Don't fence me in

Are the sparks coming from his torch or his cigarette

Many of you have seen the new fences that have been installed around Village View, especially by building number 3. You may also have noticed that the welding is being performed by our maintenance personnel specifically Edguardo. The fact is that welding is usually expensive, but thanks to our crew Village View is saving tens of thousands of dollars on the installation. There was once a song called "Don't fence me in", but at these prices who can complain?

Village of the Giants

No it is not a new sci-fi movie it's just that the Dept. of Parks has planted new trees that eventually will become giants. Here is a picture of the tag denoting the variety known as "Tilia tomentosa Sterling".

Tilia tomentosa can grow up to forty feet, but the Sterling type can reach 90 feet! Granted it grows 1 foot per year so very few of us will live long enough to see it that tall. Ultimately it still begs the question why plant that type of tree in a 5' by 10' area where there are underground utilities? Inevitably the concrete sidewalk will have to be replaced, but that will be the problem of a future board.

They are so cute when they are babies.

The good: Tolerant of pollution, heat, poor soil, and drought.
The bad: Grows fast. Toxic to bees. Requires frequent cleanup in spring and fall. Sooty mold. Will probably fall on my car when it gets tall enough.

Breaking new ground

Sidewalk in front of parking lot 3

As you might have noticed the sidewalks have been cut so new trees can be planted. While trees improve the air quality, and beautify the landscape I don't support planting trees that will grow thirty feet or more. It is inevitable they will require maintenance that the city will fail to provide (except in emergencies), and eventually destroy the sidewalks. Semi-dwarf trees grow slowly, attain a height of 10-15 feet, and seem to be a better choice when you've provided a space that is only 5' by 10' wide. You can also plant a redwood seed in a ceramic planter, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

The View Up Above

Smile! Your on Village View
camera.

The name Village View has become rather prophetic thanks to the numerous cameras that monitor our elevators, lobbies, and now our upgraded playground. Do you remember the old saying "he knows if you've been bad or good so be good for goodness sake"? Now it not only applies to the wisdom of Santa Claus, but to our security as well. So if the kids find coal in their stockings Christmas morning and ask why, you can imitate Warner Wolf and say "lets go to the videotape".

The perfect storm



R.I.P.
Photo by Jason Szenes

Irene, a 500 mile wide 115 m.p.h. hurricane was downgraded to a 65 m.p.h. tropical storm when it landed in N.Y. on Saturday evening. Fortunately Village View had no damage other than to some of our original residents, the trees. With all the cataclysmic prophecies by the media my plans to surf twenty foot waves on the Hudson, snorkel the ruins of Wall Street, and fish for porgies from my 11th story balcony had to be canceled. This was probably the most boring storm ever, but in the end it was perfectly alright.

Village View Party

Village View hosted a party to celebrate the opening of the upgraded playground between buildings 1 and 2. Hot dogs, ice cream, pretzels, and drinks were served and the weather was perfect.

Some children were enjoying their ice cream on the rock wall.

While some of the bigger kids pretended to be serving hot dogs.

Some waited to enjoy the slide.

While others waited to enjoy a pretzel.

All those who attended were in agreement that the park is a perfect place to bring your children, and hoped Village View would have more parties like this one. A special thanks to Board Member Rick Pamias for his work in making this possible.

Clipping the garden committee

Why did Dan vote no for the motion to allocate $5000. to the garden committee? The simple answer is they requested $3,500. and had $1,962. cash on hand. The fact is the garden committee budget is solely for materials since their labor is voluntary. The extra money means one of two things. 1) They will carry some over to next year like the $1,714. they did previously. 2) They will buy extra materials, and then have to perform the extra work associated with it like digging, planting, and fertilizing. We owe them a great deal of thanks, not extra work. That is unless you plan on volunteering and help them out.

P.S. I would have approved $3,500. as I believe they carefully evaluated their budget needs and the physical labor involved . They can also make a request at any time for more funds should the need arise.

Comment by Board Member Daisy Klein;  I agree with you-and should have voted with you. I am so impressed by the work done by the garden club that I got carried away. In the future, I believe there should be a brief discussion before we vote on something so people have a chance to voice their reservations with any issue.

No more shrimps on the barbie!

You like it well done?

A notice has been posted prohibiting barbecuing on the balconies. In addition to the dangerous possibility of causing a fire, your neighbor with asthma will not appreciate the the smoke of a burning carcass wafting into their living room. That being said Village View and/or HPD  in my opinion wrongly considers a balcony a half room. It is unfinished, unheated, and while it adds value to an apartment it is never the equal of finished interior space. In fact an apartment with a balcony is smaller square feet wise than a similar apartment with no balcony, yet it costs more! In addition it is charged more for maintenance/ utilities. It was also calculated as part of the fuel/utility assessment we paid when oil hit a record $145. a barrel in 2008. How does an unfinished, unheated balcony qualify for a fuel or utility surcharge? If I am wrong on this issue please let me know because it's burning me up!

The top five reasons we should act like shareholders instead of renters.

#5) Shareholders have a vested interest* in their apartments. Renters don't have any ownership rights, and pay a fortune for that privilege.
#4) Shareholders invest in their homes via HPD and board approved capital improvements. We are investing in our own future while a renter is investing in his landlords future.
#3) Shareholders are living the American Dream, and unlike a lot of homeowners the only time we're underwater is when we forget to turn off the faucet!
#2) If you don't behave like a shareholder Mayor Bloomberg will outlaw every possible bad behavior and fine you!
 Drum roll please.... and the number one reason is:
         Even total strangers realize how great it is to be a shareholder because there are thousands of them waiting for you to kick the bucket and take over your apartment!

*Vested interest: An existing or disposable right to the immediate or future possession and enjoyment of property.

Roman statue donated to Village View

Statua Della Imbecillicus MCLMV

The famed Italian sculptur Francesco Nasco created "Statua Della Imbecillicus" in 1955 and has now donated it to Village View. His works have graced theme parks, circuses, and sanitariums throughout Europe, and now the playground between buildings one and two. In spite of the fact that he was expelled from every major university including "Whatsamatta U" of Rome he was recently promoted to head designer at Lego. Please visit the statue and make a wish, but throw your coins gently.

A View to die for

Thanks to the staff shareholders were allowed to view the Fourth of July fireworks from the roofs of building 1 and 5 this year. A special thanks to our military personnel who gave everything to preserve the freedom we commerate today. When they heard a bang and saw a flash it was likely an artillery shell. Not exactly an event you'd want to celebrate, but to them this country was worth the price they paid. Let us not forget those who made it all possible.

"Freedom is never more than one generation from extinction...it must be fought for, protected, and handed on..." Ronald Reagan

Do not feed the stool pigeons



A tenant received a ticket for feeding the pigeons. Their excuse was they intended to feed the pigeons to the guests at their sons wedding. Management  then proceeded to write them a second ticket since their family is full of mafia informants. Apparently you can't feed the rats either.

This is a fictional story.

Niagara View Apartments

Welcome to the Niagara View apartments.

        Remember the saying "One bad apple don't spoil the whole bunch"? Well due to the recent damage caused by a tenant the board proposed a requirement that all shareholders carry insurance on their apartment. The majority voted yes except for myself and three other members. Granted it is unfair for the co-op to bear the cost of repairs from irresponsible tenants, but it should be pointed out that in our 47 year history these have been few and far between. Most of our residents have lived here without incident. Mandated insurance requires everyone to pay for the possible actions of the few negligent residents. Statistically it will generate a windfall profit for the insurance carriers*.
        Some may point out the innocent pay anyway as these costs are added to our maintenance. The difference is we pay only the true cost of repairs and not the additional costs (profit, employee benefits, etc.) of an insurance company. We can also take legal action to make those responsible pay even if it is over time in small increments. Making the guilty pay, now that's progressive.  Hmm sounds like an insurance slogan. That's my point, it may be dull, but what's yours?

*At current rates our tenants would be paying over $200,000. a year in premiums. So far this year there has been only $13,000 in damages. I believe it may be in some shareholders best interest to have insurance, especially those with Picasso's, Monet's, and Rembrandt's hanging in their living room. I don't believe we should mandate it.

A land flowing with artificial animals and fountains

Breaking ground on the new playground

In the year 2010 it was decreed that the children of Village View would wonder aimlessly for 40 weeks without a playground. In April 2011 the Lord brought them into a land filled with milk and honey, although artificial animals and a water fountain might be more accurate. As a sign of his love the Lord installed a rubberized surface to protect his children and video cameras to watch over them*. During this Passover, Easter, and Spring season I wish you Shalom, Peace, health, and all the children shouted Hallelujah!

*Video cameras have not been approved. It just poetic license although this is not a poem, and my license has been revoked to bare arms (too hairy).

In other news pressure from animal rights activists such as Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Federation has forced management and the board to save the whale!

Mgr. Brenda Hundley and Board member Rick Pamias deciding how to Free Willy.

Who stole the hedges?

Some of you may have noticed that our hedges have been trimmed a little short lately. For all you city slickers this is a horticultural practice known as pruning. I have been assured that by summer we will have a bumper crop and all those prunes will be a tasty way to improve our colon health. In a naturally occurring retirement community we need all the help we can get.

NEWSFLASH: I heard NEWT Gingrich is running in 2012. His motto is "Iguana Be President", and if elected will be the first "Salamander In Chief". His campaign will be financed by Gordon Gecko of Wall Street.

Grounds for dismissal

I entered building 2 through the rear entrance and noticed a trench running through the grass this morning. My keen powers of observation led me to believe that an automated irrigation system was being installed. I was later informed that pipes carrying wires would link cameras to one central hub. I must admit I am embarrassed, considering I am on the buildings and grounds committee. Maybe the grounds I'm in charge of are for making coffee. Will that be regular or decaf?

Update: By hard wiring the buildings to one hub we will be be paying for one broadband connection instead of 7. This is in preparation for security camera monitoring.

Going to the dogs

At the open forum a great deal of time was spent on the increasing number of dogs at V.V. The board has been discussing a new comprehensive policy, but the question is will it be legally enforceable. A Mitchell Lama Co-Op called "Big Six Towers" in Queens approved very restrictive regulations concerning dogs and is now in court attempting to evict shareholders*. They have $100. registration fees, $15. monthly fees, weight limits, and dogs are not allowed on terraces or hallways unless they are being led out of the building. The lawyer for the dog owners claims the fees are unlawful, and this policy interferes with peoples rights under the law. An administrative law judge from H.P.D. will be making a decision in the coming months. If he rules in favor of Co-Op we can explore new regulations. If he rules in favor of the dog owners we should not attempt to implement a similar policy. The fact that Sec.27-2009.1 of the R.G.B. protects owners of dogs who have not had legal action taken against them for 90 days to be immune to eviction**. In reality this is a ridiculous law because it depends on the testimony of neighbors to establish the date of ownership. A task that most shareholders are not willing to testify to in court, and very expensive for V.V.

UPDATE: I spoke to Henry Dubro of Big Six Towers who told me the case has been withdrawn, but H.P.D. has approved their dog policy and they will go forward implementing it. I asked him to e-mail me their rules.

 *http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/queens/2010/05/05/2010-05-05_big_six_towers_coop_tenants_face_eviction_over_pets_in_woodside.html
**http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/hmc/sub2/art1.html

Boiler tour

Izabella, Richard, and I took a tour of the boiler room and roof of building 6 courtesy of Brenda Hundley and Sam Attard. (Left) This boiler is the one that had the dry fire. The tubes are currently being replaced and it will be fully operational shortly.


(Right) Here is a picture of one of the vacuum pumps. You can see from the water stain that it is leaking and should be replaced.




(Left) This is a picture of the boiler that our insurance carrier considered beyond repair. In order for it to be removed it must be cut up in small pieces and hoisted up by a winch over 20 feet and be carried out a standard sized door. Since 2 boilers can adequately provide heat with the third as a backup replacing this boiler is not being considered at this time.

Izabella will be teaching a self defense class on the roof. Here she is demonstrating how to gouge out the eyeball of an assailant. She forgot Richard wears glasses. Either that or they are practicing a three stooges routine. Nyuck Nyuck.

Open Forum 2/8/11

President Adam Silvera opened the meeting while throngs of supporters cheered and applauded. My mistake, that was the Super Bowl. In spite of the numerous recent problems that have popped up the shareholders were well behaved, thoughtful, and offered constructive opinions. No emergency personnel were required at any time during the meeting. The major concerns were the boilers, snow removal, and the elevator damage in building 2 caused by flooding. We are in the process of fixing the boilers and elevators, and ask for your continued patience. Not to give you a snow job, but we have experienced some severe storms lately. Many employees worked very hard to clear the grounds, and unfortunately the new tractor broke down. He is currently in therapy. Some good suggestions were made about expanded snow clearing for building access. One tenant complained about gangs of rats wilding on the premises. A google search estimates there are about 60 million in N.Y, not including ex-spouses and bailout recipients. The verminator has been on site regularly, but the rats just say keep saying "I'll be bahk". They seem to multiply faster than Charlie Sheen's court appearances. Some other topics concerned the use of revenue generated by new applicants to the waiting list (not resolved), and auditing 3 bedroom shareholders (an attempt to open up more apartments). Remember the management requires notification if you plan on doing apartment renovations, and you must leave a deposit of  $1000.00. If you don't and you cause damage they plan on suing your pants off! Not wise with freezing weather and millions of gigantic, carnivorous, rat packs running around. I don't know why, but my parents loved the rat pack.

Trapped like a rat

N.Y. has seen it's share of snow lately, and all of us have suffered. None more than the occupants of parking lot #3. While the other lots were cleared the cars in lot 3 were still buried a day later due to John having a breakdown. No not John Blackman, John Deere the small tractor. As a result many drivers needed to take an extra day off from work, but I hear their eligible for unemployment benefits. To add insult to injury it is rumored a resident had an unlicensed, uninsured, contractor working in their apartment and caused a flood. This in turn caused catastrophic damage to the elevators. As a result many of our elderly were forced to remain in their apartments, or chance the long trek up the stairway. I had to help a senior up the stairs with a large cart of laundry, and she nearly had to carry me the last two flights. So between being covered in a snowy grave and no elevators the occupants of building 2 know what it is liked to be trapped like a rat. We just can't resist that cheese whiz.

Blowin a fuse

Is it time to replace our fuse box with a circuit breaker? I am not so sure. The cost of updating all of Village View's apartments is close to 1 million dollars. After we've spent all that money what benefits can we expect? No one will ever have to replace a fuse again, although how often does that happen? Will we be any safer? I don't think so since I don't know of any fire at Village View that was caused, or originated at the fuse box. In fact it is claimed that fuses react quicker than circuit breakers when there is a short circuit. This is because the element in a fuse melts quickly and stops the current flow faster than a circuit breaker can*. The main disadvantage to fuses is that certain devices (air conditioners for instance) may surge when they are first turned on causing them to blow. You may also be prevented from using to many devices on the same line. Even with these minor problems I don't think it's economically practical to replace our fuse boxes.
REMEMBER ALWAYS REPLACE A FUSE WITH THE SAME AMP RATING!

http://www.bfs-ind.com/discussions/fuses_vs_circuit_breakers.html
Fuse is from the Latin "fusus" which means to melt.
UPDATE: A reliable source said the cost of upgrading was less than I quoted. In addition few insurance companies continue to insure buildings with fuse boxes and we may eventually have to change them anyway. It is also possible that by upgrading we may reduce our insurance premiums. Stay tuned for more info.

Public Enemy #1

Village View has been harboring a number of criminals lately. Their hideout is the laundry room, and their ringleader is serial number 25855473. I am currently examining his rap sheet, and it is not pretty. In the period from 12/14/10-1/4/11 he was O.O.S. (out of service) at least 5 days. This is a violation of his legal obligations nearly 24% of the time. He is currently charged with petty theft, money laundering, and someone even claimed he took a leak in public. The rap sheet for rest of his gang is also very long, roughly 30 offenses in the same 21 day period. We have spoken to Fowler the company we are in contract with and have expressed our dissatisfaction at their inability to abide by the terms of our agreement. They will meet with us in a few weeks with a solution as they know we will not renew our contract under these circumstances. It's high time they cleaned up their act. Bail is currently set at 20 gallons per hour while they serve under house arrest. Visiting hours are in our laundry rooms from 8 A.M.- 9:30  P.M. Mon.-Sun. While they are not considered violent they have been known to make colors bleed.

Convict #25855473

Update:Because the technician only comes twice a week if a machine needs a part on Thurs. it isn't fixed till Tues. of the following week.This means #25855473 was out at least 7 days, or 33% of the time.

The good, the bad, and the ugly.

In response to the number of complaints we have been receiving it's time we examined our current steam generated heating system in closer detail.
The good:
1)Steam heat generated by a boiler is good for tall structures as the steam rises easily to the upper floors.
2)Steam heat warms quickly.
3)Our system let's us switch between oil and gas in order to save money.
 The bad:
1)Boiling water into steam is inherently dangerous. Possibility of explosions and dry fires.
2)Efficiency rating up to 80%, other systems as high as 98%
3)Oil tanks can leak causing environmental damage. A problem we experienced in the past.
4)Uneven heating. Radiators (contrary to their name) fail to radiate heat evenly.
5)Boilers require more maintenance than other heating methods.
6)No individual thermostat for each apartment or room.
The ugly:
1)Radiators have had little improvement other than aesthetic.
2)Radiators that do have higher efficiency use smaller diameter piping and smaller boilers (Not helpful).
3)New model radiators are expensive. Large living room units cost up to $1000*. not including installation.

Conclusion: It is too expensive to replace radiators and it offers very little benefit. Cleaning them will improve heat transfer, and valves should be replaced when they fail to close or openly completely. This is due to sedimentary deposits that have built up over time. N.Y. law requires VV to maintain a temperature of 68 degrees from 6 A.M.-10 P.M., and 55 degrees between 10 P.M.-6 A.M.**  If your apartment fails to meet those guidelines please call the maintenance office.
* http://www.steamradiators.com/pricing.html
**www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/pr2006/pr-10-01-06.shtml

Open Forum 1/5/11

The main topic of the night was the boiler problem. New boilers were installed in 2003 and had safety devices in place to prevent the dry fire that occurred on 12/8. The fact that our insurance will pay for the damage indicates we were not negligent. In the past they were monitored by personnel 24/7 like the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. We all remember how that turned out. The problem of the too hot, too cold phenomenon that residents complain about I believe is a by-product of a system that was designed over 50 years ago. We may have upgraded the boilers, but the system of delivering the heat has not been upgraded. Just check out your radiators, ugh! President Adam Silvera mentioned the raise for the guards, a compensation package for eligible retirees and health insurance for the new hires. Kudos to our Treasurer Frank Gardner who was able to finance it without breaking the bank. He should head the fed instead of Ben Breakbanke. The question of lowering the parking rate was promptly dismissed. As a board member I understand that lowering the rate could cause a budget shortfall leading to maintenance increases. As a car owner I think we pay too much, but at least I can drive to the poor house. Bedbugs were a serious topic that needed to be addressed, hopefully at your address not mine. Please contact the office if you have them as they have access to an entomologist. I believe he is a bug expert named Mr. Roche.*  I hope Village View doesn't take me to court for having Roscoe the bed bug sniffing dog from Bell Environmental taking up permanent residence in my apartment. I hear he has fleas.

*Seriously, if you have a bedbug problem contact the office. They will handle it professionally and discreetly.

Lead to a dead end

I just received the results of my tap water test courtesy of the D.E.P. and frankly I am disappointed. My tap water has a 70% lower lead content than the maximum allowable levels*. This means my cognitive impairment is not the result of lead poisoning, but senility. Maybe I should have the water checked for radioactive isotopes as I also seem to be losing hair lately. Maybe it's just old age, although I can't remember exactly how old I am.

*Lead levels vary in each building, your apartment may be higher or lower than mine. My reading was 2 micrograms per liter, and the maximum allowable is 15 micrograms per liter.