Category Archives: Informal Post

Change in Gym Hours

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To all Gym Members:

Please be advised that the gym hours have been changed, due to noise complaints from dropping weights. Starting on Thursday, January 02, 2014 the gym hours will be from 6:00AM to 11:00PM.

 There will be a security officer present in the gym from 6:00AM to 9:00AM to limit the noise disturbance.

https://app.box.com/s/qjolgjf5wj0bm6pz9266

Management

Building 3 Window Instalation and upcoming updates

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Many shareholders have asked me to give an update on a possible window installation date and why it has been on hold for two months. Sadly to say it is due to lengthy HPD payment processing. The project is financed through HPD grant and payments are processed and paid by HPD. Lately they had setbacks paying bills on time due to their internal procedures. We do understand the frustration of many residents, but we do not have control over HPD payment processing. However, the board is happy to inform that, to speed up the process, an agreement has been reached with HPD to pay “Ecker Windows” from our reserve funds and later in the month the account will be reimbursed by HPD payment. Going forward, to minimize such delays we can do this again if there is a need for it. Few weeks ago “Ecker Windows” has placed an order to make the windows. We were told that it would take 8-10 weeks to complete the order by the Champion who is our window manufacturer. Based on that, the current estimation time for window installation would be the second week of January 2014. Knowing our residents frustration with window installation process the board and our management team will be in constant contact with the manufacturer and installer to speed the process as promptly as possible.

Also, just as a heads up. I will be updating this site soon with missing minutes. Sometime in December I will have some of updates on our current Projects.

Updates will include:

1) Security Cameras

2) Removing Sidewalk violation

3) Fixing street lights

4) Construction and brick replacement

5) Installing Building signs

and more

Discussion Forum

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Someone asked for a place to barter and initiate other topics so I’ve added a forum you can use. It can be reached by clicking the Discussion link top right. You’ll need to register a free account there but it’s pretty easy to use. I haven’t tested anything so if something doesn’t work, post a comment with details and I’ll take a look.

Thanks John

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I would like to take a little time and extend the Board’s best wishes to John and his family on their new life after Luna.  John has worked tirelessly over the last year to push forth new changes and hopefully new attitudes at Luna Park.  These changes have made the quality of life better for all in Luna and the Board will continue working together to move forward with additional life enhancing ideas.  With John’s help Luna Park has started to transform from a place where we live, to a community where people actually care about one another, a place we can call home.

Let us all continue to work hard to achieve the desired results that John was so proud to be a part of.  Let’s continue to move in a positive direction to rebuild Luna into a safe and secure community, while we say goodbye to a good friend and neighbor.  You will be missed John.  Thank you for giving something back and expecting nothing in return.

Good News For Some, Bad News For Others

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For years we — like many — have been watching the real estate market hoping for an opportunity to buy something that wasn’t obscenely overpriced. With mortgage rates near historic lows the odds improved but we still felt Luna Park was the better option…until my wife got pregnant again and now we’re expecting a baby girl in April. We were forced to re-evaluate our priorities (and my already 30-minute wait for the bathroom in the morning) against the future needs of an expanded family. We got lucky and found something we can afford so it’s with some sadness that I announce my resignation from Luna Park’s board of directors effective February 15th. This is usually the part where someone leaving tells everyone to go screw themselves but I don’t feel that way. My wife’s spent twenty six years of her life here, I’ve spent nine, and neither of us saw ourselves staying that long or getting involved but, to my surprise, I went from not caring at all about Luna Park to having it constantly on my mind.

This is all happening very quickly but I’ll continue on the board until the last day so I can hand off everything I was involved in and perhaps deliver a few more results before I go. I’ll also continue to monitor this blog and answer questions until I’m gone. Although I won’t have time to fulfill all the goals I set for myself as a director, I’m satisfied I’ll be leaving it better than I found it and have worked very hard for Luna Park. I was very much enjoying the changes at Luna Park; surprisingly so. It was pretty cool to see other residents get pleasure from what were only ideas some months prior and it motivated me to keep going. The fenced picnic area with inflatable pools, dog runs, website, gym, key fobs, intercoms, new parking lots…and much more. A lot can happen with unity, creativity, and a lot of energy.

I won’t miss all the lunatics or people who felt it was ok to call me a crook without proof, just foolish uninformed gossip. It was cowardly and impossible to defend against. I think a lot of it has to do with a culture I don’t really understand. I’m sure they’ll get even louder on my way out but that’s their failing, not mine. They’re only too happy to drag an unpaid volunteer’s name through the mud without getting to know me or see the work I put into this. I invested a lot of my own time and money (like for this blog, inflatable pools, free community BBQ’s) and only got back what you all received too…a better place to live. What an ungrateful bunch those people are; they deserve to live in the filth they imagine of others but I couldn’t bring myself to walk away and condemn the deserving residents and my own family to a board controlled by those incompetent idiots. If they spent even a tenth of that time and energy improving Luna Park instead of complaining and spreading rumors this place would be a wonderland.

In this letter I write “me” and “I” but it was a team success. I’m grateful to my fellow directors for putting up with my high energy aggression and helping get things done. I’m also very thankful to the office and maintenance staff that got hit by an unexpected human tornado the day I was elected. They handled it well and spun gold at the board’s constant urging. I encourage all to get as transparent as possible to the shareholders or there will never be trust. Publishing the parking list online was a good start. As the personal owner of Luna Park’s website, online file archive, and domain (purchased with my own money my first month as a director) I will transfer control to Luna Park free of charge as one more tool toward that goal. I hope it stays in use and other directors post and answer questions there as I have but that’s something they’ll have to now take responsibility for themselves.

If I can offer parting advice, it’s to get more energetic youth on the board! Look for professionals with modern or corporate experience who know how to get things done. Everyone’s full of good ideas but most don’t know how to achieve them. Avoid people who accuse everyone else of being criminals or do nothing but protest and complain. It’s easy to criticize but that only wastes time and money as evidenced by the entire last decade here. Saying you don’t like a color doesn’t put paint on a wall! You are all served very poorly by those activists and you should resent being manipulated as well.

I’d like to thank those of you who offered your support or kind words during my tenure; they meant a great deal. Good luck to you all,

John David Shkolnik

Two Buildings At Once

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Nothing’s signed yet but we’ve received all the necessary approvals to do two buildings at once (all covered by performance bonds). The original plan was #4 then #1 so maybe it’ll be those two, maybe #4 and #3. I don’t know. We expect them to start on #4 next month but I don’t know if the other would begin at exactly the same time.

In case it’s not obvious, working on two buildings at once not only saves us about two years of construction but also a lot of money. We’re talking hundreds of thousands of dollars. There are many fees paid that are affected by time, like premiums, professional services, sidewalk bridging, and more.

Snow Update

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I’m told parking lots #3, #5, #6, and 90% of our walkways have been cleared. Lots #1, #2, #4 will hopefully all be cleared tonight. All maintenance personnel are being held late so they can assist with this as well as ongoing garbage removal.

Snow Update

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The city obviously didn’t do a good job cleaning the roads around us (and elsewhere) so the snow removal service we’ve used in the past wasn’t able to reach us. All we have on-hand are some shovels and the tractor we use to pull garbage bins. We’ve been using it but it doesn’t have the power or capability of a mini-bulldozer normally used for this work. We also found ourselves short on manpower as our own personnel couldn’t make it to work or are on vacation for the holidays. We’ve made an arrangement with TCS — the contractor doing the facade replacement — to do snow removal for us. If all goes as planned, tomorrow early morning they will have 6 mini-bulldozers on-site to clear our paths and lots. By now our terraces should’ve all been salted to provide a relatively safe path between wings and elevator.

If you have kids and aren’t going to work, you should take them out to play in the snow. We can open the picnic area so they’re in a safe space while they frolic.

If you use mass transit, be sure to check the MTA site.

I’ll post more info as I get it. Be constructive in the comments or you will be mocked mercilessly. Remain calm…all is well:

Snow Cleaning

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I don’t have all the official info for you now but I’m told that, since the city hasn’t been able to clear the streets, we can’t get real crews with resources in to clear our own property. One idea was to try and round up some younger residents and pay them to help shovel but it’s a huge liability for us if money’s involved. With that said, if you’re of sound body (sound mind being optional), own a shovel, and aren’t at work today, I’d suggest going out there and trying to clear paths on the terraces between wings and elevator as well as paths to the sidewalks and toward the train station so our frailer residents can get around better. Don’t bother trying to dig out your cars because it’s obvious the city can’t handle vehicles on the road right now.

Window Update

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Full sample installation is set for first week of February. Assuming all testing and approvals are prompt, they will begin installing building #5’s windows by the second or third week of February. I don’t know how long it’ll take to finish the entire building.

General Update

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We’ve been quiet but things are moving along:

  • The key fobs have taken longer than expected due to delays for some equipment we ordered but we have it now. The gym door and mirrors should be installed today and we expect the fobs to be operational before the end of this week. As soon as we get the green light we’ll start issuing key cards to gym members and open it up for use. The mirrors are also being installed this week.
  • Building #5’s facade work is moving along rapidly and, according to the latest estimates, wing 2958 will be done in a couple weeks and wing 2960 will be done in January. This means building #4 will begin that same month. There’s also a real possibility our contractor will do two buildings at once. It’s being discussed now. We very much want it because it gets them out of our lives in two years instead of four and we save a lot of money on insurance, sidewalk bridging, professional fees, and other stuff. We’ll keep you posted.
  • We had to back off our intercom plans because the touchscreen system we chose was a bit too vulnerable to some of the savages passing through our lobbies. We couldn’t find a good way to install and protect it because, by its very nature, it has to be accessible to people touching it. We’re exploring a sturdier phone-based system that will also be a lot cheaper, too.
  • As I posted a little while back, our first batch of windows is being manufactured and, once done, will be inspected and installed. My guess is all of building #5 will have new windows by spring.

Window Update

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The color (ivory) and windows have been approved. Each window will have half-screens of fiberglass mesh cloth, ultra-lift balances, tilt latches, 7/8″ thick insulated glazing, exterior pane 3/16″ thick clear glass, interior pane 1/8″ thick low ‘e’ coated glass, and an argon-filled cavity. Our installer has been authorized to manufacture the window order for wings 2954 and 2956 now and will order for 2958 and 2960 as soon as the brickwork is done.

Before full installation commences, one full apartment will have windows installed for field testing and air/water filtration exams by an independent laboratory. The board and management will also inspect the first windows coming off the line at the factory.

Gym Photos

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It’s handy having a professional photographer on the board. The gym is still missing a few things like mirrors, air conditioners, signs, coat rack, bench, and some other stuff. Nonetheless, it’s already usable as you can see here.

Board Meeting – 11/16

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Some highlights from tonight’s meeting:

  1. Our accountant, Jack Lawrence, came in to talk to us about the 2010 financials. We approved the draft so it’ll be available soon in its final form. The short version is that, after expenses, Luna Park earned about $2.8mil with around $3mil in our reserves. Next year we’re expected to earn over $2mil and have closer to $6mil in reserves if nothing unexpected occurs.
  2. Jack thinks we can save about $30k a year in certain taxes and possibly get as much as $500k a year in tax credits if we hire a special type of processor.
  3. We want to proceed with the parking lot #3 expansion to add 96 more spots but the three bids we received so far are between $700k and $900k. We will open it up to wider bids to see if we can get it down more. Even if we have to pay $700k we worked out a way for the expansion to pay for itself after five years at which point it would become profitable for Luna Park. The more we can bring the cost down, the faster it becomes profitable.
  4. The final two wings of building #5 didn’t need certain things the first two wings did like replacing all shims and bolts. We’re receiving a credit for $250k from our contractor.

Additional Key Fob Option

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We’ve arranged an additional key fob purchase option for those who prefer them to key cards. As previously mentioned, each household will get two free cards and additional cards will be $15 non-refundable. Now you will also have the option of getting a key fob for $15 non-refundable but they are never free; only cards qualify for the two free. Gym members will need to have a card with photo.

Board Meeting – 11/4

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Some highlights from tonight’s meeting:

  1. Our new officers are Keith as President, Anna as VP, Gennady as Secretary, Eugene as Asst. Secretary, Mark as Treasurer, and Sherrie as Asst. Treasurer.
  2. We’ve changed our key fob approach slightly which will be explained in a letter soon to follow.
  3. We approved a mirror vendor for the gym. We went with the cheapest since they were all offering the same thing.
  4. We finalized the new simplified parking list and policy. Fikret told us the list should be ready for publishing here early next week.
  5. We’re going to be doing new floor tiles in every hallway. We agreed on a color/pattern and we’re going to save millions by doing it in-house slowly over the next two years.
  6. We’re waiting for one more bid on elevator inspections. We want an independent consultant to come in and tell us why they keep breaking down.

You can see the directors on this blog page: https://mylunapark.wordpress.com/board-of-directors/