Annual Meeting of Shareholders & Election of our Board of Directors TOMORROW!

Our Annual Meeting and Election will be held in the 

59 Pineapple Street Lobby at 6:30pm this Thursday, May 22nd 2025. 

We are still looking for volunteers for the board and inspectors of the election to help with tallying the votes in the event we have more than seven nominees. Please be in touch! 

Here are your current candidates for the Board of Directors 2025:

David Drake 1EF

My name is David Drake.  My wife Maki and I are the owners of 1EF in our building and have lived here since July 2005.  I am interested in serving on our co-op's board of directors and believe I bring a valuable skill set that is particularly needed at this time in the life of our cooperative.  For most of my career I advised corporate boards, management teams and institutional shareholders on governance, transparency and shareholder relations.  These are issues that have clearly become front and center based on the recent communications we have all read in recent days.  I have been involved in important neighborhood issues that affect the value of our building.  In recent years I participated in developing communications and seeking the support of NYC residents in a successful campaign to prevent the closing of the Brooklyn Heights Promenade.  I am currently retired and have the time to commit to serving.  

Bradley Frome 3C

I am Bradley Frome and I'm excited to offer my candidacy to run again for a position on our Co-op Board. I previously served for several years, including as a member-at-large and as Board Secretary, stepping down after the 2023–24 term to enjoy a year of travel with my husband. Even while away from the Board, I’ve stayed active—lending a hand in our mailroom, maintaining our basement garden as the resident “Green Thumb,” and helping out whenever asked. I’m committed to continuing my service with the same energy, dedication, and strong sense of community as I have always had.

Aaron Lanou 5EF

My name is Aaron and I’ve lived at 59 Pineapple for over 15 years, with my husband, Rex, who’s lived here since 2005. I love the building, Brooklyn Heights, and I can often be found jumping rope around the corner at Squibb Park. I run my own consulting service providing inclusive education coaching, working with teachers to support neurodivergent students with strengths-based practices. I’m a former special ed teacher in the NYC public schools and I worked at NYU for ten years, where I was the Executive Director of the Nest Program, the nation’s largest inclusion program for autistic students. I also work to support people with disabilities in other settings—with workplace diversity trainings and through my work serving on the Delta Air Lines Advisory Board on Disability and Accessibility. I’ve made great connections with lots of folks in the building and would be honored to support my neighbors by serving on the board.

Despina Legakis 2BC

I’m Despina and am running for re-election to the 59 Pineapple Street board. I moved into the building in 2018 and have served on the board since 2019. I have lived in Brooklyn Heights since 1995, and there’s no better neighborhood around! I’ve been told by colleagues and friends that my superpower is building strong relationships based on trust and loyalty. These attributes have served me well in both my career and my personal life and certainly extend to my 59 Pineapple Board responsibilities. I recently ended an 18-year career at CBS where I was SVP, Branded Entertainment. In that role, I worked on many shows, including Survivor, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Ghosts and The Amazing Race to name a few. I’m currently on a short sabbatical in Fiji with my boyfriend Clark as I develop my consulting business while keeping Clark company as he works producing Season 50 of Survivor. 

Nor Aliza “Liza” Nordin 2L 

Aloha, my name is Liza Nordin and I moved into 59 Pineapple Street in March of this year. Call it kismet and destiny that I found and fell in love with unit 2L. Professionally, I am an accountant and real estate agent in Honolulu, Hawaii, where I lived for 25 years. My late husband was a prominent realtor in Honolulu for 20 years and I helped him with the brokerage business and we also owned and operated vacation rental properties in Waikiki. Last year I retired from working as a tax accountant at a local CPA company doing personal and trust taxes and moved to NYC to start a new life and live closer to my daughter. We have been visiting NYC for many years and we had planned to retire here as we wanted the lifestyle only New York City can afford. I love my apartment and Brooklyn Heights. Thank you to Granit, the best super ever, who has helped me move in and settle into the apartment so seamlessly. I hope to meet more of my neighbors and help out with the building any way I can.

Zachary Rubin 1KL

Zac lives in apartment 1KL with his wife Aubrie who together own and operate Vineapple on Pineapple Street. Zac has worked in Retail and Hospitality for the past 15 years, initially starting a company called Upper 90 which was acquired by Soccer Post in 2023 and now operating three restaurants in New York City: Vineapple, Mile End Deli, and Crossbar. Zac has experience in financial management, operations, and construction management having completed over 10 commercial renovations and a number of residential renovations as well. It was Zac’s grandfather LeRoy Rubin who spearheaded the initial conversion at 59 Pineapple to a Cooperative in the 70s and a partnership that includes members of the Rubin family still own the remaining sponsor units in the building. Zac enjoys playing, coaching, and watching soccer as well as watching the New York Rangers.

Margaret Sclafani 3H

Margaret has volunteered to be a board member since 2012. She became a resident and shareholder in 2011. She has served as president, secretary, and a member-at-large during her time on the board. Margaret has been an advocate for green and energy efficient building initiatives, spearheading our curbside composting program, e-waste and refashion collection. She also has served as the digital lead: redesigning and updating the website, creating and distributing newsletter blog posts as well as creating the fiftyninepineapple email account and google drive to promote central communication and shared document archiving to serve the board and community. Margaret works as a filmmaker and cinematographer, her first feature film as a director entitled Greetings From Arizona will be having its New York premiere at the Manhattan Film Festival this June! As president this year, she learned a lot more about building operations, finances and infrastructure and she welcomes the opportunity to serve on the board for another year.

Michael Wayasamin 5G

My name is Michael Wayasamin and I am running for the 59 Pineapple Board. I have lived in this building for 20+ years and have been a Board Member for ~15 of those holding several roles. I’ve done everything from replacing the canopy and light fixtures to negotiating exterminating services and refinancing the mortgage. I work in finance. I was a market maker for Goldman Sachs on the NYSE and presently work for a 4 Billion dollar RIA/ fiduciary providing money management, financial planning, estate planning, and filing taxes for our clients. I enjoy weekends in beautiful Livingston Manor, NY.

For those who can not attend, please use the Proxy Form below.

Annual Meeting Proxy - May 22, 2025 - 59 Pineapple Corp. (1).pdf

Download PDF • 74KB

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Please do not slide proxies under doors without confirming with your neighbor that they can serve as your in person proxy at the meeting. You can slide proxies under Apt 3H for our Board President Margaret or Board Secretary Zac Apt 1KL ahead of the meeting or email them to fiftyninepineapple@gmail.com

Feel free to reach out with any questions.