October 2009 Vol. 29, No. 10
The October 2009 issue of The Cooperator newspaper focuses on Board Operations.
In this issue, you can read about being on the board, disruptive pet projects, etc..., renters vs. owners, limits of board power and rental remedies.
Visit our archives to see other articles that were published in 2009.
News Briefs
- 10.30.09 A member of her co-op board for six years and the president for nearly two, Helen Pearlstein is deeply involved with local affairs.[NY Times]
- 10.30.09 Fixer-Uppers are not the darlings of the New York City real estate market right now. [NY Times]
- 10.23.09 She shopped for co-ops in the Long Island communities of Floral Park, East Rockaway and Bellmore, among others, and also in Bellerose, Queens. [NY Times]
- 10.23.09 Roofs and windows that leak whenever it rains. .[NY Times]
- 10.23.09 Their view is the main reason that the Gisslers, who are both 74, are so enamored of the place where they live.[NY Times]
- 10.18.09 The names of New York neighborhoods are not carved into the sidewalk. As an area begins to gentrify, a new label often pops up to match the rising property values. A southern piece of Harlem was recently rebranded SoHa, and Park Slope, Brooklyn, keeps creeping south into territory once known as Sunset Park. [NY Times]
- 10.16.09 On Fort Hill Circle in St. George, Staten Island, nestled amid an assortment of shingle style, Italian Renaissance, Dutch colonial and Tudor houses, there sits an unassuming red-brick split-level. [NY Times]
- 10.09.09 As many co-op and condo owners can attest, ownership has its drawbacks. [NY Times]
- 10.09.09 And so, brokers say, Steven Mnuchin, a former executive vice president at Goldman Sachs, is giving up the comfort and lordly status of his five-bedroom duplex co-op at 740 Park Avenue, one of the most prestigious addresses in New York, for the suburban wilds of Pasadena, Calif. [NY Times]
- 10.09.09 L+M Development Partners is taking a classroom-packed 1906 building in Harlem and making it into a mix of market-rate and moderate-income apartments. [NY Times]
- 09.25.09 The economic downturn is giving renters a break. [NY Daily News]
Featured Articles
Use vs. Abuse—and How to Tell the Difference
Everybody sometimes disagrees with the decisions of their co-op or condo board.
Maybe the choice to rearrange the garbage receptacles out front seems
ridiculous, or the ongoing clattering of machinery on the roof is driving the
top-floor residents nuts and the board seems determined to let it fix itself.
These are the kinds of inevitable complaints that every board has to deal with
sooner or later, and most manage to handle such issues with prudence and
aplomb.
Read More
Growing Numbers of Non-Owners Pose Challenges
Renting out their unit has long been a strategy for condo owners (and some co-op
shareholders) who—usually because of an extended absence, or as an extra revenue stream—wish to retain ownership of an apartment that they’re not living in at the moment. The tanked economy has expanded this trend
throughout the region as more owners are looking to save or even make money on
their apartments.
Read More
Cultivating an Owner's Mentality
Talk to enough property managers and board members, and eventually you’ll hear the phrase “owner’s mentality” mentioned in reference to co-op and condo dwellers. Usually the phrase is
uttered by way of a complaint, as in, “Our residents just don’t have an owner’s mentality about their units or their building.”
Read More
Disruptive Pet Projects, Grudges & Other Distractions
When it comes to board members pushing their own pet projects, stalling
meetings, and generally gumming up their building’s administrative works for selfish reasons, Chris Ebert, senior property manager
of Downtown Properties in Manhattan, feels like he’s seen it all. But the memory of one particular board member’s personal agenda stands out in particular.
Read More
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Here’s the scenario: the sponsor of your co-op, who owns enough units to throw his
weight around, hires a managing agent who plays fast and loose with the
municipal tax codes. So much so in fact, that he winds up in jail—and your building winds up owing some significant back taxes. The sponsor then
brings in a new, wet-behind-the-ears managing agent, who pays the tax bill with
an unmarked—and untraceable—starter check, which the city cashes…without crediting the proper account. It’s like a parking meter ate your quarter, but instead of 25 cents, your building
just lost $90 grand.
Read More
