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Stoking the Fires
In a few months, the hot summer weather will be just a distant memory, and all that time spent trying to get cool will be behind us. Instead, co-op and condo residents will be turning up the thermostat for some soothing warmth. Now is the time to make sure the boilers that keep our buildings toasty are in good working order and ready to face the challenges of those icy winter nights. Read More
Roundtable II: The Sequel
Following up on the success of the informal roundtable discussion jointly hosted by The Cooperator and the Federation of New York Housing Cooperatives and Condominiums (FNYHC) this past February, a group of area co-op and condo board presidents and representatives of the FNYHC reconvened over fresh bagels and coffee for a second roundtable discussion June 24th. Read More
No Ifs, Ands....Or Butts
It's not easy to be a smoker in New York City these days. It has become commonplace to see office workers in front of skyscrapers lighting up, or to hear announcements prohibiting smoking in theaters and other public venues. And now, under the New York City Smoke-free Air Act of 2002, smokers at restaurants and bars have to step outside to light up. It's not even legal to smoke in a previously designated "smoking lounge."¯ About the only place left to smoke indoors is at home"¦or is it? Read More
Coming to the Rescue
Bad things happen to good buildings; it's a fact of life. From tyrannical sponsors to maintenance mishaps, there's plenty to go wrong - and when it does, your life can be made miserable. But sometimes a truly inspired manager can pull a happy ending out of the stickiest situation. We spoke with some of the city's busy building managers to find out how they resolved some of their own worst-case scenarios. Read More
Parking Dynamics
Driving around Manhattan can be a hazardous sport. Cabbies signal lane changes by changing lanes. Brazen bike messengers yield for few things, and stop for fewer. Congested pedestrian groups form walls as they cross the street, stymieing cars attempting to make right-hand turns. The harrowing journey often ends in an expensive parking garage, awash in the smell of burning rubber as an attendant peels off in your car. Comparatively, it can seem like a privilege to sit idly for a $2 subway ride. Read More
We Meet Again
Of all the goings-on in the thousands of co-op and condo buildings in New York City, perhaps none inspires more questions and confusion than board and shareholders' meetings. How often must meetings be held? What gets decided at meetings? Who's invited to participate? What kinds of records must be kept of meetings? Read More
Residential Strike Averted
Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) reached agreement on a new three-year contract, averting a potentially costly and damaging strike that would have impacted more than a million apartment dwellers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Queens. Read More
Mi Casa Es Su Casa
Subletting your co-op or condo apartment in the city is a lot like subletting a rental - but with a few important differences. Many co-op apartment boards flatly refuse to allow subletting, and of those that do allow it, nearly all have strict guidelines about how long a shareholder can sublet, and to whom. Condos - over which the owner maintains more direct control - often prove easier to negotiate. Read More
A Meeting of the Minds
The Cooperator recently hosted the first of what is hoped to be an ongoing series of casual, roundtable-style forums in which co-op and condo presidents from all five boroughs met to discuss issues and concerns of particular interest to shareholders and unit owners. The brainchild of the Federation of New York Housing Cooperatives and Condominiums (FNYHC) and The Cooperator, the roundtable idea was pitched to a cross-section of building presidents ranging in size from fewer than a dozen units to multi-unit high-rise complexes. They were invited to sit down with their colleagues to share experiences, air concerns, trade ideas, and even vent a little. 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
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
Listen and Learn
Co-op boards make decisions for the good of all shareholders, not just one or two. Though board membership may be a selfless proposition, productivity results from a concerted effort to put duty first, with personal conflicts and interpersonal friction taking a backseat to business. According to Bud Johnson, a thirty-year shareholder resident and board president of Manhattan's Chesapeake Owners Corp. co-op, "To me, being on a co-op board is like running a corporation. All of us on the board are running a business. We're spending the money of the shareholders. We have to run it on a profitable basis."¯ Read More
It's (Mostly) the Money, Honey...
Anyone who has ever undergone the process of applying to be a shareholder in a New York City co-op knows how exhausting it can be, not to mention stressful. From securing a loan, to culling financial documents to be reviewed by a co-op board, to the nervous jitters of having to be interviewed, is there anything pleasant about it? Read More
Shareholder Rights
Whenever a resident, board member or building owner gets frustrated by inaction or the process of wading through the bureaucratic red tape of board politics, it's hard to know where to turn for a solution. Read More
The Rights of Succession
It is not uncommon for a precious commodity such as season tickets to the Yankees, Giants or Knicks to be handed down from father to son or from grandfather to grandson. So, in today's marketplace, it's easy to see why an apartment owner would want their exclusive Manhattan real estate to be passed down from generation to generation. Read More
Not Exactly a Walk in the Park
All too often, individuals hastily volunteer to become a member of the board of directors in their condo or co-op building. Although these people should be commended for their effort and enthusiasm, often lost upon the typical board member are the complex responsibilities - and potential liability - that come along with their position. Read More
Whattayamean, "No"?
Smoking, a purchaser's pets, personal habits, and even cooking with the flair of Emeril are only some of the touchy aspects that a board may take into account when considering a new resident's application for admission into a building these days. The wide variance of co-op and condo rules have elicited the attention of board members, residents, and shareholders, and gaining board approval seems more difficult now than ever for prospective buyers. Read More
Making Your Building Secure
In the post 9/11 world, building owners and managers have to feel a little bit like "Big Brother"¯ the tyrannical, all-seeing, all-knowing holographic presence that George Orwell chillingly wrote about in his classic sci-fi novel 1984. In Orwell's fictionalized setting in a futuristic society, citizens were monitored by huge telescreens that contained the visage of Big Brother and police interpreted facial expressions and voice intonations to determine a person's truthfulness. Read More
It's Court Day
There’s no question that the Internet has revolutionized the way the world communicates. E-mail has become such an integral part of our lives and work, it’s hard to imagine how anybody got anything done without it. Read More
Fear of Rejection
More than 100 board members, residents, and guests recently gathered to hear a workshop seminar on how boards can avoid discriminatory practices when approving applications from prospective purchasers. The seminar panels were held in conjunction with The Cooperator’s 15th Annual Co-op and Condo Expo February 25 at the New York Hilton. Read More
Fraud Detection and Prevention
Although the US economy appears to have been in a steady decline for some time, it would seem that financial fraud and abuse are, unfortunately, "growth sectors." Read More
Is Your Home Your Castle, or Just a Fortress?
When I was growing up in the ‘60s, our large rental building in Queens was like a village. My mother played mah jong once a week with several neighbor ladies, and Tuesdays were Dad’s poker nights. We kids played freely in the halls, practiced tap dancing in the stone stairwells, and ran across the lobby to "Aunt Linda’s" apartment so Mom could have a few minute’s peace. And while other parts of my city childhood were somewhat less than idyllic, the community that I grew up in remains a golden memory. 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
Board Education
It’s a common enough occurrence: Jane, who has served on your co-op’s board of directors since the Hoover Administration, makes a surprise announcement at the monthly meeting: she’s selling her apartment and retiring to Florida. This does not upset you much–Jane is something of a busybody–until you realize that she will have to be replaced. Read More
The Age of Consultants
It appears we’re living in the age of the consultant. There are financial consultants, construction consultants, security and management consultants, and those that get you rebates on your building’s taxes and utilities. There are experts to confer with on elevator and roof repair, technology, and insurance, and still others who will evaluate your maintenance service. The question is, do you need all these people and the services they’re selling? Read More
The Letter of the Law
Even the best-running engine–or the most well-built house–needs an occasional tune-up or a fresh coat of paint. So too with governing documents which are so vital to the operation of the place you call home. As times change and people come and go, the documents that direct and guide the course of your building may need to be adjusted or reassessed to best serve the community they govern. The key to making these changes smoothly and with minimal disruption lies in understanding the documents themselves and how they relate to–and differ from–each other. Read More
Easy Come, Easy Go?
We all live and work in co-ops or condos; most of us have lived through some form of havoc wreaked by a board member. This person may be earnest and well intentioned, but projects an argumentative and contentious demeanor that is disruptive. Or he's an absentee board member and delays important decisions. Or even more egregious, he's a board member who focuses on personal gain over the good of the co-op. Read More
An Insider's View
Remember the adage that 80 percent of the work is done by 20 percent of the people? The same appears to be true of boards throughout the city. Read More
Love Thy Neighbor... As Best You Can
It’s 3:30 in the morning and your upstairs neighbor can’t seem to get enough of the new Cher album. It’s not just the techno beat that’s getting to you, it’s the volume. It’s making your china collection rattle in its hutch and your teeth hum until you just can’t take it anymore. You’re a patient person, but after a week, it’s just too much. You have a problem neighbor and you aren’t alone. Read More
In the Know
Call a real estate consultant a "know-it-all" and he or she will probably just smile wisely. For a consultant, that term is far from insulting. It’s simply a statement of fact. Read More
Combat Homeowner Apathy
It’s the beginning of another meeting in your building and even though signs were posted throughout the lobby and on bulletin boards, the crowd is sparse. To make matters worse, the few owners or shareholders who are in attendance have only shown up to complain that they’re unaware of and disagree with recent board decisions. Read More
Getting the Message Out
Who would visit a medical office that did not have running water? Many would question whether the office was sanitary. This occurred to a doctor who used a Forest Hills co-op unit as his office. Management placed a notice under residents’ doors the night before stating that the water in the building would be cut off during the morning hours to make plumbing repairs. Unfortunately, that was too late for the doctor who didn’t receive his notice until he walked into the office that very morning. This is a prime example of how important good communication is to the smooth running of a co-op or condo. Read More
Enforcing House Rules
Building house rules are the "Thou shalt not’s" of the co-op and condo world. Unlike the proprietary lease or bylaws, which cover operational and administrative matters, the house rules cover behavior of the residents–you know, the types of situations that arise when more than one person lives in the same building… Read More
