Are either/both NYC Licensed Plumbers?
* No: Not only a bad idea but illegal. A NYCLMP must be involved and sign off on all gas plumbing work.
* Yes: One, maybe two individual stoves works, as long as a LMP (super or building manager) signs off on the job. Any larger number of stoves, bad for reasons below.

You're putting your shareholder's and co-op corp's insurance in the event of a mishap or, ghod forbid, a catastrophe with injuries or worse. Plumbing company assumes those risks as part of your contract with them. Ask your attorney and insurance carrier.

NYC LMP license guarantees a certain level of skill and training.

Bottom line: ask your insurance carrier and attorney their opinions. Your co-op Insurance may even have as part of your policy requiring licensing. At the very least you need to receive a copy of the plumbing company's ACORD FORM 25. This transfers insurance coverage from shareholders and co-op corp to plumbing company itself. Check with your insurance representative.

The FDNY does random gas inspections. If they find even a hint of a leak they can shut down and evacuate your entire building and keep everyone out for months until they find the leak, fix it, test it, and test every gas line for pressure and other leaks.

Advice? Hire the third-party pros who have the proper training, licenses, and insurance liability coverage. Don't try to save a few pennies on this by cutting corners. The risk to your unit, building, finances, and possibly your wellbeing, is way to large.

This is *not* where the board skimps on funding

No license. Nada. The Board pretty much has no idea and when notified of it possibly happening does not seem to effectively follow-up.

Meant to say "handyman/superintendent" above. Managing Agent should not have any involvement.

I would contact your management company representative, Insurance carrier representative, and especially your attorney, ASAP. They can read your board the riot act. Your final resort is to notify the FDNY Fire Marshal of a potential unsafe condition. You could become a pariah in your building for the notifications you make, but at least you'll be alive to enoy the honors.

I think there's a way to anonymously alert the FDNY. Do research in Google.

Speak to an attorney who specializes in tax and co-op law, AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, about your situation. The rules regarding taxes and residency are very complex and you'll be walking through a minefield. Remember, any advice you receive on here, is worth exactly what you pay for it.

Good luck!

Hi Steven 424 - Do you or anyone else on the forum have a tax and co-law attorney to refer? Thx again!

Our co-op has a three year contract with management.

No, as it normally requires some fee to certify it.

Not sure of any service out there that follows HPD/HUD requirements. If your board does not follow those requirements, maybe there are low fee online services, but that may also create issues with board members who are not tech savvy.

With regards to online voting - if this is simply a survey for shareholders/unit owners to vote on something unofficial (i.e. who is in favor of a roof deck, should the gym hours be expanded, etc.) - then you can do simple Google Form or JotForm to handle. However, there has to be an administrator that will see how people voted.
As you want to use it for a board election - this should be handled ideally by a third party (most deferred to the managing agent as that is generally covered in the management agreement). However, the managing agent may have conflict of interest and may exposed how shareholders/unit owners voted. Having an outside party do this will shield the votes from being public or known to anyone on the Board or management. Granted this costs money to have outside party, but if the election is contested and there is concern about blowback to voters based on how someone voted, not to mention potential lawsuit for tallying incorrectly (as board members are given responsibilities to manage the building(s)' finances and operations), then an outside vendor is best.

I don't know if this will help, but you do have the law on your side: all indoor spaces in NYC are now Smoke-Free. Smoking of any kind, indoors, is illegal. If you live in a coop/condo, have you reported it to the building manager? The super has no power in this situation. If you live in a rental, you can investigate housing court. I would start by reaching out to your local assemblyperson, congressperson, and borough president's office and get their advice. I understand any concern about possible retribution by this tenant.

thanks so so much for your insight in this terrible situation I find myself into. but I was not aware. yes I reported to the board and my understanding and the board's notice stated you can smoke inside your unit but one MUST take all steps to make sure it wont travel to other units??
where can I locate this information regarding not smoking inside your unit/apartment. yes I live in a coop and I am a shareholder. it will be very helpful if this information is make available to me I have searched nyc.gov etc and it seems they are stating inside unit is ok??? help

I did NOT read this (see link), but it took all of two seconds googling to find it. I googled "no smoking in coop apartments." I'm sure there's more.

https://breathefreely.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/SFHNY-CoOp-Guide.pdf

This was in the general info, so I guess you have to find your coop's proprietary lease and bylaws, etc. If your building is like mine, however, those documents can be very outdated until you petition your board to make appropriate changes (not easy).


"In Brooklyn, NY, co-op buildings can implement smoke-free policies, restricting smoking in common areas and potentially within individual units, and can enforce these policies through lease amendments and potentially by taking smokers to housing court.

Co-op Buildings and Smoking Policies:
Co-op buildings can adopt smoke-free policies that restrict smoking in common areas (hallways, stairwells, lobbies, etc.) and potentially within individual units.
These policies can be implemented by amending the proprietary lease, which requires the support of a certain percentage of shareholders (often two-thirds or three-quarters).
A smoke-free policy can cover all areas of the building, including balconies, decks, and patios, and even a designated building perimeter.

Enforcement of Smoking Policies:
If a co-op board finds evidence that a shareholder is violating a smoking policy, they could take them to housing court.
A judge might consider the circumstances and potentially rule against eviction, especially if the resident is a long-standing tenant.

Secondhand Smoke Issues:
Co-op boards are responsible for ensuring that smoke doesn't permeate from one unit to another.
If secondhand smoke is entering another apartment, the board may need to take action, potentially including excluding smokers from the building.

Local Laws
As of August 2018, a local law requires all residential buildings with three or more units to have a smoking policy.
This law requires building owners to create and share a policy on smoking with current and future tenants.

Smoke-Free Housing Benefits:
Smoke-free policies can provide health benefits for residents and pets.
They can also offer potential financial advantages to owners by avoiding costly repairs due to cigarette and smoke damage.

Tenant Rights:
Tenants can ask their building owners to make their building smoke-free.
If a building has a smoke-free policy, tenants can report secondhand smoke issues to the building owner or manager.
If a building does not have a policy on smoking, tenants can still advocate for smoke-free housing."

If this is a co-op, check the proprietary lease. The lease for my co-op states "“The lessee shall not permit unreasonable cooking or other odors to
escape into the building.” We gave every resident a memo to state they must conform and obey the proprietary lease or be subject to a fine and it has helped some.

You want to focus on the 2018 law that requires co-ops to have a smoking policy (as DP included in earlier reply). Demand the smoking policy from your board and mgmt.
It's possible they never adopted one.

Our co-op is revising ours to include requiring any smoker to use air filters with HEPA and charcoal filters. We are including language that masking the smoke with air freshener or incense is not permitted.

I would also suggest that you request maintenance of any building ventilation. After an uptick in smoke complaints, we discovered that not all roof fans were operating correctly.

yes the HEPA air filters are an excellent proposal. I did get one air purifier in my bedroom and it did not work. but yes why should we have to take all sort of precautions when it is the perpetrator the one who must take all the steps to make sure the smell dont travel to other units? thank you so much

THANK YOU all! I am looking to have a proposal to amend our proprietary lease so our coop can go smoke free to include the units as well. I was given an inspection as my one time friend and my neighbor below complaint that I was making noises, which I did out of frustration. the good thing is as the super was living my place, my next door neighbor was coming home, and actually complaint about the same issue stating he knows it comes from down below because he saw the smoke coming out of his place. what a relief. I truly hope this gets resolved, I returned my air purifier it did not work.
lets see how this process will go.

thank you every bit of information is greatly appreciated.
how can I mention to management that I am proposing to make our coop smoke free, I would like to show then the information regarding the 2/3 voting needed to amend the proprietary lease?

how can I obtain a copy of the proprietary lease? should I request our Management company?

The Proprietary Lease will have (should have) been part of the paperwork you received when you purchased your unit. Look there.
You can also reach out to Management as well as the Board. If that fails, reach out to a neighbor who you think might have it. A lot of my neighbors come to me for the documents they should have kept track of, knowing that I probably have it "here somewhere" and can eventually produce it for them. The HOUSE RULES are within the Proprietary Lease.

Hi
Speak to your co-op attorney. He will tell you if the shareholders want a smoke free co-op you need the majority vote. I asked my co-op attorney at our Annual meeting. Bring this up at the Annual meeting. Also find out if your neighbor is smoking and there are others joining him/her because that becomes a different issue and then you can call the cops. Call your police dept to confirm.

thank you, yes I will look into it. I have the paperwork, and I can have management submit a copy as well. thank you for your help

THE board has now taking over and managment has ignored my requests with a simple statement of " our attorneys are looking into, and we will get back to you" the source of my ordeal my neighbor below has had and attorney issue a cease and desist letter as for me to stop etc etc, this could have been an amicable agreement and has become a nightmare. he has someone living with him who smokes at all times. I became fustrated and stomp on the floor its been six months and he called the cops who basically said to just get along and went downstairs to talk to him. the smoking is ongoing.... and now I have to have a lawyer review this letter. I am facing a pathological liar who enjoys all this outburst. I am suffering of anxiety now.

Run for the Board!!!!!

I PROBABLY WILL have to

We got a great quote from Exit Mold, but will not post the quote here, just in case it was based on a portfolio quote for our mgmt co and not only our bldg.
EnviroNYC also provides this service.

Question: Is it an alarm system or is it a smoke/CO2 detector.
The latter will beep hourly when the battery is dying. It will continue to do so until the battery is changed. Then it stops.
Have you asked the owner to simply try changing the battery?

Thanks for your comment - I'll check in with the owner on what kind of alarm system she has.

To be clear, I'm not talking about what kind of ALARM system she may have. I know nothing about alarm systems. I was merely suggesting that smoke/CO2 detectors beep for several seconds every minute when their battery has run low. It's very annoying and usually replacing the battery is all that's needed. Or, if the detector is old (> ten years?) she may just need to replace it. ??