Announcements

The Board would like to share a few updates regarding the 860 & 870 lobby renovations:

860:
• Renovation work will start in the 860 lobby on Monday Feb 2nd.
• The first steps will be prep work, e.g. protecting the marble and installing dust protection.
• Next steps will include taking down the ceiling and wall moldings, followed by installing Sheetrock lamination on the ceiling and skim coating the walls.
• There will be access at all times except when the contractor’s crew is doing any vestibule work. We will pass along more information about that as we have specifics to share.

870:
• Tile work on the main lobby floor is expected to be completed by Monday Feb 2 and the vestibule floor is expected to be completed by Tuesday Feb 3.
• The 1st floor corridor’s walls and ceiling have been painted. The doors, lobby walls and vestibule will be painted next week.
• Marble cleaning is scheduled for Feb 9, and will take 7-10 days to complete.
• After the marble cleaning is complete, the painted surfaces will be touched up and new lighting fixtures installed.

As always, if you have any questions about the renovations, please contact our Managing Agent Howard Landman at 212-483-0700 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com.

The Board would like to share a few updates regarding the 860 lobby renovations:

• We are continuing to work with Midtown Preservation to determine the source of the leak near the 860 mailroom. One source of the leak has been identified and remedied, and we are now waiting to see if the recent heavy rains confirms that we have fully fixed the problem.
• The work in 870 is coming along, however as is often the case with complicated renovation work, the project is taking longer than expected. As a result, the 860 lobby renovation has been pushed back to early March.

If you haven’t been to the 870 lobby in a while, you may want to stop by soon to check out the status of the renovation work in that lobby, as well as to see how the construction crew has carefully handled managing dust.

As always, if you have any questions, please contact our Managing Agent Howard Landman at 212-483-0700 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com.

Following the holiday break, you’ve seen work resume in the 870 lobby. Below is a status update:

• The main lobby floor will be removed this Tuesday, January 14th. We realize that residents in the lower floors of the building are disproportionately impacted by the noise of this work, and appreciate your flexibility and patience during this phase of the project.

• Re-tiling is taking longer than expected, and longer than was initially communicated to residents. Based on revised estimates from our contractor, we expect the floors to be completed towards the end of January. We expect the remainder of the work on the 870 lobby to be completed by the end of February.

• Some residents have asked about saving the older lobby tile for use in repairing tiles on the upper floors. After consulting with our contractor, he has advised that cleaning off the grout from the older tiles is a nearly impossible task, unfortunately making them essentially unusable for that scenario.

• You may have noticed paint samples currently in the lobby. Here are the colors that we’ve selected with input from our designer: walls (OC-32 Tapestry Beige in eggshell finish), ceilings (OC-13 Soft Chamois in flat finish), chair railings (OC-13 Soft Chamois in satin or pearl finish), crown moldings (OC-117 Simply White in satin finish), doors and frames (2133-10 Onyx in pearl finish).

• Regarding our external doors (to the street), after further review with our contractor, designer and architect, we have decided to retain the current doors. This is mostly being done as a cost-savings measure. The doors will be repainted as part of the project. You will, however, see new doors in 860 to coincide with a more comprehensive vestibule re-design in that building.

• Among the next steps that you’ll also see is installation of new lighting fixtures.

As always, if you have any concerns about the contracting work, please contact Sam Rosario at 646-709-7481 (cell) or our Managing Agent Howard Landman at 212-483-0700 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com.

You are invited to the annual West Gate House holiday party! All are welcome.

Sunday, December 14th
5:00-7:00 p.m.
Lobby of 860 West 181st Street

Please bring your favorite sweet or savory treat to share with everyone! Sign-up sheets are posted in the 860 lobby and in the 870 basement (near the recycling bins).

You are invited to the annual West Gate House holiday party! All are welcome.

Sunday, December 14th
5:00-7:00 p.m.
Lobby of 860 West 181st Street

Please bring your favorite sweet or savory treat to share with everyone! Sign-up sheets are posted in the 860 lobby and in the 870 basement (near the recycling bins).

The West Gate House annual meeting of shareholders is Thursday, December 4 at 7:30pm in the lobby of 860 West 181st Street.

It is important that you personally attend the meeting or, if unable to, deliver your proxy so that an effective election may transpire.

Have an opinion about the building’s management? Interested in having a voice? Run for election to the Board of Directors!

If you have any questions or would like to submit your name for election, please contact our Managing Agent, Howard Landman, at 212-483-0700 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com

The Board would like to thank all of our gardening and watering volunteers whose hard work and dedication during the past six months helped to improve and beautify our surroundings. Thanks as well to those residents who donated cash and/or plants to the effort.

Special thanks goes to Gisela Adisa, David Bakamjian, Ronda Brands, Clay Burns, Kendrick Cato, Michelle Holman, Ted Nash, Heidi Roberts, Neil and Wendy Rolnick, August Ventura, Ely Vicioso and Arthene.

A summary of highlights from the planting season are below:

• Installed new 860 and 870 courtyard planters
• Received free compost and mulch from the City (a big savings!)
• Planted a new garden in the 860 courtyard
• Purchased a new wall-mount hose reel for 860
• Repaired damaged tree pit guard on 181st street
• Pruned our trees with the help of professional arborists

Lobby renovations for 870 will start the week of Oct 27. Our contractor will begin at the back of the 1st floor hallway and then will work his way forward, initially focusing on repair of the walls and electrical systems.

We expect the impact to most residents to be minimal during the first few days. As our contractor mentioned during the informational meeting, there will be some dust resulting from the work, however he’ll be taking every precaution to minimize this (including sealing off the work space).

As a reminder, the contractor’s crew will work 8:30AM-5:30PM, Monday-Friday (except holidays). Any exception to this schedule would only be for an emergency situation.

If you have any questions, please contact our Managing Agent, Howard Landman, at 212-483-0700 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com or the Board at wghpresident@gmail.com

During this past summer, West Gate House residents were requested to turn off their radiator valves, in preparation for a test of our boilers. Now that cold weather is fast approaching and heat season has begun, it is time to turn your radiator valves back to the open position so that the radiators can heat up as normal.

If you have any questions, please contact our Managing Agent, Howard Landman, at 212-483-0700 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com or the Board at wghpresident@gmail.com

West Gate House is launching an organics collection program, sponsored by the DSNY. Organics collection bins are now available in both buildings, near the trash and recycling areas. A flyer with additional program information was recently distributed to all apartments. Key program highlights are also below.

Organics collection pick-up days are Monday, Wednesday, and Friday (weekly).

Important Tips:
• Collect food scraps in a small container (see flyer for container options) in your kitchen.
• Newspapers and paper bags are good liners and can be composted along with the food scraps.
• Compostable plastic bags can be purchased, and a list can be found at nyc.gov/organics.
• If you collect food scraps in plastic bags, empty the contents into the organics collection bins and discard the plastic bag with the regular trash.

Accepted Materials:
• Food scraps, including meat, bones, dairy, and processed foods
• Food-soiled items, including paper tissues, paper towels, napkins, and paper plates
• Plants, flowers and houseplants
• Small amounts of leaf and yard waste
• Certified compostable liner bags

Not Accepted:
• No metal, glass, or plastic (these should be recycled)
• No plastic bags
• No foam packaging
• No liquids
• No trash
• No pet waste, diapers, hygiene or medical items

A sign posted above the organics collection bins also lists acceptable items. If you have questions, please contact Board member Jenny Castillo Cato at jczouzou5@gmail.com.