Alma Needs to Refocus

Dear Editor:

The Surfside Housing Tenant Association, SHAFT, are happy to know that The Wave’s Rockaway Family Fun/Health & Wellness Day was a success. Despite the weather that day. Rockaway strong!

And the Tenant Association is happy to learn that the corporation that owns and manages the homes of our 2000+ Rockaway neighbors recognizes the power of our Rockaway community.  Nick Conway, an executive with the corporation, Alma Realty, reportedly said “support [Rockaway’s] bright future.”

Our Rockaway community should know, however, that those 2,000 of us whose homes are managed by Alma Realty have had to repeatedly draw on our elected officials to intervene on scores of occasions to hold Alma to account for chronic health and safety violations. Many of us are current or retired essential workers, city workers in FDNY and NYPD, EMS, teachers, nurses, and parents with small children or retired residents who just want to enjoy our homes.  With you, we ARE the Rockaway community.

So although it’s lovely to have corporate sponsors for our community events, let’s be clear about the Walk of their Talk. About where their PR dollars are being spent versus where they are providing healthy, safe living environments for our Rockaway community.

As a Tenant Association, we continue to struggle with Alma Realty’s attitude and failure to consistently provide essential resident services such as heat, hot water and elevators that operate reliably up and down the 12 stories in each of the three buildings.

Alma must recognize that the bright future of Rockaway is NOW, and their effort should be focused on restoring the existing buildings and property for the current and future generations of the Rockaway community.

Barbara Buffolino, Karen Nevirs
and the Surfside Residents