Tag Archives: Tumminia

2020 Seward Spark Board Endorsements

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This year’s Seward Spark endorsements again come from Micah Arbisser, who publishes the Seward Spark, and Kate Nammacher, who served on the Board as a director, president, and treasurer.

After reviewing the candidates’ biographies, hearing their presentations at Meet the Candidates, and reviewing the records of those who have already served, we believe the following four candidates stand out for their high levels of engagement, knowledge, optimism, and professionalism.

#1 Michael Tumminia – When Michael served as the Board president (2010) and treasurer (2011), he accomplished the conversion of broom closets into a community room; created a modern, safe, and legal playroom; expanded our leasable commercial spaces; re-claimed and transformed a padlocked vacant-for-50-years dumping ground into what we now know as our Hester Street lot (and Fair); balanced our budget; and much more. We need his leadership, certified public accounting (CPA) skills, and fiscally conservative outlook now more than ever, with COVID-19 sending commercial tenants (and therefore our budget) into uncharted territory.

#2 Karen Suss Wolfson – A lifelong resident, past Board president, and a Board member whose service is measured not in years but in decades, Karen is our institutional memory.  She has strong business instincts and a tremendous ability to sense the desires of a broad spectrum of our community. And she is truly dedicated to her work as a Board member, especially with the screening committee.  

#3 Darcey Gerstein – A past secretary, treasurer, and president, Darcey has proved her leadership in a variety of Board positions, putting out frequent Board communications, working hard to balance our budget and refinance our mortgage, and advancing major and much-needed capital projects to make sure our buildings will be safe and comfortable for the long haul. Her recent article in the Cooperator well illustrates how much Darcey cares about our community.

#5 Carol Anastasio – Three years ago Carol promised cost-effective and environmentally-friendly improvements to our grounds if elected, and she has delivered. With only minimal increases to our landscaping budget, our greenspaces are looking far better, with more flowers and healthier lawns and plants. Carol helped coordinate the composting program and the retrofit of the “prison yard” lights (now much warmer and more appropriate) between Buildings 1 and 2. We will all benefit from her re-election.

Regardless of your candidates of choice, please do not forget to vote!

Your neighbors,

Micah Arbisser
Seward Spark Publisher

Kate Nammacher
Former SPC Director, President and Treasurer

2020 Board Candidates

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This year five candidates are vying for four open seats on the Seward Park Cooperative Board of Directors. The candidates are:

#1 – Michael Tumminia
#2 – Karen Suss Wolfson
#3 – Darcey Gerstein
#4 – Adam Cohen
#5 – Carol Anastasio

Karen, Darcey, and Carol are all incumbents seeking reelection.  The fourth seat is being vacated by Dave Pearson, who served for three years. Michael previously served on the board, including as president. Adam is new to the co-op’s electoral politics.

The election will be held on June 17, 2020.  We have not yet heard whether there will be in-person voting this year or whether all voting will be conducted by mail and online due to the pandemic.

Vote Today for Well-Qualified, Responsible Candidates

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The candidates listed below offer shareholders a set of skills and a level of professionalism that are necessary to managing the business of our co-op.

The undersigned respectfully recommend a vote for the following candidates on June 11, 2014:

#4 Michael Tumminia

Michael has a proven track record of effective leadership. While acting as the president and treasurer of the co-op, the Board turned broom closets into a community room and created a modern, safe, legal (i.e. up to code) playroom; they expanded our leasable commercial spaces; they transformed a padlocked vacant-for-50-years dumping ground into the Hester Street Fair; they balanced our budget, brought us into compliance with Local Law 11, improved our grounds, brought Hertz 24/7 to our property, built a functional interactive website, settled long-running lawsuits that were costing us millions to litigate with no end in sight; and more. And, under Michael’s leadership, we were kept in the loop with regular boardroom reports and shareholder meetings. Michael has his detractors, but without him, we would not have exploited the numerous revenue generating and quality of life enhancing amenities that we all enjoy today. Importantly, Michael has much more to offer if we vote him back on the board.

#7 Darcey Gerstein

Darcey is a professional writer, copywriter, and editor who has worked in financial and corporate communications. She knows how to translate balance sheets and budgets into clear and accurate language that even those without finance backgrounds can understand.  She will make an amazing secretary–a position the board has unsuccessfully filled for years and that is desperately needed.  Communication is a skill that is simply lacking here and the ~3,330 residents here deserve better.  Darcey’s enthusiasm and creativity will also be a welcome addition to the boardroom.

#8 Gillian Lusins

Gillian is a highly educated attorney with decades of experience working in large business organizations where efficiency is highly valued, decisions are made collectively based on the best expertise available, and clear communication is paramount. She will make a strong addition to the board’s capacity to analyze complex issues like Greenthal’s management contract and the dozen or so commercial leases that are all coming up for renewal over the next few years.  Furthermore, having an attorney on the Board to liaise with our outside counsel is extremely valuable and common throughout many corporate structures.

#9 Carol Bankerd

Carol has a long record of selfless community service and advocacy, from personally caring for the trees on our property (and off) to dealing with powerful real estate concerns on behalf of members of her past community in Cambridge, Mass.  Her experience and perspective will be enormously helpful to the board as Essex Crossing breaks ground across the street.  As a tenured educator at the university level, Carol is also one to take research very seriously.  We can all benefit from Board members looking to enhance their knowledge, rather than skirting issues or ignoring topics that simply require too much effort to fully understand.  Carol also brings much leadership experience resulting from her committee and council memberships throughout her 37 year professorship.

Please consider voting for these four candidates. Each brings valuable and complementary skills and professional experience to our boardroom.

Attention!

Last year shareholders voted overwhelmingly to remove Geordan Goldstein from the Board.

The final vote was 438-210

When you vote tomorrow, please keep this in mind.

Most importantly, please read the candidate statements and vote TOMORROW- Wednesday, June 11th 7 am to 7 pm in the lobbies.

Remember, you can vote online right now. Check your Election-America Proxy package for instructions.

Your neighbors–Linda Jones, Brett Leitner, Micah Arbisser