A View from the Bronx: Board President on Co-op Living

How has the co-op changed over the years?

When I first moved here, it was practically a retirement village. Now it has all different types of people and all different ages. We have a strong corps of seniors, but we also have young professionals. We have come a long, long way, and we pride ourselves on [our] diversity.

What has been your biggest achievement?

When the co-op started out, it operated under self-management. What I’ve come to learn is that self-management for a property of this size offers too many opportunities for corruption. So one of the first things that we did was to bring in professional management, and what we have gotten out of it is really professional accounting. It allowed us to step up our game.

What’s a hot-ticket item on your agenda?

Our buildings are 60 years old. So when we first came on the board in 2007, our infrastructure was in dire need of upgrading. That’s been a whole seven-year process, and we are still going forward. A lot of our expenses are tied up with our energy, with our gas and water. So, we are in the process of preparing to put in a cogeneration or combined heat and power plant. We are also in the middle of a capital improvement project; we are redoing the fronts of all nine buildings.

What do you find most rewarding?

To be able to look out my window and see greenery and flowers and the people talking in the Oval; kids running or playing; seniors sitting on the benches and talking or knitting. I think that is the best. The second is the team that I have in the office right now. We’ve managed to put together a really, really strong team, including our property manager, our assistant property manager, our security director, our maintenance director, and we haven’t had that kind of synergy in a very long time.

Can you see yourself on the board for the next seven years?

Well, no, that’s not my goal. The quality of your leadership is determined by what you leave behind. You have to step aside and make space for somebody else.

This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.

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