LEGAL/FINANCIAL

The great French novelist Honoré de Balzac did not have a high opinion of bureaucracies or the people who work in them. "A bureaucracy," he wrote, "is a giant mechanism operated by pygmies."

After two vicious floods and an epic battle with municipal, county, state, and federal bureaucracies, the board of directors and the professionals at the Brooklands co-op in Bronxville could be excused for sharing Balzac's dim view of bureaucracies and bureaucrats. Miraculously, they do not. This is the story of why — and also a story of what your board can expect if it's ever forced to go up against the giant governmental mechanism known as a bureaucracy.

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It used to be that co-ops got the bum rap for requiring potential buyers and renters to fill out extensive applications, but it looks like condos are starting to follow suit. Just ask a condo owner in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, who writes to Ronda Kaysen in the latest "Ask Real Estate" column in The New York Times. "The board has instituted a process for renting out units that involves a lengthy application and significant fees. The board says the process is allowed under its right of first refusal, which allows the board to rent a unit under the same terms that the unit is offered." The condo owner wants to know whether the board can use its right of first refusal in this manner and whether it can be stopped. Kaysen explains that a "building’s bylaws determine whether a board can require an application and fees for renting out a unit." If it's in the bylaws, there's not much this condo unit can do to challenge. And if it's not in the bylaws? Well, it's a case of knowing when to pick your battles. The condo owner can ask the board to review its procedures but any legal action would probably cost more than the application fee.

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My friend Octavia was in a quandary. "I need a new boiler," she informed me, "but I don't know how big it should be."

"If I had to surmise, I'd say probably a lot smaller than what it is now," I offered somewhat drily. "How big is the existing one, and by the way, how do you know you need a new one?"

Before replying directly, Octavia reminded me of the facts concerning her 25-unit building. The heating plant, which provided both heat and domestic hot water (DHW), was 50 boiler horsepower (BHP). It was now leaking water out of the back end. The heating season was a month away, and she had two fairly old bids in hand: one for another 50-horse unit, and the other for a 60-horse unit!

A wistful sigh escaped my lips, unfortunately loud enough for her to hear. "Did I say something wrong?" she asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

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Celebrity and clout didn't help fashion designer Cynthia Rowley any after renovations to her townhouse on 30 Perry Street ticked off condo owners in the building next door. And now she's getting sued. The lawsuit alleges that Rowley didn't check with the condo board of the historic 28 Perry Street building "before installing a set of three plumbing and ventilation pipes on the outside walls of their building," reports DNAinfo, nor did she get the city's Landmarks Preservation Commission's (LPC) okay. Uh-oh. Neither the board's lawyer nor Rowley returned DNAinfo's requests for comments; however, a spokesperson for the LPC confirmed that the commission issued permits for the work being done in Rowley's building, adding that it has not received any complaints. Will Rowley be able to complete her renovation project, which involves adding a penthouse and replacing pipes that connect to the boiler, fireplace, and cooking fixtures? Will the 28 Perry Street condo owners succeed in having Rowley remove the pipes, obstructions, and debris, and pay damages and legal fees? We'll be watching this latest battle unfold.

Photo by Nicholas Strini for Property Shark.

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New York City's Façade Inspection Safety Program (FISP), also called Local Law 11, requires that owners of buildings with six or more stories above an exposed basement wall undergo an exterior inspection every five years. The law is currently in its seventh cycle, but after February 21, Cycle 8 will begin, and boards will want to confirm with their management companies that all the necessary steps are taken to ensure that all reports and supplemental forms are submitted. 

Included with the Cycle 7 reports, all buildings that need to comply with Local Law 11 now have to go one step further and inspect all balconies, terraces, handrails, canopies, antennae, satellite dishes, air conditioners, and fire escapes and file a supplemental statement.

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Park Slope's architecture is most certainly one of the factors that make this area of Brooklyn such a desirable place to live. The buildings in this neighborhood have character — even those that fall into disrepair. Such is the case with the five-story building at 187 Seventh Avenue, at Second Street. It was once owned by Dorothy Nash, reports The New York Times, who "also operated the Landmark Pub [there] until the late 1990s. [She] moved out at some point." Covered in graffiti, dilapidated and with most of its roof missing, it was considered an eyesore by many. Luckily, Sugar Hill Capital Partners, the developers who snapped it up for $4.2 million in 2013 after it was threatened with foreclosure, has decided to invest an additional $6 million to restore it and build four three-bedroom condos, along with an elevator, lobbies, and retail space. According to The Times, the condos, "called 2ND7TH, will be completed in the fall and went on the market this month, with prices starting at $3.198 million." 

Photo by Kate Leonova for Property Shark.

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Last week we looked at some key areas where boards tend to defer maintenance. Plumbing was number one on the list — and it's a tricky one. It's easy to see why people don't address plumbing problems until they happen, being that you have to break through walls to access problematic pipes. And people are probably not going to be keen on having you tear up their bathroom "just" for some routine maintenance.

Yet performing regular preventive maintenance can reduce overall yearly costs for plumbing repairs. Here are the areas in which you can stay ahead of plumbing problems.

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It's the issue that no one on the board wants to talk about, but it can't be avoided: residents are getting older. And with older communities come new problems – but maybe there are new solutions, too.

Susan Birenbaum is one of an underrepresented group of professionals known as Geriatric Care Managers (GCMs). Different from a home health aide, a geriatric care manager acts as a liaison between relatives of elderly residents and those that care for them – doctors, home aides, therapists, and more. 

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Maybe not everyone in New York is a fan of all the new condos going up, but sometimes good does come out of the inconvenience of noisy construction sites. Founded by Polish immigrants from Mezritch in 1910, the Adas Yisroel Anshe Mezritch Synagogue fell into such a state of disrepair it was forced to close its doors six months ago. But before you lament yet another piece of New York history gone, good news. The synagogue is being completely renovated and is scheduled to open its doors again this year, thanks to a new condo plan, reports the New York Daily News. The temple will remain on the ground floor, and "three luxe apartments, including one 11-foot penthouse addition, will be built upstairs" and are scheduled to hit the market this fall. Not everyone is happy about turning part of a religious building "over to for-profit real estate developers," but thanks to the controversial deal, at least the building and the shul will be preserved. According to the Daily News, East River Partners (the developer) "is also planning to pay an annual maintenance fee to keep the shul running for 200 more years." That's a pretty neat compromise.

Photo by Nicholas Strini for Property Shark.

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If you want a snapshot of how New York's property management field has changed over the past quarter-century, you should look into the history of Cooper Square Realty. When Dan Wurtzel joined the fledgling company in 1987, he was one of four employees. Today, he's president of the New York operation of FirstService Residential, which purchased a stake in Cooper Square in 2003 and later formed partnerships with Wentworth New York and Goodstein Management. With 400 employees and more than 500 properties in its portfolio, FirstService Residential is now the largest management firm in the city.

A subsidiary of Toronto-based FirstService Corp., FirstService Residential operates in 21 states and has more than 12,000 employees. 

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