The results are in, and incumbents Bob Ricken, Murray Lewinter, Phyllis Goldstein and newcomer Martin Mitchell are the certified winners of last month’s Board of Directors elections.
The three incumbents received the top spots. Ricken received 3,695,347 votes, Lewinter 2,956,528 votes and Goldstein 2,906,857 votes. Mitchell received 1,542,980 to earn the final seat. Each will serve a two-year term.
“I think the election was a demonstration of the fact that the community really had renewed confidence in the entire Board,” Ricken said.
During the first Board meeting following the elections, which took place Thursday, June 25, Ricken was appointed once again as President following a unanimous decision by the Board.
“I really felt that the two or three issues that are coming up literally involve millions of dollars, and we built up the reserve fund for this purpose,” Ricken said. “I didn’t want to relinquish my involvement at this time because I felt these decisions will have an effect for many years on the financial health of the co-op. I wanted to be a part of that process.”
Board member Mort Gitter will be the First Vice President and Treasurer and Goldstein the Secretary. Ricken noted that all other positions were decided on unanimously as well.
“It was really exhilarating having the Board not only select me as President unanimously but to then also unanimously select all of the other Board officers,” Ricken said. “It really demonstrated how the Board has solidified and the only goal now is to work for the betterment of our residents.”
Committee chair assignments have also been made. They are:
-Finance – Mort Gitter
-Capital Improvements – Herb Cooper
-House and Grounds – Claire Levitan
-Screening – Phyllis Goldstein
-Political Action – Murray Lewinter
-Country Club – Martin Mitchell
-Publicity and Legal Negotiations – Marvin Rosenberg
Ricken explained that, during the recent meeting, the Board also set up a committee that will meet with sponsor representative Jim Short on an ongoing basis.
Bob Ricken
Ricken, who had a career in education that included being a teacher and administrator, was first appointed a member of the Board of Directors a few years ago when another member had to resign due to health reasons. He then was elected to serve a two-year term.
“I was very pleased with the outcome of the vote. It showed, I felt, that the community was pleased with the incumbents because we finished one, two and three and by an overwhelming vote,” he said.
As the 2008/2009 term came to an end, Ricken detailed the Board’s accomplishments during open meetings. There were several that he considered “most important.”
One of those was the recent negations with Continental Communications, which is the company that leases the rooftops for antennas. Along with increased revenue for the cooperative, the safety of residents was also ensured.
Ricken noted the passing of the sponsored golf membership program, which he said saved money and “will keep the course well-endowed for awhile,” and several construction items. They included redoing garage ramps, the west gate paving and replacing some roofs.
“I thought those were magnificent accomplishments,” said Ricken, who also plays golf and tennis and is a member of the Garden Club.
Another success that Ricken was particularly pleased with was the passing of the proprietary lease extension. Although the measure failed to pass during previous years, Ricken said that during this attempt “it passed with flying colors.”
Ricken, who most recently chaired the Country Club Committee, said that the Board was able to be so successful because of the cooperative way in which the members worked. He also said that Board members working in the best interest of the buildings made it easier to achieve things.
When it came time to run for re-election this year, Ricken said that he received a lot of encouragement from people. He also thought about what the Board was able to do during the last year.
“I felt I wanted to be a part of this decision-making process,” he said.
During this newly started term, Ricken said there are two major items that will be on the agenda. They are the negotiations with Time Warner and Verizon and the debate over using Con Edison or continuing to generate power on site.
Ricken said that the negotiations with Time Warner and Verizon have been ongoing but that they are close to an end. He said that General Manager Glen Kotowski has been handling them, and that Board member and Legal Negotiations Committee Chair Marvin Rosenberg will join him for the final phase.
On August 20, there will be an open Board meeting when the Capital Improvements Committee will make a presentation regarding generating power or getting it from Con Edison. This will be the same presentation that Committee Chair Herb Cooper, Committee member George Nagelberg and Chief Engineer Sal Castro made to the Board.
“We felt it’s such a huge decision…that we want the community to be involved and be able to ask any questions they’d like to ask,” Ricken said.
Ricken also said that the debate over reverse mortgages seems to have come to an end since the information they have received indicates that such mortgages are not given to cooperatives. However, he said that the Board is double-checking all of the information.
Murray Lewinter
Lewinter also initially came to the Board of Directors after being appointed to fill a position that had been left vacant partway through a term when another member passed away. This is now the third time that he has been elected to the Board to serve a two-year term.
Formerly, Lewinter was an Assemblymember for five years, the Executive Director of the New York City Council, law secretary for a Bronx Supreme Court judge, and the Executive Director of the Ways and Means Committee in Albany.
Currently a lobbyist, Lewinter said that he is a political person who loves talking to political people. By joining the Board of Directors and serving as the chair of the Political Action Committee, Lewinter said that he is able to do it where he lives.
“It’s a great thing, a great feeling,” he said.
In the past, Lewinter also said that he wanted to get involved with the Board so that he could do something that would benefit the community. He also said he felt he could be of assistance to the residents of North Shore Towers.
Lewinter said that it is also a great feeling to have the support of the community.
“It’s good to know that the people believe in you,” Lewinter said.
One goal that Lewinter has for the new term is to get real voting machines at North Shore Towers to use for the Board of Directors elections. He said he is going to look into it, adding that “there must be a way to do it.”
During his Board service, Lewinter said that what he is most proud of is being able to bring guest speakers to the Towers that residents have requested. For instance, he said many had asked for Norman Seigel, the former Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, who spoke at North Shore Towers in September of 2008.
Another speaker that stood out in Lewinter’s mind was Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who most recently came to the Towers in October of last year. He noted that the visit happened after a period of time when it was not possible to get Bloomberg to come.
“They [the residents] ask me for people, and I try to do it,” Lewinter said, adding that being able to do so makes him feel as though he is doing a good job.
Some of the other elected officials who have been brought to the Towers to speak to residents include City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, City Comptroller William Thompson, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, Congressmembers Gary Ackerman and Anthony Weiner, Senator Frank Padavan, Assemblymembers Mark Weprin and Ann Margaret Carrozza, Councilmember David Weprin, Commissioner Raymond Kelly and Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
“This effort of involving ourselves in the affairs of the city, state and national levels has been successful and must continue if we are to maintain our position as a group of citizens who merit and deserve the respect and attention of our elected officials,” Lewinter said during Meet the Candidates night.
Phyllis Goldstein
Goldstein, a resident of North Shore Towers for more than 30 years, echoed Ricken’s sentiments that the community’s vote showed that they were satisfied with the Board and have confidence in them.
“It’s wonderful. I’m very pleased about it,” Goldstein said of being re-elected. “I’d like to continue to do some of the good things I believe I’ve done in the past.”
Goldstein has already served on the Board for four years, from 2001 to 2003 and 2007 to 2009. However, she said that even when she was not a member of the Board of Directors she remained active in the community.
A former special education elementary school teacher, Goldstein chaired the conversion committee when North Shore Towers was first making the transition to become a cooperative. Once the conversion was complete, she was a member of several different committees before becoming a Board member.
As well as being a Board member, Goldstein is a member of the Towers Camera Club.
When reflecting on her Board service thus far, Goldstein said there are three major accomplishments that she is most proud of. One of them is the mandatory general membership of the Country Club, since it brings money into the club.
“It keeps fee increases to a minimum, and it really does help a lot,” she said, adding that it has “forestalled non-club members from maintaining the upkeep.”
Another notable accomplishment that Goldstein spoke of was the renovation of the courtyard “into a gorgeous garden.” This is the outdoor area in between the pool and Towers on the Green where many residents sit to enjoy nice weather. She said that she still gets people who stop her to say that the garden area looks beautiful and gets better every year while also extending their gratitude that it was done.
“It has proven to be quite successful,” Goldstein said.
Finally, Goldstein said that she was also proud of the new website, www.northshoretowers.com, which was created during this last two-year term and was launched about a year ago. She said that it is an important tool when it comes to attracting baby boomers. In addition, it also is a value for in-house use for residents since they can access important information by going to the resident log-in page. While chairing the Screening Committee, Goldstein said that she learned from some of the younger, more active people that they are going to the site.
“It just keeps getting better,” she said of the site.
When asked what the key was to the Board accomplishing so much during the recently concluded term, Goldstein said that “it was a matter of the members of the Board working together as a team.” She said that did not mean all members agreed on everything, but they discussed items to come to terms and a majority.
“There is a good sense of team-work,” said Goldstein, who is a former chair of the Marketing and Public Relations Committee.
When speaking about her goals for the new term, Goldstein said that she would like to see how North Shore Towers can attract a diverse community.
Martin Mitchell
The newest face on the North Shore Towers Board of Directors, Mitchell is a full-time resident who has lived in the cooperative for about two years.
Mitchell said that he decided to run for the Board “because I felt I could make a difference, and I thought I had some experiences that would help the Board make better decisions.”
“I’m a new resident but I feel that my life and my business experience can bring value to the Board,” Mitchell said during the “Meet the Candidates” night in May.
Mitchell said that it felt very good to have been elected to the Board of Directors.
“I appreciated the confidence that everybody seemed to have in a relative newcomer,” he said. “I appreciated people heard my message and were willing to give me an opportunity.”
Professionally, Mitchell is a food scientist. Currently, he is the managing director of Certified Laboratories, which he acquired after starting his own consulting business. The company has three locations in the United States, as well as more than 150 employees.
Mitchell explained that, due to his background as a scientist and an entrepreneur, when addressing problems he always uses a scientific process.
In addition to now being a member of the Board of Directors, Mitchell is active in the community of Putnam County, were he owns a home. He is a member of a committee and association there.
“My business experience, coupled with my many years of industry association leadership, will enable me to bring a consensus allowing us to achieve the goals of share value increase while maintaining a friendly, which is not always true here, and welcoming environment,” Mitchell said during “Meet the Candidates.”
Prior to the elections last month, Mitchell listed several qualities he has that he felt would benefit North Shore Towers if he was a member of the Board of Directors. They included his ability to manage finances, proven leadership success, background in long-term planning, and being an expert in maintaining and increasing stockholder equity.
When recently asked what qualities he had to bring to the Board, Mitchell said that, along with having 30 years of business experience, he is still running a business and dealing with related issues, such as the economy, today.
Mitchell, a member of the baby boomer generation, said that his biggest goal is “to allow the personality of a baby boomer…to help set the direction of North Shore Towers so it would become more attractive to baby boomers. I think it’s just a matter of having their voice heard in Board decisions…”
As a new Board member, Mitchell said that the biggest challenge he will face is getting up to speed and understanding the business of the cooperative so that he can work with the rest of the Board to reach a consensus on ideas.
“It’s a large business that has momentum and a personality,” he said.
Mitchell said that what he is most looking forward to about serving on the Board is getting to know his fellow members and becoming a part of a team.
