First off, let me say these forums are mainly used by NYC co-op board members and officers. Massachusetts co-op laws, codes, and regulations may be entirely different.

As far as I know, there is no official NYC governmental rule mandating the use of a video conferencing system. In fact it was quite the opposite. Sections in the co-op's bylaws requiring in-person meetings were relaxed by government edict so Zoom could be legally used to conduct official co-op business like the annual shareholder meeting.

You *could* try to modify your co-op's bylaws to require a Zoom option be available for certain meetings, but bylaw modification is a long and arduous process.

Good luck!

You need to consult your co-op’s attorney immediately, especially given the September deadline.

I completely agree with Marty. Full Stop.

I grew up in Great Neck Village and remember the reputation Kensington had even back then ('60s and '70s). Please take Marty's advice to heart.

It sounds like your board/attorney and MA have a cozy arrangement. As far as I'm aware, most of what you describe goes against co-op regulations or is illegal.

Since it seems most of the people in charge of your co-op are colluding with each other, you'll probably have to engage an outside individual or entity. One that comes to mind is the Real Estate Board of NY (REBNY). They may not be able to help you but might be able to point you in the right direction. You can also try the Attorney General's office to see if they have any departments set up for this situation.

Ultimately, you'll probably need to contact an R/E attorney who knows co-op law and has no connection to any of the groups you mentioned. It's not going to be cheap, but right now you have no idea of the financial state of your co-op or whether any fraud or embezzlement has taken place.

Good luck.

Hi

I have a financial report and anyone who attends gets it but if you don’t he was saying that they don’t have to mail etc and if you ask for a report they’ll send it. My issue is why aren’t they more proactive and buttoned up about important documents like this and just send it to everyone? I really don’t care what the managing agents says he likes to have the last word even though he works for me/us!

Minutes issue is strange. I think because there are older board members they’re not exactly current on how things are done nowadays.

Transparency is key!

I am not a lawyer, but I believe it's known as "grandfathering". Unless there is imminent risk or danger, those shareholders who owned before the rule change was put into effect are entitled to follow the old regulation.

Thank you. I was advised that the Board cannot impose different financial requirements for different shareholders. I have not heard anything about a “grandfather” exception to the requirement that new purchasers carry more insurance than existing shareholders. I don’t know if any real estate attorneys follow three discussions, but I would be interested in hearing what they have to say.

I believe this applies to public housing only and not private cooperatives:

Although not covered by the HUD rule, condo and coop boards may adopt house rules and/or policies within their governing documents prohibiting smoking outside of the building in common areas such as garden areas, patios, roof decks, and terraces. While a board can request and encourage that people do not smoke around the perimeter of the building, they generally do not have the legal authority to enforce building policies on public property.

Signage is usually placed on the building facade by the entrances; I believe it could be Local Law 127. Hope this helps

I belive such a rule appieles to public housing also and a coop cannot dictate or enforce such a rule.

The co-op or condo could also make the claim that smoking within a certain distance from the building's exterior creates an environment that is detrimental to the health of the building's residents.

Courts have upheld House Rules that prohibit smoking anywhere within a building, including residential units because of the effect of second-hand smoke. The same argument could probably be made that smoking too close to the exterior of a building affects the health of the residents from smoke that is drawn into apartments and building-wide air circulating equipment.

No -
Private coops do not have control of the public areas outside the perimeter of the building in regards to people smoking.
(As much as some board members might like to.)

Apparently they can.

Starting August 28, 2018, all residential buildings with three or more units in New York City will be required to adopt a written smoking policy. This applies to rentals, co-ops, and condos.

The new ordinance, called Local Law 147, does not require buildings to ban smoking outright. On the contrary

Read things carefully. This would be over reaching for a private cooperative.

I don't think so. Imposing such an income test would create two separate classes of shareholders, which is strictly prohibited. It's the DoF who determines who's eligible for the abatement. They send a list each year with the amount of the abatement for each unit, and which units are ineligible. If you're on the list as eligible you get it regardless of your income.

As usual, Steve is correct in noting that the coop itself can't condition abatements or assessments on income, and I don't believe the city does, either - at least for the Coop/Condo abatement. However, the STAR credit *does* have an income limit set by the state of NY. You're not eligible if your household income exceeds $500,000. See https://www.tax.ny.gov/star/

- Carl

Before speaking to you, would it be possible for you to provide some identification like your name, email address, and links to current articles with your by-line? I try to not be paranoid, but in today's environment of fakes, deep fakes, deeper deep fakes, etc, one can never be too careful. A reply to this response should work, and would make your credentials available to all my fellow Habitants as well. Thanks!

A 30-second search brought this information:
https://www.amandakmchugh.com
It lists the same email she provided in her post. Looks legit.

It sounds rather draconian to me as well. Read your bylaws to see if they have any requirements for when the annual meeting should be held and when any required documents should be delivered. The annual audited financial report is required and I'm not sure about the budget report.

Try asking your managing agent for the report before asking the board. You might get better results. I can tell you that a lot of MA companies are still backed up due to COVID-19 and CPA attrition. The board may be using the excuse of "contractual obligation" to cover themselves.

Hopefully, you'll find something in the Bylaws you can use as a lever. If nothing works send a polite request to the board asking for a copy of the audit report. Send it by USPS certified/RRR. Start a paper trail in case this escalates. When you finally receive the report, send a list of your questions to the board, again by USPS certified/RRR. What happens next will guide what you do next.

Good luck!

I asked a board member and the management agent in the same email and the board member responded only on Sunday and I emailed on Friday.

My understanding was that the financial report is actually supposed to be mailed out to shareholders so obviously you get it before the meeting. Have you heard of that being mandatory? I will ask our attorney at the meeting.

They also emailed it to us last year the day before.

Isn’t it mandatory to send the financial report at least after the meeting even for those that didn’t attend the meeting?

I was told that it’s not mandatory and only if they ask.