Pres. Russo then spoke of the recent change in the Executive Board brought about by the sudden passing away of our Past President and current 2nd Vice President, Marty McKeon. Ed also reported the appointment of past 1st VP, Richie 'Max" Sinnott, as Special Advisor to the President.

Our new Financial Secretary, Ron DiMaio, read the minutes of the last meeting.  The Recording Secretary, Mike Lanning, was vacationing in Las Vegas where he went to visit the money he left with the casinos the last time he was there.

2nd VP Ron Forte reported that the Mets tickets purchased by the Association for the paid members had all been given out or sold.  The response to the tickets was again an overwhelming success and plans are being formulated for next year's season.  Ron also spoke again of a bus trip to Lancaster, PA  for the "Sights and Sounds" show possibly around the holidays.  More on this as it becomes available

The Treasurer's (yours truly) report was next.  I gave the financial standing of the Association which at this time is very favorable.  If you (paid members) wish exact amounts, please contact me. I mentioned an upcoming SPC Daniel Fuentes Fund Raiser on October 16th for the daughter and grandson of our member, Brendan "Joe" McGarry.
SPC Fuentes was killed in action in Iraq in 2006.  The family has financial needs and the NY Shields Pipes and Drums will be in attendance at the affair.  The Association gave a donation of $250 to an account set up in Joe's grandson's name.

1st VP John Regan then gave an update on the VSF legislation.  We have the support of State Senators Andrew Lanza of Staten Island, and State Senator Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre, Long Island.  Both Senators have been very helpful to our cause and the Association is backing their re-election to the Senate in the upcoming elections.  We urge our members who reside in their districts to give them your full support with your vote. For further updates, see the Legal & Political Issues page

After further discussions, the 50-50 drawing was held and the meeting was adjourned.

"My son, Christopher has been diagnosed with his second bout with Non-Hodgkin’s Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Having beaten this cancer as a single man at age 27, Chris is resolved to beat it again as a 36 year old husband and parent of two girls, ages 2 and 5. In the nine years since Chris’s first fight, one of the biggest advances has been the creation of the National Marrow Donor Program. For my son, and the thousands of other people fighting this and other cancers, a bone marrow transplant is the best chance for a cure. Please help my son and others in need of a bone marrow transplant, by helping to grow the National Marrow Donor Program registry.

If you are interested in helping: Send a tax deductible check payable to “The Marrow Foundation” to Anna Florentino, 119 Norwood Avenue, Malverne, NY 11565. We will use all of the money raised to pay the $52 testing fee for as many new National Marrow Donor Program registrants as our fundraising will sponsor. The time and place of the bone marrow registry drive will be posted in the near future. Please contact me with any questions at domanna68@hotmail.com. 

A grateful mother’s thanks,
Anna Florentino"

Anyone desiring to help Tony's cousin should contact Anna Florentino by e-mail or letter.  Our best wishes go to Christopher in his fight against cancer.

Ron Forte will now be the 2nd Vice President
Vincent DiMaio will be the Financial Secretary
Edward Wilko will be the Sgt-at-Arms

The Association wishes the new appointees much success in the coming years in office.

After everyone had their fill of our hot buffet, President Ed Russo started the meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag and a moment of silence for our sick and departed brother officers and for the protection of our Armed Forces serving overseas.  Ed spoke of the ongoing fight for the VSF, the availability of the Mets tickets and how the membership has been slowly increasing with the addition of new members recently retired and others who have "come back" into the membership.

This was followed by the reading of the minutes of the last meeting by Recording Secretary Mike Lanning which was then accepted by a motion from the floor.

1st VP John Regan spoke of the current situation with the VSF Legislation.  John reported how at the previous meetings at the City Council, the NYC Actuarial John North kept bringing up the proposed cost of the VSF to the City in the amount of $16 Million dollars.  What Mr. North fails to see is the fact those figures relate to eligible retirees from 4 years ago!  Currently, the number of eligible Transit retirees as of 2007 is 662, while the same in Housing is 308 for a total of 970 retirees eligible for the VSF should the bill pass into law.  John further stated how urgent the matter is to continue sending letters to the President of the City Council Christine Quinn and Government Benefits Chairperson Maria Baez.  Their contact addresses can be seen below in the entries for February.  As a final reminder, the Home Rule Message is SLR#88 and this should be included in the body of any letters sent.  There is a meeting of the City Council held in May and we are awaiting an invitation to speak before the board possibly as a last opportunity to achieve what was wrongfully denied us.  We are also informed that one of the reporters for "The Chief - Leader" is reportedly preparing an article about the VSF Legislation issues and the history behind the struggle. More on this as it becomes available.

The Treasurer's report was followed by the report from Financial Secretary Ron Forte who spoke of the proposed bus trip to "Sights and Sounds" in Lancaster, PA.  So far, we have not been getting much of a response to this trip.  On the other hand, when Ron spoke about the Mets Baseball tickets, everyone's ears perked up.  Of the 48 tickets purchased by the Association for PAID members, 40 have already been reserved.  If no other Paid member requests a ticket in due time, the remainder will be sold at cost to a non-member, so if you are still interested, you must contact Ron at (718) 525-5508.

Paul DiGiacomo spoke of a job opportunity available through his son, Paul DiGiacomo, Jr.,  It involves security for certain family members from Saudi Arabia. The pay scale ranges from $300 per day for assignments in NYC and $400 per day for assignments in Las Vegas.  If interested, please contact Paul Jr. at the NYPD DEA offices
212-587-1000.

Nothing further to report, the meeting concluded after the 50/50 drawing.  

The next meeting will be held at the Bronxania Yacht Club in The Bronx on Wednesday, June 11th.  Details in the "Meetings and Events" page.

After our famous hot buffet dinner was totally devoured, the meeting began with the Pledge of Allegiance led by our Lifetime Emeritus Member Ray Matthews,
after which Ed thanked the membership for his nomination and appointment as the new President.

1st VP and Legislative Chairman John Regan spoke of the current VSF legislation before the City Council.  Recent letters to and from City Council President Kathleen Quinn indicate a somewhat "leaning to our side" to evaluate the parity issues we have been arguing about.  Please note, when writing letters about the Home Rule Message, the bill has been changed to SR #88.  Use this in all correspondence to the City Council and to Government Committee Chairperson, Maria Baez.   There may be a meeting in April or May to discuss these issues. More information on our fight will be posted as it progresses.

Financial Secretary Ron Forte spoke of the proposed bus trip to "Sights and Sounds" in Lancaster County, PA.  We still need some positive response from the membership before proceeding with the hiring of a bus and planning the trip.  Ron also spoke of the annual Mets baseball game tickets for this year.  As in the past, we will purchase 45 tickets that will be free for all paid regular and Lifetime members first.  After that, tickets will be available at cost to others on a "first come - first served" basis.
After discussion from the floor, it was decided to purchase tickets for the Mets vs. Braves game on Friday night, September 12th.  An announcement will be made when the tickets are received and Ron already has a list of members desiring to attend.

Ron also spoke of an issue relating to filing of your Federal Income Tax return.  On your 1099R (NYC Pension) from NY City, box 2B is usually checked with an 'X'.  This indicates the amount withheld for taxes has not been determined.  Ron spoke of having an amended return (only good for the past 3 years) and receiving a refund.  I am in the process of getting a better clarification of the issue from a CPA Ron has recommended, Donald Stevenson, of Stevenson Financial, who can be reached at 1-972-678-0122, by mail at 15479 Mountain View Lane, Frisco, TX 75035 or by e-mail at DON.STEVENSON@ALCATEL.COM .  I spoke to Don and as I understand it, the full amount of your annual pension is not taxable and by using an IRS formula, it can be determined exactly how much is taxable.  Don has prepared tax returns for many retired police officers from NY, Florida, and elsewhere.  He had originally practiced in NY and moved to Texas.  Please feel free to contact Don and see if you can be helped.  Remember, amended returns are only for the last 3 filing years.

In the Treasurer's Report, I mentioned we have been receiving an increased number of dues from the newsletter and subsequently from the dues envelopes mailed in January.  I have received dues from several members who have been "away" from the Association for the past few years or have never joined since retirement, in some cases, over 15 or more years ago.  I have also received applications and dues from retirees of NYPD from the past few years.  We welcome back all these retirees and especially the new members who will hopefully continue keeping Transit alive after we have left the Board for one reason or another.  If you still have not paid your dues for 2008, please make it a point to send it in.  The membership cards will be sent after the dues are received.

Honorary Member Kevin Matthews, a CPA and son of Lifetime Member Ray Matthews, spoke of the IRS Economic Stimulus Payment Notice recently mailed out to all taxpayers.  It is highly recommended that all persons file a tax return even if you are not required to do so in order to get the check.

After the 50/50 raffle took place, the meeting was adjourned.  The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7th, at the Ben McChree Boat Club in Brooklyn, where the meat loaf will return.

With the help of Recording Secretary Mike Lanning, a bus trip to Atlantic City will be brought out once again.  Our offers in the past year apparently fell on deaf ears as we did not get a response large enough to warrant hiring a bus for the trip.  Let's hope this year will change for the better.

1st Vice President John Regan, along with 2nd VP Marty McKeon, will continue the fight for the VSF.  This year will mark the second and final year of the legislation drawn up to secure this benefit for those members who were unjustly denied the benefit. Let's hope this year will be a turning point in the decade long struggle to get what was wrongfully denied us.

With the successful celebration of our recent Holiday Party at Antun's, the Board has decided to hold this year's party again at Antuns.  The date is set for December 10th.  Unfortunately, as much as we would like to continue the "free for members" conditions of last year, with costs escalating, we will have no choice but to charge a modest cost of only $15.00 for our paid members and for any guests, a charge of only $25.00.  In a similar light, again due to increasing costs, we must reluctantly increase the door charge at our future meetings to $10.00.

Regarding the 2008 Membership cards, because of a slight printing glitch with the envelopes, the mailing of the cards had to be postponed until later this month or early in February. As with last year, the cards will go out to paid members first and when the annual dues are received from others, we will send out your cards.

With the receipt of the latest edition of our newsletter, the 2007-2 issue of "Beyond The Line," many members have been sending in their dues and keeping me busy logging them in.  We wish to thank those "early birds" who are early and not needing of a little "nudge" to send in the dues.  Along with the dues. several regular and Lifetime members have also included a generous donation to the Association.  I try to personally thank these members when possible with a phone call, but at times, it is just not possible.  To these members, the Executive Board sends out a hearty "Thank You!"

Just click on this link:  http://www.kodakgallery.com/ipa2delegate/main/nyc_retired_transit_police_officer_s_a01