Dear 336 CPW Friends and Neighbors,

When we think of summer, we generally imagine a quieter and more relaxed time in New York City. Some folks stay in the city and enjoy the pleasures of Central Park, while others head off for vacations or summer homes. Alas, the season hasn’t been that pleasant for many at 336 this year!

The water riser leak that occurred in early May has sown havoc in much of the building, particularly the A and B lines. With displaced shareholders, a new master plumber and multiple other ripple effects, Sergio and his team have had to work around the clock to help return the building to normal operations.

While many shareholders experienced tangible repercussions from the leak and the immediate work to repair the water riser, three units in particular were severely affected. These shareholders have been completely displaced from their apartments while work continues to fully remediate the consequences of the water damage.

There is an important takeaway for all of us from this ordeal: Adequate insurance coverage is absolutely vital. An event like this is unpleasant enough without the sinking realization that your insurance doesn’t rise to the challenge. We lay out a few principles to keep in mind in this newsletter, but more importantly, we plan to hold a town hall for all shareholders in the autumn with the help of our managing agent, Orsid Realty, where experts can lay out some guidelines and answer your questions about how much and what kind of insurance you need.

Some of you will recall that the leak put the front service elevator completely out of commission. Thanks to a heroic effort from John Van Deusen, a long-time 336 resident, we were able to expedite that elevator’s repair, which helped limit the disruption. Before the leak there were two renovations under way in the front of the building and now there are four, so having the service elevator back up and running as soon as possible was extremely important in the remediation plan. That is just one example of how our neighbors helped out where they could during this challenging time, something for which we are all grateful.

A quick update on the Window Program: we have selected WJE Engineers & Architects, P.C., as the independent window evaluator. We will be developing detailed specifications in order to classify each window type as a shareholder- owned window or a building- owned window. We are hoping to have those guidelines completed before Labor Day and are targeting evaluation of the windows soon thereafter.

We welcome noteworthy items for publication in these newsletters. Please e-mail James Graff or any of the board members with news you would like to share with the 336 community.

Cindy Michel (Apt. 12C) and Seth Segel (Apt. 9E)