Certified results for the 2008 Board of Directors elections from the American Arbitration Association show that incumbents Herbert Cooper, Morton Gitter and Marvin Rosenberg, and newcomer Claire Levitan are the winners.
Cooper received the most share votes with 3,255,971. He was followed by Gitter with 2,255,874, Levitan with 2,189,728 and Rosenberg with 1,906,912. Each will serve a two-year term.
During a board meeting following the elections, Robert Ricken was elected the new president of the board. Gitter will be first vice president and treasuer, Cooper second vice president and Phyllis Goldstein secretary. Chuck Robbins, Jim Short, Murray Lewinter, Rosenberg and Levitan will be vice presidents.
This year’s ballot also included an amendment to the proprietary lease that would extend it. Although it received 3,713,860 votes to approve the measure, 3,983,628 votes were needed. The amendment was therefore rejected.
Herbert Cooper
Cooper, who has already completed one two-year term serving on the Board of Directors, has been re-elected to it this year. He has been the chair of the Capital Improvements Committee during his tenure.
“I was very happy to see it [the election results], and somehow it gives me the feeling that a lot of people are following what I’ve been doing and they probably agree with it,” Cooper said.
With a degree in engineering and post-graduate work in business administration, law and accounting, Cooper worked with major corporations in the field of defense electronics. He went on to found his own company, which is still in operation to this day.
Some of the accomplishments of Cooper and his committee during his first term have been implementing life-saving upgrades and various energy conservation methods to use.
Cooper and the committee have also been working on a plan to put in smoke detectors and electronic emergency controls in all three buildings. He said that the Towers has the necessary permits and has received outside bids for the project. They will soon begin the process of selecting who will do the job.
Cooper said that the members of his committee are very knowledgeable and have expertise in fields such as engineering, construction, business and finance.
“It happens to be a terrific committee,” Cooper said. “That has made it easier for me to do this.”
While he has been a director, Cooper said that he feels he has acted as a conduit between the board and the residents. He said that people stop him in the hallways and are very willing to tell him what is on their minds, whether it be good or bad, and that he reports it back to the other board members.
Cooper is also the co-president of the Investment Club at the Towers.
Morton Gitter
Also re-elected to the board was Gitter, who has spent most of the last 12 years serving on the Board of Directors. Along with chairing almost all of the Towers’ different committees, he is also a former president, vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer. Most recently, he has been chairing the Country Club Committee.
“It’s nice to have the confidence of the community,” Gitter said.
After having worked as an attorney during his professional life, Gitter now does pro-bono work through various organizations, along with taking part in several volunteer opportunities. He has even volunteered his time in Israel with its army.
As he stated at Meet the Candidate night, Gitter said that he feels he can continue to contribute significantly to the community in order to improve it.
“I intend to champion some of the fundamental principles, which I believe are important for all board members to follow in the proper discharge of their fiduciary responsibilities to you, the shareholders,” Gitter said that night.
In the past, Gitter has spoken about the board accomplishments that occurred while he was president and treasurer. Among them were having competitive bidding for all contracts, a capital improvements program and creating “a blueprint to restore financial health.”
Claire Levitan
Levitan, who was originally born in Egypt, has lived at North Shore Towers for eight years and is a newcomer to the co-op’s Board of Directors. At the Towers, she is a member of the executive board of the Camera Club and the moderator of the Debate Club. Prior to being elected to the Board of Directors at the Towers, Levitan served as a member of the board at another co-op.
“In my wildest dreams I never expected to even run [for the board], but I was urged by two important people in our complex who wanted me because they thought I was fair and I was neutral and that I would work for North Shore Towers,” Levitan said.
In order to combat the increasing amount of litigation that the Towers has been involved in, Levitan said that there should be some sort of mediation system. As she detailed during Meet the Candidates night prior to the election, she recommended having town hall-like meetings where a moderator, ombudsman and shareholders could gather and discuss ideas.
Levitan also said that she wants to see the “silent majority” become more involved at North Shore Towers and the governing of the complex.
“I want to start new ideas for more exciting things happening here,” she said.
Previously, Levitan also stated that she would always use “intensive research before making important board decisions, aiming for a resolution based on that research.” As a member of the North Shore Towers Board of Directors, Levitan also pledged to spend funds wisely while working to maintain and preserve the cooperative’s reserve funds. She also said that she would act as an independent and give full disclosure about her opinions.
Marvin Rosenberg
The third incumbent to be re-elected to the Board of Directors was Rosenberg. A board member for the last four years, Rosenberg spent three years chairing the Screening Committee. He now heads the Legal Committee. He also authored the election protocol that the board adopted, which was first used during the recent 2008 elections. He said that it felt “quite satisfying” to have been re-elected.
So far while serving on the board, Rosenberg said that he has been proud of the fact that he has contributed to all major board decisions. He is also proud to have revamped the Screening Committee.
While addressing shareholders during Meet the Candidates night, Rosenberg detailed what he sees is a major issue that North Shore Towers needs to address, which is “the lack of professionally marketing our name, our amenities and our splendid location.
“The main thrust of my future work is going to be in bringing the name of North Shore Towers into focus by hiring a professional marketing firm that’s going to be able to professionally package our tremendous advantages and advertise them and put them forth to the metropolitan public,” Rosenberg said following the elections.
At that time of Meet the Candidates, Rosenberg had noted that during a visit Mayor Michael Bloomberg made to North Shore Towers, he called it the best kept secret in New York City. Rosenberg deemed that a dubious distinction.
Rosenberg has lived at the Towers for seven and a half years and is a golfer.
“I think for me the most rewarding part [of serving on the board] has been being able to serve the community, to take what
I consider principal stands on many of
the items that have come before the board and to stand on my principals without
selling them to the highest bidders,” Rosenberg said.
