ANNUAL MEETING  •  MAY 19, 2026  •  YOUR VOTE MATTERS
20 East 9th Street Corp.  |  Brevoort East

Bring Trust
Back

Stephen Rotkiewicz is running for the Board of Directors because our building deserves lower costs, financial accountability, and transparency.

Vote Stephen Rotkiewicz  —  May 19, 2026

Giving Jill Young or any current board member YOUR proxy is a vote for complacency.

|

A vote for Stephen Rotkiewicz is a vote for change.

The Platform
Three Commitments to Shareholders
01

Lower Costs

The Board has never challenged escalating management fees. The claimed $250,000 in savings from switching to AKAM does not withstand scrutiny. Real cost discipline starts with asking the right questions and demanding real answers.

02

Financial Accountability

27 years in institutional finance. I have reviewed board minutes back to 2021. I know what proper documentation of fiduciary decisions looks like. The Brevoort East should not own apartments. These should be sold immediately and the proceeds added to the [NEED RIGHT TERM]. Think about this: as a shareholder, if you sold your apartment today you would get no credit for these apartments. But you are paying an assessment that could be eliminated by the proceeds. If elected, selling these apartments and eliminating this assessment will be my first order of business.

03

Transparency

This board has been less than straightforward about decisions that affect every one of us. There are major capital expenditure decisions happening right now. How can you trust the right decisions are being made. Only with new representation that understands fiduciary duty. Have a question or concern? You can reach me on my personal line 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: 917-623-8341.

Why the Proxy Matters

The Default Proxy Is Not Neutral

The Annual Meeting proxy form currently designates Jill Young as the default proxy holder. If you do not name your own proxy, your votes go to the outgoing Board President by default.

This is consequential. With more candidates than open seats this year, every vote and every proxy carries significantly more weight than in past elections. This is the first genuinely contested election in years.

"The undersigned Shareholder hereby constitutes and appoints (the 'Proxy Holder') or, if no person is designated, Jill Young [Outgoing] (Board President of the Board of Directors)..."
— Current 2026 Annual Meeting Proxy Form

Article II, Section 5 of the By-Laws governs proxies but does not require or authorize any specific default proxy holder. The Board's choice to insert Jill Young's name as the fallback is, therefore, discretionary and can — and should — be corrected immediately.

Jill Young is the outgoing President. Once votes are counted and confirmed, she will no longer hold any office on the Board. Allowing her name to remain as the default proxy holder gives her continued, undue influence over the very election that will replace her and determine three new directors.

Stephen formally requested the Board remove her name as default proxy holder to protect all shareholders and the integrity of the election. Separately, Stephen also requested a written explanation of how votes will be managed and tabulated. This Board and AKAM may claim experience, but their track record working with shareholders tells a different story.

The Record
May 10, 2026
Request for Written Explanation of Vote Tabulation and Election Management
From: Stephen Rotkiewicz  →  Board of Directors and AKAM
Awaiting Response
+
Dear Members of the Board of Directors and AKAM Managing Agent: I am a shareholder and candidate for the Board at the Annual Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM via Zoom. The building has approximately 302 apartments, each with varying numbers of shares. The election will rely on paper ballots in addition to proxies. Given AKAM lacks attention to detail highlighted by multiple email miscommunications and the lack of overall board straightforwardness regarding the transition from Orsid Realty to AKAM Associates, I respectfully request a written explanation of exactly how votes will be tabulated and managed and the safeguards that will be used. I also reiterate my concern that the proxy form defaults to Jill Young (identified as "Board President"), giving the misleading impression that she will continue to exercise influence after the election. Please provide this written explanation no later than 5:00 PM on Friday, May 15, 2026. I am making this request because I have reviewed the minutes going back to 2021 spanning the tenure of the longest-serving current board members. Past elections were almost always uncontested or minimally contested. When quorum issues arose, the Board would schedule a Special Meeting and the number of candidates typically matched (or was very close to) the number of open seats. With more candidates than seats this year, every vote including every proxy carries significantly more weight. The default proxy to Jill Young therefore becomes even more consequential. My request for a written explanation of tabulation procedures and safeguards is very reasonable. This Board and AKAM, as the newly appointed managing agent, have no prior experience running an election of this size at The Brevoort East. Proper procedures should be clearly outlined in advance for the benefit of all shareholders. Please find attached my January 29th letter to the Board, which received no response. I will also note that AKAM has fulfilled none of my repeated information requests pertaining to the building and the Board. My concerns as a shareholder remain unaddressed to this day, and it is precisely for this reason that I am running for the Board. I am hopeful for a more constructive outcome with this request. I want what is best for the building and have no personal agenda. If elected, I will work tirelessly alongside the remaining board members to serve the best interests of all shareholders and the co-op as a whole. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. Sincerely, Stephen Rotkiewicz 5NO Phone: 917-623-8341 Email: srotkiewicz@gmail.com
May 10, 2026
Formal Request: Immediate Removal of Jill Young as Default Proxy Holder
From: Stephen Rotkiewicz  →  Board of Directors, Jill Young, and AKAM
Awaiting Response
+
Dear Members of the Board of Directors, Jill Young, and AKAM Managing Agent: I am a shareholder of 20 East 9th Street Corp. and a candidate for the Board in the Annual Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, 2026, at 6:00 PM via Zoom. The current Proxy Form for the Annual Meeting, which is being distributed on behalf of the Board, states: "The undersigned Shareholder hereby constitutes and appoints (the 'Proxy Holder') or, if no person is designated, Jill Young (Board President of the Board of Directors)..." This language is misleading to shareholders. By identifying Jill Young as "Board President of the Board of Directors" without any qualification, the form implies that she is the continuing President who will remain in office after the election. In reality, she is the outgoing President. Once the votes are counted and confirmed, she will no longer hold any office on the Board. Allowing her name to remain as the default proxy holder gives her continued, undue influence over the very election that will replace her and determine three new directors. Article II, Section 5 of the By-Laws governs proxies but does not require or authorize any specific default proxy holder. The Board's choice to insert Jill Young's name as the fallback is, therefore, discretionary and can (and should) be corrected immediately. Request: 1. Remove Jill Young's name as the default proxy holder from all proxy forms no later than 5:00 PM on Monday, May 11, 2026. 2. Issue a corrected form (and supplemental notice) to all shareholders stating that if no proxy holder is designated, the proxy will be invalid or voted only on routine matters (or name a neutral party if the Board insists on a default). 3. Confirm in writing to all shareholders that any board decisions or actions taken after the date of this letter that rely on proxies defaulting to Jill Young will be considered invalid. Many shareholders share the same concern that the current form is designed to give the outgoing President final power over the election. If this request is not met by the deadline, I will have no choice but to pursue all available remedies under the By-Laws, including but not limited to circulating a petition pursuant to Article II, Section 2 of the By-Laws (requiring signatures representing 25% of the outstanding shares) to call a Special Meeting of Shareholders for the purpose of removing one or more directors without cause pursuant to Article III, Section 6. I remain hopeful that the Board and AKAM will address this matter promptly and in the best interests of all shareholders and the co-op as a whole. Sincerely, Stephen Rotkiewicz 5NO Phone: 917-623-8341 Email: srotkiewicz@gmail.com
May 8–9, 2026
Annual Meeting Packet: Two Different Start Times
Stephen Rotkiewicz flags discrepancy  •  AKAM responds
Shareholder Notice
+
May 8, 2026 — 5:15 PM Matthew Czachor, AKAM to All Shareholders: "Good Evening Shareholders, Please see the attached Annual Meeting packet for the upcoming Annual Meeting scheduled for May 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM via Zoom." --- May 8, 2026 — 9:59 PM Steve Rotkiewicz to Matthew Czachor, Andrew Caballero: "The email says the meeting starts at 6:30. The packet says 6." --- May 9, 2026 — 8:09 AM Matthew Czachor to Steve Rotkiewicz: "Thank you, Steve, I will send an update on the time." Steve Rotkiewicz: "Wow! That's early."
January 29, 2026
"The Absence of Any Documentation and Meager Savings Does Not Withstand Scrutiny"
From: Stephen Rotkiewicz  →  Board of Directors
No Response
+
Board of Directors 20 East 9th Street Corp. Dear Board Members: Thank you for your response. The absence of any documentation and meager savings does not withstand scrutiny. Your letter claims the Board engaged in an "extended period" during which you "repeatedly raised serious performance concerns" with Orsid, conducted evaluations "over the course of more than one year," and "spoke with/interviewed multiple managing agents." I began reviewing board meeting minutes and financials dating back to 2021 this summer after noticing significant increases in administrative expenses in the audited financials. I have since regularly received and reviewed meeting minutes spanning the tenure of the longest-serving current board members. There is no record of performance reviews or evaluations of Orsid, discussions of management agent underperformance, interviews with alternative management firms, or any deliberation about replacing Orsid. The minutes do show Orsid representatives attended every Board meeting throughout 2021-2025. The Board consistently entrusted them with critical shareholder communications, staff recommendations, coordination with attorneys and engineers, and even entrusted Alma Radoncic as the Assistant Secretary. If this year-long evaluation process actually occurred, where is the documentation in the meeting minutes? The Board meetings followed a highly consistent structure and flow throughout these five years: call to order, approval of previous minutes, President's report, project updates on capital improvements, third-party consultant reports, committee reports covering infrastructure, finances, garden, staff, and legal matters, followed by the Super's operational report and building management updates. Every meeting concluded with the same two standard notations: "The Board and Shareholders will continue to get updates weekly" and "Having no further business to pass before the Board, the meeting adjourned." This consistent meeting structure provided natural opportunities to discuss management performance concerns. The President's Report regularly addressed major building issues. Committee reports covered operational matters, and the minutes meticulously documented RFP processes for elevator modernization, commercial lease negotiations, capital project contractors, and engineering consultants. Updates on ongoing issues were tracked from meeting to meeting until they were resolved. Orsid's representatives — including their CEO, CFO, and Senior VP — attended virtually every meeting and systematically documented everything discussed: individual valve replacements in specific apartment lines, toilet overflows in units, condensate line breaks in the gym, water supply hose failures, circulating pump installations, staff retirements, temporary employee hires — even which apartment alterations were "3-4 weeks from completion." Yet somehow, with Orsid's senior management sitting in every meeting, during a period when you claim you were "repeatedly raising serious performance concerns" and conducting a year-long evaluation of multiple alternative management firms, there is zero documentation of performance concerns being raised with Orsid, updates on the alleged search for replacement agents, RFP processes for management services, comparative evaluations of competing firms, or any discussion of management transition. By comparison, the Board documented a parking garage operator selection process across approximately 10 board meetings spanning 13 months — from initial lease negotiations with the existing operator, through drafting and issuing RFPs to 14 firms, conducting onsite tours, receiving nine responses, establishing detailed evaluation criteria, reviewing competing proposals, and negotiating and executing the final contract. Yet for replacing the building's management agent — a far more critical operational decision that affects every aspect of building operations — there is NO documentation of any evaluation process. Not even a mention. The meeting structure accommodated detailed tracking of far less significant matters. If the Board was truly dissatisfied enough to replace Orsid, and if Orsid was aware that the Board was actively evaluating alternative management options after the Board repeatedly raised serious performance concerns that had not been adequately resolved, this would have appeared somewhere in the natural flow of five years of meetings. It doesn't. Your claim of "$250,000 in annual savings" is highly questionable and suggests you did not conduct genuine due diligence. If the Board truly spent over a year evaluating Orsid's performance, found systemic failures in management processes and record keeping, interviewed multiple competing management firms, and conducted a comprehensive market review, then a legitimate competitive bidding process should have yielded significantly more than $250,000 in savings, especially given Orsid's year-over-year fee increases that the Board never challenged. Instead, you appear to have eliminated the onsite management position (reducing service, not cost) that cost approximately $200,000 annually, selected a firm under the same ownership as Orsid, and achieved minimal savings despite claiming major performance deficiencies. This modest "savings" suggests your hand was forced — that you accepted whatever terms you could get at year-end, not that you conducted a thorough competitive process from a position of strength. The Board's historical deference to Orsid on financial and building matters makes this claim even less credible. At the 2025 annual meeting, questions about Orsid's escalating fees went largely unchallenged by Board members. If you were truly dissatisfied enough to replace them, why wasn't cost control a priority before now? Your response doubles down on claims that directly contradict your own meeting minutes. This demonstrates either a fundamental misunderstanding of your fiduciary obligations or intentional misrepresentation to shareholders. Either way, shareholders should have serious concerns about the Board's fitness to manage the Cooperative's financial and operational affairs. Finally, Alma Radoncic served as Assistant Secretary and documented all Board meetings through January 2025. With Orsid's departure, who is now responsible for preparing meeting minutes? Is the Board Secretary handling this responsibility? Will AKAM representatives attend all Board meetings as Orsid's did? Given the contradictions between the Board's claims and the documented record, independent oversight of Board deliberations is essential. The Board should have an independent shareholder observer who is not currently connected in any way to the Board or its committees and who attends meetings. I nominate myself for this observer role. As a shareholder, I would like to be included among those receiving the weekly updates referenced at the end of every board meeting: "The Board and Shareholders will continue to get updates weekly." Only complete transparency — including the actual contracts, selection process documentation, honest accounting of what occurred, and independent oversight of Board meetings moving forward — can begin to restore shareholder confidence in this Board and its ability to make sound financial and operational decisions, given the significant work the Cooperative requires. Sincerely, Stephen Rotkiewicz, 5NO
January 27, 2026
Board Response: Change in Management
From: The Board of Directors  →  All Shareholders
Board to Shareholders
+
20 East 9th Street Corp. January 27, 2026 Dear Shareholders: The Board of Directors of 20 East 9th Street Corp. is writing to you following the Board's notice regarding the change of management, dated January 9, 2026. Since sending the Notice, the Board has received questions regarding the basis for the Board's decision to transition the Cooperative's managing agent from Orsid Realty Corp. to AKAM Associates, Inc. For continued transparency, we are writing to explain the Board's decision-making process and the reasons for the change in management. Why the Board Elected to Replace Orsid The Board's decision followed an extended period of time during which Orsid did not, in the Board's judgment, perform its management responsibilities in a manner consistent with the needs of the Cooperative, despite repeated notice and opportunities to address identified issues. These issues included, among others: - Management and risk-management processes that the Board determined were not consistently followed, including execution of required alteration agreements and proper onboarding of vendors; - Insufficient support for the building's infrastructure planning and compliance efforts relating to applicable local laws; - Recordkeeping practices that the Board determined were inadequate for the building's operational needs and long-term planning; - Inadequate support for the building's resident manager, both in day-to-day operations and long-term planning; and - A general lack of proactive management for a building of our size, age, and complexity. Due Diligence and Timing of the Transition The Board carefully evaluated replacement managing agents. Over the course of more than one year, the Board: - Spoke with/interviewed multiple managing agents; - Consulted with other comparable buildings regarding their experiences with management agents; and - Continued to engage with Orsid while affording repeated opportunities to address identified performance concerns. Orsid was aware that the Board was actively evaluating alternative management options, particularly after the Board repeatedly raised serious performance concerns that, in the Board's view, had not been adequately resolved. In light of this, Orsid issued its resignation notice prior to the Board's formal notice of termination, which occurred while the Board was already engaged in contract negotiations with AKAM. Financial and Operational Benefits The transition is expected to deliver tangible benefits to the Cooperative, including: - Anticipated annual savings of approximately $250,000, driven by revised management costs and operational efficiencies; - Reduced costs for alteration applications and related administrative processes; and - Modernized recordkeeping and systems, which the Board expects will improve operational efficiency and support long-term capital planning and compliance. Why AKAM Shareholders have asked why AKAM was selected, particularly since Orsid recently combined with AKAM at the ownership level. The Board's understanding is that Orsid and AKAM will continue to operate as separate entities with distinct management teams and operational practices, notwithstanding common private-equity ownership. The Board evaluated AKAM based on its resources, infrastructure, compliance capabilities, and fit for this building — not on ownership structure. Sincerely, The Board of Directors 20 East 9th Street Corp.
January 22, 2026
"Characterizing a Resignation as a Proactive Board Decision Is a Material Misrepresentation"
From: Stephen Rotkiewicz  →  Board of Directors
No Response
+
Board of Directors 20 East 9th Street Corp. 20 E 9th St, New York Dear Board Members: I am writing regarding the transition from Orsid Realty to AKAM Associates. I have been informed that Orsid terminated its relationship with the Cooperative, which contradicts the Board's statement that it "elected to replace" them. Characterizing a resignation as a proactive Board decision is a material misrepresentation. This distinction is significant. While replacing a management company suggests a strategic improvement, a management company's resignation signals underlying issues regarding the building's condition or the Board's leadership. By obscuring the nature of this termination, the Board has withheld critical information from shareholders, which constitutes a breach of fiduciary duty. Furthermore, this situation raises concerns about the adequacy of the due diligence performed following Orsid's resignation, as well as the Board's fitness to make sound financial and operational decisions moving forward. This lack of transparency, coupled with the Board's recent appointment of a new member, demonstrates a troubling pattern regarding process and oversight. The current situation requires immediate change and greater accountability to mitigate further financial risks, given the significant work required moving forward. Sincerely, Stephen Rotkiewicz, 5NO
January 9, 2026
Notice of Change in Management — Orsid Realty to AKAM Associates
From: The Board of Directors  →  All Shareholders
Board to Shareholders
+
The Board of Directors announced the transition from Orsid Realty Corp. to AKAM Associates, Inc. as the building's managing agent, effective immediately. No shareholder input was sought prior to this decision. No documentation of the selection process, competitive bids, or performance review criteria was provided. The notice was distributed via BuildingLink and signed by the Board of Directors of 20 East 9th Street Corp. A PDF of the original notice is referenced in the Board's January 27, 2026 letter.
The Candidate

About Stephen Rotkiewicz

He believes the only way to protect shareholders is to be in the room where decisions are made. Whether he has earned your vote is for you to decide.

Stephen Rotkiewicz is a shareholder at The Brevoort East and a candidate for the Board of Directors at the May 19, 2026 Annual Meeting.

He has spent 27 years in institutional finance, including roles at Lazard and multi-billion dollar investment funds. He understands financial statements, management contracts, fiduciary duty, and what proper governance looks like. He has reviewed board meeting minutes spanning every year since 2021.

He is running because what he found in those minutes does not match what this Board has told shareholders. Decisions affecting every resident of this building were made without documentation and without accountability. Since Orsid's departure and AKAM's takeover, he has been unable to obtain basic information about meeting minutes or board activity despite repeated requests.

His review of the building's financials revealed something that should concern every shareholder: the co-op owns two apartments. Rather than selling those apartments and directing the proceeds to the [NEED RIGHT TERM], shareholders are instead being asked to pay a special assessment. Think about this: as a shareholder, if you sold your apartment today you would get no credit for these apartments. But you are paying an assessment that could be eliminated by the proceeds. If elected, selling those apartments and eliminating this assessment will be his first order of business.

He has no personal agenda. He wants lower costs and a building managed with the rigor and transparency every shareholder deserves.

Make Your Vote Count

Annual Meeting: Tuesday, May 19, 2026 at 6:30 PM via Zoom

Questions or concerns? Reach out directly.

srotkiewicz@gmail.com  •  917-623-8341

Annual Meeting — May 19, 2026 6:30 PM  |  Via Zoom  |  Your Vote Matters