TL;DR
Greg Simpson provided the Board election speech he gave at the 2023 Annual Meeting. In it, he noted the positive and negative aspects of his year on the Board. It was probably THE most insight we’ve had into the Board’s inner workings. Those in attendance noted that several Board members were not happy with his speech and attempted to have Adrienne Alicea of Allied Partners intervene. Greg waived her off and finished his speech.
Below is a transcript of his speech (June 12, 2023):
Good evening and thank you for being here tonight. I’m Greg Simpson from 17N.
Together, last year we set NEW expectations for The Board around how we wanted it to interact with both shareholders and renters. While some progress has been made, those expectations remain unfulfilled. That is why I am asking for your vote once again so I can continue my efforts to advocate on your behalf.
Someone once said, “Change is almost always hard. And at the end of the day, it’s always for the better.”
Many of the changes made this past year have been easy to see such as the upgrades to the roof deck, the façade work, and the gas repair project. What is not as obvious are the internal changes.
Better, more timely communication was the top change requested by residents.
- I’ve been relentless (a word I’m sure The Board can appreciate) in pushing for improved and timely board and building communications for residents.
- Unfortunately, my proposals are often met with two phrases: “People already know that.” and “No one cares.”
- I don’t believe that’s true and there’s been evidence of that through resident posts on BuildingLink and through personal conversations.
- Even when I’ve managed to convince The Board to send out a communication, it has only included the bare minimum of info.
- The final outcome of the gas repair project is just one example.
We had a great story to tell and we failed.
- The gas repair cost us over $2 million dollars, and not a single penny of that cost was passed along to shareholders through increased maintenance fees or as an additional assessment.
- Yet, the only communication about this was a two-line, “oh by the way” comment saying the gas leak issue had been resolved. Nothing more.
- And even THAT comment was buried at the bottom of the roof deck opening announcement.
- One would think that being able to cover this $2 Million dollar expense without passing it along to the shareholders would be headline news. It should have been and wasn’t.
On a more positive note around communication, since being a member of The Board, I have been successful in pushing for board minutes to be published in a more timely manner on BuildingLink so that everyone has insight into what the board is doing.
- Final versions of Board minutes from all of 2020, 2021, and the first quarter of 2022 were not published on BuildingLink until May of 2022 AFTER concerns were raised by me and other residents about the lack of access.
- While I have worked to have the outcome of proposals and final decisions be documented, I’d like to see more details of what is being discussed, the tally of votes up or down, etc., be included in the board minutes.
My intention is to continue to push for these inclusions regardless of the resistance I may face.
The more transparent we are, the more informed The Eastmore residents can be about what we’re working towards and the impact that it could have on their quality of life and our community.
I’ve also been working diligently to refine, update, and modernize the board’s internal processes.
- For example, The Board should be running its own meetings and not delegating that responsibility to our management company.
- We should also have more consistency in terms of who (meaning The Board or Allied Partners) sends what type of communication, who is responsible for posting things and in what timeframe, standardized document/file names so it’s easier to find what you’re looking for on BuildingLink, and so on.
- In other words, we need to be more professional in the ways in which we conduct and document our actions so that future boards will have the institutional and historical knowledge to draw from.
- As it stands now, that information sits with board members who’ve been on The Board for decades.
If, for whatever reason, they are no longer there, that knowledge would be lost. That’s something we can and should address now, not later.
As we all know, communication is a two-way street.
- Soliciting and incorporating YOUR input, suggestions, and perspectives is the other side of that street.
- We have tools available to us and do not utilize them such as the calendar, survey, and communication tools that already exist FOR FREE in BuildingLink.
- These are tools that could be used to keep everyone informed, more engaged, and to solicit feedback on what YOU like, don’t like, or would like to see more/less of from The Board.
Until these are more readily used by The Board and Allied Partners, I strongly encourage you to make your voices heard by posting your questions and suggestions or sending an email to The Board through BuildingLink.
While some of these points may seem minor or unimportant to some of you, the reason I believe they are important is because I view them as changes we need to start making now for the overall health of The Eastmore in the long term.
- We need to modernize our standards to meet the expectations of where we are today and where we want to be 5, 10, 20 years from now, not those of 10, 20, 30 years ago.
Speaking of modernization, the sustainability of our building is an important issue for The Eastmore.
- Earlier this year, I urged my fellow board members to look into and take advantage of the available incentives, rebates, and FREE resources related to the city’s sustainable building initiatives.
- These initiatives are NOT optional and must be met in order to achieve 2024 and 2030 carbon reduction requirements.
- Failure to meet these deadlines will result in fines. Again, this has the potential to affect shareholders financially if we fail to act, delay or defer our compliance.
- Earlier this year with The Board’s approval, I took the lead by gathering information and reporting back to the full The Board.
- Allied Partners then followed up with the NYC Accelerator Program and we are currently working on the next steps.
I will continue to push for our building to be sustainability compliant as soon as possible.
Most importantly, I’m committed to building a strong and healthy community for ALL Eastmore residents.
I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with many of you through emails, calls, conversations, laundry room chats, and even elevator rides.I’m appreciative and grateful that you feel comfortable sharing your ideas and concerns with me so that I can pass them along to the board.
I believe providing more information is always better than creating uncertainty or leaving questions unanswered.
So while I’m on the topic of community, I’d like to clarify and provide more context to the “ethics” comment made in Ms. Wertheim’s candidate bio.
If you’ve read The Board Meeting Minutes from this past January, you’ll know that the situation to which she refers is in regard to my friendship with Ms. Zelmanovich.
- I have been transparent about my friendship with Blanche and my commitment to building a community where neighbors support each other in times of need.
- When Blanche had an urgent need, she turned to me as a last resort.
- What did I do? I simply walked her dog. That’s it.
- It might be seen as a potential conflict of interest, but Ms. Wertheim chose to use her bio as an attack, trying to create an “ethics” issue where one simply did not exist.
- I take great offense at her use of the term “ethical screen,” and in spite of my conversation with her, she refused my request for a retraction.
Not only did I find this reference offensive and demeaning, I found it surprising that she, as the president of The Board, would use her candidate bio in an attempt to intentionally tarnish the reputation and question the integrity of other candidates.
- While I agree that Blanche’s litigation is important for shareholders to consider, it should have been addressed in an official capacity from a Board perspective, not through the bio of an individual running for reelection to The Board.
- In fact to me, this is a clear violation of the Board Member Code of Conduct’s Rule #13 (6/15/22 update from the board published on BuildingLink 6/27/22, 2 days prior to Annual Meeting).
This is just one example of what it’s been like since my first day on The Board.
- When I was elected, I knew there would be reluctance to change.
- I had no idea how much resistance there would be.
- The Board, as it is currently constituted, continues to resist the mandate residents sent with last year’s election results to improve and make changes.
As I said at the beginning, “Change is almost always hard. And at the end of the day, it’s always for the better.”
Despite any challenges, I continue to remain fully committed to making a difference and having a positive effect on decisions made by The Board.
- I serve at your will and I am committed to creating a community where residents and The Board work together constructively so our building prospers in every way.
- It would be an honor to continue to represent your interests.
I know this was long and I wanted to make sure you understood how much I care about this.
THANK YOU!