2006 Jun
2006 Jun Vol. 26, No. 6
Focus on...Law and Legislation
Rule Change
Spring is here, and with it comes a lot of renovation—especially of homes, weekend homes and co-ops. With all that work comes inevitable disputes between homeowners and their architects, interior designers and contractors. For many years, arbitration has been the main method chosen by interior designers and architects to resolve their disputes with clients. Read More
Mayor Presents $52.7 Billion Budget
Flush into his second term as the city’s chief executive, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg proposes a $52.7 billion budget plan for 2007 and updated his four-year financial plan for New York City in an attempt to keep the city’s finances on solid ground. Read More
Make It Safe
Imagine this scenario... you are in charge of a residential property, as either a board member or a managing agent. One of your residents has just advised you that the lock on the front door of the building has been known to malfunction “from time to time.” Read More
From Farmland to High Rises
Taking its name from one of the most photographed buildings in New York City, the Flatiron district is named for the iconic Flatiron building, which sits on the wedge-shaped intersection of Fifth Avenue and Broadway. In the last two decades or so, the neighborhood has turned itself inside out. Once a renowned center of commerce and fashion, the area is thriving again—but in a new way. Read More
The Laws of the Land
Each year, our representatives in the New York State Legislature propose, debate, and ultimately pass or reject scores of laws and pieces of legislation. Read More
Home Sweet Home?
While most residential buildings in the city are either purely rental or purely co-op/condo, there are many co-op and condo buildings that are home to rental tenants. This usually is the result of the building converting from rental to co-op or condo, or of shareholders or unit owners renting their units for a period of time or as a source of income. Read More
A Place of One's Own
When it comes to something as valuable as the place we call home, almost any dispute has the potential to turn into a legal crisis—and that goes double for New Yorkers. For tenants and landlords, these issues usually arise over problems with late rent, rule breaking, or destruction of property. Co-op and condo owners face many of the same issues as rental tenants and their landlords—but they aren’t the same. Read More
Playing the Percentages
It may sound like an oxymoron, but in the world of co-ops there is such a thing as “bad income.” The federal tax code requires that cooperative buildings receive at least 80 percent of their income from their shareholders—usually in the form of monthly maintenance charges and periodic special assessments. Failure to meet this requirement (commonly known as the 80/20 rule) results in a building’s shareholders being unable to declare certain tax benefits, such as declaring the interest on mortgages and an exemption on taxable income when selling a home. Read More
Changing the Guard
This is a transitional time for the New York City Council. This year, there is a new City Council Speaker in the person of Christine Quinn, a Democrat from District 3 on Manhattan’s Lower West Side who, since becoming speaker, has announced a series of reforms aimed at making the council more democratic. Read More
The Mighty Quinn
Considering that she’s still a few months away from turning 40, Christine Quinn, Speaker of the New York City Council, has achieved a great deal in politics and is thought of as the second most powerful figure in city government, after the mayor himself. Read More
Q&A: A Fair Sublet Fee?
I’m curious! What is a fair sublet fee for a small Brooklyn co-op? Is it just a percentage of the maintenance, or decided upon by some other formula? Read More
Q&A: Brownstone Apartment Merger
We’re in the process of purchasing two studios in a small brownstone co-op. Our plan is to combine them into one apartment. How will reducing the number of dwellings in the building affect the overall co-op in terms of taxes, mortgage eligibility, zoning, etc.? Also, who- or what agencies-must be alerted about this project? Read More
Q&A: Problem Board Members
I’m currently the vice president for our co-op, a 334-unit community on Long Island. We’re having difficulties with two of our board members. One has been on the board for five years, and has been very destructive. For example, this board member accuses other board members of being corrupt, and our sponsor of manipulating the board, etc. Whenever the board member is confronted for proof, it can never be supplied. The board member also threatens everyone with lawsuits. This individual is also harassing our maintenance crew. The second board member follows in this person’s footsteps, and both their behavior is escalating. We are at a loss as to what to do. Our bylaws state that a two-thirds vote must come from the community in order to remove someone from the board, but this will be nearly impossible, as a large number of our shareholders do not take part in the voting process. Are there any other venues we could take? Read More
