LEGAL/FINANCIAL

It often starts with a leak or an on-again-off-again boiler or a high energy bill. In short, the process starts with a problem requiring extensive repairs or replacement. And that can be a major challenge itself. In fact, the amount of money, time, coordination, and risk in a major capital improvement program can stop many a brave board from proceeding. Or at least slow them down. And the larger the co-op or condo, the more complex the challenges. There are bid specifications to be written and then analyzed, contractors to be vetted and chosen, and expensive contracts to sign. Once that is done, there are the logistics to work out: sometimes equipment has to be built on the spot, and other times there are difficulties just getting it through the door, transporting it into the basement, or moving it up to the roof. Then, there is the question of access and scheduling: various contractors have to be worked into the overall timetable, residents usually have to be relocated while work is being done, and, of course, they have to agree to let workers into their apartments. 

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A READER ASKS: I'm the board president of a large condo in Westchester. We had a pool, but we had to close it a few years ago, after it fell into disrepair. My fellow board members and I think we have enough money to make necessary repairs, and believe we can have the pool open by Memorial Day next year. One board member, however, raised a question we hadn't yet considered. Should we hire a pool manager, which can be expensive, or should we manage the pool ourselves, which can be very time-consuming? What are our options? Do you have any tips?  

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For nearly a decade, NYSERDA has led the charge in the green energy business for multifamily buildings, offering buildings hefty incentives for making improvements that reduce a building's energy usage. Unfortunately, rebates are dwindling, and there are other changes on the horizon — the application process, for example, could change or be phased out entirely. No, it's not easy going green. But now, Brooklyn Community Board 6 has launched Solarize Brooklyn CB6, a limited-time group purchasing program led by Sustainable CUNY and the NY Solar Partnership with New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Mayor's Office of Sustainability. The program is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and the NY-Sun Initiative and is designed to make investing in solar power easier and more affordable for participating residents and businesses. Historically, a solarize campaign lowers the cost of going solar by 10 to 20 percent. Solarize Brooklyn CB6 is available for both residents and businesses in the neighborhoods of Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Columbia Street District, Gowanus, Park Slope and Red Hook. By increasing New Yorkers' access to solar power through lower prices and a simplified process, Solarize Brooklyn CB6 is contributing to the mayor's goals and specific targets for a sustainable, resilient, and equitable city laid out in the OneNYC plan. The comprehensive plan for a sustainable and resilient city aims to reduce the city's greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, over 2005 levels. We'll be taking a closer look at this green campaign later this week, so watch this space.

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As the general manager of the 2,820-unit Chelsea cooperative called Penn South, Brendan Keany is in charge of a massive $145 million undertaking that began in 2011 and will be finishing later this year: the replacement of the worn-out heating, ventilating, and air-cooling pipes that are wrapped in asbestos and buried behind every apartment's plaster walls. It has meant gaining access to every shareholder's apartment. That's more than knocking on the door or making an appointment. It has involved conducting a preliminary inspection of all the apartments to see what condition they were in and examining the walls that hid the pipes to estimate how big an opening had to be made. It has meant finding a place for some of the elderly residents to stay when work was to be performed in their units. It has meant dealing with no air-conditioning for some shareholders on blistering hot days. It has involved dealing with the debris collected by hoarders.

In short, a nightmare. 

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Mayor Bill de Blasio is passionate about affordable housing, and — considering that even financially well-off folks are getting priced out of the likes of Brooklyn and "settling" for Manhattan — that's a good thing. But it goes to show that sometimes even those who have the best of intentions either don't think their plans all the way through. The New York Times reported that "when New York City planners unveiled maps charting a 73-block area in the Bronx to be developed with housing, they called it 'Cromwell-Jerome.' But no one in that area seemed to know where that was." Whoops. So is the mayor a little out of touch? Well, let's take a look: "The plan, which calls for 80,000 new apartments, mostly for households with annual income of less than $69,000, requires an extraordinary amount of diplomacy, even with the mayor's allies. Neighborhood groups and their City Council representatives, who must sign off on any rezoning, are anxious about taller buildings, more people and gentrification. Labor unions want assurances that they will have a bigger role in construction, even though it drives up costs." But some affordable-housing advocates are concerned that "new homes that are designated as affordable" will go to a mix of income levels, rather than to the poorest residents, which puts current residents at risk for being displaced "as people with higher incomes move into the neighborhood and make it more upscale." 

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A roof deck can be a cherished amenity and a great way to reclaim some precious outdoor space from a dense urban landscape. But the roof is already one of the more delicate and damage-prone parts of a building. An improperly installed deck, compounding the roof's natural vulnerability to leaks, can quickly become a source of constant sorrow. Here's some advice on how to best create a recreational roofing surface, and how to install a deck safely, so you don't damage the roof. 

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New York City's aging infrastructure can have costly consequences. It can spell bad news to co-ops and condos, particularly smaller buildings, which are trying to stay afloat in an increasingly expensive city. Unfortunately, emergencies can strike at any time, whether or not your building is financially ready for them. There are steps your board can take right now to save some money instead of being caught unawares.

Here are some creative ways your board can save money.

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Finding mold is never fun. Where there's mold, there's probably a leak. And once a co-op or condo board is notified about the presence of mold, it needs to move quickly to not only eliminate the mold safely but also find and fix the cause. The board at one particular condo in Hudson Heights, Manhattan, doesn't want anyone's health to suffer, but it doesn't want to get fleeced by a contractor, either. "When mold companies inspect a building for mold, they have a vested interest in recommending mold remediation. Because of this, our condominium is having difficulty interpreting the test results, which seem in part to be a marketing ploy," the board writes to Ronda Kaysen in this week's "Ask Real Estate" column in The New York Times. Although the condo board's concern is a valid one — people have been fleeced before — Kaysen stresses the need to move quickly. "If a resident were to report the condition to 311 and a city inspector found mold, the condo association would receive a violation and be ordered to clean it up. If a unit owner was responsible for conditions that caused the mold to grow, the board could pass the costs onto the resident, but the board still has to do the work," she explains. Kaysen follows up the cautionary statement with some sound advice: "Consider hiring an industrial hygiene consultant to determine the scope of the problem. To avoid a conflict of interest, select a consultant who does not also do remediation." 

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As in a cooperative or a condominium, membership in a homeowner's association (HOA) means there are rules, eliminating the risk that a next-door neighbor might decide to paint his home bright magenta or that another neighbor could create a public spectacle with elaborate year-round lawn ornaments. How those rules are applied — and whether they can be applied at all — is the question in Jasinski v. Hudson Pointe Homeowners Association.

Peter and Margaret Jasinski owned a home in the Hudson Pointe Homeowners Association in Queensbury, New York. They had placed a political sign by the road that bordered their home. The HOA objected and fined the Jasinskis for their display, alleging that the sign broke an HOA rule prohibiting the public portrayal of "advertisements and other signs." When the Jasinskis did not pay, the HOA filed a lien against their home. But there were complications. 

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Don’t mention this to the kids but sometimes it does pay to watch television. As Peter Goldfinger — board president at Contello Towers 2 in the Gravesend section of Brooklyn — recalls, it was through TV commercials that residents were alerted about a way for their building to save money on heating bills.

Those TV ads – for subsidized heating oil from CITGO and Boston-based Citizens Energy — set off a chain reaction: shareholders informed the board, the board informed building management, and building management looked into the grant program.

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