BREAKING NEWS - As of Wednesday, July 28, 2010, you can now order Fios on line or over the phone for your apartment as an alternative to or in addition to Cablevision. I just ordered the "Double Play" TV and Internet bundle which includes NO contract. I am getting a HD DVR for my living room HD TV and a standard cable box for the SD TV in my bedroom. According to them, I will pay $75.98 for the first 3 months, $95.97 for the next 3 months, and then $105.97 for the following year and a half. Beyond that, it's probably around $129.99. All of these numbers do NOT include taxes and fees of up to $15 per month. I scheduled an appointment for August 2nd for installation, and I will report to you all how it goes at that time. The only weird snag I've hit so far, is that when the Fios website asked for my address, it automatically filled in "1 FL" for "first floor" and I had to manually change that to my proper floor number before it would actually find my unit. If you have question or experiences of your own to share, please e-mail the board at board@616east18.com.   Thanks to all of your for your patience during the installation process.  -Andrew.

Annual Shareholder Meeting and Board Election - June 1, 2010 @ 7:30pm

The annual shareholder meeting will be Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 7:30pm in the lobby. Residents will be able to discuss all matters pertaining to the building and get an update from the board in person. This is also when the board of directors for 2010-2011 will be elected. All three current members are seeking an additional 1-year term on the board. If you are interested in being a candidate for the board this year, email the board so that we can ensure we send you instructions as soon as they are available.  

Pot Luck - May 15th - In the Back Garden

Our Garden Committee has been laying down mulch, planting, and generally beautifying the grounds of our building this spring. Come enjoy the improvements and chat with your neighbors at the building's first-ever garden pot-luck on Saturday, May 15th at 5pm. E-vites have been sent out already, asking if you can come and what you can bring. But if you have not received an e-vite, please let the board know and we will send you one!!

Fios Work Continues

There will be sporadic bouts of construction in our building to complete the Fios installation over the next few weeks. The hallway conduits and the main conduit in the north stairwell is complete, and soon the wiring will commence.

Have you Seen the Hallway Designs in the Lobby?

Four design concepts for our hallway renovation project are posted in our lobby and here as a PDF for residents to review and provide optional feedback before the design is finalized and construction begins later this year. Residents are invited to email the board to let us know your preferred concept and any other feedback you have. Of course, in any building of our size, there is bound to be a wide diversity of opinions and aesthetics, so we cannot guarantee that your preferred concept will be chosen. However, we will take all feedback into consideration as we look forward to the completion of this much anticipated project.

Leak Engineer Approved

There are numerous locations on the 5th and 6th floors where roof and wall leaks are being reported. Due to the high cost of the exterior scaffolding used to perform the work, the board is attempting to contain costs by addressing all of our leaks as one large project. As was done with the large boiler replacement project, an engineer will be brought in to create a standard work specification that multiple contractors will bid on, so we can choose our contractors in an apples-to-apples way. In addition, this means that only the engineer will need to gain access to affected apartments, instead of multiple contractors. Some of you have already been visited by contractors and/or our property manager, so please be patient as the engineer will have to take a look for himself and that should be the final intrusion before the work begins later in the year. 

Laundry Income almost Double the Old Rate

Our new laundry room is bringing in an average of $800-$900 per month in revenue for our building, as compared to our old flat-rate of $500 per month. This increased income helps us keep down maintenance and other fees, and helps us to budget for the garden committee's beautification projects. The change in income is due to a more favorable 8-year contract that the board entered into last year, and our residents' continuing use of our convenient facility.