HABITAT

Are you the MA or board member? Your building should higher an exterminator on a monthly basis. Free to the share holders this should be part of your buildings care. If you read up on bed bugs you'll see people are embarrassed by this. It was up to your managing agent to keep this private to reassure the share holder will be kept secret. The exterminator should have checked lets say apts. above and below like a square to see if they spread. By not doing this the bed begs spread. The coop or condo should pick up the tab and include a cleaning service to care for the clothing. The exterminator needs to come back and recheck apts. to make sure the bed bugs are gone. Sometimes it needs a second job done. This service should be free. Best of Luck

Sorry to hear about the bedbug infestation. You do have rights, although they are different if you live in a rental, co-op, or condo. Check out these webpages for more information:

Co-ops and condos: https://www.habitatmag.com/Publication-Content/Legal-Financial/2014/2014-February/Co-op-Board-Bedbug-Responsibilities

Rentals: http://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/bedbugs.page

Hi Anthony,

The best advice I can provide is to limit the people who view/possess surveillance camera footage to law enforcement agencies possessing a valid need and to others with a subpoena. In your example, the attorney can secure a subpoena without any trouble. I would seek the advice of counsel on any indemnification waivers.

Hope this helps!

Tim O'Brien
Criminal Intelligence Administration

.. Thanks

The super in my building had a curse out rampage against me in the parking lot. The board president/treasurer and master of the universe refused to give me access to the video. He said I could use it to sue the coop.

Hi Tim,

I hope you won't take my question as being impolite, but what is the Criminal Intelligence Administration? I've never heard of it before. Is it a private company or organization, or governmental department or agency. If governmental, in which jurisdiction. I'm pretty familiar with the workings of NYC government and the Criminal Intelligence Administration is something brand new to me.

Thanks!
--- Steve

Hi Steve,

No worries about being impolite. We are an independent protection consulting firm based in Astoria, Queens. We offer no cost protection advice within forums such as this as well as LinkedIn and Twitter. I believe these forums, where we can interact about protection, keeps us all just a little bit safer.

Tim

I think the answer is yes, if "domestic" means something like a same sex partner, which would appear to fall under the umbrella definition of a family member.

So, it seems like you could have a domestic partner plus an unrelated roommate.

Of course, I'm not an attorney, so take this advice accordingly.

Servant.

Marty, I am also not a lawyer, but I read it differently. The definition of "family member" is well established under NYS law, so anyone who fall outside of the definition would be considered a roommate. I believe a special carve-out was created for same-sex partners, but once same-sex marriage became legal in NYS, the carve-out became moot.

I think a lawyer would need to provide the legal definition of a "domestic" and how it relates to the family/roommate regulations.

Interesting point to ponder, though.

Here's a good article regarding your rights to have a room mate in NYC:
http://metcouncilonhousing.org/help_and_answers/your_right_to_have_a_roommate

~Anthony Reinglas

Most House Rules, ByLaws or wherever the specific permisability for the initial fine is written (You may wish to ensure this even exists first), will state the amounts, the amounts the Board can raise them by and/or frequency...
Most simply state "reasonable amount", as to leave it to interpretation and permit the Board to adjust it case by case if need be.. but in any case, it should not be excessive, the purpose of a fine is to stop or change an intended infraction, not to make money as some Boards think.

Best
~Anthony Reinglas

A coop must have authorization to impose fines in the proprietary lease. The amount imposed cannot be so large it could be deemed “confiscatory” - which means the fine must be reasonable in the amount - in proportion to the cost or other loss that might be incurred due to the cause of the fine.

Unless I'm missing something, that case is based on bad math. A 4% late fee per month results in a 4% late fee per year. For example, assuming a $2,000 monthly fee, a 4% late fee is $80/month. After a year, the total late fee is 12 * $80 = $960, or 4% of a yearly $24,000 fee. (Unless, of course, the penalty for being late on a monthly payment was 4% of the total yearly fee, i.e., $960 payment each month. But I doubt that's what happened.)

It is per month and then times 12. That total (even if only charged for one month) cannot total more than 25% or it is unenforceable. IE 4% x 12 - 48%

The court case overrides your fuzzy math.

[Disclaimer: I Am Not A Lawyer, I'm just married to one]

I read the pleadings available online. I believe this is the salient section from the request for summary judgment:

"Even if, arguendo, defendant's guaranty were an instrument for the payment of money only, plaintiff failed to establish as a matter of law that it was entitled to the amount it seeks. Most of this amount consists of late fees, which the rent history that plaintiff submitted with its opening papers shows were 4% per month, i.e., 48% per year."

My interpretation of this is that each month the defendant was charged a 4% penalty that was calculated based on the entire *annual* rental amount. This would square with DM's interpretation that the *total* amount of the penalty was 48%. Since we don't have access to the papers in which the penalty calculations are laid out, it is impossible to tell how the amounts were arrived at.

Maintenance late fees, on the other hand, are calculated based on the amount of the *monthly* maintenance that is late, and not on the total *annual* maintenance for the co-op apartment.

So if the monthly maintenance is $1,000 and the late penalty is 5%, the amount of the penalty is a constant $50/month. Over 12 months it would amount to a total of $600 for a 12 month maintenance obligation of $12,000. $600 penalty on a $12,000 obligation is still 5%.

Otherwise I'm as befuddled as BBCA

Why would you not pay the $1000 for a year? That makes no sense.
Look the bottom line is that 4% for any single month is not enforceable. The total of 4% x 12 months is 48%.

You cannot legally do it. Late fees are not a way for a cop to make money. They are to recoup any damages caused by the late payment.

The court held that New York’s usury statute that an interest charge of more than 25% per year is a criminal offense determined such fees as unenforceable.

Did the board shrink all parking spots or just yours? If you have this problem parking I would get the board to see that they have created a hazard by doing this to you which is causing anxiety and stress. Also you bought the spot am I correct and then pay monthly fee. If the board refuses to give you a larger spot I would contact a lawyer being the board has only reduced your spot and no other. Recheck your contract you signed when you paid for your spot to double check if the board has a right to shrink your spot at any time. Good Luck

If separate shares were issued for your parking spot then you should be able to find good information about what your board can and cannot do in either your proprietary lease and/or any supplementary documents related to parking spaces. A board cannot arbitrarily change the size of a shareholder-owned space because doing so affects the value of the underlying shares.

There are a lot of legal issues in play here. I would take PC#1's advice and contact an attorney, even if the board reduced the size of every parking spot. There would need to be a proper paper trail and I would think at least one shareholder vote authorizing the change is size and the underlying share value.

Thanks for your response. They reduced the size of the spot behind me also but that car does not have to parallel park-it is the last car in the row so they just pull right in from behind with no car behind them. Yes, I purchased my parking space and pay a monthly maintenance charge which I have withheld since July. Up to this point they have been claiming they increased my size yet suddenly change tune and claim "for the safety of all shareholders" as basis for their right to take from my space. I am planning to go to court as this definitely affects my resale value I believe and causes me daily anxiety. I had spoken to the board president not long after this started and she didn't seem to know anything about it even saying "why don't they just repaint the lines? Seems easy enough" which leads me to believe that the property manager made these changes without even consulting the board first. Regarding the contract, the parking space is just a number of shares so there is no mention of size or changes. It is just a separate certificate of shares for the corporation.

You said that you had shares allocated to this space, that makes me assume that here is also a Lease or Agreement of occupancy for the space, correct?
Does it specify the location and/or size?

My MA is a liar also, they all seem to use the same playbook. I will never purchase another co-op.... They lie lie lie deny deny deny and they need be be regulated. The one who runs the coop now has some kind of brick obsession, ripping down walls and rebuilding. I am so 100% sure that their is graft and it involves some of the board members. What they are doing to the building (prewar) is revolting... No respect for the dignity of the building....it's as if they are raping the building. They are very sickening... The building is in one of Long Islands ghettos and the shareholders uninformed and they like it that way. They like to shoot the messenger, and they allow the same people on the board year after year. The board members know they have a flock of sheep so they do as they please. My apt is for sale and I have no empathy for any one of them. It's a shinking ship and as long as the same individuals are in charge......
Hope I can sell fast.... I will never purchase a coop again after the beating I took here. But once I am gone I am not going to forget them and all their lies. In fact I am planning a u-tube series where I expose them and all their lies. Some of them are really entertaining and since I recorded so many conversations I can play them so people can judge for themselves. Yea they want to shit me up.... That is not going to happen, there are to many rogue boards out there and they need to wake up.... Even if it means a shakeup...They are all in my cross hares and I had something special for each one of them. MAs and boards who think shareholders have no power need to rethink this stance, I am a teacher and I am going to teach them a lesson.

Hi, In the coop where I live they are imposing a 1.5 percent increase for 2018 and apparently for every year to come. They claim it's because "everything is going up". I've been living here for 4 years and only last year they didn't raise it. I see in other coops there is an effort in keeping cost down as it says on "our mission statement". Unfortunately there are not as many coops options here as you have in NY. Also if one wants to move out he/she will have to keep paying the carrying (service) charges apparently now from 6 down to 3 months if there is no buyer. Is this fair or even legal? Is this the way this issues are being handle in the "coops world"? I read in this forum about "lies", private "deals" and an overall lack of transparency to be common and also here. I'll appreciate your feedback. Thank you!

Hi PC - You are very lucky that you live in a co-op where the board recognizes regular and steady maintenance increases are much preferable to not increasing maintenance year after year. Your board is absolutely correct that everything is going up; taxes, salaries, supplies, professional services, repairs, the list goes on and on. 1.5% to 2% sounds just in line with inflation, which means your board is doing everything it can to keep costs down to the best of their ability. Those co-ops that do not raise maintenance may think their doing their shareholders a favor, but in the long run they're condemning their shareholders to ultimately absorb a very large maintenance increase (can be double-digits depending on how long the board ignores increased operating expenses) or a hefty assessment to make up the difference. Co-ops that operate with a deficit should be avoided at all costs.

As for continuing to pay maintenance (what you call a service charge) even after you move, you are still a shareholder whether physically present or not. Your unit is still receiving building services, and your monthly maintenance is based on all units paying their fair share. I doubt you'd be happy if you were required to pay any additional maintenance to keep the budget balanced if another shareholder (or two or three) moved out.

All in all, from what you describe, it sounds like your board is making good decisions and exercising good governance for the wellbeing of all shareholders. If you are considering moving solely because of what you describe in your post, I would seriously reconsider.

I've been a board treasurer for 10 years. I'd be happy to discuss this further with you offline if you'd like. I have these kinds of discussions with my shareholders all the time. Let me know if you're interested and I'll figure out some way of getting in touch with you.

Best of luck with whatever you do,
--- Steve

Thank you very much Steve for your response and your thoughtful advise. It would be very interesting and useful to discuss further with you although since I don't live in your area, it would only be possible through email. As far as leaving, I've considered the possibility. There are many things wrong with this coop which are difficult to describe briefly, not just the increase of monthly charges or who is responsible when someone leaves. I certainly appreciate your idea of continuing the discussion. Thanks!
Best,
Patricia

Hi Patricia,

If you'd like to converse offline, please send an email to me at vaxcat1<at>QOL(dot)com. Change the Q to an A. I hate being so cryptic, but I hate receiving spam even more. :-)

--- Steve

You have every right to expect your sensitive financial (and all other sensitive information) be adequately protected by your managing agent. What you describe is, in my opinion, inexcusable, and points to larger, systemic problems with your MA's business processes.

The mechanics of encryption are very simple and cost nothing. After the PDF files are created, your MA uses a program like WinZip or 7-Zip to bundle them together and compress them. While the finale .zip file is being created, it can be password protected which forces encryption. WinZip may cost a few bucks and I know 7-Zip is free. The resulting .zip file can be much smaller and easier to send via email.

You should insist that all sensitive files be sent to you password protected. If your MA balks at your request, you need to wonder what other corners they are trying to cut and how it will affect your co-op. If a shareholder is harmed by your MA's shoddy document protection and decides to litigate, your co-op may bear some legal liability. Check with your attorney.

I don't know how long your CoOp has had your MA but it's time to shop around for a new one. It has been advise for all CoOp's & Condo's to change managing agent every few years. This is one main reason why. What if your buildings sensitive info. got into the wrong hands? Managing agents get way to comfy and mess up or slacks off. Go to the back of your Habitat magazine and look up and research other agents, lawyers and controllers. This is one of the most important jobs for the board "MONEY" and managing your building to the fullest that's what you pay them for. Your their boss. Best of Luck

The president/treasurer here threw my application for the apartment in the paper recycle bin. It contained all my financials, all my personal information. I was just lucky that my roommate ( bodyguard, afraid of super..a violent felony offender with a short fuse) saw the material and said it looked like building business, was I interested. Yes I was it was a months worth of board business. Aside from my financials it included information about other share holders. I never recieved an appology from this monster.
But the people here don't care unless it happens to them.... It's what they call "minding their own business". There is no fixing this because the desire is just not there.

Our MA is reluctant to adoption encryption. They don't want to pick up the extra cost.

How do your MA's distribute your financials and purchase applications?

We've received the financials and the purchase applications for other properties - in both cases revealing the financial info of the other property and potential purchasers.

Since this is a concern to you ask for a special meeting with your board. Don't include your MA. Present all info and discuss why you need to change your MA.
James see below: Ask The Experts LEARN MORE
Learn all the basics of NYC co-op and condo management, with straight talk from heavy hitters in the field of co-op or condo apartments

Professionals in some of the key fields of co-op and condo board governance and building management answer common questions in their areas of expertise. Best of Luck

The board president/ treasurer throw out a whole months worth of board communication in the recycle bin in the basement garbage room. Fortunately I had a friend staying with me who noticed it in the trash and brought my attention to it. I went down and retrieved the paperwork and it was shocking. It contained all my financial information because it was from the time when I awaiting board approval.
I did not even get an apology. The MAs only comment was "that was stupid of him!
I listed the dump last night. I have nightmares about what has transpired here. But I will soon be gone and they will still be in Hempstead NY where they belong. Village of Hempstead where the slum lords get PIOLETS and community members get the shaft. We have a new mayor- the last one gave away 14 of the villages parking lots to some slumlords. Then to sweeten the deal they all got PIOLETS. Mean while the villages largest source of revenue is parking tickets.
He claims he did it for our benifit. We don't believe it.
Also the schools are a complete disaster, yet our taxes are comparable to those of garden city which has superior schools. The library is a complete joke! But we have something other communities don't have "shot spotter" immediately detects gunfire and location. IMPRESSIVE!
Can't wait to leave... Have an excellent agent from Brooklyn, signed up and ready to go.
Happy Days Will soon be here again. Hate co-ops
NEVER AGAIN!

Jim, could you ask your MA exactly what would generate the extra cost for encryption he is so reluctant to take on. Is it the cost of an encryption program? The allocation of additional staff time (how much additional staff time), complexity, perceived as being unnecessary, anything like this. Your MA's resistance really piques my curiosity.

Thanks!

One of the partners in our Managing company told me that there would be an expense to license the encryption software for each of his agents. He claims, it would increase their costs approximately $2,000 - $3,000 per year. I did a little research, and the encryption software that I looked into is free for personal use, but there is a license fee for commercial use. Though I didn't investigate the actual costs - I think that will be my next step.


I contacted the president of the board of the development that we mistakenly were sent their financials. He wasn't surprised (they've received other developments communications), and he's not prepared to issue an ultimatum over this. His opinion is that the best one could expect from a managing agent is mediocre performance, and this issue while unfortunate isn't surprising. The other disappointing thing is that the partner I spoke with assured me that he informed the other development that their financials were leaked. When I spoke to the other president, he told me that our conversation was the first he heard of it.

So, unfortunately, if a significant number of their clients feel this way, I don't have a lot of leverage short of changing MAs and finding one that distributed financials and sensitive information in a secure manner.

Thanks, Jim. I don't know what encryption software your MA is thinking of using, but reasonably secure encryption doesn't have to cost anything.

I recommend 7-Zip. It has a lot of different compression and encryption formats, and can create files that are fully compatible with the standard .ZIP format.

Here's the link to 7-Zip. http://www.7-zip.org/ The software is open source and licensed under GNU LGPL. It allows free and unrestricted commercial use.

Here's a tutorial describing how to encrypt and password protect sensitive files. http://www.medicalnerds.com/how-to-encrypt-zip-files-securely-using-7zip/ It's so extraordinarily simple that I think even the partner in your MA company can figure it out.

You might want to ask your MA how much liability insurance his company carries to cover litigation if they are sued due to irresponsible handling and/or exposure of sensitive co-op financial and personal information.

Also ask them if they are willing to sign an ironclad hold-harmless agreement that protects your Co-op against being brought into any litigation. Since they feel proper information security is too much of a bother and expense, they should have no qualms about protecting your Co-op from their gross negligence.

Oh, and make sure they don't use the same password for all the buildings they manage. I wouldn't be surprised if they tell you password management is also too much of a bother.

Please let us know how it turns out. Good luck.

I appreciate the feedback.

As a Managing Agent I take the security and welfare of our Shareholders seriously and find that there are several ways to achieve a level of safe dissemination of information.
Ask your MA to set up a dropbox account (very cheap and he can use if for all his buildings). The MA would then set up groups that consist only of Board members. Files are uploaded to this secure folder and only accessible by you, the intended viewer.

Just a thought
~Anthony Reinglas

I'm sorry to hear about your situation and the fact you had to move due to the actions of your landlord.

You are asking a lot of good questions. Others may have good information and suggestions for you, but it sounds like your situation has a lot of legal ramifications for which you need authoritative advice. One place you can start is the NYC Housing Court at http://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/service/1866/housing-court-and-tenant-landlord-disputes. See if their website can provide useful information.

One thing I do know is arbitrarily not paying legal rent, no matter how egregious the landlord's actions, almost never has a good ending. In the eyes of the court you owe the money until the court says otherwise. I hope the links on the Housing Court website will be able to answer your questions and give you a path towards a resolution.

Good luck!

You state all the items you would like remedied or repaired, issues you are having and deficiencies in your rental, then state that you're late because you are paying in 2 places.
So, are you having an issue paying and need Landlord understanding and assistance?
Or, are you withholding rent to try to get repairs made?
If its the first of the two, most Landlords will work with you to create a payment plan in time of need, especially if you've been good paying in the past. I almost always do with my Tenants. Its less costly than court.
If its the second, then you're on the wrong path to remediation and this will end up bad as the previous comment suggests. Better to request the repairs in writing and on record and advise that you will be paying the rent and formally request that these items be taken care of before XXX date. You can threaten any non-action with a phone call to HPD.

Good Luck,
~Anthony Reinglas