Lawmakers and residents gathered on the grounds of a Bayside co-op to celebrate a momentous moment in its decades-long history.
On July 25, Bay Terrace Co-op Section One announced that it now owns the land its buildings are built on for the first time in 60 years after purchasing the 10 acres from Cord Meyer Development. The community met at the co-op at 212th Street and 14th Avenue to cut a celebratory ribbon on Aug. 22.
“Here in the city, we keep hearing our elected officials, the City Council and the mayor talk about affordable housing: and that’s what we are,” said co-op president Warren Schreiber. “This is affordable housing. And everybody in the city has to support this housing or else it’s going to disappear.”
The historic sale will allow the co-op greater freedom to begin improvement projects, simplify the process for shareholders to sell their apartments and make it easier for interested buyers to receive mortgages from financial institutions who may have been hesitant due to the land lease status.
“This is what happens when you have a team of elected officials that work together,” Councilman Paul Vallone said.
Leaseholders in all cooperative sections hope to own their land by the end of 2018 as Cord Meyer works with them to finalize their land purchases. This will impact over 1,800 families.
“One day, you’re gonna own all this property, and it’s only because of the fact this place is run well, you’ve got a great team of people that run the place, and I think it’s a wonderful accomplishment,” Congressman Tom Suozzi said.
