Author: Honey Berk

Questions from Membership Meeting

Posted on by Honey Berk

Please see GTA responses to the remaining questions that we did not have the time to address at the membership meeting.  

Question: 

Is it possible to convince mgmt. of the necessity to post the numbers of our buildings on or closer to South End Ave? Taxis, deliveries, visitors spend untold hours going up and down looking for us. 

GTA Response: 

We will bring this up with management at our next meeting.  Thank you for the suggestion. 

Question: 

My questions were about gateway staff over an elevator leaving us with 2 instead of 4. Can they do work during non-work hours and if you asked them, what did they say? 

GTA Response: 

We have discussed this with. Management.  They do attempt to do this but are not always successful. They told us that they now throw recycling down the shoot, and it is divided at the bottom.  Also, they are not picking up as often as before.  We will raise it again with management at our next meeting. 

Question: 

Can someone please address why mgmt. will not be more proactive with managing the elevator disruptions? Namely publish the schedule for when an elevator is out of service for recycling pickups, moving in or out. Many tenants can be flexible when they dog walk or do laundry and would do so if they knew an additional elevator was out of service.  Can recycle pick-ups be limited to no more than 30 min per session. 

GTA Response: 

We have discussed this with management and have asked that notification be sent to affected residents. They were not agreeable to this suggestion but will raise it again.    

Question: 

I am not sure if this has been brought up before. Does anyone have any information about the lovely dumpster that has been sitting in the ring road for the last 5 years at least?  I have reached out to mgmt., and they only advise that I should email Tuminia.  He does not respond.  It’s unsightly and smells during the summer. 

GTA Response: 

We will discuss it with management at our next meeting and report back. 

Question: 

What is the plan for elevator upgrades in buildings with only one elevator? 

GTA Response: 

We asked last time but they were not sure yet.  According to Greg email on Feb 22nd, below was his report 

Low Rise Elevators – The low-rise elevators modernization project is scheduled for the spring of 2025.  We are finalizing details with the elevator contractor to confirm how long the 345, 265 & 385 elevators will be out of service.  With each of these buildings having only one elevator we want to be completely transparent with all residents as to the time frame these buildings will be without an elevator.  There may be an option to reduce the work schedule from 15 weeks to 8 weeks. Once we receive the final scope of work, we will begin to contact every resident in 345, 365 & 385 to accommodate their needs accordingly. 

Question: 

During your next session with mgmt. Discussing security, please inquire about getting cameras in the stairwells.  

GTA Response: 

We have requested cameras in stairwells, but they were not agreeable to this suggestion.  

Question: 

Can someone address the cost of utilities? 

GTA Response: 

The electric bills at Gateway are so high primarily because tenants pay for their own heat (electric) in the winter and air conditioning in the summer; in many residential buildings, heat is supplied by the landlord and included in the rent. Gateway buys electricity and then submeters it to the tenants. Your electric bill will include the number of kilowatt-hours consumed and the per-kilowatt-hour price being charged. Under an agreement that Gateway has with the Battery Park City Authority, Gateway is not permitted to make a profit on submetering electricity to tenants, and the BPCA performs audits annually to make sure Gateway adheres to that agreement.  

ConEd provides a portal on its website where you can compare your actual Gateway electrical bill with what the same amount of electricity would have cost you if you bought it directly from ConEd. That web portal is: 

https://www.coned.com/en/accounts-billing/your-bill/rate-calculators/submetering-bill-calculator

Although the GTA Board has not done a scientific sampling of tenants’ electric bills versus the ConEd portal, we have done spot-checks, and those spot-checks have shown that the Gateway bills were less than what it would have cost to have bought the electricity directly from ConEd. 

Question: 

I was told I cannot opt out of the health club. How can I? 

GTA Response: 

If you are a market tenant, you can’t.  We have mentioned this in many of our meetings and they are not willing to waive the fee for market rate tenants. They charge this fee as part of the Amenities rider and it is for use of health club, 4th floor roof deck, Business center and north lawn.  If you are QRS, you only pay if you choose to use the health club. When the Amenities Rider first appeared, GTA raised objections to this Amenities rider with Greg Tumminia (Gateway General Manager). Although he defended the Amenities rider as consistent with market for the market rate tenants, GTA continues to believe that this Amenities rider is inappropriate for all tenants, including market rate tenants, and is advocating for removal of this rider for all residents. 

GPTA Annual Meeting

Posted on by Honey Berk

Join us at the Gateway Plaza Tenants Association Annual Meeting

Thursday, November 17th, 2022 7:00 PM

The meeting will be held virtually via Zoom – see meeting link below

The meeting is open to all Gateway Residents

Agenda:

  • Updates by the GPTA Board
  • Introduction of our Elected Representatives
  • Community Discussion Q and A.
    Send question submissions to gatewayplazata@gmail.com
  • Nominations and Elections of Board Members.

If you are interested in running for the GPTA Board, please submit your name and bio to gatewayplazata@gmail.com. Nominations will also be accepted at the meeting. 

VOTING

Only tenants who are paid GPTA members may vote. Dues are payable on a calendar basis. If you have not paid 2022 dues, please pay now.

TO JOIN or RENEW

Membership in GPTA is $25 per household. Go to http://www.gpta.org/join

ZOOM LINK

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85893020140?pwd=cjhFYzBEOEZBRXhHWUppdmYzT29Kdz09

Meeting ID: 858 9302 0140
Passcode: 253547
One tap mobile
+16469313860,,85893020140#,,,,*253547# US
+19294362866,,85893020140#,,,,*253547# US (New York)

We hope to see you there!

Rosalie Joseph, Robin Forst, Bruce Katz, Jeff Galloway, Karlene Wiese, Audrey Comisky, Denise Harris-Ector, Honey Berk, Howard Grossman, Larry Emert, Pat Gray, Sarah Cassell, Steve Kessler

GPTA Statement Regarding Planned Essential Workers Monument

Posted on by Honey Berk

Dear Mr. Tsunis,

We write on behalf of the over 3,000 residents of Gateway Plaza regarding the siting of the proposed Essential Workers Monument.

First, we want to thank you for listening to the BPC residents’ concerns regarding the original Rockefeller Park site, and shifting the proposed site out of Rockefeller Park. We also thank you for your general pledge to engage with BPC residents regarding BPC land use issues going forward.

We won’t add to comments that we know you’ve received regarding the appropriateness of completing a Monument on a short timeframe and on the appropriateness more generally of adding yet another memorial to BPC. We are in general agreement with comments made by CB1 and the northern BPC residents association on those subjects.

We wish to focus our comments on one of the two alternative sites that you announced last week: the Esplanade Plaza. In many ways, Esplanade Plaza is the southern BPC analog to the Rockefeller Park site that you quite correctly eliminated two weeks ago. We urge you to reject Esplanade Plaza as a potential Monument site.

Esplanade Plaza is the public square of BPC. It is at once recreational, social and community-building. There is no other site like it in BPC. In the words of BPCA’s own website, “Esplanade Plaza features plantings, seating, volleyball court, with sweeping views of the Statue of Liberty and lower New York Harbor. Often a place of local gathering, the plaza also plays host to numerous community dances performed as part of BPCA’s free outdoor programming.”

Although often referred to in short-hand as “the volleyball court,” Esplanade Plaza is much more than that, and finding another location for a volleyball court somewhere in BPC would not replace what would be lost if Esplanade Plaza were chosen as a Monument site. 

Esplanade Plaza is a gathering spot for residents, office workers and visitors alike. Examples of popular BPC Parks-sponsored events held there include folk and swing dancing, tai chi, and concerts. Community groups and NYC non-profit groups use the space from May into October for events such as charity run-walk events, boating-related events, and the BPC Dogs Halloween costume parade and costume judging, It has been the home for many years of the BPC Block Party, which will resume again in 2022, after the pandemic. In winter, the Plaza is one of the largest snow-play-areas in Lower Manhattan when most of the lawns in BPC are closed.

Even the volleyball use is not just volleyball. It is an occasion for residents, office workers and visitors to come together in their enjoyment of the welcoming spirit of BPC and to savor the magnificent waterfront views while having fun with a sport that can be enjoyed simultaneously by people having a wide range of skill levels and mix of ages.

Volleyball is not the only play that takes place in Esplanade Plaza. The Plaza is overlooked by the Kowsky Plaza children’s playground, and children’s play often spills out to Esplanade Plaza. Children use Esplanade Plaza for games of catch, tag and just to run around; many BPC children learned to ride their bikes there.

An Esplanade Plaza site for the Monument would also entail significant construction disruption issues. As you know, the Plaza itself has a history of subsidence and sink holes that would likely be worsened by a project that would entail tearing up the existing Plaza and installation of 19 planter containers sufficient to hold large maple trees. Running a gas line to support an eternal flame would present health, safety and environmental issues that would need resolution. Completing such a project by Labor Day would likely require disruptive day-and-night construction for the remaining days of summer, right next to the largest residential complex in Lower Manhattan.

Finally, Esplanade Plaza is not a space that is conducive to solemn contemplation typical of memorial usage. The adjacent play area will mean the Monument would be in nearly constant earshot of loud children’s play and the nearby K-9 Sirius Dog Park. To the north, the active North Cove Marina casts a festive atmosphere for six months a year over Esplanade Plaza. The area is heavily trafficked by pedestrians and bike riders year round. To the extent that having one memorial next to another detracts from each, Esplanade Plaza would suffer from this problem, as it is nearly adjacent to the Police Memorial.

In closing, we thank you again for your decision to eliminate Rockefeller Park as a potential Essential Work Monument site. We urge you to do the same for Esplanade Plaza. The Plaza is a place of joy; please don’t convert it to a place of sadness and mourning.

Respectfully,

Rosalie Joseph, Honey Berk, Pat Gray
Robin Forst, Sarah Cassell, Howard Grossman
Jeff Galloway, Audrey Comisky, Steve Kessler
Karelene Wiese, Denise Ector           
Bruce Katz, Larry Emert

Board of Directors of the Gateway Plaza Tenants Association

cc:     Governor Andrew Cuomo
        Congressman Jerrold Nadler
        Senator Brian Kavanagh
        Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou
        Assemblymember Deborah Glick
        Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer
        Councilmember Margaret Chin
        Manhattan Community Board 1 Chair Tammy Melzer

Coalition for 100% Affordable Housing at WTC5

Posted on by Honey Berk

What is the Coalition for 100% Affordable Housing at World Trade Center 5?

After September 11, 2001, New Yorkers made clear that the rebuilding of Lower Manhattan must include construction of desperately needed affordable housing. However, despite tens of billions spent and promises made by the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC), not one new affordable housing complex was built. 5 World Trade Center represents the last chance to make good. Instead, the LMDC and the Port Authority are seeking to authorize an 80-story luxury residential tower on public land at the site of the former 40-story Deutsche Bank building.

For over a decade, led by Lower Manhattan housing advocate Tom Goodkind, local residents advocated for the last remaining World Trade Center lot to be fully affordable and include housing opportunities for September 11 survivors and their families, first responders, and seniors. September 11 had many repercussions — including loss of life, illnesses, and psychological effects — that placed many New Yorkers and local residents in dire need of affordable housing. The 25% ratio pledged for this building is not sufficient in light of the need.

Long-time moderate and middle income residents are being forced from their homes. Their children, who survived and grew up in the aftermath of the terrorist attack and helped rebuild Lower Manhattan, cannot afford to live in the area. Much of the new luxury housing is not even succeeding. Many towers are unfilled or unfinished, including 125 Greenwich Street across the street from 5 World Trade Center, which entered foreclosure.

The proposed development with Silverstein Properties and Brookfield Properties, who have already received massive subsidies, does not reflect the best interests of the city or the input of the community. The LMDC was created in November 2001 specifically to dispense federal funding to rebuild Lower Manhattan. The lack of transparency and direct community-engagement by LMDC contradicts their published mission of an ‘open, inclusive, and transparent planning process in which the public has a central role in shaping the future of Lower Manhattan.’

Our goals

  • 5WTC should be 100% affordable housing, including preference for the responders and survivors, and their children, of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
  • Additional community representatives should be included on any Community Advisory Committee (CAC).
  • The community advisory process should include regular meetings and be transparent and open to the public.

How can I voice my support for this effort?

Please go to AffordableTower5.com and sign up!

Amenities Lease Addendum

Posted on by Honey Berk

Some of you may have received an Amenities Lease Addendum as part of your lease renewal package. GPTA raised objections to this Amenities rider with Greg Tumminia (Gateway General Manager). Although he defended the Amenities rider as consistent with market for the market rate tenants, Mr. Tumminia said that it was sent to some QRS tenants in error. Here’s what he said as to QRS tenants, “QRS amenity riders were sent in error. All QRS residents have the option of signing up for the health club at a $35.00 per month, per apartment rate. This is an option for QRS residents. The $35 per month, per apartment fee is substantially less than the current rate of $50 per person, per month.”

Accordingly, it appears that QRS tenants do not need to sign the Amenities Rider. If a QRS tenant is interested in health club access, the tenant can get access for $35 per month, but does not need to pay for any of the other amenities.

GPTA continues to believe that this Amenities rider is inappropriate for all tenants, including market rate tenants, and is advocating for removal of this rider for all residents.

GPTA Annual Meeting

Posted on by Honey Berk

Thursday, March 18th, 2021, 7 PM

Via Zoom. See Link Below

The meeting will be open to all Gateway Residents

  • Updates by the GPTA Board
  • Introduction of our Elected Representatives
  • Community Discussion Q and A. Please submit questions prior to the meeting at gatewayplazata@gmail.com. Questions can be raised at meeting as time permits.
  • Nominations and Elections of Board Members. If you are interested in running for the GPTA board but have not sent in your name and bio, we will also accept nominations at the meeting. 

VOTING

Only tenants who are current paid GPTA members may vote. Please note that dues are payable on the calendar basis so the 2021 dues are payable now.

TO JOIN or RENEW
Membership in GPTA is $25 per household. Go to http://www.gpta.org/join

We hope to see you there!

Rosalie Joseph, Robin Forst, Bruce Katz, Jeff Galloway, Karlene Wiese, Audrey Comisky, Denise Harris-Ector, Honey Berk, Howard Grossman, Larry Emert, Pat Gray, Sarah Cassell, Steve Kessler

ZOOM INFO
Time: Mar 18, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83425565553
Meeting ID: 834 2556 5553
One tap mobile
+19294362866,,83425565553# US (New York)
+13126266799,,83425565553# US (Chicago)

Gateway Plaza Tenants Association Annual Membership Meeting

Posted on by Honey Berk

Mark Your Calendars

Thursday, March 18th, 2021, 7 PM

Via Zoom. Details will follow.

The meeting will be open to all Gateway Residents

  • Updates by the GPTA Board
  • Introduction of our Elected Representatives
  • Community Discussion Q and A.
  • Nominations and Elections of Board Members.

If you are interested in placing your name on the ballot to run for the GPTA Board, send an email to 

gatewayplazata@gmail.com. In the email include a statement about why you are interested in serving on the Board (Maximum 100 words).

VOTING – Only tenants who are current paid GPTA members may vote. Please note that dues are payable on the calendar basis so the 2021 dues are payable now.

TO JOIN or RENEW- Membership in GPTA is $25 per household. Go to http://www.gpta.org/join

We hope to see you there!

Rosalie Joseph, Robin Forst, Bruce Katz, Jeff Galloway, Karlene Wiese

Audrey Comisky, Denise Harris-Ector, Honey Berk, Howard Grossman, Larry Emert, Pat Gray, Sarah Cassell, Steve Kessler