Board Service: Jay Shusterhoff on Condo and Co-op Hallway / Lobby Renovation

The Bay Club Condominium consists of two 21-story buildings with 1,037 apartments. During my tenure as president, I have tried to communicate to our residents that our condominium is more than just a high-rise structure of concrete and steel. The Bay Club, like every other condominium and cooperative in New York, is essentially a community.

Communities need governments and this is no less true for condominiums and cooperatives. The condo or co-op board is perhaps the most fundamental level of government and is the one closest to our residents. Large national issues such as the war in Afghanistan and local controversies such as the proposed prayer center near Ground Zero are surely important, but they touch most of us only peripherally.

The most difficult and contentious

task a board can undertake 

is a lobby or hallway renovation.

On the other hand, so-called "mundane" issues such as noisy neighbors, expensive repairs and surprise assessments directly affect the residents of our communities. Although these matters may be small on the universal scale of weights and measures, they are the ones that push our buttons and are among the many problems that boards must tackle.

Condo and co-op boards serve as legislatures, establishing policy and spending money, usually lots of it. We maintain our infrastructure and we tax ourselves in the form of common charges and maintenance fees. Our residents also play a role in our government. They elect us and they have a voice in what we do. Sometimes they even yell. Although board members may be protected in court by the Business Judgment Rule, we are still responsible to explain our decisions to the residents of our communities.

Hallway Hell

In my experience, the most difficult and contentious task a board can undertake — and one that can inflame the entire community — is a lobby or hallway renovation. Decorating is so difficult and individually subjective that it is impossible to meet everyone's expectations. With our hallway renovation, our board made every effort to avoid the problems that plague these projects. We recruited volunteers for a hallway committee. The committee interviewed and recommended a respected New York City design firm. Our green committee recommended eco-friendly materials. We had unit-owner meetings. We engaged in a comprehensive bidding process. Accordingly, having worked together on this project, our community looks forward to beautiful new hallways.

By day's end, we live together more or less in peace and harmony, sometimes more and sometimes less. Our small communities are maintained by those who have come and gone and by those who are here today. We in turn will pass the baton to others.

Serving on a board is not easy. We don't always get credit when things consistently go right, and we invariably take the heat when things sometimes go wrong. Nevertheless, board members share a common goal to ensure that our condominium and cooperative communities remain great places to live. That is my goal. That is my passion.

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