Announcements

The Board of Directors would like to wish all our residents a happy and healthy 2021. We also want to take this opportunity to recognize the tremendous work of our building staff (Sam Rosario, Roberto Alvarado, Andrew Rosario, Jeremy Matos) and managing agent (Howard Landman) following an incredibly challenging year. Many of you also volunteered your time and energy for the building, for which we are grateful. Typically in late December, the Board hosts a holiday get-together to ring in the new year and catch-up with neighbors and friends. Since that’s not possible this year, we look forward instead to celebrating “Holidays in July” next summer with the hope that socializing in-person will be a bit safer at that point. Until that time, happy holidays and all the best to you and your family!

A reminder that West Gate House’s annual meeting of shareholders is Wednesday, Oct 21 at 7:30pm via video conference (using Zoom).

At the annual meeting, the Board will provide a capital projects update as well as other updates regarding the financial health, safety, and security of the building. We will also elect eight Directors for the ensuing year. Nominations to run for the Board of Directors may still be made.

It is important that you send completed proxies to the attention of Howard Landman via email at hlandman@sirenmgt.com or via fax at 212-344-2950 to ensure that your vote will be counted. Please note that if there is no quorum, the meeting will be informational only and the current Board will remain in place until the 2021 annual meeting.

You may participate in the meeting through either video conference or phone. All shareholders should have previously received a hard-copy packet containing the meeting’s dial-in access codes. If you did not receive a packet or need that information again, please contact Howard Landman at 212-483-0700.

We hope to see all of you online at the Annual Meeting soon.

– Board of Directors

Both laundry rooms will be upgraded this fall as part of the contract renewal process with Hercules, our laundry services provider. Laundry rooms will not be in service during the below dates while upgrades are made:

860 laundry room – Sept 28 to Oct 2
870 laundry room – Oct 5 to Oct 9

Planned improvements include:
• Replacement of washing machines and dryers that are more than one year old
• New folding tables
• New flooring
• Ceiling fans
• Fresh painting of the rooms
• Option to use Hercules’ new app (via your mobile device) to pay for machines and monitor machine availability

As part of the upgrade to the new machines, Hercules will replace our payment system. This new system will accept either Smart cards or electronic payment via the Hercules app. Your current Hercules Smart card will continue to work after the upgrade. Those who choose to download the Hercules app will receive a $5 credit via the app.

If you have questions, please contact either the Board of Directors at wghpresident@gmail.com or Howard Landman at 212-483-0700 ext. 309 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com.

– Board of Directors

There are a number of important updates and reminders which the Board of Directors would like all residents to please take note of, many of which are related to New York City’s entering Phase 2 of reopening:

Laundry Room Upgrade Scheduled for September
As communicated in previous months, the laundry rooms in both buildings will be upgraded this year. The work was put on hold during PAUSE. With non-essential construction and renovation work now allowed, we’re targeted September to begin laundry room renovations. We’ll communicate again with you regarding timing once specific dates are set.

Open Houses, Apartment Sales and Renovations
With Phase 2, real estate sales can now resume. To help keep the flow of visitors into the building at a minimum, showings by appointment are permitted but open houses are not allowed. The Board will revisit the possibility of resuming open houses after Labor Day depending upon the situation.

Renovations and other in-apartment construction work can now begin, with residents following the standard approval process as outlined in the Alteration Agreement (please see our website for more details on the approval process). Please make sure your contractors follow social distancing guidelines within the building and common spaces.

The Board, also in an effort to reduce the number of visitors into the building, has decided to delay some minor renovation work to the building’s interior common areas. We will of course still continue with any emergency or urgent work inside the buildings as needed.

Watering and Tree Pit Plantings
After a delay due to PAUSE, we’re now resuming with the planting of our tree pits (with even more plants, currently on order, to be added shortly). Many thanks to those of you who’ve already volunteered to help with planting and watering this summer. If you’d like to help, please contact Jane Maisel at 917-678-1913 or jsmaisel@gmail.com. Jane can provide more information on new procedures for keeping our volunteers safe. The Board has also approved the repair and replacement of the tree pit fences on Haven and Cabrini that were recently damaged.

Stolen Packages
As you may have seen recently posted in both buildings, we had an incident where a grocery delivery person held the door open for a woman in 870 who then to proceeded to open (and steal contents) from packages in the mail area. Sam spoke with the police, who saw the video and took a copy. While none of us can control the behavior of delivery people and others who visit the building, we can at least do our part by following good security practices, e.g., do not let unknown people into the building, do not buzz in unexpected visitors, do not let anyone who you don’t know come through the front door along with you.

Covid-19 Safety Guidelines
Finally, a reminder about CDC and NYC Department of Health safety guidelines. While we appreciate that it’s easy to become relaxed about maintaining safe practices around the building, the reality is that Covid-19 is still with us (and will be for a while). These buildings are our homes and so it can be tempting to treat the lobbies, laundry rooms and courtyards as extensions of our apartments but we share our space with many older and immune-suppressed individuals. Let’s please do the following to be safe, courteous and respectful to our neighbors:

• If you leave your apartment, you must wear a face mask or cloth covering over your nose and mouth. Children less than 2 years of age should not wear a face covering.
• Maintain a physical distance of at least 6 feet between yourself and others.
• Reduce overcrowding. Do not crowd the laundry rooms, lobbies, garbage and recycling areas or any other public space in the building.
• Do not get into a crowded elevator. Take the next elevator or take the stairs instead if you can.

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact either the Board of Directors at wghpresident@gmail.com or Howard Landman at 212-483-0700 ext. 309 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com.

Continued best wishes that you and your families remain in good health.

– Board of Directors

The annual meeting of shareholders, which is normally held in May, will be postponed. We expect to hold it in the fall when conditions improve and restrictions on large gatherings are (hopefully) lifted. The New York Business Corporation Law allows for this change. The current Board will continue to be in effect with its usual powers until a meeting is held.

At the fall annual meeting, a new election for the Board will take place (assuming there is a quorum).

If you have any questions regarding the annual meeting, please contact our Managing Agent, Howard Landman, at 917-691-4585 (cell) or hlandman@sirenmgt.com

We appreciate your flexibility during these unprecedented times and hope that you and your families remain safe and well.

– Board of Directors

The WGH Board of Directors recently learned that the Department of Sanitation will temporarily suspend curbside composting beginning on Monday, May 4. The City informed us that they’ve had to divert resources in order to maintain emergency services and core municipal services. The temporary suspension is expected to last until July 2021.

During this time, West Gate House will continue to collect organic/compost waste in the brown composting bins. We will continue to do this for building sanitary/odor/rodent mitigation purposes. Any organic/compost waste from the brown bins will then be collected as trash by the City.

If you have any questions about West Gate House trash and recycling practices, you may contact the Board at wghpresident@gmail.com or Howard Landman at 212-483-0700 ext. 309 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com

If you have any questions about the Department of Sanitation’s policies, please call 311 or visit nyc.gov/sanitation

To Residents,

We are reaching out to everyone with another update regarding West Gate House’s actions in response to the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

Sam and Andrew Rosario are expected to return to work later this week. Under direction from their doctors, they’ve been given clearance to resume work and we’re thrilled that they’ve had a smooth and healthy recovery. Out of an abundance of caution, Roberto Alvarado continues to self-quarantine and is the middle of this 14-day period. Provided that he is feeling fine at the end of 14 days, we expect his return to work sometime the week of April 20th.

Ensuring the continued safety and cleanliness of our shared spaces continues to be the Board’s primary focus. While this is important at any time, it’s even more critical now. The Board, together with Howard Landman (West Gate House’s managing agent at Siren Management), recognizes this imperative and has taken quick and decisive action to make sure this remains a priority. To that end, we will continue to have several external cleaning companies service our building. We will re-evaluate the need for these cleaners on a week-by-week basis, keeping in mind that this remains our highest priority at the moment. The external cleaning companies will focus on frequent cleaning of high-traffic surfaces in common areas (door handles and knobs, elevator buttons, railings, mailboxes, laundry machine surfaces).

As a reminder, we ask that you help in maintaining social distancing by moving responsibly through our shared spaces. Please keep six feet distance from others. It’s important that we not get too lax at this point and ask that everyone continue to do their part by not congregating in the lobby, courtyards, hallways, or other common areas.

The Board continues to serve as a resource to all residents who might need assistance with getting groceries, supplies, retrieving mail or whatever might be necessary during this time. If you need assistance, please contact the Board at wghpresident@gmail.com or Howard Landman at 917-691-4585 or hlandman@sirenmgt.com. We can help facilitate necessary food and goods delivery to you so that you can remain in the appropriate isolation/quarantine while you recover as your health care provider advises you. We have established a list of neighbors who’d like to volunteer and help those in need. Likewise, if you’d like to serve as a volunteer, please let us know.

You may also be interested in joining a private Facebook group recently created by one of our residents for purposes of facilitating informal communications and volunteering opportunities between neighbors during the COVID crises. You can find the group on FB by searching for “West Gate House Neighbor-to-Neighbor Communications for COVID Crisis.” The group is restricted to residents of West Gate House. Only members can see who’s in the group and what they post. This group is not operated by the Board.

Please also consider adding your email to our RSS feed so that you’ll receive timely updates from the Board via email. To receive email updates from us, go to westgatehouse.org. On the top left corner of the home page, enter your email address and hit “Subscribe.”

Finally, as a reminder, we also ask you to do your part to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our building by continuing to do the following:

If you feel ill or suspect you have a case of COVID-19, please stay in your apartment and contact your health care provider by telephone. If you do not have a health care provider, you can call 311 to find health care. If you feel you have life-threatening symptoms, such as a severe breathing problem, call 911.

If you have a confirmed case of COVID-19, we would appreciate your notifying the Board or Siren Management. We will not disclose the names of any residents who test positive for COVID-19.

If you are recovering from COVID-19, please follow CDC and/or NYC DOH guidelines for information about when it’s safe to leave your apartment and discontinue home isolation. These conditions include, but are not limited to, being without fever or symptoms for a certain minimum number of days.

The Board continues to work closely with Howard Landman during this time. We meet weekly to ensure that our building continues to be safe and secure, and that residents have the information and assistance they need. We continue to thank you for your support and cooperation to help ensure the safety of all of our residents and building staff during this time.

Continued best wishes that you and your families remain in good health.

Board of Directors
West Gate House, Inc.

To Residents,

We are reaching out to all residents with an important reminder regarding the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

If you feel ill, are experiencing symptoms, suspect you have a case of COVID-19, or have a confirmed case of COVID-19, please self-quarantine and stay in your apartment. Contact your health care provider by telephone. If you do not have a health care provider, you can call 311 to find health care. If you feel you have life-threatening symptoms, such as a severe breathing problem, call 911.

The Board can help facilitate necessary food and goods delivery/pick-up, retrieval of mail, and removal of trash and recycling so that you can remain in the appropriate isolation/quarantine while you recover as your health care provider and public health officials advise you.

For assistance, please contact contact Howard Landman at 917-691-4585 or via email at hlandman@sirenmgt.com or the Board at wghpresident@gmail.com .

Information sources that you may find helpful:

Centers for Disease Control: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: nyc.gov/health

Thank you for your support during this challenging time. We send our best wishes and hope that you and your families remain in good health.

Board of Directors
West Gate House, Inc.

To Residents:

We are reaching out to all residents to bring you up-to-date on the position and actions of West Gate House regarding the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

We want to reassure each of you that we are working closely with Howard Landman, West Gate House’s managing agent at Siren Management. Together we are ensuring that the building has the recommended precautions implemented. Measures taken with the health and safety of all residents in mind are:

• Increased frequency of cleaning of high-traffic surfaces in common areas (door handles and knobs, elevator buttons, railings, mailboxes, laundry machine surfaces).
• Termination of all renovations, contractor or non-emergency work within individual apartments and the building. This includes our planned work to upgrade the laundry rooms, which will now be postponed to mid to late May. New alteration applications will not be approved until further notice. Only emergency work will be addressed.
• No Open Houses and apartment showings will be held.
• Building staff have been instructed to use their discretion if asked to enter a resident’s apartment and may choose to decline if they feel that the environment is unsafe. Building staff will not enter a unit if it is under quarantine unless it is an emergency situation.
• We have ordered a few step-on rubbish bins for each building to test as a more hygienic way of discarding trash. If this type of bin can hold up to our regular wear-and-tear, we’ll order more.
• Hiring additional staff to help with cleaning. We’ve hired a part-time porter, Jeremy Matos, to help with cleaning tasks in both buildings effective March 30th. Jeremy will report to Sam.

These building measures should not be considered a replacement for personal and household prevention measures as recommended by the CDC and other official local and state health organizations. While we work to take the precautions that we can, we also ask you to do your part to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in our building by doing the following:

• Maintain six feet distance from each other. Please do not congregate in the lobby, courtyards, or other common areas, and maintain social distancing when traveling through these areas.
• Limit elevator use and crowding. If you’re able to take the stairs, we encourage you to do so to reduce the risk of exposure. If the elevator arrives and someone else is already on it, consider waiving them on and taking the elevator once it’s free.
• Limit visitors as much as possible, and do not allow visitors into the building who are not feeling well.
• For workers in your home (such as child or elder caregivers, pet care, or housecleaners) please make sure they understand that if they have a potential exposure or illness, the building asks that they do not come into the building. Please ask them to wash their hands upon arrival.
• Remember to wash your hands after touching common areas such as garbage and recycling bins, mailboxes, laundry machines, etc. Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, hand sanitizer can be used. Avoid touching your face.

Building staff are key to everyone else’s ability to self-isolate , so it’s important that we help them to do their best at avoiding excess exposure and staying healthy and safe. To that end, please consider only contacting building staff for assistance with your apartment if it’s an emergency issue or something that requires immediate attention.

Residents can also help out by lessening the burden on our building and staff by pitching in with the following:

• Retrieve packages from the mailbox areas on a timely basis (and don’t forget to wash your hands afterwards).
• Help our plumbing system by disposing of disinfectant wipes, personal wipes and paper towels in the trash can and not down the toilet.
• Since more people are home more often, we’re all generating more waste. Please do your part by breaking down boxes before putting them in the recycling area.

If you feel ill or suspect you have a case of COVID-19, please stay in your apartment and contact your health care provider by telephone. If you do not have a health care provider, you can call 311 to find health care. If you feel you have life-threatening symptoms, such as a severe breathing problem, call 911.

If you have a confirmed case of COVID-19, we would appreciate your notifying the Board, Siren Management or the Superintendent. We can help facilitate necessary food and goods delivery to you so that you can remain in the appropriate isolation/quarantine while you recover as your health care provider and public health officials advise you. We’ll also work with the Department of Health to ensure that other residents can take appropriate measures. We will not disclose the names of any residents who test positive for COVID-19. Rather, we’ll notify residents of a positive test result in the building but will not give specifics. Residents’ medical confidentiality will be protected.

As we come together as a community, we share a big “thank you” to those of you who have posted offers to assist other residents with errands and shopping. The Board would like to go one step further by establishing a list of neighbors who’d like to volunteer and help those in need. If you are able to assist with getting groceries, supplies, delivering mail or whatever a resident is in need of, please contact the Board at wghpresident@gmail.com . Likewise, if you’re elderly, disabled, have a pre-existing health conditions or just in need of general assistance at this time and wish to minimize your outside exposure, please also contact the Board or Howard Landman to let us know and we’ll help to connect you with one of our building volunteers for assistance.

If you have specific questions about procedures within the building, please feel free to contact Howard Landman at 917-691-4585 or via email at hlandman@sirenmgt.com

If the Board can assist in any way with your concerns or questions, please contact us at wghpresident@gmail.com . This is also a good time to let the Board know if you’re spending this extended “Stay At Home” period in another location (relative’s home, 2nd residence outside the city, etc.). Since our primary mode of communication with residents is via hard-copy memos under each apartment door, those who are away for extended periods might miss important updates. Knowing if we need to use alternate methods for contacting residents is helpful.

Thank you for your support to help ensure the safety of all of our residents and building staff during a challenging time. We send our best wishes and hope that you and your families remain in good health.

Board of Directors
West Gate House, Inc.

Please join us for the annual West Gate House holiday party! All are welcome.

Sunday, December 8th
5:00-7:00 p.m.
Lobby of 860 West 181st Street

Please bring your favorite sweet or savory treat to share with everyone!