Co-op City probes allegations of favoritism for board member

Co-op City

Bronx’s Co-op City, a 25-building development in Baychester, is investigating allegations that a board member was pushed to the top of the waiting list for a sought-after townhouse. Though Co-op City is comprised mostly of apartments, it also has 236 smaller townhouses, with a five-year waiting list, sources told the New York Daily News. The complex is a 320-acre housing cooperative managed by Riverbay, which is overseen by a 15-member board of directors and one state housing representative. The board — whose members live there — voted Tuesday to have in-house attorney Jeffrey Buss investigate whether Riverbay’s sales department broke any rules by transferring the townhouse to a new owner who also is a board member. Last week, several board members called for a probe into the transfer, claiming that Riverbay sales director Steve Gold may have given board member Leticia Morales preferential treatment. Morales moved into the townhouse a month ago, and denies any involvement in being bumped up the list, while Gold has been suspended pending the probe. A spokesperson for the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal, which oversees sales and transfers at subsidized Mitchell-Lama developments such as Co-op City, said the agency is reviewing the allegations. [NYDN]

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