HDFCs are now front-page news! (literally!)

Dear fellow HDFC shareholders, Thanks to YOU, and your activism, letters and phones calls to your elected officials, we are making real progress! Highlights of this update (details further below): -Manhattan Community Board 4: HDFC Public Forum on Tuesday March 7 at 6:30 pm! - Town Hall Meeting with Mayor Bill de Blasio: Wednesday March 15 at 7pm! - HDFCs made the front page of the NY Post, with a 2-page spread inside! -Manhattan City Council Members write letter to new HPD Commissioner, asking HPD to stop the push for changes and get shareholder input! -Bill Perkins wins special election and is Harlem's new City Council Member (with 186 HDFC coops, 2nd only to Mark Levine's district) - HPD gave (last?) presentation in Brooklyn on Feb 16 -Manhattan Community Board 12: Working on a resolution about HPD's proposal for HDFCs ***Before you forget: Please have every HDFC shareholder you know use the following form to sign up for free updates: https://goo.gl/forms/BIB6sd8cVUnzVIh63 -------------- Manhattan Community Board 4: HDFC Public Forum on Tuesday March 7 at 6:30pm! Open to the public, so come on down and let your voice be heard loud and clear! CB4 HDFC Forum, March 7 at 6:30pm, Local 802 Meeting Room, 322 West 48th Street (Between 8-9 Ave.) CB4 link here: http://hosted-p0.vresp.com/666408/ccc0cd0712/ARCHIVE (HDFC Coalition flyer also attached) -------------- Town Hall Meeting with Mayor Bill de Blasio: Wednesday March 15 at 7pm! (Hosted by Council Member Corey Johnson & sponsored by Manhattan Community Boards 2, 4, 5 & 7) Hurry and sign up right away as space is limited!!! Email request to: TownHallRSVP@cityhall.nyc.gov -OR- If you are live within the confines of Manhattan Community Boards 2, 4, 5 or 7, then you can also contact them immediately. Find them here and call them: http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/manhattan.shtml -------------- HDFCs made the front page of the NY Post, with a 2-page spread inside! HDFCs and our fight for independence and self-determination are front-page news! On February 26, we woke up on Sunday morning to find our story on the front page, with a 2-page spread inside! Political activism and organization works! See the 2-page spread here: http://www.hdfccoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/1postdeblasio-.jpg See front page here: http://www.hdfccoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Front-Page-NY-Post-HDFC.png NY Post website version here: http://nyp.st/2mxfU4w -------------- Manhattan City Council Members write letter to new HPD Commissioner, asking HPD to stop the push for changes and get shareholder input! A strong letter to HPD from extremely helpful Manhattan City Council members was sent on February 21. See it here: http://www.hdfccoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017-2-21-MD-Council-Members-Letter-to-HPD-re.-HDFC-RA.pdf Please call and say "Thank You" to the offices of: Council Members Margaret Chin, Corey Johnson, Rosie Mendez, Daniel Garodnick, Ben Kallos, Mark Levine & Ydanis Rodriguez! This was a very important letter, and helped push our issue onto the front page of the NY Post! (Now, what about our Council Members in Brooklyn & the Bronx? Why not send them a copy of this letter and ask them to issue one as well?!?) Find your Council Member here: http://council.nyc.gov/districts/ -------------- Bill Perkins wins special election and is Harlem's new City Council Member (with 186 HDFC coops, 2nd only to Mark Levine's district) Bill Perkins has now taken the seat formerly held by Inez Dickens in Harlem. Harlem folks, make sure you give his office a call right away to congratulate him & tell him that you are an HDFC shareholder, and you vote! (New phone number for CM Perkins is 212-788-7397, and what to say when you call is further below.) -------------- HPD gave (last?) presentation in Brooklyn on Feb 16 On Feb 16, HPD gave possibly the last public outreach to HDFC shareholders before they try to get their proposal passed by the City Council! Again, HDFC shareholders told HPD, "No way!" -------------- Manhattan Community Board 12: Working on a resolution about HPD's proposal for HDFCs HDFC shareholders turned out for a meeting at Manhattan CB12 and made their feelings known loud and clear. CB12 is now working on a resolution on this issue, incorporating the feedback from shareholders. Let's hope it is as strong or stronger than the one issued by CB9! Have you gone to your Community Board with your neighbors to get involved? Find it here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/cau/html/cb/cb.shtml -------------- We are asking everyone, everyone, everyone (yep, that means you!) to make phone calls NOW (starting Monday) to the following elected officials: Melissa Mark-Viverito, Speaker, NYC Council: 212-788-7210 Jumaane Williams, Housing Chair, NYC Council: 212-788-6859 Bill Perkins, Council Member, Harlem 212-788-7397 Richie Torres, Council Member, Bronx 212-788-6966 Marco A. Carrión, Commissioner, Mayor's Community Affairs Unit: 212-788-7418 & don't forget your local Council Member (find them here !) http://council.nyc.gov/districts/ What to tell them when you call: (well, first tell them you are an HDFC shareholder and you vote!) 1. Don't even think about revoking or altering our D.A.M.P. tax abatement, let it run until 2029 as it was written and is supposed to! 2.HDFCs always cost less, so the sales prices are always more affordable. 3. Our monthly costs are our affordability, not sales prices, because we aren't moving out. 4. We earned our equity fairly and within the rules. Don't try to reduce it! 5. Don't lower income restrictions, no asset restrictions, no sales caps. 6. HPD shouldn't force us, or coerce us, to sign a regulatory agreement! -------------- The list of HDFCs in all of NYC and their addresses are here: http://bit.ly/2jorlcQ What's wrong with HPD's plan? Here's a one-pager that says "What's Wrong": http://bit.ly/2lu6rys And here's a "Myth vs. Facts" for you: http://bit.ly/2lz2On2 ---------- We're growing quickly, but we still need more HDFC shareholders to sign up on our mailing list. Please have every HDFC shareholder you know use the following form to sign up: https://goo.gl/forms/BIB6sd8cVUnzVIh63 Also, remember to "Like" our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter so you can get immediate and more frequent updates. Links below. ------ Winter is still with us but soon the weather will be warmer, and HPD has a new Commissioner. We all need to be informed and prepared. 2017 will be the year that defines the future for the estimated 50,000 people living in HDFC cooperatives. That's a lot of voters, and the politicians know it! If we keep organizing, we can determine our future, instead of having it determined for us. Keep fighting! Thank you! The HDFC Coalition Website: www.hdfccoalition.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HDFCCoalition Twitter: https://twitter.com/HDFCCoalition Email: hdfccoalition@gmail.com