NEW YORK CITY

Contested elections. Sometimes you just can't avoid them. In a matter with twists and turns worthy of a law school exam, the court had to decide which candidate was successful where the inspector of the election had failed to count a proxy that would have changed the winner. The case is Richard Mishaan, Charles Koppelman, Geraldine Kunstadter, Arthur N. Abbey, and Wayne Nelson v. 1035 Fifth Avenue Corporation, Eugene Atkinson, Emil Rad, Alex Green, Robert Schmon, Joyce Menschel, and Michael DiGiacomo. The property at 1035 Fifth Avenue is a cooperative housing corporation with a board of nine directors. Each director serves a three-year staggered term. In 2014, five candidates ran for three seats. 

Good news for greening advocates. The Urban Green Council has launched a new website, Metered.nyc, to make benchmarking information simpler to access and easier to understand. Energy benchmarking is required under Local Law 84 for buildings larger than 50,000 square feet. What makes this new website so useful is that a building's data is compared over time, and if you have made energy improvements it will be reflected there.

Buying an apartment in New York City is a complex affair. In this week's Ask Real Estate column in The New York Times, a reader asks Ronda Kaysen whether it would make sense to take a home inspector along on a final walk-through before closing on a one-bedroom apartment in a new condo development. Having an apartment inspected before you sign on the dotted line is always a good idea, explains Kaysen, adding that "even new construction can have windows that leak, faulty ventilation systems or poor water pressure." But say the inspector finds something wrong: "if an inspector finds that, say, the windows do not close properly, you would need to negotiate any repairs with the seller, and the seller would need time to fix the problem," she says. Kaysen advises having an inspector check out an apartment when you initially sign the contract, not right before closing. That way, if there's a problem, there's plenty of time to resolve it. So what's the point of a final walk-through then? "Use it to confirm the obvious," says Kaysen. "Do the doors have knobs and do the outlets have covers? Are the kitchen appliances installed and can they be turned on? Is there running water?" And take your broker with you!

In Manhattan, Gani Gjonbalaj has been superintendent since 2006 at a state-of-the-art condominium that comes with many bells and whistles. The Lion's Head, at 121 West 19th Street, was the scene of a headline-making explosion in 2002 and was subsequently gutted and converted from a commercial space into residential condos. The building opened in 2005 and now attracts A-List celebrities.

"The renovation meant that we had the opportunity to put in new systems and new technologies," says Gjonbalaj, who boasts of the building's 21st-century heating systems, cooling tower, security cameras, fire alarms, and video intercom systems that are all monitored or controlled by computer. While those digital cogs turn over behind the scenes, Gjonbalaj says it is a communication platform called BuildingLink that most residents recognize as their building's technology front line. 

A READER ASKS: I live in a midsize co-op building in Brooklyn. We have a new super and porter and while we often see them cleaning up the lobby, they aren't keeping the basement as clean as it should be. The trash bins overflow and it smells, and last week I was horrified to see a rat scurrying around. Where there's one there's many. I don't want to make trouble for the new super and porter with the board, but I feel like I need to say something before we're overrun with rats. 

Proponents of the co-op tax abatement program scored a huge win Thursday, June 25 after the State Senate and Assembly and Governor Cuomo agreed to a four-year extension. According to the Council of New York Cooperatives & Condominiums (CNYC), legislation passed by both houses grants an extension of the property tax abatement program for home owners in New York City cooperatives and condominiums. "Thanks to the Department of Finance, this extender is seamless, because it was included on our property tax bills for the new fiscal year, which begins on July 1, saving condominium unit owners and cooperative corporations from confusion and cash flow problems," says the CNYC. This morning, Governor Cuomo signed the legislation into law, allowing those who can benefit from tax abatement program to breathe easy through June 30, 2019.

Anyone who read about the saga at Sherwood Village, a co-op in Queens, knows that it's not representative of your typical board. The board's treasurer from 1991 to 1995 became convinced that the co-op was riddled with corruption and "fictitious billing." He got the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Queens district attorney's office to open formal investigations. Neither found any evidence of financial wrongdoing, but allegations of corruption continued. It's quite the story, and one that reminds boards about the dangers of letting politics get personal. However, it doesn't mean that boards shouldn't exercise caution and protect themselves from potential fraud. 

Why should the garbage chute be at the top of your building's priority list? You might think it's just the place where building residents throw out their trash, but if the chute is not properly maintained and kept clean, it not only creates an excellent breeding ground for urban pests but also becomes a fire hazard. When you think about properly maintaining your co-op or condo unit, it's easy to focus on areas that are immediately visible: the lobby, the gym, and even the laundry room. We expect these areas to be clean, and in the case of the latter two, for equipment and machines to be in good working order. As we saw in our "Barons of the Boiler Room" series, it's easy to take areas that are typically considered stinky for granted, such as the garbage chute. 

Navigating the world of New York City real estate can be overwhelming and draining. That's why those who can afford to do so often seek the help and guidance of a broker. Broker fees can be quite high, so it's not surprising that, sometimes, the higher the fee, the higher an apartment hunter's expectations. High expectations, however, can result in disappointment. Such is the case with one woman whose daughter just rented an apartment in Manhattan. "To my dismay," she writes in this week's Ask An Expert column on Brickunderground, "I discovered on move-in day that there was a chemical dependency residential treatment program right across the street. The broker didn't say anything about this but took an almost $6,000 fee. Do I have any recourse?" Six thousand bucks may be a lot of dough, but Brickunderground experts still answered: no. "Your broker was under no obligation whatsoever to tell you about a nearby rehab center," they agree. Warburg broker Shirley Hackel adds: "Caveat emptor: Let the buyer beware. The agent is not obligated to point out that a residential treatment program is on the block. It's entirely possible that the agent was totally unfazed by it." In fact, the only way this dismayed mom might have some recourse is if either she or her daughter "specifically asked about the presence of a nearby rehab center and the broker lied," says Jeffrey S. Reich, a real estate attorney with Schwartz, Sladkus, Reich, Greenberg, Atlas. This case is certainly a reminder that when looking for a home in the big city, you shouldn't just be looking at the apartment. You should be looking at the building's immediate surroundings as well. Hopping on the ole Google machine doesn't hurt, either. 

Your treasurer has presented his latest report, and he has offset expected losses from operating expenses with money from the reserve fund. Your managing agent has sole control over your reserves. Your manager uses the reserves to pay for capital projects and does nothing to replenish them. If any of these scenarios are familiar to you, then watch out: they are warning signs that something is amiss.