2024 Seward Spark Board Endorsements

This year’s Seward Spark endorsements are from Micah Arbisser, who publishes the Seward Spark, Katie Roumel, a long-time shareholder, and Darshan Somashekar, a past director who served alongside the incumbents.

After reviewing the candidates’ biographies, hearing their presentations at Meet the Candidates, and reviewing the records of those who have already served, we believe the following four candidates stand out for their ability to lead our cooperative.

#6 Michelle Kuppersmith – Michelle stands out for her eagerness to improve the Board’s communication, her political savvy, and her general high level of thoughtfulness and energy. We feel the Board needs to improve its communication with shareholders. Michelle has promised to do that, and we believe she is in the best position of this year’s candidates to do so. With experience running her nonprofit, volunteering for CB3 (so she has board experience), and her general high level of energy, thoughtfulness, and enthusiasm, we think she will make an excellent addition to an already very strong Board.

#2 Aaron Fineman, #3 Erica Cullmann, and #5 Doron Stember – The incumbents this year continue to be among the most hard-working, thoughtful, effective directors in the co-op’s recent memory. While communication has not been ideal (see above), in our conversations about their work on the Board they have consistently impressed us that they take their roles as stewards of our homes very seriously, that they are doing everything possible to maximize the not-always-complementary goals of near-term affordability and long-term stability (both financial and structural), and that they are listening to the very real concerns of all of our neighbors. As we head into the next phase of capital projects and with our mortgage’s maturity on the not-too-distant horizon, we need current President Doron’s leadership, current VP Erica’s work ethic, and current Assistant Secretary Aaron’s community orientation on the Board. They deserve reelection.

Lastly, a note about #4 Chris McCartin: Chris offers knowledge and skills from his career in construction management that are extremely relevant, given our coop’s upcoming renovations. Unfortunately we only have four open seats and need to choose four to endorse, but we would also be perfectly happy to see Chris elected. And even if he is not elected, we hope he will volunteer some of his time to help the Board with the renovation project.

Whether or not you agree with us, please exercise your shareholder right to vote!

Your neighbors,

Micah Arbisser
Seward Spark Publisher

Katie Roumel
Long-time Shareholder

Darshan Somashekar
Past Director

2018 Seward Spark Board Endorsements

This year’s Seward Spark endorsements again come from Micah Arbisser, who publishes the Seward Spark, and Kate Nammacher, who recently served on the Board as a director, president, and treasurer.

After reviewing the candidates’ biographies, hearing their presentations at Meet the Candidates, and reviewing the records of those who have already served, we believe the following four candidates stand out for their high levels of engagement, knowledge, optimism, and professionalism.

#1 Aaron Fineman, #4 Doron Stember, and #6 Erica Cullmann – The incumbents this year are among the most hard-working, thoughtful, effective directors in the co-op’s recent memory.  They absolutely deserve reelection. Erica, Doron, and Aaron have led us through a challenging period where they raised revenue from non shareholder sources, overhauled our budgeting process to make it more stable, expanded access to amenities, and were responsive to shareholder concerns and alternative Boardroom viewpoints.  They also toiled for 17 months to bring the best possible air rights deal to a shareholder vote, while presenting detailed and balanced information about the deal.

#2 Sidney Goudie – From Sid’s first days in Seward Park, he has demonstrated a deep commitment to our community.  Sid is well known for his friendly presence in the E section, and can often be found engaging neighbors with questions about our collective home in an effort to understand the issues from all perspectives.  He is someone who can naturally find common ground on the most pressing matters facing our co-op. Sid also has a strong finance background and focuses on long-term preservation of capital. He wants to apply his financial expertise to the co-op’s budgeting and fiscal management strategies and would be an extremely valuable Board member.

Whether or not you agree that these candidates are the best, please exercise your shareholder right to vote!

Your neighbors,

Micah Arbisser
Seward Spark Publisher

Kate Nammacher
Former SPC Director, President and Treasurer

And the winners are…

Congratulations to Doron, Aaron, Erica and Mendy.

The final vote tallies were:
#2 Erica Cullmann 399
#3 Sandy Kershon 145
#4 Mendy Erez 388
#5 Aaron Lee Fineman 487
#7 Debbie Finston 373
#8 Hariette Skidelsky 296
#9 Doron Stember 490
#10 Laurel Hirsch 332
#11 Carlos Rosado 381
ABSTAIN 3

That means at least 826 shareholders cast votes.

Thanks also go out to Gus Medina, Kate Nammacher and Paul Sobel for their service over the past three years, and Carlos Rosado for his service going back well over a decade.

Seward Park Board Election is Tomorrow

Seward Park Cooperative shareholders go to the polls tomorrow (Wednesday).  Please remember to vote!  Note that if you are unable to vote in person on Wednesday, you can vote online using the codes you should have received in the mail from Election America.  If you have misplaced your codes, please contact us and we can send you a proxy form that will allow another shareholder to cast a vote on your behalf.

We believe that the following four candidates stand out in their high levels of demonstrated professionalism and volunteerism.

#2 Erica Cullmann – Offering a background in operations and facilities management, with more than 16 years of experience in RFPs, contract negotiations, vendor management, strategic planning and budgeting. An active leader in planning SPC family events (Halloween parties, Summerfest, etc.) and member of various Board-supervised committees.

#5 Aaron Lee Fineman – Has both run his own business and worked in marketing and communications for large organizations like the United Nations and CUNY, with strong knowledge of both marketing and technology. Volunteers his time and photography and design skills for initiatives like the Halloween parties and promoting the co-op’s shared office space, as well as for a number of neighborhood organizations, including the Lower East Side Girls Club.

#8 Hariette Skidelsky  – Boasts a professional background is in retail management, paralegal work and child care.  She is active in the Women’s Club, where she has gotten to know many of our middle-aged and older neighbors, but also has a 17 year old son and is attuned to the needs of young parents as well.   She has served on a variety of board-supervised committees, including finance, energy and legal.

#9 Doron Stember – As a practicing and teaching physician, Doron listens, researches, consults with experts and synthesizes information prior to taking thoughtful, well- considered action in order to  help others.  Exactly as a good Board member should.   He is motivated, energetic, fair-minded, and capable.

But whether or not you agree that these candidates are the best, the important thing is to vote.

Your neighbors,
Linda Jones, Brett Leitner, Micah Arbisser

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.