A state agency that oversees administrative decisions for Mitchell-Lama cooperatives has told the Board of Directors of Park Reservoir to comply with rules when it comes to changing management firms.
The latest comes as a majority of board members for the Van Cortlandt Village complex seek to officially replace its longtime management company, Amalgamated Housing Cooperatives, at a board meeting scheduled Sept. 11. The letter could delay the vote, resulting in board members starting its vetting process all over again and giving supporters of Amalgamated more time to hammer out any differences.
In a two-page letter obtained by the Norwood News, the state Department of Homes and Community Renewal (DHCR), the state agency that oversees Mitchell-Lama buildings, suggested the board jumped the gun in scouting for a new management company. A bureaucratic procedure must be followed when finding a new managing agent, according to the letter, including the submission of a management plan.
“All proposed managing agents must meet the minimum eligibility requirements under DHCR’s Mitchell-Lama regulations,” read the letter. “They must, among other selection criteria, be a licensed, NY State real estate broker and must provide a Statement of Qualifications describing its experience and capacity for managing the development.”
In an emergency meeting in mid-July, cooperators were given a handout detailing the Board’s vetting process that ended with criticism over the board’s backwards approach to scouting for a new management company. At the meeting, which revealed nasty infighting among board members, cooperators were told that Midas Management, a Bronx-based real estate company, was the preferred firm. The firm has ties with Daniel Padernacht, a housing attorney and chair of Bronx Community Board 8, which covers Van Cortlandt Village.
Supporters of Amalgamated argue its 60-year relationship with Park Reservoir and its above-average amenities should be taken into consideration. Opponents say Amalgamated’s meddling in Park Reservoir’s financial affairs have forced it to take control of its destiny.
Leading the push is Steve Zitrin, vice president of the board, who declined to comment on the latest development. Susan Braunstein, another board member in favor of replacing Amalgamated, did not return calls as of press time.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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Steve Zitrine, tell the Part Reservoir shareholders who actually owns your co-op. For once in your life you’re afraid to open your big mouth? (That’s just a euphemism, nothing personal.)
Andrew Kimmerling and the Axelbank clan and Yaker’s other lapdogs who enjoy multiple apartments at this HCR/DHCR-supervised co-op, possibly rent-free: What “above-average amenities” are you talking about? The spent syringes and condoms in the stairwells? Your buildings’ ever-jammed front doors, which don’t meet safety codes? The nasty moldy apartments? The disintegrating plumbing that has been dissolving walls for years? Your handful of drug-dealing and drug-packing residents?
Both sides of the argument are at fault, because both are aware of some very important details that they are not sharing with shareholders or the press. Both sides are disingenuous, secretive, and arrogant (just my opinion, which I’m stating because I’m tense and agitated). Either way—stay or go—Park Reservoir is a Ponzi scheme wrapped up like a glorified housing project.
P.S. The HCR/DHCR is a joke.