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Zoom Meetings and the BY-LAWS- Board Meetings - Gouverneur Gardens Mar 13, 2024

If the BY-LAWS are silent—no mention—regarding Zoom or online meetings, Can the Board only implement Zoom-online meetings with Shareholders until they decide to change them?

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IIRC the NYC Counsel or the NYC legislature enacted a special exemption permitting board meetings to be held via Zoom or any other video conferencing service. This was done during the height of Covid and was intended to facilitate the board being able to conduct business every month despite any provisions in the By-laws. Check with your co-op's attorney for a definitive answer.

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Community Room Access to Shareholders - Gouverneur Gardens Mar 07, 2024

Can Shareholders in a Mitchell Lama Cooperative requesting access to the community room to discuss the Election be denied by the Board and Management?

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This is an interesting question. I would believe if a shareholder is requesting the community room to have a shareholders meeting the board should not have the power to denied the shareholder in question the community room.

It’s not like they’re having a party or fundraising event where the board would have the right to express concerns of allowing the shareholders in the community room.

So with that being said I hope there’s an attorney out there that could answer the question in a legal manner if the shareholder in question has had his or hers request to the community room rights violated.

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There are rulings in the Mitchell Lama Guidelines underscoring accessibility rights to shareholders. . Worth stating after much push back Gouverneur Shareholders were granted access to use the space to discuss Board Elections. Its was censored by the Board nonetheless. . If anyone out there with legal experience please help with suggestions it will be greatly appreciated.

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If the co-op is a mitchell lama co-op the mitchell lama rules states the shareholders rights. also
Hud rights and responsibilities

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The Mitchell Lama Guidelines contain rulings underscoring shareholders' accessibility rights. It is worth stating here that we received a lot of pushback from the board.
Shareholders were eventually granted access to our community room to discuss Board Elections, but not without censorship from board members.

Anyone with Legal experience, please advise. It will be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

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Airbnb - NYC Mar 06, 2024

Can a board impose a sublet penalty of $3k while the original shareholder is living in the apartment and renting the second bedroom via airbnb? By definition, sublet occurs when the shareholder is not present; which is not the case.

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Is that subletting or you have a roommate?

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Airbnb is considered short-term renting. Keep in mind the shareholder is living in the apartment. In fact, its a pre-requisite when applying for a registration number. my question is, can they impose a subletting fee when the shareholding is currently living in the same unit.

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https://cooperatornews.com/article/qa-not-fine-with-fines

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Using information gained by debt collector - Elisa Feb 19, 2024

We have an owner who owes quite a bit of money to our building. They use an old email address that often does not work well, e.g., our emails to them often bounce back. If we hire a debt collector, and the debt collector identifies the person's current, working email, does the board then have the right to use it? (This might be a work email.) Thanks for any insight.

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You are right to identify potential legal and other issues involved with collecting a debt from a shareholder. I would contact the co-op's attorney to get their opinions and recommendations. Engaging a debt collector might create more problems that it solves because of NYC tenants' rights laws, and there are other less draconian ways to resolve an overdue maintenance issue with a shareholder.

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Gross Floor Area Calculation for Residential Building :: Does It Include Uncovered Roof Decks... - Joe Feb 18, 2024

I'm attempting to calculate the Gross Floor Area of my building (a small coop). What is not clear (to me) is whether outdoor, uncovered, roof decks are used in the calculation (description below).

GFA is one metric used to determine if a building is classified as "covered" under Local Law 97, which mandates reductions in greenhouse gas emissions starting this year (but getting serious in 2030).

Per 1-RCNY-103-06: "Gross floor area is the total number of square feet measured between the
exterior surfaces of the enclosing fixed walls. It includes vent shafts, elevator shafts, flues, pipe shafts,
vertical ducts, stairwells, light wells, basement space, mechanical/electrical rooms, and interior parking.
It excludes unroofed courtyards and unroofed light wells. For atria, gross floor area only includes the
area of atrium floors. For tenant spaces, interior demising walls should be measured to the centerline of
the wall."

Another definition I found says balconies should be included. Nothing I've found either includes or excludes roof decks.

WITHOUT including our roof decks my building is likely just under the 25,000 gross sqft threshold specified in LL97. Including them puts us over. This has serious implications for the finances of our coop in the near future.

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If your co-op has a managing agent try asking them what the GFA is. In fact, they should be handling the LL97 issues for you as part of their MA responsibilities.

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Laundry Room used by neighbors - Pooh Feb 10, 2024

So we have a strange situation. We have neighbors (another building not part of our co-op) coming to our laundry room and using our machines. Not sure how many but from time to time. It’s not a laundry room in the basement so easy to get on the property . Laundry room has its own space. I feel that a sign needs to be posted …. No trespassing …private property! Has anyone experienced this?

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We had that situation. A sign won’t work because the type of person who would do this will not be scared off by your sign.

You need to catch them in the act and then threaten them with legal action.

The best way to catch them is with a security camera in the laundry room.

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Many times, most often, are the shareholders, residents themselves giving keys to those they know nearby allowing them in, caretakers too.

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Thank you for your input.

I heard it might be a staff member’s relatives that live near by which makes no sense if you talk about security. Who really are these people? It’s still private property. So one minute you can’t sublet without permission but you can allow random people on our property and give them access? Now I understand why the Super wasn’t concerned.

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Oh the other point I wanted to make was our laundry room isn’t extremely big for all the units we have and we can’t expand it but I would need to wait to do my laundry because a relative of a staff member is using it? That’s not right.

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I believe you also have legal liability and face a potential negligence lawsuit if a non-shareholder is injured using the washers or dryers on your co-op's private property. Check with your co-op's attorney to see if you have any legal exposure.

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Questions regarding the situation of a parent purchasing a condo apartment for an adult child - Elisa Feb 04, 2024

If a parent purchases a condo apartment for an adult son or daughter, does that mean that the adult occupant of the apartment is the person who gets to vote in condo elections, rather than the purchaser? Our managing agent sometimes cc's the parent on messages about the condo and does not cc the occupant (though they usually do cc the occupant). As a board member, I've asked the occupant to clarify whether they want the parent to receive these messages, and they have not responded. (I'm considering reaching out directly to the parent regarding their understanding/ preference for receiving messages about the condo association.) I'm also unclear about whether the occupant is the person who should be voting in elections rather than the parent. The occupant has, in fact, been invited by management to attend the annual meetings and has voted in our annual elections. (To my knowledge, the parent has never requested to attend the annual meetings.) Any advice is welcome.

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Who's name is on the stock certificate? If the parents name is on both then in my opinion the parent should be the only vote. We have that type (sort of) of situation in my bldg. The parents name is on both, so when the adult child constantly is in arrears, we send notice to both. In fact the parent is responsible for both apts. All correspondence should be sent to both.

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We are a condo, not a co-op, so owners do not have stock certificates. Our management company has whatever document shows that the parent purchased the apartment; I'll reach out to them.

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Selling or Renting Super Apartment - Coop Feb 03, 2024

Does anyone have experience in selling or renting a super's apartment ?
We are a relatively small coop in Brooklyn and looking at this as a potential source of revenue.
Any guidance regarding legality and NYC regulations would be appreciated.

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Nothing specifically about selling or renting.

Before you sell or rent, be aware there are certain DOB regulations and codes that mandate a super has a physical residence in your building or lives within a couple of hundred feet from your building if the building has 10 or more units. In the future, this could have a problematic impact on your compliance if the super's apartment is not available for the super to live in.

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Monthly Fees - Frank Dayton Jan 30, 2024

Our Occupancy Agreement (Proprietary Lease) has a Section with rules on paying the monthly fee and voting rules for increasing fees. The ByLaws nowhere mention Shareholders obligation to pay their share of expenses.

The Board is considering simply moving the Occupancy Agreement clause into the ByLaws.

Is that the correct move? What is the standard form on this subject for the Bylaws, if any?

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The Proprietary Lease governs the privileges, rights, and obligations of the *shareholders*.

The Bylaws lay out how the *board* governs the co-op corporation and conducts co-op corporation business.

Two entirely different documents with entirely different purposes.

Before making *any* changes to either, especially the one the board is contemplating, contact the co-op's attorney. Without consulting your attorney for expert legal advice you could dig a hole deeper than you can imagine.

Full Stop.

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Disenfranchising Non-resident Shareholders - Peter Jan 29, 2024

Hello All,

In our Co-op we have some board members who are now proposing that non-resident shareholders not be able to vote at all in any matters.

I understand that non-residents can be restricted from becoming board members or officers but is it legal to take away all of their voting rights?

Thanks in advance for any answers.

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You should check with an attorney, but I'm almost certain the board does *not* have the authority to prevent non-resident shareholders from voting their shares. That would create two classes of stock within the corporation, and the board does not have the authority to create such classes. In fact, it's unlikely that *anyone* - including the full set of shareholders - would have the ability to do this. But again, ask an attorney for a definitive answer.

- Carl Tait

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Very simply, if they own shares, they have a full vote. No exceptions I can think of (IANAL). Unless your Proprietary Lease has a special carve-out (which I highly doubt), *any* share dilution can land your board and co-op corporation in very hot water.

I'm not even sure the restriction on becoming a board member or officer would hold up.

There may be special rules for sponsor-owned shares, so best to check with your co-op's attorney.

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Steven, I completely agree with you that disenfranchising non-resident shareholders is almost certainly not allowed, while echoing your IANAL.

One point I can state with certainty is that non-resident shareholders *can* be barred from serving as directors. That's straight from our co-op's attorney. In fact, he's the one who suggested we limit the board to residents.

- Carl Tait

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