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Co-op City fails to muster support for cable deal.

There's a bad connection in Co-op City. Cablevision Systems Corp., a New York-area cable TV provider, failed to cinch a bulk service deal in Co-op City.

Co-op City residents seemed to favor a five-year bulk deal, but failed to get enough tenants to vote on referendum that would have slashed their cable bill by nearly 75%. Residents of the sprawling Coop City Bronx complex were so leery about being locked into a long-term deal with Cablevision that they turned down a proposal that would have slashed their cable bills by nearly 75%.

Cablevision's offer would have packaged the 15,000-unit Bronx, New York community into one large bulk service plan, saving subscribers up to $50 a month but tenants and members of the board of directors of the Riverbay Corp., which oversees the housing development, were skeptical of the sweetheart deal.

Fears of being locked into a five-year contract with the provider and facing increased maintenance fees if individuals do not pay into the package kept tenants from giving the proposition the green light.

"I thought it was not a thing to do, just cram Cablevision down our throats." said Judy Roberson, a 38-year resident of Co-op City. "What if another provider offers a better deal, with better technology, and we're stuck in a five year plan?"

Only 6,200 of about 55,000 residents voted in the referendum and a majority, 3,954, favored the change, according to Riverbay board director Daryl Johnson. That's far fewer than the 10,000 votes that were needed to approve such a plan.

Had it passed, residents would have paid a discounted rate of $24 per month for the first two years of the contract, and bills would have increased 5% per year in the third, fourth and fifth years.

"We will continue to explore the opportunity for a long-term agreement that can bring significant monthly savings and the best possible service to the community," a Cablevision representative said in a statement.

The package included 320 channels plus Wi-Fi in common areas, and a fourth in-house community-access channel, Cablevision said.

A Co-op City cable subscriber currently pays $74.95 for a comparable package. Internet and telephone service are extra.

Johnson believes that the deal will be offered again when elections are held for the Riverbay board of directors this spring.

"People should have a choice." Johnson said, calling the deal a cable monopoly. "The board should be responsible to the co-operators, not the management."

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https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bronx/co-op-city-rejects-bulk-cable-plan-article-1.1567981

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