Vol. 60 No. 2
January 11, 2025
$1.25
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Income Affidavit Prep 2020 Income Verification Deadline is Jan. 31 Seminars Begin Jan. 28 BY ROZAAN BOONE
To prepare for this year’s Income Affidavit period and to help simplify the process for shareholders, Riverbay Management will present a series of seminars that can be attended virtually or in person to review the application and answer shareholders’ questions. Bimonthly seminars are planned for February and March, and will follow the initial session which will be held on Tuesday, January 28, from 7-8 p.m. in the Dreiser Auditorium. The Income Affidavit period begins in April. Shareholders who will continue to file a paper Income Affidavit as well as those who intend to utilize the electronic filing option are encouraged to attend at least one of the seminars. The seminars will be facilitated by Capstone Strategy Group, the vendor Riverbay worked with to digitize the Income Affidavit form. At each session, Capstone representatives will review the Income Affidavit form including the steps to complete the form, and answer shareholders’ questions. Each seminar will be recorded and made available later on the Riverbay Crawler as well as the corporation’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/@ co-opcitynyc6750 or https://shorturl.at/UDa3D. (Continued on page 2)
NYCDOT Cracks Down on Ghost Cars Online Public Hearing on Feb. 6 BY BRANDON ORTIZ
Shareholders who received income verification letters for tax year 2020 from New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) are reminded that the deadline to respond by bringing or mailing proof to the Riverbay Finance department is Friday, January 31. Failure to respond will be assumed to indicate unreported excess income and will result in a retroactive maximum surcharge of 50% being applied to their monthly maintenance accounts for the period starting July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. There is also an additional $150 administrative charge. The 2020 Income Affidavits of shareholders who received an income verification letter could have been flagged for several reasons: • Income reported on the 2020 Income Affidavit is less than income reported on the 2020 NYS Income tax return by $500 or more • Shareholder or occupant listed on the Income Affidavit did not file a 2020 state Income Tax Return • Social Security number provided was not found in the NYS Taxation and Finance’s files • Social Security number was found in the state Taxation and Finance’s files, but the name does not match In some cases, the NYS Taxation and Finance Department may not have been able to read what was written on the Income Affidavit or information was submitted incorrectly or is missing. Children or dependents requiring verification can use the tax transcript of the parent or guardian who claimed them as dependents.
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New York City is cracking down on ghost cars with obscured or unreadable license plates after the New York City Department of Transit (NYCDOT) proposed a new set of rules regarding the visibility and readability of plates. NYCDOT is proposing four amendments to the Rules of the City of New York in an effort to provide law enforcement the authority to remove ghost cars off city streets. With these latest proposed amendments, the city law would align with the current provisions in the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law (VTL) for license plate visibility. One proposed amendment requires drivers to be responsible for the visibility of their license plate. Specifically, “plates must be properly displayed, securely fastened, and positioned between 12–48 inches from the ground whenever possible. Plates must be kept clean, not covered by glass or plastic material, and in a condition that enIf you have a comment or sugsures they are readable,” according gestion to share with Riverbay Corto NYCDOT. poration, don’t just tell it to your As for motorcycles, in addition neighbors. Submit it through the to the aforementioned license plate proper channels to be impactful. readability requirements, motorComments and suggestions from cycle owners must make sure “at shareholders can be submitted by least one plate is fastened on the visiting the official Co-op City rear of the vehicle,” the proposed website at coopcity.com, scrolling rule highlighted. to the bottom of the Home page to Drivers are also prohibited from “Useful Links” and covering their vehicles to avoid clicking on “Send parking or traffic enforcement. “No Comments & Sugvehicle may be parked with a cover gestions.” Scan the that obscures the make, color, veQR code here to hicle identification number (VIN), be connected to the license plates, registration stickers, home page. or inspection stickers. Covers that Please note that comments and restrict access to the vehicle are suggestions are properly vetted prialso prohibited when the vehicle or to implementation to determine is in violation of posted parking accuracy, benefit to Riverbay Corrules,” as explained by NYCDOT. poration and shareholders, and adLicense plates must also be readherence to applicable laws and rules, able and unobscured, according to among other factors.
Co-op City motorists are reminded that the speed limit citywide is 25 mph to ensure the safety of pedestrians, especially children and the elderly, on all city roadways, and the city enforces the new speed limit with the installation of speed enforcement cameras at hundreds of locations throughout the city, in particular, in school zones. The city’s previous speed limit on city streets – 30 mph – remains in effect on all roadways where another limit is not posted. In addition, some streets, especially those near to schools, may have an even lower speed limit so drivers must pay close attention to the posted speed limit signs on all city streets. The city’s Department of Transportation does not post signs or announce the location of speed cameras enforcing school zones because it is illegal to speed anywhere within the City of New York and posting the locations of the cameras reduces their effectiveness as a deterrent to speeding. The cameras, however, do not photograph every vehicle passing through the school speed zone, only those travelling at 10 mph above the speed limit within the speed zone. School cameras operate 24 hours daily, 7 days a week.
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