350 BLEECKER STREET CO-OP
Newsletter 123
May 14, 2000

The board met on April 11, 2000. Among the issues discussed:

SMOKING IN BACK YARD

The staff was asked not to smoke in the back yard, because certain residents complained. Smoking is not allowed anywhere in the common areas of the building (basement, lobby, stairwells, laundry room, exercise room, locker room, workshop, etc.)

ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT - December 31, 1999

By now, all shareholders should have received the report, which compares 1998 and 1999 financial information. The second to last page mentions an "Incincerator". This is a typo. It should have read "Compactor". The report was prepared by Burt Feldman, CPA. Mr. Feldman's firm was replaced on January 1, 2000. Our new CPA is Rick Montanye.

If you did not receive the report, please ask Marylou Moravec (4E) for a copy.

MONTHLY FINANCIAL REPORT

Attached is Marylou Moravec's monthly report.

CONSTRUCTION

AM+G (our contractor) still has not informed us when construction will re-start. The board hired Mark Seiden, a construction attorney, to tie up the loose ends in an amicable fashion.

OWNERSHIP TRANSFERS

Certain shareholders wanted to transfer ownership within their immediate family. Andrew Brucker, the transfer agent, coordinates these arrangements. The co-op does not collect any revenue from these changes, but certain service fees are paid to Schechter and Brucker.

GARAGE LEASE

To increase the chance of an amicable agreement, the board requested a neutral professional mediator. Attached is a letter sent to Ken Newman.

GARDEN COMMITTEE

If you'd like to help, please call Laura Herbert at 212 645 1746. Among the plants due to arrive shortly: dwarf plum, pear, peach, nectarine, cherry and apple trees; strawberries; blueberries; roses; rhubarb; cranberries (a non-bog type); gooseberries; black raspberries; red and black currants, and grapes (both seedless as well as wine types). These plants all come from the Miller nursery in Canandaigua, New York, in the Finger Lakes region.

Each dwarf tree only grows to about 6 feet tall. A dwarf is actually a branch grafted to full-size root stock. As long as the graft is kept above the surface, each tree will only grow about 6 feet. If the graft is covered with earth, the tree grows full-size (about 25 feet tall). Although the tree is called a "dwarf", the fruit is full-size. Most of the fruit trees require another tree to be fertilized and bear fruit, although some of the trees are self-pollinating.

The strawberries purchased this year are all "indeterminate" varieties. That means they bear fruit continuously all season. "Determinate" strawberries bear fruit only once, all at the same time. Generally professional farmers prefer determinate varieties so they can plan their harvest crew time schedules, and amateur gardeners prefer indeterminate fruits so they can enjoy a reasonably-sized harvest all season long, a little at a time. Sometimes the amateur gardener buys a determinate variety by accident, and gets an avalanche of tomatoes or strawberries all at once.

Two asparagus varieties were planted last year: green and purple. The asparagus had a high mortality rate because some people mistook the full-size plants for weeds, and pulled them out. Because the remaining plants were not harvested quickly, the asparagus shoots grew 2 to 3 feet tall, and became the "trunks" of the full-size plant.

The harvest is supposed to take place when the plant is only about 8 to 12 inches tall, before the shoots grow branches. Last year's survivors have again grown to their full height this year. Perhaps next year they'll get harvested on time, early in the season. No one on this year's or last year's garden committee had ever seen asparagus grow before, so no one knew the appropriate action to take at the right time.

In spite of the construction, many trees and plants survived, such as the red raspberries, figs, quince, Japanese cherry and pine trees, most roses, some blueberries, a few strawberries, and a minority of the grapes.