We have received word from a reliable source that Gus Medina has withdrawn from the election.
2015 Candidates
This year eleven candidates are vying for four open seats. The candidates, according to a notice posted yesterday on Sewardparkcoop.com, are:
#1 – Alvin Steinberg (candidacy withdrawn)
#2 – Erica Cullmann
#3 – Sandy Kershon
#4 – Mendy Erez
#5 – Aaron Fineman
#6 – Gus Medina (candidacy withdrawn)
#7 – Debbie Finston
#8 – Hariette Skidelsky
#9 – Doron Stember (misspelled as “Dorin” in the notice)
#10 – Laurel Hirsch
#11- Carlos Rosado
Gus and Carlos are incumbents. The other two seats are being vacated by Kate Nammacher and Paul Sobel.
Introduction to Public School Districts
A majority of Seward Park Cooperative families send their school age children to public schools. Unlike many places in the U.S., however, sending your child to public school in New York City is not as simple as just registering up at the neighborhood elementary school.
To start, our cooperative straddles the line between two completely separate school districts. Buildings 1 and 2 (on the east side of Clinton Street) are in District 1 while Buildings 3 and 4 are in District 2. And the two districts are quite different.
District 1 is generally regarded as having good elementary school choices in our area, but not very good middle schools. District 2 has less exciting elementary schools in our immediate area, but some excellent elementary schools elsewhere (if you can get in) and some excellent middle schools.
District 2 is much, much larger. District 1 is just the East Village and Lower East Side (below 14th, east of the Bowery down to Delancey, then east of Clinton below Delancey). District 2 is ALL the rest of Manhattan below 96th Street except the Upper West Side (including the Upper East Side, all of Midtown, Chelsea, Murray Hill, the Village, Soho, Chinatown, Tribeca, the Financial District, etc.).
Because of its size, District 2 has “zoned” schools, where kids who live in a school’s geographic zone get priority in the admissions process. District 1 is more unusual (possibly unique to our knowledge) in being a “choice” district, where everyone who lives anywhere in the district has an equal shot at getting into any school in the district. This has the advantage of equalizing access, but the disadvantage of scattering kids throughout the district. It also has had self-segregating effect.
There are also gifted and talented, special needs, dual language, and other special programs that sometimes blur the lines between districts.
The most popular public elementary schools in District 1 with Grand Street families (in order of proximity) seem to be Shuang Wen (dual language English/Mandarin), PS110 (neighborhood school with the only District 1 gifted and talented program) and the four progressive schools: Neighborhood, Earth, East Village Community and Children’s Workshop. The zoned elementary school for the Seward Buildings in District 2 is PS42, but there are kids who go to a number of other District 2 schools. NEST+m is another nearby public school that is highly sought after and has a citywide gifted and talented admissions process.
For more information:
Vote Today for Well-Qualified, Responsible Candidates
The candidates listed below offer shareholders a set of skills and a level of professionalism that are necessary to managing the business of our co-op.
The undersigned respectfully recommend a vote for the following candidates on June 11, 2014:
#4 Michael Tumminia
Michael has a proven track record of effective leadership. While acting as the president and treasurer of the co-op, the Board turned broom closets into a community room and created a modern, safe, legal (i.e. up to code) playroom; they expanded our leasable commercial spaces; they transformed a padlocked vacant-for-50-years dumping ground into the Hester Street Fair; they balanced our budget, brought us into compliance with Local Law 11, improved our grounds, brought Hertz 24/7 to our property, built a functional interactive website, settled long-running lawsuits that were costing us millions to litigate with no end in sight; and more. And, under Michael’s leadership, we were kept in the loop with regular boardroom reports and shareholder meetings. Michael has his detractors, but without him, we would not have exploited the numerous revenue generating and quality of life enhancing amenities that we all enjoy today. Importantly, Michael has much more to offer if we vote him back on the board.
#7 Darcey Gerstein
Darcey is a professional writer, copywriter, and editor who has worked in financial and corporate communications. She knows how to translate balance sheets and budgets into clear and accurate language that even those without finance backgrounds can understand. She will make an amazing secretary–a position the board has unsuccessfully filled for years and that is desperately needed. Communication is a skill that is simply lacking here and the ~3,330 residents here deserve better. Darcey’s enthusiasm and creativity will also be a welcome addition to the boardroom.
#8 Gillian Lusins
Gillian is a highly educated attorney with decades of experience working in large business organizations where efficiency is highly valued, decisions are made collectively based on the best expertise available, and clear communication is paramount. She will make a strong addition to the board’s capacity to analyze complex issues like Greenthal’s management contract and the dozen or so commercial leases that are all coming up for renewal over the next few years. Furthermore, having an attorney on the Board to liaise with our outside counsel is extremely valuable and common throughout many corporate structures.
#9 Carol Bankerd
Carol has a long record of selfless community service and advocacy, from personally caring for the trees on our property (and off) to dealing with powerful real estate concerns on behalf of members of her past community in Cambridge, Mass. Her experience and perspective will be enormously helpful to the board as Essex Crossing breaks ground across the street. As a tenured educator at the university level, Carol is also one to take research very seriously. We can all benefit from Board members looking to enhance their knowledge, rather than skirting issues or ignoring topics that simply require too much effort to fully understand. Carol also brings much leadership experience resulting from her committee and council memberships throughout her 37 year professorship.
Please consider voting for these four candidates. Each brings valuable and complementary skills and professional experience to our boardroom.
Attention!
Last year shareholders voted overwhelmingly to remove Geordan Goldstein from the Board.
The final vote was 438-210
When you vote tomorrow, please keep this in mind.
Most importantly, please read the candidate statements and vote TOMORROW- Wednesday, June 11th 7 am to 7 pm in the lobbies.
Remember, you can vote online right now. Check your Election-America Proxy package for instructions.
Your neighbors–Linda Jones, Brett Leitner, Micah Arbisser
Vacancy Filled and Officers Elected
This information remains preliminary and unofficial, but we have it on good authority that John Ryan has been selected by the board to fill the vacancy that resulted from Geordan Goldstein’s removal. John previously served on the board in 2011-2012 when he was selected to fill the vacancy resulting from BIll King’s resignation.
We also are told that the following new officers have been appointed:
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President: Kate Nammacher
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First Vice President: Dia Shepardson
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Second Vice President: Gus Medina
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Treasurer: Marc Albaum
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Assistant Treasurer: David Pass
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Secretary: John Ryan
- Assistant Secretary: Carlos Rosado
The Removal Referendum
The board announced last week that this year’s annual meeting ballot will include a referendum on whether director Geordan Goldstein should be removed.
We reached out to Micah Arbisser, a shareholder who is an attorney and who offered some insight into the legality of this move on SPComm. Micah shared a few points, noting that these comments are for informational and discussion purposes only and do not constitute legal advice:
- Under New York State law, the board has the right to propose actions to the shareholders so long as notice requirements are met, and the shareholders of a corporation have the right to remove directors for “cause.”
- Under our by-laws, the vote of a majority of those participating in the applicable meeting is required for the shareholders to take an action. For example, if 800 shareholders participate in the election, 401 “yes” votes will be required for the removal to be effective. Abstaining from the removal referendum vote is the same as voting “no.”
What it means to be a director
The Spark reached out to a few former directors of Seward Park Cooperative to ask for their thoughts on what it means to serve on the board. Following is former director Jodi Zagoory’s response:
When you serve on the co-op’s Board of Directors you have the responsibility to set policies which the management company is charged with carrying out, and to vote on the numerous and various issues that come up in the ordinary and usual business of a residential co-op. Your service is voluntary. You do not and may not receive any compensation in any form. The following are among the duties you will have:
- You must keep confidential the information you receive regarding the co-op’s business and shareholders. You may not disclose any information about any shareholder to anyone other than to another director, management personnel and the co-op’s legal counsel.
- You must not discriminate against anyone or make any decisions out of spite or revenge.
- All of your decisions are made in accordance with what you think is in the best interests of the corporation and in accordance with New York State Business Corporation Law and the co-op’s governing documents (proprietary lease, bylaws and house rules).
- A regular board meeting is held every month. You are encouraged to attend in person but if unable to you may attend by teleconference.
- The agenda of the regular meeting is compiled and set by the president of the board.
- Monthly agenda items include reviewing and discussing the co-op’s financial status based on a monthly financial report, and voting on sales, sublets, and adding/removing names from stock certificates.
- Serving as a director does not mean that you have the power to order co-op staff to do anything. Directors tell management what the board wants the co-op’s staff to do, and management directs the staff.
- You, your family and your friends may not receive any preferential treatment from staff or management.
- You will make decisions on whether the co-op should enter into contracts and leases.
- You will make decisions on whether the co-op should take legal or other action against a vendor, commercial tenant or shareholder.
- You will make decisions on whether to and how much to spend on projects.
- You will decide on who will be the co-op’s attorney and accountant.
- You will decide on the co-op’s annual operating and capital budgets to ensure that the co-op’s financial obligations are paid.
- You will decide whether the co-op should borrow money or pay off any loans.
Service on the board is for a term of three years. It is time consuming. You will be asked to review and make decisions about contracts, proposals, reports and other documents. You must take your responsibilities seriously as the decisions that you make impact many people and businesses. But like any form of voluntary public service, it is also rewarding and satisfying to help guide your community into the future.
New Gazette
Director Eric Mandelbaum has issued another Gazette. Like the last one, this one seems to have had a pretty limited distribution. In another highly unscientific poll, more than half of the handful of shareholders contacted by the Spark had not seen a hard copy. But unlike the last one, this one is very, very long, and directly addresses this year’s election, endorsing candidates Finston, Ramirez and Riga and attacking past directors.
Official Candidate List and First Statements
Memos were circulated over the last week with the official candidate list, the order in which they will appear on the ballot, and their first candidate statements.
Following is the list (with links to their candidate statements on the password-protected SPC shareholder website):
Election 2013: Unofficial Candidate List
Three seats are available in this year’s election for the Seward Park Cooperative Board of Directors. The extended deadline for submitting candidate packages was yesterday, and the Spark has learned that the following shareholders have entered the race.
- Marc Albaum
- Susan Drosdofsky
- Debbie Finston
- David Pass
- Norma Ramirez (incumbent)
- Ray Riga
- Dia Shepardson
- Hariette Skidelsky
There are a few familiar names, and a few new names. We look forward to learning more from the candidates in the coming weeks.