A 50 percent maintenance fee increase???

Only a week remains before our budget meeting and we are unfortunately still FAR SHORT of the number of proxies we need to waive reserves and avoid a massive maintenance fee increase for all International Village owners. I can't emphasize enough the importance of returning your proxy as soon as possible. As I explained in my previous blog post, not voting is essentially the same as voting to RAISE MAINTENANCE FEES BY 50 PERCENT because state law requires us to obtain owners' consent to waive reserves. That means if you are currently paying $292 in monthly maintenance, you will pay $438 if enough of you don't return your proxies before our Dec. 5 budget meeting. And if you currently pay $449 a month in maintenance and we don't receive your proxy by then, you will run the risk of paying $674! “Abstaining” is not an option. If we don’t get enough proxies back before the Dec. 5 deadline, we will be forced under state law to “fully fund” reserves and massively raise your maintenance fees. We’re asking you not to make us do that. If you haven’t already done so, please reply to this email with your proxy. Just CLICK HERE to download it, then print it, fill it out, sign it, scan or snap a picture of it and email it back. To avoid a maintenance fee increase and improve board accountability, vote "YES" to waive reserves and "YES" to reduce the board from seven to five members. (For a detailed explanation, click here.)

UPDATE: Last Wednesday (Thanksgiving eve), Marvin Tow sent a very un-holidaylike blast email to owners attacking me for exposing him in my Nov. 9 blog post/email as the individual behind the CIVOC "committee of one." Mr. Tow has finally dropped the phony "CIVOC Committee" label and signed his own name to his latest email to owners. I hope I can take credit for that. But he still refuses to identify the four shadowy investor candidates he is backing for the board, even though he's asking owners to keep the board's membership at seven for their sake. Over a week ago, I sent Marvin an email challenging him to a debate on the bylaws amendment on board size – with equal time for both sides and the opportunity for owners to ask questions. Unfortunately, he ignored my invitation. Marvin, what are you afraid of? That somebody could ask you who these four secret investors are? Or that someone might want to know why you are calling owners "on behalf of the investors" and urging them to keep the board at seven members in order to have "four new board members that are friendly to investors"? (To hear Marvin Tow's voicemail message to an owner, CLICK HERE and download the message.) Marvin, you live in the Village, so why are you attempting to speak on behalf of investors? And why should anyone trust your judgment given your infamous support for a convicted felon (Jason Levy) as property manager in 2012-14? Come out of the shadows and let's have a fair debate.

John Labriola

International Village President

JFLABRIOLA@GMAIL.COM