2007 Jun
2007 June Vol. 27, No. 6
Focus on...Law & Legislation
Continuing Education for Building Staff
Rodney Dangerfield made a career out of getting no respect, but in the world of condominiums and co-ops, building superintendents may be able to empathize with the comedian. While managing agents and board members seem to get all the accolades when something goes right, supers are usually the ones who maintain the physical structure of the building. They oversee all kinds of repairs and construction projects, as well as helping out individual shareholders with a vast array of minor (and not-so-minor) problems. Read More
New York State Bar Association
With some 72,000 members, the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is the largest voluntary statewide association of lawyers in the country, and the official organization of legal practitioners in the state. Read More
Superintendent Organizations Hold Roundtable Discussion
Superintendents are a lot more than just handymen—an important point learned at a roundtable discussion hosted by The Cooperator last month. Six representatives from three of New York City's seven superintendent organizations gathered for a roundtable discussion to share information and shed some light on their profession. From educational resources for supers to all the things residents don't know about their super's job, the attendees discussed a variety of topics in a lively and cooperative atmosphere. Read More
So, You've Been Sued
Reading the papers you've just been served, your heart quickens in fight-or-flight mode. Part of your mind can't believe your eyes. You've just been sued, and you aren't sure what your next step should be. Read More
2007 Co-op & Condo Expo Exceeds Expectations
For the past two decades, The Cooperator's annual Co-op & Condo Expo has been a destination event for anyone and everyone associated with the tri-state area's co-op and condo building communities. Vendors, service providers, board members, building staff members and residents alike have been coming to the Expo since 1987 to learn about new products and technologies, exchange information, network and improve how their buildings are run. Read More
A Look at the Financial District
For all the incredible diversity embodied in its population of eight million people and the many industries that call it home, New York City has always been a center of commerce. The city was founded not by a nation but by a corporation—the Dutch West India Company, in 1626 one of the wealthiest and most powerful commercial enterprises in the world. New Amsterdam, as it was originally called, was established not as a colony but as a trading post. Indeed, Broadway itself is paved over a trail used by Native Americans to come and make trade - for them, too, Manhattan was a commercial center. That the neighborhood containing the original Dutch settlements is called the Financial District, then, is hardly a misnomer. Read More
When Disaster Strikes
When a townhouse exploded on Manhattan's Upper East Side last summer, New Yorkers ran terror-stricken into the streets. As smoke billowed from the wreckage, no one knew what had caused the explosion, or how many people had been hurt. Just three months later, on October 11th, panicked residents were again evacuated when a small plane crashed into the 40th floor of the Belaire Condominium on 72nd Street. Smoke and flames consumed the brick wall where the plane lay lodged in one apartment owner's living room. A severed gas line caused a raging fire and sent a cascade of brick, mortar, glass and airplane parts crashing to the sidewalk below. Read More
Q&A: Commercial into Residential
We have a two-building, 146-unit cooperative that has a five-hundred-square-foot ground floor of commercial rental space. It has been vacant for about a month now. We, the board of directors, would like to know: Can this space be converted into another cooperative apartment unit? Who would we have to contact to make [sure] it is done legally? Read More
Q&A: Corrupt Management
We’ve had problems with a corrupt management in the past. I’m suspicious of our current management and several board members receiving kickbacks from vendors. Are there any steps that I can take to find out if this is repetition of our previous managing company and possibly board members participating in kickbacks? Read More
Q&A: Shareholder vs. Shareholder
In the event that a shareholder has a “dispute” with another shareholder—and claims that many other residents of the building have complained regarding the same issue—but refuses to provide the names of other complainants—how should this be handled? In a co-op aren’t you legally entitled to discuss complaints with other shareholders in order to mediate any problems? Read More
Q&A: Unfair Transfer Fees
Some members of my co-op board want to change our transfer fees upon sale to assign a lower per share fee for those shareholders who purchased after the year 2000. Their reasoning is that real estate values decreased after 2000. Others on the board argue this is unfair because all the continual fluctuations of real estate through past years and of future years to come can’t possibly be addressed. Also, those who’ve been here the longest to pay off the mortgage, and have invested and waited the longest for our new capital improvements, can’t be told our shares have lesser value than those of newer shareholders do. Is what they are proposing legal? How can we dissuade them from changing the transfer fees? What course of action can opposing shareholders take if those members of the board decide to implement their ideas? Read More
Q&A: Renovation Fee Woes
I live in a co-op in Manhattan and am planning to renovate my bathroom. My managing agent has informed me that I must pay a $500 fee to file my application for the renovation, which seems unusual. The renovation is simple—to replace tile and install a new toilet and sink. There is no structural work being performed, and there are no architect’s plans. In addition, the co-op wants to hold a check of $6,000 in case of damages, which seems very high. Finally, the managing agent who owns remaining unsold shares sits on the coop board which seems to be a conflict of interest and unethical. My questions are: 1) Is it typical that a fee is imposed by the managing agent, and if so is $500 typical? 2) Is this $6,000 for damages a typical amount? 3) Is it permissible by law and/or is it a conflict of interest for a non-owner managing agent (who owns unsold shares) to sit on the board? Read More
Budgeting for New York City's Future
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg announced his $59.0 billion budget plan for Fiscal Year 2008 and presented his updated four-year financial plan for New York City. In preparation for a possible economic slowdown, the mayor's proposal focuses on long-term planning that will help meet budget gaps through FY 2010, and new initiatives to maintain and advance the city's financial health. Read More
Understanding Apartment/Home Tax Inequity
The old saying goes that the only two sure things in life are death and taxes. According to the experts, for owners of co-ops and condos in New York City, there's a third inevitability: you're going to be taxed at a higher rate than owners of single-family homes. Read More
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn
You would think that trying to get to know the city's first female Speaker, Christine Quinn, would be difficult when you've only been granted ten minutes in the demanding politician's day. However, in such a short timeframe, Quinn has enough time to come across as focused, passionate, confident and proud of her achievements since taking office in January 2006. She also readily admits and recognizes the challenges that she still faces, especially on the topic of affordable housing. Read More
Co-op and Condo-Related Legislation
Legislatures are in session, both in the city and in Albany, and, as always, housing is a hot issue. What bills should co-op and condo board members, managers and owners be looking at that may impact their residences? Read More
Avoiding Legal Nightmares
We all have nightmares. Whether it's hungry sharks nipping at our feet or shadowy figures lurking in the woods, there will always be things that wake us in the middle of the night. If you're a co-op or condo owner, manager or board member, your nightmares may be a bit more specific; perhaps they involve feuding board members, or contractors gone awry, or worst of all, a tangled web of litigation that gets more snarled the more you try to free yourself. Read More
