You present questions that require quite a lengthy response. My best suggestion is that you contact the managing agent and speak with them about your concerns. The chances of you removing a director are pretty slim. The best way to make change is to work from the inside which you are now in position to do. You should do your homework on the issues so that when you present them at the board meetings you are well prepared making it difficult for other board members not to see the light. There is always politics on a board to deal with so you are not alone. Don't let it deter you from your goals to make changes and improvements to your building.

I don't believe the agent can do anything to help, & it seems certain that going this route will telegraph your concerns & intentions to the Board. By the way you describe members & their attitudes/actions, they're entrenched & the agent's loyalties lie w/them.

When you talk about removing a Board member, the sponsor's votes count like any other owner's. 2/3 is not, of course, "simply majority." You don't specify building size, but it sounds near-impossible to reach the 2/3 likely required for removal without sponsor's votes [do the math: add sponsor's 24% to the shares of other Board members & you'd need virtually every other owner to vote, & to side with you].

Remember your responsibility is to other owners, not to the Board. You express concern about legal liability if you speak out; I suggest you should be concerned about your liability as a fiduciary if you DON'T speak out. The part about "not saying anything about or against the Board" isn't in your by-laws; it's common sense relating to the pragmatic business of achieving your goals as a Board member. You've already set yourself apart from the group, & they know this. If you go along & say nothing, you won't fulfill your responsiblities to fellow owners & you should simply quit.

Choose to stay only if you will commit to working for what you believe to be right. While it's probably not worthwhile to discuss your agenda with the agent, it might be a great idea to meet privately with the sponsor. Do so in the guise of wanting to understand, as a new Board member, the sponsor's views & objectives; if you can agree on certain shared goals, you have a powerful ally & stand to make real progress for owners.

Dear C/CS
I think your suggestions and advices are great! I will like to respond with more details since you bring up new questions to me. Unfortunately I do not have the time now but did't want to miss the oportunity to express my satisfaction with your response. It is very righteous and responsible, yet very inteligent. Thank you very much.

It can be enlightening to revisit certain situations to see how things played out. Andrew--is there anything you can share with Board Talk readers on the actions you took, on their impact, & on the status of your building governance today?

Board members serve at the pleasure of shareholders. If other BM are there is thanks to the votes of those shareholders who also voted you into the Board. Once a Board is elected, all positions are for grabs, including the Pres., Treas. and Secretary.

Now, that you have served a year, speak up and say, "Ï want to be president". There will be those who will accept your nomination and others who will vote against you. However, this is how officers are elected.

You are bound by confidentiality and discretion; therefore, you should not discuss what goes on at Board meetings with those outside. You may speak of general projects and issues if you are asked by shareholders, but your role is not to create rumors or the impression that the Board cannot do their work.

Obviously, if change is required, there is the role of promoter to serve as a catalyst for others to get them interested at the time of elections. Only by adding new members, you will be able to start transforming the composition of the board.

Don't be afraid to bring your ideas forward at a meeting. This is why you have been elected. Part of Board meetings is active listening to other point of views and even expressing ideas. This exchange brings third positions as we all can hear different reasons.

Good luck!

Your best bet is to speak with the co-op counsel. Who went through the process of forclosure: the bank or the co-op for lack of maintenance payment? If the bank did not claim the unit at city hall auction, and someone bought it, then the person has to clear the arrears and legal charges. Also, the person needs to complete a buyer's package and provide financial info before being admitted. If not admitted, then the person may have to sell the unit outright without being able to live in it.

This is very similar situation when a unit is part of a estate. The heir may have to show financial info, etc. to prove that he/she is able to carry the unit; however, if the co-op does not accept the heir, then he/she may have to sell it to obtain the proceeds of the saile of the unit.


AdC

You say "tax abatement," then "coop rebate;" they're very different animals.

The property tax rebate is a periodic refund of a few $100 per condo or co-op. [With current NYC fiscal conditions, we probably won't see this again soon.]

The more serious tax abatement is a reduction generally ranging from 17.5% to 25% of each owner's total property tax bill; this is an effort to equalize apartment taxes with single family residence taxes, & recurs each year.

Most of what you need to know is explained here: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dof/html/property/property_tax_reduc_coop_condo.shtml

Don't miss the "owner's guide" link at the bottom of the page.

Basically, the Board applies. If the agent files, it's in the Board's name. Have a Board officer send a letter to the Finance Dept. requesting copies of the full application for all the years in question. You'll find out quickly where you stand, & can make necessary corrections.

Finance will, when shown appropriate documentation, make corrections for errors made in past years & issue credits to owners or their banks [without interest, of course]. If errors were made by your agent, they'll be apparent, & the agent should be on the hook for owners' lost interest.

The claim that "NYC records are years behind" is bogus. Why you don't want to hold the agent accountable--if the error was theirs--is a mystery.

This announcement just in from CNYC:

GOVERNOR SIGNS ABATEMENT EXTENDER

On June 11, 2008, Governor Paterson signed into law legislation introduced by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senator Frank Padavan, which extends for four more years the property tax abatement program for home owners in New York City cooperatives and condominiums. This timely enactment enables the Department of Finance to include the abatement in its property tax bills for July 1 payment as fiscal year 2009 begins. CNYC and its Action Committee for Reasonable Real Estate Taxes thank our elected officials for this important legislation. Thanks also to member cooperatives and condominiums for their letters and calls in support of the extender. The CNYC Newsletter will provide members with more details.

The Residential Mannagement Council of the Real Estate Board of NY developed one that is used by many management companies and cooperatives. Contact the REBNY and ask for Marlyn Davenport.

Our building is dealing with something similar. How long has your building been coop? We are waiting a judge's decision on who is really on our board, as we hired a lawyer to help us fight this. Needless to say, that has been expensive. We are also working with local politicians to get help from the Attorney General's office. Who is your sponsor? What borough are you in?

thank you for your response. we have been a co op for 25 years and I fear that we may end up with the ag's office except I would like to have all the majority of the owners together but with sponsor interference and offer of sweet deals.. I don't know how that is going to happen.

Read your bylaws/black book and house rules. You may be surprised by what you discover... Put every thing in writing. Keep every EMail,,, dont accuse,,, ask questions... such as ,,, is this legal... the bylaws state that........... We just got rid of our Mang ousted a BM who had been running the building as if he owned it... Stay focused on your objective, be persistance and with only one or two other SH you will be amazed by what you can do...
VP

Your first step is to read your offering plan cover to cover. Do not make accusations, document every question and then every response. Document minutes of every meeting. After you gather the facts from your offering plan of what you believe to be your legal rights, hire an real estate attorney. Ask for recommendations from others. Be diligent in your research.

excellent advice thank you.. I know there is a lot of work to be done...I hope these owners are not discouraged by the expense or work . ...

I also am a Superintendent. That falls into line with our job description. If you want to get technical then the very top floor of your building should be responsible for clearing of their clogged pipes. I clear pipes all the time in my building I never charge but sometimes they do tip me.

If your super unclogs a tub or replaces a washer occasionally, he should let it go. Most supers do these things now and then and don't make a fuss about it. But if he does this repeatedly for the same people or you have many apartments and it happens often, that's another story.

You should tell your Shs that unless a task involves an area of maintenance or service that your coop is responsible for, the super is under no obligation to do it. You should also tell them if they want him to do work outside of his required job duties, he can do it on his own time and should be paid for it accordingly by the Sh.

I can see the resident's point, but I can see the super's point too. Some people in coops think the super is supposed to fix everything as if they lived in a rental building. We had Shs who'd call the super to do something like replace a light bulb in a ceiling fixture because they didn't want to do it. We even had a Sh who wanted him to change the cat litter for her twice a week! It can get out of hand.

If the task involves the building's pipes (i.e., a leak in a waste or supply pipe) it falls within the super's duties; if it involves pipes originating within the resident's apartment, it's the Shareholder's responsibility.

I agree that unclogging a drain is within the super's discretion... but also that Shareholders should not "expect" or "demand" service.

One addendum to my post above:

If the problem is a building pipe, please use a licensed plumber!!

E-MAIL POWER:
Three years ago our new mang company tried push through am $11,000 contract for AC brackets we had replaced the year before (and a $5000 parking perk for our Super which we could not afford or need). According to our agent the AC contract was a great deal, and the contract had to be signed by 5pm on a Fri... Fortunately this got out -- and started an Email revolution in our building. This was our first RedFlag.
It has taken us three years, and one of the worst mananged and most expensive (we hired an Independent engeneer to investigate) LL11 projects -- to finally get rid of this Mang company. Certain BM, no matter how bad things got, (unpaid bills, uncollected funds and virtually no recordkeeping [No SH list] to name a very few) continued to support this agent. The Email Trail, both from BM who saw what was going on, and the SH, did them in. We just discovered that they did not register the new owners for the Tax abatement and numerous SH for the past three years, did not recieve this abatement check -- which in some cases is substancial.
Start the Emial trail now (keep all Emails) and ask questions. Dont accuse but ask if its necessary... Ask that BM take recorded votes... make everyone accountable. and good luck.

call this fantastic woman: Arline L. Bronzaft of the Council on the Environment , NYC

This restaurant sounds like such a bad neighbor, I think you ought to make a little noise yourself.

First, let everyone know. Go to restaurant blogs and urge people not to eat there. Post flyers around the neighborhood.

Get a picket line in front of the place, after first alerting news organizations that something big and visual is going to take place -- stressing (this is important) that the legal process is broken, that the new law doesn't work, and that a whole building of average, everyday working people are being deprived of the sleep and peace that they need in order to work.

Let your community board know. Let your State Assemblyman know. Ask your attorney if you need a permit to protest, and get one. If you can't get one, protest anyway -- you have a First Amendment right, and it'll get on the news.

Don't forget to shoot video of the picket an e-mail it to TV and online news orgs. The overall purpose is to give this disgustingly selfish restaurant such embarrassing PR that they'll have to fix the violation. Also, it'll call attention to loopholes in the city law, which makes it legitimate news.

this is perhaps a bit easier and she can help you mediate with the restaurant.

call: CENYC phone 212-788-7900 fax. 212-788-7913

Thanks for all your suggestions-hard and soft ones alike! I will follow up on both recommendations and let you know our progress. These responses just affirm what a great online community Board Talk is-thanks, Habitat, for getting it back up online!