Vol. 58 No. 1
Saturday, January 7, 2023
Reminder to Eligible Shareholders: Apply for SCRIE or DRIE BY ROZAAN BOONE
Senior shareholders 62 years and older, and shareholders who are disabled may be eligible for the city’s SCRIE (Senior Citizens Rent Increase Exemption) or DRIE (Disability Rent Increase Exemption) program. Those who qualify may be minimally affected by the 7.5% carrying charge increase that was implemented January 1, 2023. The increase order issued by the Commissioner of the New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewal (HCR), approving the 7.5% carrying charge increase, was published on page 1 of the Saturday, December 10, 2022 Co-op City Times. In addition to information in the Co-op City Times, to further help inform shareholders about the SCRIE program offered by the city of New York, the Riverbay Board and Riverbay Fund invited NYC Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), administrator of the SCRIE program for Mitchell-Lama residents, to conduct a workshop in Co-op City on Saturday, December 3, 2022 where shareholders were able to ask questions and get information about the program as well as assistance with applications. The more than 300 shareholders who attended the SCRIE workshop were advised by HPD not to submit their applications until all income-supporting documents are available. These documents are generally mailed by the rein preparation for the upcoming tax season. Shareholders already receiving SCRIE or DRIE do not need to reapply. Riverbay submitted the paperwork following HCR approval. Both SCRIE and DRIE are part of the city’s Rent Freeze Program, and for homeowners in Mitchell-Lama developments such as Co-op City, SCRIE is administered by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), not the NYC Department of Finance. Information on SCRIE can be obtained by calling HPD’s SCRIE Unit at Shareholders applying for DRIE do so through the NYC Rent Freeze program which is processed through the NYC Department of Finance. For in(Continued on page 4)
Window Guard Form & Safety Notice Mailed Early Jan. Shareholders will soon begin receiving their annual Window Guard form and Safety Notice in the mail. In the meantime, copies of both documents are posted in each building lobby for informational purposes. included in the mailing, and returned to Riverbay Management or phoned in, faxed or emailed as per directions included in the package. The deadline is February 15, 2023. More information will be disseminated as the mailing date approaches, however, for now, shareholders should familiarize themselves with the documents by reading the poster in the building lobby. Please note this is an annual process that must be completed by shareholders every year.
What’s Inside: What’s Going On In The Dawg Haus, p. 3 BBB Scam Alert: Weight Loss Scams, p. 5 Fire Safety for Co-op City Residents, p. 9 JASA Schedules and Menu, p. 19
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Holiday Storm Forces Natural Gas Curtailment at Power Plant BY BRANDON ORTIZ
Co-op City’s Power Plant temporarily switched to fuel oil over the Christmas weekend during last month’s winter storm. The switch happened in response to a notice from Con Edison for the power notice required a natural gas curtailment from Friday, December 23, at midnight until 10 a.m. on December 27, according to Riverbay Power Plant Senior Director of Utility Assets, Anthony Ligato.
Last month’s plummeting temperatures over Christmas weekend caused ConEd to call a winter Demand Response event for commercial customers like the Power Plant to discontinue natural gas use and switch to fuel oil to help reduce strain on the grid and avoid outages. Residential customers were also asked to turn down thermostats and avoid using gas-powered appliances.
Con Edison issued Riverbay the notice roughly a day in advance of the required temporary switch. In general, Con Edison issues demand response notices in anticipation of potential power surges caused by extreme weather or temperature shifts. These response notices strategically help provide more stability and alleviate strains on New York’s power grid. (Continued on page 2)
State Senate Bill Could Help Co-op Boards With Retrofitting Costs BY BRANDON ORTIZ
A New York State Senate bill could potentially help Riverbay Corporation off-
State Senator Kevin Parker of the 21st Congressional District proposed the legislation, currently called State Senate Bill S9603. If passed, the bill would amend the real property tax law by “establishing an abatement and exemption from real property taxes for capital improvements to reduce carbon emissions,” according to the NY State Senate online database. In other words, the legislation would provide relief for property owners who cal Law 97. As a quick recap, Local Law 97 mandates that buildings “over 25,000 square sions limits by 2024, with stricter limits coming into effect in 2030,” as outlined in the NYC Department of Buildings website. Since Co-op City is a Mitchell-Lama affordable housing development, the deadline to comply with Local Law 97 is 2035. Under the bill, tax exemptions for property owners would be calculated based on “any assessed value increase for the eligible improvement for a period of twenor after December 31, 2021 and were completed within 60 months of receiving a permit. The bill also detailed that tax abatements would be determined by calculating In general, tax exemptions lower the amount of tax owed by reducing a property’s assessed value, while abatements reduce taxes by applying credits to the total amount of taxes owed, as explained on the NYC Department of Finance website. (Continued on page 2)