2001 Nov
2001 Nov Vol. 21, No. 11
Focus on...Interacting With Professionals
Getting Tipsy
New York is an expensive town–on that point there can be little debate. Regardless of your means, sometimes it can feel as though everybody from the waitress at your favorite coffee shop to the person who sacks your groceries is trying to get every last nickel out of you. Tip jars are everywhere, sometimes decorated with winsome appeals for change ("Tipping is good karma!"), sometimes just sitting there expectantly, waiting for you to pony up. The holiday season compounds the issue: there are gifts to buy, travel accommodations to book, parties to attend, inclement weather to worry about… and the anxiety that many of us feel when we try to figure out what kind of tip to give the people who (hopefully) make our everyday life a little easier: our building staff. Read More
Standard United
Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 32BJ is a coalition of 70,000 doormen, superintendents, concierges, porters, cleaning personnel and maintenance workers in New York City and its surroundings. Founded in 1934, the union is as diverse as the city it serves, representing workers from 60 countries speaking 25 different languages. Many of those workers serve the city’s co-op and condo community, working to keep residential buildings running smoothly and comfortably for their occupants. Read More
Give Me a Sign
The side of your residential building is a windowless plane of painted brick that stands ten stories higher than the adjacent co-op, clearly visible from the well-trafficked Queensboro Bridge. The side of the building has deteriorated a bit in the last few years and will need repairing-at considerable expense-sometime within the next year. There are already grumblings among the tenants, many of whom would rather not pay for such labor now, with a recession looming. The situation is setting up to be a major headache for you, the board president. Read More
Back from the Brink
When Irwin Cohen, president of Manhattan’s A. Michael Tyler Realty came on board in 1997 to manage a ten-unit co-op on the Upper East Side, the building was on the verge of bankruptcy. In addition to depleting their reserve fund to pay for sorely needed repairs, the co-op owed over $100,000 to various vendors and service providers–$100,000 it couldn’t afford to pay. The co-op had obtained a $100,000 line of credit to do the necessary repairs, but well over half of the sum was long since spent by the time Cohen came on the scene. Read More
A City on the Rise
Jersey City knows something about bouncing back. With property values rising, a steady influx of retail stores, trendy restaurants and the arrival of some of the corporate world’s heaviest heavyweights, Jersey City has become a magnet for families, young professionals and others looking for a safe place to live that’s exciting, yet stable. Such was not always the case, however; Jersey City has survived harsh Colonial conditions, stock market crashes, and the onus of not being Manhattan, but yet as time passes, the area is beginning to thrive. Read More
Crisis Without Chaos
In the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, much has been said about the massive recovery effort and the grievous loss of life. While work crews continue to toil around the clock to recover and clean up, a lesser crisis has been playing out in the blocks surrounding ground zero. Dozens of residential buildings had to be evacuated on September 11th, and now they must be cleaned up in order for residents to return home. In some cases, buildings have needed to repair structural damage and restore lost power and phone service. In the real estate community, practical questions are being asked about how to best manage co-op and condo buildings in emergency situations in order to minimize chaos and displacement–or just discomfort–for residents. The simple answer appears to be the famous Boy Scout motto: Be Prepared. Read More
Vive La Securite
In the wake of the World Trade Center attack, many boards are re-assessing their building’s security needs and taking steps to insure that their residents and residents’ property are well looked-after. Clearly, a building’s most valuable contents are not its Italian marble foyer, its antique gilded moldings, or its turn-of-the-century solid brass fixtures. No, the most important, most precious commodity in any given building is its residents. But making the decision to increase security is only the first step. Deciding what type of protection is most appropriate and which company to go with can be extremely daunting, particularly when considering the repercussions a poorly advised choice might have. Read More
The Mitchell-Lama Debate
Here in New York, where real estate values have risen to unprecedented levels, limited equity co-ops created under the Mitchell-Lama program are presented with the choice of either embracing their own dizzying market value by removing the restrictions imposed by the program and converting to free-market housing or remaining limited equity where both purchase and sale prices are limited to several thousand dollars a room. So how is the buy-out issue affecting cooperatives? Are they rushing to claim their share of the windfall? What are the economics of their situation? Is it even ethical to be reducing the stock of affordable housing at a time when no new affordable housing is being created? Read More
Your Legal Counsel
When your board hires a professional, you’re looking for someone they can trust to do good work on behalf of your building. This goal is doubly important when it comes to hiring and interacting with a lawyer for your co-op or condo building. The long-term relationship between a board and legal counsel provides continuity and guidance as the years pass and boards change. In order for that relationship to work, however, both the board and the attorney must be willing to work together to ensure that things run smoothly and in the building’s best interest. Relying on the good judgment of your legal counsel and being aware of his or her responsibilities to you and your building will benefit everyone involved and make the day-to-day operations of your building as smooth and trouble-free as possible. Read More
On the Home Front
Anyone who’s lived in a co-op or condo building for a number of years usually has at least a passing understanding of what happens when their building’s lobby needs repainting, or when the board meets to decide what style of new wainscoting to go with in the hallways. Votes are taken, contractors contacted, and then the project is under way. After a (hopefully) brief period where halls are cluttered with equipment and workmen come and go at what seems like all hours, the project is finished. There may be a few who object to the new color of paint, or would have preferred burled oak for the wainscoting, but for the most part, these things are routine. Read More
Working with Professionals
Most co-op and condo dwellers are well aware of the responsibilities held and services provided by their building’s top-tier contractors–otherwise known as the managing agent, the accountant and the attorney. Working as a team, this group of people facilitates the more abstract aspects of running a multi-family residence; addressing board and tenant issues, balancing the books, and keeping the whole endeavor within the letter of the law. A co-op or condo is more than just a home, however. It is also a business that employs vendors and contractors, and residents can only benefit from familiarizing themselves with the independent contractors who provide their buildings with common in-house services like laundry rooms, gyms, and basement storage facilities. Read More
