By Howard Koplowitz
About 100 members of the Parkway Village co-op rallied last week, calling on the co-op’s board to resign after what they claimed was mismanagement and unfair fees.
But the board claimed the residents were using fuzzy math and increased costs were warranted.?
“This board is ill-equipped and inept in providing a successful co-op community,” said Linda Carlino, a former board member who organized the rally. “The board has nothing to show us they give a damn. This is a runaway board and they have to be stopped.”
Residents accused the board of straining the co-op’s financial situation by paying $108,000 a year on security guards and not charging rent to the head of security.
In a letter to shareholders, the board said the co-op was “filled with drug dealers and drug users” a year ago along with increases in car thefts and break-ins and a security company had to be hired to deal with the problems.
“We are happy to report we have seen a significant decrease in criminal activity at the Village,” the letter read.
The residents also said the money the co-op spends on a management company is a waste and Parkway Village should manage itself, pointing to the situation at Glen Oaks Village, a co-op that got out of bankruptcy after going to self-management.
Other complaints included a $10 increase in parking space fees and a $25 charge for apartments that have patios.
Parkway Village resident Caleb Ross griped that shareholders were told a “special assessment” was only temporary but that the charge never came off their monthly bills.
Carlino said the extra costs add up, with a two-bedroom apartment paying close to $1,400 a month in maintenance fees.
“We could be living on Park Avenue for what we’re paying now,” she said.
Another resident agreed.
“It’s got to the point where many of us cannot afford to live here,” she said.
“They’re running this place like a concentration camp,” said Gayle Baransky, a Parkway Village resident since 1983, when the development was converted into a co-op.
Parkway Village resident Verna Evans-Hodler also said she has been frustrated by the board of directors’ management.
“We can no longer put our heads in the sand and we’re sick and tired of this crap,” she said.
Another resident who asked not to be named said she received a $773 Con Edison bill from electricity usage from a neighboring apartment.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.
