Newsletters
Bay Club Newsletter August 2021
Dear Residents,
Here is the latest news from your Board and respective Committees. We hope you have a safe and happy summer!
Finance:
We are pleased to report that the finances of the Bay Club continue to be very strong. As of May 31, we had approximately $4.5 Million in our regular Capital Reserve account and $1.5 Million in our special Local Law 11 account. This money will give us the ability to complete all projects that we hope to complete through the end of our fiscal year. We continue to collect 95% of our common charges on time so we are able to pay all of our bills promptly. Through the efforts of Mike Brennan, Tom Pienkos and our attorney Peter Masa we have been able to reduce our arrears considerably.
Safety & Security:
§ The Main Gate sidewalk repair project is now complete. During the project, an entry and exit lane was closed to allow for repairs of the street facing sidewalk. Security worked with Garage and Maintenance staffers to safely direct motorists and pedestrians traversing the area. We are happy to state that the repairs were completed without incident and/or injury to motorists or pedestrians. We wish to thank all residents for their patience during the project. You’re understanding and willingness to cooperate with traffic control staffers made for a stress-free repair project. We are aware of some residents asking for us to look at the slight “bump” or lip on the end of the apron as you enter. The contractor is scheduled to look at this shortly. Thank you!
§ Please continue to obey all posted speed limits when driving on the property’s roadways, garages and external parking lots. The posted speed limit of 10 mph is for our roadways and 5 mph for the garages and parking lots. Please consider the safety of residents that have limited mobility and rely on wheelchairs, walkers and canes to get around while driving on the property.
§ All pedestrians should utilize ONLY the pedestrian walkways when entering and exiting the Bay Club property. For personal safety reasons, utilizing the main entrance’s driving lanes to enter and exit the property is dangerous, increases the likelihood of being hit by an oncoming/exiting vehicle.
§ Residents, please use your key fobs when entering the Bay Club’s property, via the pedestrian gates. Do not rely on the Gate Officer for access as it delays the processing of other visitors. Management distributed two (2) pedestrian gate key fobs to each unit/apartment a few months ago. Please use them. If you did not receive them, please contact the Maintenance Office.
§ Please remember it is against the rules to curb your dogs on the lawns and dirt patches of The Bay Club grounds. Please curb your dogs ONLY in the designated enclosed East Dog Run (area between rear of the tennis courts and Bay Terrace Shopping Center’s fence line) or enclosed West Dog Run area (next to west building’s residential outdoor parking space #601).
§ Reminder that terraces should not be used for storing household belongings (appliances, coolers, bicycles, storage boxes/containers, etc.) Additionally, laundry/clothing items are not to be placed on the terrace to dry. Additionally, no items are to be draped over or hung on the outside of terrace railings because they may become airborne during windy conditions, which may result in personal injury or property damage.
§ If you observe a safety hazard, emergency situation or anything that requires immediate attention, please contact Security or the responsible support department as needed (Management, Maintenance, Garage, and/or Health & Leisure Club) so that the matter can be promptly investigated, reported and remediated.
Maintenance:
§ Thank you for your patience during the heavy rains a few weeks ago. Our staff worked throughout the night cleaning up the excess water. We have ordered several new pumps and equipment, as well as trained more staff to use the “Zamboni” like machine that helps manage the water.
§ We are working with engineering firms to assess our leaks as well as the garage and structure.
§ The Board has approved the vehicle access project which will bring us a state-of-the art Vehicle and Pedestrian entry system. The gate entry system will consist of illuminated gate arms that extend to the end of the roadway. This new system will also offer license plate recognition in addition to small, low-cost windshield tags. License plate recognition systems are faster, resulting in decreased waiting time for cars entering and exiting the Bay Club. The windshield tags will serve as a backup system. During this project, we will also renovate the pedestrian walkways and gates. Our current system has served us well, unfortunately it is very old and we are having difficulties getting parts.
§ The Board and Maintenance Committee are discussing upgrading our boiler notification system. We have recently set up notification for our domestic hot water (the water we wash our hands and shower with) so that our staff is notified if there is a potential problem. This will allow the staff to immediately be aware of any potential issues so the staff can address and solve the problem. The Board and Maintenance Committee is also reviewing setting up notifications for our heating boilers. We will keep you up to date on this project.
§ If you would like to change your windows, keep in mind we have a list of approved window manufacturers and window installers. Please refer to our website for the information or call the Management office.
§ Please keep in mind, now would be the time to replace your heating coils on your air conditioner/heating units, as the heating system is currently drained for the season, we have approximately 6 weeks until we start filling up our heating system.
Technology:
§ We have announced our updated website www.bayclub.net You will notice several sections, our photos section has been updated with our recent Memorial Day event. We will keep adding photos as often as possible. You will also notice a login prompt. The purpose of creating an account to log in is so that unit owners can use the message Board. An account is not required to view our website, but is required to use our message Board. You may add comments/suggestions, ask questions and add photos. For those using the bulletin Board on Buildinglink - this message Board is a separate tool with a separate account. The message Board on our website removes some of the limitations that the Buildinglink bulletin Board has. For example, on this message Board posts do not expire (Building posts auto-expire after 30 days), you can add photos, and we can reply to other postings on this message Board. IMPORTANT: Please understand and follow the RULES posted at the bottom of each message Board page. Please note at this time we are not allowing commercial postings on our message Board - this is subject to change. We hope you enjoy our new message Board and website!
§ We offer Electric Vehicle (EV) charging at the Bay Club. We currently have a Dual charger in the East garage by the garage office. The technology committee recommended to the Board that we install additional chargers, 60% of the cost will come from the state and ConEd grants. The Board has approved the installation of additional chargers in the East and for chargers to also be installed in the West building. We currently have 13 cars using the charger, and have seen the demand increase, as the country moves towards more electric car use. The new chargers will be almost twice as fast as the current one and are the fastest Level 2 chargers available today. Some car manufacturers have already announced going all electric by 2025 and the current administration is targeting 50% of cars sold by 2030 be electric. There is a small charge to use the chargers that will cover the cost to run them, as well as providing a small income to the Bay Club.
§ The Technology Committee is recommending we install Wi-Fi in cell phone “dead” areas and offer Wi-Fi in general in some common areas. Initial thoughts are to provide Wi-Fi in both garages and in the C arcade/corridor that connects the two buildings. This will allow us all to make and receive phone calls and access the internet from our phones in areas that currently have no signal. It will be valuable to have, especially in case of emergency.
§ Our mail room monitors now cycle through several screens. In the past we only displayed the Board Members. Now we also display notifications and upcoming events.
Events:
§ Club Members, please join us for a concert by Audio Replay on August 21st. We also have Dore and NYC Swing returning on Sept 5th. On October 30th, the events committee will be presenting an 80s band and costume party! Please watch the mail room screens and calendar in the club for details for this and other events!
Leisure Club:
§ The restroom renovation is progressing…expect the Ribbon cutting in the next few weeks.
§ The Kids splash pad will be finished by the end of August.
§ The Board has approved a renovation of our indoor children’s playroom. Our new playroom will offer freshly painted walls, and extended back wall for more room, new TV screen and various wall and floor activities for the children. This newly updated room will be inline and consistent with the new updates we have had with the hallway and community room. Another great amenity for our young families!
§ Marie the masseuse is available for massages in her massage studio. You may reach Marie at: 917-639-8506.
Restaurant:
§ The Board has been working on securing a restaurant operator as soon as possible.
So, what’s going on at the Bay Club?
We want to acknowledge the loss of Carol Gross in March of this year. She created Carol’s Corner and filled the Bay Club News with years of events and happenings around here. Her dedication to the residents of the Bay Club will never be forgotten. Our thoughts are with her family and many friends.
The winners of the Word Finder puzzle contest in our last edition are:
Patti Kimber – West Building
Ety Kalina – East Building
Kyong Hee Woo – East Building
Carole Nobel – East Building
Our next newsletter will include the winners of this issue’s Word Finder puzzle. This puzzle was created by former Board Member, Darcy Novick. And speaking of Darcy, she and former Board President and current Board Member, Eddie Barra, have just announced their engagement. We are so delighted for our friends, Darcy and Eddie. Love is truly in the air here at the Bay Club. Good luck to the happy couple.
We are also pleased to share that our neighbor Ivy Miller, of the East Building, became a first time ‘Bubbe’ (grandmother) in December 2020. Skylar Grey was born to Ivy’s son Jason and his wife Erica. Mazel Tov (congratulations) to Ivy and her entire family.
Bay Club Happenings is thrilled to report that Elaine Manela of the West Building is about to become a first-time great grandmother. How special is that!
Here is another special occasion, Harvey and June Silverman of the East Building celebrated their 70th Wedding Anniversary on July 12th. What a milestone!!!
And from the West Building, Dr. Lidia Epel will be celebrating her son, Bryan’s wedding in November to Ms. Mara Davidson. Good luck to the lovebirds.
Some great news in the neighborhood: Joe and the Baybridge Szechuan Restaurant is back! They are open with many of the old waiters and chefs. The Clearview Senior Center and our local Library are also now open.
We would like to encourage all Residents to tell us about your milestones. Please be sure to let us know any news you would like to share; - engagements, weddings, anniversaries, births, trips, whatever. Kindly submit all entries to Melissa C. Berkowitz at MelissaBK@nyc.rr.com or call or text her at 917-854-8268.
Please see below word finder for a chance to win $25!