2003 Feb
2003 Feb Vol. 23, No. 2
Focus on...Management/Board Relations
The Co-op Manager Shortage
The horror stories abound: Ivy Leaguers flipping fries. Dot-com darlings begging for work. A six percent unemployment rate. It's no secret that the New York job market is in the intensive care unit right now. So then how is it possible that co-op management agencies are taking out full-page wanted ads and offering hefty signing bonuses for qualified (and sometimes even less-than-qualified) recruits? Read More
Silence is Golden
Honking horns, noisy refuse trucks, construction clamor, boom boxes and car alarms are just some of the undeniable facts of life in living in the city that never sleeps. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, however, hopes to quell these noisy episodes with a quality of life initiative aimed at making the city a more peaceful place to live. Read More
The Toughest Job You'll Ever Love
If you live in a co-op, you have one. It may be a woman, or a man; someone just starting their career, enjoying the fruits of retirement, or somewhere in between. They don't get paid, they put in many hours on your behalf, and chances are that nothing on their resume prepared them for this job. Sometimes, he or she even forgets why they wanted the job in the first place. This is your Board president. Part office manager, maintenance engineer, financier, diplomat, and motivational speaker, this individual has taken on the often-thankless job of making sure your building runs smoothly. Why do they do it? And how do they do it well? The answers are as different as the individuals doing the job. Read More
A Taxing Situation
The city has been buzzing in recent months over Mayor Bloomberg's historic 18.5 percent property tax hike and what it will mean for property owners throughout the five boroughs. The tax hike comes hard on the heels of serious increases in insurance premiums, rising fuel prices, and a lingering economic slump. Read More
Thanks for the Memories
As the years pass in any enduring community - like a co-op or condo building - there's a lot to remember sometimes it gets hard to keep track of all the decisions made, contracts signed, bills paid, and rules amended. How can board decisions be kept consistent as directors and presidents come and go, and the population within a building shifts and changes? How can a board commit to memory which contractors did fantastic work, and which ones left much to be desired? How to keep track of which shareholders are subletting, and to whom? Read More
What's In a Name?
Lots of co-op and condo buildings in the city play host to one or more permanent guests on their ground floors; sometimes it's a mom-and-pop hardware store, or maybe a row of sleek, upscale boutique clothing stores. Humble or haute, commercial tenants can be a valuable source of income for residential buildings; but there's more to making a success of the arrangement than just hanging a "Store For Rent"¯ sign in the window of your building's available space and waiting for prospective tenants to bite. This is not just a regular landlord-tenant relationship; you have a responsibility to residents and shareholders to determine how a commercial tenant might impact the value of your property. Read More
Westchester County
With all the diversions and distractions on parade past our front stoops 24/7, it's easy for Manhattanites to forget that the New York City metro extends beyond the rivers that ring our little island. Vibrant communities large and small spread in every direction, eastward out along Long Island, across the Hudson into New Jersey, and up into the sizeable gap between "The City,"¯ and "Upstate."¯ Westchester County occupies part of that gap, and is home to both picturesque towns and villages with names like Sleepy Hollow and Pleasantville as well as cities like White Plains and Yonkers that are every bit as urbanized as Brooklyn or Queens. Read More
Broker Suggests Change in Tax Code
U.S. Congressman Tom Reynolds (D-NY) has introduced legislation to remove an inequity in the tax code that penalized seniors and middle income homeowners from taking a deduction on their tax returns for any mortgage interest they had accumulated in the purchase or refinancing of their primary residence. Read More
Playing Nice
Some relationships seem destined for rocky paths. Brothers and sisters. Mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law. Sponsors and boards. Although certainly not all board and sponsor relationships travel the bumpy road, many do. Understanding the whys and hows behind that discord can go a long way toward preventing trouble - or mending fences and setting a smoother future course for relationships that already have gotten off to a poor start. Read More
From the Co-op to the Classroom
With today's ever-changing building codes, laws and technology, a managing agent's job is becoming more complex than it was several decades ago. Today's agent has a multitude of responsibilities, including supervision of all aspects of the building, managing contracts, budgets, tenant relations, and more. Read More
Let's Go Expo
Once again, the time is drawing near to mark your calendars and program your Palm Pilots to remind you of The Cooperator's annual Co-op and Condo Expo, which is descending on Midtown's New York Hilton, 53rd Street and Avenue of the Americas, on March 6th for a jam-packed day of information-sharing, free advice, new products and service demos, networking opportunities, raffles, door prizes, and (of course) lots of freebies. Read More
Keeping an Eye Out
New Yorkers have always been vigilant in keeping themselves and their apartments as secure as possible. The doorman, security guard, building superintendent or concierge is traditionally the first line of defense in controlling the cadre of visitors, residents, building staff and delivery people that routinely enter a co-op or condo building each day. But, especially in the aftermath of September 11th, building owners, managing agents and residents can no longer be complacent that an appropriate level of security is being provided. And how does one keep their building reasonably secure without installing the technological equivalent of Fort Knox? Read More
