they vie for shareholders’ support to win election to the Riverbay Board of Directors, the community’s policy making body.

The first Candidates’ Forum took place on Saturday, May 10, in the Dreiser Auditorium.

The second forum will be held on Wednesday, May 21, at 7 p.m. in Room 45 at the Einstein Center, and the third and final forum will be on Tuesday, May 27, also at 7 p.m. in Room 31 at the Bartow Center.

Shareholders can attend the forums in-person or view the live broadcasts on the Riverbay in-house channel (channel 12 for MATV subscribers and channel 591 for Altice subscribers).

There is one vote per residential unit by a shareholder of record as of April 1, 2025. Shareholders are voting to fill five open seats on the Riverbay Board of Directors, each for a term of three years.

This year, 5,041 certified ballots are needed for a quorum to validate the Board election.

The election process is monitored by the 2025 Election Committee to ensure all candidates and their supporters abide by the Election Rules and Regulations and the process is fair to everyone. The Committee, made up of 30 shareholder-volunteers, is co-chaired by Board Director Monique Coleman and Board Director Leah Graham.

For up-to-date information on the Riverbay Board election, shareholders should continue reading the weekly Co-op City Times and tuning in regularly to the Riverbay Crawler.

be deemed an acceptance of the Committee’s recommendation.

18. Any candidate or resident aggrieved by the Board’s final determination shall have the right to seek judicial review of the Board’s determination, provided that any such Court challenge is commenced within ten (10) days of the Board’s decision, or within ten (10) days of the Board’s failure to render a decision.

19. The Committee may call for a recount of all ballots cast, if it is determined by the Committee that such an action is warranted. Such recount of the ballots must be completed, and the result certified by the Committee to the Board, within four days of the date the Committee determines such recount is necessary. The results of this recount, upon certification by the Committee, will constitute the final election results.

20. The Committee may call for a new election if the Committee has

determined that material irregularities cast doubt on the election results, or in the event the number of votes cast did not constitute the legally required quorum. Such a new election must take place in accordance with these rules on a date within thirty (30) days after the final decision on the challenge and such election held among the previously qualified candidates.

21. By participating in the election process, candidates, prospective candidates, shareholders, and their respective agents, representatives or supporters, agree to fully comply with and be bound by these election Rules.

Rod Saunders, President of Riverbay Corporation

Date: April 9, 2025

Committee –––––– (Continued from page 1 the community. We look forward to another successful forum that promotes civic dialogue and youth engagement. We hope to see you there!”

“Candidate forums offer a valuable opportunity to connect with those aspiring to lead, learn about their backgrounds, and understand their vision for our commUNITY’s future,” said Election co-chair Monique Coleman. “I encourage everyone to attend, stay informed, and participate in this important conversation!”

You may submit questions for the forum to Riverbay2025Election@riverbaycorp.com by Monday, May 19.

––Leah Graham & Monique Coleman 2025 Election Committee co-chairs

Compactor Room Rules

In order to maintain a standard of cleanliness throughout the buildings and to avoid pest and vermin withln the buildings, we ask that all shareholder follow the rules beloJ when using the compactor room.

1. Furniture and cardboard boxes, including pizza boxes must be taken down to the basement “Ash Cart” area.

2. Newspapers and small clean paper items (ex. Crushed cereai boxes, soda cartobs) should be neatly placed on the shelf or in a paper bag under the shelf.

3. Cans, glass and plastic bottles go in the recycling bag hung on the wall. Everything must be rinsed clean.

4. Dirty plastic food contaiJners, dirty paper towels and , I raw garbage go down thJe chute.

FAILURE TO FOLLOW PROPER PROCEDURE WILL RESULT IN A COMMUNITY COMPLAINT FOR, “IMPROPER GARBAGE DISPOSAL”, IN THE AMOUNT OF $50.00.

We thank you in advance for your I cooperation in this matter.

––Riverbay Management

JASA Co-op City NORC Program Invites You for These In-Person & Virtual Activities

Bartow OAC May Shopping Trips – IKEA, 5/20; Stew Leonard’s, 5/21; Ridgehill Mall, 5/22; Amazing Savings & Shoprite, 5/27; Walmart, 5/28; Trader Joe’s, 5/29; Costco, 5/30. All trips are $6, with the exception of IKEA & Walmart, which are $12.

Acupuncture – JASA NORC Office w/ Dr. Flora Luyando, Wed., June 4, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Common Pantry – is scheduled for Tues., May 27, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Please note: That they are currently on a freeze and will not be accepting new participants. Any new or inactive participants will be placed on a waiting list and will be contacted once space becomes available.

Bartow OAC Apple Picking – Trip to OCHS Apple Orchard on Aug. 28. Price: $45, includes lunch. SuCasa – Programming is back at Dreiser OAC. Please join us every Wed., at 1 p.m., until June 25, for a Caribbean & Dance workshop in Rm.2.

“Soul Train” – At the Brownstone, NJ; Sept. 11.

BARTOW CENTER CLOSED

Walk w/Odessa, 9:30 -10:30 a.m.

Blood Pressure, 12-1 p.m., (1st & 3rd Tues.)

Health & Wellness w/Ann, 11-12 p.m.

Smart Phone & Tablet Class w/ Julesa, 1:45-2:45 p.m.

Common Pantry, scheduled for Tues., May 27, 9 a.m. -12 p.m.

Dinner Hour: 3-4:30 p.m.

JASA NORC OFFICE, new Zumba class every Tues., until June 10, at 11a.m.

Stay Well Exercise w/Odessa 10 a.m.-11 a.m.

Line Dancing w/Cynthia Wed. & Fri., 12:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.

Arthritis Exercise w/Damion, 10 a.m.-11:15 a.m.

Visual Arts w/Laura via Zoom 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Knitting/Crocheting with Lynne and Betty, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Card Games with Frankie, 1 p.m.-2 p.m.

Dinner Hour, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Massage Therapy

10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Manicure, 10:30 a.m-12 p.m.

Line Dance with Cynthia 12:30 p.m.-1:45 p.m.

Drama Club w/Dazee Windley 2 p.m.-4:30 p.m., in the Bartow OAC, Rm.31

Dinner Hour, 3 p.m.-4:30 p.m.

Intergenerational Arts & Crafts w/Denise, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Salsa with Rasheem,10 a.m.11 a.m., Dreiser, 2nd floor Word Games

10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.

Bingo on Saturdays 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the back of JASA NORC Office

Price: $160 (two payments).

Dreiser OAC, Spirit of NY “White Party” cruise – Wed., July 16. Tickets are $140. Payments can be made in three installments in Room 7. P/U’s are available at all three centers.

Caringkind – The Heart of Alzheimer’s Caregiving rep. will be in the Bartow Main Office every third Mon. of the month, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., for Alzheimer & Dementia consultation/health care proxy & power of attorney consultation & other services. Please call 646-744-2921 for an appointment.

Steel Drum Classes – JASA NORC office. Wed., 1-3 p.m.

Line Dance with Bartow Swingers – 12-1 p.m., Wed. & Fri., Dreiser Loop, Aud. A. Technology Class – Thurs., 6:30-7:30 p.m. Dial in number: 929-205-6099, Meeting ID: 862 5043 9695, Passcode: 896989.

Notary – JASA NORC office, Weds. & Thurs.,

Gracie Mansion, 9:30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Mindful Mornings Tai Chi, 9-10 a.m.

Line Dance w/Sassy, 10:30 -11:30 a.m.

Health & Wellness w/Dr. Castro, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Book Club, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Ageless Facials & Self Care, 1-3 p.m. (Appointment only)

Movie w/Dennis: “She Taught Love”, 1 p.m.-3 p.m.

Never Too Old to Learn Spanish, 10-11 a.m., Rm. 35

Bridge to Care Arthritis Exercise w/ Damon, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Rm. 45

Technology Lab w/ Steve, 1-2 p.m.

Bingo, 1-2 p.m.

Stretch & Tone w/Ola 10 a.m.-11 a.m.

Bodies In Motion w/Ola 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Tech w/KJ 1-2 p.m.

Board Games 1 p.m.-2 p.m.

Visual Arts, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Salsa Dancing w/George, 12-1 p.m.

Chit Chat, 1 p.m.-2 p.m. Fit for Life Exercise w/Gail, 1-2 p.m.

Queens Center Mall, 9:30 a.m. -2 p.m.

Coloring for Calmness, 9:30-10:30 a.m

Su Casa Art w/Tijay, 10 a.m.- 12 p.m.

Chess Club, 10 a.m.-12 p.m.

Blood Pressure Screening,10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Health & Wellness 2.0-Mental

Health Check-in, 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Let’s Get It on Zumba,1 p.m.-2 p.m.

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Call 718-320-2066 for appointment. Notary – Dreiser OAC, Weds., 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Room 7. For an appointment, call 718-320-1345. Notary – Einstein OAC, Thurs., 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Room 49. Call 718-671-5161 for an appointment.

Beware of Telephone Scammers

If you receive a telephone call demanding immediate payment using a pre-paid card, wire transfer or bitcoin, even if your Caller ID identifies a legitimate business, HANG UP and report the call. Do not divulge personal information such as Social Security number, bank account number, date of birth or any other information. Be smart, be safe!

Stay Well w/Denise, 10-11 a.m., Rm. 2 Chair Yoga Class w/ Charles (virtual), 10-11 a.m. (twice a month)

Blood Pressure Check w/ Linda, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Aud. A Piano Sing Along Class, 11 a.m. -12 p.m., Rm.2 (twice a month) Crafts w/Roselen, 1-2 p.m., Yoga Class w/ Adira,1:15-2:15 p.m., Rm. 2

Current Events, 10-11 a.m.

Art w/ Gerry, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Rm. 6

Leisure Games w/Clara, 1-3:30 p.m.

Zumba w/Ola, 1-2 p.m., Aud. A Crafts w/ Roselen, 1-2 p.m.

Tai Chi w/Jimmy, 2-3 p.m., Aud. A Computer & Tablet Class w/Ralph 6:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. (Virtual)

Leisure TV, 9-10 a.m.

Massage Therapy w/ Diana, 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Rm. 2 (twice a month) (appt.only)

Arthritis Exercise w/Damion, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Aud. A Bead & Jewlery w/ Brenda, 11 a.m.12 p.m.

Caribbean Music & Dance Workshop w/ Juan, 1-2:15 p.m., Rm. 2 Technology Class w/Steve, 1:15-2:15 p.m.

Sewing Class w/Joy, 9-11 a.m., Rm. 2

Cardio Exercise w/Gail, 11 a.m.12 p.m., Aud. A Body in Motion w/Ola, 1-2 p.m., Aud.A

Leisure Games w/Clara, 1-3:30 p.m., Rm. 2

Leisure TV, 2-4 p.m.

Sewing Class w/Joy, 9-11 a.m., Rm. 2

Knitting /Crocheting w/Loretta 10-12 p.m.

Alert and Alive w/Cathy/Essie 10-11 a.m., Rm. 4

Line Dance w/Sassy 11 a.m.-12 p.m., Auditorium A Bingo 1 p.m.-2:50 p.m., Rm. 2

Menu Fee for lunch is $2 & $5 for guest. ALL meals served with margarine and fresh milk. Menu subject to change without notice. For information, please call: (718) 320-2066. Schedule subject to change without notice.

Payments for trips can be made where noted, Mon.–Fri., 9 a.m.-12 p.m. and 2-4 p.m. only.

Funded by: The NYC Department for the Aging, the NYS Office for the Aging and Riverbay Corporation Must be 60 or older to become a JASA participant.

LUNCH & DINNER MENUS

Alternate Kosher Meals are available

LUNCH : KOSHER : Scallion Ginger Tofu Stir Fry, Pearly Barley, Capri Blend Vegetable; NON-KOSHER : Caribbean Style BBQ Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, Sauteed Spinach

NO DINNER SERVED

LUNCH : KOSHER: Beef Pot Roast Couscous, Roasted Eggplant; NON KOSHER: Spanish Style Roast Pork, Black Beans & Rice, Steamed Collard Greens

DINNER: BARTOW ONLY

KOSHER: Baked Breaded Fish, Classic Macaroni Salad, Beets & Carrots Salad, Canned Mandarin; NON-KOSHER: BBQ Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, Sauteed Spinach, Apple

LUNCH: KOSHER: Baked Breaded Fish, Mashed Potatoes, Spiced Mixed Vegetables; NON KOSHER: Curried Chicken Legs, Pasta, Baby Carrots & Parsley

DINNER: BARTOW ONLY

KOSHER Stuffed Peppers, Mashed Potatoes, Israeli Salad, Apple; NON-KOSHER: Spanish Style Roast Pork, Black Bean & Rice, Steamed Collard Greens, Orange

LUNCH: KOSHER: Pepper Flank Steak, Yellow Rice, Steamed Green Beans; NON KOSHER: Chickpea & Vegetable Curry w/ Quinoa, Steamed Broccoli

DINNER: BARTOW ONLY

KOSHER: Pepper Flank Steak, Yellow Rice, Steamed Green Beans, Canned Apricot;NONKOSHER: Curried Chicken Penne Pasta, Baby Carrots w/ Parsley, Apple

LUNCH: KOSHER: BBQ Chicken Leg Quarters, Orzo, California Blend Vegetables; NON-KOSHER: Fish w/ Mushroom, Peppers & Tomatoes, Coconut Rice & Pigeon Peas, Normandy Blend

DINNER: BARTOW ONLY

KOSHER: BBQ Chicken Leg Quarters, Orzo, California Blend Vegetables, Kiwi (10 GRAB & GO); NON-KOSHER: Chick Pea w/ Vegetable Curry, Quinoa, Steamed Broccoli, Banana

Saturday: Lunch served at 12:30 p.m. until finished: BARTOW ONLY

KOSHER: Roasted Turkey Breast, Couscous, Roasted Eggplant, Banana; NON-KOSHER: Fish w/ Mushroom, Peppers & Tomatoes, Rice & Peas, Normandy Blend Vegetables, Apple Sauce

NAACP

The NAACP marches to defend democracy and combat racism and discrimination in communities across the country. Located in the Einstein Community Center, Rm. 36, we meet the fourth Sunday of the month at 3 p.m. The NAACP Co-op City Branch Office hours are 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Mondays & Wednesdays. Notary available on Monday and Wednesday during office hours beginning May 12. Call for appointment.

The NAACP Co-op City Branch will support American Legion Post 1871 Annual Memorial Day commemoration at Co-op City’s Harley J. Mosley Sr. Veterans Memorial Park (Bartow), Sunday, May 25, meet at 3 p.m. On this day, we honor and mourn our U.S. Forces personnel who have died in the performance of their duties. Please wear your NAACP T-shirts.

To purchase your NAACP Co-op City Branch T-Shirt, place your order now! Visit the office or send your money to the office. Adult cost $25 and Youth $20. Make checks payable to “NAACP Co-op City Branch.” Sale ends on May 15.

2025 Riverbay Board Election Committee Block Party will be May 17, from 12-3 p.m. in the Section 5 Shopping Center. There will be election information, music, fun, hot dogs and sweets. Rain location: Rm. 45. Please follow the broadcasts and replays on the Riverbay Crawler channel MATV Ch. 12/Cable 591. Forum #2 is May 21, in the Einstein Center, Rm. 45, 7-9 p.m. and Forum #3 is May 27, at the Bartow Center, 7-9 p.m.

A preparatory discussion on reparations was held to request members send in a brief statement answering a couple of questions: 1) Are you in favor of lineage

(foundational) reparations or reparations for all. 2) We are asking you to submit not less than 3 but not more than 10 ways you would like to see reparations distributed. Care Without Barriers: Student-led Youth Group to be held at Einstein Loop Community Center on Saturday, May 31, Rm. 36, from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. This non-profit is dedicated to education, prevention and community support, offering educational workshops, counseling resources, school outreach programs, volunteer recruitment drives and community engagement events. Support our youth. –B. Brown and A. Medina

“Calling All Men” – Our Health Committee chair, Joyce Dixon, RN, has been successful in obtaining a facilitator to meet with the community in person. It is scheduled to be held on Saturday, June 7, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the Dreiser Center, Auditorium C. This could save your life. RSVP information and flyer is in your bulletin board.

Watch & Listen: Our Culture, Our Stories on the NAACP+ YouTube channel. Follow us on Facebook: Co-op City NAACP

Looking to make an even greater impact? Become a champion for change and join us to keep advancing. Annual membership: Adult, $30; Youth, $10, Silver Life, $750. Make checks/mo. payable to: NAACP Co-op City. Mailing address: NAACP Co-op City, 135 Einstein Loop, Rm. 36, Bronx, N.Y. 10475. To become a member online, go to www.naacp.org membership. Select Co-op City (2210) and join. To leave a message, call the office phone at 718-3203210 or email naacpccity2210@gmail.com.

—Brenda Brown

Coalition of African-American Churches & Community Organizations of Co-op City

On Monday, May 19, El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, also known as Malcolm X, would have been 100 years. On Tuesday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m., the Coalition of African-American Churches & Community Organizations of Co-op City, will present a Centennial Tribute to Malcolm X at the Ranch Caribbean Vybez Restaurant, 129 Dreiser Loop. Light refreshments will be served. An RSVP is required.

Brother Basir Mchawi, host of Education at the Crossroads on WBAI Pacifica Radio, has confirmed that he will join us at this event. You are also encouraged to attend and share your thoughts on the legacy of

Goose Island

Wine Tasting – Sat., May 24, 2 p.m.-5 p.m., at the Einstein Community Center, 135 Einstein Loop, Rm. 39. Price: $10. Please RSVP so we know how many bottles to bring. Call: 646-579-1701. Food and prizes.

Wind Creek Casino – Bethlehem, PA; Tues., June 10. Price: $70; bonus, $25 slot play. Balance due. Bus pick-up: Einstein Loop at 7:45 a.m. and Dreiser Loop at 8:15 a.m. Tropicana Casino AC – June 21. Price: $70; bonus $10 slot play. Call: 646-579-1701.

Resorts Casino – Atlantic City, NJ; Tues., July 15. Price: $70; bonus, $10 slot play. Balance due: Wed., June 25.

Nordic Lodge Seafood Feast, Foxwoods and Tanger Outlets – Charlestown, RI; Sat., Aug. 2. Price: $225. Call: 646-579-1701.

Holiday Hills Senior Day Picnic – in Prospect, CT; Tues., Aug. 19. Price: $150; $50 deposit to hold seat on bus. Balance due: Wed., July 2.

Portrait of Aretha Franklin Show – Resort World Monticello, NY; Wed., Sept. 10. Price: $150; $50 deposit to hold seat on bus. Bonus: $25 slot play. Private buffet lunch in casino. Balance due: Wed., Aug. 20.

Wind Creek Casino – Bethlehem, PA; Thurs., Oct. 9. Price: $70; bonus $25 slot play. Balance due: Wed., Sept. 10.

Foxwoods Casino and Tanger Outlet – Thurs., Nov. 6 in Mashantucket, CT. No bonus and no meal voucher. Price: $70. Balance due: Wed., Oct. 15. Brownstone Holiday Party – Mon., Dec. 8, in Patterson, NJ; Price: $165; $50 deposit to hold seat. Delicious luncheon, dancing, DJ and band. Balance due: Wed., Nov. 12. 2026 Sight and Sound “Joshua” – Thurs., March 26, 2026. Lunch at Golden Corral, then 3 p.m. show. More info soon. 2026 Norwegian Greek Isle Crui.se – May 18-27, 2026. Price: $32933945. Call: 646-579-1701.

Notary – with Yvonne Menefee, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Bingo – Mon., Wed., and Fri., 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Members only. Admission: $5 for 3 cards; $0.25 each additional card. Twelve games and jackpot. Refreshments. Game day – Tues. and Thurs., between 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Dominoes, movies, socializing and more. Members only. Refreshments.

To All Members: Happy birthday to our members who celebrate their birthday in the month of May: Jacqueline Roy-Twiggs, Dorothy Drayton, Emma Rumph, Bernice DeCarmo, Mary Pilla, Becky Reyes, Doris Bailey, Gerald “Jerry” Ortiz, Geneva Lindsey and Carmen Crespo. Birthday Cake celebration will be on May 16 at the party.

Sick and Shut-in – Mary Roach and Iraida (Greta) Feliciano are doing better. Mary Pilla, our former president, sends her love to everyone. Call her at 718-753-1816.

Our club is at 135 Einstein Loop, Rm. 39, Bronx, NY 10475, the Section 5 Community Center. Phone: 718-379-9613. Stephen cell: 347-847-1941. Our email address is goose.island@optonline.net. Cash App: $StephenCarlSr. Good health to all.

—Stephen Roberts, Sr.

the extraordinary Malcolm X. At a time when African/Black history is being erased, we should try even harder to maintain or increase opportunities to uplift our heros and sheros. We intend to honor our shining black prince on May 20th.

Please make your reservation today with Ms. Jones at 718-671-5957 or Ms. Chambers at 718-320-2089. The donation for adult Coalition members is $20 and children are $10. The donation for non-member adults is $25, and Children are $15. We look forward to hearing from you.

In order to join the Coalition, please have your church or organization leader contact Ms. Jones at 718-671-5957 or franreva@aol.com to obtain a membership application. Thank you.

—Francine Jones

Retirees of Dreiser Loop

Greetings, retirees and friends.

We hope this article finds everyone safe and well.

June Luncheon – Our June luncheon will be held at the Marina del Rey on Wednesday, June 18, from 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. The price of tickets is $110.

Transportation is included on a first paid/first seated basis. Tickets are still available for purchase. Questions may be addressed to Daisy Young at 917-292-7010 or Ted Byrd at 917-797-9230. Daisy is available in Rm. 19 for the purchase and payment of tickets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-3 p.m.

Atlantic City – Seats are still available. Wednesday, July 9, a day trip to the Tropicana Casino. Tickets are $70 with a $15 slot-play giveback. The bus will pick up on Dreiser Loop, in front of H&R Block and will depart at 8 a.m. sharp. On our return, the bus will drop off at Einstein, Asch, and Dreiser Loop. Contact Serita for additional information at 347564-5722.

Hunterdon Hills Playhouse – Seats are still available. Hampton, NJ on Tuesday, September 16. Tickets are $160 and includes lunch and a show “Never Too Late.” A $50 deposit is required ASAP to hold a seat. The bus will pick up on Dreiser Loop in front of H&R Block and depart promptly at 9 a.m. Contact Serita for additional information at 347-564- 5722.

Nominating Committee – All executive board positions will be up for election in June. Members who wish to be considered for a position on the executive board can pick up an application in Rm. 19. Completed applications must be submitted by May 19. Contact Daisy Young at 917292-7010 for additional information.

Happy Birthday – We wish all our May celebrants an incredibly happy birthday and continued peace and happiness throughout the year.

Condolences – Sadly, we have lost two more long-time beloved members, Patricia Cobb and Marie Williams. Please keep the Cobb and Williams families in your thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for all of those who have recently suffered a loss.

Good and Welfare – We are sending our best wishes to Joyce Rudolph for a speedy and complete recovery. We continue to pray for those who are ill and/or shut-in. Please notify Lorraine Parker at 718-671-6403 of any member illnesses or deaths.

Membership Committee –Annual membership dues are $25. Personal checks payable to the “Retirees of Dreiser Loop” can be mailed to Retirees of Dreiser Loop, 177 Dreiser Loop, Room 19, Bronx, NY 10475. Questions may be addressed to Mary at 718-655-9170.

General Meeting – Our next meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 4, at 1 p.m., in the Dreiser Center, Auditorium C. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend. This will be our last meeting prior to our summer break. —Georgianna Rodriguez

Black Forum

Emergency Food Pantry

920 Baychester Ave., Bldg. 1A (opposite basketball court). The pantry is open on Thursday and Friday from 11:00 a.m.-12:45 p.m. for grocery distribution. Guests are eligible to pick up food once a month. All guests must present a pantry card, at least four to six clean shopping bags with handles and a shopping cart to receive food. We will not place food in black bags because they pose a safety hazard. Section 5 guests should visit the Co-op City United Methodist Church at 2350 Palmer Avenue to pick up groceries. This distribution site is open Thursdays from 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. The groceries are supplied by and distributed by Black Forum. Religious affiliation is not required. For the safety of our staff and other guests, mask-wearing is required when picking up food. Our priority at Black Forum Emergency Food Pantry is to provide a safe and respectful environment for everyone accessing our services. To ensure the well-being of our staff, volunteers, and all guests, we have established guidelines for appropriate conduct. While we are committed to serving our community, we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone who engages in disruptive or aggressive behavior. We will also cease service if an individual poses a risk to the safety of our staff or other guests.We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in maintaining a positive and supportive atmosphere for everyone.

New Client Registration & Re-Certification for Returners

New client registration and returning client re-certification for 2025 are now closed. Check back here for the latest information on registration and recertification dates. Thank you for your patience during the registration process. Events

Take a peek at our exciting upcoming events below. We would love to see you there:

Saturday, June 28 – Get ready for a day of fun at Caesars Atlantic City Casino, NJ. The trip fee is $65. Casino Slot Play is $10. Payments are due by May 16. Saturday, August 16 – Join us for a visually stunning show at Sight and Sound “NOAH!” Then, enjoy lunch at the award-winning Shady Maple Smorgasbord, the largest buffet in the U.S. Cost is $225. First payment to hold a seat: $75 was due by April 25; second payment of $75 due by May 23; last payment of $75 due by June 20.

Note: No refunds will be issued. For trip information only, please call (917) 209-5334 or (929) 464-5520. All proceeds go to the Black Forum to support Co-op City through our Emergency Food Pantry. Contact Us – coopcityblackforum@gmail.com

—D. Illis

African-American Association of Co-op City

There is still time! Come to Dreiser, Rm. 4, to register your child before 12:30 p.m. for today’s 12th Annual Co-op City Spelling Bee. Do not miss the opportunity to expose our children to friendly competition. Volunteers are needed.

Registration is simple: Call 718-671-5957 or email Franreva@aol.com. All attendees must wear masks and practice social distancing. Do not wait, register to participate and volunteer now.

Open Mic Review – We dedicated the last open mic to all of the mothers, in celebration of Mother’s Day. We did songs like “I’ll Always Love My Mama” by the Intruders, “A Song for Mama” by Boyz to Men, and “Love Will Conquer All” by Lionel Richie, just to name a few. We hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day.

Coming Events!

Today! May 17 – 12th Annual Co-op City Spelling Bee. Movie at 11 a.m.: Akeelah and the Bee. Spelling Bee starts promptly at 1 p.m. in the Dreiser Center, Rm. 4.

Tomorrow, May 18 – General Meeting with special guest speaker. Don’t Miss this gathering.

Topic: AAACC General Meeting & Staff Nominations. Time: Sunday, May 18, at 3 p.m.

Note: For security reasons, we require all attendees to be “on camera and visible" during AAACC meetings & events or you will be removed from the webcast. We thank you for your cooperation in our attempt to protect the sanctity of our gatherings. Zoom Meeting ID: 845 7312 5870; Passcode: 628618. Saturday, June 7 – Visit our table at the Co-op City Fair from 12 p.m.-6 p.m.

Sunday, June 8 – Pre-Juneteenth Celebration at 3 p.m. AAACC Elections, in Dreiser, Rm. 15.

Sunday, August 17 – Marcus Garvey Drum Circle Celebration, Section 1 Greenway or Dreiser, Rm. 15 (in case of rain).

Saturday, September 6 – Visit us at the Co-op City Fair, from 12 p.m.-6 p.m.

Saturday, September 13 – Open Mic Fundraiser, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Dreiser Center, Rm. 15

Sunday, September 21 – General Meeting, 3 p.m., Dreiser Center, Rm. 15

Saturday, October 11 – Open Mic Fundraiser, 4 p.m.-8 p.m.

Sunday, October 19 – General Meeting, 3 p.m., Dreiser Center, Rm. 15

Sunday, November 16 – General Meeting, 3 p.m. on Zoom

Saturday, December 6 – Open Mic Fundraiser, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., Dreiser Center, Rm. 15.

Saturday, December 20 – Pre-Kwanzaa Event, 3 p.m., Bartow Center, Rm. 31. AAACC Membership – $25/year for single membership and $35/year for family/household membership. Zelle your payment using our email address. Email: aaaccpower@gmail.com. Call: 646-883-9095. The African-American Association of Co-op City, P.O. Box 702, Co-op City Station, Bronx, NY 10475.

AAACC Programs

Belly Dance Classes – Contact Xonia Wilson at 646-301-9438

Evening Line Dance Classes – Contact Cynthia Dixon at 917-903-7073

Co-op City Baptist Church “Gospel Line Dancers” – Contact Joyce Smith at 718-320-0714.

—Michelle Marbury

Iglesia Cristiana Marcos 16:15

John 8:12, “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”

Iglesia Cristiana Marcos 16:15 cordially invites you to gather and worship with us. Let's unite, celebrate our faith, and be inspired. There will be an uplifting message from our Pastor Figueroa.

We are a small congregation, but our hospitality and love surpass our size. We are looking for new members to come and join us. We are the only Hispanic church in the Section 5 community and our doors are open to receive those who are looking for a Bible-based church. Please feel free to join us, and we can't wait to see you there.

Our service begins at 11:30 a.m. and we would love to have you join our family for church this Sunday! Bring your friends and family too.

Our church is located at 135 Einstein Loop Community Center, 2nd floor, Rm. 33.

Services Offered

Monday: Spanish Bible Studies/phone, 9 p.m. (564-888-5521; Code: 696248)

Tuesday / Friday: Zoom Bible Studies, 8 p.m. (ID 3447367643; Code: 3jEJ2W)

Thursday: Telephone Bible Studies: English/7 p.m. and Spanish/9 p.m. (564-888-5521; Code: 696248)

Sunday: Worship Service, 11:30 a.m.

Holy Communion is the first Sunday of the month.

God bless you and remember, Jesus loves you.

Juan 8:12, “Jesús les habló de nuevo, diciendo: ‘Yo soy la luz del mundo. El que me sigue no andará en tinieblas, sino que tendrá la luz de la vida.’”

La Iglesia Cristiana Marcos 16:15 los invita cordialmente a reunirse y adorar con nosotros. Unámonos, celebremos nuestra fe y nos inspiremos. Habrá un mensaje inspirador de nuestro Pastor Figueroa.

Somos una congregación pequeña, pero nuestra hospitalidad y amor superan nuestro tamaño. Buscamos nuevos miembros. Somos la única iglesia Hispana en la comunidad de la Sección 5 y nuestras puertas están abiertas para quienes buscan una iglesia bíblica. Únase a nosotros; ¡estamos ansiosos por verlos allí!

Nuestro culto de adoración comienza a las 11:30 a.m. y nos encantaría que se uniera a nuestra familia este domingo. Traiga también a sus amigos y familiares. Estamos ubicada en el Centro Comunitario, 135 de Einstein Loop, segundo piso, sala 33.

Horario de Servicios

Lunes: Estudios Bíblicos Español/telefónico, 9 p.m. (564-888-5521; Código: 696248)

Martes / Viernes: Estudios Bíblicos Zoom, 8 p.m. (ID 3447367643; Código: 3jEJ2W)

Jueves: Estudios Bíblicos telefónico: Ingles/7 p.m. y en Español/9 p.m. (564-888-5521; Código: 696248)

Domingo: Culto de Adoración, 11:30 a.m.

La Santa Cena es el 1er Domingo del mes.

Que Dios le bendiga y recuerda que Cristo te ama.

—Blanca Santana

Co-op City Times

Photo Submissions

When submitting club articles with pictures to the Co-op City Times, please DO NOT EMBED picture/s in your Word document. Rather, send the picture/s as an attachment along with the Word document for proper print reproduction. The images should be 300 DPI. All submissions must be emailed to: cctimes@riverbaycorp.com. Thank you.

Circle of Christ Church

Overcoming the Deadly Nature of Sin

1 John 2:16, For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.”

Habitual Sin: Ungodly behavior you can’t shake off. No matter how much you do, it is inescapable. The only way that the power of the sin is broken is through death. You must die to lose the sin. The old, you must be put to death, and the new, you must be resurrected.

Robert C. Roberts writing on Pauline Psycho-Therapy says, “The Christian life is characterized by ongoing defensive suicidal action against these bad personality remnants.” Edward Welch calls these sinful habits, “A Banquet in the Grave,” but it is simply sin! A party with corpses is no party but some people are there, indulging their dead flesh while claiming to live for God

Romans 8:6-9, “The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. Recognize and acknowledge your sin. Be honest. The presence, goodness, and light of Jesus expose sin. He offers hope. Genesis 35:2, “Jacob said to his household and all who were with him, Get rid of the foreign gods you have with you, purify

Community Protestant Church

Rev. Dr. Calvin E. Owens and the Community Protestant Church family welcome you to worship with us. We are located at 2053 Asch Loop, Bronx, NY 10475. You may contact us by phone: 718-862-9172; fax: 718-671-4416 or email: Administration@thecpcchurch.org.

Worship Schedule: In-person Sunday Morning Worship at 11 a.m.; Adult Sunday School at 9:15 a.m.

Every Wednesday: “Hour of Power Noon Day Prayer” at 12 p.m. on the conference call line: 712-432-3900; Access code: 343284#

Every Wednesday: 7 p.m., online Bible Study via Zoom. Log in on Zoom. com or dial One Tap Mobile: 646-931-3860 or 929-205-6099; Meeting ID: 813 089 803 39.

Save The Date: Sunday, June 1, at 11 a.m., Church Anniversary Anniversary colors: Navy blue with light blue flower/scarf for women and light blue ties for men.

Sunday, July 20: Family & Friends Day BBQ

Last Sunday was sunny and bright, which made it an exceptionally beautiful day to celebrate mothers. Testimonies and Happy Mother’s Day wishes were shared during praise and worship. Deacon James Nicholson invited the Holy Spirit in and read Psalm 113 in its entirety. In tribute to mothers everywhere, Sister Elaine McClain presented her original poem, “No One Like Her.” Rev. Tyrone Richardson sang and played “The Lord Will Make A Way,” followed by guest speaker, Rev. Audrey Jones of Friendly Baptist Church, who soulfully rendered, “I Won’t Complain,” before preaching. Rev. Jones honored mothers, mother figures and all women of faith with her sermon, “God Will Take Care of You,” Matthew 23:37. She said God calls strong, prayerful women to be mothers, often in unexpected ways, and referenced the biblical stories of Hannah, Sarah and Jochebed as true examples. Motherhood is not just about biology; it’s about love, sacrifice and obedience to the Lord. Amen! To close, Rev. Mark Fowler prayed in earnest for mothers and for all of us during Altar Call. Thank you for your fellowship. We begin mornings with Adult Sunday School, allowing us the opportunity to enhance and deepen our personal relationship with God through biblical teachings. If you are looking for a church home, we invite you to worship with us. Come explore and experience all the new possibilities at Community Protestant, a church of love and understanding.

We extend our sincere and heartfelt condolences to all who are in a season of mourning. To our sick and shut-in members, please know that we are praying mightily for you and for your speedy recovery. Our best happy birthday wishes to everyone celebrating their special day this month.

“Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.” Proverbs 31:30

—Lexa M. Mingo

100 Co-op City Blvd., Building 22A; Mailing address: P.O .Box 204, Bronx, NY 10475. You are invited to join in worship services on the following days: Sunday School begins at 10:30 a.m.; worship service begins at 11:45 a.m., Wednesdays: Prayer and fasting service will be held from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

Bible Study and prayer meeting will be held Wednesday evening at 7:30 p.m. Fridays: Worship service and Bible study starts at 7:30 p.m.

All night services are held on Zoom, 646 9313860; Meeting ID: 85748454513; Code: 850684#

Focus: A Transform Life

The believer’s life is transformed by the power of God to a conquering lifestyle through Christ Jesus.

Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.”

Romans 12:10-18, “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love, in honoring preferring one another. Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Distributing to the necessity of saint given to hospitality. Bless them which per-

yourselves and change your clothes.” Make up your mind to stop it now. Sins are formed subtly and gradually, but they have to be stopped “cold turkey”—abruptly and immediately. Replace your sin with godly behavior. We must replace the bad with something good. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 4 where he replaces falsity, stealing, foul language, and worthless speech with truth, honest living, beneficial words, and grace. Realize that you have an outside source of strength. You never have to fight sin alone, the overriding. Presence of Jesus is with you. The Lord has provided victory for us through the power of Christ’s resurrection. Schedule – 147 Dreiser Loop

First Sunday of the month, Bilingual Communion Service is at 10:30 a.m.

Sunday – Spanish service at 9 a.m. & English service at 11:30 a.m.

Tuesday – Prayer at 10 a.m.

Wednesday – Nonperishable food distribution, 12-2 p.m.

Thursday – Prayer/Bible Study, 6:30-8 p.m.

Friday – Youth Service (Operation Grace), 6:30-9 p.m.

Saturday – Women’s Fellowship, second Saturday of the month, 12-3 p.m. Young Adults, third Saturday of the month, 12-3 p.m. Men’s Fellowship, fourth Saturday of the month, 12-3 p.m.

Blessings in Christ.

—Pastor Luis F. Ramos Jr.

St. Joseph’s Episcopal Anglican Church

St. Joseph’s is located at 155 Dreiser Loop, lower level, Co-op City, Bronx, NY 10475. Email: stjosephsepc@aol.com. Church phone number: 718-3200844. Priest-in-charge: Fr. Simeon Johnson; cell phone: 917-227-4303. In-person worship service for the Fifth Sunday of Easter will be conducted by Father Simeon Johnson at the church on Sunday, May 18, at 9 a.m., as well as via teleconference.

Please remember to tune in for the daily noon-day prayer service. To participate by teleconference, dial 1-425-436-6344, Access Code: 509-898, followed by the # sign.

Pledge Cards for 2025 are still available. Please collect, complete and return yours to the church as soon as possible. We know that you want to help your church, so it is on these cards that you tell us about your areas of interest and expertise. Upcoming Events and Fundraising Activities

May 24: Celebration of St. Joseph’s Day: Potluck, Karaoke and Raffle Drawing. Please note the change in date due to a conflict of interest. Raffle tickets are $5 for a book of six tickets. Tickets are available from Valrie and some members of St. Joseph’s.

June 15: Father’s Day. All fathers are welcome at our 9 a.m. church service.

June 28: Winery Trip to Pindar Vineyards in Long Island, sit-down luncheon at the Cooperage Inn and discount shopping at the Tanger Outlets. Price: $160 per person; $50 to hold your seat. The balance of $110 is due by June 15, after which there will be no refunds. The bus departs at 8:30 a.m. from in front of the Rehab Center, 177 Dreiser Loop. For more information, please contact Sheila at 718-320-0844 or 718-320-2654.

August 15: The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) of St. Joseph’s are having an Essex Steam Train & Riverboat Ride to Connecticut (luncheon included) on Friday, August 15. The bus departs at 7 a.m. from in front of the Rehab Center, 177 Dreiser Loop. Donation: $165 per person. Deposit of $50 is due as soon as possible, with the balance/final payment due by August 3. Contact: St. Joseph’s Church at 718-320-0844. If there is no answer, please leave a detailed message.

Condolences: Our thoughts and prayers go out to all our bereaved members, families and friends who have recently lost loved ones. Please remember to keep them in your prayers.

Sick and Shut-in: We extend our well wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery. If possible, please visit them, call them on the phone or send them a card. Birthday Greetings: Best wishes and blessings to everyone celebrating a birthday this month.

We continue to collect food (cans and dry goods) for the pantry at Grace Episcopal Church, West Farms. If you can, please contribute to those in need.

Grace and Peace!

—Merville Chambers

secute you, bless and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind one toward another, mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil, provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.”

The plan of God for the salvation of mankind spans all of time, bears the price tag of the blood of Jesus, and offers all people a brand-new start. Paul expounded on these marvelous truths in the Book of Romans. We have read of the hopeless plight of sinful mankind, of the miracle of deliverance and of the joyous promise of restoration. In Romans Chapter 12, Paul gave some very practical directions about the application of this truth to our daily lives. It is essential that we have an understanding of the foundational doctrines, such as faith, justification, and divine guidance. But the scriptures do not leave us to live our lives in the realm of the theoretical. This life changing gospel calls us to a place of commitment that will affect the way we live and how we interact with other people. It is important that we study the Bible every day, and when we mediate on the word, we will find grace, strength, joy, peace to overcome the trials of life. God’s grace is sufficient to keep us every day. Our duty is to remain faithful to God in whatever area He has called us to work. Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.

—Rev. R. Sibblies

Pentecostal Tabernacle

Co-op City United Methodist Church/ IEMU de Co-op City

Open Doors, Open Hearts, and Open Minds

Come and Visit Us – We are a multi-ethnic and bilingual, Bible-centered congregation with spirit-filled worship. Services are held in-person at 2350 Palmer Avenue across from Building 30. Parking is available. You can also participate with us via Zoom (904 4685745) or Facebook live (UMC Coop City). — Pastor, Rev. Sara Girón-Ortiz.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” —Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

In addition to the normal stressors of life that affect all of us from time to time, many people today are deeply concerned about the economy, inflation, and the direction of our country. The problem is that what we continually dwell on in our minds shapes our lives. When we fixate on fear or negativity, we develop thoughts that are defeating, discouraging, and self-sabotaging.

In situations like this, Paul provides a powerful list of where believers should focus their thoughts. But where do we find such things? We find them when we focus on God and the truth of His promises found in His holy Word.

Immediately following Paul’s exhortation to pray and give thanks, he writes about “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,” and how it “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7) Then, in verse 8, he encourages us to align our thoughts with our faith. While we can’t always prevent negative thoughts from entering our minds, we can choose to counter them with the truth found in God’s Word.

Isaiah 26:3 states, “You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” This reminds us that when our minds are firmly fixed on God and His Word—rather than on our circumstances—we can experience true peace. As believers, we are called to trust the Lord with all our hearts and believe in His trustworthy promises.

When we live in a right relationship with God, walk in obedience to His will, and deliberately choose to focus on the good and godly, we open ourselves to receive His precious peace—peace that can carry us through all the stresses and burdens that weigh so heavily on our hearts. When we dwell on God’s promises, our perspective shifts, our attitude improves, and our actions produce better outcomes.

Come and Receive a Blessing: All are welcome!

Theme for 2025: “God’s Love in Action with Joy and Thanksgiving”

Tuesday: Grief Share workshop in Rm. 43, Einstein Center, 1 p.m.-new English Bible Study at 6 p.m. via Zoom (904 4685745).

Thursdays: Pantry and Prayer Meeting at 11 a.m.

Upcoming Events – Save the Dates

Sunday, May 18: Escuela Dominical, 11:15 a.m. English Service, 11:15 a.m. Servicio en Español, 12:30 p.m.

Thursday, May 29: LCOA Workshop: HIV Basics and Treatments at 12 p.m.

—Grace Abadia

Church of the New Vision

Greetings, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Church of the New Vision and Pastors Kenneth and Deborah Hodge welcome you to worship with us at 115 Einstein Loop North, Bronx, NY 10475. Church phone: 718-671-8746 and Pastor’s phone: 914-522-5039.

Our scripture verse for 2025 is: 2 Corinthians 2:14 KJV “Now thanks be unto God, which always causes us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the savior of his knowledge by us in every place.”

Sunday School Adult and Youth begin at 9:30 a.m.

Sunday service at 11a.m. All are welcomed. Masks are required.

Daily Noon Day Prayer Line – 12-12:30 p.m., Monday-Friday. Join us for Wednesday Night Bible Study and prayer, the Conference Line number is 646-769-9900; Access Code: 3099388# Please mute your phone.

Worship Service Message: “We are on Assignment – Motherhood, not just a title, but it’s a responsibility”

Service Scripture: Psalm 139:13-16 “Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God –you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration – what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you. The days of my life all prepared before I’d even lived one day.”

Save The Dates

May 18 – Please join us for our Women’s Day program. To demonstrate our oneness in Christ, women are encouraged to wear white. The theme is “Walking in the Light” (1John 1:6-7)

May 24 – Church of the New Vision will have a community outreach table for Summer Fun Day. More information to follow.

June 7 – Meet & Greet Luncheon for the Celebrity Beyond Cruise traveler’s only at 1 p.m.

June 8 – Senior, Family and Friends Sunday Service, 11 a.m. All invited. Each one, bring one.

June 28 – Section Five Summer Fun Day sponsored by Councilman Kevin Riley.

August 9 – Family & Friends Picnic at Glenn Island Park. Information to follow. August 12, – “NOAH” at the Sight & Sound Theatre in Lancaster, PA.

Co-op City Baptist Church

Rev. Dr. Sheldon E. Williams and the Co-op City Baptist Church family invite you to join us for Worship Service tomorrow at 8 a.m., in-person only, and at 11 a.m., in-person and on Zoom. Sunday School classes for all ages will be held at 9:30 a.m. We are located at 135 Einstein Loop, Rm. 50 (lower level), Bronx, NY 10475. Telephone: 718-320-3774. Email: ccbc135@optimum.net or coopcitybc@gmail.com. Website: www.coopcitybaptistchurch.org. Masks are optional.

The 11 a.m. service is also available on Zoom at https://us04web.zoom. us/j/9623430102 or Zoom Telephone Conference Line, 646-568-7788; Meeting ID 962 343 0102#; Password 788175#. You can also go to YouTube, search for “Co-op City Baptist Church” and watch us there.

The church’s free conference call line dial in number is 857-357-0254; Access Code is 660065#.

Rev. Williams asks everyone who calls into the Sunday Worship service to use Zoom through your computer or dial-in using the Zoom information shown above.

Tomorrow, Sunday, May 18, the Pastor’s Aide Ministry will celebrate their 46th Anniversary at the 11 a.m. service. The guest preacher will be the Rev. Reginald E. Paris, Pastor of United Christian Baptist Church, Bronx, NY. Their theme is: “Cultivating Your Gifts in the Holy Spirit” –Ephesians 4:11-12. All are invited to this special occasion.

This Week’s Events: Wednesday Bible Study Classes at 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. are on Zoom. On Thursday, the Prayer Warriors Prayer Service will start at 12 p.m. on the church conference call line. On Thursday at 2 p.m., the Circle of Grace Knit and Crochet Group will meet in person at the church in Rm. 51. The Friday Mid-Morning Prayer Service is at 10 a.m. and the evening prayer service is at 7:30 p.m.; both services will be held on the church conference call line.

The next CCBC Food Giveaway will be distributed on Friday, May 23, from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m., in front of the Einstein Community Center. Please remember to bring your own bag and perhaps a cart. Some products can be heavy. Everyone is welcome.

On Sunday, May 25, during the 11 a.m. service, we will honor our veterans. Everyone is invited.

The Gospel Line Dance Classes will not meet during the month of May. Our next class will be held on Saturday, June 14, from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m., in the Einstein Community Center, Rm. 35. There is no fee for this class. Come pray, dance and worship the Lord. Everyone is welcome!

The church has a free app available on your app store by putting in “Co Op CBC.” This app is open to all.

“GOD is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1

The Co-op City Baptist Church exists to glorify God and to establish a living community of people who follow the teachings of Jesus the Christ through worship, prayer, Bible Study and fellowship. We seek to meet the spiritual and physical needs of the church through ministry.

—Marilyn C. Williams

The Church of St. Thomas The Apostle

177 Dreiser Loop, second floor, Rm. 2.

Greetings, in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The congregation and clergy of St. Thomas invite you to worship with us. Jesus said, “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

As we continue to celebrate the Easter season, the Gospel lesson for this Sunday recounts the resurrection of Christ once again. We are reminded that the resurrection calls us to a life of bold faith, obedience, evangelizing, and love. We are also assured of God’s plan of resurrection for us. This is all possible because Christ has overcome the world for us. “He is risen.” (Mark 16:6)

The Fourth Sunday after Easter, May 18th, 2025

•11 a.m. Communion Service.

•Fellowship with light refreshments following the service.

Bible Lessons:

•Acts 13:27-35

•Mark 16:1-7

Prayer: O CHRIST our Lord and Master, grant that as Thou hast risen from the dead, Thy people may rise from ignorance to the firm ground of true knowledge and thence press onwards towards the mount of heavenly wisdom, where fair peace forever dwells; Thou who livest and reignest throughout the ages of ages. Amen.

—Rev. Dorian Miceli

Lunch Buffet at Miller’s. Adults, $230. Youth, $175 (age 3-12). Non-refundable deposit of $50 per person due now. Second payment due April 30. Final payment due by July 6. Contacts: Loretta Scott at 718-671-2623 or Sadie James, 917-667-4229.

We continue to pray for speedy recovery for the sick and shut-in, and condolences to families who lost loved ones and good health and wellness for all.

Please mail contributions, tithes and offerings to Church of New Vision, P.O. Box 75-3037, Einstein Station, Bronx, New York 10475. Than k you.

—Brenda Brown

Traditional Synagogue of Co-op City

The synagogue would appreciate donations to keep our shul open. If you would like to help, go to www.Gofundme.com/Traditional-Synagogue-of-Co-op-City to donate, or mail to the Traditional Synagogue located in Section 5, 120 Erdman Place, in the rear lobby of 27B.

The synagogue has services on Saturday morning starting at 10 a.m. After service, we serve a hot/cold kiddush meal. Entrance to our synagogue for Saturday services is on the side door of Building 27B.

General Information: The Traditional Synagogue is located in Section 5, 120 Erdman Place, in the rear lobby of 27B. It is on the ground floor of Building 27B and it is handicap accessible, no steps. Phone #: 718-379-6920. Office hours are Thursday and Sunday from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. Please call the office before you attempt to come over. If no one is in the office, please leave a message. The synagogue has a Facebook page, “Traditional Synagogue.”

The synagogue needs donations. Whatever amount you can donate, big or small, would help. The synagogue needs men to help make a minyan. There are

a lot of Jewish men who live in Co-op City who do not come to services. Please come by 10 a.m. so we can take out the Torah.

The Traditional Synagogue is the only synagogue in Co-op City.

Sabbath ends on Saturday, May 17, at 9 p.m.

Candle lighting for Friday, May 23, at 7:53 p.m.

Good and Welfare: The congregation welcomes donations in honor or memory of a loved one. Any amount is greatly appreciated. For information about the congregation and its services, please call 646-285-1206.

To all Members: Happy birthday to Karla Klaus and all other members who will be celebrating their birthday in May. Please send me your name and I will add it to the list.

Fun and Games: After services and kiddush, members play games. Your support for the Traditional Synagogue is greatly appreciated. Wishing all our members and friends peace and good health.

—Bruce

Gitelson

Redeemed Seventh Day Church

The 7 Blessings of Revelation

There is a theme that reappears repeatedly throughout the pages of the book of Revelation. It’s the number seven (7). There are seven churches, seven spirits, seven seals, a beast with seven horns, seven trumpets, seven last plagues, seven times the word “Christ,” seven times Christ announces His coming, seven times the form “the Lord God Almighty” appears, there are seven “amens” in the book, “prophets” are referred to seven times, the form “the one who sits on the throne” is used seven times. Most of us know that things come in sevens in the book of Revelation. But did you know that God announces seven blessings in the book of Revelation?

The first blessing is found in Revelation 1:3 , “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”

This is the only book in the Bible where God pronounced a blessing upon those who read it! This is even more reason to study Revelation.

So, the first of the seven blessings found in the book of Revelation has to do with reading this book. As you turn the pages of this book, you will see the end of the battle between Christ and Satan. And that’s a blessing.

This battle that played out in Genesis ends in Revelation. What started in Genesis ends in Revelation. In Genesis, God creates the heavens and the earth. In Revelation, God creates a New Heaven and a New Earth. In Genesis, mankind eats from the forbidden tree and eventually dies. In Revelation, mankind eats from the tree of life and lives forever. In Genesis, we see the entrance of sin and suffering on earth. In Revelation, we see the end of sin and suffering in the new earth. In Genesis, there is so much sickness. In Revelation, there is no more sickness. In Genesis, there is so much death. In Revelation, there is no more death. In Genesis, Adam and Eve shed tears as they leave paradise. In Revelation, there are no more tears, for God shall wipe away all tears. It is a blessing to study the book of Revelation. It’s a blessing to know that this world will soon pass away and God will make all things new!

Join us at Redeemed Seventh Day Church as we study the book of Revelation. We meet every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Rm. 38, second floor, Einstein Community Center, 135 Einstein Loop.

—Ruth Anderson

Box 017, Trenton, New Jersey, 08666-0017. 5/31