words of the day for president and vice president of our board

bad faith , self dealing, intentional misconduct, and more to come

i dropped a couple of these in the lobby

i have nothing against RCCY even though it may sound like i do, i used to drop off their pamphlets and post them in the lobby too. The more i got involved in the city and the more meetings i went to i realized what the deal was.
RCCY really does not serve our local community. They only appear when their views and values are affected at David’s Lane. We never hear from them otherwise. There has been this huge hole in the ground across the street with steel plates and a missing sidewalk and poor lighting on the east side of the street. If they were a community group, involved in this area, these unsafe conditions would have been resolved.

I agree this area should be rezoned as low rise buildings, but this neighborhood, where we live, also needs to be changed, so if you are going to make any phone calls or write any letter to city council on this topic make sure you speak up for OUR neighborhood. RCCY is only addressing their loss of views. If that area is rezoned, we are still vulnerable.

Our neighborhood needs Harriman Avenue rezoned to low rise if it is high-rise now.

yellow leaflet in lobby RCCY

i have gone to a couple meetings concerning the development in this area , and at first i was surprised and happy to find out there was an organized community group in this area. However after a couple meetings in downtown yonkers i realized they were only concerned with projects that would block their views up on Davids lane, which is up next to the Lenoir preserve.
i have seen no evidence that that they are involved in the community in any way more than that function. i would like to get a community group organized here , i don't know how feasible that is, i think the parents that go to the children's playground have a much better feel on that possibility.
i never thought of this before, where do the people live that drop off their kids to get on the school buses?

independent shareholders meeting to discuss the co-op

a couple of shareholders are going to have a meeting to discuss the goings on at our co-op. The date is to be announced. We will do it informally , if we pick a nice weekend we can meet outside on the terrace, if we meet in the evening we can meet downstairs in the lobby.
This meeting is not being organized by the board of directors of the building .
This meeting is being put together by a couple shareholders that see things are not being run well due to a too controlling board hierarchy .
There is very little if any communication in this building.
some of the board members would like to continue that and keep the shareholders in the dark.
the shareholders need to take some ownership of this building and realize if they don't speak up they will get nothing. More likely they will be screwed by their neighbor and board members.
as far as i i am concerned the recent elections of board members was a farce, the board president did not release damaging information to his reelection bid until after the elections were carried out at the annual meeting.
the information on the budget accounting error should have been made known to the other board members and shareholders when it was discovered.
the concealment of this error was a violation of the fiduciary duties if the board president.

have we refinaced?

i see the interest rates are at a all time low, have we refinanced yet.
if we have would the board members know?

four parking spaces for one family

i think this is a new record for the building, one family steals three extra parking spaces for their family.
all you suckers are on the waiting list for going upstairs and they have a unauthorized upstairs space.
i guess that is one of the pay offs expected when your president of the board, have parking spaces assigned for yourself your wife and your two kids.
that is a violation of about a half dozen parking garage rules.

suckers

annual meeting minutes and accounting error

i had faxed rich p at B&H and followed up and spoke to him about the shareholders not receiving the 2008 annual meeting minutes.
looking at the minutes, i wouldn't call the accounting error a clerical error, this error caused over 8% of the proposed operating budget about $27,000 to be missing.
i also have to wonder how bad our bookkeeping is that when a $27,000 mistake like this is made, it was quietly absorbed.
think about it .
i also believe the minutes are out of order, the voting for co-op officers was done first, before the proverbial "cat was let out of the bag" before the president let the shareholders know about the $27,000 budget mistake. the meeting was held June of 2008. When was the $27,000 mistake discovered? When did the co-op board president notify the board members? The shareholders were notified at the '08 annual meeting, the board members i spoke to were notified about 5 days before the annual meeting. The ex treasure never knew because he wasn't at the annual meeting. one of the reasons that i pushed for the release of the annual meeting minutes was that i realized that the shareholders that didn't attend the meeting still didn't know about this accounting mistake.
the co-op president refusal to share the info in a timely manner with his board of directors and the shareholders may fall into a legal area.
the election itself should not stand and should not be valid,
if the share holders knew about the mistakes that were being made and being kept secret from the other board members, and the shareholders knew about the extra illegal upper level parking space the board president had fixed, i think the tipping point would have been reached way back then.
Action would have been taken back then to get a team together to run an election against these people that are on the board to get illegal extra parking spaces for their family members.
we would have put together a team to get rid of the board members that have no opinions and probably agree to everything June proposes since June illegally bypassed the next shareholder resident on the garage list for this non resident board member that hadn't closed on their apartment yet. yet another self serving board member who should get out while they can.
i was ticked off when the first assessment for the roof waterproofing was announced, that in my opinion was nothing but pure negligence on behalf of the managing agent, however if your board doesn't open their mouth and raise a peep there is nothing you can do.
this accounting error is the tipping point though, the error just keeps on growing, we have the silence on the error, the lack of minutes , the non release of error until after the election...

scammer electrical service people in the building

i am not sure what company they are from but 3 guys in suits are ringing every body's bells saying that con ed is going to raise every bodies bill 22 percent next month.
if we sign up with them our bill will only go up 14 percent.
i have no idea on what is going on, but generally i don't trust anybody that doesn't leave me any paperwork to look over.
i have heard a lot of negative stories about these interconnect companies, they usually promise one thing and lots of hidden charges and you end up paying more and have a hellacious time getting switched back.

please pass on this blog information to your neighbors

i need to make out some more cards to inform residents of the existence of this blog. Their is also links to click that will inform you of any new postings.
comment are welcome, click on the comment icon or where it says "comments".
personal attacks are not tolerated, factual information is welcome.
One of the reasons i have tried to stay away from the board for the last fifteen years is i tend to get involved in things and do not do a half-arsed job.
i would rather leave the co-op building management to the new younger and more energetic shareholders, however for some reason very few have expressed interest, and more disturbing, the ones that have expressed interest have somehow been kept off the board.
Luckily that has changed with a unexpected opening and the volunteering of one of out shareholders.
His volunteering to serve with a dysfunctional board that has intolerable personalities on it that have already caused the resignation of very good board members. These same personalities has caused good people to not volunteer for the board.
The board is a non paying function and pia function, but we need good people that are going to be fair and look out for the shareholders and not just take care of themselves.
i have experience as a prior board member and also know the proper procedure and what board members and shareholders are entitled to.
My understanding is that some board members have been improperly refused information and improperly being kept in the dark concerning the board and building activity's.
As a prior board member i know that a board member is entitled to review every record, minutes, receipt, purchase agreement and t every financial from co-op incorporation to present.
They can also include themselves on co-op buyer interviews and make sure that the persons being interviewed are the only ones that are going to reside in the apartment.
on Sept 3, 2008 i faxed a letter to the board of directors via the managing agent at barhite and holzinger. This letter was concerning improper assignment by board members extra parking spaces for their family members over waiting shareholders. It also was directed at number of problems with a particular board member. Their conduct was so intolerable and unprofessional that i knew i had to act before our building became the subject of a lawsuit and even more probable and possible, another good board member would resign.
i have since found out that as October the board members were not informed of or giving a copy of this letter by the board president.
i have been finding out more and more how little information is shared with board members by the co-op president, for him to not inform other board members is well beyond good judgment.
the cover story for the board president is that he was planning on discussing it at the next meeting. this is a pure stalling tactic.
Board members should have the opportunity to interview and research before the meeting, otherwise they are getting a one sided view.
i faxed over another letter the boards abuse of the parking rules and failure to correct. The presidents and garage manager assignment of 3 spots for their family, two upstairs. the garage rules are posted in this blog a couple pages back.
myself and other prior board members and garage managers have confronted them about this, but they continue to take extra for their family at the expense of the rightful shareholders.
i also followed up on the removal of the board member for cause. This persons intolerable behavior is so far off the charts that no way no how should they be in any managerial or board function concerning the running of One Hawley terrace.
i requested this be done quietly and move on, but over 45 days have gone by and no action has been taking. i did speak to the board president on sept 4, 2008 and he strongly disagreed with my assessment of the problem.
Now i strongly question the judgment and motives of the board president and the ability to make proper decisions. Seems trying to stack the voting and keep power within the family is much more important than having a properly functioning board.

great gelato and espresso within walking distance

this little cafe is a great neighborhood stop off, definitely the best in the area.
they have fresh gelato on weekends and during the week they have lunches great deserts and the best coffee around. very friendly atmosphere, i find the gelato and espresso prices very reasonable , about half of what i pay in Manhattan. the only caveat, they seem to have a plumbing problem and the bathroom is out of order.
Hastings ny 10706 antoinette's - Google Maps

how are we paying for the stairs?

i cant remember what was the final resolution on the paying for the stairs.
i remember it was discussed at the annual shareholders meeting.
However since this is the first time in twenty five years we have not been mailed a copy of the annual minutes, i do not remember what the cost and how we were paying for the stairs.
There was a lot of talk of refinancing due to the then low interest rates.
We had a substantial prepayment penalty; if the loan cost dropped below a certain interest rate, it would seem to have been a good move.
however we have nor been updated and the board members i have spoken too have no idea on what the status is on the refinancing , the board member are also being kept in the dark

stairs, stairs what is going on with the stairs?

i give up? what is going on with the stairs?
anyone know? seems like it is great concrete curing weather

dunkin donuts at 6 pm Plainclothes Yonkers cop says teens tried to rob him

Plainclothes Yonkers cop says teens tried to rob him | lohud.com | The Journal News

board member responsibilities and conduct

couple good articles in the cooperator online magazine.
board member ethics and pitfalls

Another no-no is when board members play favorites as far as parking space waiting lists are concerned. "Putting their friend higher on the list is abusing their powers and is not doing what's best for the board," Altman says.

it also goes into describing how at least two board member signatures are responsible for all major purchases and important financial matters.
transparency and good information flow was also brought up many times in all the article concerning the boards conduct with shareholders.

what color will the new stairs be?

graffiti white,the way they are now, or brick colored to match the building?

used kitty litter in elevator

we have a jerk who on more than one occasion has let his bags of used kitty litter break in the elevator and besides not cleaning it up properly having no respect for anyone and not cleaning it up , he kicks it through the gap, into the elevator machinery.
He should pay for the expense of cleaning out the elevator trap and machinery, before the elevator breaks down and the shareholders get stuck for the bill and the residents get a loss of service.

why was our beautiful flower garden destroyed

The new steps so far look nice, but the flower, plants and shrubs that were destroyed is a real shame.
There were many times i walked up the steps and i would stop and admire the flowers and the design of the landscape, it was really nice and it upgraded the decor of the building quite a bit.
It showed that someone cared. It showed that someone was interested in the building and making it look nice.
Compared to the decrepit stairs it really saved the buildings aesthetics
i will write a post about the stairs soon
i hope i have some pictures of the landscape before the destruction.
if anyone has some please email them to me and i will post them here on the blog.
Looking at the area last night i could see no reason for the large scale destruction of the garden. The footprint of the stair area and the immediate area had to be dug up and removed. The area west of the stairs going towards warburton avenue was also dug up and destroyed. Last night it was being used as lumber, scaffolding and supply holding area.

there was a lot of work and shareholder expense put into that garden.
At the worst case all the plants, flowers and shrubs should have been placed in containers for transplant.
the reason for that large area to be destroyed has to be explained.
the expense and man hours to replace that garden is going to be high.
that was a beautiful landscape, i believe it was the best it has looked in the 25 plus years i have been living here.

Police catch dog walkers in the playground

Good work to whoever called the police and got the interaction with the dog walkers in the playground last night . It looked like they may actually do something with this reoccurring problem. I had called many times myself, and the police did finally catch a couple people in there. However, the dog walkers came back the next day and night, the same people whom the police had snagged in the playground. This was particular annoying since it took over 6 phone calls to the police department and all those wasted dispatched where they arrive and the playground is empty. Finally, they catch them in the playground, and I saw the police talking to them for more than a couple minutes and the police going back and forth between the radio car and dog walkers. The next day the same dog walkers are back in the children’s playground.

Since then the number of dog walkers has steadily increased,

Good community work!

People that walk dogs in the children playground have no respect for the kids and parents.

Even if they clean up the poop, there is still left over and the dog pee is going to be all over everything. Childhood blindness can be caused by dog pee or poop.

lets revive the garage and building and ground committee

weather is good ,we can meet one night on the terrace.
really would like to see more use of the terrace, really is a nice place.
so much nicer with the tiles. i like to see the little kids play out there.
Hear there has been issues with this and would like to discuss
shame to look out and see no one using it on a nice day.

jott a free cell phone message service that can improve safety in the building and neighborhood

Jott was a great free beta service, it ended its beta and it is now a fee based service.
however there is still a free Jott that may work out for many as a reminder and memo service.
i thought the free jott had an add to group or contact portion the same as the free beta did. Too bad it doesn't, it would have worked as a good free tool for building and neighborhood.
the jott contact feature would have been great to help building safety.
fro instance if i was going out and saw the garage door was stuck open, i could call jott contacts and leave a message Warburton door stuck open, any resident that was in my hawley terrace group of contacts would get that info in a text message or email. If 6 people were in my contacts all 6 would get it, if 20 people all would get it. i am sure one of these people would be home and be able to help correct the problem in real time. if they couldn't correct it they could at least take better security measure until it was fixed.
first i recommend getting a "grand central number" another service that is in beta, acquired by goggle .
Grand central is a great free service, where you sign up and it gived you a free phone number in an area code and area you request.
this phone number you give out to anyone that you are worried about security and confidentiality. works great for giving out to businesses or when you sign up for something, it has a anti voice spam feature.
you set up via the computer your grand central number to ring your cell phone and /or land line. You can set it up so that it rings both numbers.
my cell phone loses signal alot in my apartment, so the grand central number rings both at the same time.
it really is a great service, take it from a retired telco geek.
you use your grand central number to use with the jott service if you are worried about giving out your home number or cell number.