They say there are eight million stories in the naked city, and when you’re an attorney working for a co-op or condo in New York, you may find that some of the best of them are happening to you. While some may think that handli…
It’s not necessarily to the degree of the Hatfields vs. the McCoys, the famous mountain clan involved in a decades-long blood feud, but living side-by-side in a co-op or a condo can, needless to say, get pretty heated on occasion. …
Many co-ops in New York lease, rather than own, the land beneath their apartment building. For the board of a leasehold co-op, navigating a contested land valuation, in which the amount of the co-op’s ground rent is determined through a…
Two state laws make the illegality of a tenant’s use of rented premises a matter of considerable concern to property owners of all kinds, including cooperatives. One empowers local prosecutors to bring eviction proceedings against both …
Q I live in Cobble Hill in Brooklyn and our building is going through non-eviction condo conversion. Can the landlord or sponsor raise our rent for major capital improvements even if the building converts, or does the sponsor pay the…
As managers, residents, and board members of the city's residential buildings gear up for 2011, sweeping up the tinsel and cookie crumbs leftover from holiday parties isn't the only job at hand. From bedbug disclosure rules to a propose…
Q The board of our HDFC co-op is not fulfilling the needs of the building or maintaining its upkeep. The building structure is deteriorating, and the intercom system has not been working for over a year. Since the death of our last …
When you walk down many large commercial thoroughfares in New York, whether it’s Fifth or Madison Aevnue in Manhattan, Kings Highway in Brooklyn or Main Street in Flushing, you’re sure to notice many more empty stores than usual—living p…
Q We live in a medium-sized co-op in Chelsea with seven apartments per floor. It is clear to me that a woman who lives on our floor is using one or two of her bedrooms as a bed and breakfast (B&B). She must advertise on something lik…
As many readers are by now aware, a rule that proved a hindrance to the operations of many co-ops in New York was drastically altered in December of last year--and the changes are having far-reaching effects on the city's co-op communities.…