Affordable Co-op Shareholders Protest Board Election Practices
Residents of the Lindsay Park Housing Cooperative in Williamsburg are petitioning to change the practices of the board of directors at one of the city’s largest middle-income housing co-ops according to a report by DNAinfo. They accuse the board of rigging elections, mismanagement and harassment. The petitioners, including the Community Board 1 chairwoman, say the…
Residents of the Lindsay Park Housing Cooperative in Williamsburg are petitioning to change the practices of the board of directors at one of the city’s largest middle-income housing co-ops according to a report by DNAinfo. They accuse the board of rigging elections, mismanagement and harassment. The petitioners, including the Community Board 1 chairwoman, say the flawed election process has kept the board president in power for a dozen years.
The board uses a confusing election system that asks residents to sign proxy voting papers which gives the board members both the power to choose the candidates to vote in place of each resident that signs the proxy. The 900 residents petitioning for the changes say that in some cases shareholders are told that they need to sign the proxy to allow the board to reach a quorum and are never told they are signing their vote away.
Those pushing for change at the 2,700 unit Mitchell-Lama building at 54 Boerum Street say that they have been targeted for violations and can’t even get copies of meeting minutes or the budget. The group contacted the city’s housing department which supervises the building to complain about election practices and other allegations in January of 2013 but the city never investigated. On Tuesday they submitted a petition to hold a vote that would change how elections are conducted.
When contacted by DNAinfo the board president denied knowing about the petition though DNAinfo saw memos she sent to residents warning them not to sign the petition.
Affordable Co-op Tenants Accuse Board of Mismanagement, Harassment [DNAinfo] GMAP
Photo Serena Dai for DNAinfo
Every Mitchel-Lama building that I know people in, is rigged. Most are dictatorships with kick back schemes to get to be able to buy in etc. and most of the people that Know that live in prime location buildings are far from low income, not even middle income.
Anybody that can afford a second market rate home (in the Hamptons, Martha’s Vineyard etc.)should have to leave. This is the kind of subsidized abuse that needs to be looked into by De Blasio etc. Not haranguing rent stabilized landlords, that get no government subsidies to cover the maintenance of their buildings.
All the low income housing programs need follow up to audit the management and occupancy of them; this will free up a lot of low income housing for people that realy do need it.
There is nothing flawed about this… Every co-op has the same exact process…
My grandmother was an original tenant of the front building in the pic, & my aunt & uncle were in the back one. Various cousins were in other buildings. The surrounding area was lousy for years. If only they’d held out another 35 years!