About the WTA

The Waterside Tenants Association (WTA) was formed in 1974 to represent tenant interests at Waterside Plaza. All tenants are eligible to become members.

We meet with management and represent the collective interests of residents, including any area of disagreement with policies and practices established by the management and owners.

The WTA is a voluntary, non-political, non-profit organization. The principal executive body of the Association is the Executive Council, which forms committees for specific purposes. Elections are held yearly to elect representatives from each building. Any member of the WTA is entitled to vote for a representative for their building. The Executive Council members elect the President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary. The WTA is a bona fide tenants association under New York housing regulations.

The WTA has been instrumental in getting management and the owner to install such quality of life enhancements as the playground, Community Room and Health Club. We have also worked with management to increase the safety of the complex and in obtaining an expansion and upgrading of the supermarket.

Over the years the WTA has hired lawyers and engineers when we believed it was the best way to protect the interests of the tenants. For example, the WTA hired engineers to review the underwater platform that supports Waterside buildings 20 and 30. In 1999, the WTA filed legal action to block the owner from leaving the Mitchell-Lama Housing plan and taking the complex to free market rents. This action lasted more than 2 years and resulted in a Settlement in 2001 (see the Agreement in the Document Library section of this website).

In February 2003, due to tenant complaints in 10 Waterside Plaza, the WTA hired an electrical engineer to study and report on the ineffective heating and airconditioning units (ICE CAP HVAC units) that had already been installed there. These units were scheduled to be installed complex-wide as replacements for the older units. That action stopped those units from being installed complex-wide and forced the substitution of better McQuay units that most of us have today.

In 2008, WTA took collective action to fight the introduction of the Access Card policy by management. We also provided information to tenants regarding what information the law requires them to provide regarding family, guests and roomates and what information management is not entitiled to. As a result of our actions, several modifications were made to the policy and its implementation.

We are here, but we are only as strong as our membership. Please sign up for membership now!