Deal of the Day

NEW YORK, Feb. 26- Save $350 on a 51" Samsung Plasma HDTV.

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Appliances on sale + EXTRA 5% off ALL Appliances or Special Financing with Sears card 2/24-3/1

Camera sale

NEW YORK, Feb. 24- Camcorders under $100. Pro grade digital cameras for $300. 

Many under $500.

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 Appliances on sale + EXTRA 5% off ALL Appliances or Special Financing with Sears card 2/24-3/1

RECESSION? WHAT RECESSION?

Workers take 2-HOUR lunch breaks PLUS coffee breaks

Stop working at 3 but don’t punch out until 4

Management threatens heads will roll if ‘goofing off’ continues

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, Feb. 24- Herbert Freedman, in a memo to Riverbay board members, indicated that it is not unusual for Co-op City's Restorations workers to “goof off” during the hours in which they are supposed to be working.

Freedman's comments about Restorations workers could be applied to many in Co-op City's workforce, a number of the community's shareholders have told the News over the years.

Freedman, in a Jan. 11 memo on major waste in the Riverbay Corporation's Restorations Department, said that it was unacceptable for Restorations to start working on apartments at 9:30 a.m. even when their workday starts at 8 a.m.

The top management official's memo added that it was unacceptable for Restorations workers to leave for lunch at 11 a.m. and return to work at 1 p.m. and to stop working at 3 p.m. even though they “punch out” at 4 p.m.

A number of shareholders, including civic activist Frank Belcher, have told the News that it is commonplace for many in Co-op City's workforce to take extended coffee breaks when they get to work, take extended lunch breaks to cash their checks and do their personal business, and to stop working before the end of the  workday.

“I'm glad that Mr. Freedman has finally awakened to the fact that many of Co-op City's workers are constantly goofing off,” Belcher stressed, in a telephone interview this week.

The civic activist noted, “I have personally caught workers waiting on line for breakfast and coffee as early as 8:10 or 8:15 a.m. even though they are supposed to start working at 8 a.m. I see workers taking extended lunch breaks to cash checks and go shopping during hours in which they are supposed to be working. When these workers see me, they try to cover up what they are doing.”

Belcher added, “As far as I'm concerned, the buck stops with management as far as this kind of thing is concerned. It is abundantly clear that the workers' supervisors are not doing their jobs. Top management needs to be held accountable for the fact that many in Co-op City's workforce are not doing an honest day's work for an honest day's pay. It is nor acceptable to say that such a lack of productivity is part ands parcel of the Riverbay Corporation's corporate culture and do nothing about it.”

Belcher noted, “Herbert Freedman has been Co-op City's top management official since October 1999, so he has allowed this unproductive corporate culture to continue. The long and the short of it is that everyone who works for the Riverbay Corporation, from Herbert Freedman and Executive General Manager Vernon Cooper on down, must be held accountable for working productively. That means not wasting time during hours in which you are supposed to be working.”

Appliances on sale + EXTRA 5% off ALL Appliances or Special Financing with Sears card 2/24-3/1

$300 off TVs

NEW YORK, Feb. 23- 

Save $300 on TVs.

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1 percenter no longer voice of opposition

By Michael Horowitz

BRONX, NEW YORK, Feb. 23- Riverbay board member Bernard Cylich has lost his role as leader of anti-management forces on Co-op City's board of directors, the News has learned.

Riverbay board member Daryl Johnson, in recent weeks, has made strides toward becoming the leader of the board's minority.

Cylich has reportedly lost much of his credibility because of recent disclosures that he had purchased homes in Copake Falls, NY, and in Charlotte, NC, and had claimed both his home in upstate New York and his apartment in Co-op City as his primary residence.

Cylich reportedly violated state law by claiming both of his homes in New York State as “primary residences “ in order to get STAR tax credits for both residences.

Even though Co-op City attorney Jeffrey Buss has determined that Co-op City is Cylich's primary residence, the board member's hypocrisy has been duly noted in the local community.

The hypocrisy is that Cylich strongly opposes privatization for Co-op City's shareholders (full ownership rights) even though he obviously supports homeownership for himself in other places.

In a recent Viewpoint, Tony Illis, Cylich's former ally on the Riverbay board, said that Cylich should have known better when he claimed two New York State homes as his primary residences in order to illegally get two STAR tax credits.

“Bernie (Cylich) is no longer a major player on the board of directors or in this community,” said one source close to the board's minority, who wished to remain unidentified. We are still committed to the notion that Co-op City's board of directors desperately needs new people, but Bernie is no longer our leader.” 

Appliances on sale + EXTRA 5% off ALL Appliances or Special Financing with Sears card 2/24-3/1

Home sale

NEW YORK, Feb. 22- Get everything you need for your bed, bath and kitchen. Sales on comforters, cookware, towels and more.

Jaclyn Smith Traditions

Solandra Comforter Set

Was: $79.99

NOW: $49.99

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Polar Bears Migrate North For Orchard Beach Swim

(Photos by David Greene)

By David Greene

BRONX, NEW YORK, Feb. 22- More than two dozen members of the Coney Island-based Polar Bears Club, traveled north for a post-Valentines Plunge into the chilly waters of Orchard Beach.

Despite the air temperatures being just slightly over the freezing point on Saturday, members arrived wearing bathrobes, sandals and summer shorts-- complemented with winter hats with ear muffs.

Tom McGann, a member of the Coney Island Polar Bears for the last 20-years, explained, "Yes, the weather is the warmest it's been since I've been a Polar Bear." Recalling a visit to Orchard Beach a decade ago, McGann, who goes by the nickname, "Iceman," added, "There were chunks of ice floating around in the water."

After jumping in up to her waist, Helmi Hunin of Park Slope, quickly exited the water. Hunin claimed, "The water was great but my feet were getting numb. Now I'm going to sunbathe for a bit, it's warmer out here."

Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., provided a trolley for the bears, which ferried members to the Bronx from Times Square.

Assemblyman Michael Benadetto was on hand to provide moral support, but did not go in, Benadetto told member's, "Polar bears would not even go into the water today, it's just too warm."

Kate Damlbite, a photographer who regularly shoots the polar bears during their swims, was asked if she ever goes swimming, she replied, "You mean in the water? Oh no, I never have, sorry," as she began to laugh. Dambite added, "They beg me to go in but I never have."