Congratulations to Mr. Jackson

Congratulations to Mr. Jackson on his election to the Shore Towers board. My hope is that, after an foreshortened election process, Mr. Jackson and the rest of the board take a more progressive, forward-looking approach to managing the building as the neighborhood becomes increasingly competitive. That means seeking out and investing in ways to exploit otherwise untapped resources.

I also want to thank Frank Miller for his spirited entry into the ring. Apparently, he and I share a number of similar opinions on the best ways to move the building forward while keeping it profitable and competitive. Unfortunately, election processes being what they are, we were never afforded the opportunity to speak in private about the issues.r But I know where our interests diverge, and as a result, I felt the need to stay in the race. Frank has some excellent ideas and his professional experience could certainly be a help to the building in the future.

Final note on proxy ballots, and correction

In an earlier post, I passed information that was given to me by a board member regarding the proxy ballots. After reading the directions for the new proxy ballots, I realize that was different information than what was actually finalized for a solution. My apologies for not discovering my mistake earlier.

I was originally told that the blue ballot simply would superseded the first. I was relying on that inaccurate information, and posted it accordingly without fact checking. My apologies for this. I had not had the chance to even open the new packet, which I received on Thursday, until this morning, when I read the final instructions from Honest Ballot.

If I understand the accompanying letter, the blue ballot is the only ballot as per HBA. Please vote accordingly if you need to use a proxy ballot.

Open House information

If this is the first post you are reading, please use the table of contents in the column and start at the top entry. This is one of the last posts for this blog; the only things I expect to post next will be on any additional open houses on Tuesday, and to answer any email questions I receive at dimestorestudio@gmail.com.

I just want to remind any owners who are interested in talking about the issues that I will be having an open house at my apartment, 8H, from 11:00 am - 2, and then from 2:00pm - 8.. Just come by and knock at your convenience. I apologize for not having a more elegant spread; I was called into work Saturday morning, so I won't be able to get the bagels I alluded to before. 

Please take a moment to fill out some of the survey at the bottom of the page. I'd like to know what matters to people here at Shore Towers.

Full disclosure: the photo is outdated. I currently wear a large beard.

Hope to see you Saturday!

Final note re: Honest Ballot's error

As there seem to be a number of interesting stories about me circulating already, please allow me to set the record straight. When I received the ballot, after 10:00 PM (I work a 1:30-9:30PM or 2:00-10:00PM shift, depending on CNN's programming) on Monday the 15th, I immediately called Honest Ballot and spoke with Linda Gibbs regarding the fact that my nomination, sent on June 8th, was not included. She confirmed that they had received it, and she would look after this error.

I am not the kind of person to circulate emails I receive for public consumption; that's not my style. However, on the rare occasion I may use my own emails to enlighten those who conjecture without basis. Such as in this case.

The Ballot Confusion

If this is the first post you are reading, please use the table of contents in the column and start at the very first entry. This is one of the last posts for this blog; the only things I expect to post next will be information on my open houses this upcoming weekend, and to answer any email questions I receive at dimestorestudio@gmail.com.

Unfortunately, Honest Ballot made a little boo-boo. For reasons that haven't been explained. I was left off the ballot, in spite of emailing my bio and nomination form as per instructions the morning of June 8th. When I did not see my name or my bio in my packet, I called Honest Ballot and spoke with Linda Gibb, who checked her email and found my submission was indeed received the morning of June 8. She seemed genuinely flustered that it was overlooked. I told her I still wanted to be on the ballot, as I had submitted everything at the proper time. 

I also spoke with Artie and a member of the Board. Between the three, the only solution was mailing a new ballot that would supersede any earlier ballot if you bothered to submit it. In other words, if you have already voted but now want to change your vote, the new ballot replaces the old one. There will be no change of election date to allow people to submit the new ballot in fair time, nor will old ballots be automatically disqualified and new ones required.

Of course, if someone hasn't yet voted with their ballot, they should just disregard the old ballot and just use the new one.

At least that's what I understand. And I am now clearly at an unfair disadvantage as a result. We should be receiving the new ballot and bios on Thursday - I hope. Some who already voted might ignore the new one for days, or throw it away, not caring to look at a new candidate, and thinking its more of the" same old same old".

That means that you, the owners, only have a limited time to help my campaign if you believe that I would make a strong, efficient, and creative addition to the Board. I ask that if you have taken the time to look at my candidacy at Shore Towers, and like what you see, please reach out to other owners and encourage them to look at my website, and learn about the value I can bring to this building. Of course, if you haven't voted yet, just please make sure to get your ballot in on time.

I can only do this with your help. And please remember, if you are using a mail-in ballot, to mail it in no later than Saturday morning so it will be here in time, or drop it off in person before the meeting on Tuesday. As a result of Honest Ballot's honest mistake, there is only a day and a half for people to mail their ballot.

Chances are I will only be disappointed as a result of this SNAFU. But maybe I am wrong - and the owners in this building care about the direction the Board moves for the future, and are willing to work quickly to help. I know that if I was on the ballot from the beginning, or the first ballot invalidated and a second ballot required, there would be true parity and fairness in this process, and I would have a fighting chance. But that's already in the past, and the only way to move forward is to ask owners who like my platform to advocate on my behalf.

The question is - are you, an owner in Shore Towers, willing to look at a new candidate with innovative ideas, and potentially change your first vote? One option - come and meet me on Saturday. I will be posting times and places tomorrow. If you can spend the time to come meet me, speak with me, and talk about the issues, please bring your second ballot. If you want to change your vote, you can simply leave it in the ballot box in the front at that time.

UPDATE/CORRECTION: This was posted on Wednesday the 17th, the day before the new ballots were received by owners. I had not had time to look at the new ballots until Tuesday morning the 22nd due to a very busy schedule. After reading the instructions, I realized that I have been in error, and the solution appears to be a single proxy ballot that needs to be submitted. If that is indeed the case, I believe I my level of fairness with the other candidates has been raised. My apologies for relying on information that was not yet finalized, and my apologies for not double checking the facts when the new ballots came in.

Thank you for coming

Thank you for visiting this blog.

If you have followed my ideas all the way through and reached this post, I thank you for looking over my entire position. As you can see, I approach this job with a high degree of organization, creative problem-solving and skillsets that would be beneficial to the Board, to the investors, and to the residential owners.

The YEAR FOUR plan

1.     Invest in building maintenance and structural repairs as currently required and assessed for.

a.     Insist on timeline goals with vendors, with an appropriately incentivized contract that helps guarantee on-time delivery

b.     Review how project will impact common charge expenses

                                               i.     Do not allow contractors to utilize community resources without paying appropriate compensation

                                              ii.     Review whether certain duties currently done by contract could be achieved at a cost savings by using our in-house staff, such as landscaping

2.     Invest in moderate energy-savings and green-energy initiatives

a.     Budget for weatherproofing on all floors

My view on the Board

As a recent addition to this wonderful building, I am not a passive owner.

When I first discovered there was another series of imminent assessments after I moved in, I was obviously concerned.  I spoke with our manager a number of times to understand the scope of the problems that plagued the building. I looked carefully at the reports, from local Law 11 to the bulkhead, and looked at some of the damage myself; it was obvious that the Board absolutely had to address these serious deficiencies immediately.

Why this plan should matter to residential owners

Owners who live at Shore Towers have had it particularly hard for the last few years.

We certainly need to stay the course as provided under the current Board, but we also need to look for ways to provide better services for those owners who also live here - and by proxy, the whole building.

Shore Towers used to be a true luxury building from what I remember from the 90's. When I lived on 18th Street, on cold or rainy days, I would sometimes sneak a ride home on the jitney until Lou called me out. Over time, the value of living in the building has been slowly eroding, while, to hear it from long-time owners and residents, so has the quality of the renters. Services have been cut, maintenance ignored, and the value for renters has been reduced instead of increased.

Why this plan should matter to investors

Issues like winterizing the building may not seem like an intuitive choice for an investor, but I promise it impacts your bottom line a number of ways as the development begins next door. 

If I were an investor who relies on rental income, I’d have two concerns – first, who wants to rent next to a noisy multi-year construction site? And when that’s done – who wants to pay so much to live in Shore Towers when there are now so many newer choices nearby? Both could potentially depress rental rates once construction starts.

Increase Services

This is a simple no-brainer. Right now, and for several years to come, owners are going to get squeezed. Investors' margins are in jeopardy by the combination of assessments and the upcoming development project next door. Residential owners are facing the highest expenses in years. Yet our amenities have remained stagnant.

Since moving here, considering the 24-hour security, the cameras in both facilities, I still scratch my head at the limited hours on our few amenities - namely the gym and laundry room. New York is a 24-hour city, but for some reason, we only live in an 18-hour building.

Additional energy savings

I would also like the board to look at solar power systems that would recapture their expense with green energy production for common space use. There is enough space on our tower facing south and east to do a cost/benefit analysis of installing solar arrays, including any programs or incentives that may be available on local, state or federal levels. 

Imagine if we could satisfy all the daytime power use in the building with solar generation, and how that would free up funds over time for additional improvement projects.

Monetizing Assets for Revenue Stream

As a large building, we have a number of assets that we could be using to improve revenue. This first occurred to me while in the old jitney, when we owned instead of leased. It occurred to me that our bus had some prime local marketing potential, making the rounds during rush hour through a common transportation corridor.

The idea was simple – market the sides of the bus, using the wrap-around decal applications that you see on other cars and busses (which cover the windows as well). Everyone from local medical groups and hospitals to utilities and cable companies regularly pay for highly targeted mobile marketing like this. The decals are removable, and could be changed for different advertisers.

What is "Year Four?"

"Year Four" promises to be an interesting year for this building.

At the last owners' meeting, the Board gave a public accounting of the assessments, and the estimated cost of future rehabilitation projects. The accounting gave a timeline of four years' projects and three years' assessment revenue.

In the end, the projections for the year after the current 3-year assessment ends - what I am calling "Year Four" - leaves less than $200,000 above nominal operating expenses remaining. In terms of project timeline, the shoreline bulkhead property repair has been relegated to "Year Four" as well, with only that additional amount in the kitty to pay for it.

Shore Towers projects

I think everyone is concerned about the project management that allowed a 1-year local 11 project to extend to 2 years. This is reappearing with incomplete, and potentially dangerous, lack of vertical service that has gone on much longer than originally expected, using two different systems to use the only two regular elevators (when the freight is not available). Accessing upper floors in an emergency could be delayed by minutes as a result. 

To their credit, the Board has kept projects on-budget in spite of excessive overruns in terms of schedule. However, without better oversight and long-term planning from leadership, I am afraid we will only see situations like this develop again and again as our rehabilitation projects continue. Delays are always part of the game, and are expected. But project management isn't only holding contractors to their price, but also to the allotted time.

Shore Towers oversight waste: Example 2

During this awful winter, I was waking before 5 am to hit the gym at opening. I wore sweats – I wasn’t going to run the heaters just for me as I’d be warmed up in ten minutes. But as I walked down the frigid hallway, I would feel warm jets blasting out from the doorway of the darkened common room. If it wasn’t there when I was getting into the gym, it was always there when I left. Usually with the sound on the television blaring as well.

I was curious why the room was always heated so early in the morning. One morning at 5 am, I asked a security guard if there was anybody inside. He told me it was open and empty, so I walked in. Every single heater was on and set to 90 degrees. That means that all heaters in that room had been going at full blast without stopping for hours - although the temperature was in the 80s, it would never get hot enough against the frigid cold to turn any of the heaters off. I flipped them all off.

Shore Towers oversight waste: Example 1

From the first year I moved in, the winters have had a few brutal weeks at best, months at worst. My first winter also gave me my first electric bill, and I was stunned at how much it cost to keep my apartment moderately comfortable – no sweater required. One thing that I noticed was how cold the hallways were. On so many floors, you needed a jacket on to go get the mail.

The reason was surprisingly simple. There are huge gaps in the common space window doorframes by the elevators. A few floors had some remnants of ancient weatherproofing in the gaps that barely held back the draft, while others had a full ¼” gap, letting frigid air flow into the building like an unstoppable tide. My floor was one with the massive gap.

Contact information

If you would like to speak with me about my positions, I may be reached best by email at dimestorestudios@gmail.com. I will also be planning informal meetings where I welcome a true, open discussion about the issues that affect this building today from both investors and residential owners. Please check back on my blog for further dates, times and locations.

Why I am running

As you may have read, I moved to Astoria in 1996 and lived on 18th street, almost in the shadow of Shore Towers, for more than 16 years before I had the opportunity to purchase an apartment in this building.

Although the multiple, nearly continuous assessments were a significant shock to this new owner, beginning after only three month of ownership, I am not here to talk about the past. Whatever issues or people that have contributed to where this building was when I bought in is not important to me; proper stewardship going forward is. And proper stewardship is vitally important both for residential owners and investor owners.

Welcome to my candidacy blog for Seth Greenspan

My name is Seth Greenspan, and I am running for Shore Towers Board. Please watch this blog for updates, information, position statements, and a conversation about Shore Towers.

My LinkedIn profile may be found at www.linkedin.com/in/theseth

My position statement as candidate is as follows:

My parents were native Brooklynites who escaped to Connecticut in the sixties. When I returned to New York in 1996, I chose Astoria as my home, living on 18^th Street, practically in the shadow of Shore Towers, until I purchased here three years ago.

I worked in the entertainment industry since cutting my teeth as a child television actor in the 80’s. I preferred being behind the camera, studying filmmaking at NYU’s prestigious school before entering this challenging field, eventually meeting with enough success that I was able to buy in Shore Towers.

For several years in the late 90’s, I was the Director of Saks Fifth Avenue’s in-house multimedia department. We created videos for advertising, POS and window displays that carried respectable budgets. I was also responsible for several national and regional conventions that required extensive planning that included union, facilities and vendor negotiating, and fiscally responsible project management on multi-million dollar budget events. All were brought in under budget and above expectations.

Currently, I wear a number of hats. In addition to working full-time at CNN, I also own and operate my own boutique production company that creates local corporate/commercial media in Astoria, produces international marine documentaries, and currently working with Fabien Cousteau and General Russel Honore (retired) on an episodic television series.

I bought here at a tumultuous time; as a brand new owner, I am taking it in the wallet. I paid regular maintenance for all of three months after moving in before these assessments hit. But this is not about looking back at mistakes made before I arrived, but about looking ahead and solving the problems facing the future of this building while maintaining value and services.

At the last “friendly and open” informal owners’ meeting, when I suggested the board’s numbers meant additional shortfalls should be expected after the three year assessment period, certain board members decided to shout me down. When I was finally allowed to speak, rather than suggest a few potential long-term solutions as I originally intended, I instead let my conclusion linger. At that moment, I decided to run for the board and bring my plan for fiscal “future planning” – I call it my “Year Four” plan -- directly to the building as a member.

The assessments’ rehabilitation projects have been nothing short of unimpressive, including excessive and unacceptable delays in delivery that negatively impacted every owner and renter calling Shore Towers’ their home. The board’s answer is to throw live-in owners’ and investor’s money at the problems, while ignoring some common-sense fiscal responsibility by: a. insisting on properly and realistically managed projects, b. spending judiciously on certain maintenance that would reduce common expenses, and c. simultaneously finding opportunities to monetize building assets in innovative ways. All three save money that can be carried forward to help cover projected “Year Four” expenses that, according to the board’s own numbers, may not be covered when we are done with the current assessments.

This is the plan I bring to the table as a candidate. 

One thing I neglected to include in the above, distributed statement, was that for the better park of a year, in the position of Creative Director for a boutique agency called Mitchell & Associates, one of my most important accounts was with the Building Owners and Manager Association of New York. As such, we were an important part of distributing best practices and other critical information on everything from code changes to incentive programs for things such as energy conservation across the membership via newsletters.