Vol. 60 No. 6
February 8, 2025
$1.25
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More than 140 Shareholders Attended Jan. 28th “Trash It, Don’t Flush It” DANIELLE CRUZ Virtual Income Affidavit Information Session BYFor years, NYC’s wastewater system has been BY ROZAAN BOONE
Approximately 75 shareholders joined the virtual Income Affidavit Information Session held on Zoom on Tuesday, January 28, while another 70 attended the session in-person at the Dreiser Auditorium to learn more about the electronic filing option and get answers to questions. The Jan. 28th session was also broadcast live on the Riverbay Crawler starting at 7 p.m. Riverbay Assistant Executive General Manager Cary Smith III opened the session. “This is a very exciting time for Co-op City as this is now our third year with the electronic filing of Income Affidavits,” said Mr. Smith. “We’ve been ramping this up and it’s a great opportunity for residents to take advantage of this process. You’re able to do it at your convenience in your apartment, or if you’re on vacation, wherever you may be, this is what you’re able to do using this platform.” Mr. Smith introduced Dr. Gaston Mbonglou and Dwight McLeod from Capstone Strategy Group, the vendor Riverbay collaborated with to digitize the Income Affidavit filing. Capstone is also facilitating the information sessions leading into the Income Affidavit period. Also present at the Jan. 28th Information Session was Riverbay’s director of Finance, Averil James-Bonnette. “One of the great things about this [digital] process is there will be fields that are already pre-filled,” said Mr. Smith. “Then, you will be able to review and fill in those that are blank. When you are doing it in-person, you have to write in more information than when you’re doing the form electronically because we are already able to capture information that is pertinent to you and your household that you’re able to view and then just put any additional information.” (Continued on page 2)
New Feature! Directors’ Corner, see page 4
Application Window Opens for CUNY X MTA Internship BY BRANDON ORTIZ
CUNY students looking to gain professional experience this summer should consider applying for the 2025 CUNY X MTA Internship Program. The application window officially opened this week on Tuesday, February 4, and closes on Friday, February 28. Open to undergraduate CUNY students across the 25 campuses, the paid opportunity offers participants real world experience in a field related to their major. Interested applicants can apply online at tinyurl.com/y8wutfcn. On the program website, applicants should click on the “Apply Now” button, which will lead applicants to the CUNY Internship Program platform where they can create an account. After account creation, users can upload their resume and begin searching for available internships by first clicking on the “Jobs” tab then “Jobs and Internships.” Once navigated to the “Jobs and Internships” tab, users can then type “MTA” into the search bar to view the current open internship positions across various MTA departments. For chosen applicants, they will receive an invitation to interview in March. Then in May, CUNY will directly notify the applicants who officially have an offer from the MTA. Over 100 internship slots are available for various majors from technology-related, business, urban planning, law and (Continued on page 4)
Friday, February 14
facing an expensive and growing problem — clogged pipes and sewer backups caused by improper waste disposal of items like wipes (even “flushable” wipes), paper towels, kitchen grease, and other non-biodegradable materials. According to the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), nearly $19 million is spent each year to degrease the sewers, deal with damage caused by sewer backups, and repair equipment that has been damaged by non-flushable items and transport those items to a landfill. Flushing these non-biodegradable items has also led to fatbergs becoming a worsening problem. Fatbergs, a combination of the words “fat” and “iceberg,” are large, dense masses of common household trash items that clog pipes and block sewer lines. These masses often take weeks to remove and have to be manually removed by sanitation workers, who use a combination of high-powered water jets, saws, and pickaxes to break the fatbergs apart into smaller chunks that are then removed from the sewer, either by hand or an industrial vacuum. Wipes, grease, and other materials that do make it to one of the city’s 14 wastewater treatment (Continued on page 3)
New Legislation Package Expands School Mental Health Resources BY BRANDON ORTIZ
New York City Council members voted on Thursday, January 23, to pass a package of legislation aimed at expanding the mental health resources available in public schools citywide. In total, the package included four bills that address various areas of supporting the mental health needs of public school students. With the New York City Council passing the legislation, the remaining step is for Mayor Adams to sign off on each bill. According to the first bill, Introduction 986-A, New York City will be required to implement a two-year pilot program that connects mental health (Continued on page 3)
Public Meeting – Building of Hotel & Casino at Bally’s Golf Links at Ferry Point Community Board #10 invites constituents to a public meeting to be held on Tuesday, Feb. 25, regarding Bally’s Golf Links Ferry Point’s proposal to build and operate a hotel and casino at 500 Hutchinson River Parkway, Bronx, NY 10465. The public meeting will be held at Nat Silverberg Field House on the campus of Monsignor Scanlan High School, 915 Hutchinson River Parkway, Bronx, NY 10465. It begins promptly at 7 p.m. Bally officials are scheduled to present at the Feb. 25th CB #10 meeting. Public testimony will also be accepted. A large public attendance is expected and CB #10 advises anyone who would like to speak, ask a question or submit testimony to contact the Board as soon as possible, 718-892-1161; bx10@cb.nyc.gov. This email can also be used to submit testimony for or against the project. Community Board #10 is required, under the City of New York Charter, to hold a public meeting on this matter. For more information, you may contact CB 310 District Manager Matt Cruz at (718) 892-1161.