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New prototype lobby entrance nearing completion in Coop City Building 15A

A new disabled accessible front door entrance system designed as a prototype to be used in the other 65 lobbies in Co-op City has been installed in Building 15A and is now 99% complete and in the process of being reviewed and tweaked for improvements.

Riverbay Board director Bernie Cylich, chair of the Board's Construction Committee, told the Board on Wednesday night that the committee has reviewed the new lobby entrance and while the general quality of the materials used in the new entrance is a great improvement over the previous version from two years ago, a number of issues remain that need clarification.



One of those issues is the fact that the new entrances require outside doors that open out in order to be up to compliance with current New York City building and fire code and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements.

This requirement created a problem with the previous prototype in Building 15A, Cylich explained, as the doors would periodically be caught in high winds typical during cold weather months in certain areas of Co-op City.

These winds in the two winters past caused the doors to be damaged, necessitating frequent and costly repairs. The current design is sturdier and stronger than the previous prototype tried and rejected two years ago, but some, including Building 15A President Dorothea Castle, said that she believes Riverbay should take a "wait and see" approach and see how the new doors hold up to the winter weather ahead before starting on the other lobbies.

Director Cylich, at Wednesday's Board meeting, explained that the committee has looked into the possibility of using sliding doors at the exterior to overcome problems presented by windy weather, but he added that after further investigation, sliding doors would cost three times more than the standard doors with no guarantee that the sliding doors would not also be affected and damaged by strong winds.

Ms. Castle, who worked with Riverbay two years ago to survey shareholder satisfaction with the previously installed system said that she and other residents are now working on a similar survey to inquire about this and other concerns.

The new survey will be distributed throughout her building in the coming week to determine potential likes and dislikes of the prototype before going ahead with the installation in the rest of Coop City. She said that the new survey should be completed and distributed by early July 2016 with feedback from most Building 15A residents expected by mid July 2016.

In general, Ms. Castle told the Co-op City Times that she likes the newly constructed system much better than the previously installed system specifically because the construction is better and much sturdier. She added that she has a few aesthetic improvements that she thinks should be made - such as matching the intercom panel with the new framework material, but noted that those are changes that can be made easily.

The major problem that most Coop City Building 15A residents had with the previous intercom system was tied in with the existing phone in each home causing conflict with phone use and proving to be an extra expense for the corporation because each intercom use was billed to Riverbay as a phone call.

To fix that, a new intercom system has been installed in each apartment and is 95% complete in the building, according to Ms. Castle.

The new entrance system like the previous prototype requires the use of key fos by residents to gain entrance to the buildings. Mr. Cylich explained that the new system will now also require all building residents to be given manual keys and a standard lock to be installed for use in case of a power failure. There might also be a question of the key fobs being large enough to be used effectively by some disabled persons.

Riverbay Finance Department Director Peter Merola said this week that $2.6 million has been budgeted for this project out of the capital reserves, but realistic, conservative estimates for installation in all 65 Co-op City building lobbies come in at approximately $3.2 million.

Riverbay Assistant General Manager of Construction, Mark Warren, said if given the go ahead, work on the installation in Coop City Chevron buildings could go out to bid by July 7, 2016.

President Cleve Taylor, however warned against rushing into the project before making sure all aspects of the project meet a general consensus of shareholder approval and ADA requirements. "We have to get this right," he warned.

By Bill Stuttig
Co-op City Times is now online

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