I am not a lawyer, but I believe it's known as "grandfathering". Unless there is imminent risk or danger, those shareholders who owned before the rule change was put into effect are entitled to follow the old regulation.

Thank you. I was advised that the Board cannot impose different financial requirements for different shareholders. I have not heard anything about a “grandfather” exception to the requirement that new purchasers carry more insurance than existing shareholders. I don’t know if any real estate attorneys follow three discussions, but I would be interested in hearing what they have to say.

I believe this applies to public housing only and not private cooperatives:

Although not covered by the HUD rule, condo and coop boards may adopt house rules and/or policies within their governing documents prohibiting smoking outside of the building in common areas such as garden areas, patios, roof decks, and terraces. While a board can request and encourage that people do not smoke around the perimeter of the building, they generally do not have the legal authority to enforce building policies on public property.

Signage is usually placed on the building facade by the entrances; I believe it could be Local Law 127. Hope this helps

I belive such a rule appieles to public housing also and a coop cannot dictate or enforce such a rule.

The co-op or condo could also make the claim that smoking within a certain distance from the building's exterior creates an environment that is detrimental to the health of the building's residents.

Courts have upheld House Rules that prohibit smoking anywhere within a building, including residential units because of the effect of second-hand smoke. The same argument could probably be made that smoking too close to the exterior of a building affects the health of the residents from smoke that is drawn into apartments and building-wide air circulating equipment.

No -
Private coops do not have control of the public areas outside the perimeter of the building in regards to people smoking.
(As much as some board members might like to.)

Apparently they can.

Starting August 28, 2018, all residential buildings with three or more units in New York City will be required to adopt a written smoking policy. This applies to rentals, co-ops, and condos.

The new ordinance, called Local Law 147, does not require buildings to ban smoking outright. On the contrary

Read things carefully. This would be over reaching for a private cooperative.

I don't think so. Imposing such an income test would create two separate classes of shareholders, which is strictly prohibited. It's the DoF who determines who's eligible for the abatement. They send a list each year with the amount of the abatement for each unit, and which units are ineligible. If you're on the list as eligible you get it regardless of your income.

As usual, Steve is correct in noting that the coop itself can't condition abatements or assessments on income, and I don't believe the city does, either - at least for the Coop/Condo abatement. However, the STAR credit *does* have an income limit set by the state of NY. You're not eligible if your household income exceeds $500,000. See https://www.tax.ny.gov/star/

- Carl

Before speaking to you, would it be possible for you to provide some identification like your name, email address, and links to current articles with your by-line? I try to not be paranoid, but in today's environment of fakes, deep fakes, deeper deep fakes, etc, one can never be too careful. A reply to this response should work, and would make your credentials available to all my fellow Habitants as well. Thanks!

A 30-second search brought this information:
https://www.amandakmchugh.com
It lists the same email she provided in her post. Looks legit.

It sounds rather draconian to me as well. Read your bylaws to see if they have any requirements for when the annual meeting should be held and when any required documents should be delivered. The annual audited financial report is required and I'm not sure about the budget report.

Try asking your managing agent for the report before asking the board. You might get better results. I can tell you that a lot of MA companies are still backed up due to COVID-19 and CPA attrition. The board may be using the excuse of "contractual obligation" to cover themselves.

Hopefully, you'll find something in the Bylaws you can use as a lever. If nothing works send a polite request to the board asking for a copy of the audit report. Send it by USPS certified/RRR. Start a paper trail in case this escalates. When you finally receive the report, send a list of your questions to the board, again by USPS certified/RRR. What happens next will guide what you do next.

Good luck!

I asked a board member and the management agent in the same email and the board member responded only on Sunday and I emailed on Friday.

My understanding was that the financial report is actually supposed to be mailed out to shareholders so obviously you get it before the meeting. Have you heard of that being mandatory? I will ask our attorney at the meeting.

They also emailed it to us last year the day before.

Isn’t it mandatory to send the financial report at least after the meeting even for those that didn’t attend the meeting?

I was told that it’s not mandatory and only if they ask.

I don't have experience in this specific area, but I was board treasurer for 15 years and these are the steps I took under similar circumstances:

1) Have your neighbor make printouts of every email and other electronic textual communications they receive or received in the past.

2) Make copies of every bit of correspondence they receive regardless of how it was delivered (USPS, slipped under the door, etc)

3) Speak to other neighbors they are close to, to see if anyone else has experienced similar treatment.

4) As soon as possible, consult with an attorney who specializes in co-op law. I know it will cost money you were not expecting, but poop is a fact of life.

What I would *not* do is take any action whatsoever before your neighbor speaks to an attorney. Don't respond to any emails or other communications, immediately shut down any verbal conversations, do not initiate any actions, even responding to the email you said in your original message your friend sent two weeks ago.

The more your friend refuses to engage, the more agitated the board will become and the more prone they become to making mis-steps. I know this is hard, but even if a board member gets up into your friend's face, advise them to simply stand there, smile, and politely say when the confrontation is over, "thank you for sharing that with me." Full Stop.

I wish you and your friend all the best.

Thank you, Steven424. Much appreciated.

Facebook group is a good way to involve shareholders in the coop but if you have had 14 years without getting enough votes for quorum you have an issue with shareholder apathy.

Do you have mostly residents who are shareholders or are many apartments being sublet.?

Does the coop still have unsold shares?

I am a shareholder in coop that 2 years ago started a Facebook group that was able to influence shareholders to get more involved and was able to make changes in the board in the 2022 coop election.

In the 2023 election it was harder to reach quorum.

Both elections used online voting plus the standard paper voting proxies.

Roy

Don’t you have an annual meeting? Speak up during that time. Inform the Board that they need to give a full explanation on the financials and not just from the auditor. Board members are shareholders and nothing more they should be accessible to the shareholders. The Board answers to the shareholders not the other way around. You need to speak to your property manager that he works for you….your’re the client!!! One way to change things up on the Board is have term limits. I think if the shareholders vote (2/3) you can implement that rule. Speak to your co-op attorney. So just have folks on the Board no more then 10 years or less and that’s a way of changing it up on the Board. Shareholders need to work together to knock on doors to get some to run or at least attend the meetings.

I have Travelers / Geico. It went up a bit but not that much.

I have State Farm. I've been with them since 1996 and I believe longevity has an effect on premiums. My rate did not go up anywhere near 25%.

Some factors to consider.
* The size of your deductible. It usually ranges from $500 to $2000 per claim. If you're not at $2000 and you feel you can afford the hit if you have a claim, I would change it to that limit. It will reduce your premium.
* How long have you been with Allstate? Longevity and claim history has an effect
* How many claims have you filed that Allstate had to pay out on?
* What are your various coverage limits?
* Do you have any riders for non-standard insurance, like for jewelry, artwork, collections, things like that? The value of these easily liquidated items has gone up significantly

Bottom line, the cost of insurance had gone up out of proportion to the actual cost of repair/replace. Increased litigation and large damage awards are a factor. Cost of replacement materials and labor has gone up. Increased crime, vandalism, theft, fire all have an effect on premiums.

If you think co-op owner's insurance is ridiculous, you should see your co-op corporation's premium. I was treasurer and I *know*.

Shop around, but make sure you go with a company that is rated A.M. Best "A" or "A+". You don't want insurance that is going to struggle or not be able to pay at all when you need insurance the most.

Good luck.

Thank you for your input, especially you Steve; as usual your feedback is very complete. The rate went up because (a) rates went up, and also (b) Allstate automatically raised something within it. I can't go into it all, but, bottom line is that I spoke to my agent, reduced some coverage, and will take the hit for now. Best regards...

Best of luck to you too, DP.