Tiara Towers

Long time Tiara residents may remember James Cuccio, father of Dr. Edward and wife Mirella Cuccio (S 1005), and of Joan Fragala (S 402).    James passed away April 14, 2022, at the age of 102 years.    The Tiara family sends its condolences to Edward, Mirella, and Joan.

Obituary

Lodi New Jersey - James J. Cuccio, 102, of Lodi, August 21, 1919- April 14, 2022.   Jim was a lifelong resident of Lodi and parishioner of St. Francis de Sales Church. Beloved husband of the late Joan (nee Tomczyk) and loving grandfather to the late Travis Fragala. Devoted father of Jim Jr. and wife Rosemarie, Dr. Edward Cuccio and wife Mirella, Joan and partner Philip Toronto, loving grandfather of Sofia and Mariano Cuccio and uncle of many nieces and nephews. Jim owned Jim's Meat Market of Lyndhurst 1948-1960. Jim was the owner and operator of Chess Amusements of Lodi. He served his country as an Army Sergeant, served his community as a School Board Trustee, with the Boys and Girls Club of Lodi, as a councilman and as Mayor of Lodi in 1968. He was a past-commander of the Lodi VFW Post 5082, past-president of the Lodi Lion's Club, and a member of the Hasbrouck Heights Elks Club. He chaired the Lodi South Golf outing in Florida for 25 years. He was the head the Sicilian relief program and established the Head Start Program in Lodi for special needs children. Jim had a full and blessed life and enjoyed playing golf, spending winters in Florida, sharing every holiday with family, talking on the phone with all his friends, and dining out. We will cherish every memory of a life well lived. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the funeral on Friday April 22, 2022, 9:00 AM at Di Chiara Funeral Home, 300 Main St., Lodi then to St. Francis de Sales R.C. Church for a 10:00 AM Funeral Mass. Entombment to follow at St. Mary's Cemetery in Saddle Brook.

Construction Update

On behalf of the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT), District Four, you are invited to a Virtual Public Meeting and In-person Construction Open House to learn about the State Road (SR) A1A North Causeway over the Intracoastal Waterway (ICWW) Bridge Replacement Project in the City of Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, FL. The project will begin construction on May 16, 2022.

VIRTUAL: MAY 11
The Virtual Public Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 11, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Please use the following link to register: http://bit.ly/NBRIDGEFP, or dial (562) 247-8422, Access Code: 288-453-982

IN-PERSON: MAY 12
The In-person Construction Open House is scheduled for Thursday, May 12, 2022, from 5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
at the River Walk Center located at 600 North Indian River Drive, First Floor, Fort Pierce, FL 34950.

The Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/events/993228568248799/?ref=newsfeed has more information

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Brightline continues to post highway advisories as their work schedule evolves.

If you really need to know when the RR crossing at the North Causeway bridge will be down to one lane or even closed you should continue to monitor the information on the Brightline site, www.gobrightline.com/railroad-construction . On that site you'll select the State as Florida and then look at the advisories listed down the left side of the page.

We don't promise to catch all the changes, but we'll try to post changes on the website and on the Tiara bulletin boards but the most accurate way for you to track the scheduled closings is to continue to monitor the Brightline site yourself.

For the latest info, asof April 12, 2022, CLICK HERE.

To have the advisories sent to you, local residents are encouraged to sign up for Brightline updates by texting “A1A” to 888-384-0037.

Note that in the latest advisory the day for full road closures is 6 pm May 2 to 6 am May 3.

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Julia Fairclough (902S) died on April 2 just shy of her 94th birthday.  Our beloved Julie was a devoted wife to her husband of 68 years, Albert, who passed away in 2020.

She is survived by her 3 children an adopted son and their spouses.  She was a loving grandmother and great grandmother.

Julie worked many years as a second grade teacher and retired while working for New York State.

Julie was a beautiful person, gentle and kind in every way.  She will be greatly missed by us all.

BLUE STREAM FIBER UPDATE, MARCH 4

 We all understand that change (especially new technologies and services) can be unnerving.  The Board and volunteers are working hard to make the transition go as smoothly as possible.

BSF Townhall

The BSF team will be here on March 14 to meet with us.  They will do the same presentation at both 2PM and 3PM, once in each building.  It will be an opportunity to hear from them what your new TV and Internet services will be like.  There will also be a question and answer opportunity.  I strongly encourage you to attend.

Wiring In Units

 All but 9 units have the new fiber cable pulled and coiled up at an installation box.  Please don’t touch the coil of small tubing.  It is glass and very fragile.  BSF will return Monday (the 7^th) to complete 8 units that had unique installation problems.  It could take two days.

Service to the Building

You may have noticed some trenching along A1A, the north side of the property, and/or on the beachside of the building.  That work is being done to bring the BSF services to the North and South buildings.  It should be completed next week.

Channel Lineup

I’ve had a lot of questions about what channels we’ll be receiving as part of our contract with BSF.  It will be very similar but not identical to what we’ve been receiving from Comcast.  I’ve attached a list of the channels.

Tiara Towers Channel Lineup_Final

Optional Services

As with Comcast, you will be able to order additional services (in the attached brochure) from BSF and pay them directly.  You can add additional channel lineups, landline phone service, more set-top boxes (if you need more than the 3 that will be provided), and more hours of DVR service (The first 150 are free. Disregard the information on the attachment.  We negotiated more!)

Tiara Towers Service and Price Guide_Final

Installation of Equipment

BSF staff will begin calling owners about March 21 to set up personal appointments.  They will not only install your equipment and hook all your devices to the Internet but also provide you with lessons on how to make everything work.

In an effort to make this transition go as smoothly as possible, we need your help.  We need to know when owners are going to be here during the installation process.  If you are a year-round (not seasonal) renter, then we need your information as well.  BSF needs to know which condos will be occupied in April and by whom.  Please provide the following information to bob@maxthetest.com..

Which are you: owner or year-round renter?

If leaving in April, what is your approximate date of departure?

Will you be in residence the entire month of April (being gone a few days and returning is okay)?

Will your condo be unoccupied during the entire month of April?

Thanks for your assistance, the information will help scheduling the installations go more smoothly.

As always, please call me with any questions.

Bob Alexander (407) 497-1102.

Note:  The Tiara website will add all Blue Stream Fiber documents, including those above, to a new page named Blue Stream Fiber on the website under the menu item Support.  

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Blue Stream Fiber has provided the planned schedule for the next several weeks.  While it is a construction project and subject to changes, it provides a pretty good idea of how things will progress.

When the Town Hall meeting schedule is finalized, I’ll be sending details.  I recommend you attend.

1. Final Walkout - 22 Feb - Complete - Construction team meet and prep

2. Trench / Drops - 23 Feb - In Progress - Working drops / pulls and trench simultaneously

3. Final Testing - 11 Mar - Not Started - Engineering testing

4. Town Hall - 14 Mar - Not Started - Onsite with Zoom

5. Registration Week - Mar 21 to April 1 - Not Started - Signing up and scheduling for installs

6. Install - 4 - April - Not Started - Install all equipment at resident's unit

Questions?  Give me a call.

Bob Alexander (407)

Transitioning from Comcast to Blue Stream Fiber

The Board has signed an 8-year contract with Blue Stream Fiber (BSF) to provide bulk TV and Internet services.  BSF will replace Comcast TV effective May 1, 2022.  The decision to make the change was based on four criteria: price, technology, services, and customer support.

There are some changes you will experience in your TV and Internet services.  A device called an ONT (similar to your Wifi router and approximately 8”x3”x10”) will communicate wirelessly to all your TVs and wireless devices (computers, smart phones, thermostats, etc.)  As part of the contract, up to three set-top boxes (approximately 4”x4”x1”) will be attached to TVs and will communicate with the ONT.  If you have more than three TVs, you will need to rent additional set-top boxes from BSF as you would now do with Comcast.  Smart TVs (wifi ready) are good to go.  If you have an older flat screen TV that is not wifi ready, you will need to attach a Fire Stick or similar device using the HDMI connection on your TV.  Any very old TV (shaped like a microwave oven) will not work with the community’s new services.

The channel lineup is substantially the same as Comcast.  HBO will no longer be paid for by the community.  Extra channels may be purchased from BSF just as many residents currently do now through Comcast.  The TV remote controls are voice-activated; so, you simply tell it what you want to do.  (For example, “NBC” will change the TV to the proper channel.)  The BSF package includes free DVR service and 150 hours of program storage.  Once BSF services are active in your condo, you need to remember to cancel all extra Comcast services you currently purchase such as extra TV channels and DVR services unless you want to keep them.

There is one feature of BSF services that Tiara owners have been especially pleased to hear about.  The TV services will be available to you wherever you are in the United States!  The exception is that the FCC does not allow national networks’ local channels (e.g., NBC’s Channel 5 in West Palm Beach) to be broadcast outside of their licensed geographical area.  There are a couple of ways to get those national network channels for free and I’ll explain them in meetings and emails as we get closer to May 1.

So, how does this help you?  Snowbirds will be able to watch your BSF services back at home without paying for a local TV provider.  While traveling, you also will be able to watch your recorded shows away from Tiara.

The Internet speeds will be very fast: 300Mbps for both downloading and uploading information.  Since we are bulking Internet services, you no longer need to personally contract and pay for Internet services.  Remember to cancel your current services when BSF Internet is active in your condo unless you wish to continue your current services.

Shortly after April 1, you will receive a letter from Comcast explaining how to return their equipment (set-top boxes, Internet modems and routers).  They will explain a few options for doing that.  If you are not in residence when you are ready to return your equipment and need help, please contact Bob Alexander.  He has a committee of residents who can help you.

The installation of the new BSF services is scheduled to begin the week of February 21 and be completed by May 1.  In a few weeks, BSF will contact you to schedule a date and time to have their equipment installed in your condo.  They prefer that you be present so that they can connect your TVs and Internet devices and explain how to use your new services.  If you will not be here, during the installation period, contact me or a member of Telecommunications Committee for assistance with the installation in your condo.  When you return, you’ll be able to make an appointment (free) to have one of their staff members explain all the new equipment and services.

BSF is very committed to providing us with exceptional customer support.  We will have our own toll-free hotline and they have guaranteed to have a live person on the line within a minute with you for 90% of our phone calls.  In cases that cannot be resolved by phone, they will send a technician within four business hours.  So, if you call in the morning, they’ll send someone that afternoon.  If you call in the afternoon, they’ll try to get someone to you that afternoon or the next morning.

Communication with BSF has been excellent and they are committed to continue quality communications.  For example, there will be community meetings during the installation between now and May 1 to demonstrate and explain the new services.  Then, once each quarter they will have a staff member on-site in one of the party rooms to talk with you about any questions and/or suggestions you may have.

If you have any questions, please contact me by email or phone.

Bob Alexander

Bob@MaxTheTest.com

(407) 497-1102

The link is live today.  You can order a set of 4 covid tests for home use, at no cost.

https://www.covidtests.gov

As most of you know, David Pugh is out this week with Covid.    I spoke with him yesterday and he asked me to let everyone know that he is doing better, feeling better, and resting so he can recover quickly and return to Tiara as soon as medically cleared.

We plan to distribute the 2022 Homeowners' Directories this weekend to those who are here.   There is a sign up sheet in the mailrooms and if you will be here, please mark the sheet for your unit with a YES and your initials and the book will be delivered to your front doorknob.    You don't have to be home at the time, or even open the door.     If you're on the list we'll hang the book on your doorknob this weekend.

Please sign up by Friday.

If you prefer,  you can email me (jerib99@gmail.com) with other directions, such as:

• Please hold my directory.  I'm away, but will be at Tiara soon.   I will pick up the Directory from Jeri in 1505 S
• Have my Directory mailed to me.  Elliott Merrill will mail the directory to your address of record.