Board Lives: Orlando Pimentel, Board President

Orlando Pimentel, Board President

BUILDING STATS

NAME: The Edwardian

BUILT: 1960s

LOCATION:

94-11 59th Avenue in Elmhurst, New York

UNITS: 186 (7 stories)

ELEVATORS: 2

DOORMAN: No

WENT CO-OP: 1986

WHY HE BOUGHT

“I really enjoyed the layout of the apartments and the convenience of the location [to mass transit and stores]. The apartments are spacious. I have about 1400 square feet.” He has been living there 12 years.

WHY HE RAN FOR OFFICE

“I was not happy with the way things were being run in the building. I wanted to get involved with the decision-making. The managing agent was the sponsor. There was no control over what was being spent. Maintenance kept going up.”

BIGGEST SURPRISE

“You think that everybody was not doing a great job, but then when you get to the bottom of it, they were doing the best they could. It’s a misconception that it was a bunch of old people controlling every single decision. Now that I’m on the board, I know why decisions were made back then. Now I see it from the insider’s point of view.”

BIGGEST CHALLENGE

“To prove myself. To have the other members of the board take me seriously. I’m the youngest member of the board. I was 29 when I started and I had a lot of great ideas, but it was difficult to put those ideas through with people who had been on the board for over 20 years.”

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

“Dealing with a limited budget. There are so many things you want to do for the building, to make it better and make it appealing to new people coming in to buy and to people who live there. And it could not be done in the fiscal year. You have to wait.”

GREATEST HOPE

“I like to be surrounded by beautiful things. Our lobby was horrible. My biggest hope was that I was going to improve the way the building looked. And the lobby is redone – it took me seven years to get the job approved. But it was done this year. And we redid the entire façade of the building – almost a $2 million improvement. My biggest objective was making sure the building was profitable at the end of the year and that the numbers looked good for people who wanted to move in.”

ADVICE TO OTHERS, LESSONS LEARNED

“Be patient. Think before you talk. Do your own research. When we have a big job going on, I always try to do things on my own. We were doing the lobby and I took it on myself to find the tiles myself. If I have the time I enjoy doing that. Do your homework before you criticize what’s being done.”

ADVICE TO HIMSELF

“Everything I’ve aimed for, I’ve gotten, so my advice to myself is don’t give up and keep doing what I I’m doing.”

BOARD

Seven members. He has served for eight years. It took three attempts before his election to the board.

RECENT PROJECTS (CAPITAL)

The building has completed a major lobby renovation, a double-boiler replacement, and a façade restoration project.

RECENT PROJECTS (OTHER)

The building has been involved in a lawsuit and ongoing campaign against neighboring Queens Center Mall. The construction of mall’s addition has caused ongoing damage to the property.

BUILDING PROFESSIONALS

ATTORNEY
Joel Charleston

ACCOUNTANT
Rafael Sanders

MANAGER
Kaled Management

PERSONAL STATS

AGE
37

FAMILY
Living with partner for five years. Lived in the U.S.A. for eighteen years. Originally from the Dominican Republic.

JOB
Senior recruiter for employment firm in the fashion industry.

FAVORITE LEISURE-TIME ACTIVITY
Going to theater, spending time at home, or “just spending time with my partner.”

FAVORITE FILM
Titanic.