Tenants' Association

The 90 West Tenants' Association is now officially underway. (If you're a resident and haven't joined yet, please head over to the 90weststreet blog to find the sign-up form.) The organizers have reported that with over two hundred members, the TA is so far representing about half of the residents of the building. Bylaws for the organization have been drafted and adopted, providing for five officer positions (President, Vice-President, Treasurer, Secretary, and Media Liaison). There will also be a ten-member Negotiating Committee composed of the five officers and five additional Members-At-Large.

The nominations for the five officer positions were posted yesterday, and I was surprised to find that I had been nominated for all five positions. I had also received a seconded nomination for the position of Media Liaison, placing me on the ballot officially. This came as quite a surprise to me, as I had not volunteered or nominated myself for any of the positions.

Unfortunately, I feel that I must decline the nomination. Of all the officer positions, I feel the President and the Media Liaison are most important. The Media Liaison will have to make solid contacts throughout the media, and keep them interested in our story. They will have to present the residents of the building in an accurate way, and find ways to fight the all-to-easy stereotype of "rich people who want more" (which we are not). It is a daunting task, to say the least, and I feel that I simply do not have the experience to tackle it.

I considered it, overnight. I questioned whether I could rise to the challenge and figure out how to do this job. But the simple truth is that this is a critical time for the TA, and it needs to be done correctly from the very beginning. I would love to test my skills as a Media Liaison, but not on an organization that is just starting out.

Another big consideration for me is simply the time involved. Some positions certainly require a larger time commitment than others, and I feel that Media Liaison requires the most amount of time. Building contacts with so many media outlets will take a lot of work and time. And with my job, teaching swing dancing up at Columbia University, and serving as National President of Mu Beta Psi—not to mention planning a wedding—I could not reasonably devote as much time to the TA as that position deserves.

However, I would like to be active in the TA. I feel that I could fit well into one of the Member-At-Large positions, and will be running for one of those. The many officer nominations from my neighbors have encouraged me, and I hope that I can best serve them as one of the MALs.

The TA has a long road ahead, but I feel that we're off to a very positive start.