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350 BLEECKER STREET COOP NEWSLETTER

February 1, 1988

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT THE NEWSLETTER

Enclosed are the first 3 newsletters, In the future, the newsletters will arrive one at a time, in a timely fashion. Ken Newman apologizes for the delay in getting started on the mailings.

SECOND BOARD MEETING

SUBLET FEES

The board voted unanimously to institute sublet fees. Should a shareholder desire to sublet an apartment, the board will charge $200

for examining the sublet application (whether approved or not), and 50 cents per month per share, during the time of the sublet lease.

For example, an apartment with 191 shares would pay a monthly sublet fee of $95.50 in addition to the regular maintenance.

If the board permits the lease to be renewed to the same subtenant(s), no further application fee would be paid, but the monthly charge would continue.

This fee policy only applies to those apartments which have been owner-occupied since the building's coop conversion. (Other apartments are

not legally subject to these fees.) Any current sublets would not

be subject to the fees, but new sublets and renewals would after 2/1788.

The sublet fees will be added to the capital improvements fund.

LAUNDRY ROOM

The following improvements will be made at Coinmach's expense:

    new floor installed
    room will be painted
    new machines, including 7 washers, not 6 as currently
    new dryers
    new table plus chairs

Additionally, the laundry room door lock will be keyed to the same cylinder as the front door. This will allow people to use the laundry when it is currently closed.

LOBBY AND HALLWAY RENOVATION

Contractor bids were received and are now being examined. Soon we will go to the Landmarks Commission for approval. Even though our building

is not a landmark, because it is in a Landmarks area, permission must be granted by the Landmarks Commission first.

ELEVATOR RENOVATION

The board voted to have the floor tiles replaced and to purchase proper carpeting for the elevators. Further elevator cab improvements will be explored.

FIRE SAFETY

You are reminded to:

This is vitally important. Please report to management any open doors. The importance of this matter is illustrated in an article which appeared in the New York Times on Wednesday, January 13, 1988, regarding a fatal fire on East 50th Street.

The smoke that killed four residents of an apartment building on the East Side of Manhattan Monday night spread through the structure because two lobby-level fire doors had been wedged open in violation of the fire Code, the authorities said yesterday.

If the doors had been closed, "we would have had a much better situation," the Chief Fire Marshal, John B. Regan, said at a news conference at the First Battalion firehouse at 100 Duane Street.

The open doors turned the stairwells into "chimneys" that carried the smoke quickly to the upper floors of the 10-story building at 135 East 50th Street between Lexington & Third Avenues, said Robert J. Butler, Chief of the De-partment.

Once the smoke reached the top of the building. Chief Butler said, It had nowhere else to go and "mushroomed" through the rest office structure.

Two of the four residents killed were found in a IOLH floor hallway, he said.

They were Janet Djemshidaff. 30 years old, and Francois De Paul Nzoue. 34.

Another Victim, Alice Schwartz, 50, was found in a ninth floor hallway.

The fourth victim, a man who has not yet been identified, was found in the stairwell between the first and second floors.

Officials had originally said five people were killed in the fire but later revised the figure. Nine residents and 16firefighters were injured in the blaze, the authorities said.

Fire damage was confined to the first two floors of the building. and residents were allowed to return to their apartments yesterday afternoon.

Mr. Regan said that the fire appeared to have been accidental but that officials were investigating. "We have no way of telling who left the doors open." he said.

Residents had reported a strange odor in the building before the fire, he said. and he speculated that the fire doors might have been left open to clear the stairwells.

"It's a fireproof excellent building if all the safety precautions are taken care of." Chief Butler said.

Sylvia Handier, who said her family had owned the building for 35 years, asserted in a telephone interview that the fire doors were ordinarily kept shut and that she was unaware of them being open before the fire.

Fire Commissioner Joseph F. Bruno said apartments were equipped with smoke detectors but firefighters found several detectors without batteries.

Mr. Regan said the fire started shortly after 8 P.M. in a psychologist's office in the rear of the building. The first two floors of the building are commercial rentals. The rest of the structure consists of 107 apartment units.

In addition to the two fire doors, a door from the rear offices to the lobby should have been closed but was open and made fighting the five alarm fire more difficult, officials said.

Mr. Regan said the building's superintendent opened the office door when he discovered the fire.

Instead of the fire being contained in the office, the fire and smoke were able to spread through the open door into the lobby and up the stairwells, Mr. Regan said.

More than 200 firefighters fought the fire, Mr. Bruno said. Firefighters helped about 50 residents to safety, he said.

I'll could have been much worse," Mr. Bruno said. "There were some dramatic rescues"

Reisa M. Roberts, 29 years old, and her sister Debra. 26. were cooking dinner in their eighth-floor apartment when Debra said she smelled smoke.

"I honestly thought it was something I was cooking," Reisa Roberts said.

But when her sister went to investigate she opened the front door and discovered the hallway was full of smoke.

The smoke poured into their living room. forcing them to seek refuge in their bathroom, Debra Roberts said.

"For a few moments It was completely black in the living room." she added. "I was horrified."

Chief Butler said firefighters had been called to the building on Sunday in investigate a defective oil burner and had received a complaint "a few weeks ago" about light fixtures in the exits, but had found nothing seriously wrong.

"We are investigating all previous complaint," he said.

The building. which is managed by Handler & Company, has four outstanding minor zoning and building code violations dating to 1984, said a Building Department spokesman, Vahe Tiryakian.

A spokeswoman for the Housing Preservation and Development Department, Catie Marshall, said her office had received 11 complaints about the building since October and had issued 67 minor code violations from 1977 to November 1987.

Mrs. Handler said that any violations were remedied immediately. "Whatever problems we have, we take care of." she said. "I don't know of any violations."

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350 BLEECKER STREET CO-OP NEWSLETTER

March 17, 1988

The Board met on March 15, 1988. The meeting's highlights were:

As previously announced, this room will be cleaned and painted. Please contact Mr. Cruz before April 1st to remove belongings stored in it. Items left in the room after that time will be donated to charity.

Before the hallways are repainted, it may be necessary to regrout the bathrooms. The regrouting will stop the moisture leaks into the hall walls. The board is discussing regrouting with several contractors. Regrouting a bathroom takes several hours and the shower/bathtub often cannot be used for 24 hours after the work is completed. The board has not yet made a final decision on this project.

A contractor has been selected and the carpeting will soon be purchased. While we wait for the carpeting to arrive, the hallways on floors 1 through 6 will be painted and have their lighting fixtures changed.

After the Landmarks Commission rules on our lobby plans, the ground floor will be completed. An architect has been hired to represent us before the Landmarks Commission. The Commission must approve plans for the lobby, even though our building is not specifically a designated landmark, because we are in a designated landmark district.

The board must approve all apartment construction work before the work is started including new items connected to the plumbing. This rule, standard in almost every co-op building, exists because the board has a responsibility to reduce the risks of such changes to the building's residents and shareholders.

New machines have been installed, as well as a new floor, and the room will soon be painted by Coinmach. The front door key unlocks the laundry for your convenience.

DOOR CLOSERS AND BASEMENT ENTRANCES

Hydraulic door closers have now been installed on every fire exit to end accidental slamming. The basement garage entrances now use the front door keys.

350 BLEECKER STREET COOP NEWSLETTER NO. 8

August l, 1988

The Board met on July 19, l988. Among the topics of discussion:

ASBESTOS

The Board reviewed two asbestos-removal bids from contractors. The asbestos is in the basement, not the apartments. The bidders are being asked for more information so no decision was reached by the Board.

HALLWAY RENOVATION

Several bids from various subcontractors were reviewed. The carpeting, lighting, and painting as well as new doorbells, will probably be installed in the hallways before the lobby itself is redone.

INSURANCE

By now, everyone in the building should have received the insurance booklet from Intermarket. This discounted insurance is available to tenants, as well as apartment share owners. It you didn't receive a booklet, call Anthony Giaconi at Intermarket (936-1442).

REGROUTING

Has your bathroom been satisfactorily regrouted? All four walls should've had old grout removed and new grout installed, making the surfaces waterproof. This was done to protect the hallway walls (and the hallway repainting, soon to begin). If there are any grouting problems remaining' please fill out the coupon below, and slip it under the door to 3E immediately.

Name _____________________________

Apartment number ___________

Telephone number (days) ________________ (eves) _______________

My grouting problem is ________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________

At the annual shareholders' meeting, the new Board was elected. There were ten candidates for the seven board seats. At a directors' meeting thereafter the following officers were elected. The new Board and the officers of the co-op are:

Forty-six non sponsor apartment owners attended the meeting (15 by proxy), or just over half of the non sponsor owned apartments. Sponsor shares were not voted.

Among the topics discussed at the meeting:

1. APARTMENT PRICES

Recent apartment sale prices have been at the rate of $1,000 to $1,250 per share. No two-bedroom apartments have been sold recently, however, the last sale was within the higher portion of the price range.

2. APARTMENTS FOR SALE

It was suggested at the meeting that this Newsletter indicate apartments available for sale. They are:

    APT        Size	      Price       Contact              Telephone

    LE        Two Bedroom    $199,100     Kenneth Newman       319-3000
    3C        Studio          110,000     Kenneth Newman       319-3000
    3W        Medium StudiO    90,000     Robin Morlock        929-0906
    4A        Studio          108,000     Kenneth Newman       319-3000
    4X        Studio          110,000     Kenneth Newman       319-3000
    5A        Large Studio    105,000     Linda Sheer          924-0595
    6A        Large Studio    115,000     Kathleen Mehrmann    758-0190
    6W        Studio           90,000     Kenneth Newman       319-3000

(For a one bedroom expected to become available early January, 1989, call Kenneth Newman.)

If you want to sell an apartment, please call Mark Lilien, the writer of this Newsletter, with the information, so it can be listed in the next issue.

3. CONTRACTORS. ALTERATIONS. AND RENOVATIONS

Before having any alterations or renovations made to your apartment, please be sure to get the Board's approval. Typical projects needing approval include: replacing a sink, toilet, or tub; permanent electrical work; dishwasher, clothes washer, and dryer installation; removal of a wall; creation of a new doorway; etc. Typical projects that do not need approval include: painting; wallpapering; carpeting; etc. This policy is for all our benefit, protecting everyone's investment.

Note that the Board meets only once a month, so project plans needing approval must be scheduled well in advance.

People attending the shareholders' meeting suggested that the Board keep a list of contractors, painters, plumbers, electricians, etc. who do good work. If you have someone to suggest for the Board's list, please call any Board member with their name, specialty, and phone number.

4. VACANCIES

The vacant apartments do not have a negative effect on the building's operating funds. Their owners must pay the maintenance, regardless. The stores are leased by Kenneth Newman, who pays the operating fund of the building for the space, regardless of whether the stores have tenants or not. In 1989, the store space rent paid by Kenneth Newman will be $109,000, which will be about 12% of the building's total budget.

5. GROUTING

The grouting contractor was selected because he tied for lowest bid. Nepotism was not involved, as the contractor was selected by the full Board, and the bids were solicited by Board members.

6. BATHROOM AND KITCHEN AIR VENTS

The roof fans attached to these vents may need inspection and repairs or replacement. The Board will check on this situation.

7. AIR CONDITIONER COVERS

Contact Mr. Cruz if you want metal air conditioner covers installed on the exterior of your air conditioners. These covers help prevent cold drafts from coming through the air conditioners during the winter.

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8. RADIATORS

Every radiator in the building is controlled by a valve below it. If you need help adjusting your valve, please see Mr. Cruz.

9. SUBLET APARTMENTS

Before subletting your apartment, be sure to get the Board's approval.

10. BOARD MEETING

After the shareholder meeting, the Board met to elect officers and approve the maintenance budget.

Major items in the 1989 $882,000 budget include:

Commercial rents (see above)              $109,000
Laundry company rent                        13,000

Total income                              $122,000

Expenses

Real estate*, sewer, corporate taxes      $296,500
Mortgage*                                  292,500
Employee payroll incl. benefits and taxes  122,000
Oil, gas, electric                          53,000
Management fees                             42,000
Insurance                                   41,000
Repairs                                     25,000
Accounting, permits, phone, misc.           10,000

Total expenses                            $882,000

Name                Position           Employed Since

Mike Cruz           Superintendent          7/76
Jerry Rawls         Handyman               11/61
Guillermo Milan     Porter                  9/87
Jose Rivera         Porter                  1/88