The Building 33 Association is a resident-led board dedicated to communication,
transparency, and community engagement within Building 33.
This website serves as the official source for meeting notices,
governance documents, and updates for residents.
Next Building 33 Association - General Meeting :
Thursday, September 24, 2026
Time: 7:30pm
Location: Building 33 Association room
Agenda includes:
TBD
August 27, 2026
Thank you to everyone who came out for our August Building 33 Association meeting. We had 16 people in attendance for an evening that included two guest presentations, updates on the Riverbay Board election, Building 33 quality-of-life concerns, building dues, upcoming activities and resident discussion.
Representing the Building 33 Association Executive Board were Tobias Garcia, President, and Alethea Cherebin, Secretary.
If you weren't able to join us, here's a recap of what happened and what Building 33 residents should know.
We started the evening with Pastor Michael Adolphus of Amen Ministries, who spoke with residents about the upcoming Health & Praise community event.
Health & Praise will take place Saturday, September 19 at the Einstein Community Center and will include health and wellness activities, food, a gospel concert and more.
Pastor Adolphus discussed the importance of preventative health care and explained how biometric health screenings can provide participants with useful information about what's happening in their bodies. The results can help participants better understand what is being measured and provide information they can discuss with their healthcare providers.
The discussion also included the experience of a resident who previously participated in the screening and explained how the results alerted her to a health concern that required follow-up. Residents were encouraged to take advantage of opportunities to learn more about their health and follow up with their healthcare providers when necessary.
The September 19 Health & Praise event is still taking place, but the available appointments for the biometric health screenings are currently filled.
For residents who are still interested in receiving a health screening, Pastor Adolphus shared that they are looking at Saturday, October 10 as the next opportunity for another screening event.
The October 10 date is still being planned, so residents interested in participating should look out for additional information and confirmation.
Our featured presentation came from Edwin Miranda, Consumer Education Community Liaison with the New York Department of State, Division of Consumer Protection.
The presentation focused on recognizing scams, protecting personal information and reducing the risk of identity theft.
One of the biggest messages of the evening was simple:
Scammers often depend on urgency. They want you frightened, excited, confused or pressured enough to act before you've had time to think. A phone call, text or email may look legitimate, and scammers may already know enough personal information about you to sound convincing.
Residents were encouraged to independently verify unexpected requests before providing information or sending money. If someone claims to represent your bank, utility company, government agency or another organization, contact that organization yourself rather than relying on the telephone number or link provided in the message.
Some of the tips discussed included:
Protect your personal and financial information.
Be cautious about clicking links in unexpected texts and emails.
Monitor bank and credit-card accounts regularly.
Inspect ATMs and card readers for possible skimming devices.
Consider freezing your credit to make it more difficult for someone to open accounts in your name.
Remember that children's identities and credit can also be targeted.
Be suspicious of unexpected prizes, lottery winnings and checks.
Be cautious whenever someone pressures you to immediately send money or make a payment.
Talk with family members or friends when something doesn't seem right.
Mr. Miranda reminded residents to verify, stay alert, protect personal information and never rush when dealing with an unexpected request.
Sometimes a quick conversation with someone you trust before responding can prevent a costly mistake.
The 2026 Riverbay Board of Directors election ultimately reached quorum, but the final voter turnout numbers show that Building 33 has significant room for improvement when it comes to shareholder participation.
Building 33 had 373 eligible households, but only 112 ballots were cast, resulting in a final turnout of 30.03%.
This wasn't simply the result of a poor finish at the end of the election. Building 33 remained 35th throughout the reporting periods:
Reporting Date
Building 33 Turnout
Rank
June 19 -16.35% 35th
July 2 - 21.45% 35th
July 17 - 23.32% 35th
August 3 - 24.40% 35th
August 14 — Final - 30.03% 35th
There was, however, an encouraging sign during the final stretch of the election.
On August 3, Building 33 had 91 ballots cast. By the final August 14 count, that number had grown to 112 ballots.
That's 21 additional Building 33 households voting in just 11 days.
Our turnout increased from 24.40% to 30.03%, a gain of 5.63 percentage points. That was the 7th-largest percentage-point increase among the 35 high-rise buildings during the final reporting period.
So while our final position is something we need to address, the late increase shows that additional outreach can make a difference.
The numbers also show how relatively small increases in participation can begin moving the needle. The high-rise immediately ahead of Building 33 finished at 30.59% turnout. With 373 eligible Building 33 households, just three additional ballots would have been enough for Building 33 to move ahead of that turnout percentage.
But our goal shouldn't simply be getting out of last place.
Riverbay Board elections determine who represents shareholders and participates in decisions affecting the community we collectively own. We need to continue working on voter education and outreach so residents understand why these elections matter.
The encouraging part is that 21 additional Building 33 households voted during the final 11 days. That shows residents can be reached.
Our challenge is figuring out how we create that awareness and participation earlier and more consistently.
We had an important conversation about conditions inside Building 33.
Residents absolutely should report maintenance and cleanliness problems. At the same time, we also have to recognize the role residents, family members and guests play in maintaining our building.
Our porters are working, but they cannot keep up if people continually create avoidable messes.
We discussed issues including bulk items being left in stairwells and compactor rooms, garbage being improperly disposed of and trash being left in common areas.
When a porter has to stop their regular work to deal with furniture or other items someone improperly discarded, something else doesn't get done. That creates a ripple effect throughout the building.
That means holding Riverbay accountable when something isn't being done—but it also means holding ourselves accountable.
Everything doesn't necessarily have to begin with reporting someone. If a neighbor may simply not know the proper procedure, sometimes a friendly conversation and a little education can solve a problem before it becomes a larger one.
At the same time, recurring problems should be reported so they can be documented and addressed.
We also want to treat our porters with respect and help create an environment where good employees want to continue working in Building 33.
Residents were updated about reports involving people sleeping or loitering in Building 33 stairwells and other inappropriate activity occurring there.
Riverbay Public Safety has been contacted, and the association was informed that officers are supposed to be conducting vertical patrols and checking the stairwells.
Residents can help by reporting what they see.
If someone is sleeping, loitering, smoking or engaging in inappropriate activity in a stairwell, contact Riverbay Public Safety rather than ignoring the situation or putting yourself into an unnecessary confrontation.
Reporting matters because repeated incidents need to be documented. If problems aren't reported, it becomes much more difficult to establish that there is an ongoing condition requiring additional attention.
Residents raised several additional quality-of-life concerns during the meeting.
One involved vehicles repeatedly blocking the wheelchair-accessible ramp, creating problems for residents who need the ramp to safely enter and exit vehicles.
The discussion included whether clearer markings, including a more visible wheelchair-accessibility symbol, could help make drivers more aware that the area must remain accessible.
That discussion expanded into a larger concern about enforcement and follow-through.
Residents expressed frustration about situations where the same problems are reported repeatedly but the behavior continues.
The question isn't simply whether rules exist. Residents want to know what happens when someone repeatedly violates them, who follows up and what consequences exist when warnings don't work.
These are concerns the association can continue raising with Riverbay management and the appropriate departments.
Approximately 55 Building 33 apartments have paid their annual association dues so far.
Building dues are $10 per apartment for the year and help support association activities, programs and improvements for residents.
Dues can be paid by cash, Zelle or Tap to Pay.
Every apartment that pays its Building 33 Association dues by our September association meeting will also be entered into our Building Dues Drawing.
Current prizes include a Spa Day at Home wellness basket and New York Knicks championship drinkware.
The winners will be drawn at the September association meeting.
We're back with another Building 33 Movie Night!
We'll be showing two movies on the 15-foot screen in the association room:
6:00 PM — The Devil Wears Prada 2
8:30 PM — The Day After Tomorrow
Come for one or stay for both.
We're planning to continue holding movie nights monthly, so residents are welcome to send us suggestions for movies they'd like to see.
We're also planning Building 33 Bingo Night for Saturday, September 19.
More details will be coming soon.
We're exploring a presale crab-leg dinner fundraiser to help raise money for the Building 33 Association.
Once the details are finalized, we'll let everyone know how to order.
A lot of different subjects came up during this month's meeting, but many of them come back to the same thing:
We had 112 of 373 eligible households vote in the Riverbay Board election.
Approximately 55 apartments have paid their Building 33 Association dues so far.
And 16 people attended our August association meeting.
Those are three different measures of participation and aren't directly comparable, but together they give us a picture of where we are and where we have room to grow.
The Building 33 Association will continue providing information, bringing useful presentations into the building, organizing activities, advocating for residents, raising concerns with Riverbay and creating opportunities for neighbors to connect.
But a strong building association can't be built by an executive board alone.
Come to a meeting. Vote. Pay your dues. Attend an event. Report a problem. Share information with a neighbor. Offer an idea. Get involved.
You don't have to do everything.
Together, we build a stronger Building 33.