616 E. 18th St. Owners Corp.

Summer 2010 Board Updates

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:28:51 -0500

A Note About our Google Group
Please remember that our Google Group is meant to be a forum for neighbors to connect with one another other. It doesn't replace the normal channels for contacting the board or building. If you have a question for the board or the building or the board, it's best to email at board@616east18.com.

Also, there's been a lot of moving in our building. If you know someone who's new and may not be aware of our Google Group, please encourage them to reach out to webmaster@616east18.com with their name and their apartment number so that we can sign them up. Similarly, if you've moved and want to be removed, you can either edit your membership on your own or email me at the address above.

New Mortgage for the Building
The board of directors has begun the process of obtaining our building's next mortgage. We collectively own this mortgage through our ownership of shares of our building's corporation, and pay for it via about 10% of our monthly maintenance. Our existing mortgage "balloons" (the entire principal is due) at the end of this year, requiring a new mortgage to be obtained. The new mortgage will be a 10 year balloon mortgage, meaning the entire principal is due on the last day of the 10th year, with a 25 year amortization schedule, which means the principal and interest during those 10 years are calculated as if we had a 25 year mortgage. This way, the building will actually pay down the principal a little faster than we have been in the past, and prevent our building's mortgage debt from accumulating indefinitely. Our new mortgage will also be significantly larger than the principal of our last mortgage, allowing us to replenish our reserves, AND pay for the new boiler, and the leak/Local Law 11 work planned for 2011 without any assessments or maintenance increases at this time. We can afford to do all of this with little change in our annual expenses as we are very lucky to be locking in a historically-low interest rate (below 5%) for the next 10 years, during which time interest rates are expected to be increasing. The board believes the terms of this new mortgage put us on as sound a financial footing as can be given our current financial snapshot and our best educated guesses about our financial future from today's perspective.

Fios Live in our Building
Thank you to all residents for your patience during this work. You can sign up for your own individual cable and/or internet and/or phone plan with Verizon Fios. Their rates are competitive with Cablevision and they, in most cases, do NOT require a minimum time length of contract, regardless of the deluge of Cablevision advertisements to the contrary. Read Andrew's entry from July 28th for more info. If you have any personal experiences with Fios in our building that you would like to share, please do so by e-mailing the board at board@616east18.com.

Leak Project Update and Local Law 11 2011 Work
In an effort to save costs, we are combining the upcoming roof and 6th floor leak remediation project with our next cycle of Local Law 11 roof and facade repair work. An engineer has finished his plans and is about to give us a list of itemized repairs that we can use to solicit bids from potential contractors. We'll keep you updated as this process moves forward. It will include the construction of a "sidewalk bridge" like the one you may currently notice in front of 1818 Newkirk Avenue.

Boiler Asbestos has Been Abated
We are currently getting our hot water from the heater in our garden, and it seems to be providing hot water at plenty of pressure. The boiler is off line and all asbestos has been removed from the insulation in our boiler room. We are in contract with "Positive," our boiler contractor. Our new boiler should be on-line in time for the the 2010-2011 winter heating season.

White Roof Being Explored
The board is currently investigating the potential benefits of a "white roof." After the leak repairs and Local Law 11 work is done, we may be able to extend the life of our existing roof membrane by painting all 14,000 square feet with a primer and top coat of specialty white-roof paint that includes small glass beads that insulates our roof from the heat that gets past the reflective white surface, significantly cooling our roof and lowering the cost of our upper floor residents' air conditioning. Stay tuned for more information about this potential money-saving environmentally healthy project.

Verizon Fios NOW LIVE in our building!

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 06:38:04 -0500

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.

April/May Board Updates: Don't Miss the Annual Shareholder Meeting

Sat, 01 May 2010 13:16:47 -0500

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.

Hallway Design (Variations A, B, C, D)

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 22:45:47 -0500

Residents,

The board is presenting to you the final design concept renderings for
our Hallway Renovation Project Phase II. (Click to see the PDF of the designs)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
These renderings are the result of much deliberation and a great deal
of time invested by so many (Thank You!), site visits, material
samples, and proposals to make sure that the materials shown in
these designs, and their installation can fit within the projects' budget.
We are posting these design concepts to get feedback from our
residents and shareholders about the direction we have taken.
Please take the time to examine these renderings closely, and e-mail
your comments/preferences to the board at board@616east18.com, or
write a note to us and place in the Super's Box.

Here are some notes about the design's guiding principals:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
• These are renderings. The final design may vary due to cost and availability of materials
• The overall mission of the design is to create an inviting, modern, cost-effective and durable interior space.
• LIGHT colors are being used to further brighten the hallways
• NEUTRAL but WARM colors palettes are both modern and conservative, generally appealing and inviting.
• Subtle variegated patterns add modern, timeless touches.
• Painting the door trim a different color than the doors increases the sophistication of the overall design.
• Lighter door trim helps to break up the "long-ness" of our hallways. (130 ft x 5 ft)
• Floor trim is intended to unify the floor and wall colors/designs.
• Darker floor trim can create the illusion of a wider space by relating to the colors on the carpet flooring.
• Commercial grade durable carpeting helps to reduce hallway noise and reverb/echo
• Dark floors with lighter walls also help create the look of a wider space, served to foster a residential feel, and backdrops the lighter colors and accents.
• Using a "chair-rail" or moulding divides the vertical space into two areas, adds sophistication, and adds to the illusion of a wider and more inviting hallway space. It also protects the walls from damage by acting as a bumper for carts, wheelchairs, etc.
• Using paint below the moulding allows us to inexpensively and easily repair scuffs and marks on the areas of the wall most prone to wear.

We look forward to your feedback!

Sincerely,
The Board

Fios "Coring" To Begin in North Stairwell Tuesday

Mon, 05 Apr 2010 12:22:04 -0500

Fios Update - Workers will be creating a pathway for their fiber optic cable beginning around 9am on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. This work will mostly take place in the stairwell closest to our elevator. Please use the other stairwell (or the elevator) if you see that work is being done. Signs and cones will be posted during the work. Some "coring" or drilling holes in the floor will be involved in this work to get the condit to run from the bottom to the top of our building. This new pipeline will be next to the existing pipeline that cablevision has in that stairwell.

Building To Be Wired for Fios This Week

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 16:29:25 -0500

As of Wednesday or Thursday of this week, (Mar 31 or Apr 1), Fios will begin installing their cables inside our building. There will be some drilling involved in this installation, but any drilling will be restricted to begin no earlier than 9am and on weekdays only. They will be working to run their cables inside their new crown-molding style cable-track on all 6 of our residential floors. This new style of track will obscure our view of the existing rectangular cablevision cable-track. They will also be working to run cables vertically through our building in the compactor rooms on each floor. If you have any questions for the board about or during this work, please e-mail board@616east18.com. The work should last about a week. No estimate yet on when you will be able to sign up for Fios. Stay tuned.

Utility Pole Installation

Wed, 24 Mar 2010 10:21:22 -0500

Work has commenced this morning on installing a fiberglass utility pole on our sidewalk. This will eventually hold up a Fios utility box and is part of our building's imminent Fios cabling project. Stay tuned for more updates as work is about to begin inside our building as well. UPDATE: This pole is actually not just for our building. It will hold a Fios utility box that will service our entire block... it just happens to reside just north of our garage entrance.

Parking Zone Moved

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:01:12 -0500

You may have noticed that the no-parking 7am-7pm on weekdays zone has been moved away from our front entrance over to the end of our block, near our garage, and the zone is a bit longer than it was before. This was done at our building's request in response to noise complaints. Busses that need to pull over in front of our building were unable to find room, instead stopping all traffic on our street and causing symphonies of car horns most mornings and afternoons. We are hoping that the new larger no-parking zone will increase the opporunities for the busses to pull out of traffic, thus making our block a bit more peaceful. Please help by following the new parking zone rules. Thank you!

Staff Seals Sidewalk

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:59:09 -0500

Sometimes it's not always clear how much our staff does to improve the quality of life in our building. Here is a good example. The other day, you may not have been around to see our staff (Rolando and Nasario) sealing the sidewalk in front of our building, as they do periodically, to reduce the amount of dust that we track into our building with our shoes. Check it out:

March Board Updates

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:07:35 -0500

New Google Group for Building Residents

We're excited to introduce a Google Group for all building residents. Residents can now ask questions relevant to the building or neighborhood, sell or give away items, post news, by emailing 616east18@googlegroups.com. If you already receive updates from the board, you've been automatically added to the group. However, note this is a closed group, so spammers or people who do not live in the building will not be able to send an email to the group. If you are a resident, but haven't been automatically added, email webmaster@616east18.com and please include your name and apartment number. From now on, updates from the board will be sent through this new google group.

Verizon Fios Installation Has Begun

Verizon Fios installed some conduit from a man-hole at Foster and East 18th under the street and our sidewalk to the south side of our building. While this is the first step to have fiber-optic cable directly into our building, we anticipate three more months of work before this project is complete.

Leaks in Units?

The walls of our building near our roof, and some of the structures on our roof are showing some wear and tear. Water is getting in through various cracks, and the board is preparing a project to repair these cracks and areas that look to be in danger of forming cracks. If you or someone you know has any water getting in to your walls, especially on the upper floors of the building, please contact the board ASAP so that we can include your area in this project, if you have not done so already. This project will also help to seal gaps in the building's "heat envelope", preventing warm air from escaping as quickly in the winter, which should improve our building's energy efficiency.

Boiler Replacement Project Progress
After receiving several contractor bids for the project, the board has narrowed the field down to the three best proposals and is scheduling interviews with each of the three contractors before selecting the winning bid for the work.

In the meantime, the asbestos pipe insulation must be removed before demolition of the existing boiler can begin. The board has approved contractors for this project. Stay tuned for updates coming soon.

Hallway Renovation Update

The board is receiving proposals from three designers, and will share the options with residents in a special meeting to be scheduled in the next couple of months. Residents will be able to offer feedback on complete designs including wall coverings, paint colors, and patterns of carpeting.

Be Kind to your Upstairs/Downstairs Neighbors
A reminder to all residents: there is no sound barrier between floors, so try to be as considerate as possible to your downstairs neighbors and as forgiving as possible to your upstairs neighbors. A few tips:

If some of your high-traffic areas are not covered with carpeting or rugs, consider taking of your shoes more often when walking around in your apartment.
Remember that dropping shoes or moving chairs can seem like no big deal, but they can sound shockingly loud to the person below you.
If your upstairs neighbor is making distracting noise, consider politely knocking on their door and introducing yourself. Try to work together to figure out what activities the problem noises are coming from and potential solutions.
Avoid retaliating or knocking on the ceiling.
Although the board can sometimes help mediate noise disputes, the best course of action is to develop a relationship of mutual respect and understanding with your vertical neighbors.

Dec. Board Update

Wed, 30 Dec 2009 14:51:13 -0500

Happy New Year Everyone - enjoy this month's updates!

New Contract with Verizon Fios

For the first time in our building's history, residents will have a choice of cable/internet/phone providers between Cablevision and Verizon Fios. We have entered into a contract with Verizon Fios to wire our building with their fiber-optic technology at no cost to us. The wiring will include new decorative crown-molding style cable track to cover our existing cablevision track and hide the new cable runs.

The work is expected to begin by February, though that can change at any time based on Verizon's work schedule.

2010 Maintenance and Assessment Reduction

We're happy to reduce the maintenance by a small amount for 2010 as compared to 2009. The 2009 assessment has ended, and is being replaced with a smaller assessment for 2010. Though our fixed costs continue to rise each year, our recently completed energy-efficient lighting project is saving our building $1,000 per month on electricity, and is largely responsible for the small reduction in maintenance this year.

Movement on the Parking Spot Waiting List

Three parking spots have become available within the past few months, they have been assigned, and everyone else on the waiting list has moved up three slots. Please check the building web site under Car Parking Waiting List for updates on your wait list status.

Price Cut for Bike Storage

Bicycle parking in the garage has been reduced to $5 per month. If you would like to park up to two bikes on a bicycle rack, please let the board know at board@616east18.com. If you already have a car parking spot, you can request a bike rack for free to be installed in your spot.

Hallway Renovations: Seeking Design Consultant
The board has agreed to consider design consultants for the remaining phases of the hallway redecoration project. A design consultant with experience with post-war residential apartment building hallways can offer us specific design element ideas, multiple design options with full mock-ups, specific wall-covering, carpet, paint and other material recommendations, and contract documents to be sent out to contractors. Just as we hired an engineer to design our new boiler before hiring contractors, a design consultant can fill a similar role for our hallway project and help bring in the expertise needed to move the project forward on budget and on schedule. If you know of any companies with experience designing hallway interiors for buildings like ours that might be interested in working with our building, please let the board know at board@616east18.com by the end of January 2010.

Moving / Laundry Room Reminder

A couple of gentle reminders

Moving-in and moving-out is limited to weekdays between 8am and 5pm and must be done in accordance with house rule #10: "Trunks and heavy baggage and furniture shall be taken in or out of the building through the service entrance only after an appointment has been made with the superintendent." This is to allow the staff to protect the elevator walls and floor and to avoid bottlenecking our elevator during peak usage times.
At the request of several residents, please remove laundry from machines within 10 minutes of the end of a cycle, or else another resident may remove your laundry to a folding table for you. Also thanks to the automatic motion sensor for the light in the laundry room, you no longer any need to remember to turn off the lights when leaving the laundry room.

Boiler Replacement Progress

The board has received and is reviewing quotes from four contractors for our upcoming boiler replacement project. Asbestos abatement will be performed in the boiler room before the project begins, after this heating season is over.

Fire Escape Complete

Fire Escape painting is now complete. Thank you to all of our residents for cooperating and being patient while we found the right contractor to complete the work properly.

Ditmas Park in the Times

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 21:13:34 -0500

Sharing a link passed on from a building resident about our neighborhood in the New York Times. Thank you, Carmit.

Halloween Parades in the Hood

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:09:43 -0500

Both parades happening on Saturday Oct. 31

The Prospect Park South Halloween Parade at the corner of Albemarle and Westminster Gather at 4:30 March at 5:00. HalloweenMKPARADEFlyer2009.pdf

The West Midwood Halloween Parade will be held at 6 pm.

Everyone is invited to gather at the end of Glenwood Road off Rugby
(near the B/Q train cut) at 6 for cider and snacks. The parade will
begin at 6:30.

Hope to see you there!

Fire Escape Painting Resumes

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:05:38 -0500

TUESDAY October 20th, 2009

8am - 5pm

Daily Until Complete

Weekdays Only

Please cover the inside of your air conditioner units if they are inside the work area of the fire escape scrapers and painters, as this will prevent the paint dust from getting into your apartment.

If you have any questions about the work being performed by our new contractor, please e-mail the board.

Oct. Board Updates: Rules, Policies, and Hallween Fun

Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:59:55 -0500

Engineer's Plan for Boiler Replacement Approved
Our engineer's plans for the replacement of our boiler have been approved by the board. The new boiler will be better-sized to the needs of our building than the current boiler, cheaper to maintain, and much more efficient. Due to the extra cost of replacing a boiler during the winter heating season which has just begun, we plan to perform the work shortly after this heating season ends, in the spring of 2010. Stay tuned for additional updates.

House Rules Updated by the Board
The board has updated the building's house rules to include a more liberal cat policy (dogs are still prohibited), a requirement to pad the feet of movable furniture in response to noise complaints, a requirement to clean food off recyclables before leaving them in compactor room bins, a clarification of when board approval is needed for apartment alterations, and new references to our sublet policy and garage wait list. If you have any questions about the updated house rules, please e-mail the board any time.

Garage Parking Spots Must Be Cleaned of Items by November 15th, 2009
Personal items have been accumulating on the floor of our garage. On or after November 15th, 2009, any items touching the floor of the garage (other than your car) will be removed by management and not returned to their owners. This is not a new rule... rather it is a periodic enforcement of an existing rule... no items are allowed in garage spots other than your car and anything you can affix to your building-provided bicycle rack. If you would like to request a free bicycle rack (one per space), please e-mail the board.

Sublet Policy Approved
The board has approved a sublet policy governing when you can sublet your apartment, the fees involved, and the penalties for non-compliance. If you would like to sublet your apartment please fill out a sublet application. Both the policy and applications are saved on the "useful forms page for future reference.

In-Building Trick-or-Treating
If you would like to participate in some hallway trick-or-treating on Halloween this year, please put your apartment number on the sign-up sheet on our bulletin board, and then take a decorative door sign from the bulletin board and hang it on your door on October 31st. This lets parents and kids in our building know that they can knock on your door without disturbing you between 4pm and 8pm this Halloween!!! Thank you to Lina who made this happen this year!

Please Clean Your Recyclables
Please clean your plastic and paper containers so that food does not sit in our recycling bin and attract roaches unnecessarily to our compactor rooms. This request has been added to our house rules, and new signs are being planned for our compactor room doors. Thank you for your help to keep our building clean.