We just announced a 12% increase, so consider yourself lucky.

fuel is the same, labor did not go up. having raised ours considerably in the last few years, there is no reason to raise your mntnce if you are taking PRO_ACTIVE cost-cutting measures - supplies, insurance, energy costs, etc.

Newbie - We are raising our maintenance 5% in 2009 too. NYC real estate taxes are going up (7%, I believe), and who knows what will happen in 2009 in this economy. IMO, unless your co-op is very well fixed financially, a maintenance increase is a good move.

Yea! You are lucky we have 10% !!

you need a very good Tax Certiorari ASAP/. get a new one if your regular one is not doing as well as he could be.

9% to cover property taxes.

Green@metrogroupny.com

. I was board treasurer threatened by resident, As always, it's a bit more complicated . Feel free to contact me if interested.

Regards,Elise

Are you Elise Brodsky from NYC?

I'm interested in the table lamp that doubles as a security camera, which was in the New Products section maybe a month ago. (It's here: http://www.habitatmag.com/publication_content/previous_new_products/brickhouse_nightvision_dvr_spy_lamp)

Does anyone out there have experience with surreptitous security recording? I see security cameras hanging from buildings on the street all the time, without a sign saying "you are being videotaped." Do we need to put a sign in our lobby if we've got a security camera? Is the law different for an obvious security camera, no matter how small, or a hidden camera? A lot of elevators have essentially hidden cameras, with no "you are being videotaped" signs.

Before I go to the rest of my board, I want to have good information, and wanted to check with fellow board members before going to the board attorney and racking up fees.

First step: Put everything in writing to the board and send it certified. Be brief and precise. Tell them they are violating the warrent of habitability by not completing the project.

You said you had mold around your A/C. Is the A/C yours according to the PL or the co-op?

Obviously,the managing agent and/or the board should have provided you with the intended scope of their work.

To inspect the sleeve, the A/C had to be removed from the sleeve. If the A/C was yours, you should have removed it to facilitate the inspection of the sleeve. This is very similar to changing windows in a co-op. Residents are requested to remove drapes, furniture and other furnishings since this is personal property.

Obviously, the co-op assumed the removal of the A/C so that the inspection and removal of the sleeve could be done. In such a case, the co-op should have placed your A/C back and avoided further complaint. If the co-op did not do it, it should have informed you that putting the A/C back was your responsibility.

Finally, if the sleeve was rotted, but the condensate water was damaging the front wall around your unit, it was probably due to an incorrect pitch of the A/C when it was installed. An A/C should be pitched a tat higher up front so that condensates evacuate through the back of the sleeve and out the building not through the front and into the internal wall of the apartment.

So, make sure your A/C is installed correctly by lifting the front a bit. This will avoid water and mold growing on the internal wall. In fact, if the A/C was incorrectly pitch and this was the cause of the mold, it stands to reason that YOU own the mold remediation as may be caused by your own equipment.


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Document, document, document.

Take your case to your local community board and ask for their help in pushing for action.

Type in Noise in the Search box above and you'll see a string of postings and replies e.g. these and more:
Noise/Responsibility AliceT Fri Feb 8, 2008 9:12AM
S/H who have a complaint to write (just one line) to the Board. Otherwise, -- you can make an anonomous(sp) call to 311, or call the police -
* Question about a noisy neighbor — BP, Wed Feb 6 3:47AM
I'm looking for some suggestions. We have a Sh who's complained to the board/mgmt every few months for 2 years about noise at all hours by her next-door neighbor - blasting music, screaming phone... more
o ATTORNEY Letter on behalf of the Board — Wits End, Thu Feb 7 6:29AM
Start the paper trail now. Co-op's attorney needs to step in and get the ball rolling - with a notice of complaint letter. If you have a management company, they too should get involved.
o noise — Batch, Thu Feb 7 3:36AM
The offender's actions affect more than one shareholder, which makes it a board responsibility to handle. Why have you been waiting for the shareholder to do it? Call the DEP. Call 311. Call the police. Call an independent noise specialist to record the decibels. Don't force the shareholder to do it, that's the board's job.

Please keep in mind that the above discussions referred to co-ops, not condos. There is no warranty of habitability in a condo, which makes it much harder to pursue noise complaints against neighbors.

In my experience, 311 is largely useless except for creating a paper trail. So call 311 to record your complaint and get a reference number, then call the police if the noise is really bad.

If the noise is severe enough to cause visible shaking and loud thumping, take a video and put in on YouTube, then send the URL to everyone in your building.

This sounds like a terrible situation and I'm sorry you have to endure it.

One way to test conflict of interest is as follows: If there is any seed of doubt, then it is said to be a conflict of interest that requires disclosure.

In this case and to avoid any seed of doubt, the board member in question should abstain from being an offficer of the corporation, i.e., abstain from being president, treasurer (the most dangerous of the positons since management controls the checking book) and secretary (second most dangerous position as the custodian of the corporate records). Finally, the shareholder should abstain from any discussion relating to the performance of the management company and the person should be protected by the management company by not being named manager of the property in which the person holds shares.

The other shareholders and board members must recognize that the shareholder in question has a large financial interest in the builidng and just like the other shareholders expect the builidng to remain financial stable and well-managed.


Many read great problems relating to this situation; however, it is well known that the CEO of major American corporations, in addition to being the top manager of the company and an employee of the corporation, sits on the Board of Directors and holds a substantial shareholder interest by virtue of holding shares of the corporation by way of compensation or even individual purchase.

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First of all you should have your past water bill analysed for overbilling ASAP.

You can try either of these companies. They do NOT charge up-front but, rather, take a percentage of what they save you. You can google them for the phone numbers.

Okeefe and Associates: they charge 15%of what they save.

Ashokan: charges 1/3 or about 33%.

Thanks a lot for the info.

Could you give me some contact info for O'Keefe & Associates? Googling turned up no such firm/individual.

Hi Newbie - I cant find it either. but the other company comes well recommended.