N E W S J U L Y 3 L E H A V R E Le Havre Annual Shareholders Budget Meeting Board President Stanley Greenberg discusses the budget Everyone knows how picturesque LeHavre is. Thanks to residents Irene Bernstein and Irene DiLiberto for submitting these beautiful photos for the paper. The LeHavre Courier invites all residents to submit their pictures for future publication. Please email jdavis@qns.com with “LeHavre Photos” in the subject line and you might see your photograph in the paper! Thank you! WWW.QNS.COM | JULY 2016 | LEHAVRE COURIER 3 Le Havre Owners Corp. held its annual shareholders’ Budget & Finance meeting on Monday, June 20th on the deck of Pool 2. The purpose of the meeting was to introduce and explain the 2016/17 budget. In addition to the Le Havre Board, Property Manager Margaret Costello, attorney Geoffrey Mazel and accountants Carl Cesarano and Charlie Kotan attended. The meeting was also joined by Senator Tony Avella who gave shareholders an update on current initiatives to assist New York coops and condos. Senator Avella first addressed the issue of reducing coop and condo property tax assessments; he explained that at present, “Coops and condos are not treated the same as one, two and three family houses. If they were, coop and condo taxes would go down.” The Senator proposed legislation that would move coops and condos to a new tax classification that would be the same as other housing. “The bill passed in the Senate,” he said, “but the Mayor opposes it. The bill is still with the Assembly.” He said that he will continue to work to change the law. Senator Avella also discussed the current J-51 tax abatement program, the threshold for which has been raised and is with the Governor for his signature. The Senator wrapped up his comments by assuring the audience that his goal is “to make coops and your lives more affordable. I’m in your corner.” Board President Stanley Greenberg echoed Senator Avella’s position. “The City of New York is our obstacle. Their attitude is negative against coops.” Stanley then summarized many of the current improvements being done across the LeHavre property, which include the installation of new lobby doors in all 32 buildings which will be completed next year and the cement work under the porticos that is currently underway. He noted that the resealing and restriping of the parking lots is near completion and that all lights throughout the property have been changed to energy-saving LEDs. He added that the Board and Management are now researching hallway and lobby renovations and have hired an interior designer to consult on the project. In terms of the budget, a maintenance increase of 1.9% was announced following a zero percent increase last year. Carl Cesarano explained that the vast majority of LeHavre’s budget includes items that cannot be controlled items, such as real estate taxes, union-authorized pay increases and the building’s underlying mortgage. He noted that the average citywide coop maintenance increase is now 4.7%, making LeHavre’s increase significantly lower than the norm. State Senator Tony Avella addresses the audience Summer solstice moon over LeHavre. Photo by Irene DiLiberto A double rainbow lights up the sky Photo by Irene Bernstein
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