2010 Feb
2010 February Vol. 30, No. 2
Focus on...Board/Shareholder Relations
Anger Management
For most people, “foaming at the mouth” is just a figure of speech. Attorney Ellen Hirsch de Haan, a managing partner
in the Tampa Bay, Florida office of Becker & Poliakoff PA, has encountered the real thing—and not at an animal shelter, but at a condominium owners’ meeting.
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Civilian Again
Few board members would argue that the time spent serving their buildings and
fellow residents can be both very strenuous and very rewarding. For years, they
make decisions that affect their community in the present and may continue to
impact them years down the road.
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Board Members and Privacy
As the leaders of a private corporation in which shareholders own stock that
entitles them to live in an apartment within the corporation’s building, residential co-op board members have a lot of responsibility. Along
with this responsibility comes questions about what can and cannot (as well as
what should and should not) be openly discussed among board members,
management, and non-board shareholders.
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Home Sweet Office
Ari Meisel lives in a 4,000-square foot loft in a four-family co-op building in
Soho—he also operates several green buildings, consulting and real estate businesses
from the comfort of his own unit. He has lived in this building for his entire
life, renovating the loft to accommodate his growing business. He holds
meetings and occasional gatherings there, like the speaker event he once had
with 30 guests. And in case you’re wondering, Meisel says his neighbors and the board don’t mind one bit.
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Board Elections
Every co-op and condo community has a board of directors in charge of governing
the community’s finances, physical maintenance and other day-to-day business. Part of the
board’s responsibility also is to keep the community fiscally sound, though not all
boards do a good job of this task. Given all that, it's easy to see why it’s important for residents to choose their community’s board members carefully.
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Where the Dollars Are
Few things can be as upsetting as discovering that the funds that fuel a co-op
or condo have been mishandled—or worse yet, stolen. For residents, fraud undermines their sense of trust in
the men and women who oversee and manage the place they call home. For managers
and board members, it can breach the trust that exists between each other,
wreaking havoc not only on the bottom line but on the very fiber of the
organization itself.
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Multicultural Patchwork
Astoria Boulevard is the second-to-last stop on the N-W subway line. The N train
whistles against the track on a banking turn near 39th Avenue, five subway
stops south of Astoria Boulevard. There’s a sign posted inside the train explaining that “falling leaves when crushed by moving trains” make for slippery travels, and as a result, “trains may operate at reduced speeds and/or operate slower than normal.” Despite the redundancy, the ride from Times Square is still under 30 minutes.
At night, on the elevated platform, the lights of Manhattan blink quietly
across the East River, and the city’s closeness is clear.
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Combining Apartments
I often go up to Washington Heights, an area where I lived many years ago, just
to walk around. On one recent trip, I decided to take a look into the lobby of
my old apartment building on Cabrini Boulevard to see if there had been any
changes.
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What Do You Do With Your "Greenie"?
Most of your buildings have a shareholder—or maybe two or three—who fit into a particular mold: you know, longer hair, Birkenstocks, vintage
Woodstock t-shirts; or maybe yours has the $5,000 suit, $1,000 shoes, and
starched attitude. They may look different, but both have the same agenda: “Green our building!”
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Q&A: The Shining
I live in a high-rise co-op on the Upper East Side and have a situation where my neighbor two floors down built a terrace and installed six string up-lights, for "landscape" lighting, which shine up into my windows. They leave the lights on all night and day. Prior to the light installation, the exterior area was pitch black at night. I am constantly awakened at 3 a.m. thinking it's morning. Is there any local ordinance which prevents them from keeping their lights on all night long? My co-op board and management company have had a difficult time dealing with these shareholders, who claim that they need the lights for 'safety'—although their apartment is not at ground level and faces the rear of the building. The co-op board suggested that they install a timer, and almost eight months later they have yet to install one. Read More
Q&A: Conflicted and Confused
I am the vice president of our co-op board. Just recently we found out through a real estate ad that the president of the board is selling his unit. Does this pose a conflict of interest? In effect should the president remain the president while he is selling his apartment? He's postponed several meetings where we're supposed to address a maintenance increase. My guess is that he's obligated to tell his prospective buyers about the maintenance increase, but one would wonder why these meetings have been continuously postponed. Read More
Q&A: Separate But Equal?
Our co-op has a question about our various insurance policies. Our insurance agent has recommended to the board that we keep our Directors & Officers (D&O) coverage separate from our general liability coverage. I understand that some commercial general liability policies include D&O, so is there a standard approach or policy for this type of scenario? Read More
