VA Annual Meeting Observations

The new Management Company (MGRE) introduced themselves.

 They seem OK, so far. Go to their website: www.mgre.com . 

 Question: They proudly proclaim the NYARM has awarded MGRE the 2011 “Management Company of the year … again”. Who is the NYARM?  Go to: http://nyarm.com . You will discover you can join for $700+ and be eligible for awards and other stuff. Why did MGRE do this? 

The new accountants (WMK&G) told us stuff that didn’t make sense to me. Did they read what they wrote?  They clearly and repeatedly implied the information and data they received is questionable, the Annual Report may not be reliable, but not their fault. They ended by implying VA’s finances are OK or maybe not. I believe our condition is confused at best and possibly nearing KAPUT!

WMK&G’s website is:  http://www.weisbergmole.com  WMK&G does not claim to be Super or Best or Award Winners or anything. It makes them more believable. (Questions were not allowed)  

Adam Leitman Bailey (The Super Lawyer) ran the meeting. He began with a totally inappropriate speech making allegations against Shareholders and pushing for the election of the people who pay him.  More about Bailey’s tirade to come. 

Bailey’s website is: http://www.alblawfirm.com .
 Bailey is ranked in Chambers USA. Chambers USA website:  http://www.chambersandpartners.com/USA . He is also a “Super Lawyer’. Super Lawyers: http://www.superlawyers.com
(*Super Lawyer, Chambers ranking and endless designations, awards, etc. are available for dollars. You can become ‘titled’ and ‘landed’ nobles in England or Scotland for under $50. )

Bailey refused to allow questions from Shareholders. When Shareholders nosily objected and didn’t follow his orders, he became very agitated. He hopped around, repeatedly squawked and screamed and threatened to, ‘Call Security, Call the Police, etc.’ Some Shareholders were outraged, many disappointed and some amused.

Most of the Shareholders seemed like an assortment of ‘nice’ middle-class people, typical average Shareolders, voters, etc. The candidates spoke. The comments of the current Beard Members (BM) seemed similar, orchestrated and rehearsed. When current BMs mention they gave money for ‘free’ food the Shareholders grunted approval. Some mooed. It was dangerous to be near the ‘refreshment’ table to get stuff. 

At that point (approximately 8:40 PM) I 'had it' and left.

Marc reported; Election results; Jill Maggie Barry Alicia Adam

I keep repeating myself. Repeat again:  Albert Einstein – “ Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”

Re: Comment from Shareholder (nal888)
“ On another subject - Joel we do not need a shareholder committee, we need a dedicated board. That is the shareholders' committee. And no, it should not consist of investors who do not live in the building or shareholders who own multiple apartments. It should consist of those who think of the Valerie as their home, period.”

I agree we need a “dedicated board.” Sadly, our BOD has a sad track record and questionable goals. Question: Why do they refuse to answer our questions? Answer: There are things they want to hide and don't want Shareholders to know.
If you belive what they report to you, you are as gullible and foolish as they think.

We need a Shareholders Committee to keep the BOD, Management, and Staff ‘honest’. We need Shareholders to report problems, make suggestions, etc. We need a Blog, controlled by Shareholders, to provide Shareholders a ‘platform’.  If I misspoke, apologies.

nal888, Thanks for input. I keep asking for help. I need help. Will you help?

More to come ….

Election results: Jill Maggie Barry Alicia Adam

"The people have spoken".

VA 6/19/12 VOTE

It appears the current BOD wants to be elected. The signs posted indicate they are running as a group or clump or something. The silence of Alicia Spiegel, Barry Nelson and Fran Rothkin lead me to believe they agree with and endorse Jill Schachter’s words, actions and behavior. Maggie Warford pleaded for Schachter’s forgiveness and acceptance. So, I assume she stands with the others.

Adam Grynberg, Jasmine Melendez and Mike Ciotta sent us their resumes and outlined some of their intentions. They want to ‘fix’ things.

Jill and Maggie seem to believe the solution for our problems is blame Marc Ullman for everything, call Shareholders names and have parties. (Marc may be responsible for the economic crisis in Greece, wildfires in Colorado and Chernobyl) Marc stated he is not a candidate. 

We have major financial and management problems. Hopefully, the new management company will help. We also need a new and better BOD. Blaming others and being nasty is no solution.

*Personal note: I like ‘fix’ and nice better than blame, nasty and angry. 

Repeat: Einstein: 'Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.' 

Problems: Our financial condition is a ‘mystery’. We are spending more money than we take in. We face huge expenses in the near future and have no plan. We are wasting money on ‘nonsense’ and giving away Shareholder money. We refuse to keep Shareholders informed. (What are they hiding?)

And ... Why do we OVERPAY for everything?

A major problem and source of our problems is you and me. We, Shareholders, are failing to do our job.  A co-op/Democracy works only if Shareholders/citizens do our job. We are failing. We are lazy, ‘sheep-like’, misguided, misled, and stupid and/or a combination of all.  We must be involved.

We need improvement! 

I thank all the Board Members, past, present and future for your time and efforts and all the good things you did, are doing and will do. I admonish you for all the nasty, petty, stupid and bad things you did, are doing and will do.

We need improvement! 

Vote wisely.

Important! The Valerie Arms Shareholder Committee and Blog can be valuable. We need finance communication, house rules and other committees to monitor what is happening, etc. I am a non-resident Shareholder. I need you help with the Blog. I will help. It is easy and can be fun. Please contact me.    Joel

Update JUNE 18 Election 2 DAYS

Update JUNE 18 Election 2 DAYS 

We finally received the Annual Financial Statement (months late) from WMK&G. WMK&G notes they rely upon information from previous accountants and the Management Co. Translation is they are not responsible for faulty/false information they were given. The missing money, missing information, unauthorized spending, etc. is not their fault. The jump in ‘Professional fees’ from $20,403 to $97,900 is not explained and needs explanation.

Who recommended WMK&G? How much are we paying them? How many other firms did we interview? Did we negotiate? Are we fools or simply naive?

VA has been Managed (I believe) since inception by VE (Vision Enterprises). That means Mesos and associates. VE has influenced and controlled the BOD (Board of Directors). VE and the BOD is riddled with conflicts of interest, self-serving decisions. VE (Mesos, etc.) control a bunch of shares and continues to control people on the BOD. I assume he (they) have very good reasons for starting to ‘walk away’. Hmmm!

The BOD obviously needs a lot of improvement.  

The job of the BOD is to act for the benefit of all Shareholders. They hire Management, Staff, authorize expenditures, sign checks, etc. Most important; they must be skeptical and suspicious.

The job of the BOD is to take full responsibility for their actions and inactions. Perusing personal vendettas, ‘wacko’ ideas, soliciting ‘kickbacks’ or personal advantage and/or agendas, etc. is 100% wrong. Being on the BOD is not a place for therapy, emotional or social gratification.  

The new BOD must stop giving away our money. Shareholders must be informed and our questions answered. The new assessment for ‘legal stuff’ is outrageous. Sublet/investor surcharges (24% of maintenance) are outrageous. Insulting, threatening and telling Shareholders, “None of your business”, Is bad, wrong, not acceptable and not healthy. We need much better.  

A good Management company will advise and guide the BOD. A good Management Company will supervise VA’s employees professional staff, porters, handymen, super, contractors, etc. They all work for Shareholders. We don’t work for them. Pandering to employees is silly and counterproductive.

Do you know much a 32BJ employee costs VA each year? (More than the income of some Shareholders). 

Like Greece, Spain and other ‘basket cases’, we apparently spend a lot more money than we take in. The EU, US Treasury or any bank with a ‘brain’ will not lend to us. At some point, we will be ‘kaput’. We must reduce spending. We must become financially responsible. I have been informed (I hate rumors) some ‘insiders’ (BOD members and ‘concerned Shareholders) are trying to sell their apartments. Mesos is not a ‘dummy’.  The BOD will be left ‘holding the bag’.

Hopefully, our new Management Company will do a good job and help produce a better BOD.

Who should you vote for?

Albert Einstein: 'Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.'

Obviously we need improvement. 

Shareholders Committee and BLOG.

VA needs a Shareholder’s Committee to monitor what is happening, inform and protect Shareholders and to analyze, audit and monitor the BOD and Management.

The same people will maintain vasc11362@aol.com and our BLOG.

I will help, but I need help. Please contact me. Joel 

Important! Re-read past comments (Shareholder input).

Repeat: Shareholders Committee and BLOG.

VA needs a Shareholder’s Committee to monitor what is happening, inform and protect Shareholders and to analyze, audit and monitor the BOD and Management.

The same people will maintain vasc11362@aol.com and our BLOG.

I will help, but I need help. Please contact me. Joel

Please help save our homes and investments. Please help make Valerie Arms a better place.

Annual report I 6/15/12

(From a person or Marc who is NOT running for the BOD but is trying to save Valerie and correct a lot of very bad stuff.) (Minor editing.)
We received our 2011/2012 financial reports. They were supposed to be for 2011. Headings say 2011. Footnotes reveal VE (Vision Enterprises) included data through May 29, 2012. And .. Is the information truthful or accurate? Obviously the data/information is corrupted, faulty and suspect. These are auditors chosen by Jill Schachter. ???

Bottom line: We need Jill to explain. Sadly, the answer will probably be the usual “NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS”.

Shareholders: Please read the financial report very carefully. It appears the auditors are burying info. in the footnotes to escape notice and hide discrepancies/errors.

Two footnotes are noteworthy (red flags).

1. Footnote 8 states that "Management discovered" that it had failed to collect $15,000 in parking fees and $10,000 in gym fees. These funds have been included in the 2011 income. They were never collected. LIE! (Management says they hope to collect.) ????

a. "Management discovered" the missing money. BAD JOKE. I (Marc Ullman) discovered that Management was not paying us the money we were entitled to for the parking lot. This was brought this to the Board's attention in March of 2011. This started the questions about what Vision and Peter Mesos were doing with our money. Jill Schachter has been fighting to cover this up for almost a year -- and spending incredible amounts of our money to support the cover-up.

b. Gym Memberships are $150 a year. Did Management ever bother to bill anyone for the gym or is the $10,000 number made up just to hide how bad the problem is with the parking lot?

c. IF VISION WILL ADMIT TO SCREWING US OUT OF $25,000, HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE REALLY MISSING? Cockroach Theory - You see one there are many many more.

2. The last item on footnote 1 says that "Management" included some items on the financial reports through May 29, 2012. We don't know exactly what items these were or how "Management" decided what to include, but a couple of things are obvious:

a. The "professional fees" of $97,000 certainly seem to be inflated by including bills from Super Lawyer Adam Bailey for 2012. This does several things including (i) making it look like we spent an insane amount of money on lawyers in 2011; (ii) justifying the never-ending assessment No. 2 that is used to feed the Super Lawyer’s insatiable appetite for legal fees ; and (iii) reducing whatever the real 2012 number is when we get our next financial statement because those expenses have already been charged to 2011.

b. Our income is inflated because it includes $25,000 that "management discovered" it didn't bother collecting on the parking lot and the gym.

Other information that the BOD does not want you to have: we paid our old lawyers, Schechter & Brucker $20,000 in 2011 before they were fired for asking questions about what Peter Mesos was doing with our money. We paid our former auditors Marin & Montanye $12,000 before they were fired when they wouldn’t let the Super Lawyer tell them how to audit our books – so we paid them $12,000 to do nothing because it was the only way to get them to stop asking questions. That leaves $65,000 for Jill to explain.

The election for the Board is only a few days away. We did not get the 2011 Financial Statement until June 13 for a reason – you are not supposed to have time to read and understand it. The only way we can protect ourselves as shareholders is to take the time and review this document to the best of our abilities, ask questions and demand answers on June 19. We’ve had enough

4 DAYS TILL ELECTONS - ASK A BOARD MEMBER

 "FOUR DAYS TILL ELECTION DAY - ASK A BOARD MEMBER THESE QUESTIONS"

The questions that need to be addressed at the meeting are as follows:

1. How was the Co-Mingling of Funds STOPPED? What actions were taken to discover and correct the Co-Mingling of Funds? Was the money replaced into our bank accounts and where did the money come from? Is this money being held in a separate escrow account?

2. Where are the funds of $ 40,000 coming from for the repair of the pool, since the Board minutes clearly stated that funds were not available in the Year 2012 to repair the pool?

3. What is the current percentage/ratio of sublets versus owner occupied apartments? Have we reached to maximum sublet amount in order to be able to re-finance our mortgage in two/three years? Is this a real issue or contrived to justify extraordinary sublet fees?

4. What is the five year plan for our buildings? Is there a plan?

5. When will Assessment #1 for the hallway renovation stop?

6. What is the projected ending date of assessment # 2 and how much money needs to be collected in total for assessment # 2 known as Legal Fee Assessment? Is there a separate bank account for assessment # 2? Why are Shareholders paying BOD expenses?

7. How much in Legal Fees have been spent since July 1, 2011 thru June 15, 2012?

8. Was the new Management Company though roughly vetted? How much is their yearly contract for to manage our buildings? What experience do they have?

9. Why did the Board fire CPA - Marin & Montanye? How much retainer fees were given to them for no services provided?

10. The Board states they hired a new accountant and a forensic accountant. Note: Any reputable CPA firm is able to conduct AUDITS, REVIEWS and COMPILATIONS according to GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). Why do we need a new accountant to audit the books and then a forensic accountant to review audits? This is double work and money being thrown away.

June 15 and HFD

Repeat: The goal of this blog is to seek and provide information, to alert and protect Shareholders and be a platform for questions, comments and provide input.We do not represent the Board of Directors (BOD), any ‘group’, Management, employees, etc. We represent all Shareholders. All are welcome and urged to participate.

Help Wanted! I (with help) post this BLOG. I (Joel) am a non-resident Shareholder. Therefore, I know a lot less than many of you and cannot do as good a job as a Resident Shareholder. I/we need a resident Shareholder(s) to help with and takeover this BLOG. It is easy. I/we will help.

The ideal person(s) will NOT be on the BOD will not be too ’crazy’ and will not have ’nasty’ or ‘twisted’ agendas.

Please contact me (Joel) at vasc11362@aol.com . 

Also … We need skeptics. We, Shareholders and BOD need to be skeptics. We must question everything and everyone. Diogenes.

Hopefully, the upcoming election will help. 

From current BOD … their posted “Mission Statement”.

Mission Statement (???) We, the BOD …. Have desire to make this a pleasant place to live and work. We expect all people to treat each other with courtesy, dignity and respect. Conversation and communications should be pleasant and cordial. There should never be any situation that leads to discrimination or retaliation for any reason. Out investment is paramount and money is to be spent wisely. Our home should be our sanctuary, a place of harmony, peace and rest with quiet enjoyment.  (They wrote this.) (Butterfly nets)

Important! FYI (For your information):

This BLOG is posted on the internet. It does not mean everything posted is accurate or true.

There are companies that ‘scrub’, ‘erase’, ‘falsify’ and create ‘facts’ and reputations for all kinds of professions, companies, individuals, etc. Why is this important? Check out the people and companies selected by the VA BOD. 

Also ... I have been named, ‘Best Grandpa of 2012’. I was named by the ICOG/NA. The President of the ICOG/NA is my Granddaughter (Louisa age 4). Henry and Levi named themselves, Super Grandsons 2012. They are 4 and 5.

*Note - I created the ICOG/NA. (International Organization of Grandkids) in 2010. 

Louisa, Henry and Levi are also ‘Landed’ Scottish Ladies and Lords. You can also become ‘Nobility’ also. Go to … (Become Scottish Nobility)   http://www.highlandtitles.com  (Title included)  

($29.99 and up.)

Repeat:   Check out the people and companies selected by the VA BOD.  

More to come …. 

I haven’t seen the annual report yet. (Different mailing address). I understand some of the ‘missing money’ has been discovered. Cockroach Theory- If you one, there are a lot more to come. Does the VA BOD review the monthly statements each month, identify and question the disbursements vs. invoices and bills? Do they question the Site Manager about things they don’t understand? Do they examine every contract and expenditure before they vote and sign? Who signed the checks? Who controls the bank accounts? 

Do you trust our BOD? Do you trust their judgment? Do you trust the people they hire and advise them? Do you trust their decisions? Are you nuts? 

Happy Fathers Day.

June 14 More ...

June 14 (I've been away) 

Repeat: The goal of this blog is to seek and provide information, to alert and protect Shareholders and be a platform for questions, comments and provide input.

We do not represent the Board of Directors (BOD), any ‘group’, Management, employees, etc. We represent all Shareholders. All are welcome and urged to participate. 

CRISIS   Our investment/your homes are at RISK!

 It is OUTRAGEOUS that we cannot get the information or answers we want.

I/we don’t know our financial circumstances. They (BOD and current Management) refuse or cannot provide the information we need and/or answer the questions we ask. We don’t know if we are on the verge of bankruptcy (as some suspect), who is stealing/misappropriating how much, where our money is going, etc.  

Board Members (my experience) receive a monthly financial statement. It takes 15 min to read and review. Any questions or part not understood should be explained by the Management Agent. Anyone, who can read and do simple math should able to do this. 

We, Shareholders, are at fault for tolerating Boards of Directors that are (you choose) very not smart, lazy, and/or incompetent and doing VA harm. 

We should ‘fire’ ourselves (me too!) for being lazy, not being actively involved, not knowing what is happening and tolerating people who do us harm. 

Co-ops fall under the laws, rules or regulations of NYS. In addition the Queens DA has jurisdiction over criminal activities including co-op ‘rip-offs’. (*Note- I am not a lawyer, information is to the best of my knowledge and not legal advice.) We, Shareholders, have rights and protections.

Cry HELP!

Please question every candidate. If you want ‘warm and fuzzy’ vote for a kitten. If you want a healthy co-op, vote for people with ‘brains’ who are not burdened with emotional/social/mental problems. Vote for people who want to help.

Do you know that 50% 0f the people at Valerie Arms have below average I.Q.?
(Hopefully, the other half will vote.)