Cooperatively Yours has been a very loose association of cooperators. Having called two open meetings — one to discuss the lessons of Sandy in 2012, and one this spring to address financial concerns — we have been able to reach out and listen  to a fair number of cooperators. But who are we? And what are we doing here?

A few weeks ago we asked cooperators to share their ideas in a survey. Among other questions, we asked “What kind of activities would you like to see Cooperatrively Yours engage in?” Here were the most relevant answers, with plus signs added to those that were expressed multiple times:

• Fun activities for families, meetings with local officials, parties. +5
• Unless we somehow manage to get a new management company and a new Board, the rest is all secondary. +9
• More transparency in coop decision-making, management, budgeting, and records. More 2-way communication. +18
• Amenities: roof deck, lobby furniture, more attractive fencing, courtyard wifi. +4
• Negotiate an end to the No Pet policy. +3
• Organized system for checking on elderly or disabled people in an emergency.
• Key storage with security on voluntary basis.
• Composting. +2
• I’d like to see a monthly morning event where we clean up trash in the neighborhood or do some other civic minded volunteerism to make our community a nicer place.
• Utilizing the spaces more efficiently. Our community room could be remodeled to a usable space that could bring in revenue. I didn’t know there was a Men’s Club, Women’s club or storage available to us. +3
• Provide security guards a way to call up to residents and announce guests. It’s still a big problem that they buzz everyone in without knowing who they are.

At Monday’s open meeting we will begin to consolidate these aspirations into a single mission statement, and ask for cooperators to sign up to help accomplish these goals.