Minutes of Board of Managers Meeting, September 30, 2025, which was called to order at 7:30 pm, held via Zoom.
Board Members Present: Michael Tedesco, President; Katharine Flanders Mukherji, Vice-President; Rose Firestein, Secretary; Peter Levy; Terra Chalberg, Long Vu, Anne Gilbert and Nick Jonas
Also in Attendance: Kathleen Malara, EM Holding Corp.; Valdet Boleviq, Superintendent
Approval of Prior Board Minutes
The board confirmed its earlier approval, via email, of the minutes of its June 17, 2025 meeting.
Management and Superintendent’s Report
- The gas leak that resulted in the condominium not having hot water for a period of time has been repaired, and the hot water has been restored.
- The mixing valve for domestic hot water has been replaced, and the temperature of the water in units has decreased significantly. Some units must run the water for a long time before it heats, and the board is considering whether raising the temperature of the hot water leaving the mixing valve or adding circulation pumps would be beneficial.
- Verizon has completed the work to make FIOS available to Skytrack. It will solicit subscriptions in the near future.
- All of the roof drains at 120 Boerum Place other than those on the “M” line have been diverted onto the street. A plumber has been identified to propose a solution for the “M” line which accounts for approximately 20-25 percent of the water that needs to be diverted. The long-term solution might be to create a pit in the courtyard and divert the water into it, but that cannot happen until the problem of flooding in the courtyards is resolved, and it has been intransigent due to cost. In the interim, another approach needs to be found to avoid the possibility that leaks due to heavy rains will undermine the building’s structure.
- During the discussion of the roof drains, the issue of water pooling in the window wells was raised. It was noted that the pump most recently placed in the 120 Boerum Place window well was designed to prevent water entering the units through the windows during extremely heavy rain, not to divert water during routine rains.
Minutes, Sept. 30, 2025, continued on next page
- The heating season starts on October 1st. Some units do not have functioning thermostats or radiator valves, making it difficult for owners to regulate the temperature in those units. During the discussion it was noted that the owners are responsible for repairing or replacing thermostats and radiator valves in their units. The board encourages owners to take these steps if necessary to reduce energy waste in over-heated apartments.
Financial Report
Matthew Pilkington, the condominium’s Treasurer, provided the board with highlights of his review of the August 2025 financial data in a written transmission:
- The condominium ran over budget by $1,950 as of the end of August.
- Various units owe the condominium a total of $4,868 in arrears. This level of arrearage is trending over 10 percent of the condominium’s monthly income, and is 1 percent of our annual income.
- Skytrack has approximately $27,000 in the bank with a line of credit that is still intact.
- The condominium’s total water bills are trending higher and will probably be between $5,000 to $10,000 over the budget of $31,500 allocated for this purpose.
Old and New Business
Local Law 97
Just to refresh the owners’ memory, LL 97 is the city code provision that requires specified reductions in greenhouse gas emissions over time and imposes graduated and escalating penalties for failure to meet the emission standards. The city’s current estimate is that Skytrack is not at risk of penalties until 2030, at which time the annual penalties will be around $17,000 and will increase in 2035 and periodically thereafter. (If nothing is done to reduce emissions, Skytrack is projected to incur a total of $85,000 in penalties over the course of the five years from 2030 to 2034 before the standards become more stringent and the penalty rates increase.)
Rose Firestein, who has taken point on this issue, presented the board with memos in June and September containing information gleaned from ReDocs, which submitted the condominium’s 2025 compliance report; the New York City Accelerator, the city bureau that provides LL 97-compliance advice to building owners; and independent research. She also posed a list of questions to the board which were designed to focus further investigation of potential remedial actions.
There was substantial discussion on the issues raised in these documents, which resulted in the board voting to limit Its LL 97-related activity in the short term, including investigating the feasibility, effectiveness and cost of possible ways to lower emissions, to the following: (a) assess what can be done in the common areas at little or no out-of-pocket cost to reduce emissions, (b) postpone all significant decisions about how to proceed under Local Law 97 to see if any political or judicial actions following the 2025 local election alter the condominium’s obligations under this law; (c) be attentive to the condominium’s energy usage; and (d) identify repairs and improvements owners can make in their own units to reduce their energy usage and encourage them to take these actions. The condominium’s emissions for purposes of LL 97 compliance include those produced by individual units as well as the common areas.
Minutes, Sept. 30, 2025, page 2 of 3
In order to evaluate whether over-heating, with its attendant energy waste, has occurred during cold weather, the board decided to request that all owners respond to a short survey that asks whether they are able to control the heat in their unit and if during cold periods they have to resort to opening windows to reduce the heat to a comfortable level. During the meeting, the board prepared the survey questions and sent the survey to the owners.
Soiled carpeting at 120 Boerum Place
Katharine Flanders Mukhurji reported that the carpet on the first floor of 120 Boerum Place has an extremely dirty strip running from the inner door into the lobby to the jut in the hallway where 18 Bergen begins, despite a recent, unsuccessful professional cleaning. Val reported that the condominium does not have enough replacement tiles to address this problem and will attempt to find the manufacturer and product code for the current carpet tiles so a sufficient number can be ordered. If that is impossible, alternative solutions will be considered.
Priority Repairs
Katharine also noted the board’s previous discussions that identified painting the bulkhead stairway at 120 Boerum Place and repairing the cracks in the garage façade as high maintenance priorities.
Building Awnings
The condition of the awning at 120 Boerum Place was discussed. There are cracks in the plexiglass, and some owners consider it an eyesore that has a negative impact on the public’s opinion of the building and condominium. It was pointed out that when replacing this awning was raised several years ago, it was noted that 134 and 122 Boerum Place have no awnings and that this deficiency should be corrected before the one at 120 Boerum Place is replaced. No decision was reached on this issue.
Board actions taken between meetings
The Board waived its right of first refusal in connection with the rental of unit 1R at 15 Bergen Street and unit 2G at 120 Boerum Place.
Adjournment and next meeting date
A motion to adjourn was passed at 9:11 pm. The Board will next meet on October 28th at 7:30 pm via Zoom.
Minutes, Sept. 30, 2025, page 3 of 3