A diverse and growing group of Morningside Garden Cooperators have come together to try to live up to the ideal posted on the Morningside Heights Housing Corporation Website: “Morningside Gardens’ community spirit, amenities and nearby transportation make it a village in the midst of Manhattan.”
We call ourselves Morningside Neighbors and it is our intention to cultivate community awareness and engagement, building upon our rich heritage and history that, at its core, included a strong sense of social purpose.
In her history of Morningside Gardens, original cooperator and historian Bea Gottlieb writes, “From the moment that the tenant-owners took charge it became clear that running Morningside Gardens would be a demonstration of lively self-government. The long serving outside directors soon learned that every board decision and recommendation would be closely scrutinized. Tenants almost immediately formed an organization of their own for just that purpose, as well as to bring up other issues. It was called the Morningside Tenant Cooperators Committee, and it still exists as MGCA (Morningside Gardens Cooperators Assembly). Each building had its own organization, with a representative from each floor, and elected delegates to MGTCC.”
Building committees no longer function in a way that considers and indeed, debates our most pressing issues and concerns. MGCA is no longer the institution that it once was, where shareholders voices could be heard and advocate; a counterbalance to the board of directors. A number of decisions made over the last several years, even longer, have made it abundantly clear that the community has veered far from its ideal.
It is our intention to build a comprehensive (optional/opt-in only) online list of cooperators, create a civil and open forum for input and ideas, and develop a community-based website. We will use these channels of communication to share content-rich analysis relevant to our community, present comparative analysis and best practices vis-à-vis other cooperative organizations, advocate for governance protocols for our board, and create as much transparency as possible in regard to the roles, responsibilities and compensation of our management organization, First Service. In addition, we will advocate for awareness and adherence to local, state and federal regulations and laws.
We invite you to join in this effort, by adding your name in support of this letter and our mission statement.
We seek your active engagement for what most of us consider our most valuable asset, our homes. Please join us.
Would you be willing to add your name to this list? Please click here to add your name.