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Minutes of the General Membership Meeting of the Westmoreland Association

Minutes of the September 17, 2018

Officers Present
President - Walter Mugdan
Vice President - Victor Dadras
Treasurer – Gary Savage
Secretary – Charles Manna

Board Members Present
Peter Reinharz - Yes
David Diaz - Yes
Phil Toscano - Yes
Robert Timmerman - No
Peter Reinharz - Yes
John Duane - Yes
Namshik Yoon - No

Officials Present
Jason Antonopoulos -- Assemblyman Ed Braunstein’s office
Ahmed Nassir – Councilman Paul Vallone’s office

President Walter Mugdan called the meeting to order at 8:05 P.M. A motion was made, seconded and unanimously adopted to waive reading of the minutes. (Mr. Mugdan noted that the minutes are available for review on the Westmoreland website.)

Gary Savage provided the Treasurer’s Report indicating that the balance-on-hand was $16,349.66 as of September 17, 2018. A motion was made to accept the Treasurer’s report. The motion was seconded, and the report was unanimously approved.

New Business
Work on the house at 251-20 41Drive: Has completed the renovations of the front of the house and is now in compliance with the Rickert-Finley covenants. The Association's legal costs totaled $6,776.76. Fortunately, the additional court costs were avoided because the family agreed to comply just before we took the step to file a lawsuit in the courts. The offending part of the construction in front of the house was removed and replaced by the original configuration. Discussion follows:
Question: Can the Westmoreland Homeowners Association be reimbursed for our legal expenses?
Answer – No. The “American Rule” states that loser is not compelled to reimburse the opponent in a civil court case. Our Association was reimbursed in a prior case because the defendant didn’t comply with the judge’s order; in an action to compel compliance with a previous judgment, the plaintiff can collect costs from the defendant.

The house on 41 Drive at corner of Glenwood Street: construction has been on and off for two years. Currently, it has resumed.
House on Morgan and 41 Drive. Doing work on Garage without permits.

House at 42-11 Westmoreland Street – work seems to be finished. But, a work permit is still posted there.

House at 250-20 43 Ave – the entire front lawn is paved over. A violation of the Building Department rules.

House at Little Neck Parkway and 39 Ave. The entire front lawn is paved over. A violation of the Building Department rules.

New Business.

Glenwood Landing Park – The Douglaston Garden Club will sponsor a park cleanup and daffodil bulb planting on October 27, 2018 starting at 9 AM. Please come and join us, even if you can only spend a short time there. The Parks Department will provide tools and cleanup items.

Primary Election – John Liu won the Democratic primary for the State Senate seat over incumbent Tony Avella. Whoever wins the general election will be invited to attend (or send a representative to attend) one of our meetings. [The Westmoreland Association does not endorse candidates in either primary or general elections, but we always reach out to our local elected officials and seek to establish relationships with them.]

Several months ago, State Sen. Avella notified us about the New York City "Tree and Sidewalk Repair Program." This program, which is free, shifts the burden of responsibility for broken sidewalks due to damage from the roots of City trees back to the City for repair. Sidewalks are evaluated by the City Parks Department, and are given a rating on a scale of100 (with 100 being the worst damage). The closer the score is to 100, the sooner your sidewalk will be fixed by the City at no cost to you. To enroll, go to: https://www.nycgovparks.org/services/forestry/trees-sidewalks-program .

NYC DOT – Speed Humps – We requested that one or more speed humps be put on Morgan Street between Northern Boulevard and 41st Drive. In late June the City Transportation Department notified us that they are still considering the matter.

Outside our neighborhood: A contractor has applied for a variance to construct a high-rise on the corner of Douglaston Parkway and Northern Blvd. Also, a proposal has been presented to the building department to construct a smaller apartment building on Douglaston Parkway between two buildings just north of Northern Blvd. The Douglaston Civic Association may take a position regarding these proposals and file a response at the next Community Board meeting. The buildings will have some indoor parking space, but not for every unit. The worry is that the congestion in the neighborhood will get worse.

Ahmed Nassir, representing Councilman Vallone, reported that the fourth cycle of the Participatory Budget process will begin in November. Our Council District had the most votes cast in the previous round of Participatory Budgeting. (Note that voters now have the option to vote on-line.)

Safety on the 39th Avenue, the street immediately south of the Long Island Railroad -- we are on record supporting:
1. Cross-walk painting
2. Stop-sign signage
3. Better lighting
[At his suggestion, we subsequently wrote to Ahmed Nassir from Councilman Vallone's office asking for the Councilman's assistance in urging the Transportation Department to take these actions.]

The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 PM.

Respectfully submitted, Charles Manna, Secretary

Respectfully submitted,

Charles Manna, Secretary

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