Brand New Board Elected at Dayton Beach Park

By Katie McFadden

It’s official.  Dayton Beach Park (DBP) has decided it’s time for a new board of directors. After years of delays and a contentious election, all 15 former board members were voted out as 15 new members were elected.

Through mail-in-ballots in the weeks before and in-person ballots on the co-op’s election day on Wednesday, May 15, 434 ballots were cast by DBP residents who overwhelmingly decided that it was time for a new board to step in to oversee the buildings at 8100, 8200, 8400, 8600 and 8800 Shore Front Parkway.

This election was a long time coming.  After several years without an election or open board meetings, and following a lawsuit filed in 2018, that resulted in the current DBP board being found guilty of violating state law, the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) determined that an election for new board members would be able to take place this year.

The election process was not without controversy. There were issues with residents not receiving the resumes for candidates, flyers for new candidates were allegedly removed from building lobbies and police were even called on new candidates who were campaigning in the lobbies. Despite all that, the DBP residents have spoken, and they elected all new board members.

The 15 new members include Edwin Perez, Alex Verbitsky, Robert Gallagher, Grace Miller, Kevin Flaherty, Patricia McCabe, Caren Washington Dawkins, Irene Finley, Bianca Malcaus, Jeff Gross, Karen McKeon, Cathleen Norton, Joanne Larcheveque, Minzalia Platanova, and Gleb Fromin.

The news was celebrated by those who worked hard for this change after HPD released the results on Tuesday afternoon.

“A HUGE congratulations to the newly elected members of the Dayton Beach Park Board of Directors,” Councilwoman Joann Ariola said. “This was a hard-fought battle, but I was proud to be there with these men and women, fighting it out since the moment I came into office. We constantly stayed on top of HPD to make sure that there was a free and fair election, and this was the much-anticipated end result of that work. This is a huge win for everyone in DBP.

“A big thank you to Councilwoman Ariola and her office,” Kevin Flaherty, a newly elected member of the DBP board said. “Her support was instrumental in making this day finally happen.”

Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, herself a resident of DBP for 30 years, was at the forefront of this battle not long after she stepped into office in 2017. In a video shared to her Facebook page, Pheffer Amato celebrated the news by banging a pot on her balcony on Tuesday afternoon.

“Congratulations to the 15 new members of the Dayton Beach Park Board of Directors. This is a day for celebration for the 1,144 shareholders at DBP. The democratic process has played out and good has truly triumphed over evil.

“This election, and its success, are a tribute to the shareholders. Together, we have pushed through lawsuits, harsh retaliations, and in the end the right thing happened. The shareholders won!

“The ongoing fight for this moment has included some incredible people, but specifically, this election was in memory of Mary Jo McCabe. Her goal of transparency at DBP kept us going and we honor her memory through this election and a new Board of Directors.

“In the coming days we will begin to see change at DBP and look forward to working with them to provide the best experience for the shareholders.”