Aug. 13, 2008 — The New York City Sanitation Department has begun enforcing a law enacted August 2 to prevent unwanted menus, flyers, circulars and those ubiquitous fly-by-night locksmith cards from cluttering doorways of houses and apartment buildings. Called "lawn litter" in sanitation jargon, such materials are now prohibited at any home posted with a sign meeting minimal requirements. Read More »

Terra cotta became "terror cotta" on May 16, 1979, when a chunk of lintel broke off from the seventh or eighth floor of 601 West 115th Street, a Columbia University-owned apartment house built in 1912. It crashed onto Barnard College freshman Grace Gold, killing her.

Barnard would rename part of its McIntosh Student Center in her memory, but Gold's tragic legacy reverberated further: The year after her death, New York City passed what would become one of its most widespread, enduring and, for building-owners, toughest and most expensive building-safety laws. Read More »

To many boards, imposing a flip tax, technically known as a transfer fee on on apartment sales, is the stuff that dreams are made of — a relatively painless way to raise capital funds for their buildings. And for some boards that planned properly, that dream became a reality.

Here are eight stories of success — and, just as illuminating, failure — in proposing flip taxes. Read More »

Hallway space, lobby space, roof space, backyard space — any co-op or condo common space that's underutilized, if used at all, offers a novel method for how your building can generate income and lowers the maintenance cost per share. Read More »

Reverse mortgages are a tool to help seniors on fixed incomes maintain their standard of living and remain in their homes. But there is a great deal of confusion and misinformation surrounding them. From the perspective of a veteran real estate attorney, here's what a board should know. Read More »

A shareholder in a 37-unit Manhattan co-op, fearing for her security, refused to let the co-op board have duplicates of her keys. The board, concerned about access to the tenant's apartment during emergencies, insisted on having a set. The stalemate was broken when the board attempted to evict the woman for breach of the co-op's proprietary lease.

Eviction? Over who's got the keys? Read More »

A scenario from the proxy wars: a very prestigious building, inhabited by some Very Important People. For some reason, their control of this co-op board became the most important thing in their lives. The campaign for office was brutal and the election meeting was intense and contentious. Unfortunately, it was all about personalities — and frequently in such cases, elections are so close that every vote counts. That's when proxies — a document authorizing a specified person to vote your corporate stock, generally because you cannot attend a meeting for some reason — can tip the balance. Read More »

If your co-op or condo houses one of New York City's estimated 58,000 to 70,000 elevators, get ready for a new city code this January that requires building owners to conduct more frequent inspection and testing. It'll cost you more money and create coordinating headaches. Will our "vertical transportation" be safer? Here are the ups and downs of the new rules. Read More »

If your building has unionized workers, you periodically have to undergo a union audit. It's perfectly normal, perfectly routine — and perfectly paralyzing to some boards and managing agents. "It's like getting a call from the IRS," explains veteran property manager Steve Greenbaum. "Even if you file properly and always keep your ducks in a row, you get nervous." Read More »