I see nothing wrong with your approach. It’s the same one I took when I was in charge of the parking waiting list of my 135 unit co-op. I looked at it this way…

To get to the top of the parking list took a minimum of 5 years. I was well aware that the shareholder didn’t have a car and had no plans of buying one. That’s because I kept offering them the next parking spot when it became available and they always declined because they had no plans of buying a car.

The #2 person on the waiting didn’t mind because they were then offered the spot that #1 declined.

I always remembered that the #1 person put in their time to get to that position. They waited just like everyone else. They didn’t jump the line.

The important thing was to always offer the available spot to #1. When they declined, I could offer it to the next person on the list. No harm, no foul.

I felt that this approach was fair to all.

Hi

Why didn’t you get this at closing? Can you reach out to your attorney that represented you when you bought your co-op? Someone from your side or the seller’s side should have sent over the documents. Were you not included in emails during the buying process that you would see in the signature or the back and forth emails who the attorney is for the co-op? Isn't the co-op attorney at the Annual meeting? Do you get minutes for the Annual meeting and it would list the attendees.

Also go to the management company’s office and ask to speak to the President/owner.

Do all shareholders know that the bylaws are being revised? That should be communicated.

All I got at the closing were my stock certificates and the house rules. The attorney for the co-op wasn’t involved in the closing. The attorney didn’t show for our last annual meeting. We don’t get minutes of our annual meeting.
When I was having a a big leak in my apartment for over 3 years and was getting no where with the managing agent or the board , he is incredibly arrogant and rude, I called and asked to speak with the owner of the company and he was out of the gate nasty and rude to me. 1/3rd of the way in our conversation he suddenly asked me if I was taping our discussion so that tells you where their head is. Our management company is also the former sponsor and they are notorious for being nasty. They own a lot of real estate and after Googling them their reputation is really horrible.

Myself and one other shareholder are the only people who will publicly address issues in the co-op it’s the typical complain in the laundry room and stay silent at annual meeting. Half the shareholders, maybe more, don’t even show up at the annual meeting. The vote for the board members is mostly done via proxy and the board just uses that to revote themselves right back onto the board. So no one communicates here.

I’m at a loss here in trying to deal with anyone. Help!

I fully agree with Pooh. Culpability in your particular situation rests on your closing attorney's shoulders. They should have been vigilant regarding *your* interests, but it sounds like they were way out to lunch.

Copies of the BCL are not normally part of a co-op closing package. You can find them online.

As for the rest of your questions about rewriting the Bylaws, almost all changes to the Proprietary Lease and the Bylaws require a supermajority of shareholders. The House Rules are the only usual governing document that can be changed by a simple board vote.

Either you contact the attorney who handled your close if you can, or you may have to engage a new attorney to protect your rights.

What about asking shareholders for copies? Maybe they have them in a PDF format that they can send them to you? I’ve done that to a few shareholders.

I’ve spoken to a few of the other shareholders and they don’t have any of them either. Not the bylaws, the proprietary lease or the certificate of incorporation.

I’m a little confused you’re saying that my attorney was responsible for making sure I had the documents and at the same time you’re saying they aren’t normally party of the closing package? Am I misunderstanding?
If I can find them online where would I look for the them?
Well they haven’t written one aspect of the bylaws that they sent us a letter about and there was NO vote on it at all. No one knew about it until they sent us the letter.
I can’t go back to my attorney he has since passed away. I have asked for the information for the co-op attorney and was told by the managing agent and the board that I’m not allowed to have that information. Somehow I don’t see how that’s right but I can’t even get them to talk to me.

Hi Bob - I'm sorry I confused you. The one document you normally *don't* receive at closing is the BCL (Business Corporation Law) because NYS maintains it and the co-op board has nothing to do with it. Here's a link to it in Findlaw: https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/business-corporation-law/

The documents you *should* have received at closing that you will never find online because they are unique to each co-op:

* Proprietary Lease (PL). This defines your rights and responsibilities as a shareholder in your co-op corporation, and also your rights and responsibilities as a lessee of your co-op unit. The relationship between the two can sometimes seem a bit wonky, and it is, so if you don't fully comprehend how the two play together I suggest a little google research. Modification of the PL almost always requires a super-majority of 67% to 75% of all co-op shares (not shareholders and not just shares that vote). It's a very high bar to reach.

* Bylaws. These control how the board is to govern the co-op, such as officers, elections, meetings, required shareholder notices and reports (including an annual audited financial report), basic board governance stuff. It does not address the relationship between shareholders and the co-op corporation. That's the PL's job.

* House Rules. These are the rules describing day-to-day co-op operations and are often used to define and maintain the co-op's quality of life. Things like smoking, use of the building's common areas, sanitary conditions, entrance and exit blockages, fines, smoke detectors, etc. The authority to create, amend, and remove House Rules comes from the Proprietary Lease.

This is why having these documents is so important. They are essentially your Constitution and Bill of Rights. I understand about your closing attorney not being available (I'm sorry). If there are other shareholders in the same situation as you, you should join together to split the cost of hiring a good Real Estate attorney who specializes in co-op law. Don't go cheap either. Your coop apartment is probably your most valuable asset and you don't want to save a few hundred dollars today only to find yourself in deep doo-doo down the road.

Best of luck to you.

Very impressive. No shareholder has the "right" to store anything in a common area without board permission, or it's clearly delineated in the Proprietary Lease or House Rules.

The hallways in particular are off limits for any kind of storage. It blocks egress in case of a fire or other evacuation emergency. If the NYFD does an inspection and you're found to be in violation, you face a very hefty fine.

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