ACU - In the News
Our First Victory:
Thanks to all the efforts of Amalgamated residents, family and friends, we have avoided a major disaster in the gas shutoff, but much work remains to be done . It is also clear that our efforts to speak out as the whole community of cooperators has proven its effectiveness, and we need to keep on as we struggle to save our community. — Bob Scott, ACU Steering Committee
GAS SHUTDOWN AVERTED!
-May 7, 2023
On Friday, May 5, a meeting called by HCR brought together the parties concerned with the prospect of a gas shutdown at Amalgamated: Amalgamated, HCR, the NYC Department of Buildings, Con Edison, and local elected representatives.
Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, who had been requesting this meeting for some time, was present, as were Senator Robert Jackson, Assemblymember and Housing Committee Chair Linda Rosenthal, and Council member Eric Dinowitz. Amalgamated was represented by manager Charles Zsebedics, Board members Howard Kamiel, Ed Yaker, Jack Spiegel, and Bob Scott, and its attorneys Dean Roberts and Michael Reilly from the firm of Norris McLaughlin. (ACU was not formally represented, but two members of its steering committee, Spiegel and Scott, were present at the table, and it was the enormous outpouring of cooperator concern led by ACU that motivated Assemblyman Dinowitz to organize this gathering.)
All parties came to the agreement that, despite the six-month deadline imposed by Local Law 152 and Amalgamated’s inability to address the major defects identified by the mandated inspection last December, Amalgamated should not be required to shut down its gas service, assuming that no unexpected major leaks or other emergencies are identified in an upcoming second inspection (and leaks of that kind would require a shutdown whenever they occurred, independently of Local Law 152).
Con Ed also pledged to install gas detectors in all the problem buildings as soon as possible to enable us to monitor the situation more closely going forward. The Department of Buildings also indicated that it would probably be able to waive any possible fines so long as Amalgamated continued to demonstrate good faith in seeking a solution to the identified defects. Con Edison also expressed its hope that this might be an opportunity for Amalgamated to start moving forward toward a potentially cleaner energy system based on electricity and other eco-friendly technologies, and promised to meet with Board members to discuss various incentives that could considerably lower the cost of such a transition.
Assemblyman Dinowitz suggested that Con Edison consider making Amalgamated the site of a pilot to demonstrate how such a transformation could take place in a set of older buildings. All the elected officials ended the meeting by stressing that while the immediate crisis of a gas shutdown had been averted, that the next task must be helping Amalgamated to find the funds it needs to pull itself out of its current financial crisis.
MAY 6th “MEET & GREET” WITH LOCAL OFFICIALS
May 6, 2023
At a well-attended meeting on Saturday, May 6th, local elected officials met with Amalgamated and Park Reservoir cooperators in Vladeck Hall. This meeting, scheduled months before the gas shut-off crisis, not surprisingly, came to focus on the current infrastructure and financial difficulties we are facing.
Senator Jackson, Assemblymember Dinowitz, and Council member Dinowitz shared the stage with Representative Adriano Espaillat, Bronx Borough President Vanessa L. Gibson, and Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark. The meeting opened on the positive note about the averting of a gas shutdown, and Board president Howard Kamiel gave much credit for this happy outcome to the efforts of ACU.
During the question and answer period, cooperators—including several members of the ACU steering committee—raised concerns about the need to find financial resources to help Amalgamated move away from potential bankruptcy, to pass a one-year extension of the time required for large limited-equity cooperatives with limited resources to comply with local law 152, to look at the undesirable impact of excessive enforcement of the city’s unfunded law on building façade safety, and to ensure that HCR be reformed to truly support affordable housing.
Additionally, an explanation for why there isn’t parity between the subsidies and other supports available to Mitchell Lama housing vs. the Amalgamated Co-op was requested (resulting in what we believe to be an untrue response of: “that’s not the case”). It was also pointed out that HCR fails at its mission to “preserve and support affordable housing” by failing to help us find ways to keep living at Amalgamated truly affordable.
Other themes raised included safety in the neighborhood, excessive pricing at the local supermarket, and the large number of vacant apartments in both cooperatives. Bronx Borough President Gibson emphasized the need for a broad coalition of elected officials like the one present at this meeting to help address our problems.
Assemblymember Dinowitz promised to keep pressure on HCR, and Senator Jackson suggested that if the agency continues to slow our efforts to correct our situation that he would be happy to lead a demonstration in front of their offices. Council member Dinowitz promised to continue his efforts to review how the city’s unfunded mandates are being implemented and to rein in excesses, but expressed concern about rewriting them in any way that might undermine their intent to ensure safety or greenhouse gas reductions.
