NEW YORK CITY

The New York Restoration Project, a nonprofit organization founded by signer-actress Bette Midler to help add arbor and foliage to New York City, is spearheading a tree giveaway Sunday, Oct. 21, at Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx. The effort, in partnership with the City of New York, is part of the MillionTreesNYC initiative to plant and care for one million new trees throughout New York City’s five boroughs by 2017.  

A co-op board learned that a convicted sex offender (and son of a former board president) had moved into the building after being evicted at his former residence. The board wrestled with the issues of the extent to which the board was obligated to inform the building’s other residents, balancing the interests of all other residents against the privacy interests of the individual and his father. 

With the recent economic downturn, condominium boards have been plagued by unit owners defaulting on their monthly common charge. With fewer unit-owners paying, boards are faced with the prospect of increasing common charges in order to collect the deficit from those owners in good standing — unless they can collect the unpaid charges.

Most boards that attempt to collect delinquent common charges are faced with essentially three choices: Enter into a payment plan with the defaulting owner, sue for money damages, or foreclose. But there's a fourth way.

Historically low rates, capital needs and maturing mortgages led many co-op boards to refinance their co-ops' underlying mortgages this past year. A few areas came to light where involving general counsel at the beginning of the refinance process could save a co-op money and affect the timing for locking the interest rate — specifically, requiring closing to occur within 30 days of rate lock. Just what are those areas, and how do they affect you in practical terms?

Being a co-op or condo board member is not for the faint of heart, particularly these days. Virtually all volunteer boards face a number of tough decisions, such as whether to pursue an owner for an assessment balance due, even though his home is foreclosed. And, of course, board members have pressures of their own, such as trying to balance you co-op or condominium budget while worrying about your 2009 college grad who still lives at home working the want ads.

A thermographer begins a roof survey by first conducting a visual observation, looking for obvious defects that could cause leaks, such as a torn or blistering roofing membrane, missing or defective flashing, cracked or spalling bricks in parapet walls, open coping joints, ponding, etc. The thermographer also notes the orientation of the roof to the sun, the position of surrounding buildings or structures that cast shadows on the roof, and any debris or other items that could skew the results of the infrared scan.

Depending on the air temperature, the type of roof construction and the length of time the roof was exposed to the sun that day, the thermographer waits anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour after the sun leaves the roof to perform a scan with the infrared camera. Analyzing the color distribution in the scan, the thermographer can see which areas along the roof are warmer (typically red in the infrared spectrum of colors).

Q. I am a member of cooperative/condominium board in New York City. Can I be held personally liable for my actions and conduct as a board member?

A. Members of a co-op/condo board can be held personally liable for their actions as board members only if they engage in tortious conduct (that is, wrongful conduct other than a breach of contract) that is independent from their role as board members. In contrast, board members will not be personally liable for conduct that is within the scope of the board members' authority, is taken in good faith, and is in the best interests of the building's shareholders/unit-owners.

The grades are in.

They're not posted, they are not public and you might have to do some digging to find yours.

But if your New York City building is over 50,000 square feet, it was energy-benchmarked by the city and it has now been scored.

June 22, 2009, following posting June 10 and update June 17 — After two previous reschedulings, the public hearing by the New York City Council's Environmental Protection Committee regarding Intro. 967, which mandates energy audits in buildings of 50,000 square feet or more, has is now scheduled to take place Wednesday, June 24, at 1 p.m., at the Council hearing room, 250 Broadway, near City Hall, on the 16th floor. (See map.)

It was originally set for 1 p.m. on Thursday, June 18, changed to noon, and rescheduled to Friday, June 19, at 10 a.m. before this latest scheduling. The hearing allows for public comment on the proposed legislation sponsored by Councilmember James F. Gennaro.

Condo and co-op boards and property managers should be aware that homeowners do have the right — subject to restrictions — to have service, companion and therapy animals, even when they violate co-op / condo pet restrictions. Yet boards have certain rights as well, including the right to demand medical proof that such an animal is needed.