Co-op City's management decision expected in Sept - decision on the management of the Co-op City cooperative community

A decision on the future of day-to-day management of the 15,000+ unit Co-ap City cooperative community in The Bronx is expected to be decided in a Riverbay Corp. board vote by next month, according to Riverbay President Alan Berger.

Berger said former board member Iris Baez, still one of the most powerful influences on the board, will report on what the Ad-hoc Committee on Professional Management, which she chaired, found, prior to her decision not to seek reelection in the community's May 20th vote.

An executive board meeting, in which the committee's recommendations will be addressed and representatives from three management firms will make their case, is planned for August 26th at the Barlow Avenue Community Center. Baez has been invited to play an active role in the meeting.

Baez's committee has recommended that three firms with extensive experience in the real estate management field be considered as candidates that could run the community's day-to-day operations. The firms, which will make their case to the board at the August meeting, are: Citywide Management Company, which manages Fresh Meadows in Queens; Jerome Belson Associates, which manages a portion of Roosevelt Island; and the Aptek Management Company, which manages Southbridge Towers in Lower Manhattan and a number of South Bronx residential buildings.

Three others firms were considered by Baez's committee and rejected in the competition for a variety of reasons. They include Marion Scott Real Estate, Inc., which manages Rochdale Village in Queens and a number of housing complexes in The Bronx; RY Management, which manages Tracey Towers in the West Bronx; and Insignia Management, which manages a number of residential properties in Manhattan and The Bronx.

Berger said Baez will be asked to explain why she chose the three firms that will be represented at the August 26th meeting over the other three firms that submitted bids for the Co-op City job. Under state housing law, the board is obligated to award contracts for outside vendors to lowest qualified bidders.

"I have no problem stating the reasons for the committee's choices because we thoroughly investigated our possible choices," said Baez. "The members of our committee concluded, several months ago, that the three firms thai are being considered should be brought before the board. We're sorry it has taken as long as it has for us to reach this point in the debate on outside management firms."

Berger said that about two weeks after the August 26th meeting, the board will hold a second executive meeting on the issue of professional management firms. At this meeting, board members will vote on whether or not they want to hire such a firm or continue a parallel search for a general manager, who would work as a Riverbay Corporation employee.

At a third meeting, to be held if the board approves the concept of hiring an outside real estate management firm, board members would be asked to choose the management firm they want for the community.

"We have stopped looking for a general manager at this point," said Berger, who stopped just short of stating support for hiring an outside firm. "We will re-open the search if board members decide they don't want an outside firm."

The Riverbay President said he and other board members have been unimpressed with the candidates for general manager they have interviewed. "We need a General Patton or a General MacArthur," said Berger. "If we can't find someone like that, I think our best option is hiring an outside real estate management firm."

Referendum Opposed

Berger and Baez, in strongly worded separate comments last week, turned thumbs down on suggestions by board members Irving Berkowitz and Eugene Kaufman that a move toward hiring an outside firm to run Co-op City be delayed until residents vote on the idea in a referendum.

Berger said Kaufman was incorrect when he said in last week's management newspaper that the Riverbay President had promised that such a referendum would be held.

"I don't remember making such a promise, and it would be illogical to make such a promise," said Berger. "Why elect a board of directors if they can't make a decision like this? Having the community vote on hiring a professional management firm would be like having the community vote on hiring a general manager. Board members are elected to represent the community's interests when making important decisions like the hiring of an outside professional management firm."

Baez, writing in her column in last week's City News, agreed with Berger's views, expressing them in even stronger terms. She also did not recall Berger's ever making a promise to have a community referendum on whether or rot to hire an outside firm to run Co-op City's day-to-day operations.

Berger and Baez also agreed that management could realize savings of more than $400,000 in top salaries and benefits and thousands of dollars in middle-management salaries by hiring an outside real estate management firm.

Baez and Berger said that this is the opportune time to hire such a firm because the community currently needs to hire a general manager, an assistant general manager or someone responsible for similar functions, and a director of operations or someone accountable for similar job responsibilities.

"We're talking about a minimum of $400,000 for a general manager, an assistant general manager and a director of operations,' said Baez. "We would expect that a professional management firm hired for Co-op City would put their people in these positions, saving us the expense of hiring them on our own."

"We need people in top management positions who have the guts to get rid of people who are not needed," said Berger. "In recent weeks, a number of middle-level people have resigned, and they won't be missed if we don't replace them."

The Riverbay President noted that there have been more resignations among Co-op City's management employees in recent weeks than usual. He said that these resignations, for the most part, have been good for Co-op City.

"It might be that with all the talk of hiring a professional management firm, these employees have decided this is a good time to move on," said Berger. "We will be better off without most of the people who have recently quit."

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