Page 13 - CooperatorNews NY March 2021

COOPERATORNEWS.COM COOPERATORNEWS — MARCH 2021 13 Over 90 years of service to New York Cooperatives and Condominiums. Stay up to date on the latest legal developments by subscribing to our New York co-op and condo blog The Neighborhood www.nycoopandcondolaw.com William L. Brewer Hugh P. Finnegan Ezra N. Goodman 212-808-0700 I Info@norris-law.com I www.norrismclaughlin.com Michael T. Reilly Dean M. Roberts Burt Allen Solomon Our service representation of cooperatives and condominiums includes: Call us or visit our website to speak with one of our experienced attorneys • Corporate and Board of Director Governance • Complex construction and financing matters • Government compliance • Sales and transfer including, closings as Transfer Agent • Construction, professional, and service contracts and leases • Litigation in all jurisdictions, including Landlord Tenant cases Norris McLaughlin’s Cooperative and Condominium clients range from small buildings to large multi- building developments. Deanna L. Koestel Jillian P. Levitt Gerard Proefriedt Jodi A. Sokol Sharyn A. Tritto Attorney Advertisement opinions in the room,” he says. “Sometimes Certainly, helping them have a voice can re- a stronger party can control the group. It’s duce the risk of contention and help them also more time consuming, but better for the save face.” building. Collaboration leads to less second- guessing, since it’s a group making decisions, through fundamental changes on the board, and not just one person. If the board is truly people coming and going, and new leader- democratic, it’s easier when board members ship. “I have a client who is the board presi- see residents in the elevator and are confront- ed with a question.” Board Evolution Can a board’s culture and governance style will alter dynamics in a building sometimes. change over time? Th e answer is yes, and that Views on money will alter style as well. Say stylistic change can be the result of several the building needs a new roof. Some on the diff erent factors. Most likely, the change is a board may not want to spend the money, and result of new board members with diff ering would prefer to get a longer life from the ex- views on management style joining the board isting roof by doing repair work. Some oth- and infl uencing how it operates. Another ers may think board service is a popularity possibility is that existing board members contest. Th at’s a problem. Board service and themselves evolve over time, learning from management are a responsibility to the com- their mistakes and perhaps becoming more munity.” comfortable in their positions. “Turnover is certainly the most common board members have to keep one important driver for stylistic changes,” says Hughes. goal in mind: the long-term success of the “Th is can be accelerated if these changes property. Th at requires a symbiotic relation- come on the heels of individuals who got on ship between the board and management. the board to ‘fi x’ something that the com- munity perceived as being wrong. Of course, of diff erent ways—as long as it produces the hopefully the manager is coaching, listening, desired results. and engaging the board on how to mitigate these risks, but they may happen regardless. If so, there is some technique in how the manager can help a potentially antagonistic individual get up to speed on new and previ- ously confi dential information that may have driven unpopular decisions by the old board. Wollman concurs; style evolves over time dent of one building. He has strong views and can control the board, convincing its mem- bers that he has better ideas. Style and views Regardless of style, both managers and Th e nature of that symbiosis can look a lot n Cooper Smith is a staff writer for Coopera- torNews. meetings could (and should) be run in a tain the garden on a long-term commit- quick, effi cient way and be done within an ment, but easy to get people to participate hour or so, they very oft en run longer— sometimes much longer. Most residents basis. We try to assign things in ways that work long hours and aren’t especially keen people will feel they have the time.” to add multiple additional hours to the end of their day. Additionally, board members 96-unit townhouse-style complex of con- who agree to serve as an offi cer—president dominiums in suburban Boston. She has or treasurer, for example—oft en have to lived there for nearly 30 years and has allocate additional time during their oth- erwise busy days for conversations with some of them as treasurer. She agrees that management agents about everything time constraints are the biggest impedi- from ongoing confl icts between neighbors ment to board or committee service for to the date of the next virtual social event. most owners. “Th ey don’t want to make If the manager needs authorization for a commitment they can’t keep,” she says. something major, it may require immedi- ate attention. Th at can’t wait for one meet- ing once a month. Ray is a board member of a mid-sized able to keep up with their board service cooperative building in upper Manhattan. commitment. Many residents have jobs He has served on the board of his building where they travel, which can interfere for several years and says that “the major with board meetings. Th at’s changing a challenge to board service is the percep- tion of how much time board members also a hesitation on the part of people with must give to service on a board. In a mid- size building, though, people are invested. the end, it cuts down on the number of Many of them are willing to make a time people who can volunteer.” investment. Sometimes, whether we are talking about full board service or serving on a committee, we have to think about how to present it. We have a private com- munity garden in the rear of our building. We don’t have a gardener. Admittedly, it’s hard to get people to manage and main- for a day. So, we ask for volunteers on a day Roberta is a long-time resident of a served on the board for 26 of those years, “We are a mixed-age community. Most people work—even our older residents. Th ey’re concerned that they will not be little now, since we meet via Zoom. Th ere’s children, which is understandable, but in Enticing Residents to Serve Ray points out that one eff ective way OVERCOMING... continued from page 1 continued on page 14