Council Member Brewer on Lincoln-Amsterdam increases and state audit response

I spent hours on the Con Ed bill.

Yeah.

Can I ask a question about the 19...

Has there been a roundtable since 1978?

No.

I mean, we're happy to host a roundtable.

Not since Bob Willis was alive, to be honest with you.

Okay.

Okay.

That's good to know.

Yep.

So anyway, Clinton Towers, what's an example of how do we...

Get that so that the construction is taking place and there's less angst.

Any suggestions?

Yeah, I mean, we currently do.

So we have current weekly calls because it's in our pipeline, correct?

And we have weekly calls to prepare for a closing.

So we have a project manager that's working with the development team to get to a construction loan closing as quickly as possible.

Okay, we can have further discussions.

It's very, very challenging.

110 West End Avenue, also with a huge increase as a Mitchell Lama.

co-op in this case.

So is that something that you're working on?

How would I be helpful or how could I be helpful?

So it's not such a huge increase.

So Lincoln, Amsterdam, they haven't had a maintenance increase in 25 years.

Yeah.

And the maintenance is affordable to below 30% of area median income.

And with the increase, it will continue to be affordable to 30% area median income.

And they can't pay their bills.

So it's not a construction issue.

It's not that they don't need capital.

It's just they need expense money to pay their bills.

Okay, so you're thinking that it's an okay increase at this point.

30% is large.

It doesn't matter for anyone.

It's a large increase, but they need to do it.

The board, actually, it's a co-op, and the board came forward with asking for this because they...

Yeah, but there's still angst in the building.

As you know, every single co-op has a co-op board, and then they have the shareholders, and they don't always get along, right?

You know that.

So you can say about the board, and I know that board very well, but that's something to always be aware of, are the shareholders versus the board.

Right, but they're doing their fiduciary responsibility in this case.

Okay, all right.

And then the report that the state controller, which was mentioned earlier, Clinton Towers is one of the disasters on that.

How are you addressing that report that this controller came up with?

So we put together responses for the comptroller report.

And we actually had a follow-up meeting this morning on one of the audits with the state comptroller.

All right, so you're going to share that with us, particularly if it has to do with our buildings?

Yeah, I think our response is foible.

Okay.

And then finally, roundtable, you'll host it, you'll invite the state, and we'll all be there.

I'd love to.

I'll pay for coffee.

Thank you.

Holding you to that.

Nice.