Author: Anna Bain

Amenities Lease Addendum

Posted on by Anna Bain

Some of you may have received an Amenities Lease Addendum as part of your lease renewal package. GPTA raised objections to this Amenities rider with Greg Tumminia (Gateway General Manager). Although he defended the Amenities rider as consistent with market for the market rate tenants, Mr. Tumminia said that it was sent to some QRS tenants in error. Here’s what he said as to QRS tenants, “QRS amenity riders were sent in error. All QRS residents have the option of signing up for the health club at a $35.00 per month, per apartment rate. This is an option for QRS residents. The $35 per month, per apartment fee is substantially less than the current rate of $50 per person, per month.”

Accordingly, it appears that QRS tenants do not need to sign the Amenities Rider. If a QRS tenant is interested in health club access, the tenant can get access for $35 per month, but does not need to pay for any of the other amenities.

GPTA continues to believe that this Amenities rider is inappropriate for all tenants, including market rate tenants, and is advocating for removal of this rider for all residents.

GPTA Annual Meeting

Posted on by Anna Bain

Thursday, March 18th, 2021, 7 PM

Via Zoom. See Link Below

The meeting will be open to all Gateway Residents

  • Updates by the GPTA Board
  • Introduction of our Elected Representatives
  • Community Discussion Q and A. Please submit questions prior to the meeting at gatewayplazata@gmail.com. Questions can be raised at meeting as time permits.
  • Nominations and Elections of Board Members. If you are interested in running for the GPTA board but have not sent in your name and bio, we will also accept nominations at the meeting. 

VOTING

Only tenants who are current paid GPTA members may vote. Please note that dues are payable on the calendar basis so the 2021 dues are payable now.

TO JOIN or RENEW
Membership in GPTA is $25 per household. Go to http://www.gpta.org/join

We hope to see you there!

Rosalie Joseph, Robin Forst, Bruce Katz, Jeff Galloway, Karlene Wiese, Audrey Comisky, Denise Harris-Ector, Honey Berk, Howard Grossman, Larry Emert, Pat Gray, Sarah Cassell, Steve Kessler

ZOOM INFO
Time: Mar 18, 2021 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83425565553
Meeting ID: 834 2556 5553
One tap mobile
+19294362866,,83425565553# US (New York)
+13126266799,,83425565553# US (Chicago)

Gateway Plaza Tenants Association Annual Membership Meeting

Posted on by Anna Bain

Mark Your Calendars

Thursday, March 18th, 2021, 7 PM

Via Zoom. Details will follow.

The meeting will be open to all Gateway Residents

  • Updates by the GPTA Board
  • Introduction of our Elected Representatives
  • Community Discussion Q and A.
  • Nominations and Elections of Board Members.

If you are interested in placing your name on the ballot to run for the GPTA Board, send an email to 

gatewayplazata@gmail.com. In the email include a statement about why you are interested in serving on the Board (Maximum 100 words).

VOTING – Only tenants who are current paid GPTA members may vote. Please note that dues are payable on the calendar basis so the 2021 dues are payable now.

TO JOIN or RENEW- Membership in GPTA is $25 per household. Go to http://www.gpta.org/join

We hope to see you there!

Rosalie Joseph, Robin Forst, Bruce Katz, Jeff Galloway, Karlene Wiese

Audrey Comisky, Denise Harris-Ector, Honey Berk, Howard Grossman, Larry Emert, Pat Gray, Sarah Cassell, Steve Kessler

Update: Class Action Suit Settlement

Posted on by Anna Bain

We have learned that the Gateway Plaza Class Action claims administrator has had further delays in calculating the settlement rental credits.  The word now is that these credits will appear in time to be applied to the March rent.  However, the timeframe from the claims administrator has shifted before and may shift again.

Needless to say, we, like you, are very disappointed in this delay.  We reached out to class counsel yesterday and impressed upon him the importance of having the credits properly calculated and applied as soon as possible.  We will keep you posted as we learn more.

GPTA

Free Rides to Vaccination Appointments for NYC Seniors

Posted on by Anna Bain

Curb has recently started an important partnership with the City of New York to provide rides to and from vaccination sites for COVID-19 related transportation for NYC Seniors. Please forward this to anyone you know in need.

What you need to know
Residents aged 65+ unable to travel for their vaccine are eligible for free vaccine transportation services to and from City vaccination sites with Curb-powered taxi services.

How do you get a ride?
It’s easy. Call 877-VAX-4NYC to make an appointment at a City-operated vaccination site or go check out NYC COVID-19 Vaccine Finder. After making an appointment to get vaccinated, participants will be screened and directed to Curb’s 24/7 call center to book their trips, Access-a-Ride, or ambulette services as appropriate.

Taxi safety
All vaccination trips in Curb taxis have partitions; all cabs are routinely cleaned and disinfected as outlined by the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission. Masks are required for all riders & drivers.

If you have any questions, please call 877-VAX-4NYC.

Don’t forget to share this with anyone you know who is having difficulty traveling to a vaccination site.

Make a Vaccination Appointment Today: Book online or call 877-VAX-4NYC.

GPTA February 2021 Newsletter

Posted on by Anna Bain

Feb 2, 2021

Topics:

  • Class Action Update
  • GPTA Annual Meeting
  • Food Drive beginning Monday
  • Clarification for QRS residents switching apartments
  • Voter registration for NYC elections

CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT UPDATE

Many of you have asked about the credits from the Class Action that were supposed to be applied by Feb. 2. Because of a glitch in calculation of the credits, however, the credits have been delayed by a week or so but are expected to appear on your rental accounts by Feb. 15. The glitch was not a Gateway error, but an error by the claims administrator. This error now appears to have been resolved.

GPTA will be following up if the credits do not appear by that time.

In our conversation with management, we advocated for late fees to be waived and management agreed to waive fees for Feb. 

Also, Gateway will not provide information to residents in reference to the Class Action settlement amounts and calculations. Such information should be provided by the resident attorneys.

GPTA ANNUAL MEETING

The Gateway Plaza Tenants Association will hold its annual meeting, by ZOOM, in March 2021 (date to be announced).

The meeting will feature updates from City and State elected officials, as well as the election of GPTA Board Members for the next term.

GPTA membership is open to all Gateway residents.

We will be providing information on the website in the weeks to come so you know how to join, participate in the meeting and vote for Board representatives.

(Perhaps you’d like to run for the Board?  If so, write to us at gatewayplazata@gmail.com. Think about it!)

GPTA/ FOOD BANK OF NY FOOD DRIVE

Help fight hunger in New York City by donating food to the Food Bank Of New York City. 

HOW YOU CAN PARTICIPATE

Deposit food items listed below in the boxes provided by FBNY from Monday evening, Feb. 1 to morning of Feb. 10. Boxes are locate in the lobby of the 400/375 building.

Vegetables·       Canned Vegetables (low sodium preferred)
·       Tomato Sauce
·       Vegetable Soups (low sodium preferred)
·       Broth (low sodium preferred) 
Fruits·       Canned Fruits (in juice or light syrup)
·       Dried Fruits
·       100% Fruit Juices 
Proteins·       Beans – canned or dry
·       Peanut Butter
·       Canned Meat (chicken, beef, ham)
·       Canned Fish (tuna, salmon, sardines)
·       Canned Stews (chicken or beef) 
Grains·       Rice (white or brown, flavored)
·       Pasta/Noodles
·       Cold Cereal
·       Hot Cereal (grits, oatmeal, farina)
·       Flour/Cornmeal/Baking Mixes
·       Whole Grain Crackers
·       Couscous 
Dairy·       Dry Milk Packets
·       Shelf Stable Milk
·       Soy/Almond/Rice Milk 
Specialty Items·       Cereals
·       Nutrition Beverages (Boost, Ensure, Carnation Instant Breakfast)
·       Granola Bars 
Other Items·       Diapers
·       Feminine Products
·       Personal Care Items/Hygiene Items

RENT STABILIZED RESIDENTS WHO WANT TO SWITCH APARTMENTS

GPTA has received inquiries about QRS residents switching apartments and whether the agreement covers the apartment or the tenant. The answer from management was as follows: “QRS Rights move with the resident if they transfer to another Gateway apartment at the end of a current lease term.”

NYC PRIMARY ELECTIONS COMING UP.  ARE YOU REGISTERED?

Primary Elections for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President and Council Members is Jun. 22.  If you are not registered, or want to declare or change party affiliation, here are dates to be aware of:

We send our sincere hopes that you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy.

GPTA

Rosalie, Robin, Jeff, Bruce, Karlene (Executive Board)

Audrey, Sarah, Howard, Honey, Pat, Steve, Larry, Denise

Class Action Settlement Info as of January 11, 2021

Posted on by Anna Bain


Latest news from Marina Towers states that the settlements will be posted in time to be applied to February rental invoices.  However, they state that there have been some discrepancies with the administrator overseeing the distributions, so it is possible that the settlements are posted to accounts in February but perhaps not in time to be reflected n the February invoices.  The amount per resident is not fixed and varies greatly based on a number of factors.

Settlement + Stabilization Updates

Posted on by Anna Bain

CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT UPDATE

Our August 28 Newsletter reported that the notice of entry of the Court’s judgment approving the class action settlement was served on August 6, which should have meant that the settlement would have become final 30 days thereafter – that is, the day after Labor Day.  However, because of Gov. Cuomo’s COVID-19 Executive Orders, all court deadlines were suspended until November 4.  As a result, the class action will not become final until December 4.  Settlement credits are required to be posted to tenants’ rent accounts within 60 days of settlement finality, or by February 3.  We understand that the settlement administrator may move more quickly than that.  Gateway Management has informed us that they hope that the settlement credits will appear on the January or February rent bills.

If you would like get the most up to date information about the class action settlement, please see the settlement website:  https://www.gatewayplazasettlement.com, or contact class counsel, Jeffrey Norton, JNorton@nfllp.com, (212) 619-5400.

RENT STABILIZATION UPDATE

Now that HUD has signed off on the QRS Agreement, GPTA has been  told  that  all QRS tenants, who received 5% increases prior to the new stabilization agreement, have received credit for the overpayment as of this December billing cycle.

Tenant Survey to Collect Info About Pandemic-Related Effects on Rent Payments and About Lease Renewals

Posted on by Anna Bain

GPTA asks you to please take a moment and fill out this important survey as soon as you possibly can.

SURVEY LINK: https://forms.gle/MCnspGYuAXEcoUYF7

The data from this survey will help us and our elected officials better understand the impact of the past five months on our Gateway community, for both rent stabilized and market rate tenants. We need information from residents about the financial effects of the pandemic on the ability to pay rent. We are also interested in knowing more about your lease and renewal status

Please assist us by providing responses to the following questions. You can provide personal information if you wish, but you can answer anonymously as well. GPTA will keep all identifying information confidential. (One entry per household, please.)

We are taking action but we need this information. Please participate!

Thank you for your support,