Page 11 - NY Cooperator November 2020

COOPERATOR.COM THE COOPERATOR — NOVEMBER 2020 11 Providing a Full Range of Architectural & Engineering Services In-house professional expertise in: Exterior Restoration & Historic Preservation Construction Inspection Alteration Review Architectural Design Engineering: n Mechanica l n Electrical n Plumbing n Structural Energy Audits Forensic Investigation Façade Safety Inspection Program Reporting Green Design – LEED Professionals Client satisfaction assured by the active daily involvement of the firm’s principals www.lawlessmangione.com info@lawlessmangione.com 914.423.8844 Providing Practical Legal Advice and Representation to Cooperative and Condominium Associations for More Than Forty Years • General Counsel • Residential and Commercial Real Estate and Leasing • Real Estate and Commercial Litigation • Mortgage Financing • Commercial, Corporate and Business Law • Comme • Mitchell-Lama Housing • Transfer Agent Services • Construction Law and Gas Conversions Jack Lepper: jlepper@kll-law.com Ronald Gold: rgold@kll-law.com Adam Finkelstein: afinkelstein@kll-law.com Fran Lawless: flawless@kll-law.com Fran L BEFORE AFTER just have to design it before you send out ministrators remain on site throughout the your materials to use for the vote,” he says. Smiler adds, “The goal is to make sure with touch-screen tablets for voting. Share- that you can provide reasonable accommo- dations, reasonable measures where people paper or electronic proxy, or—new to the co- can vote, that they know their vote is secure, op this year—by telephone. Electronic and \[and\] that they know that their vote is being telephone voting uses a secure code unique counted.” Professional Assistance Chris Backert has been running elections and voting for co-ops, condos, and HOAs June as normally scheduled, with some no- (among other types of organizations) with table changes. There was no lobby voting for his company, Election-America, for over a the four directors’ seats and a ballot question decade. He tells The Cooperator that they’ve for a bylaw amendment, but online, mail-in, recently added about a dozen new multifam- ily clients throughout the country who have as well as telephone voting. For several years, specifically needed help adapting to a virtual the co-op has had a webinar-style virtual format for their annual meeting and board component to its annual meeting, wherein elections. After voting debacles with previous elec- tion administrators—one of which somehow in person. With the meeting taking place made it into the New York Times (www.ny- times.com/2011/07/12/nyregion/election- errors-causing-strife-at-lower-east-side-co- op.html) —Seward Park Cooperative (where and-go. But once the requisite one-third of the author has lived for the last 15 years) in household units was tallied, the votes could lower Manhattan has run sophisticated, suc- cessful elections for the last eight years with ter the board and its professionals shared Election-America. The company provides their PowerPoint presentation, shareholder secure mailing of all voting materials, tabula- tion and confirmation of quorum and votes the chat function, which made for a Q&A (including breakdown by the co-op’s four session that was decidedly more orderly buildings and other salient data), and voting and civil than past years. Many shareholders receipts to all shareholders. In normal times (i.e., absent a global pandemic), election ad- day of the meeting and at the meeting itself holders also have the option of voting by to each unit that is mailed in advance with the election materials. This year’s annual meeting took place in or hand-delivered proxy were still available, the physical meeting is live-streamed for shareholders who are not able to attend completely virtually via Zoom this year, ev- eryone had to attend this way, which made establishing a quorum slightly more touch- be counted and the meeting proceeded. Af- participants were able to ask questions via continued on page 12