LEGAL TALK PODCAST

Boards make all kinds of decisions, and most of the time it’s pretty clear what is legal and what is not. But some activities cross into the gray zone – not really illegal, but not a good place to be, either. Dennis Greenstein of Seyfarth Shaw and Marc Landis of Phillips Nizer mark the boundaries of this zone and come up with the ultimate solution to avoiding it.

Selling an apartment is a huge undertaking, and lots of money changes hands. One hand that is often outstretched is that of the co-op being left. Depending on what a co-op’s governing documents say, a transfer or flip tax might be collected. For the seller, now flush with cash, that fee provides welcome revenue to a co-op’s coffers. But for the co-op corporation that doesn’t have a flip tax, it’s a missed opportunity. Listen as Norman Himmelfarb, of Himmelfarb & Sher, and Andrew Brucker, of Schechter and Brucker, lay out what’s needed to make the flip happen. Featuring the song “Jazz’n’Out” from the album Jazzafari Bea Tape Vol. 1, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.

If you think your board of directors is not paying attention to what the ordinary joe apartment owner thinks is important, it’s time to get their attention. There are lots of ways to do that, and organizing a special meeting is one of them. Marc Schneider of Schneider Mitola and Elliott Meisel of Brill & Meisel offer some down-to-earth advice on this powerful option.

If you own an apartment next door to a hoarder, well, that’s rough. There can be smells, and the hoarder’s apartment can be a fire hazard. What can be done about the situation? Who is supposed to deal with this? Geoffrey Mazel of Hankin & Mazel and Steven Troup of Tarter Krinsky & Drogin offer lessons from the hoarding frontline.

Each month, we invite a New York co-op or condo board director to ask a legal question, and we host a panel of attorneys who address it. This month, Carl Tait, a board president of a 33-unit co-op in Manhattan, wonders what steps his co-op can take to force the neighboring building to complete it’s Local Law 11 work?

This month, our panel of attorneys includes:
Steven R. Wagner, Wagner Davis
Andrew Brucker, Schechter & Brucker

  Twice a month, we invite a New York co-op or condo board director to ask a legal question, and we host a panel of attorneys who address it. This time, Karen Ward, a board director of a 67-unit co-op in Queens, is facing an asbestos problem. The board president of her co-op had hired a contractor to remove asbestos in their meeting room and a tenant’s apartment. The contractor was not licensed to do this type of work, and the proper disposal protocols were not followed. The building is now facing fines and penalties.

This episode, our panel of attorneys includes:
Geoffrey Mazel, Hankin & Mazel
Steven Anderson, Anderson & Ochs
Jeffrey Diamond, Marcus Rosenberg & Diamond

  Twice a month, we invite a New York co-op or condo board director to ask a legal question, and we host a panel of attorneys who address it. This time, John Titone, a board president in Queens, is trying to understand why his building’s insurance company is requiring them to comply with New York city’s air conditioner bracket regulations, even though his building is not subject to Local Law 11.

This episode, our panel of attorneys includes:
C. Jaye Berger, Law Offices of C. Jaye Berger
Leonard Ritz, Adam Leitman Bailey

  Twice a month, we invite a New York co-op or condo board director to ask a legal question, and we host a panel of attorneys who address it. This time, Andrea Payne, a board president in Wheatley Heights, Long Island, is facing a thorny problem of termites, a shareholder who is trying to sell, and an ineffective exterminator.

This episode, our panel of attorneys includes:
Stuart Halper, Stuart Halper & Associates
Ronald L. Perl, Hill Wallack, Attorneys at Law

Twice a month, we invite a New York co-op or condo board director to ask a legal question, and we host a panel of attorneys who address it. This time, Ruth Shoenthal, a board treasurer from Manhattan, is dealing with a hoarder problem.

This episode, our panel of attorneys includes:
Marc H. Schneider, Schneider Mitola
Craig Schiller, Schiller & Associates

Twice a month, we invite a New York co-op or condo board director to ask a legal question, and we host a panel of attorneys who address it. This time, Andy Cho, board president of a 130-unit co-op in Manhattan, reports his co-op is considering a lockbox to hold coded keys from owners. He wonders if a waiver is necessary to protect the building in the event a key is lost or stolen, and something happens to the apartment?

This episode, our panel of attorneys includes:
Michael T. Manzi, Balber Pickard Maldonado & Van Der Tuin
John J. LaGumina, The LaGumina Law Firm