Written by Adam Leitman Bailey, Leonard H. Ritz and Dov Treiman on January 15, 2013
In the aftermath of superstorm Sandy, many condo and co-op board members have been facing unprecedented challenges, with little experience to guide them. In the first of two installments today, three leading attorneys answer eight questions at the top of every affected board members' mind.
Written by Frank Lovece on January 11, 2013
Politicians and others called today for FEMA grants to be made available to residential cooperatives, which the federal agency characterizes as a form of business and so ineligible for emergency housing help. Yet the statements specifically excluded condominium associations, and failed to make clear that co-op and condo residents already are eligible for grants.
Written by Frank Lovece on December 14, 2012
In the terrible aftermath of superstorm Sandy, co-op and condo boards and residents found themselves struggling with both immediate needs and longer-term woes. With lobbies, basements and other common areas flooded and in need of repair and reconstruction, with electrical panels destroyed and with buildings not collecting maintenance or common charges from uninhabitable apartments, many boards are understandably overwhelmed. But federal help is available. Through conversations with government agencies and others, Habitat is here to you get through a flood of misinformation.
Written by Ronda Kaysen on January 08, 2013
When the 37-story Trump Tower at City Center condominium in White Plains was built in 2006, developer Louis Cappelli estimated that the building's annual energy bill would be $700,000. Instead, the first year's costs were double that. Condo board members were shocked: This brand-new luxury tower was an energy hog. In January 2007, the board hired Larry Gomez of Trump Management to manage their property. The first order of business: Cut the energy bill down to size. But with board members wary and residents reluctant to make changes, was the battle doomed from the start?
Written by Dennis H. Greenstein on November 01, 2012
Recently, several boards of directors of cooperative corporations that we represent have received petitions from shareholders to call special meetings. The purpose of these was to discuss and, in some instances, vote to overturn, decisions of the board. Some of the issues related to the enactment of assessments, hiring and firing of staff, building repairs and decorative improvements decided by the board. So what is the best way for co-op boards (and, likewise, boards of condominium associations) to encourage resident involvement without letting them take it too far?
Written by Tom Soter on June 27, 2012
The latest from Albany: mixed signals, missed opportunities, and a hope for future change. Those are all the ingredients that go into the co-op and condo tax abatement stew that has been simmering for so long it’s all but evaporated. The short story is that, for the moment, the tax abatement that 360,000 city taxpayers count on each year is dead. The price of burying it? Some $430 million in additional taxes.
Recent news affecting co-op / condo buyers, sellers, boards and residents. There's no other news more important this week than New York State legislators and Governor Andrew Cuomo letting the co-op / condo tax abatement expire. This, in a state where every other form of residential property gets an annual cap on tax increases. But there's a sliver of a silver lining — read the second article below and contact your representatives.
Also this week, New York City condos go on the warpath to collect arrears — read about some of the tactics now becoming commonplace. Plus, what's with all those condo boards acting like co-op boards, requiring hundreds of pages of buyers' financial data? A broker breaks it down. And did you know boards can't stop residents from operating day-care centers in their apartments?
Written by Stuart Saft on May 24, 2012
In 1964, Governor Nelson Rockefeller enacted the New York State's Condominium Act, and the rest of the U.S. followed. But since then, the other states and even Puerto Rico have modernized their laws. Twenty-five states even use the Uniform Condominium Act and others the Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act, while New York has remained loyal to a law that is inadequate.
Written by Curtis G. Kimble on April 06, 2012
Committees are an invaluable tool in condominium associations and cooperative housing corporations, where it can be hard to get enough volunteers sufficiently capable of dedicating the time, attention and skills required to serve on the board. As well, since it's often effective to have a small board, having committees can extend the board's reach, ability and effectiveness. This allows the benefits of a smaller board without sacrificing the distribution of workload that comes with a larger board.
Written by Judy Cook on February 17, 2012
As co-op / condo property managers know, know the Federal Fair Housing Act (FFHA) requires cooperatives and condominium associations to make reasonable accommodations for shareholders, unit-owners or other residents with physical or mental disabilities. Often these requests revolve around assistance animals, a term synonymous with "companion animal," "service animal," "therapy animal," etc. Accommodating such requests is generally considered "reasonable," under FFHA.
But what happens when the service animal is a "dangerous breed" of dog?