stairway lighting with battery backup in all both of our stairwells. Lutron system.
Converting the existing hallway lighting with an emergency mode would be even more expensive.
Hallway separate emergency lighting is affordable until it comes to the labor to mount and hardwire them in.
Conversely you could purchase separate lantern/battery operated units and store them where someone could retrieve them in case of an outage.

Thank you so much!

I believe it is a violation of some DOB or other agency regulation to not have emergency backup lighting a multi-family dwelling. The FDNY makes spot inspection and if a building is in violation it can be fined.

The most common solution is something like this: https://www.exitlightco.com/product/EL-STLED.html At $65 each the cost per resident is probably extremely low. You want something that is set and forget because in an urgent situation like smoke from a fire you don't have time to first deploy the lighting devices.

I suggested auxiliary lantern style lighting to augment automatic switching emergency lighting, not stand in place of it.

Thank you!

First the shareholders must demand that the management co send out notification when the Super is out on vacation and they should also list in the email/flyer who to contact should a crisis come up. Also have shareholders call or email the management co and the Board and/or bring it up at the Annual meeting. The more that are vocal then they’ll do something.

Do you have a porter? They could also get someone to fill in too. I’m sure the management co has a list of part time help either union or non-union members.

In my co-op we have a super and a porter so there is backup. The co-op behind me has a Super full time but help just on the weekends so I’m sure the weekend help do more hours when the Super is on vacation and especially for a week.

Basically it’s not managed properly. Co-op’s have a management co and board members…they should think of these things.

I think the easiest solution is to hire a lead and asbestos testing company to perform a survey of your entire building. That way you can authoritatively respond to your Super's hesitancy. As a bonus, you could also be made aware of the much larger issue of needing lead and/or asbestos abatement. Either could be a very time-consuming, disruptive, expensive project, and the sooner you find out about it, the better you'll be able to plan and budget for it.

I've found that "making excuses" is not limited to union members. Either your employees act professionally and responsibly or they don't. Being a union building works both ways. If you strive to maintain good relations with your union there's a lot they can do for you. This is not always possible given individual human nature, but I've found comity usually works better than confrontation.

We're going through this same exercise in my co-op. It boils down to responsibility and liability. Here are two articles I found that are pretty much on-point:

https://cooperatornews.com/article/qa-co-op-liability-when-a-live-in-super-does-a-job-for-a-shareholder

https://www.habitatmag.com/Publication-Content/Legal-Financial/2018/2018-November/Moonlighting-Supers

Campaign to get rid of your super. He is not serving the coop well.

He loves his free apartment and will not leave. and the board is not perceptive enough to see the harm he presents.

and smart enough, you will prevail!

Run a slate of your own candidates for the board at the next election meeting. The mere threat of being replaced may get the current board off their collective duffs. Or it might put you and your running mates in control.

Just be careful of what you wish for because you may get it.

As a shareholder we have never received this with our annual report or even discussed this with the shareholders. Our attorney did speak on this when we had the election with the new board members this year but only the board members that were on the board last year signed this and not any new board members but my understanding is that shareholders should receive a copy.

Thank you for your quick response. I previously asked this when the law was first enacted. I believe because the law is completely silent on enforcement and oversight, and does not contain any penalties for violations", boards are not adhering to this law. It seems like a shareholder would need legal intervention in this matter as in other BCL laws that are not being adhered to by the board. Thanks Again.

But to me it’s the co-op’s attorney to inform the board when there are new rules and regulations and if the board doesn’t do it then it’s their fault and then the shareholders needs to demand it or get new board members and even a new attorney if he’s not doing his job right. Our attorney only told the board this year about this but it’s been implemented for a few years already.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.habitatmag.com/layout/set/amphtml/Publication-Content/Legal-Financial/2016/2016-June/Window-Guards

And so naturally they are responsible to pick up the tab for getting them in the windows.

We pay our engineers either of two ways most all the time.
We pay at an hourly rate, bills to be submitted as the project proceeds.
Or we get a fixed total quote upfront for what the whole job will be.
I'd say the first arrangement is the more common one.

I'd resist the % arrangement as this incentivizes the engineer to be happier as the size of the job grows.

Also we have a sponsor on the board which makes it 7 and he rents and sells his units. Isn’t that a conflict of interest?

Also what about our management company they have a real estate company on the side and would communicate that to shareholders..isn’t that a conflict of interest or does the rule just apply to board members?

Hi
This is strange and what if the sale doesn’t go through and/or you changed your mind? They also have to send you the minutes of the Annual meeting afterwards because you’re still the owner/shareholder . What are they trying to hide? You should contact your management company and your co-op attorney. Also contact the attorney general’s office. If someone wants to buy a unit don’t they get to see the minutes of meetings if they want to do so they can really see the state of the building? How long have these board members been on the board? What would they do if you show up? Call the cops? This doesn’t sound right.

What the??
This has to be illegal. All shareholders are automatically entitled to attend the annual shareholder's meeting. The Board cannot change NYS corporate law.
Talk to your coop attorney for their ruling on this and report back to us here.

It sounds to me like a misguided attempt to prevent someone who is contemplating or actively looking to sell their apartment from voting in their own interest instead of what is best for the co-op.

For example, suppose the board is going to propose a large maintenance increase for all the good and valid reasons. The thought is that anyone looking to sell their apartment will vote against the increase because it will hurt their sales potential even if the increase is badly needed, and because they most likely won't be affected by it.

Barring these shareholders from the meeting is still illegal and should be challenged in every way possible.