When a Board Overthrow Fails

May 14, 2012 — In honor of HABITAT's 30th Anniversary, we present a short story from journalist and humorist Frank Lovece, whose fiction has appeared in Marvel Comics and elsewhere.

Osgood Millimeter was fuming. The time was half-past 1982 and his Checker cab was stuck in traffic — he was going to be late for his co-op board meeting again. It was times like these he idly dreamed of having one of those two-way TV/radio wristwatches like in Dick Tracy. But he knew that would never happen during his lifetime, and he was only 40.

The radio was playing, its music pushing up against the wall of heat in the non-air-conditioned cab. Osgood thought if he had to listen to "Eye of the Tiger" from Rocky III one more time he'd scream. As if on cue, the song's headache-inducing guitar thumps stopped, and static filled the tinny radio speaker.

And then, suddenly, he was beside himself.

Literally. Read More »

May 14, 2012 — Recent news affecting co-op / condo buyers, sellers, boards and residents.

This week, the Obama Administration looks to make refinancing easier — or, to hear homeowners tell it, possible.  Plus, learn how a board really feels — especially about the prime minister of Qatar. A majority of New Yorkers want no-smoking apartment buildings, says a Quinnipiac poll (or is that a Quinnipiac-a-day?)  Co-op boards say no to super-sizing. And you think you have issues with your super? You won't believe what one at a Westchester co-op is accused of. That's him in the orange outfit. Read More »

May 11, 2012 — People are all unique individuals, but certain traits crop up frequently among those individuals who serve on co-op and condo boards. Knowing how some of those traits manifest themselves can help board members understand each other better, and subsequently collaborate more effectively. A professional management association looks at some board-member "types" to help classify them. Read More »

May 10, 2012 — At the mixed condominium-and-rental William Beaver House in New York City's Financial District, John Sarich represents the cutting edge of what all building superintendents will become in the coming years. Without a single major capital improvement in his building, through just the green operations and maintenance of his existing systems, he saves his property $32,000 a year — and through only a one-time, $17,000 outlay of time and materials. Read More »

May 8, 2012 — How does a New York City co-op / condo board in 2012 plan an operating budget when the economy doesn't know where it's going and a presidential election creates a wild card? A top CPA gives board members some tips on predicting future operating budgets so that no matter what, you building will keep a roof over its head. Read More »

May 7, 2012 — Recent news affecting co-op / condo buyers, sellers, boards and residents. This week, Attorney General  Eric Schneiderman sues developer Yitzchok Schwart over alleged shoddy construction of Brooklyn's Maspeth Plaza condo, co-op boards and others want firings at the Department of Finance for its property-tax debacle and an East Village woman is fighting her co-op board over a service animal. Plus, people-friendly co-ops and very rich people-friendly co-ops. And for co-op / condo boards, the struggle over real estate brokers as board members. Read More »

May 4, 2012 — Sea levels rising. Droughts. Higher-intensity storms.

Climate change and its effects are with us. And while global efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions are ongoing, scientists continue to warn us that, no matter how valiant our efforts, we are in for a certain amount of global warming and a host of potential catastrophes. Adding to this, most climate change experts will also give the caveat that it's quite possible we have already passed the point of no return. Read More »

May 3, 2012 — Thirty years ago, when N.Y. Habitat was evolving from the Loft Letter, co-op conversions of rental properties were kicking into high gear, thanks in large part to legislation that year that made non-eviction conversions possible. A few years earlier, the Council of West Side Cooperatives had evolved into the Council of New York Cooperatives, and condominiums was still a rarity. What will the next 30 years bring to our community? Read More »

May 1, 2012 — UPDATED 4:04 p.m. — A New York City bill requiring that landlords, including co-op boards and condo associations, disclose their anti-smoking policies to residents and prospective renters and buyers was introduced at an April 18 City Council meeting and forwarded to the Committee on Housing and Buildings for discussion.

The bill, Intro. 0833-2012, was not placed on the committee's agenda either for its meeting yesterday (April 30)  nor its meeting tomorrow (May 2). Committee chairperson Erik Martin Dilan  (D-Brooklyn) is the bill's chief sponsor, with five Council co-sponsors, all by request of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Read More »

April 30, 2012 — Recent news affecting co-op / condo buyers, sellers, boards and residents. New York City Controller John Liu wants to hear from co-ops, condos and others who suspect the Department of Finance overvalued your building for tax purposes. Plus, a Queens co-op is putting up signs to try to prevent people parking legally on a public street, the Attorney General gives developers an extra six months to digitize their offering plans, and a co-op board goes after a widow and widower. And speaking of boards, a lawyer tells how to collect arrears by cutting off amenities. Read More »

April 27, 2012 — What happens when not enough people volunteer to serve on a co-op board or condo board? Is your building doomed? An attorney and community-association authority gets down to the root causes, and why it's critical that boards address these issues in order to keep your co-op or condo from stagnating — and to keep it in your hands. Read More »

April 26, 2012 — Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be on your condo or co-op board of directors? Do you really know what your board does and how it goes about running your co-op? How can you prepare yourself if you decide to run? As a four-year veteran member and now president at Park Terrace Gardens in Inwood, I might compare the experience to having a baby: You don't know what it's like until you actually experience it. Read More »

April 24, 2012 — A reader asks: I live in a small co-op in Brooklyn, and I am president of the co-op board. Our building is self-managed. I recently spoke to a friend who is on his board and he mentioned the New York City benchmarking submission requirement. Our building never made a benchmarking submission and was wondering, are all co-ops required to submit a report? What are the consequences if we submit late? Read More »

April 23, 2012 — Recent news affecting co-op / condo buyers, sellers, boards and residents. This week, Mayor Bloomberg proposes a residential smoking ban. Or does he? Plus, a tree may grow in Brooklyn but a co-op's just sprouted in the ever-burgeoning Bronx; the highest-priced New York City co-op ever gets sold; and what could be the second-priciest condo gets put on the market. Good thing Co-op City is staying affordable. And we wonder what Jennifer Aniston's combined co-op apartments will sell for now that she's moving (or moving in) elsewhere. Read More »

April 20, 2012 — An estimated more than 900 co-op shareholders and condo unit-owners gathered at a Queens forum and an adjacent movie theater's simulcast on April 12 to protest what they and politicians call an inequitable property-tax system, which taxes co-ops and condos at a far higher rate than any other residential property. Read More »

April 19, 2012 — Sharon Grubin and Deborah Lans owned a condominium apartment at The Gotham, at 170 East 87th Street in Manhattan. In what a court described as a "bitter dispute," the two sued the condo board,the board members and the managing agent for what the suit described as "abhorrent" living conditions and treatment by the condominium. Will the court dismiss the suit? What would your board have done? These are the questions in Grubin v. The Gotham Condominium. Read More »

April 17, 2012 — Insurance procurement and placement are important responsibilities for any co-op or condo board. I've been on my Upper East Side co-op's board for nearly 10 years, and treasurer for the past two. One of my responsibilities is overseeing our 400-unit building's insurance program, mainly because I've been in the insurance industry for more than 25 years. Through my work in insurance and as a board member, I've learned enough to offer some helpful advice regarding building insurance. Read More »