A group of shareholders from the Park Reservoir 273-unit housing cooperative in the Van Cortlandt neighborhood is locked in a months-long effort to overturn its board of directors and prove financial mismanagement to the state agency that oversees it.
Park Reservoir is a Mitchell-Lama property and is managed by Amalgamated Housing, the country’s oldest and largest limited-equity cooperative.
But the aging co-op is beset by financial troubles — and those at the smaller sister corporation worry that theirs is being dragged down with it.
A group of residents formally organized in 2022 to create the Park Reservoir Shareholders Association, a registered nonprofit that accuses the board of fiscal irresponsibility and a lack of communication with tenants. Some members of the group are former board members.
“We no longer trust the board,” said Colleen Hanley, a founding member of the association who has lived at Park Reservoir since 2013 and at Amalgamated prior to that.

The Park Reservoir board and New York State Division of Housing and Community Renewals (DHCR), which oversees the cooperative, maintain that the group has not shown proof of wrongdoing — and management argues that it is still providing high-quality, relatively affordable housing amid bleak financial circumstances and sky-high housing costs in the city.
Residents of Park Reservoir have seen their costs go up in recent years, and they worry about that trend continuing. Financial reports show that in January 2023, DHCR approved a carrying charge increase of $44.30 per room — which applies to each room in the unit, not just the bedrooms.
Despite the increase, the financial outlook for the corporation remains grim as it is “still currently unable to generate sufficient revenue to cover operating expenses, required repairs and replacement, and debt serving,” according to Park Reservoir financial documents from March 2023, which show an accumulated deficit of $6.9 million.
Natalya Girshman, 59, who has lived at Park Reservoir since 1999, said the increase means her two-bedroom apartment now costs an additional $300 per month.
“The prices went up, the service went down,” she said. “It’s going to bring us to the point where people won’t be able to pay for it.”
Meanwhile, at Amalgamated, a carrying charge increase of $148 per room was approved by DHCR and went into effect July 1 — leaving Park Reservoir residents worried that similar big increases might come their way.
Zsbedics said only two Amalgamated residents ended up moving out following the increase. But the Park Reservoir group remains worried about increased charges they say are threatening to drive out longtime residents and erode the co-op’s historical purpose as moderate-income, long-term housing.
Hanley, a high school teacher, said that she originally paid $1,226 per month for her unit and now pays $1,826. And she doesn’t think it will stop there.
“We should not be paying market-rate rents,” she said.
Girshman, who works in international freight, said that 50% of her salary now goes towards housing — far above the 30% limit that is commonly considered affordable.
If she is hit with another carrying charge increase, she said she will no longer be able to afford to live at Park Reservoir — and many of her neighbors are in the same boat.
“Maybe I’ll have to work until I drop dead,” Girshman said.
Troubles at Amalgamated
For this story, the Bronx Times held several conversations with Park Reservoir shareholders over the course of three months and compiled information from emails, phone calls and one in-person group meeting on April 27. The Bronx Times also had multiple calls and emails with Andrew Kimerling, Park Reservoir’s board president, and one call and emails with Charles Zsbedics, manager of Amalgamated. The Division of Housing and Community Renewal declined to speak on the record.
The two companies hold a shared financial relationship. With Park Reservoir at 273 apartments, compared to 1,400 at Amalgamated, shared expenses to cover management and staff are divided based on a corresponding ratio of 16.3%.
For these expenses, Amalgamated pays upfront and Park Reservoir reimburses — but Park Reservoir is currently about $800,000 in debt to Amalgamated, according to Zsbedics.
“In essence, we [at Amalgamated] are a vendor who has not been paid,” he said.
Meanwhile, the corporation he manages has its own share of financial problems. The Bronx Times reported in April 2023 that it was facing $150 million in repairs, $1.5 million in debt to past vendors and reserve funds of just $176,076.
Amalgamated’s financial troubles have since persisted. A May 2024 investigation found that 34 residents who left the co-op did not receive their required refund on investment. A woman interviewed for the story said her family is owed $28,000 following the death of father, who had lived there.
Zsbedics said in interviews at the time that more residents were leaving than coming in — meaning the cooperative did not have enough funds on standby for prompt refunds when residents left. He said he was confident that everyone who was owed money would get it eventually.
The corporation is working on a solution to its financial woes, he told the Bronx Times. Management is attempting to secure a large, low-interest loan from the state and is “leaving no stone unturned looking for viable lending options” — but they remain few, as affordable housing is locked out of traditional bank lending, said Zsbedics.
These financial struggles are “decades in the making,” he said. In every two-year budget cycle, boards face pressure not to raise charges — but if they don’t ask for enough, the missing amount doesn’t just go away.
“If you don’t pay today, you pay tomorrow,” he said.
Zsbedics said the shared arrangement remains a benefit to the smaller company. Both companies can share equipment and staff, which is especially helpful in emergencies, he said. The shared staff can perform some maintenance work in-house, which saves money.
Zsbedics also said that without Amalgamated, Park Reservoir would lose NORC (Naturally-Occurring Retirement Community) services that are used by approximately 200 Park Reservoir seniors — which the shareholder group dismisses as a scare tactic.
With the entangled arrangement between the two corporations, there has “always been an education problem,” said Kimerling.
New York state recently announced investments in affordable housing, including $80 million for the Mitchell-Lama program in the upcoming year. But the Park Reservoir group is worried that its historic ties to Amalgamated only pass down financial distress, not benefit.
“Whatever happens at Amalgamated happens here,” said Hanley.
The group has often discussed what it would take to sever from its parent company. Amalgamated is “going down with the speed of light” — and taking Park Reservoir down with it, said Girshman.
‘Affordable housing at its best’
According to Kimerling, owning a share in Park Reservoir remains a good deal.
“I don’t know if you could find an apartment more affordable than ours in the city,” said Kimerling, whose parents were among the first Park Reservoir members. He keeps an apartment in one of the buildings.
Carrying charges for a one-bedroom unit are currently about $1,000, he said — compared to the city’s median “asking rent” of $3,500 per month, according to a January report by City Comptroller Brad Lander’s office.
Kimerling also said there is “not one area” of housing operations that has not seen a recent cost increase — from sewer fees to insurance to labor. And the board only has true control over about 10% of the budget, he said.
Although he described the cooperative as financially “distressed” and acknowledged that no one likes cost increases, he also said that Park Reservoir is “affordable housing at its best in New York City.”
That notion is of little comfort to the Park Reservoir group, who believe that financial mismanagement, not just inflation, is at the root of their cost increases.
According to financial documents given to shareholders, the cooperative spent $406,636 in 2023 on management and administrative costs — a decrease from $457,684 in 2022. According to Kimerling, the board voted in November 2023 for no salary increases for office staff in the next calendar year.
But during the same period, utilities increased by almost $219,000, repairs and maintenance increased by close to $43,000, insurance increased by $29,500 and labor increased by $7,000. Total expenses increased by $208,458.
Yet shareholders say they aren’t getting their money’s worth. While some apartments are in good condition, others have consistent issues, they said.
Hanley said it took two years for a water leak in her unit to be repaired. Girshman said that management has told her they do not have tiles, paint, doorknobs and other supplies to make simple repairs.
“They just do patch work forever,” said Jeanette Nieves, a single mother of four who came to Park Reservoir in 2008. “They’re really neglecting the building.”
The Bronx Times searched complaint and violation records from the Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), which inspects city properties. As of July 24, 2024, 3835 and 3845 Sedgwick Avenue had a combined 193 open violations and 3915 Orloff Avenue had 39 open violations. HPD confirmed that search results for both Sedgwick Avenue buildings were combined.
Of the 193 violations at the Sedgwick buildings, 70 were class A (non-hazardous), 110 were class B (hazardous) and 13 were class C (immediately hazardous, requiring fix within 24 hours).
At the Orloff Avenue building, 10 of its violations were class A, 24 were class B and five were class C.
Complaints from the past two years included issues within apartments such as mold, roaches, flies and peeling plaster. At the building level, complaints including mice, a broken lobby door and no hot water were filed.
While these issues are common at all aging buildings, Zsbedics said the lack of past foresight and investment in preventing problems has dealt current management a bad hand.
For instance, Park Reservoir still has its original elevators from the 1950s, which should have been replaced twice already, he said. Replacing them is one of many important — and expensive — projects currently on the docket. Financial records show that the corporation spent $19,000 more on its elevator system in 2023 than in 2022, with much more expected to come, according to Zsbedics. But to shareholders like Hanley, this is an example of how residents now are paying for past neglect.
The Park Reservoir group pointed to other specific expenses they feel are out of line with what they get in return. For instance, the corporation spent nearly $83,000 on its security force in 2023, which residents said is primarily tasked with driving residents between the three buildings — a nice service, they agreed, but the price is steep.

‘Don’t wound the king, kill the king’
Communication between residents and management has come to a standstill, with both sides saying that the other is not speaking to them directly in a manner aimed at solutions. Residents have twice requested a special meeting to discuss removal of the board — and been twice denied by DHCR.
The Bronx Times spoke with Kevin McConnell, counsel to Himmenstein McConnell Gribben and Joseph LLP, a New York City-based firm specializing in tenants’ rights and real estate.
Though McConnell could only speak to shareholder rights in general, his primary advice was to “lawyer up” — a possibility that Park Reservoir shareholders are exploring despite concerns about the cost.
McConnell explained that for shareholders to hire an attorney is difficult because they would directly and indirectly shoulder the cost for both sides’ representation.
But shareholders have access to detailed financial documents, which McConnell said are “vital” in raising questions about how the co-op uses its money because shareholders can use the information to see how their co-op fares compared to others.
McConnell also said financial mismanagement is difficult to prove unless it’s egregious — and that in order to successfully sue, shareholders need ironclad proof of serious wrongdoing.
Metaphorically speaking, “Don’t wound the king, kill the king,” said McConnell.
He said he typically advises shareholder clients to organize, as those at Park Reservoir have done, and work to vote board out. The nature of co-ops means that shareholders are part-owners and have some power over how the organizations are run, he said.
The Park Reservoir group said they easily have enough people to overturn the current board in the next general election. Anyone who has lived in the co-op for at least two years in good standing can run for election this October, according to Kimerling.
“I really hope we can overturn them before that,” said Girshman — but there seems to be no legal basis for doing so, as DHCR ruled that the most recent board election was completed fairly and according to process.
Whenever residents go up against their co-op, “It’s not going to be easy,” McConnell said.
‘They’re not working for us’
Another concern for Park Reservoir residents dates back to 1999. Zsbedics was among 30 people indicted in a real estate kickbacks scheme that defrauded residential shareholders in Queens of $1.3 million.
Zsbedics pleaded guilty to third-degree grand larceny and was sentenced to five years of probation (though the sentence was reduced) and a $34,000 fine, according to 2023 Bronx Times reporting. He was hired as manager of Amalgamated in 2011.
In speaking with the Bronx Times, Zsbedics acknowledged past wrongdoing but said he remains focused on the future, not the past.
“I don’t need to be reminded of what I’ve already lived,” he said.
But that mistrust in leadership, combined with ongoing financial trouble, only fuels the suspicions of some Park Reservoir residents. Amid the back-and-forth, association members say they are missing out on what they came to the co-op for: a true sense of belonging.
“It’s put a damper on our community,” said Jason Leeds, 54, a former board member who has lived at the co-op since 1998. He and his wife Rosalie moved there for activities and engagement, not stressful meetings and commiserating, he said.
“It has me uneasy all the time,” said Leeds.
His wife said the stress sometimes keeps her up at night. “We’re not against the board as people. We’re against the fact that they’re not working for us,” Rosalie Leeds said.
The shareholder association has repeatedly emailed the board, management and DHCR — most recently on July 15 — with detailed questions about the corporation’s financial standing. They have also asked DHCR to grant a special meeting, which the agency has denied.
“DHCR has read through the remainder of your emails with regards to improprieties of the Housing Company and do not find any wrongdoing by the housing company or the board of directors,” the letter said.
It further explained that it generally gives boards autonomy but would further investigate if residents submitted adequate proof of wrongdoing.
Both Zsbedics and Kimerling said no one from the shareholder group has attempted to sit down with them and talk things through in a constructive way — and residents have said the same.
Kimerling said management is caught in a “no-win situation” with more and more unhappy residents.
“All I can do is try,” he said.
The October election for new board members will be the best — and perhaps only — way for unhappy shareholders to seek different leadership, according to Dean M. Roberts of Norris McLaughlin, PA, attorney for the co-op. With six of the nine directorships up for the vote, the association is free to put up candidates, he said in a July 19 letter shared by the group with the Bronx Times.
Even if the board was to be overturned, the group has not specified an acceptable alternative, said Roberts.
“Simply filing a petition to remove the board without any provision for after the Board is removed would be a futile exercise in negativity without providing any means to address the substantial challenges facing the Cooperative,” he said.
The shareholder group found the letter “condescending,” said Girshman, who also expressed disappointment at the lack of specificity on their financial concerns.
Still, Park Reservoir Shareholders Association members remain determined to push through. They said they’re fighting to keep the co-op true to its original intent — and will continue to press for answers to their concerns.
“Karma is the great equalizer,” said Leeds. “If you’re up to no good, you’ll get your just desserts.”
Reach Emily Swanson at eswanson@schnepsmedia.com or (646) 717-0015. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes